CONTACT
DIRECTOR
Contact Director Users Guide
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C O N T E N T S
CONTACT DIRECTOR INTRODUCTION
... 5Features ... 6
What this Guide Covers ... 7
Important Vocabulary Used in this Guide ... 8
MODULE 1 SETTING STARTED ... 9
THE BASICS ... 10
Starting Contact Director ... 10
The Main Display Layout ... 13
OVERVIEW OF CONTROLS ... 14
Main Menu ... 15
Navigation Bar –Navigating Between Views... 21
Context Menus – Formatting the Display ... 23
Context Menus – Data Detail ... 37
General Display Settings ... 39
MODULE 2 READING THE DISPLAY ... 44
VIEWS ... 45
The Predefined Views ... 45
Agent States ... 48
Using Shared Views ... 59
UNDERSTANDING THE DATA ... 61
Glossary of Statistic Labels... 61
Interpreting the Data... 63
Does it Add Up? ... 65
How is it Calculated? ... 63
MODULE 3 CREATING AND CUSTOMIZING VIEWS ... 66
CUSTOM VIEWS... 67
Defining New Views ... 68
Dynamic Data Filtering in Your View ... 72
PUBLISHING VIEWS... 74
General Display Settings ... 76
Configuring a Simple Alarm ... 82
Configuring More Sophisticated Alarms ... 88
MASTERING ALARM USE ... 91
Tips for Defining Alarm Rules ... 91
General Tips for Defining Alarm Actions ... 92
MODULE 5 AGENT AND CALL CONTROL ... 96
Transferring calls Among Queues... 97
Assigning Agents to Queues ... 100
Setting Splits to Night Mode ... 103
MODULE 6 ADMIN GUIDE ... 104
ADDING AND MANAGING USERS ... 105
Basic User Management ... 105
Building User Profiles ... 109
Building User Constraints... 112
Managing Active Users ... 115
Managing User Email Addresses ... 116
INSTALLING THE CLIENT ... 119
TROUBLESHOOTING AND MAINTENANCE... 121
The Basics ... 123
Troubleshooting with Your Support Technician... 126
EMAILING REPORTS ... 128
Contact Director
Introduction
This manual presents instructions for using the TFB Contact Director client in conjunction with NEC ACD’s, interpreting the display, and using the extended features of the system.
ontact Director is designed for businesses that rely on their contact center as the primary touch-point with customers, and that rely heavily on monitoring to tell them what their agents and customers are doing in real time.
In most environments, the major systems behind the call center, such as the ACD, CTI, and IVR, each have their own distinct reporting and monitoring mechanisms. Achieving integrated control and reporting from these systems can be difficult. What’s more, monitoring packages are often designed as closed systems, with little flexibility or control available to the user.
TFB’s Contact Director offers a powerful alternative to traditional rigid and closed telephony monitoring systems. Its flexible architecture allows users to filter information dynamically, design custom panels and views, group agents into teams, and set alarms.
Features
TFB’s Contact Director puts vital agent and call statistics on your agent’s desktop, and real time control of calls and agents at your supervisor’s fingertips. Literally hundreds of statistics are available in real time, from a variety of preset views. Users of TFB Agent eMail and Agent Chat also get integrated statistics for web and email contacts, and Enterprise users can consolidate statistics from across all their ACD’s and site into a single screen! Contact Director interacts seamlessly with other modules from TFB as well as the Univerge or NEAX ACD to meld reporting from agents, the ACD, and automated features into a single monitoring interface.
Flexible licensing means you purchase only the seats you need.
Features Summary
o Total Univerge and NEAX Integration – Integrates seamlessly with NEAX 2000 and 2400, and Univerge ACD’s through
Infolink, MIS link, and SMDR. Offer mutli-ACD options as well.
o Hundreds of Statistics – Users have access to real time data on every screen. Swap the X and Y axis, hide columns, click on agents for dynamic call details.
o Customizable Display – Users have control on every screen. Swap the X and Y axis, hide columns, click on agents for dynamic call details. A view design wizard allows users to design and save their own screens.
o Sophisticated Alarms/Alerts – Set alarms win an English text interface.
o Permission-based Feature Access – Describe Define user permissions to selectively inhibit or allow available features.
o Real time Data Filter – Users can set data to be displayed or hidden dynamically, based on the value of that data, and rules they specify.
priority of calls in queue, and change agent split assignments – all in real time.
What this Guide Covers
This document is intended for all users of the Contact Director client, including agents, supervisors, and administrators. Topics include basic monitoring functionality, how to read the display, and using the supervisor controls. The guide is grouped into the following modules.
• Module 1 Getting Started with Contact Director • Module 2 Reading the Display
• Module 3 Customizing Views • Module 4 Using Alarms
• Module 5 Agent and Call Controls • Module 6 Admin and Maintenance
This guide assumes the reader is familiar with the vocabulary of telephony and that of the NEAX switch specifically.
Important Vocabulary Used in this Guide
Although it is assumed that the reader already understands basic telephony concepts and applications, the mix of computer and telephony disciplines makes it useful to define the following glossary of foundational words. A more complete glossary is in the appendices, and specific definitions of reporting labels are listed in Module 2.
S t a n d a r d G l o s s a r y
Label Definition
Answered Call answered by an ACD agent. Abandon Indicates call disconnected in queue.
DNIS Same as pilot, but it is the initial pilot registered on the call Field Any labeled column or row of data in a report
Monitored Pilot A Pilot that is configurable and visible to the ACD Pilot A unique call route in the ACD, assigned a unique Pilot
Number, and Pilot Name
Queuing The process of putting a call into an ACD split or splits. IVR Call disconnected on an IVR port but not in queue. Usually
indicated caller hung up before completing the IVR session. Split Used interchangeably with queue
Target A particular type of entity in the call center, like a call, a split, an agent, and so on. The alarms, and other features, let you specify a target from a list so that the system knows which call center entity you want the alarm to watch. View A single screen of data, the content of which is predefined
Getting Started
The Contact Director client sits on your PC desktop, and lets you monitor call center activity – agents, calls, callers, IVR ports, queues and statistics – all in real time. You can set alarms, customize your views, and with the Enterprise package, supervisors can control call and agents assignments with the click of a mouse.
This section shows you:
§ The Basics – Starting Contact Director, screen layout
§ Overview of Controls – Main Menu, Navigating, changing the display
The Basics
The Contact Director client runs right from your windows desktop. Personal settings and available functions are based on your login permissions, so you can use it the same way from any PC on the LAN. Let’s start with a few basics – how to open Contact Director, and how the screen is laid out.
Starting Contact Director
You start the Contact Director client from your Windows desktop by double-clicking the program icon.
TO START THE DIRECTOR CLIENT
1 Double-click the Contact Director icon on your Windows desktop
2 Enter your Agent ID (or user name) and password then click OK.
3 The main screen should appear.
Contact Director automatically checks for updates each time you start it. If the update dialog appears, just click OK and follow the instructions. Depending on the size of the update, it should take only a few seconds to a minute.
T i p o f t h e D a y
When you first start up Contact Director a user tip appears. You can deselect
LOG IN
After starting Contact Director, you should see the Log In screen. Enter your Agent ID and Password. Click the Connect button.
Note that you can log out of Contact Director either from the log out option on the
File menu, or by clicking the X in the upper right of the main window. If you made format changes during your session, and want to keep them, be sure to click Save Settings from the File menu before you log out.
The Main Display Layout
After starting Contact Director you should see the main display shown below. Different views are accessed from the navigation tree in the left pane of the application window. The navigation tree slides closed automatically when not ion use, to preserve screen space, just click on it to access the navigation tree.
Contact Director Main Screen
Feature What It’s For
Main Menu Define and Save Views and Alarms
View Name Uniquely defines the view. Views can be customized by users
Navigation Bar Click to open and navigate between views
View Window Just the primary monitoring window where view data is displayed
Connection Indicator Shows status of server connection
Green – connected Yellow – connection in progress Red – not connected
View Window Navigation Bar Main Menu View Name Connection Indicator Agent\Queues Panel
Overview of Controls
Contact Director lets you switch between preset views of your contact center, customize which statistics are seen and how they are displayed, and much more. All the available functions in Contact Director are found in 3 locations,
• Main Menu
From the Main Menu
• Navigation Tree
From the Navigation Tree
• Context Menus
By Right-clicking in the display
Everything you can do in Contact Director is available from these locations. The context menus are especially useful if you don’t know how to do something. Simply right-click in the display on a column heading, a particular cell in the column, or in a blank space. A context-based menu will appear with the available options related to what you clicked on. There are two types of functions typically offered from a context menu – display formatting, and data detail regarding the actual data or column where you clicked.
Main Menu
The main menu is displayed across the top of the main program window. All functions are available from the main menu. There are five menus at the top level,
o File
o View
o Tools
o Window
File Menu
The File menu is where you save any changes you log in and log out of the program, make changes to preferences or alarms. You can also load the previous saved preferences or factory defaults.
Menu Option What It’s For
Logout To log out of the client without exiting the program
Save Session Saves any changes you made to display, or preferences, or alarms during.
Reload Session Reloads preferences and alarms from the last Save Session. If you made any changes to preferences or alarms without saving the session, Reload Session will overwrite them.
Restore Defaults Restores all preferences and alarms to original factory defaults! To overwrite your current preferences and alarms, you must select Save Session after you select Restore Defaults. To avoid overwriting your current preferences and alarms, don’t select Save Session before exiting the program.
Import Session Lets you load preferences and alarms saved from another session or another workstation.
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IMPORTANT TIP – Saving Your SettingsAfter making changes to views, you must select Save Session from the File menu, before you exit the program, if you want your changes to be available next time you log in!
View Menu
If you need a view that is not already available in the program, or need to change an existing view, Contact Director provides tools for users to customize views and add them to the navigation tree. You can edit, create, or delete a view. a standard windows navigation tree to switch among views. You can also change views from the Tools menu. Click the Navigation Bar on the left side of the window to open the navigation tree. The navigation tree closes automatically when not in use to allow more efficient use of desktop space.
Menu Option What It’s For
Edit View “[View Name]” Allows you to change preferences and layout of currently displayed
View.
Add View Lets you create a new view.
Publish Views Lets you give access to particular views to other users on your network.
Manage published Views Shows a list of views you have published and lets you change preferences of edit.
Delete View “[View Name]” Deletes the currently displayed View.
Set as StartUp View Sets the currently displayed View to display when you next start the program.
Switch to View Lets you select a view to display, just like the navigation bar.
Tools Menu
The Tools menu is where you set alarms, set up users and teams (supervisors only), and change general program settings.
Menu Option What It’s For
Alarms Allows you to set alarms based on the value of nearly any call center statistic.
Reload Alarms For technician use only. Does not do anything for users
Users Lets supervisors set user permissions
Teams Lets supervisors set up teams of agents for monitoring purposes
Connected Users Lets supervisors and administrators change the permission profile of users currently logged in, or force them to logoff.
Settings Allows you to change general display settings like fonts and background colors.
More Info For more about setting alarms, see Module 4 Using Alarms. For more about users, teams, and managing connected users, see Module 6 Admin. Settings are discussed later in this module, in the General Display Settings section.
Window Menu
The Window menu lets you navigate to other view, or hide elements of the main display window.
Menu Option What It’s For
Switch to View Allows you to navigate to any view, just like the navigation bar.
Dock For use with Agent Dashboard only. (See Agent Dashboard user guide.)
Maximize For use with Agent Dashboard only. (See Agent Dashboard user guide.)
Status Bar Select to display the status bar at the bottom of the window. Deselect to hide the status bar.
Navigation Bar Select to display the navigation bar at the left edge of the window. Deselect to hide the navigation bar.
Help Menu
The Help menu lets you update your program to newer versions, and turn on the activity log.
Menu Option What It’s For
About Allows you to check the current version of the client you are running.
Check for updates The client can update itself if a new version is available! Click this to check for updates. Use only as permitted by your supervisor.
Log Messages Logs user actions. This can take up hard drive space so only change this setting at the direction of a qualified technician.
Message Log For use by certified technicians.
Show “tip of the day” on login
Navigation Bar –
Navigating Between Views
A view is simply a set of predefined real time information displayed on a single screen. Contact Director comes with predefined views, and users with the right permissions can also design and save their own views.
Contact Director features a standard windows navigation tree to switch among views. You can also change views from the View menu. Click the Navigation Bar on the left side of the window to open the navigation tree. The navigation tree closes automatically when not in use to allow more efficient use of desktop space.
TO CHANGE VIEWS
1 Click the Navigation Bar from the left.
2 From the Navigation Tree in the left hand window, click the desired view, or category. Any branch with a ‘+’ next to it has more views underneath.
Select the Desired view from the Navigation Tree
Click the Navigation bar to
P u l l i n g D i s p l a y P a n e l s o n t o Y o u r D e s k t o p
It can get crowded in the program window when you’re trying to view many panels, but there is a way around that! Version 4 and later of Contact Director
lets you display panels outside of the program window, and drag them around on your desktop. Whether it is a predefined panel or one you designed, go to the Navigation Tree on the left side of the main window, and click on the panel you want. Holding the left mouse button, drag the mouse in any direction and the panel pops out onto the desktop. From there you can place it on the desktop wherever you want.
Pull a view right out of the Nav tree into a window on your
Context Menus – Formatting the Display
Recall that the context menus are the menus that pop up when you right-click within the actual data display. There are two types of functions typically offered from a context menu – display formatting, which we’ll discuss in this section, and data detail, which we’ll discuss in the next.
You have numerous formatting options in each view individually. You can hide columns, swap columns and rows, show graphs, define column totals, edit column names, and more.
Users can also change the things you would normally expect to in a Windows application, like resize column widths, panel heights, and fonts. To keep the size settings for subsequent use, be sure to select save settings… from the File menu. And almost all of these setting are available just by right clicking in white space of the view window. Try it. You should see a context menu of display options.
To Swap Columns with Rows
You can swap the labels across the top of the panel, with those along the side. By selecting Switch Axis .
1 Right click in the white space in the view window to get the context menu of display options.
2 Select Switch Axis. Now the statistics that were shown along the top, are shown along the left hand edge of the panel. The queue names are now along the top of the panel.
To Show Column Totals
The word ‘totals’ refers to any of several possible types of aggregate values displayed at the top of each column. Totals could be a sum of all data in the column, an average, the mean, or the most common value.
1 Right click in the white space in the view window to get the context menu of display options.
2 Select Show Totals
3 Totals should appear at the top of each column. The subscript tells you the type of total currently displayed. Not that if you have swapped columns and rows, totals will appear at the start of the row.
When selected, a check mark appears next to this item, and calculated totals are displayed for each column. Select or deselect by clicking. Note that the type of total can be selected for each column (None, Count, Average, Sum, Most Common, Median, Min, or Max) by selecting Change Total To, or from the Column Settings… option. Note that depending on the statistics, some or all total types may be unavailable.
To Select the Type of Total Displayed
1 Right click in the column for the total you want to change.
2 Select Change Total To and select the type of total displayed for the current column (Average, Sum, Most Common, or Mean).
• Noneturns off the total display for the selected column only.
• Countis the number of non-null values in the column.
• Average is the sum of all values in the column, divided by the
number of values.
To Hide a Column
Hide the column currently selected. To unhide, go to Column Settings from this same context menu, and click the check box next to the desired column.
To Show Bar Graphs in Place of Numbers
Some data is easier to read at a glance when it is displayed as a bar graph, or
histogram. Select Show Bar Graph to display bar graphs representing the value in each field for the selected column. Click again to select or deselect.
Select Show All Bar Graphs to display bar graphs representing the value in each field for all columns. Click again to select or deselect. Note that this feature is only available on designated numeric fields.
To Show an Instant Graph of a Statistic
Instant graphs are a way to dynamically show a particular numeric parameter in a separate window. You can drag an instant graph anywhere on the desktop to easily monitor a visual representation of a particular statistic.
To show an instant graph, just right-click on any statistic in the display. Don’t click the header, rather the cell with the actual value. Select Instant Graph from the context menu. You can even customize the appearance of each graph. Put your cursor in the graph window, and click the Options button that appears in the upper left of the graph. Note that if you close a graph, it isn’t saved anywhere! So if you want to preserve a graph that you set up, don’t close it before saving your session!
When you open plot options you can configure all visual aspects of the graph individually. See the table below for explanation of the settings. The easiest way to learn how to customize graphs is by trying it! Click the OK button when you’re done.
Plot Options What It’s For
Title You can enter a more descriptive title. Just type directly in the field.
Scale Select Auto to let the graph size scale based on data, or select Fixed
and enter the scale. If you check X-Axis or Y-Axis Follow, then the axis grid measurements will follow the cursor.
Color Theme You can pick a predefined color scheme from the drop down box, or set the colors in the Colors section at bottom left, then click new and enter a new color theme name. When you save color themes only
To Hide Data Based on Value
Let’s say you only want to see agents in a particular view if they are actually logged in. You can do this, and conditionally hide or display things based on hundreds of other criteria by using dynamic data filtering. After you have mastered the basics in this module, see Module 3 Creating and Customizing Views for more about
dynamic data filtering. Administrators can also hide data from users based on value, like split number, for users only allowed to see particular splits. This is call constraints. See Module 6, Admin for more about this.
To Show Historical Reports
TFB’s archival reporting package, ACD Reports, integrates automatically with
Contact Director to provide instant access to the historical information related to real time activity.
1 Right-click on a field within the view window that is of interest.
2 Select ACD Report… from the context menu.
3 This opens the ACD Report selection. The available reports are based on the data field you clicked on within the view. Select a report and click OK.
To learn more about ACD Reports, see the TFB ACD Reports User’s Guide.
To Show Agents Grouped in Teams
1 Right click in a column or row with agent names. The context menu appears.
2 From the context menu, select Show Teams, then either Normal or
Extended.
3 To revert to the ungrouped listing, select Show Teams, then None.
COLUMN SETTINGS
By right-clicking in the white space of a display window or on the column heading, you get the pop-up context menu. By selecting Column Settings from the pop-up context menu, the View Preferences dialog opens. From here you can customize the current view in several ways.
• Hide or Unhide any column in the view
• Select the type of total to display for each column
• Customize column Widths
• Customize the columns label
• Customize the order in which columns are displayed
Note that the Field Name is set in the system and not editable, but the Label, which is what users actually see in the Views, can be customized to say whatever you want.
To Change Column Settings
1 Right click in the white space in the view window to users get the context menu of display options.
2 Select Column Settings
3 The View Preferences dialog appears, showing all available column names for this view.
4 Select an item from the list by clicking any text in the item, so the highlight appears as shown. To display the item in the view, click the checkbox, or deselect to hide it.
5 To change the position of an item in the display by one column, click Move Up or Move Down. Items at the top will be displayed on the far left side of the view.
To Change Column Settings (cont’d)
6 To change the column width, the type of total displayed at the top of the column or the actual name (label) of the column, click the Edit… button.
Enter the desired values and click the OK button.
7 To keep save your settings, even after you close Contact Director, select save settings… from the main file menu.
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TIP – Column SizesYou can change column width inside the display by clicking and dragging the edge of columns headers. Just make sure you save your changes before exiting the program by selecting File | Save Session from the main menu.
P u l l i n g D i s p l a y P a n e l s o n t o Y o u r D e s k t o p
It can get crowded in the program window when you’re trying to view many panels, but there is a way around that! Version 4 and later of Contact Director
lets you display panels outside of the program window, and drag them around on your desktop. Whether it is a predefined panel or one you designed, go to the Navigation Tree on the left side of the main window, and click on the panel you want. Holding the left mouse button, drag the mouse in any direction and the panel pops out onto the desktop. From there you can place it on the desktop wherever you want.
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TIP – Viewing Full ScreenYou can expand to full screen any view you drag onto the desktop. Just select that view and hit F11. Hit F11 again to return to normal viewing.
Context Menus – Data Detail
In the previous section you saw how to format the display from options in the
context menu. In this section you’ll see how to get more detail on the column or field you click on.
The views generally offer high level information but you can also drill down to more detail from the context menu.
Just by right-clicking a contact, the top section of the context menu displays basic call information.
But you can get more detail about the associated contact or queue from the following options.
Menu Option What It’s For
Instant Recall Shows you detail about where the call has already been in the call center, including TFB Auto Attendant menus and options selected.
Report Lets you look at historical reports for the call. (Requires TFB ACD Reports)
Instant Graph Opens a dynamic graph of the data clicked on. Note that only dynamic numeric data fields offer this function.
Show Agents in Queue (n) Opens a quick window listing all agents in the selected queue.
C o n t e x t M e n u F A Q
Q Why do some menu options not appear sometimes when I right-click?
A Depending on where you click in the display, the context, certain options may not be available. Also, some optional features may not have been licensed/purchased, such as ACD Reports or Instant Recall.
Q Why can’t I use the Move to split, change priority, and Night Mode
features?
A Those features must be set in your permissions for you to use them. Typically very few supervisors should have access to this feature to avoid conflicts. If you have the appropriate permissions, and these functions are not working correctly, check with your system administrator or support contact for assistance. Additionally, if you are using the supervisor version of Contact Director, dynamic control features are not available.
Q Some of the caller information like ANI, account, and so on are blank on all or some calls.
A Whether those fields have data or not depends entirely on your call flow. Some calls don’t have ANI, and some callers may not have an account number in your system. Even callers that do have an account may not display it if your call flow sends them straight to an agent without using the TFB IVR first.
General Display Settings
The general Settings apply to all views, and allow you to control text color, background color, Theme, which includes other general display preferences.
To Change Color Settings
1 From the Tools menu, select Settings.
2 Select Color from the menu on the far left.
3 From the Aspect drop-down box, select the text item you want to change. (see appendices for a complete description of each aspect.)
4 From the Property drop-down box, select either Forecolor, which is the actual color of the text, or Backcolor, which is the color behind the text.
5 To use a colors defined by Windows, select System Color, then select a color from the drop down box. To use a color that you define, select Custom Color, then enter the RGB values for that color.
6 Click the OK button when you’re finished. Don’t forget to save your settings if you’d like them to remain for the next time. To save settings, or any other changes you make in the system, select Save Session
Save your changes by selecting File | Save Session from the main menu, or exit the program without saving if you want to preserve the settings you started with.
DisplayAspect Types
From the Settings dialog in the Tools menu, there are numerous aspects of the display that let you customize the associated foreground and background colors. Anytime data in these categories is displayed, they will be displayed in the foreground and background colors you specify.
Aspect Description
Alarm Active – High Data for which a High priority alarm has been triggered.
Alarm Active – Low Data for which a Low priority alarm has been triggered.
Alarm Active – Medium Data for which a medium priority alarm has been
triggered.
Caption Alarm Label for alarm
Caption View Label for a view
Graph Bar Graph
Grid Item Text and numeric data in the grid
Hot Track The hot track highlight that follows the cursor position
Label Columns and row labels along the edges of the grid
Mode Available Agent available mode (overrides Grid Item setting)
Mode Break Agent break mode (overrides Grid Item setting)
Mode Hold Agent hold mode (overrides Grid Item setting)
Mode Ready Agent ready mode (overrides Grid Item setting)
Mode Ring Agent ring mode (overrides Grid Item setting)
Mode Stand By Agent stand by mode (overrides Grid Item setting)
Mode Talk Agent talk mode (overrides Grid Item setting)
Selection Item selection outline
Team Item Agent Team label
Team Leader Team leader name
Team Member Missing Missing Team member (not logged in)
Total Top of column total
View Alarm – can edit Alarm item, available to edit
View Alarm – cannot Edit
To Change Theme Settings
1 From the Tools menu, select Settings.
2 Select Theme from the menu on the far left.
3 To show icons within views, check the Show Icons option. The default is checked.
4 To show text as anti-aliased (smooth edges), check the Show Smooth Text option. The default is checked.
5 To show menu bars and bar graphs as a shaded gradient instead of a solid color, check the Show Gradients option. The default is checked.
6 The hot track is the highlight that appears over the column and row headings to indicate where the cursor is. To show the hot track, check the Show HotTrack option. The default is checked. The default is checked.
Reading the Display
set of pre-defined views are bundled with Contact Director. Recall that each view is just a panel (or panels) of information, typically with statistics and totals along one axis, and the reporting item (queue, agent, port, and so on) on the other. There might be more than one panel in a given view to allow users to see multiple types of information on the same screen.
In most views, there are many statistics available, but most are hidden to avoid cluttering the display. The number of unique statistics available in each view is typically more than fits on a single screen, and more than most agents and supervisors need to see. However, as shown in the previous module, users can pick and choose which fields to hide or show, what the default view is, and even flip columns and rows to display information in the way that best suits their needs. When you have a lot of data to display, you can also drag views out of the program window and into their own window on your desktop. The mouse wheel is
supported also to allow you to quickly scroll through data in any view. You can also define and save your own custom views with the View Design Wizard. See Module 3, Customizing Views for more on this.
This module discusses:
§ Preset Views
2
Views
The Contact Director display is composed of views, simple grids of statistics. Each view has a name, and offers a distinct set of data. Contact Director comes with a set of predefined views, and as you’ll see later, you can also build your own.
The Predefined Views
There are several fundamental and distinct views, each based on a specific reporting entity (i.e. agents, queues, IVR):
Agent Activity View
Displays current list of agents versus queue activity and status for each agent.
Agents View
Displays current list of agents versus standard statistics for each agent.
All Queue Activity View
Displays 3 distinct panels of information. Stats by queue, individual agent status by queue, and individual call ANI by queue,
Callbacks View
Displays current callbacks in queue.
Campaigns View
Displays current outbound campaigns calls in queue.
Contact Activity View
Displays current outbound campaigns calls in queue.
Contacts View
Displays current outbound campaigns calls in queue.
Agents and Queues View
Displays current list of agents versus queue activity and status for each agent.
IVR PortsView
Displays current status of the IVR ports on CTI Server and about the calls currently connected.
Queues View
Displays current list of active queues and queue statistics for each.
Alarms View
Displays current alarms status.
Recall that views are selected from the Navigation panel on the main window. These are the fundamental types of view panels available in the system. As you’ll see in Module 3, Customizing Views, when you make custom views you frequently start by selecting one of the above view types, then modify it to show the panels and statistics you need. The appendices list the statistics that are available in each view.
A G E N T S V I E W
Description
The Agent view shows real time agent activity, phone mode, and statistics. You can optionally add team definitions and team leaders, grouped using agent ID or phone DN, to better view agents by function. Users can hide and resize columns, flip rows and columns, and users of the Supervisor and Enterprise version can filter data by dynamic criteria.
When the number of rows exceeds the height of the column, you can use the mouse wheel to scroll the view.
Agent States
Contact DirectorEnterprise allows your supervisors to change agent queue assignments and states in real time. To change agent states and assignments you must have the Enterprise Version, and you must have the proper login
permissions.
You should be familiar with the general ramifications of changing an agent from a particular state to another, and which situations allow it.
State Description
Talk Indicates the agent is talking on the phone. This only appears in a single
queue. If an agent is also assigned to queues other than the one in talk mode, those queues will indicate Stand By mode. You can’t interrupt an agent in talk mode, however if you select another state, Talk will flash and the agent will go into the selected state after the call is completed
Standby Indicates that the agent is assigned to the queue, but is in Talk on
another queue.
Ready Indicates the agent is ready to receive an ACD call. If an agent is Ready
in one queue, they will be Ready in every queue to which they are assigned.
Break Indicates that the agent is in Break mode on their ACD phone. If an
agent is Break in one queue, they will be Break in every queue to which they are assigned.
Work Indicates that the agent is in Work mode on their ACD phone. If an agent
is Work in one queue, they will be Work in every queue to which they are assigned.
C O N T A C T S V I E W
Description
The Contacts view is caller-focused, showing the actual caller name, ANI, and account information (as available). The ANI comes from the switch, while the name and account fields are tagged to the call based on caller input or database access, depending on the particular configuration of your system.
Status Icons
The status icons indicate where the call is currently in call flow. - Indicates the call is currently in IVR.
- Indicates the call is currently in queue.
- Indicates the call is currently being handled by an agent.
I V R P O R T S V I E W
Description
The IVR Ports view shows real time activity on the CTI Server IVR ports. IVR ports are the telephony connection that allows callers to interact with automated
applications such as callback or custom IVR. The IVR ports view is most useful for technical staff during test or debug activity. You can hide and resize columns, flip rows and columns, and users of the Supervisor and Enterprise version can filter data by dynamic criteria.
IVR Ports events are detailed on the following page. For more detail, these events are also described in the CTI Server Log Reports User’s Guide.
Q U E U E S V I E W
Description
The Queues view shows statistics by queue, for each active split in the ACD. You can hide and resize columns, flip rows and columns, and users of the Supervisor
and Enterprise version can filter data by dynamic criteria.
The first line directly below the column labels is the totals row. Totals are really aggregates that aren’t limited to just being a sum, they could be any of the following types:
• Average is the sum of all values in the column, divided by the number of values.
• Sum is simply the sum of all values in the column.
• Mean is the sum of the highest and lowest values in the column, divided by two.
• Most common is the value that appears most often in the column. Recall from Module 1 that total types can be customized by right clicking in the view window to users get the context menu of display options, and selecting the
Show Totals option to set the current column, OR by clicking the Column Settings… option to edit multiple columns.
The type of total displayed is indicated by the subscript as shown below
The AVG. subscript
The SUM subscript indicates that ’14’ is the mathematical total of all values in this column.
A G E N T A C T I V I T Y V I E W
Description
The Agent Activity view shows agents versus their status in each active queue. You can hide and resize columns, flip rows and columns, and users of the Enterprise version can reassign agents among queues or even change agent modes.
Status Icons
The status icons indicate where the call is currently in call flow.
Displaying Teams in Agent Activity View
You can group agents by teams to view activity based on functional groups in the call center. Right click in the view and select View Teams, then select the type of view.
C O N T A C T A C T I V I T Y V I E W
Description
The Contact Activity view shows callers, by ANI, and which queue those callers reside. Note that because the ACD allows queuing a single call to multiple splits, it is possible to see the same ANI listed under different split headings. The split numbers and names are read directly from the ACD.
Getting More Information on a Contact
You can right-click on any call to see more details about it, and see a context menu with a few other options. The top half of the context menu contains the available call details. You should see DNIS at least, usually ANI, and if the call
has been through an IVR session, you may see the caller’s name, account number, and the miscellaneous data field that is attached to each call.
By selecting Instant Recall, you get even more detailed data about the call and where it’s been in the contact center.
A L L Q U E U E A C T I V I T Y V I E W
Description
The All Queue Activity view is a composite screen that combines panels from some of the other pre-set views. Namely, the Queues panel, the Agents and Queues panel, and the Contacts and Queues panel. Users can also create their own multi-panel views from the View Design Wizard.
When you have multi-panel views, Contact Director will allow you to automatically synchronize matching columns across multiple views.
C A L L B A C K A C T I V I T Y V I E W
Description
The Callback Activity view is a list of current callbacks pending. Each callback has a unique control number used to track it internally. Callbacks remain in this view from the time they are requested by the caller until the agent has
C A M P A I G N S V I E W ( N E W )
Description
The Campaigns view shows all active and pending outbound call campaigns from CTI Server. (a sample screen shot of activity was not available at release time of this manual.)
L O G O N V I E W
Description
The Logons view shows a list of all agents configured in the ACD. As with other views, you can filter and customize who is shown in the list based on their state and statistics.
Using Shared Views
Supervisors can create customized views and share them with other users. You After you import a shared view, it appears right in the navigation window in the
public folder, and can be accessed just like the factory preset views.
To Import A Shared View
1 From the View menu, select Manage Shared Views. The Manage Shared Views dialog appears. And shows you the list of views available from other users.
2 Select the check box next to each view you want to use, then click the
Import button.
3 To see one of your imported views in the main window, go to the Navigation tree on the left hand window, open the public folder, and click the desired view. You can only delete views in this dialog if you were the creator of that view.
Understanding the Data
The previous section discussed the content and layout of the various panels and views. This section is about what all that data means and how it is calculated.
Glossary of Statistic Labels
The following lists some of the more common statistics and labels that appear in
Contact Director. The Appendices contain additional definitions of the labels used for statistics in each view.
ACD ACD number. Contact Director can support multiple ACD’s.
Tenant Tenant number. Must be ‘1’ in a single tenant environment. Contact Director can support multiple tenants.
Channel The communications method, phone, chat, email Queue No. The queue number as assigned in the ACD Queue Name The queue name as assigned in the ACD Queue calls/chats/emails Total contacts waiting in queue
ASA Average speed of answer for that queue ETA Current ETA spoken by the switch
LWC Elapsed time in queue of the longest waiting call Total Agents in call Total agents on a phone call (in talk)
Total Agents in ready Total agents in ready mode Total Agents in work Total agents in work mode Total Agents in break Total agents in break mode
ABC Abandoned calls total GOS Grade Grade of service
GOS Total calls Total calls in the calculation pool
GOS Abandoned Abandon percentage based on calls in pool GOS Total Abandoned Total abandon calls in pool
Variations of Metrics Based on Call Pool
Many of the statistics available offer variants by ‘day’, ‘shift’, or ‘pool’. So you have stats called Pool GOS, Shift GOS, Pool ASA, and so on. These variants simply indicate how the pool of calls used to calculate the particular statistic is determined. It’s similar to setting a date range for a report in ACD Reports. The difference is, a real-time statistic has no inherent date range, and yet it has to be decided – how far back do we go, either in time or in the number of calls, to make our statistical calculation? So, the software doesn’t decide that – you do! Actually, plain GOS and ASA are the same as Pool GOS and Pool ASA.
Why the variations? For instance, some supervisors or agents may prefer to see the GOS (grade of service) or ASA (average speed to answer) for only their current shift. They would then use the shift version of those statistics to ensure the most accurate reflection of that metric for the shift selected.
The shift calculation is based on time of day intervals. Like Pool GOS, supervisors can set the start and end time of each shift in the TFB Configuration Manager. This statistic helps you asses overall service on a shift basis.
The daily calculation is based on all the calls taken by a given split since midnight of the current day. As the day goes on this statistic is less and less a true indication of the current service level, but more and more an indication of your overall service level for the day.
The pool calculation is based on the most recent n number of calls. Supervisors can set the number of calls in the pool in the TFB Configuration Manager. This statistic is a better indicator of current service levels than Daily GOS, but doesn’t say much about overall performance for the day. The plain GOS and ASA are the same as Pool GOS and Pool ASA.
So which is the real statistic? The real GOS? The real ASA? ALL of them! It’s just a question of how you want to measure your contact center. They all tell you the real statistical value for a given metric, just based on different range of calls. The tools allow you to choose which method of calculation suits your contact center best. Remember, plain GOS and ASA are the same as Pool GOS and Pool ASA.
How is it Calculated?
Various metrics appear throughout reporting that are calculated by predetermined conventions, although they may offer variations as discussed above, and configurable thresholds. The most commonly used are primarily Abandon Rate (ABR), Abandons (ABN), and Grade of Service (GOS).
IMPORTANT CALCULATIONS IN REPORTS
ABR Abbrev. Standard abbreviation for Abandoned Rate. A percentage. ABR % = (ABN ÷ N) X 100
N = Total Calls in Pool
ASA Abbrev. Average speed of answer in seconds. ASA = (tanswer 1 + tanswer 2 …+ tanswer N ) ÷ N N = Total Calls in Pool
Where tanswer 1 is the answer time in seconds of the first call, tanswer 2 is
the answer time in seconds of the second call, and so on. N is the total number of calls for the interval and across the split(s), DNIS(s), or Pilot(s) specified in the report.
ATT Abbrev. Average talk time in seconds. This is average duration of caller-agent interaction.
ASA = (ttalk 1 + ttalk 2 …+ ttalk N ) ÷ N N = Total Calls in Pool
Where ttalk1 is the talk time in seconds of the first call, ttalk 2 is the talk
time in seconds of the second call, and so on. N is the total number of calls for the interval and across the split(s), DNIS(s), or Pilot(s)
specified in the report.
GOS Abbrev. Grade of Service. By convention, this is the percentage of calls answered in less than some number of seconds. (This threshold can be customized for each split)
GOS = (Answundergrade 1 + Answundergrade2 …+ Answundergrade X ) ÷ N
Where Answundergrade1 = 1, and represents the first call answered within
the desired threshold (under 120s for instance), Answundergrade2 = 1,
and represents the first second call answered within the desired threshold, up to Answundergrade X = 1, which represents the last call in
the specified interval that is answered within the desired threshold. N is the total number of calls for the interval and across the split(s),
GOS Variations
Daily GOS
This calculation is based on all the calls taken by a given split since midnight of the current day. As the day goes on this statistic is less and less a true indication of the current service level, but more and more an indication of your overall service level for the day.
Pool GOS
This calculation is based on the most recent n number of calls. Supervisors can set the number of calls in the pool in the TFB Configuration Manager. This statistic is a better indicator of current service levels than Daily GOS, but doesn’t say much about overall performance for the day.
Shift GOS
This calculation is based on time of day intervals. Like Pool GOS, supervisors can set the start and end time of each shift in the TFB Configuration Manager. This statistic helps you asses overall service on a shift basis.
Your MIS staff is provided with documentation that tells them how to change the default call pool size, and GOS threshold values.
Interpreting the Data
With a good grasp of the labels and statistics defined in the previous section, it is useful to understand some important ACD issues, as well as how totals are calculated in the reports, and how to compare statistics among reports. This section should help answer questions from staff, resolve apparent reporting contradictions, and interpret comparisons to other reporting systems.
Does it Add Up?
There are several important facts to remember about the design of the ACD.
• A call has only one associated DNIS (the original pilot of the call)
o Therefore total calls by DNIS = Total calls presented to the ACD
o Therefore total calls by DNIS ≠ Total calls by split, because a single call can be queued (or presented) to multiple splits.
• A call can be queued to multiple splits simultaneously
o This increases the total number of calls presented to the split, therefore, the total number of calls presented to splits can be much greater than the total calls by DNIS
o A call can only be answered in a single split, so total calls presented to a split might be greater than total calls answered in that split, even with 0 abandons
• Calls are only answered in a single split
o Therefore total calls presented to a split might be greater than total calls answered in that split, even with 0 abandons
• DNIS Totals and Split totals almost never match!
o A single call can only be associated with one DNIS, but that same call can be queued to multiple splits, thereby increasing the total calls queued to that split.
• Other Factors
Creating and
Customizing Views
sers aren’t stuck with the factory-defined views. Any user with appropriate appropriate permissions has the ability to add new customized views and and save them. You can set views with multiple panels, filter data dynamically based on its value, and customize column and color settings. settings.
This module discusses:
§ Custom Views
§ Publishing Views
3
Custom Views
Views are composed of one or more panels, each panel containing a grid of data based on a specific a major call center component. This is important to
understand, the type of panel is determined by the major component it reports on, i.e. splits, agents, IVR ports, contacts, or pilots. The major component of the view is usually listed along the vertical left hand side of the panel, with columns of statistics labeled along the top of the panel.
The screen shown here shows the ALL QUEUE ACTIVITY view, which has 3 panels.
The top panel shows Queues, the middle shows agents and queues, and the bottom panel shows contacts and queues. Each of these three panels is also used in a single panel view.
Defining New Views
You can design a view from scratch, or by starting with one of the preset views. All views share the color settings and themes set from the Tools | Settings menu. View definition allows you to determine which panels are shown, how data is filtered, and font size and style.
TO ADD OR EDIT A VIEW
1 From the Views menu, select Add View to open the Create a New View…. control. Or, select Edit View to edit the current view.
2 The General View Settings dialog appears. From the Category
dropdown you should always select ‘Default’ unless you are creating a view that includes Alarms. Type a title for your view. You can always edit this later if you want to. Click the Next >> button when you’re ready.
To Define a View (cont’d)
3 The Select Panels dialog appears. Each view must have at least one panel, and can have multiple panels, one of each type up to a total of seven.
Click the Add Panel button then select the type of panel you want to add.
If you need a more detailed reference, the appendices show which fields are available for each type of panel. Some panels have columns that match those in adjacent panels. To synchronize panel scroll controls, select the Synchronize panels when possible box. To delete, or move panels up or down in the display, select a panel from your list, then click the appropriate button. You can always edit the panels later if you want to. Click the Next >> button when you’re ready.
To Define a View (cont’d)
4 The DataSelection dialog appears. The next section in this manual,
Dynamic Data Filtering, talks about data selection in more detail. Data selection allows you to select data that should be shown or hidden only when it matches the desired range of values. You can always edit the data selection later, so for now click the Next >> button.
To Define a View (cont’d)
5 The FontSelection dialog appears. Set the font and size as you would in any other applications. This setting applies to all panels in the view. You can always edit the font settings later if you want to. Click the OK
Dynamic Data Filtering in Your View
Any view can filter data dynamically. You’ve already seen how to hide specific statistic rows or columns, but some users prefer that certain data fields are only visible when they get below or above critical levels. Dynamic data filtering allows you to specify when a field should be visible or hidden, based on the value of that field. A rule can be simple, like Hide the calls in queue if they are less than 5, or more complex, Hide the calls in queue if they are less than 5 or abandon rate is less than 7%. This feature can help keep the display uncluttered and the users focus on what’s most important.
The rules to display or hide data are very similar to the alarm criteria, so if you are familiar with alarms, you should be able to easily set dynamic filters on your displays.
TO DEFINE DYNAMIC DATA FILTERING
1 Navigate to a view that you would like to filter data. From the Views
3 To set the filter, click the Add Criteria button. Similarly to the alarms, a template appears that allows you to click the criteria items in blue to set parameters.
Publishing Views
If you have created some custom views and want other agents to be able to use them, you can publish any or all of those views. Keep in mind that user constraints and permissions apply to all views. This means that some users may import your views and find they only see particular panels or data as restricted by their
permission settings.
Notice that the words publish and share are used interchangeably. Although the feature is referred to as publish, some users are more familiar with the concept of
sharing a drive or folder.
To Publish a View for Sharing
1 Create your customer views as described in the previous section.
2 From the View menu, select Publish Views. The Publish Views dialog appears. It shows you the list of views available for you to share.
þ
TIP – How to Un-publish Your Views!To take a published view away from public access, open the Manage Views dialog. You can only delete views that you created. Select the desired view and click the
General Display Settings
Settings apply to all views, and allow you to control the color of text and the Theme of views, which includes other general display preferences.
To Change Color Settings
1 From the Tools menu, select Settings.
2 Select Color from the menu on the far left.
3 From the Aspect drop-down box, select the text item you want to change. (see appendices for a complete description of each aspect.)
4 From the Property drop-down box, select either Forecolor, which is the actual color of the text, or Backcolor, which is the color behind the text.
5 To use a colors defined by Windows, select System Color, then select a color from the drop down box. To use a color that you define, select Custom Color, then enter the RGB values for that color.
Using Alarms
he alarm system is available in all versions of Contact Director. Alarms allow you to set threshold-based rules for nearly any display statistic then change the color value when the alarm is triggered, flash the display, play a WAV file, or send email notification to predetermined addresses. For instance, you might set an alarm that sends you an email every time a particular queue/split has more that 20 calls waiting.
The rules are described in an English-language based configuration, just like the dynamic filtering discussed in the previous module, and are flexible enough to be very simple or allow very complex sets of conditions to trigger an alarm. Simple alarms might, for instance, trigger when the size of a queue exceeds a particular number of calls. More complex alarms can, for instance, involve many different criteria such as queue size and the number of agents available.
Alarms can also be assigned a level of importance, with a unique color assigned to each level. The set-up and use of alarms can be restricted by user permissions, and shared among agents, or used by only a few agents.
When an alarm is triggered it can send an email, play a WAV file (if you have PC speakers) or flash the relevant data field in the display.
This module discusses how to set and use alarms.
4
Recognizing Alarms
Before we discuss configuration of alarms, a few words about how users respond to alarms. This may inform the decisions you make when you actually design and set up alarms.
How Users See Alarms
When an alarm is triggered, users see whatever change in the display has been specified for the alarm, but with multiple alarms going across your screen, how do you know what each is telling you?
Presumably you or your supervisor will set a standard meaning for flashing fields or particular colors. Because alarms can send email or play wave files in addition to flashing the statistic that is alarmed, those things can be self-descriptive – you can put any descriptive text or instruction in the email, and record the same in a wave file. The following section talks about the utility of setting up standards that will help users recognize the urgency and meaning of alarms based on their appearance. Another good way to identify the exact nature of each alarm is to right click on the alarming field and select current alarms from the context menu. This option only appears in the context menu when you right-clicked in a split or on a field where an alarm is currently triggering. This option shows you the name of alarms triggering for that target.
The Alarms View
All currently triggered alarms are listed in the Alarms view. You can get to the
Alarms view just as you would any other view, from the left hand side Navigation window.
Additionally, the context menu on alarms lets you quickly disable, edit, or view any alarm in the list.
