Lucent Technologies Centrevu Advocate Release 8 User Guide

							  Custom CentreVu® Advocate Solutions CentreVu® Advocate Release 8 User Guide
Call and Agent Selection2-9
Call Selection Override 
OFF
2
With Call Selection Override off (set to N on the DEFINITY forms), agents 
keep their assigned call handling priorities in skill over threshold 
situations, and reserve agents are added to handle the skill after other 
skills. When the overload threshold is exceeded for a skill, standard 
agents continue with their primary tasks, but will serve a skill to which 
they are assigned as reserve agents if that skill is over threshold and if 
none of their standard skills have calls waiting in queue. See the 
following table for an example of when reserve skill calls will be answered 
before standard skill calls when Call Selection Override is off.
Standard and Reserve 
Skill Calls
2
Agents stay focused on their primary tasks even when thresholds are set 
too low or skills are understaffed. If agents have no calls waiting in their 
primary skills, these agents can then help a skill that is over threshold. 
This option allows thresholds to be set much lower without impacting the 
overall efficiency of the call center. This option can be used to improve 
the percent within service level for a skill in overload while protecting the 
service level of the skill in normal mode.
Agent Occupancy2This option gives call centers a better level of agent occupancy without 
sacrificing the service level on skills. In the Generic 3 Release 5 version 
of CMS, agents were assigned backup skills to improve agent occupancy 
in smaller skills. If the backup skill had many calls waiting in queue, the 
occupancy for those agents increased significantly. However, since the  Call Handling Preference Reserve Skill Call Delivered First When:
Greatest Need A reserve skill goes over threshold and the 
call at the head of the queue for the reserve 
skill has the highest priority and longest 
wait time (because the reserve skill is now 
treated as a standard skill).
Skill Level When a reserve skill goes over threshold, it 
is treated as a level 16 skill and could be 
delivered before other level 16 skill calls.
Percent Allocation When a reserve skill goes over threshold, it 
is treated as having 0% assigned. A call 
from the reserve skill will be delivered 
before a call from a standard skill in which 
the agent is above the assigned 
percentage. 
						

							  Custom CentreVu® Advocate Solutions CentreVu® Advocate Release 8 User Guide
Call and Agent Selection2-10
agents in the smaller skill are now busy most of the time, the service level 
for the smaller skill drops. With the Call Selection Override option off, 
agents in the smaller skill can be assigned another skill as a reserve skill 
and they will only help the reserve skill when that skill is in trouble and 
there are no calls waiting in queue for the smaller skill. Most of the time, 
the reserve skill is in normal mode and good service is provided to the 
smaller skill. When the reserve skill goes over threshold, the agent’s 
occupancy goes up. If no call is waiting in queue for a smaller skill, the 
agent handles a reserve skill call and the service level of the smaller skill 
drops during this time because the agents are more busy. 
Setting Appropriate 
Threshold Levels
2
When call selection override is on (default setting), thresholds should be 
set based on the following considerations:
lTypically, both thresholds would be set above the acceptable service 
level.
lFirst threshold (consider all of the following):
—From an 
agent perspective, the first threshold is set at the point 
in time that you want backup agents, reserve1 agents, and so 
on, to be diverted from their normal tasks to help a skill that is 
over threshold.
—From a 
caller perspective, the first threshold is set at the point 
in time when callers no longer wish to wait for the “expert” 
agent and will be satisfied with a “capable” agent for this skill.
—From a 
business perspective, the first threshold is set at the 
point at which you want to impact abandoned calls based on 
your current abandon profile.
lSecond threshold (consider all of the following):
—From an 
agent perspective, the second threshold is set at the 
point in time that you want to bring in reserve2 agents to assist 
on the skill.
— From a caller perspective, the second threshold is set at the 
point in time that callers no longer wish to wait for a “capable” 
agent, and will be satisfied talking to any agent.
—From a 
business perspective, the second threshold is set to the 
maximum wait time you desire for any caller. 
						

							  Custom CentreVu® Advocate Solutions CentreVu® Advocate Release 8 User Guide
Call and Agent Selection2-11
When call selection override is off, thresholds should be set based on the 
following considerations:
lFirst threshold (consider all of the following):
— From an 
agent perspective, the first threshold is set at the point 
in time that you want reserve1 agents to serve this skill if they 
are sitting idle.
—From a 
caller and business perspective, the first threshold can 
be set five to ten seconds below the acceptable service level to 
improve percent within service level of the skill in overload, 
while protecting the service level of the skills in normal mode.
lSecond threshold (consider all of the following):
— From an 
agent perspective, the first threshold is set at the point 
in time that you want reserve2 agents to serve this skill if they 
are sitting idle.
—From a 
caller and business perspective, the second threshold 
is set to the maximum wait time you desire for any caller.
Because idle or reserve-only agents are the only agents that 
immediately come to help in an emergency when call selection 
override is off, this option may require more reserve-only agents (for 
example, call center supervisors). However, if you do not want 
supervisors to be your first line of defense in this situation, make 
them reserve2 agents and set the threshold for overload 2 high.
Result of Call 
Selection Override
2
The following table illustrates what would happen in the following three 
situations: skills under threshold, call selection override on when “skill 5” 
goes over threshold, and call selection override off when “skill 5” goes 
over threshold (calls are queued for each skill in the table at top priority).
NOTE:
Agent Type (by CHP)
(L = assigned level)Skills Under 
Threshold and Agent 
goes AvailableCall Selection 
Override OFF, Agent 
Goes AvailableCall Selection 
Override ON, Agent 
Goes Available
Greatest Need Agent: 
Skill1 - L1, Skill3 - L2, 
Skill 5 - L3Take skill with highest 
priority, longest wait 
time call.Take skill with highest 
priority, longest wait 
time call.Take Skill 5 call. 
						

							  Custom CentreVu® Advocate Solutions CentreVu® Advocate Release 8 User Guide
Call and Agent Selection2-12
Skill Level Agent:
Skill 1 - L1, Skill 3 - L2, 
Skill 5 - L3Take Skill 1 call. Take Skill 1 call. Take Skill 5 call.
Percent Allocation Agent:
Skill 1 - 50%, Skill 3 - 
30%, Skill 5 - 20%Select skill based on 
percentages, most 
likely taking a Skill 1 
call.Select skill based on 
percentages.Take Skill 5 call.
Greatest Need Agent:
Skill 1 - L1, Skill 3 - L2, 
Skill 5 - L reserve2 Take highest priority, 
longest wait time call 
from Skill 1 and Skill 3.Take highest priority, 
longest wait time call 
from all skills.Take Skill 5 call.
Skill Level Agent:
Skill 1 - L1, Skill 3 - L2, 
Skill 5 - L reserve2Take Skill 1 call. Take Skill 1 call. Take Skill 5 call.
Percent Allocation Agent:
Skill 1 - 50%, Skill 3 - 
50%, Skill 5 - L reserve2Select Skill 1 or Skill 3 
call based on 
percentages.Select Skill 1 or Skill 3 
call based on 
percentages.Take Skill 5 call.
Reserve-Only Agent:
Skill 1 - L reserve1 (r1), 
Skill 3 - L reserve1, 
Skill 5 - L reserve2Agent remains 
available, no call 
taken.Take Skill 5 call. Take Skill 5 call. Agent Type (by CHP)
(L = assigned level)Skills Under 
Threshold and Agent 
goes AvailableCall Selection 
Override OFF, Agent 
Goes AvailableCall Selection 
Override ON, Agent 
Goes Available 
						

							  Custom CentreVu® Advocate Solutions CentreVu® Advocate Release 8 User Guide
Planning Your Call Center—CentreVu Advocate with EAS2-13
Planning Your Call Center—CentreVu Advocate with EAS2
Introduction2This section presents the decisions that must be made at each level of 
call center administration before implementing customized 
CentreVu 
Advocate solutions.
This section includes four tables that present and describe administration 
decisions using Expert Agent Selection (EAS):
lSystem-Level Decisions: This table presents system-level 
administrative options and their results (Predicted Wait Time, MIA 
Across Skills, ACW Considered Idle, Service Level Supervisor, 
Service Objective).
lOrganization-Level Decisions: This table presents administrative 
decisions and their results for a set of agents and skills that do not 
cross organizations (Call Handling Preference, Service Objective, 
Hunt Group Type, Service Level Supervisor).
lSkill-Level Decisions: This table presents skill-level administrative 
decisions and their results (Service Level Supervisor, Service 
Objective).
lAgent-Level Decisions: This table presents agent-level 
administration decisions and their results (Skill Mix, Skill Level, 
Reserved Skills, Percent Allocation).
CentreVu Advocate, in conjunction with existing Expert Agent Selection 
(EAS) features, can be used to meet a variety of business needs; for 
example, building stronger relationships with some customers or 
improving the overall efficiency of the call center as measured by 
average speed of answer or maximum wait time.The solutions presented 
in this document so far are only a selection of the total number of call 
center solutions possible with 
CentreVu Advocate. Custom call center 
solutions can be created using 
CentreVu Advocate. 
						

							  Custom CentreVu® Advocate Solutions CentreVu® Advocate Release 8 User Guide
Planning Your Call Center—CentreVu Advocate with EAS2-14
Separate 
Organizations
2
In a call center environment in which different organizations or 
departments of agents do not share work load, each organization or 
department can choose and implement different solutions to achieve 
different objectives except for a few system-wide parameters. In this call 
center environment, all administration decisions are made on a system 
level for the entire call center, followed by organization-level decisions for 
the agent groups that reside within the separate organizations.
System Level 
Decisions
2
The system-level decisions to be made on the System Parameters 
Features form are:
lCall Selection Measurement: predicted-wait-time or current-
wait-time: Predicted-wait-time is always recommended because it 
results in fewer calls with exceedingly long wait times and optimizes 
critical agent skill resources. Current-wait-time will result in calls 
being selected based on their current wait time in queue. Predicted 
wait time also looks at how much longer it is predicted that the call 
will have to wait if it is not handled right now.
lMost Idle Agent Across Skills? Y or N: The system default for this 
option on the System Parameters Features is No (N), which allows 
the agent who is active on a call for one skill to move up the idle 
agent list for all other skills. Yes (Y) is always recommended with 
CentreVu Advocate, as the agent who has been idle longest since 
the last call in any skill will be selected (not used with LOA).
lAfter Call Work (ACW) Considered Idle? Y or N: When 
administering this option on the system Parameters Features Form, 
N (no) is always recommended as this choice will not place an agent 
on the MIA list until after the agent has completed all after call work. 
Y (yes) will place an agent on the MIA list when they have 
completed a call, and before after call work. Yes does not include 
ACW time as work time in determining agent occupancy.
lCall Selection Override? Y or N: The default for this field, used 
with Service Level Supervisor, is Y, meaning that agents will be 
diverted from their primary call handling tasks when a skill goes into 
an over-threshold situation. Standard and reserve agents give this 
skill immediate attention. Call Selection Override may be set to N to 
keep agents on their primary call handling tasks, where they are 
most efficient in overload situations. Standard and reserve agents 
address this skill last. 
						

							  Custom CentreVu® Advocate Solutions CentreVu® Advocate Release 8 User Guide
Planning Your Call Center—CentreVu Advocate with EAS2-15
System Level 
Decisions Table
2
System-level decisions for call and agent selection need to be made for 
the entire call center. These decisions are used when administering 
agents that do not share organizations. The following table includes the 
decisions that should be made, the choices available, the expected 
results, the other call center solutions that the results will work with, 
against, and is not used with, and where the decision is administered.
Option ChoiceExpected 
Result Works WithWorks 
AgainstNot Used 
WithWhere 
Decided
Call Selection 
Measurement predicted-
wait-time
*Better 
managed 
smaller 
skills, 
improved 
service.Greatest 
Need,
Skill Level,
Service 
ObjectivePercent 
AllocationSystem 
Parameters 
Features 
form
current-wait-
time
Most Idle 
Agent (MIA) 
Across SkillsY*=longest 
since last call 
for any skillMore equal 
agent 
occupancy.LOA System 
Parameters 
Features 
form
N=longest 
since last call 
for this skill More equal 
number of 
calls within 
each skill, 
BUT can 
create “hot 
seats” for 
multi-skilled 
agents.LOA 
						

							  Custom CentreVu® Advocate Solutions CentreVu® Advocate Release 8 User Guide
Planning Your Call Center—CentreVu Advocate with EAS2-16
After Call 
Work (ACW) 
Considered 
IdleY=agent on 
MIA list when 
call drops, 
ACW not 
occupied 
timeIf a long 
ACW time, 
get another 
call quickly, 
lower 
computed 
agent 
occupancyMIA/LOA,
Percent 
AllocationSystem 
Parameters 
Features 
form
N*=agent is 
not on MIA 
list until ACW 
is done, ACW 
is occupied 
timeMore equal 
balance of 
work related 
time, higher 
computed 
agent 
occupancy.
Call Selection 
OverrideON*=agents 
are diverted 
from their 
primary tasks 
to assist a 
skill in an 
overload 
stateCalls in a 
skill that is 
over 
threshold 
will be 
answered, 
reserve 
agents will 
receive 
calls for that 
skill.Service 
Level 
Supervisor
System 
Parameters 
Features 
form
OFF=agents 
remain on 
their primary 
tasks, even if 
a skill goes 
over 
thresholdAgents do 
not change 
priorities for 
calls in an 
over 
threshold 
skill. 
Reserve1 
and 2 
agents 
handle this 
skill last.
*Recommended in most cases.
Option ChoiceExpected 
Result Works WithWorks 
AgainstNot Used 
WithWhere 
Decided 
						

							  Custom CentreVu® Advocate Solutions CentreVu® Advocate Release 8 User Guide
Planning Your Call Center—CentreVu Advocate with EAS2-17
Organization 
Level Decisions
2
The following organization-level decisions need to be made on the Agent 
Login ID form and the Hunt Group Type form. It is recommended that 
these be set the same for all skills and agents within an organization:
lCall Handling Preference (CHP): The agent call handling 
preference (Greatest Need, Skill Level, or Percent Allocation) must 
be chosen. Greatest Need will select a skill for an agent based on 
the highest priority call that has been waiting in queue for a skill the 
longest (the call with the “greatest need”). Skill Level will select a 
skill for an agent based on the skill queue of the call and the agent’s 
skill level, with the highest-level skill being selected first. Percent 
Allocation will select a skill for an agent based on the skill that best 
matches an agent’s administered percent for a skill.
lService Objective? Y or N: Yes (Y) will select a call that will help 
the skill best meet its administered acceptable service level. No (N) 
will not consider the service level objective. 
lHunt Group Type: The hunt group type, EAD-MIA, EAD-LOA, 
UCD-MIA, or UCD-LOA must be selected. See Chapter 11, 
“Administer 
CentreVu® Advocate on DEFINITY® ECS” in this 
document for more information on administering hunt group types.
Organization Level 
Decisions Table
2
Organization-level decisions for call and agent selection need to be made 
for sets of agents that do not cross organizations. For example, agents 
with different call handling preferences should not be assigned to the 
same skill. The following table includes the decisions that should be 
made, the choices available, the expected results, the other call center 
solutions that the results will work with, and is not used with, and where 
the decision is administered. 
						

							  Custom CentreVu® Advocate Solutions CentreVu® Advocate Release 8 User Guide
Planning Your Call Center—CentreVu Advocate with EAS2-18
Option ChoiceExpected 
Result Works WithWorks 
AgainstNot Used 
WithWhere 
Decided
Call Handling 
PreferenceGreatest 
NeedCalls are 
selected 
from skills 
based on 
wait time.UCD-MIA, 
UCD-LOA,
Service 
ObjectiveEAD-MIA,
EAD-LOATop Skill Agent Login 
ID form, 
CentreVu 
Supervisor
Skill Level Calls are 
selected 
from skills 
based on 
skill level of 
agent and 
wait time.EAD-MIA,
EAD-LOA, 
Service 
ObjectiveUCD-MIA,
UCD-LOA
Percent 
AllocationCalls are 
selected 
based on 
best match 
for agent 
skill mix.UCD-LOA,
UCD-MIA,
EAD-LOA,
EAD-MIAPredicted 
Wait Time, 
Top Skill, 
Service 
Objective
Service 
ObjectiveY Skills show 
closer 
distribution 
of percent in 
service 
level.Greatest 
Need,
Skill Level
Percent 
AllocationAgent Login 
ID form, 
CentreVu 
Supervisor
N
Acceptable 
Service Level1-9999 
secondsAdjusts the 
ASA.Service 
ObjectivePercent 
AllocationHunt Group 
form, 
CentreVu 
Supervisor