Interaction Request Lifespan Control via TTL Configuration
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Solution Overview
Problem
Contact centers face inefficiencies due to customers abandoning interaction requests, particularly in voice, VoIP, and Web-based channels, as there is no mechanism to control the lifespan of these requests, leading to wasted resources and agent inefficiencies.
Innovation Solution
Implementing a system that allows customers to configure a 'time to live' (TTL) for interaction requests, enabling them to set an expiration period for responses, ensuring requests are processed within a specified time frame, and automatically lifting constraints if answered before TTL expiration.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If interaction requests are kept open indefinitely in contact centers, then customers may receive responses, but agent efficiency decreases and resources are wasted on abandoned requests
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements dynamic request lifecycle management by allowing requests to transition between different states (open, answered, abandoned) based on time elapsed and customer actions. The system dynamically adjusts request status based on whether the customer has abandoned the request or the TTL has expired, ensuring agents only work on active requests while maintaining reliable delivery for legitimate requests.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary actions by pre-defining time-to-live (TTL) parameters and abandonment detection mechanisms before requests are processed. The contact center system proactively monitors request status and automatically marks requests as abandoned or expires them based on predetermined criteria, preventing waste of agent time on unresponsive customers.
2Productivity
If interaction requests are monitored continuously to detect abandonment, then agent efficiency improves, but system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system implements self-service abandonment detection by leveraging existing customer actions (hanging up, logging off, not responding) to automatically determine request status. The monitoring mechanism uses passive detection of customer disconnection or inactivity rather than active continuous polling, allowing the system to self-manage request lifecycle with minimal additional complexity.
3Loss of energy
If time-to-live constraints are applied to interaction requests, then resource waste is reduced, but customer flexibility decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The system changes the time parameter of request validity by implementing TTL constraints that automatically expire requests after a specified duration. This parameter change reduces resource waste by eliminating stale requests while maintaining customer flexibility through configurable time windows that accommodate different service scenarios and customer needs.
Data Source
AI summary
An apparatus for controlling lifespan of interaction requests includes a processor and a memory, the memory storing instructions that when executed by the processor cause the processor to detect when an interaction request is being initiated for send from a communications appliance, server, or system, activate an interface on the appliance, server, or system for configuring a time to live (TTL) for the interaction request, cause, via the configuration, the interaction request to expire if not answered within the TTL life span, and cause, via the configuration, the TTL constraint applied to the interaction request to be lifted if the interaction is answered within the TTL life span.