Visual Workflow Designer for Contact Center Integration
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing contact center technologies face challenges in integrating CRM systems with interaction workflows, requiring specialized programming and skilled labor, leading to inefficiencies and high costs due to complex hardware and software systems, limited real-time data access, and poor information flow between systems.
Innovation Solution
A visual programming system that allows non-technical users to create executable interaction workflows by dragging and dropping software objects, providing a workflow designer interface that exposes interaction data and metadata, and using listeners to gather and pass data between contact center components, enabling data-driven screen pops and conditional workflows.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If traditional programming methods are used to integrate CRM systems with contact center workflows, then system integration functionality is achieved, but development time and cost increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces traditional mechanical programming processes with a visual programming interface. Instead of writing code manually, users drag and drop graphical elements representing workflow activities, data sources, and actions. This visual approach substitutes the mechanical act of coding with an intuitive graphical assembly process, dramatically reducing development time while maintaining full system integration functionality between CRM and contact center workflows.
Solution Approach 2:
The visual programming environment serves as an intermediary layer between the user and the underlying complex system integration. This mediator translates simple drag-and-drop actions into sophisticated CRM-contact center workflow integrations, handling data mapping, system communication, and logic implementation automatically. Users interact with the intermediary visual interface rather than directly with the complex integration mechanisms.
2Productivity
If specialized programmers are used to create interaction workflows, then workflow functionality is achieved, but labor costs and complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The visual programming system enables non-programmer users to independently create and configure interaction workflows without requiring specialized programming knowledge or external developer assistance. The system provides self-contained templates, pre-configured activities, and intuitive interfaces that allow business users to implement workflows directly, eliminating dependency on specialized programmers and reducing labor costs while maintaining productivity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent transforms the complexity parameter by changing the interface modality from code-based to visual-based. This parameter change in the user interface fundamentally alters the complexity landscape, making the system accessible to users without programming expertise. The visual representation of workflows, data flows, and system interactions converts abstract programming concepts into concrete, manipulatable graphical elements.
3Reliability
If extensive testing is performed on traditionally programmed workflows, then reliability is improved, but time and resource consumption increase
Solution Approach 1:
The visual programming system incorporates preliminary validation and testing capabilities that automatically check workflow logic, data mappings, and system integrations during the design phase. Syntax errors, logical inconsistencies, and configuration issues are detected and flagged before deployment, eliminating the need for extensive post-programming testing. This preliminary action ensures reliability is established during creation rather than verified afterward.
Data Source
AI summary
A method, apparatus and system for achieving visual programming of interaction workflows for customer contact centers which eliminates the need for skilled computer telephony interaction programmers to program the screen pops and workflows that are presented to live-agent customer service representatives in a contact center. Further, the disclosed method and apparatus enables integration of contact information from omni-channel systems, as well as customer relationship management (“CRM”) data, data collected from interactive voice response (“IVR”) systems, and data pulled from third-party databases, into the screen pops and workflows in a way that is agnostic as to the type or protocol of the PBX switch, the IVR system and the CRM system utilized by a particular call center, by facilitating a level of abstraction and data flow between and among these components.