Mitel SX 200 DIGITAL Pabx General Descriptions Manual

							2. ACD OVERVIEW2.1This section of the practice gives a general overview of Automatic Call
Distribution (ACD) and describes the basic components found in ACD systems.
If you are familiar with ACD concepts, turn to Section 3 of this practice for de-tails on the implementation of the ACD 
TELEMARKEER feature for the
SX-200 DIGITAL PABX.AUTOMATIC CALL DISTRIBUTION
2.2Automatic Call Distribution (ACD) offers uniform distribution of in-
coming calls to station users (agents). Calls are routed to groups of agents
according to the type of information or service required by the caller. The
agents are trained and equipped to provide the particular information or
service the caller is requesting. If calls cannot be handled immediately, the
caller is usually entertained with recorded announcements and/or music until
an agent is available.
Most ACD systems generate one or more reports listing call handling statistics
and ACD traffic levels. The system administrator 
uses these reports when de-
termining optimum staffing levels, acceptable caller delay times, and use of
system resources.
ACD APPLICATIONS
2.3Typical ACD applications include airline reservation offices, tele-
phone order desks for department stores, and customer service departments
of telephone or cable TV companies.In all cases, the caller is attempting to
reach an individual who can supply a service, answer a question, take a reser-
vation, or accept a purchase order.
CALL QUEUEING
2.4
To ensure optimum use of personnel and system resources, historical
calling patterns are often used to determine staffing levels for the agents.
Most ACD installations set staffing at levels that ensure the average number
of callers equals or exceeds the number of agents. During peak periods when
all agents are busy, callers are placed in a queue to wait for the first available
agent.
While waiting in the queue, the ACD system can be programmed to give the
caller recorded announcements and music at predetermined intervals. The
first recording typically advises the caller that all agents are busy, and that an
agent will answer as soon as possible. If an agent is unavailable after a pro-
grammed interval, additional recordings can inform the caller about call
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							ACD TELEMARKETER Application Packageprogress, or advise the caller of information that will be required when the
agent answers.
If calls arrive when some of the agents are free, the system may be pro-
grammed to equalize the workload by directing the next incoming call to the
agent who has been idle the 
longest.
STAFFING AN ACD SYSTEM
2.5In most ACD applications, the individual handling ACD calls is re-
ferred to as an agent. Agents are often specially trained to deal with the 
cail-
er’s problems or requests.
A supervisor normally oversees the ACD operation by monitoring the activity
of the agents, reassigning agents to handle overload conditions, and dealing
with unusual situations that may arise.
REPORTS
2.6ACD systems normally provide a reporting mechanism that allows
tracking of key items such as the number of calls handled during a specific
time period, the length of the calls, and the number of calls abandoned (call-
er hangs up before an agent answers). From these reports, the supervisor can
determine optimum staffing levels and track the performance of individual
agents.
MONITORS
2.7While reports give a hard copy record of events over a period of time
(such as a shift), a monitor gives a snapshot of conditions in the system at any
instant. By monitoring the ACD system, the supervisor is aware of the current
situation and can quickly reassign agents to handle overload conditions.620 2-2
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							3. ACD TELEMARKETER FEATURE
3.1This section of the practice introduces the ACD TELEMARKETER fea-
ture for the SX-200 DIGITAL PABX, and describes the following components
of the 
ACD TELEMARKETER system:
l ACD Call Flow
0 ACD Positions
l ACD Path
l Recorded Announcements
l Realtime Displays
l Summary Reports
0 ACD TELEMARKETER Reporting System
ACD TELEMARKETER OVERVIEW
3.2The ACD TELEMARKETER Application Package is an advanced Auto-
matic Call Distribution (ACD) system that is fully integrated with the 
MITEL
SX-200 DIQTAL PABX, and designed with the power and performance need-
ed to ensure satisfaction in the the most demanding telemarketing environ-
ments. For maximum efficiency, all ACD personnel use 
.WYZRSET~~~ tele-
phones programmed with special displays and softkeys. The displays provide
call status and progress messages; the 
softkeys give single button selection of
ACD features.
ACD Path
Predicitve
Ovetflow
3.3The heat-t of the ACD TELEMARKETER feature is the ACD Path, an in-
novative call routing design that guides incoming calls through the system.
The path defines all information required for each type of call including how
the system is to handle callers placed in a queue to wait for an agent.
With 99 ACD Paths in the system, customized routing is available to every con-
ceivable type of incoming call. This centralization of routing parameters gives
users unmatched flexibility when programming and adding new features.
Priority designations of 
1 to 99 may be assigned to each Path, allowing calls
arriving on high priority paths to move directly to the front of the call queues.
Higher priority paths are also given special treatment when placed in over-
flow queues. Lower priority calls in the same overflow queue maintain their
position in relation to each other, but the system places them behind priority
calls.
3.4A key element of the ACD TELEMARKETER feature is the Predictive
Overflow used by the system to keep call queueing time to a minimum. The
,system performs a load calculation when each new call arrives at an agent
group, or when the status of an agent changes. If the system predicts that a
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							ACD TELEMARKETER Application Package
Displayscall will not be answered before the normal overflow time, it forces an imme-
diate overflow.
3.5The ACD TELEMARKETER feature includes realtime displays via stan-
dard 
async datasets and ASCII terminals. Thirteen displays encompass every
area of the ACD operation. Path, group, and agent information is displayed in
three categories; statistical analysis, current activity, and programming infor-
mation. A system activity display provides a general overview of the status of
the ACD system, including the number of agents logged in, the number of
calls in the system, and general statistics on agent performance. Multiple us-
ers may simultaneously access the password protected information. 
Softkeys
are provided for easy access to specific displays or for requesting printouts.
Printed Reports
3.6Printers are also implemented for summary reports of paths, groups,
and agents. Printed reports record times to the second for all categories, thus
highlighting call handling efficiency and agent performance problems.
An Agent Shift record, if desired, is automatically printed whenever an agent
logout occurs. This report summarizes the agent’s performance for the shiftduration. A Path report provides total counts for traffic entering the path
during any specified period, including totals for the number of calls an-
swered, interflowed and abandoned. Similarly, group reports tally calls of-
fered and answered, and supply a record of non-ACD calls placed and re-
ceived by agents.Mobility
Sets
3.7The ACD Agents and Supervisors are completely mobile with the Mite1ACD TELEMARKETER feature. All ACD positions are linked to software rather
than hardware. This means that the system recognizes a login from any SU-
PERSET telephone within the PBX, and immediately transforms the set to
the users’ preprogrammed specifications.
3.8The SUPERSET telephones used by ACD positions provide interactive
displays and information regarding Agent groups and individual agents. A
Supervisor’s set provides 10 reports covering the Agents and the Queues that
the Supervisor is responsible for. The Agent’s set displays the queue load ofthat agent’s group.
SUMMARY
3.9The ACD TELEMARKETER Application Package offers:
lEqual workload -calls are presented to the longest idle agent
lA programmable wrap up timer for individual groups
l Four recordings for each Path
lThree overflow groups and an interflow point per path
lSystem messages to simplify programming and eliminate errors
In addition, callers never experience ring no answer; after three rings the sys-
tem places a set in Make Busy mode and delivers the call to the next available
agent.
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							ACD TELEMARKETER Feature
3.10The SUPERSETa telephone offers:
a Single key feature activation
lSupervisor monitoring of agent calls with or without agent notification
lAgent help requests during a conversation -transparent to ACD callersl 
Handsetihandsfree/headphone operation
l LCDs load status indication
0 Auto answer
l Time and date display
lPath name display when calls are presented to the agent
lMake Busy keys to temporarily block ACD calls from agents sets
lA programmable name for every ACD entity; paths, RADs, Groups, Agentsand Supervisors
ACD TEfEMARKETER REPORTING SYSTEM
3.11
To complement the built-in monitoring capabilities of theACD TELEMARKETER feature package, 
MITEL has introduced the
ACD TELEMARKETER Reporting System, 
a.PC-based software package for col-
lecting ACD data generated by the SX-200 DIGITAL PABX, and producing a
series of daily, weekly and monthly historical reports.The ACD TELEMARKETER Reporting System runs on an IBM AT or compatible
connected to the SX-200 DIGITAL PABX through an RS-232C interface. The
system is easy to learn, using menu driven displays with full-color graphics.
On-line help is available for all commands and applications.
During initial installation, the user creates a Reporting System database con-
taining all agent, path, and trunk information. Once operational, the PC col-
lects data from the SMDR information generated by the PABX, analyses the
information using the Reporting System database, and generates a series of
detailed reports covering agents, groups, paths and trunks.
The daily reports can be printed automatically at predetermined times, and
can include daily, weekly and monthly summaries.
Daily reports generated from this database include:
0ACD Agent Daily Activity Report listing hourly totals by agent ID
lAgent Group Daily Activity Report with hourly totals handled by each
agent group.
lTrunk Daily Activity Report with hourly totals of calls handled by individu-
al trunks.
lPath Activity Report with detailed statistics for all ACD calls.
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							ACD ELEMARKEER Application Package
Weekly and Monthly Summary Reports include:
lAgent Activity Summary Report with daily totals by ID and agent name.
0Agent Group Summary Report listing daily totals by agent group.
lTrunk Summayr Report with daily totals of calls carried by a particulartrunk.
lPath Activity Report listing daily totals by path.
ACD CALL FLOW3.12
The following paragraphs describe the handling of a typical ACD call
arriving at the system on an incoming trunk. Included is a description of what
the caller hears at each stage of the call. Figure 3-l shows the system action
in determining what the caller hears while in the queue.
ITime B
IIIII
SystemRingback’ First RAD I Musicl Second RAD l  MusicI  Agent
t
Acti onDelaySourceSourceAnswers
Caller
Hears(Ringback) (Recording) (Music)(Recording) (Music)
(Agent)Figure 3-l ACD Call Progress -All Agents Busy
1. ACD Call arrives at system.
0As shown in Figure 3-l the caller hears ringback until the Ringback
Delay timer expires. This timer ensures the caller hears at least one
ringback before an agent answers.
2. System transfers the incoming call to the path specified as the answer
point for the trunk, and queues the call on the primary agent group for
the path.
lIf agent is available, call rings agent, (See Note).
lIf multiple agents are available, the call rings the longest idle agent,
else,
lCaller waits for first recorded announcement.
Note: Once the agent set begins ringing, the call must be answered. If the
called agent fails to answer within the period programmed for the620 3-4
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							ACD TELEMARKETER FeatureForward Timer in the agent’s COS, the system forces the agent’s set
into Make Busy and routes the call to another agent in the group.
This operation is transparent to the caller.
3. System connects caller to the first available RAD in the first recordinggroup defined for the path.
lCaller listens to first recording. Call remains queued on first agent
group.
4. When RAD message ends, system connects call to music-on-hold (MOH)
source or first alternate source as defined for the path.
lCaller hears music or alternate source.
5. After time interval programmed in the path for Recording 2 start, system
connects call to first available RAD in second recording group defined forthe path.
lCaller listens to second recording. Call remains queued on first agent
group.
6. System connects call to MOH source or second alternate source as definedfor the path.
lCaller hears music or alternate source.
lCaller continues listening to music and recorded announcements until
an agent is available. Timing is set in CDE .
lUp to four recordings can be programmed for each path.
7. If the call remains queued against the first agent group for a period ex-
ceeding the overflow time programmed for the group, the system addsthe first overflow group defined for the path.
lCaller is now queued on two groups.
lCaller continues listening to music and recorded announcements until
an agent is available.
0Caller retains position in queue for primary agent group
lPath priority determines position of call in overflow group.
The system can add up to three overflow groups if a call remains unan-
swered. Overflow times are programmed individually for each agent
group. Figure 3-2 shows how overflow groups are added as the caller
waits in the queue.
8. The system performs a load calculation when each new call arrives atan
agent group, or when the status of an agent changes. If the system pre-
dicts that a call will not be answered before the overflow timer expires,
the system forces an immediate overflow. This predictive overflow is al-
ways enabled. In addition, the customer can program the system to force
an immediate inter-flow as soon as the system determines that the call is
unlikely to be answered at the primary agent group, or at any of the over-flow groups.
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							ACD TELEMARKETER Application PackageTime VInterflow
Timeout
RingbackQueue on
DelayPrimary Agent
GroupQueue on
First Overflow
Agent Group
Queue on
Second Overflow
Agent Group
wQueue on
Third Overflow
Agent Group
I5To Interflow
PointFigure 3-2 Overflow/Inter-flow
9. As shown in Figure 3-2 if the call remains unanswered for a period ex-
ceeding the Interflow Timeout programmed for the path, the system
routes the call to the inter-flow point which can be an internal or external
destination. If the interflow device is busy, the call is handled as a call re-
route.
ACD CALLER
3.13The system considers an ACD caller anyone who is on, or has been an-
swered by an ACD path. Once answered, the ACD caller status remains while
the caller is talking to an agent, on hold by an agent, or in the process of be-
ing transferred by an agent.
After an ACD caller has been answered by an agent, the PABX reverts to nor-
mal call handling but provides additional tracking for ACD session timing,
ACD hard-hold timing, and the caller’s identification as an ACD caller. When
an ACD caller reaches the console through either a supervised or 
unsuper-620 3-6
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							ACD TELEMARKETER Featurevised transfer, the ACD caller status ends. If, during a supervised transfer, the
person performing the transfer remains on the line after the console answers,
the ACD session is terminated.
LONGEST IDLE AGENT3.14
If multiple agents are free when an ACD call is presented to a group,
the system sends the call to the longest idle agent. To select the longest idle
agent, the system gives a number to the first agent to finish an ACD call. The
next agent to finish an ACD call is given the next higher number, and so on.
When a call arrives at the group, the system sends the call to the agent with
the lowest number.
,
This ordering does not depend upon the agent being idle. Only ACD calls af-
fect an agent’s number. The number does not change if the agent makes a
non-ACD call. During the non-ACD call the system does not present ACD calls
to the agent. The agent, however, may be next in line for an ACD call whenthe non-ACD call terminates.
ACD POSITIONS3.15The ACD TELEMARKETER feature package.structures the personnel
handling ACD calls into a hierarchy of ACD positions. The ACD package sup-
ports three types of positions: Senior Supervisors, Supervisors, and Agents.
Figure 3-3 shows an example of the ACD hierarchy.
ACD calls entering the system normally terminate on an agent position.
Agents handling similar types of calls are arranged in Agent Groups. Supervi-
sors and Senior Supervisors monitor agent and system performance, but do
not handle ACD calls.
As shown in Figure 3-3, every Supervisor, Senior Supervisor, and Agent has an
ID number. This is a l-to 
5-digit number assigned during customer data
entry. Before they can receive ACD calls, the agent or supervisor must log in
to the system by dialing an access code followed by the appropriate ID num-
ber. Agent Groups and the three ACD positions are described below.
The PABX treats the ID number assigned to each position as an access code.
This number can be directly dialed by other devices in the system as normal
extension numbers.
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							ACD TELEMARKETER Application Package
Senior SupervisorName: Reynolds G
ID: 4400
1
SupervisorName: 
Godin L.
ID: 2200
I
Supervisor
Name; Wallace J.
ID: 3300
Agent GroupAgent’ Group
Name: AN SaleName: Ret-classAgent Group
Name: TicketsAgent Group
Name: Inquiry
Agent
Name: Nantel S.
ID: 2210Agent
Name: Peters J.
ID: 2215Agent
Name: Gilmour J.
ID: 3310
Agent
Name: Middleton
ID: 2211Agent
Name: McKay A.
ID: 2216Agent
Name: Proctor L.
ID: 3311Agent
Name: Hendron T.
ID: 4411
Agent
Name: Proctor L.
ID: 2212Agent
Name: Gilmour J.
ID: 4410
Agent
Name: Davis M.
ID: 2217Agent
Name: Barker R.
ID: 3312Agent
Name: Ruby M.
ID: 4412
Figure 3-3 Hierarchy of ACD PositionsAgent Group3.16
An Agent Group consists of one or more persons, called agents, that
handle incoming ACD traffic. Each Agent Group must contain at least one
member; the maximum agents in a group is 50. The ACD system accepts up to
50 Agent Groups.
As shown in Figure 3-3, each agent group must be set up to report to either a
Supervisor or a Senior Supervisor (never both). Supervision requirements are
determined by the customer, and are usually dictated by the size of the
group.
Agent groups are created through Customer Data Entry (CDE) by entering in
the ACD Agent Groups form (Form 39) an agent group number in the range 1
through 50. An optional name can also be given to the group to assist in620 3-8
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