Lucent Technologies Lucent Call Centers Little Instruction Book For Advanced Administration

							Lucent Call Center’s Little Instruction Book for advanced 
administration  585-210-936  Issue 1
December 1999
Managing vectors 
49  
Managing vectors
Call Vectoring provides a flexible method for processing your call center’s 
ACD calls, using instructions and conditions you define.  The specific 
manner in which a call is processed with this feature depends on a number of 
components within the DEFINITY ECS and the call vectoring software.  
These components include the resources you have available to process a call 
(such as agents, skills, software, and hardware), vector control flow, and 
commands used within the relevant vectors.  This section provides an 
overview of how calls can be processed using Call Vectoring, explains some 
of your options with this and related features, provides an introduction to 
vector commands, and includes sample vectors and tips to help you use Call 
Vectoring effectively.  
NOTE:
This section is intended as an introduction to Call Vectoring.  More 
details and step-by-step instructions can be found in the DEFINITY 
Enterprise Communications Server Call Vectoring/Expert Agent 
Selection (EAS) Guide. 
    
						

							Managing vectors 
50 What is Call Vectoring? 
Lucent Call Center’s Little Instruction Book for advanced 
administration  585-210-936  Issue 1
December 1999
What is Call Vectoring?
Call Vectoring is software that helps you manage incoming call traffic to the 
DEFINITY ECS. It gives you the flexibility to determine how each of your 
call center calls will be handled, based on the time of day, the day of week, 
staffing levels, or other conditions that you define. With Call Vectoring, each 
call can be treated uniquely, depending on the treatment you plan and 
program. 
What can call vectoring do for my 
call center?
Call Vectoring can help you effectively process particular types of calls, 
based on your call center resources and customer needs.  Think of Call 
Vectoring as a tool to help you define the type and level of service your 
callers will receive.  For example, you can use Call Vectoring to: 
nPlay music or recorded announcements while callers are on hold to 
encourage them to stay on the line
nAllow callers to select from options for routing their calls or access 
recorded information using their touch-tone telephones before or 
after the call is in queue
nAllow callers to leave a message for a call back 
nRoute calls to other sites based on estimated wait time 
nPlay after-hours or holiday messages informing customers of your 
business hours      
nRemove selected calls by providing busy signals or disconnecting 
the calls 
						

							Lucent Call Center’s Little Instruction Book for advanced 
administration  585-210-936  Issue 1
December 1999
Managing vectors 
51 What is Call Vectoring? 
nRoute calls according to agent availability to reduce hold times for 
customers and increase productivity for agents 
nQueue calls to multiple skills to minimize callers’ wait time
nHelp agents identify the type of call they receive so they can greet 
customers appropriately (through VDN names displayed on their 
terminals).
NOTE:
Some of these capabilities require optional features.  For example, 
Call Prompting is needed to allow customers to select routing options 
using their touch-tone telephones. 
						

							Managing vectors 
52 Where do I start? 
Lucent Call Center’s Little Instruction Book for advanced 
administration  585-210-936  Issue 1
December 1999
Where do I start? 
The success of your call center’s use of Call Vectoring begins with planning.  
Start by establishing specific, measurable objectives that you will use to 
monitor your call center’s performance.  These performance standards and 
the resources available to you (such as staffing levels, number of call center 
sites, the type and capabilities of your call center’s hardware and software, 
and trunk line capacity) determine how you can use Call Vectoring.  While 
the following is not a complete list of everything you need to consider 
before using Call Vectoring, it provides some key points to keep in mind as 
you read about Call Vectoring and related features. 
First consider performance issues such as:
nHow quickly should calls be answered (Average Speed of Answer/
ASA)?
nWhat’s an acceptable percentage of abandoned calls (Abandonment 
rate)?
nWhat’s the average amount of time that agents should spend on each 
call (Talk time)?
nWhat’s the maximum number of calls we should have in queue?
nHow many calls should each agent be able to handle per day?
You’ll then need to determine how to best use your call center resources to 
achieve those objectives.  Consider resource issues such as:  
nHow many skills are needed to most effectively serve customers and 
maximize agent utilization?
nWhat type of call treatment and routing will give us the results we 
need for each skill? 
nWhat types of announcements will we play for callers on hold, after 
hours, etc.? 
						

							Lucent Call Center’s Little Instruction Book for advanced 
administration  585-210-936  Issue 1
December 1999
Managing vectors 
53 Where do I start? 
nAre there any situations in which the center will not accept a call (for 
example, during certain times of day, on certain days of the week, or 
if wait times exceed a specified limit)?
nDo we want callers to be able to leave messages?
nDo we want callers to be able to select from routing options (Call 
Prompting)?
nWhich agents will we assign to each skill? 
nWhat skill levels will we assign to each agent (Expert Agent 
Selection/EAS)?
nDoes the center need to adjust service levels or dynamically adjust 
staffing to take care of bursts of calls (CentreVu Advocate)? 
						

							Managing vectors 
54 How does Call Vectoring work? 
Lucent Call Center’s Little Instruction Book for advanced 
administration  585-210-936  Issue 1
December 1999
How does Call Vectoring 
work?
The Call Vectoring process is administered through the programming of two 
key elements:  vectors and vector directory numbers (VDNs).
Vector
A call vector is a set of commands that defines the processing of a call.  Each 
vector can contain up to 32 command steps.  Any number of calls can use 
the same vector and process steps independently.  Call vectoring allows the 
“chaining” of vectors to extend processing capabilities.  One vector can 
direct a call to another vector or VDN, which can in turn direct the call to 
another vector, and so on.  
Vector Directory Number (VDN)
A Vector Directory Number (VDN), is a special extension number that 
provides access to a vector.  VDNs are assigned to different vectors for 
different services or applications that require specific treatments.  It’s 
important to note that only one vector can be assigned to a VDN.  However, 
several VDNs can be assigned to the same vector so that, if desired, the 
same sequence of treatments can be given to calls that reach the system via 
different numbers or from different locations.   
						

							Lucent Call Center’s Little Instruction Book for advanced 
administration  585-210-936  Issue 1
December 1999
Managing vectors 
55 How do vectors and VDNs work together? 
How do vectors and VDNs 
work together?  
When a call is placed to a system for which Call Vectoring is activated, the 
call is routed to a VDN.  The VDN points to a vector, which defines the 
service desired by the caller.  The vector commands (steps) within the vector 
determine the call’s routing and treatment.  Three types of control flow can 
be used to pass vector-processing control from one vector step to another, as 
described below.
Sequential flow
Sequential flow, as the name implies, passes vector-processing control in a 
direct sequence, from the current vector step to the following step.  
Unconditional branching
Unconditional branching passes control from the current vector step to 
either a preceding or succeeding vector step, or to another vector, without 
regard to any conditions.  You can use this step, for example, to create a 
“loop” that repeats until an agent answers the call or the system recognizes 
that the caller has abandoned the call.  The following is an example that 
contains unconditional branching.  The unconditional statement appears in 
step 6.  It establishes a loop between steps 4 and 6, which means that until 
the call is answered or the caller disconnects, the caller continues to 
experience a wait with music, followed by an announcement.   
1. queue-to skill 3 pri m
2. wait-time 12 secs hearing ringback
3. announcement 3001
4. wait-time 30 secs hearing music
5. announcement 3002
6. goto step 4 if unconditionally
7. busy 
						

							Managing vectors 
56 How do vectors and VDNs work together? 
Lucent Call Center’s Little Instruction Book for advanced 
administration  585-210-936  Issue 1
December 1999
Conditional branching 
Conditional branching means that a vector command specifies a condition 
that must be met before the command is executed.  If the condition is met, 
vector processing moves from the current vector step to either a preceding or 
succeeding vector step, or to a different vector, as programmed.  If the 
condition is not met, vector processing skips the command and processes the 
next vector step.  The following are just some of the types of conditions that 
can be used to achieve the processing results you want:  
nTime of day or day of the week that the call is placed 
nCustomer response to Call Prompting
nNumber of staffed agents in a skill
nNumber of available agents in a skill
nNumber of calls queued at a given priority for a skill
nAmount of time the oldest call has been waiting in a skill.
The following example includes both conditional and unconditional 
branching.  Conditional test statements are used in the first three steps to 
specify routing conditions based on the time of day, the day of week, and the 
number of calls in queue.  Step 7 employs unconditional branching to loop 
back to step 5.  
1. goto vector 200 if time-of-day is fri 17:00 to mon 8:00
2. goto vector 100 if time-of-day is all 17:00 to all 8:00
3. goto step 8 if calls-queued in skill 1 pri l > 5
4. queue-to skill 1 pri l
5. announcement 4000
6. wait-time 60 secs hearing music
7. goto step 5 if unconditionally
8. busy 
						

							Lucent Call Center’s Little Instruction Book for advanced 
administration  585-210-936  Issue 1
December 1999
Managing vectors 
57 How do vectors and VDNs work together? 
Expected Wait Time (expected-wait) 
Expected Wait Time (EWT) uses an algorithm to predict the wait time for a 
skill or a call.  Using EWT as a conditional step can help you control your 
customer’s wait time and your agents’ productivity.  The EWT algorithm 
takes into consideration and adjusts for priority levels, call handling times, 
and changes in staffing.  It is best suited for medium to high volume 
environments and is the most accurate Call Vectoring method for predicting 
wait time.  For a call to have an expected wait time, it must be queued to at 
least one skill.  (If it is not queued, or if it is queued to an unstaffed skill, the 
EWT value is infinite.)  In the following example, EWT is used to determine 
the treatment a call receives.  
1. queue-to skill 1 pri m
2. check skill 2 pri m if expected-wait < 30
3. goto step 5 if expected-wait for call < 9999
4. busy
5. announcement 3001
6. wait-time 40 secs hearing music
7. goto step 2 if unconditionally
In this example, the call queues to skill 1 and then checks skill 2.  If the 
EWT for skill 2 is met (less than 30 seconds) multiple queuing takes place.  
If the EWT condition for skill 2 is not met, the call queues only to skill 1.     
Rolling Average Speed of Answer 
(rolling-asa) 
Rolling Average Speed of Answer (ASA), when used as a conditional step, 
allows you to make routing decisions based on the current average time it 
takes for a call to be answered in a skill or VDN.  It is a running calculation 
that is based on the speed of answer for calls recorded since system start-up.  
Rolling ASA is recalculated every time a call is answered.   
In the following example, if the rolling ASA for the main skill (skill 10) is 
greater than 30 seconds, then steps 3, 4, and 5 check backup skills 11, 12,  
						

							Managing vectors 
58 How do vectors and VDNs work together? 
Lucent Call Center’s Little Instruction Book for advanced 
administration  585-210-936  Issue 1
December 1999
and 13, respectively.  The call is queued to any of these skills that have a 
rolling ASA of 30 seconds or less.  (The call can be queued to skill 10 and a 
maximum of two other skills.)  If the call is still not answered by the time 
vector processing reaches step 8, the backup skills are checked again.
1. queue-to skill 10 pri h
2. goto step 6 if rolling-asa for skill 10