GENERALIZED CUSTOMER PROFILE EDITOR FOR CALL CENTER SERVICES

Abstract: A profile editor is provided for creating and editing customer profiles. The customer profiles hold information regarding customers of a call center. Each customer profile encapsulates information regarding call flow of a call serviced by the call center on behalf of the customer. For example, a customer profile may hold product information, pricing information, shipping information, call flow information, scripts, and other information for a customer that may be used by an operator to service a call on behalf of the customer. The profile editor may also include a test operator console program to test how an operator console program that is used to assist an operator in servicing calls on behalf of a customer in the call center will use a customer profile.

Description: GENERALIZED CUSTOMER PROFILE EDITOR FOR CALL CENTER SERVICES TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates generally to telecommunications systems and, more particularly, to a generalized customer profile editor for call center services. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION A typical call center includes a number of agents who handle inbound telephone calls and place outbound telephone calls on behalf of business clients, known as customers. Each agent may receive or place calls for multiple customers. Each agent has an associated agent station that includes a personal computer or workstation, a phone pad, and a telephone headset. The customers that are serviced by the call center may be in many different types of businesses. For example, a first customer may run a mail order catalog while a second customer may seek survey information based upon a current advertising campaign. The service provided by the call center must be customized to each customer. As a result, in conventional systems, separate application programs have been developed to service respective customers by operators at the operator consoles. Information regarding the customer has generally been obtained manually and hard coded into the application programs. This approach is both costly and time consuming. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The limitations of the prior art are overcome by the present invention, which provides an automated and generalized package for obtaining customized information about customers that is needed for servicing calls on behalf of the customers. In one embodiment, a profile editor is provided that facilitates the creation of customer profiles. Each customer profile encapsulates all of the information necessary for an operator to service calls in a call center on behalf of a customer. This information may include, for example, scripts, call flow information, product information, pricing information, and shipping information. In accordance with a first aspect of the present invention, a method for gathering data for a call center is practiced on a computer system. A profile editor is provided in the computer system for editing a customer profile for a customer of the call center. The profile editor is then used to create the customer profile for the customer. This customer profile specifies a call flow for calls to be handled by the call center on behalf of the customer. The customer profile is then forwarded to the call center for use therein. In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, a profile editor is provided in the computer system for creating a customer profile for a customer of a call center. A call center has operators stationed at workstations for servicing calls. A test operator console program is provided in the computer system to simulate operation of an operator console program run at the workstation of one of the operators. This operator console program assists the operator in servicing calls. The profile editor is used to obtain a customer profile for the customer. The customer profile specifies a call flow for calls to the customer that are serviced by operators of the call center. The test operator console program is then run to simulate call flow for calls to the customer based on the customer profile. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS A preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described below relative to the following figures. Figure 1 is a diagram that illustrates a telecommunications environment that is suitable for practicing the preferred embodiment of the present invention. Figure 2 is a block diagram of the computer system that is suitable for practicing the preferred embodiment of the present invention. Figure 3 is a flowchart illustrating the steps that are performed to create a customer profile. Figure 4 is a diagram that illustrates the interaction between components of Figure 1 in creating and using customer profiles. Figure 5 illustrates data flow between various components within the environment of Figure 1. Figure 6 shows an example MCI Info page of the profile editor. Figure 7 shows an example Client Info page of the profile editor. Figure 8 shows an example Custom Orders Call Completion page of the profile editor. Figure 9 shows an example History Note describing a modification to a customer profile in the profile editor. Figures 10A and 10B illustrate data for collecting name information with the profile editor. Figure IOC illustrates an example screen display of an operator console that uses a customer profile. Figure 11A and 11B illustrate an example Order Information page of the profile editor. Figure 12 illustrates an example item page for the profile editor. Figures 13A and 13B illustrate an example of the selection menu editor of the profile editor. Figure 14 illustrates an example price constraints page of the profile editor. Figure 15 illustrates an example shipping and handling cost table page of the profile editor. Figure 16 illustrates an example shipping and handling percent table page of the profile editor. Figure 17 illustrates an example shipping and handling weight table page of the profile editor. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The preferred embodiment of the present invention provides a profile editor for obtaining and editing customer profile information. A separate customer profile is maintained for each customer to hold customer information for the customer. Each customer profile contains all the requisite information that is needed by an operator to service calls on behalf of the customer. The profile editor enables a marketing representative to go out into the field and create a customer profile in the field. The profile editor includes a user interface that enables the marketing representative to solicit the requisite information that is needed to provide a complete customer profile. The profile editor is generalized so as to be able to generate customer profiles for many different types of customers. The user interface of the profile editor allows the marketing representative to develop a customer profile that suits the needs of the customer. The customer profile may specify what products are to be sold on behalf of the customer, sales information about products, and even telephone operator scripts that operators may use in servicing calls on behalf of the customer. The data that is gathered by the profile editor is stored in a platform-independent and efficient fashion. The profile editor may include a test version of an agent console application. This test version allows the marketing representative to test a customer profile at the customer site so that the customer can see how calls will be handled by operators based on the current customer profile. If a customer is not happy with a certain aspect of the call flow resulting from a proposed customer profile, modifications may be made. When a customer is satisfied with the profile, the profile may be forwarded via email or other transmission medium to a delivery service that distributes a customer profile to the appropriate location within the call center. The data gathered in the customer profile is validated at multiple levels. The profile editor insures that the input that is collected by the profile editor is in the proper format. A second level of validation of the customer profiles is performed prior to storing the customer profiles at the call center. The profile editor has the benefit of providing an interactive mechanism for gathering and editing customer information for customers of a call center. Moreover, the validation performed by the editor insures that the gathered information is in the correct format and that the marketing representative gathers the requisite information needed to properly service the customer. As will be described in more detail below, the profile editor may be stored on a portable computer and thus may be readily carried by marketing representatives into the field. The profile editor provides a quick and efficient mechanism for gathering customer profile information. Figure 1 depicts an environment that is suitable for practicing the preferred embodiment of the present invention. This environment includes a call center 105 that may be accessed by caller 100 via a public switched telephone network (PSTN) 102. The PSTN 102 may be connected to the call center 105 via a voice release trunk (RLT) 104. The call center 105 includes an automatic call distributor (ACD) 106 for distributing calls within the call center. The ACD is connected via a voice trunk 110 to an automated response unit (ARU) 108. The ARU 108 provides voice response and menu routing functions to a caller. The call center 105 may also include an application processor (AP) 114 that is associated with the ACD 106. The AP 114 may be a dedicated computer system that provides intelligent application processing for assisting the ACD 106. In particular, certain functionality that may be performed by the ACD 106 is off loaded to the AP 114 to enable the ACD to focus on performing switching and queuing functions. The AP 114 is linked to the ACD 106 via an ISDN implementation of a switch/computer application interface (SCAI) link 112. The call center 105 may include multiple agent consoles 118. These consoles are connected to the ACD 106 via voice trunks 116. Each agent console may include a workstation, a telephone pad, and a headset. Human operators at the agent consoles perform scripts, prompting, and transferring of calls that are needed for call processing on behalf of customers. The call center 105 may also include multiple network information distributed services (NIDS) 120. Each of the NIDS 120 may be implemented as a separate computer system. The NIDS 120 may be redundant, and generally serve the role of storing database information. The NIDS 120 may all be connected to an Ethernet local area network (LAN) 42 that also interconnects the ARU 108, the AP 114, the agent consoles 118, a boot server 124, and a validation server 126. The boot server 124 stores the customer profiles in the call center 105 and is responsible for distributing the customer profiles to other entities within the call center 105. The validation server 126 is responsible for performing credit card validations for caller orders. The validation server 126 may be connected via a network, such as an X.25 network 138 to a credit card validation system 140. The boot server 124 is connected via a LAN or wide area network (WAN) 130 to the answernet delivery service (ADS) 132. The ADS 132 may be implemented by a midrange computer system that is responsible for delivering customer profiles to the appropriate boot servers via the LAN/WAN 130. The ADS 132 may be connected to multiple call centers and may distribute the customer profiles to the appropriate call centers. Customer profiles are received from the profile editor 136. The customer profiles may be emailed over an email network (such as a PSTN, the internet, an intranet, or a LAN/WAN) 134 to the ADS 132. The profile editor 136 may be run on a personal computer and, may be run on a portable computer that may be carried by a marketing representative, as has been discussed above. Figure 2 is a block diagram illustrating a computer system that suitable for practicing the preferred embodiment of the present invention. The computer system 142 includes a central processing unit (CPU) 144 and a keyboard 146. The computer system 142 may also include additional peripheral devices, such as a mouse 148 and a video display 150. The computer system 142 may include a modem 152 to enable the computer system to communicate with remote computer resources over telephone lines and a network adapter 154 that enables the computer system to be interfaced with a network. The computer system 142 includes primary storage 160 and secondary storage 156. The secondary storage 156 may hold one or more customer profiles 158. The secondary storage 156 may take many forms, including disk drives and CD-ROM drives that hold computer-readable storage mediums. The primary storage 160 may include a copy of an email program 162 that is able to send and receive emails from the computer system 142. A copy of the profile editor 164 may also be stored on the computer in the primary storage 160. One of the primary roles of the profile editor 164 is to create new customer profiles. Figure 3 is a flowchart illustrating the steps that are performed to create a new customer profile. Initially, a marketing representative visits a customer, such as the customer's business site in the field. The marketing representative then uses the profile editor to obtain information to develop a customer profile from the customer (step 166 in Figure 3). As will be described in more detail below, the profile editor includes a user interface that guides a marketing representative in obtaining the requisite information for developing a customer profile. In addition, the profile editor provides a user interface for entering and storing such information. Once all of the information has been obtained, the marketing representative may demonstrate a dry run of the customer profile by running a test version of the operator console program to demonstrate to the customer how the customer profile will be used by an operator in receiving calls on behalf of the customer (step 168 in Figure 3). This dry run serves as a basis for the customer to make certain that the customer is happy with the customer profile and how it will be used by operators at the call center. After seeing the dry run of the customer profile, the customer makes a decision whether to modify the customer profile or not (step 170 in Figure 3). If modifications are necessary, the modifications are made (step 172 in Figure 3) and the updated customer profile may then be given a dry run, as was discussed above. Once the client is happy with the customer profile, the customer profile is saved (step 174 in Figure 3). The marketing representative then transmits the customer profile via email over the email network 134 (Figure 1) to the ADS 132 (step 176 in Figure 3). The ADS 132 performs validation of the customer profile data and makes the customer profile information available to the call centers that will be servicing the customers. In particular, the ADS 132 sends the customer profile over the LAN/WAN 130 to the boot server 124 of the call centers 105 that will be servicing the customer. The ADS 132 maintains an internal configuration file that determines what boot servers 124 to send a given customer profile. As a result, customer profiles can be created virtually anywhere and distributed to any number of call centers to which the customer profiles are needed. Figure 4 illustrates the flow of a customer profile from the profile editor 136 to the other components within the call center. As it mentioned above, the profile editor 136 emails (see arrow 180 in Figure 4) the customer profile to the ADS 132. The ADS sends the customer profile over a LAN/WAN 130 to one or more boot servers. In the example shown in Figure 4, the customer profile is sent to boot servers 124A, 124B, and 124C. The boot servers 124A, 124B, and 124C then distribute the customer profiles to applications running on agent consoles 118 as needed. In the examples shown on Figure 4, the boot server 124 A distributes customer profiles over a LAN 122 to three agent consoles 118. As is described in copending application entitled "System and Method For Providing Call Center-Based Customer Surveys," which is filed on even date herewith, which is assigned to a common assignee in which it is explicitly incorporated by reference herein, application programs running on the agent consoles utilize the customer profiles to customize the handling of calls on behalf of the customers. These applications compile data collected from the caller into records that are sent over LAN 122 to an NIDS server 120. These records are added to a database maintained on the NIDS server 120. Figure 5 illustrates the flow of collected data in profiles throughout the call center. A caller 100 provides information over a voice link to an operator on an operator console 118. Programs on the operator console 118 generate records in response to the call, as discussed above, which are sent to the NIDS server 120. The NIDS server 120 may be connected to a mainframe computer system 182 that is responsible for maintaining a large database of call center information. The discussion below will now focus on the operation of the profile editor to obtain customer profile information. Figure 6 depicts a window 200 that is produced by the profile editor when initiated. This window 200 includes a menu bar that has a profile menu 212 and an edit menu 214. A user may select the profile menu 212 and choose an option for creating a new profile. In such an instance, the client area of the window 200 appears as shown in Figure 6. In particular, the client area appears like a notebook having tabbed pages. In particular, five notebook tabs are visible: MCI Info, Client Info, Direct Response, Call Completion, and History. Figure 6 depicts an instance in which the MCI Info tab 203 has been selected. The page associated with the tab is used by a marketing representative to specify information that is needed to place a customer profile into production. A termination number field 204 defines the 800 number for an 800 number customer. In particular, a marketing representative may enter the appropriate 800 number into the termination number field on the page. Activation fields 206 are also provided to specify the date and time by which the profile should become active. A block of product-type buttons 208 are displayed to enable the marketing representatives to select the product type for the customer. A block of buttons specifying a delivery method 210 are also displayed. If the marketing representative desires to gather client information, the marketing representative clicks on the Client Info tab 216, as shown on Figure 7. A corporate ID field 218 is provided to enter a numerical identifier that identifies the customer for billing purposes. An accounting office field 220 allows the entrance of an accounting office field, and a account-type block of buttons 222 allows the marketing representative to specify the type of account for the customer for billing purposes. A company name field 224 is provided for the marketing representative to enter the name of the customer. The gold property field 226 and company address field 228 are provided to hold customer address information. A contact information field 230 is provided to specify a contact person for the customer. A marketing representative may select a call completion page by selecting the call completion tab 232, as shown in Figure 8. The call completion page is used to define customer service numbers available to the agent or operator at the call center. As can be seen in Figure 8, multiple pages may be held under this tab. Separate subtabs 234, 236, and 238 are provided for different types of orders. Tab 234 is selected in an example shown in Figure 8 and concerns customer service numbers for custom orders. The title field 240 may be used by the marketing representative to enter the title of the page. The terminating number field 242 is used to enter the telephone number that may be called for the associated type of order. A description field 244 provides a long description to the operator. A time zone field 246 can be used to specify a time zone for the time period/day-of-the-week buttons 248. These buttons 248 may be checked to indicate the call may be transferred to the terminating number associated with the page during the specified day and time period. The marketing representative may also select the history tab 250 (Figure 9) to display a history page. This history page is used to keep track of changes to a customer profile. A tab 258 is displayed with each change entry. The marketing representative may fill in the date and time in the date/time field 252 and may specify his name in the name field 254. Comments may be set forth in the comments field 256. The marketing representative may select the direct response tab 260 (see Figure 10A) to select from a number of fields. Each field has a separate tab associated with it. In Figure 10A, the tab 262 for the name field is selected. The page associated with the name field holds a number of fields regarding information that should be specified relative to obtaining the name of a caller by an operator. This name field includes information for specifying the script to be used by the operator and obtaining a name from a caller. The field name field 264 may be used to identify the associated field name. The field type field 266 may be used to specify the type of the associated name field. The field locator field 268 is used to specify where the field is located, and the required field 270 is used to specify whether this is a field (e.g., the name field) that must be obtained to complete the customer profile. The field width field 272 is used to specify the width of the field in bytes. The range field 274 is used to specify a high and low acceptable range for the field. The valid characters field 276 are used to specify what characters are valid for the field. The default value field 278 is used to specify the default value for the field, and the field prompt field 280 is used to specify a prompt that is to be used to obtain the field. The entry script field 282 is used to enter text that is to be displayed as part of a script when the operator positions the cursor on the associated field. The retry script 284 enables the entrance of a script that is to be displayed when a field is selected at the operator console that has already been previously visited by the operator. The error script field 286 enables a marketing representative to enter a script the operator uses when an error has occurred, such as the entrance of invalid information in the customer profile. As Figure 10B shows, an opening script field 288 is provided for entering an initial greeting that is provided by the operator in processing a call. As can be seen in Figure 10A, separate fields are provided for addresses, catalog requests, and telephone numbers that need to be gathered for caller orders. These fields may be utilized to specify appropriate values for information that is to be gathered as part of the customer profile and to specify scripts for obtaining those values. These fields may also specify whether the values are required or not and may specify how the gathered information is mapped into the data that is stored in the customer profile. Figure 10C shows an example of the appearance of an operator console that uses a customer profile that is specified in an entry script for the name field. This script is displayed in an upper portion 291 of the operator console 290. The text 292 of the entry script is displayed and additional information 294 obtained from the name information is displayed underneath the text. The marketing representative may also select the order entry tab 300 (see Figure 11 A) to obtain information for a customer regarding order entry as part of the customer profile. Separate tabs 304 may be provided for separate pages for different types of borders and order information. In general, a separate page may be provided for each field that is to be obtained for order entry. In particular, a separate page is used to define each set of questions that are required for order entry by an operator for a given field. In an example shown in Figure 11 A, the prior order page is selected. The prior order page includes a number of fields 303 like those described above in Figures 10A and 10B. For specifying parameters regarding a given field, in an example shown in Figure 11 A, the field is the prior order field, and it indicates whether or not a caller has previously ordered from a customer. Scripts may be specified in script fields 305. In addition, a merchant ID field 308 may be included, and buttons 306 may be used to specify what credit cards are permissible for customer sales. The marketing representative may also select the items for sale tab 310 (Figure 12) to display the items for sale page. The items for sale page is used to define what items are for sale by a given customer. The SKU field 314 is used to specify the stockkeeping unit (SKU) code for a given product. Each product has an associated tab (EG tab 312) and a separate associated page. A translation key field 316 may be used to enter a translation key for ordering an item. The short description field 318 is used to enter a short description of the item. The quantity range field 320 is used to hold a low value and a high value to define a range for quantity discounts. Most items use default values of 1 to 1, which implies that each item's cost and shipping and handling charge are multiplied by the quantity. The price field 322 is used to hold the price of the item, and the S&H cost field 324 is used to hold the additional shipping and handling cost that is charged for the item. The weight field holds a value that is used when the shipping and handling charges are determined by the total weight of an order. The tax category field 330 is used to identify the tax category for the item. The description field 332 may be used to enter a description of the item. The marketing representative may also select the selection menu tab 334 (see Figures 13A and 13B). The selection menu tab causes a selection menu editor to be displayed that is used to define a menu that can be used by the operator to select items to order. The selection menu editor includes three main parts: the item selection menu 339, the item selected part 346, and the menu editor 352. The item selection menu 339 includes fields 340, 342, and 344 in Figure 13A and resembles a menu that is presented to the operator to select items to order. The item selected part 346 includes fields 348 and 350 in Figure 13A and assumes the item that corresponds to the currently selected item on the item selection menu part 339. The menu editor part holds fields that are used to edit the item selection menu part 339. Figures 13 A and 13B depict an example of a selection menu with an item that is defined three levels deep. In this example, the first menu level (i.e., "item name") is currently selected. The values "item name" and the menu title field 354 of the menu editor 352 and the value "baskets" in the item title field 356 of the menu editor 352 corresponds to the first level menu in the item selection menu 339. The value "BA12SUNS" in the translation key field 358 of the menu item corresponds to the item identified by the combination of values in three menu levels 340, 342, and 344 in the item selection menu. In the example, this corresponds to a basket of sunshine holding half dozen blooming cookie flowers. A number of modifications to a menu may be made using the selection menu editor. For example, the title of a menu may be edited by changing the text in the menu title field 354. The title of an item in a drop down box for field 354 may be edited by selecting the item and then changing the text in the item title field 356. A translation key may be edited by modifying the text within the translation key 358. A menu entry may be added to the currently selected level by pressing the ADD menu button 360. An item may be added to a currently selected level by pressing the ADD item button 362. A menu item may be deleted by pressing the DELETE button 364. The marketing representative may specify price constants for an order by selecting the price constants tab 370 (Figure 14). A minimum order field 372 specifies a minimum order dollar amount. Field 374 holds a value for a flat rate for shipping and handling for an order. Field 376 holds a value specifying the shipping and handling rate for each address when multiple addresses are specified for an order, and field 378 holds shipping and handling charges for shipping an order to multiple addresses. Additional shipping and handling information may be specified by selecting the shipping and handling cost table tab 380 (Figure 15). This causes the associated table 382 to be displayed. The table 382 accommodates the specification of up to ten levels of shipping and handling price break charges. This table is utilized to determine the shipping and handling charge based upon the cost of the order. The marketing representative may configure a shipping and handling percentage table by selecting the shipping and handling percent table tab 384 (Figure 16). As shown in Figure 16, this table accommodates the specification of up to ten levels of shipping and handling price break charges. Similarly, the marketing representative may configure a shipping and handling weight table by selecting the shipping and handling weight table tab 388, shown in Figure 17. The shipping and handling weight table 386 accommodates the specification of up to ten levels of shipping and handling price break charges based upon weight. As was discussed above, the marketing representative completes the appropriate fields to develop the customer profile. This information is stored in a tag/length/data format. Each tag is 4-bytes wide and identifies the type of information that is included in the data. A length field follows the tag field and is 4-bytes wide. The length field specifies the length of the data. The data consists of the data that is entered by the marketing representative as part of the customer profile. Set forth below is a list of the tag definitions used for the customer profiles. TAG DEFINITIONS Tag 00000000 - Comment (ASCII English) Length Data Null terminated ASCII String Tag 00000001 - Character String (ASCIIZ Format) Length Data Null terminated ASCII String Tag 00000002 - Character String (EBCDIC Format) Length EBCDIC Character Data Data Tag 00000003 - Unsigned numeric quantity Length 0000000C Data Intel ULONG Tag 00000004 - Signed numeric quantity Length 0000000C Data Intel LONG Tag 00000005 - Signed value (integer value in pennies) Length 0000000C Data Intel LONG (value in pennies) Tag 00000006 - Unsigned percentage (integer value, 1234 => 12.34%) Length 0000000C Data Intel LONG (value in pennies) Tag 00000010 - Range Length Data Required Tag (2) Minimum value any numeric (incl weights) or character string Maximum value any numeric (incl weights) or character string (type must agree with minimum value) Tag 00000011 - Field requirement flag Length 00000009 Data Byte - 00 => Field is optional - FF => Field is required Tag 00000012 - Width (in characters) Length 0000000A Data UBYTE - Recommended width UBYTE - Maximum width of collected data - 00 => No maximum limit Tag 00000013 - Height (in lines) Length 0000000A Data UBYTE - Recommended height UBYTE - Maximum height of collected data - 00 => No maximum limit Tag 00000014 - Data Type Length Data Positional Tags (Required in this order) 00000003 - Unsigned LONG; Indicates data type Legal values 00000000 - any collectable value is allowed 00000001 - numeric data 00000002 - character data, spaces not allowed 00000003 - character data, optional tag (any of character data) specifies the legal characters allowed [00000001, 000000002] 00000004 - display only (using default data) 00000005 - display only (using expression in default data) [Phase 2] Required Tags as specified in Positional Tag Section Optional Tags 00000010 - Range, defines legal range for collected values (numeric or text) Tag 00000015 - Field locator value, used to find fields in a data group (used by Tax Server) Length Data Any number of (must be at least one) any character string any numeric value Defined Values any character string "Name" - "Address" - "City" - "State" - "ZIP" - "Country" - "City, State" - "City, State ZIP" - "City, State ZIP Country" - "Free form address" - "Phone" - "Day Phone" - "Evening Phone" - any numeric value None defined Tag 00000016 - Default value Length Data numeric value for numeric fields any character string for entry field and MLEs Tag 00000020 - Company Name (Character String) Length Data Required Tag (1) of 00000001 - ASCIIZ String 00000002 - EBCDIC String Predefined Field Name for Company Name "-.Company Name" Tag 00000021 - Prompt text (Character String) Length Data Required Tag (1) of 00000001 - ASCIIZ String 00000002 - EBCDIC String Tag 00000022 - Field Name (Character string) Length Data any character string Tag 00000023 - Info Area Text Length Data any character string - used to populate Info Area for this control Length Data any character strιng(s) - used to specify editor controls (TBD - see CUA Specs) Tag 00000025 - Output Format Length Data any character stπng(s) Embedded strings starting with '@' should be translated using the Field Names of collected data Exact format of this data is TBD. Tag 00000026 - Script Text Length Data any character string Notes - Phase 1.0 can process this as a text string with format characters (CR/LF) - Phase 1.5 can access " " variables from standard console - Phase 2.0 can access AnswerNet Variable Data (use '@' escape character) Tag 00000027 - Key Information Length Data One byte - indicates key Valid values 0x00 - Enter Key 0x01 - SKI 0x02 - SK2 0x03 - SK3 0x04 - SK4 0x05 - SK5 0x06 - SK6 0x07 - SK7 Note: The following keys must be overridden or turned off 0x08 - ESCAPE Key 0x09 - Fl OxOA - F2 OxOB - F3 OxOC - F4 OxOD - F5 OxOE - F6 OxOF - F7 0x10 - F8 0x11 - F9 0x12 - F10 0x13 - Fll 0x14 - F12 0x15 - SHIFT Fl Positional Tags (two) any character string - Text for Key Cap value of "" for keys >= 0x08 any character string - Name of Label to branch to value of "" indicates key is to be turned off Tag 00000028 - Field Information Length Data Positional Tags Required Tags 00000012 - Width (in characters) 00000014 - Field Type 00000021 - Prompt Text 00000022 - Field Name 00000025 - Output Format Optional Tags 00000015 - Field Locator 00000016 - Default value 00000023 - Info Area Text [Phase 2] 00000024 - Edit Mask [Phase 2] Tag 00000029 - Field Scripts Length Data Required Tags 00000026 - Script text - Entry script Optional Positional Tags 00000026 - Script text - Retry Script 00000026 - Script text - Error Script Note Opening Script is a special tag associated with the entire profile Tag 00000030 - Opening Script (one per profile) Length Data 0000026 - Script text Tag 00000031 - Menu Item Information Length Data One byte - indicates short cut key Valid values 0x00 - No short cut key ASCII - ASCII Key Value (upper or lower case, numeric) Positional Tags (two) any character string - Text of Menu Item any character string - Name of Label to branch to value of "" indicates key is to be turned off Tag 00000032 - Delivery Method Information (echo to response) Length Data Required Tags 00000033 - Delivery Method Name Additional Tags 00000034 - FAX Number (for "FAX" method) 00000035 - Privacy Enhanced eMail Account (for "PEMail" method) 00000036 -Profile's Associated Phone Number (for "BBS" method) Tag 00000033 - Delivery Method Name Length Data any character string Legal Values "BBS" "FAX" "PEMail" Tag 00000034 - FAX Number Length Data any character string (exactly one) Legal values 10 Digit NADP Tag 00000035 - Privacy Enhanced eMail Account Length Data Positional Tags any character string - internet eMail address Optional Tags any character string - Public PGP Key Legal values Not specified - indicates mail should not be encoded "ROT13" - indicates R0T13 encoding should be used "PGP ###" - indicates PGP public key "###" should be used Tag 00000036 - Profile's Associated Phone Number Length Data any character string - Phone number associated with profile Legal values VNET Format NADP Format International Format Tag 00000037 - Profile's Status Length Data any character string - Status (exactly one) Legal Values "Template" "Prototype" "Submit" "Cancel edByAccountExecuti ve" "Submitted" "Reject" "Rejected" "Cancel ByAccountRepresentati ve" "Cancel edByAccountRepresentative" "Accepted" Allowed into production system "QueuedForService" In production system, waiting "Active" In production system, profile used "Superceeded" In production system, past (remove it) TAG 00000038 - Profile Version (#, D, T) Length Data Required Tags 00000036 Profile's Associated Phone Number any character string Profile's desi ed active Date and Time Format of Date/Time string "YYYYMMDDHHSS" expressed in GMT Tag 00000039 - Profile History Length Data 00000040 History Entry Tag 00000040 - History Entry Length Data Positional Tags any character data Date/Time of modification ("YYYYMMDDHHMM" GMT) any character data Name of responsible party (Person or machine) any character data Comments Tag 000000100 - Order Entry Specification Length Data Required Tags 00000020 - Company Name 00000101 - Table of items to sell 00000102 - Key selection data 00000103 - Additional item data 00000104 - Format of order information 00000025 - Output Format - first is for start of OE (headers) 00000025 - Output Format - last is for end of OE (trailers/totals) 00000105 - Format of items ordered 00000025 - Output Format - placed between first/last formats of 00000104 Optional Tags Note. 00000111 should not be used with 00000110 00000109 - Shipping & Handling Charge for base order any cost value 00000110 - Shipping & Handling Charge for each specified address any cost value 00000111 - Flat Rate Shipping & Handling Surcharge for multiple addresses any cost value 00000121 - Shipping and handling adjustments by weight range (table) 00000122 - S & H adjustment One of (minimum weight value) One of (price adjustment for order) 00000130 - S & H charge based on Sub Total (keep in sorted order, lowest price 00000131 - S & H for less than or equal to value One of (cost value) One of (price) 00000132 - S & H charge based on percentage of Sub Total 00000133 - S & H percentage for less than or equal to value One of (cost value) One of (percentage) 00000133 - Minimum order value One of (cost value) Predefined Field Names for Order Entry Results "øltems Ordered" number of items ordered (ULONG) [] Array of values, e g "Qty[2]" is 2nd item's Qty "(aSKU/Description[]" Array of SKU/Descπption "@Qty[]" Array of Quantity "@Pπce[c]" Array of Price (each) "@S & H Each[]" Array of Shipping and Handling (each) " @ Cost[]" Array of Cost (Price * Quantity) "@S & H SubTTLU" Array of S & H (Price * S & H each) "@Weιght Each[]" Array of Weight (each) "(a eight SubTTL[]" Array of Weight (Price * Weight each) "@Descπptιve Text[]" Array of Descriptive Text 'Wotal Weight" Total Weight of order (sum of weights) 'Wotal Cost" Total Cost of items ordered (sum of costs) 'Wotal S & H" Total Shipping and Handling of items ordered (sum of S) 'Wax" Total Tax (from Total Cost and Total S & H) 'Wotal" Total Amount for Order Tag 00000101 - Table of items to sell Length Data Required Tags 00000105 - Item to sell Tag 00000105 - Item to sell Length Data Required Tags 00000106 - SKU/Descπption Required (1) of 00000001 or 00000002 (Character Strings) 00000010 - Range (that the following (price, s&h) are good for 00000107 - Price of each item any cost value 00000108 - Shipping & Handling Charge for each item any cost value Optional Tags 00000112 - Descriptive Text any character string with format data (e g ASCIIZ) 00000113 - Weight (support is optional) any value 00000115 - Tax Category Item belongs to any character string or numeric value (no values defined, depends on future Tax Server Requirements) 00000117 - Appended SubKey Translation Entry any character string - key generated by Key selection data (must be unique) (multiple 00000117s allowed per 00000105, used for aliasing items that may be listed several times in the key selection data) Tag 00000102 - Key selection data Length Data Required Tags 00000114 - SubKey Menu Required Tags One Byte (unsigned) - depth of submenus below this level Note: if no submenus exist this value is 0 One Byte (unsigned) - number of submenus to reserve at this level Note: this is the depth of more co boboxes below this e any character string - title of submenu or menu item One of -- specifies next submenu or return string 00000114 - SubKey Menu any character string Tag 00000103 - Additional item data Length Data Optional Tags 00000118 - Group Box 00000119 - Entry Field 00000114 - SubKey Menu (Combo Box) Optional Tags (allowed in 00000103s only) 00000015 - Field locator value 00000120 - Price adjustment any price value 00000121 - S & H adjustment any price value 00000122 - MLE Tag 000000118 - Group Box Length Data Required Tags 00000012 - Field width 00000013 - Field height 00000020 - Prompt Text 00000025 - Output Format - format for all data in Group Box Optional Tags 00000023 - Info Area Text Tag 00000119 - Entry Field Length Data Required Tags 00000012 - Field width 00000014 - Data Type 00000020 - Prompt Text 00000022 - Field Name 00000025 - Output Format Optional Tags 00000011 - Field requirement flag (default is not required) 00000015 - Field locator value 00000016 - Default data 00000023 - Info Area Text 00000024 - Edit Mask Tag 00000122 - MLE (multi-line edit field) Length Data Required Tags 00000012 - Field width 00000013 - Field height 00000014 - Data Type 00000020 - Prompt Text 00000022 - Field Name 00000025 - Output Format (allow for contiguous or w/linefeeds) Optional Tags 00000011 - Field requirement flag (default is not required) 00000015 - Field locator value 00000016 - Default data 00000023 - Info Area Text 00000024 - Edit Mask Tag 000000200 - Panel Length Data Required Tags 00000022 - Field Name (Unique ID for this panel) 00000025 - Output Format (for panel) One of the following Panel Types 00000201 - Script and Key Panel 00000202 - Fields and Key Panel 00000203 - Menu and Key Panel 00000204 - Order Entry Panel 00000205 - Call Completion Panel 00000206 - Pop up Panel 00000207 - Scrollable Text Panel Optional Tags Tag 00000201 - Script and Key Panel Length Data Required Tags 00000026 - Script Text (only one) 00000027 - Key Information (at least one) Optional Tags Tag 000000202 - Fields and Key Panel Length Data Required Tags 00000027 - Key Information (at least one) 00000028 - Field Information Optional Tags Tag 00000203 - Menu and Key Panel Length Data Required Tags 00000026 - Script Text 00000027 - Key Information (at least one) 00000031 - Menu Items (at least two) Optional Tags Tag 00000204 - Order Entry Panel Length Data Required Tags @@@ - collect caller info, ship info, credit card 00000100 - Order Entry Specification @@@ - approve amount and charge credit card Optional Tags Tag 00000205 - Call Completion Panel Length Data Required Tags Optional Tags Tag 00000206 - Pop up Panel Length Data Required Tags One of 00000201 00000202 Optional Tags Tag 00000207 - Scrollable Text Panel Length Data Required Tags any character string Optional Tags Tag 00001000 - AnswerNet Profile Length Data Positional Tags 00000037 - Profile Status 00000038 - Profile Version (#, D, T) Required Tags 00000030 - Opening script 00000032 - Delivery Method 00000200 - Panel (initial panel) (first one found) 00000020 - Company Name 00000047 - Company Address 00000048 - Company Contact Information 00000044 - GPF Data 00000045 - Corporate ID 00000046 - Accounting Office Optional Tags 00000000 - Comments (identify creator) 00000039 - Profile History Tag 00002000 - AnswerNet Response Length Data Positional Tags 00000032 - Delivery Method Required Tags any character string (at least one) Optional Tags 00000000 - Comments (identify creator) It should be appreciated that the profile editor may also be used to edit a given customer profile after it is created. The profile menu 212 includes an open option for opening an existing profile. The values entered in the customer profile are shown in the respective fields of the respective property sheets. The profile editor may then be used to modify the value stored within these fields. While the present invention has been described with reference to a preferred embodiment thereof, those skilled in the art will appreciate that various changes in form and detail may be made without departing from the intended scope of the present invention, as defined in the appended claims.

Claims: CLAIMS 1. In a computer system, a method for gathering data for a call center, comprising the computer-implemented steps of: providing a profile editor for editing a customer profile for a customer of the call center; using the profile editor to create the customer profile for the customer, said customer profile specifying a call flow for calls to the call center for the customer; and forwarding the customer profile to the call center for use in the call center. 2. The method of claim 1 wherein the call center includes operators for servicing calls in the call center and wherein the customer profile specifies a script for use by one of the operators in servicing a call for the customer. 3. The method of claim 1 wherein the customer sells certain items and the customer profile specifies what items the customer sells. 4. The method of claim 3 wherein the customer profile contains pricing information regarding the items that the customer sells. 5. The method of claim 1 wherein the customer profile is forwarded by electronic mail. 6. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of forwarding the customer profile to at least one additional call center. 7. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of using the profile editor to create an additional customer profile for an additional customer. 8. The method of claim 7, further comprising the step of forwarding the additional customer profile to the call center for use in the call center. 9. The method of claim 1 wherein the call center includes operators for servicing calls, wherein the operators each have computers that run an application that assists the operators in servicing calls and wherein the customer profile that is forwarded to the call center is used by the application on at least one or the computers to assist one of the operators in servicing a call for the customer. 10. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of modifying the customer profile via the profile editor. 11. In a computer system, a method of obtaining customer information for a call center having operators with workstations for servicing calls to the call center, comprising the computer-implemented steps of: providing a profile editor for creating a customer profile of a customer of the call center; providing a test operator console program that simulates operation of the operator console program run on a workstation of an operator to assist in servicing calls; using the profile editor to obtain a customer profile for the customer wherein the customer profile specifies a call flow for calls to the customer serviced by operators of the call enter; and running the test operator console program to simulate call flow for calls to the customer based on the customer profile. 12. The method of claim 11, further comprising the step of modifying the customer profile to alter the call flow specified by the customer profile. 13. The method of claim 11, further comprising the step of forwarding the customer profile to the call center for use in the call center. 14. The method of claim 11 wherein the forwarding of the customer profile comprises sending electronic mail that includes the customer profile. 15. In a computer system, a computer-readable medium holding computer-executable instructions for performing a method for gathering data for a call center, comprising the computer-implemented steps of: providing a profile editor for editing a customer profile for a customer of the call center; using the profile editor to create the customer profile for the customer, said customer profile specifying a call flow for calls to the call center for the customer; and forwarding the customer profile to the call center for use in the call center. 16. The computer-readable medium of claims 15 wherein the call center includes operators for servicing calls in the call center and wherein the customer profile specifies a script for use by one of the operators in servicing a call for the customer. 17. The computer-readable medium of claim 15 wherein the call center includes operators for servicing calls in the call center and wherein the customer profile specifies a script for use by one of the operators in servicing a call for the customer. 18. The computer-readable medium of claim 17 wherein the customer profile contains pricing information regarding the items that the customer sells. 19. The computer-readable medium of claim 15 wherein the customer profile is forwarded by electronic mail. 20. The computer-readable medium of claim 15 wherein the method further comprises the step of forwarding the customer profile to at least one additional call center. 21. The computer-readable medium of claim 15 wherein the method further comprises the step of forwarding the additional customer profile to the call center for use in the call center. 22. The computer-readable medium of claim 15 wherein the call center includes operators for servicing calls, wherein the operators each have computers that run an application that assists the operators in servicing calls and wherein the customer profile that is forwarded to the call center is used by the application on at least one or the computers to assist one of the operators in servicing a call for the customer. 23. In a computer system, a computer-readable medium holding computer-executable instructions for performing a method of obtaining customer information for a call center having operators with workstations for servicing calls to the call center, comprising the computer-implemented steps of: providing a profile editor for creating a customer profile of a customer of the call center; providing a test operator console program that simulates operation of the operator console program run on a workstation of an operator to assist in servicing calls; using the profile editor to obtain a customer profile for the customer wherein the customer profile specifies a call flow for calls to the customer serviced by operators of the call enter; and running the test operator console program to simulate call flow for calls to the customer based on the customer profile.

Inventors: IVEY BRIAN, LA RUE DAVID L, LEONARD TIMOTHY M, IVEY, BRIAN, LA RUE, DAVID, L., LEONARD, TIMOTHY, M.
Applicants: MCI COMMUNICATIONS CORP, MCI COMMUNICATIONS CORPORATION
Application year: 1998
Main classification: H04M3
IPC codes: H04M3