Virtual Queuing System with Firewall-Aware API Connector
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing virtual queuing systems fail to provide users with accurate estimates of waiting time, leading to customer dissatisfaction and inefficiencies in call center operations.
Innovation Solution
A virtual queuing system with a RESTful API and a connector module that connects the automatic call distributor to user interfaces outside the firewall, allowing users to join a prioritized queue and receive updates on waiting time, eliminating the need for access codes and reducing agent idle time.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of time
If traditional automatic call distribution is used, then calls are distributed to agents in real-time, but customers experience long wait times and abandoned calls
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary actions by capturing caller information and placing them in a virtual queue before actual agent availability. The ACD is pre-configured with virtual queue integration, allowing callers to be registered and tracked immediately upon call initiation, eliminating the need to wait in traditional hold queues.
Solution Approach 2:
A virtual queue system acts as an intermediary between the ACD and agents. The virtual queue captures and manages caller information, serving as a buffer that decouples the call arrival process from agent availability, thereby reducing abandoned calls and wait times while maintaining efficient call distribution.
2Loss of information
If virtual queuing is implemented without waiting time estimates, then callers can be called back instead of waiting on hold, but users lack information about expected wait times
Solution Approach 1:
The system implements feedback by continuously monitoring virtual queue metrics and providing real-time waiting time estimates to callers. The ACD queries the virtual queue system for current queue status and communicates expected wait times to customers, enabling informed decisions about whether to wait or be called back.
Solution Approach 2:
The virtual queue system segments caller information into distinct data elements (caller ID, queue position, estimated wait time, callback preference) that can be independently managed and communicated. This segmentation allows the system to provide specific, actionable waiting time information without overwhelming the user.
3Adaptability or versatility
If multiple user interfaces are deployed outside the firewall, then users can access the system via smartphones and computers, but system complexity and security management increase
Solution Approach 1:
The virtual queue system implements a universal API interface that serves multiple user interfaces (smartphone apps, web portals, IVR systems) through a single standardized connection method. This multi-functional interface handles all user interactions across different platforms, reducing the need for separate integration logic for each device type.
Solution Approach 2:
The ACD system acts as an intermediary layer between external user interfaces and internal call routing logic. All user interface communications pass through the ACD, which maintains security boundaries while enabling diverse access methods. This intermediary architecture simplifies security management by centralizing authentication and authorization protocols.
Data Source
AI summary
A virtual queuing system includes a server connected to a call center. The call center includes an automatic call distributor and a firewall. The server maintains virtual queues. User interfaces enqueu a call by a user of the call center to the virtual queues via the server. An application programming interface interfaces the user interfaces to the server. A virtual queuing connector module connects the automatic call distributor of the call center to the application programming interface across the firewall of the call center via requests or pulls initiated by the virtual queuing connector module. The virtual queuing connector module and the automatic call distributor are operated inside the firewall. The server, the application programming interface, and the user interfaces are operated outside the firewall. When a call is up, the call is connected as a prioritized call, assigned to a reserved IVR channel, and put through first.