Patent ID: 7788286
Filing Date: 2010-08-31
Classification: H04M

Abstract:
1. A method for generating a schedule for a multi-contact center, wherein the multi-contact center processes a plurality of contact queues, the method comprising: receiving a plurality of scheduling data from a user interface, wherein the plurality of scheduling data includes a plurality of contacts; categorizing the plurality of contacts as immediate contacts or deferred contacts, the immediate contacts being configured to be responded to within a first time period after receipt, the deferred contacts being configured to be responded to within a second time period after receipt, the second time period being longer than the first time period; assigning the plurality of contacts to a plurality of contact queues, the plurality of contact queues including an immediate contact queue and a deferred contact queue, the immediate contact queue comprising the immediate contacts, the deferred contact queue comprising the deferred contacts; generating a plurality of scheduling constraints; generating a plurality of potential schedules based on the plurality of scheduling constraints, the scheduling constraints including expected performance of the immediate contact queue and the deferred contact queue, at least one potential schedule being generated for at least one of the immediate contact queue and the deferred contact queue; performing an analysis on each of the plurality of potential schedules to generate estimated service levels for each of the plurality of contact queues, wherein an estimated service level comprises a percentage of incoming contacts responded to during a predetermined time; generating scores for each of the plurality of potential schedules based on the estimated service levels for each of the plurality of contact queues, wherein the scores indicate an effectiveness of the potential schedules; and selecting an optimal schedule from the plurality of potential schedules based on the scores for each of the plurality of potential schedules.