Workflow Trigger Events for Predictive Dialing Accuracy

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Solution Overview

Problem

Current predictive dialing systems in contact centers face inefficiencies due to reliance on historical data, leading to either abandoned calls or idle agents, and lack real-time monitoring capabilities to adjust call strategies effectively, which can result in regulatory breaches and suboptimal agent productivity.

Innovation Solution

Implementing a method that monitors communication sessions in contact centers using structured workflows with trigger events, allowing for real-time adjustments in dialing rates and quality monitoring, enabling better targeting of calls and more accurate statistics generation by detecting progress through the workflow and issuing event notifications to improve predictive dialing and agent productivity.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Productivity

If predictive algorithms dial customers frequently to maximize agent utilization, then agent productivity increases, but abandoned calls increase and regulatory compliance deteriorates

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveagent productivityVSAvoidregulatory compliance

Core Design Contradiction:

ProductivityVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The system implements real-time feedback by monitoring actual call progress through structured workflows and comparing it against predicted outcomes. The predictive algorithm continuously adjusts dialing rates based on feedback from call outcomes, agent availability, and workflow progress events, ensuring productivity optimization while maintaining regulatory compliance through dynamic adaptation.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #23Feedback

Solution Approach 2:

The system transitions from static historical averages to dynamic real-time prediction. The predictive algorithm continuously updates its models based on current call progress events, agent states, and workflow milestones, allowing the dialing rate to adapt dynamically to changing conditions while maintaining compliance boundaries.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #15Dynamics

2Device complexity

If predictive algorithms rely on historical average talk time, then system complexity is reduced, but measurement precision deteriorates

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvesystem complexityVSAvoidcall duration prediction accuracy

Core Design Contradiction:

Device complexityVSMeasurement precision

Solution Approach 1:

The system segments the call duration prediction into multiple components: historical average talk time, wrap-up time, and real-time workflow progress adjustments. By breaking down the prediction into manageable segments and updating them incrementally based on trigger events, the system achieves higher precision without proportionally increasing complexity.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The system performs preliminary actions by pre-defining structured workflows with identified trigger events and associated time estimates. This preliminary structuring allows the system to make accurate predictions by accumulating time estimates from predefined workflow segments as events occur, rather than relying solely on historical averages.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

3Measurement precision

If real-time monitoring of call progress is implemented, then call strategy adjustment precision is improved, but device complexity increases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvecall strategy adjustment precisionVSAvoidsystem complexity

Core Design Contradiction:

Measurement precisionVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The system introduces an intermediary layer of structured workflows with predefined trigger events that mediate between the complex call progress monitoring and the predictive algorithm. These workflows act as intermediaries that structure and filter the monitoring data, making it more manageable and reducing the complexity burden on the overall system while maintaining high measurement precision.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

4Loss of information

If structured workflows with trigger events are used, then information quality about call progress is improved, but ease of operation deteriorates

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveinformation qualityVSAvoidworkflow implementation complexity

Core Design Contradiction:

Loss of informationVSEase of operation

Solution Approach 1:

The structured workflow system serves multiple functions simultaneously: it structures call progress information, defines trigger events for monitoring, provides time estimates for prediction, and enables real-time adjustments. This multi-functionality reduces the need for separate systems for each function, thereby improving information quality without proportionally increasing operational complexity.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #6Universality (Multi-functionality)

Data Source

PatentUS9083799B2Workflow management in contact centers

Publication Date: 2015.07.14 AVAYA INC

AI summary

A method, system and computer program product are provided for monitoring a communication session in a contact center. An agent follows a structured workflow while handling the communications session, and trigger events are defined which are associated with significant steps in the workflow other than (or additional to) the connection and disconnection of the agent with the session. When a trigger event is detected indicating that the agent has reached a predefined significant step in the workflow, an event notification issues to another system of the contact center, such as a statistics package, or a supervisor workstation, or an event aggregator which receives such notifications from many agent stations. In a preferred embodiment, these event notifications are used by an automated outbound dialler to more accurately predict the time to the end of a communications session, thereby providing a better outbound dialling algorithm.