new some ideas for URS logic

[Jeff]

Pavel, Mark, Vic, Elwan -

I need your advice on something. At our contact centre, calls are directed to its destination through URS. I need to come up with an elgant way to allow supervisors to switch-over URS flows in case of emergency without the use of IRD and configuration manager.

I was thinking about have one main strategy at the entry point, where URS would check a DB for a flag. Supervisor would have a little icon on their desktop which they would click, which would write some value into database, and when URS checks for the flag, and it is not present then it would direct the call to strategy 1. If flag is present, direct the call to strategy 2. etc.

Of course, this would mean enabling DB access for every supervisor PC.

Is there a better, more robust solution? For example, issuing some sort of event with t-library and have URS pick that event and change all the flows based on it?

I was looking through the posts here and saw how it is possible to control OCS via user-attached data. Can something similar be accomplished for URS?

[shadow=red,left][glow=yellow,10,300] Jeff [/glow][/shadow]

[René]

Hi Jeff,

I can see several three ways how to achieve described functionality:

[b]Database based[/b]
- the supervisors can change value of particular attribute stored in database using small DB application, via web or by calling special call strategy. URS reads value of the attribute and uses it in the routing process
- Pros: easy and quick solution = cheap
- Cons: call routing management reliant on database (I’m usually trying to avoid that combination), generated load to DBMS (URS has to read the value from db for every call), necessity to manage somehow access and logging (audit)

[b]Genesys Configuration based[/b]
- the supervisors can change value of particular attribute stored in Genesys Configuration database using small application or via web. URS reads value of the attribute and uses it in the routing process
- Pros: no reliance on database, re-using Genesys security model for access and logging (audit), clean solution from system architecture point of view
- Cons: not so easy to develop the interface/application for the supervisors, license for Genesys Configuration SDK (if you don't have it already)

[b]IRD Variable based[/b]
- the supervisors can change value of a IRD variable defined for particular strategy (scope SCRIPT) by calling some strategy. That strategy has to add some predefined key-value to UserData and transfer the call to the strategy used for handling inbound calls. The "inbound" strategy has to process the predefined key-value and change value of the variable. If the predefined key-value isn’t attached to the call then the strategy "just" reads value of the attribute and uses it in the routing process
- Pros: quite easy, no reliance to external systems
- Cons: has to be intensively tested before going to the production, the variable is defined for one strategy only - necessity to repeat the step for all strategies involved in inbound call routing, and again access and logging (audit)


Hope the ideas above helps you.

René

[mark]

Some good ideas there René, I would also prefer to keep the control within the Genesys environment.

Some other options (not as good as the above but options none the less):

Do the managers have access to CME at all? If so, there are many places where you can set variables which can be used within the routing (List Objects / _ROUTER_ for example).

You could also do this on the back of a skill change, by using the CountSkillInGroup function (then an If statement). Add a non routing skill to an agent will act as a switch in this instance.
This particular one would be nice and easy to setup (cost would be any internal charge for the change completion time).

Plenty of options for you overall, I am sure some others will have even more to add :]

Mark

[Adam G.]

I've been down the web front-end \ database method so the managers could control the emergency flag from the nearest PC (handy in an emergency situation). 

This was part of a much larger solution where the supervisors\managers could control most aspects of the routing real-time via the intranet without having access to CME or IRD, so everyone was happy.

Pavel

[CTIgem]

We are doing it thru IVR.
Call main number, enters special code then sets emergency flag.
Can be done anywhere as long as you have access to the phone.
URS checks for flags upfront.

[mark]

[quote author=CTIgem link=topic=2196.msg7829#msg7829 date=1177594398]
We are doing it thru IVR.
Call main number, enters special code then sets emergency flag.
Can be done anywhere as long as you have access to the phone.
URS checks for flags upfront.
[/quote]

Would that be a single code? We have something similar which we will be rolling out to the business, but not until we can arrange some proper security for it.

Mark

[elwan]

We have a list object in Config Manager called triggers, in which, planners could switch ON/OFF values for particular contigency. Then we have a subroutine for Contigency. If the trigger is ON, then we do some routing based on what the business specifies.

Hope this helps.

[CTIgem]

No, it's not single code.
Our IVR is written in Java with VXML.(GVP)

[mark]

[quote author=CTIgem link=topic=2196.msg7853#msg7853 date=1177677480]
No, it's not single code.
Our IVR is written in Java with VXML.(GVP)
[/quote]

Sorry, I mean the special access code. Would it be a preconfigured single code, or would it be linked to some internal security checking?

[CTIgem]

we store it in protected database.

[ecki]

Hi Guys,

Here is another suggestion. What about to create dummy Agent with specific name e.g. "Emegrency_for_serviceXY" and let strategy check whether this agent is logged in or not?

[t.kulku]

I am new to this board and I\'m astonished at how many people are actively participating here. As a new member of this wonderful community I might not be the wisest but I hope I can offer an advice or two.


Having a dedicated agent login and logout is going to require an additional license. The best way to me seems to be to add a database dip at the beginning of the strategy and/or have a separate strategy running on a routing point using SuspendForEvent[] function that sets a global scope variable. This global scope variable is referred to in a separate strategy to decide how to handle the incoming call.

Simple and elegant.

Sanja Kulu
Technical Product Manager

[ecki]

Hi Sanja,

To have additional agent purely dedicated to emergency functionality does not mean you are going to spend extra license for it. You can have as many agents configured in CME as you need. Another thing is, how many of them you can use in the same time as genesys is licensed per seat if I remember correctly. So you can use any free handset to log in Emergency agent.