Unified Contact Center Session Management for Multi-Medium Tasks

Resolve Bottlenecks,
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions

Solution Overview

Problem

Current contact centers fail to leverage information from concurrent communication sessions across different mediums, leading to inefficiencies in managing customer interactions.

Innovation Solution

Establishing and managing concurrent communication sessions across multiple mediums, such as voice and multimedia, to determine the optimal medium for specific tasks and initiating corresponding sessions to efficiently handle customer interactions, including identifying tasks and determining the necessary contact center agent skills required.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Ease of operation

If contact centers handle customer issues separately in different communication mediums, then each communication session can be managed independently, but information from concurrent sessions cannot be leveraged leading to inefficiencies

Engineering Contradiction:

ImproveIndependent management of communication sessionsVSAvoidEfficiency in managing customer interactions

Core Design Contradiction:

Ease of operationVSProductivity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent merges multiple concurrent communication sessions across different mediums (voice, chat, email) into a unified session framework. The system correlates sessions by customer identifier and aggregates information from all concurrent sessions, allowing agents to access complete customer context regardless of communication medium, thereby resolving the contradiction between independent session management and information leverage

Inventive Principle:

Principle #5Merging (Combining)

Solution Approach 2:

The patent creates a universal session management system that handles multiple communication mediums through a single integrated platform. The system provides multi-functional capabilities including session correlation, information aggregation, and cross-medium task management, enabling efficient handling of customer interactions across voice, chat, email and other mediums simultaneously

Inventive Principle:

Principle #6Universality (Multi-functionality)

2Adaptability or versatility

If contact centers use multiple communication mediums concurrently, then more task options become available, but determining the optimal medium for each task becomes complex

Engineering Contradiction:

ImproveAvailability of communication mediums for tasksVSAvoidComplexity of determining optimal communication medium

Core Design Contradiction:

Adaptability or versatilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent implements an automated system that self-determines the optimal communication medium for each task by evaluating task characteristics against medium capabilities. The system automatically correlates concurrent sessions, identifies appropriate mediums for specific tasks, and manages session transitions without requiring manual intervention, thereby reducing the complexity of medium selection while maintaining high adaptability

Inventive Principle:

Principle #25Self-service

Solution Approach 2:

The patent incorporates feedback mechanisms where the system continuously monitors ongoing communication sessions, evaluates task requirements, and dynamically determines the optimal medium based on real-time conditions. The system uses information from concurrent sessions to inform medium selection decisions, creating a feedback loop that simplifies the complexity of multi-medium management

Inventive Principle:

Principle #23Feedback

3Device complexity

If contact centers track communication sessions separately by medium, then session tracking is simpler, but concurrent sessions across different mediums are not leveraged

Engineering Contradiction:

ImproveSimplicity of session trackingVSAvoidInformation from concurrent sessions

Core Design Contradiction:

Device complexityVSLoss of information

Solution Approach 1:

The patent merges session tracking across different communication mediums by correlating concurrent sessions through customer identifiers. The system aggregates information from voice, chat, email and other concurrent sessions into a unified view, preventing information loss while maintaining manageable complexity through automated correlation and aggregation mechanisms

Inventive Principle:

Principle #5Merging (Combining)

Data Source

PatentUS9961120B2System and method for managing concurrent communications in a contact center

Publication Date: 2018.05.01 AVAYA INC

AI summary

A communication session is established with a contact center. The communication session includes a first concurrent communication session in a first communication medium and a second concurrent communication session in a second communication medium. The first communication medium and the second communication medium are different communication mediums. For example, the first concurrent communication session may be a voice communication session with a user and the second concurrent communication session may be multimedia communication session with the user. A task is identified that needs to be accomplished in the communication session (e.g., in one of first or second concurrent communication sessions). A determination is made if the first communication medium is an optimal communication medium for the task. In response to determining that the first communication medium is the optimal communication medium for the task, the first task is implemented in the first concurrent communication session.