Automated Voice Routing to Best-Matched Expert
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current systems for connecting a worker with the best-suited colleague for assistance are time-consuming and labor-intensive, often requiring manual processing and external telephone systems.
Innovation Solution
A workforce management system that automatically directs voice connections to the best-determined target contact using a peer-to-peer Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) approach, bypassing external telephone systems, by searching a database of skill sets and capabilities and weighting criteria such as availability, location, and authority to provide an ordered list of alternatives.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If manual mediation by a central dispatch service is used to connect workers with appropriate contacts, then the quality of skill matching is improved, but the time consumption and labor intensity increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The system enables automatic self-service connection where the worker initiates the connection request and the system automatically routes the call to the appropriate contact based on skill matching, eliminating the need for manual mediation by dispatch services while maintaining accurate skill matching through automated database querying and ranking
2Ease of operation
If a database with search function is provided for workers to find contacts independently, then the labor intensity of manual mediation is reduced, but the process remains time-consuming due to manual searching and contacting
Solution Approach 1:
The system replaces the manual mechanical process of searching and contacting with an automated electronic system that uses database querying, skill matching algorithms, and automatic call routing to rapidly establish connections, transforming the manual search process into an automated information retrieval and communication system
3Reliability
If external telephone systems are used for voice connections, then the reliability of connection establishment is improved, but the costs and complexity of the system increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system merges the voice communication functionality directly into the workforce management system by integrating VoIP capabilities with the existing database and user interface, eliminating the need for separate external telephone systems while maintaining reliable connection establishment through the unified system architecture
Data Source
AI summary
An apparatus and method for initiating a voice communication to a best-determined target includes associating a plurality of workers in a worker list with a skills profile for each worker. Upon receiving an assistance request for a task, the worker list can be searched automatically for target contacts having the skill profile best-matching the assistance request. Further search criteria can be compared between the task and the matched target contacts to facilitate the proper selection of the best-matched target contacts. Upon a match, a voice communication is automatically initiating between the requestor to the best-determined target contact.