ATT System 25 Call Management System Manual

							Setting Options
SERVICE LEVEL LIMIT
After you have used CMS for a few days, you should have enough
information to set several system options. Initial settings are in effect for the
following options until you define new values:
l Service Level Limit
l Abandoned vs. Incoming Call Threshold
l Audible Alarm On/Off
l Transfer Return Threshold
l CMS-Port Personal Line Button Verification
Pressing [F5] (labeled “Set Options”) on the Administration Menu screen
selects the Set Options screen, shown below.
SET OPTIONSADMIN CMS1.0 3:36p 04/18
OPTION SETTINGS
OptionValue
F1Service Level Limit20 sec
F2 Abandoned vs. Incoming Call Threshold10 sec
F3Audible Alarm (ON/OFF)
ON
F4Transfer Return Threshold
5 rings
F5
CMS-Port Personal Line Button Verify ON
F10 - Help
F Service F Abandon F Alarm
F Return F VerifyF Admin
1 Level2 Thresh 3 On/Off 4 Thresh 5 On/Off8 Menu
The service level is a measure of how quickly your customers’ calls are
answered by agents. The service level is the percentage of calls that were
connected to agents within a specified number of seconds (called the Service
Level Limit). For instance, during a particular hour your agents may answer
90% of the CMS calls within 20 seconds.
The initial value for the Service Level Limit is 20 seconds. Since the length of
time between the beginning of one ring and the beginning of the next is
about 5 seconds, a Service Level Limit of 20 seconds equals about 4 rings.
The service level is displayed on the System Status screen and is continually
updated while CMS is managing calls. (The service level also appears in the
Daily Split Report and in the Cumulative Split Report.) If the service level
drops below an acceptable level, it may indicate the need to turn on intraflow
or to add more agents to a split.
Setting Options 4-47 
						

							ABANDONED CALL
THRESHOLD
The Service Level Limit you choose depends on your particular type of
business. The Service Level Limit is measured from the time a call first rings
at System 25 until the call is answered by an agent. This includes Answer
Delay time, time connected to the voice announcement unit (if any), time on
hold waiting to be transferred to an agent, and ringing time at an agent
station. You need to decide how quickly you want the majority of your calls
answered. Note that having Force Delay on impacts your service level.
An important function of CMS is tracking the number of abandoned calls,
that is, the number of callers who hang up before they’ve been connected to
an agent. Occasionally an abandoned call gets transferred to an agent. When
this happens, the agent answers the call and finds no one on the line.
The Abandoned vs. Incoming Call Threshold allows you to set the minimum
number of seconds an agent must be connected to a call for it to be
considered a serviced call. By setting this threshold, you can distinguish
between the abandoned calls that are connected to agents and “real“ calls that
are handled by the agents.Distinguishing serviced calls from abandoned
ones gives a more accurate picture of the service level of your system.
To establish a realistic Abandoned vs. Incoming Call Threshold, you need to
know how long agents usually spend talking to callers. If your agents usually
spend at least 30 seconds talking to customers, then you can assume that
most calls that take less than 15 seconds are probably abandoned calls.
However, if your agents often receive calls that take only a few seconds to
handle, you will want to set a lower abandoned call threshold, and the
chance of errors (that is, mistaking an abandoned call for a “real” call, or vice
versa) will increase.The initial value for the Abandoned vs. Incoming Call
Threshold is 10 seconds.
NOTE: If your CMS lines are Ground Start trunks, the number of
abandoned calls transferred to agents is considerably less than if your
CMS lines are Loop Start trunks.
AUDIBLE ALARM ON/OFFYou can have your PC beep every time an exception message, a system
message, or an error message appears on the PC screen. (An exception
occurs when a service or performance threshold you set has been exceeded.
For more information, see “Selecting Exceptions” later in this section.)
Turning the alarm on is helpful since it will alert you to potential problems
that might occur when you are not looking at the PC screen. Initially, the
Audible Alarm option is on.
TRANSFER RETURN
THRESHOLD
The Transfer Return Threshold allows you to set the maximum number of
times a CMS call will ring at an agent’s voice terminal before being returned
to CMS for transfer to another agent.
You can choose a value of 1 to 9 rings;
the initial setting is 5 rings.
There are two instances in which a call is not transferred immediately to
another agent when the Transfer Return Threshold is reached:
l If no other agents are available when the Transfer Return Threshold is
reached, and the caller has not heard an announcement, the call is
connected to an announcement and then placed in the queue of calls
awaiting transfer to an agent.
4-48 Setting Options 
						

							CMS-PORT PERSONAL
LINE BUTTON VERIFY
SETTING OPTIONS
l If no other agents are available when the Transfer Return Threshold is
reached and the caller has already heard an announcement, the call
continues to ring at the original agent’s voice terminal until an agent
becomes available. At that time, CMS transfers the call to the available
agent.
NOTE: If the agent does not answer the call before the Transfer
Return Threshold is reached, the agent is considered to have
“refused” the call, and the agent’s station is placed in the ACW state.
If the Refused Call agent exception is turned on, then CMS generates
an exception message when the Transfer Return Threshold is reached.
See “Selecting Agent Exceptions” later in this section.
Accurate System 25 administration is critical to the proper functioning of call
management; inaccuracies may result in unanswered calls, dropped calls, or
mistransferred calls. If CMS-Port Personal Line verification is on, CMS can
verify that the Personal Line appearances of the CMS trunks are correctly
administered on PC jack CU1. When the verification procedure begins, the
following message appears on the Initialization screen:
PC-Port Verification In Progress-May Last Up To 4 Minutes
Problems detected during the verification procedure appear on the
Initialization screen and are listed in the Events Log. Initially, verification of
CMS-Port Personal Line button administration is on. You should turn this
option on whenever you run CMS for the first time after System 25 changes
for CMS have been made.
To set options, press the function key for the option you want to change:
[F1] Service Level (Service Level Limit)
The service level is the percentage of calls connected to agents within a
specified number of seconds (the Service Level Limit). The initial value is
20 seconds.
Prompt:
SERVICE LEVEL: % Calls Answered within XXX sec. XXX (1-999):___
Action:1 Enter the number of seconds (1 through 999).
2 Press [F8] (labeled Enter Data).
[F2] Abandon Thresh (Abandoned vs. Incoming Call Threshold)
The Abandoned vs. Incoming Call Threshold is the minimum number of
seconds an agent must be connected to a call for the call not to be considered
an abandoned call. The initial value is 10 seconds.
Prompt:ABANDON THRESHOLD: (1-99 seconds):___
Action:1 Enter the number of seconds (1 through 99).
2 Press [F8] (labeled “Enter Data”).
Setting Options 4-49 
						

							[F3] Alarm On/Off (Audible Alarm On/Off)
You can choose to have your PC beep every time an exception message,
system message, or error message appears. The word 
ON in this field means
the PC beeps.
alarm is 
ON.
Action: l
The word OFF means the PC does not beep. Initially, the
Press [F3] to change the value that appears in the Audible
Alarm field on your screen.
[F4] Return Thresh (Transfer Return Threshold)
The Transfer Return Threshold is the maximum number of times a CMS call
will ring at an agent’s voice terminal before being returned to CMS for
transfer to another agent. The initial value for the Transfer Return Threshold
is 5 rings.
Prompt:TRANSFER RETURN: (1-9 rings):__
Action:1 Enter the number of times (1 through 9) a CMS call should
ring at an agent’s voice terminal before being returned to
CMS.
2 Press [F8] (labeled “Enter Data”).
[F5] Verify On/Off (CMS-Port Personal Line Button Verification)
If CMS-Port Personal Line Button Verification is on, CMS will check to see if
the Personal Line appearances of CMS trunks are correctly administered on
PC jack CU1. This verification occurs when call management is started, and
can last up to four minutes.The word 
ON means that verification is enabled.
The word 
OFF means the verification procedure is disabled. Initially,
verification is 
ON.
Action:l Press [F5] to change the value that appears in the CMS-Port
Personal Line Verify field on your screen.
[F8] Admin Menu (Administration Menu)
Press this function key to return to the Administration Menu screen.
[F10] Help
Press this function key to display a Help screen for the Set Options screen.
4-50 Setting Options 
						

							Selecting Exceptions
An exception message indicates that a particular performance threshold has
been reached or exceeded and an unusual or undesirable situation may be
occurring. Exceptions allow you to customize performance goals for each split
or line group. For instance, you may establish a threshold of 3 minutes as an
acceptable Talk Time for one split and 4 minutes as an acceptable Talk Time
for another split.
You may want to use CMS for a few days before you select your exceptions
and set your exception thresholds. In the meantime, all exceptions are set to
off.
After you turn on an exception, you receive an exception message on your PC
screen whenever the threshold for that exception has been reached or
exceeded. The exception message also appears on the CMS Events Log. (For
more information see, “Using the Events Log Screen” in Section 5, and
“Events Log Report” in Section 7.) The exception message includes the date
and time the exception occurred. For instance, you may choose to receive an
exception message when an agent has refused a call or when all the lines in a
line group have been busy for a certain number of seconds. In addition, if
you want your PC to beep when an exception occurs, turn on the Audible
Alarm option from the Set Options screen (described earlier in “Setting
options “).
Exceptions are an important management tool because they free you to do
more productive work. Instead of constantly monitoring system status on
your PC, you can administer exceptions to notify you when problems arise.
Most businesses need only two or three exceptions. Using all the exceptions
available or setting unrealistic exception thresholds merely gives you unusable
or inappropriate data. Consider these points when choosing the exceptions
for your business:
l In sales line groups, the exceptions that indicate the length of time all
lines are busy and the number of abandoned calls are important. When
all lines are busy, potential customers may not be able to get through and
may call a competitor. This means lost revenue for your business.
Abandoned calls (instances where a caller hangs up before being
connected to an agent) signal callers who are tired of waiting for an agent
and who might not call back— again, lost revenue.
The thresholds for these exceptions depend on the dollar value of each call
versus the expense of an additional agent:
– In businesses where each call generates high revenue (or where
customer service directly affects sales), the thresholds should be set
low. Thus the exception messages can alert the supervisor before too
many calls are lost.
– In businesses where the revenue per call is low, it may not be
economical to have enough lines and agents to handle all calls.
Exception thresholds could be set high.
l In a service business, agent productivity and cost per call may be
important concerns.In this situation, the length of time an agent spends
on a call (Talk Time) and in the ACW state may be the most important
exceptions to monitor.
Let the characteristics of your business guide your decisions about selecting
exceptions and setting thresholds.
Selecting Exceptions 4-51 
						

							Instructions for Selecting Exceptions
ADMINISTERING
EXCEPTIONS
Pressing [F6] (labeled “Select Exceptns”) on the Administration Menu screen
selects the following Select Exceptions screen.
SELECT EXCEPTIONSADMIN CMS1.0 3:38p 04/18
EXCEPTION SETTINGS
|--------Split/Line Group---------|
Exception
On/Off 1/A 2/B3/C4/D5 6AGENTS
Talk Time > = xxx secOff - – - - - –After Call Work > = xxx min On5m4m 4m–   –   – 
Agent Logout ACW > = xxx minOff – – - - – -Refused CallOn
SPLITS
# Abandon Calls > = xxOn4   3   3–   –   –
# Calls Waiting > = xxOn222-–-
Oldest Call Wait > = xxx sec On45s45s 30s –  –  -Avg Speed Answer > = xxx secOff – – - – – -
LINE GROUPS
All Lines Busy > = xxx secOff – – - -
Line Hold Time > = xx minOn8m7m 8m –
Line Hold Time 
						

							3
4
5
6
7
8
Type on in the ON/OFF field of the prompt to turn the exception on, or
type 
off to turn the exception off.
Enter thresholds for splits or line groups.
Keep these points in mind:
– You do not need to enter a threshold for each split or line group. If
you don’t want to enter a threshold for a particular split or line group,
simply leave it blank. This feature allows you to turn on an exception
for selected splits or groups.
– To delete a threshold value, type a hyphen (-) in the field you want to
delete.
– You may enter thresholds even if you turn off an exception. For
example, you may want to turn on the Talk Time exception when call
traffic is heavy. During slow periods, however, you might not care
how long an agent talks to customers. You may want to turn off the
Talk Time exception then, but still keep the thresholds set.
Press 
[F8] (labeled Enter Data) after you make an entry in the last field.
Press a different function key to administer another exception on that
screen.
Press 
[F8] (labeled “Select Exceptns” ) on the Agent Exceptions, Split
Exceptions, or Line Group Exceptions screen to return to the Select
Exceptions screen when you finish administering exceptions for Agents,
Splits, or Line Groups, respectively.
Press [F8] (labeled “Admin Menu”) to return to the Administration Menu
screen.
Selecting Exceptions 
4-53 
						

							Selecting Agent Exceptions
Agent exceptions allow you to monitor the activity of individual agents. You
can use these exceptions to indicate reasonable expectations for call handling,
and to help determine where extra training might be necessary. You can set
different exception thresholds for each split to tailor the exception for the type
of calls each split handles. For instance, some splits may need more ACW
time than others.
Pressing 
[F1] (labeled “Agent Exceptns” ) from the Select Exceptions screen
selects the Agent Exceptions screen shown below. The box in the screen
indicates the four agent exceptions: Talk Time, After Call Work, Agent
Logout ACW, and Refused Call.
AGENT EXCEPTIONSADMIN CMS1.0 3:39p 04/18
EXCEPTION SETTINGS
|--------Split/Line Group--------|
Exception
On/Off 1/A 2/B 3/C 4/D 5 6AGENTS
Talk Time > = xxx secOff-   -   -   -   -   -    After Call Work > = xxx minOn5m  4m  4m ---
Agent Logout ACW >= xxx minOff-   -   -   -   -   -   
Refused CallOn
SPLITS
# Abandon Calls > = xxOn433-   -   -
# Calls Waiting > = xxOn222---
Oldest Call Wait > = xxx sec On45s  45s  45s---
Avg Speed Answer > = xxx secOff - - - - - -
LINE GROUPS
All Lines Busy > = xxx secOff----
Line Hold Time > = xx minOn8m 7m 8m -
Line Hold Time < = XX secOff----
F10 - Help
F Talk F ACWF AgentFRefusedF Select
1 Time 23 Logout 4 Call8Exceptns
ADMINISTERING AGENTTo administer an agent exception:
EXCEPTIONS1 Press the function key for that exception and refer to the description and
instructions that follow this list. The exception message that appears
when an exception threshold is reached or exceeded is also listed.
2 Press a function key to administer another agent exception, or press [F8]
(labeled “Select Exceptns”) to return to the Select Exceptions screen when
you are finished.
4-54 Selecting Exceptions 
						

							[F1] Talk Time
Talk Time is the number of seconds an agent is connected to a call. If you
turn on this exception, CMS notifies you when an agent’s Talk Time meets or
exceeds the threshold set for that split.
Prompt:
TALK TIME (seconds): ON/OFF?__Split 1:__ 2:___3:____4:___5:____6:___
Action:1 Type on or off, or leave the field blank if you want to
keep the current value.
2 Enter the number of seconds (1 through 999) for the
maximum Talk Time for each split. To keep the current
value, leave the field blank. To turn off this exception for
a particular split, enter a hyphen (-).
3 Press [F8] (labeled “Enter Data”) after the last field.
Message:
[F2] ACW (After Call Work)
The ACW state refers to the period of time agents make themselves
temporarily  unavailable for calls. If you turn on this exception, CMS notifies
you when an agent has been in the ACW state longer than the threshold set
for that split.
Prompt:
ACW (minutes): ON/OFF?__
Split 1:___ 2:___ 3:___ 4:___ 5:___ 6:___
Action:1 Type on or off, or leave the field blank if you want to
keep the current value.
2 Enter a number of minutes (1 through 999) for each split.
To keep the current value of a field, leave the field blank.
To turn off this exception for a particular split, enter a
hyphen (-).
3 Press [F8] (labeled “Enter Data”) after the last field.
Message:
Selecting Exceptions 4-55 
						

							[F3] Agent Logout (Agent Logout ACW)gent
If you turn on this exception, CMS automatically logs out an agent who has
been in the ACW state as long or longer than the threshold you set. You are
notified when the exception threshold is reached and the agent is logged out.
Prompt:
AGENT OUT (minutes): ON/OFF?__Split 1:___ 2:___ 3:___ 4:___ 5:___ 6:___
Action:1 Type on or off, or leave the field blank if you want to
keep the current value.
2 Enter the number of minutes (1 through 999) for each split.
To keep the current value, leave the field blank. To turn
off this exception for a particular split, enter a hyphen (-).
3 Press [F8] (labeled “Enter Data”) after the last field.
Message:
[F4] Refused Call
If you turn on this exception, CMS notifies you whenever an agent refuses a
call (i.e., whenever an agent does not answer a CMS call within the number
of rings specified in the Transfer Return Threshold on the Set Options
screen).
Prompt:
REFUSED CALLS: ON/OFF? ___
Action:1 Type on or off.
2 Press [F8] (labeled “Enter Data”).
Message:
or

[F8] Select Exceptns (Select Exceptions)
Press this function key to return to the Select Exceptions screen.
[F10] Help
Press this function key to display a Help screen for the Agent Exceptions
screen.
4-56 Selecting Exceptions