Abstract:
A technique is disclosed that optimizes the background noise experienced by a party who is calling into a call center. Working as part of an overall call-assignment algorithm, the technique considers the acoustic noise that is present in the vicinities of multiple call-center agents who are otherwise satisfactory candidates to handle a call. The technique then selects an agent to handle the call who is associated with an optimal acoustic noise. Typically, the selected agent is associated with lowest background noise level. The background noise is monitored at each call agent&#39;s station by evaluating the signals that are present at the agent&#39;s microphone. Usually, this is done when a call agent is between calls and, as a result, is not using her headset at that moment. In other words, the background noise is actually measured, and the measurements are then used to assign a call agent to the incoming call.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
       [0001]    The present invention relates to telecommunications in general, and, more particularly, to assigning call-center agents to incoming calls. 
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0002]    A call center is a specialized central office that is used to handle a large number of incoming calls, or outgoing calls, for a particular purpose. For example, a call center can be used by a company to provide incoming product support to customers or information requests from customers. 
         [0003]    The party who is calling into the call center, also known as “the calling party,” typically places a call to a general support number, upon which the call is then assigned a particular call agent based on a variety of well-understood factors. For example, the call can be assigned an agent based on the calling party&#39;s particular need for assistance, the agent&#39;s expertise, and/or the availability of call agents to handle an incoming call at any particular moment. 
         [0004]    A call center often has a large, open workspace to physically accommodate all of the call agents who handle the calls. In order to accommodate a maximum number of call agents, the workspace is typically divided into multiple clusters of workstation areas. Each workstation area accommodates an agent and typically comprises a computer, a telephone, a desk, and a chair within a cubicle or otherwise-partitioned station. 
         [0005]    As long as the call center is handling call traffic, in which each agent engaged in a call is speaking at least part of the time, there is an ever-present level of acoustic noise in the background. This is affected by the dimensions of the workspace, the acoustic properties of the workstation areas, and how the call agents are situated relative to one another. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0006]    When assigning a call agent to an incoming call, one factor that has not been previously considered, in at least in some techniques in the prior art, is the background acoustic noise that is present at the call center. Consequently, it is often the case that when a calling party is connected to an agent, the background acoustic noise in the vicinity of the agent and her workstation area can be moderate to high. In particular, the calling party is often able to hear the muffled voices of other call agents who are near the assigned call agent. Although the background noise that is present on a call might not typically be disruptive to the calling party, it can affect the calling party&#39;s experience while on the call. And in a time when many callers regard call centers with disdain, having additional control of the caller&#39;s experience can only help. More serious, perhaps, is the possibility of the calling party overhearing private information, such as social security numbers, uttered by agents other than that agent attending to the calling party. 
         [0007]    The present invention enables the reduction of the background noise experienced by the calling party by considering the acoustic noise that is present at the call center. In particular, working as part of an overall call-assignment algorithm, the technique of the illustrative embodiment considers the acoustic noise that is present in the vicinities of multiple call agents who are otherwise satisfactory candidates to handle a call. The technique then selects an agent associated with an optimal acoustic noise to handle the call. While “optimal” can be defined in many ways, typically, the selected agent is associated with lowest background noise level. 
         [0008]    In accordance with the illustrative embodiment of the present invention, the background noise is monitored at each call agent&#39;s station by evaluating the signals that are present at the agent&#39;s microphone. Usually, this is done when the call agent is between calls and, as a result, is not using her headset at that moment. In other words, the background noise is actually measured, and the measurements are then used to assign a call agent to the incoming call. 
         [0009]    In some alternative embodiments, the acoustic noise can be inferred rather than, or in addition to, being measured. Because first-order background noise is inversely proportional to the distance between agents in the workspace, one can roughly visualize the effect of assigning calls in this way as an assignment of calls based on the spatial relationship of the call agents with respect to one another. For example, if two call agents are available to handle an incoming call, the technique of inferring the acoustic noise would tend to assign, to the incoming call, the call agent of the two who is the furthest away from a third agent already engaged in a call. 
         [0010]    Yet another embodiment of the present invention can be applied when there is only one available agent to handle a new incoming call at a particular moment. At that point, the call assignment algorithm could predict whether a second agent will become available within a reasonably short amount of time, such as within a minute. If so, the call assignment algorithm does not immediately reassign the one available agent, and when the second agent becomes available, the algorithm then has two available agents from which to select based on the differences in acoustic noise. 
         [0011]    In yet other alternative embodiments, the same mechanisms used to monitor the acoustic background noise can be exploited in order to increase the level of background noise heard by the calling party. In some situations, increased levels of neighboring call-agent speech can create an aura of excitement with the calling party—a sales “buzz”—which can result in increased sales. Knowing the current acoustic noise level in the agent&#39;s environment, the noise level in a given agent&#39;s transmitted speech path can be increased either actually, by de-idling inactive call agents within first agent&#39;s vicinity, or artificially by synthetically adding prerecorded call-floor noise to the agent&#39;s transmitted speech waveform. 
         [0012]    The illustrative embodiment of the present invention comprises: receiving an incoming call at a data-processing system; identifying a plurality of call agents who are available to handle the incoming call; determining the acoustic noise that is present in the vicinity of each call agent in the plurality; and assigning a call agent in the plurality to the incoming call, based on the acoustic noise. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
         [0013]      FIG. 1  depicts telecommunications system  100 , which features call-center data-processing system  103 , in accordance with the illustrative embodiment of the present invention. 
           [0014]      FIG. 2  depicts the salient components of call-center data-processing system  103 . 
           [0015]      FIG. 3  depicts a flowchart of the salient tasks performed by call center data-processing system  103 , in accordance with the illustrative embodiment of the present invention. 
           [0016]      FIG. 4  depicts an overhead view of call center  400  supported by system  103 , in which call agents are stationed in a workspace at various locations relative to one another. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION  
       [0017]    The following term is defined for use in this Specification, including the appended claims: 
         [0018]    The term “call,” and its inflected forms, is defined as an interactive communication involving one or more telecommunications terminal (e.g., “phone”, etc.) users, who are also known as “parties” to the call. An audio call is featured in the illustrative embodiment of the present invention, in which audio signals originated by at least one of the call parties is transmitted to another call party. As those who are skilled in the art will appreciate, in some alternative embodiments, a call might comprise video signals. Furthermore, a call can involve one or more human call parties or one or more automated devices, alone or in combination with each other. 
         [0019]      FIG. 1  depicts telecommunications system  100 , which features a “call center,” in accordance with the illustrative embodiment of the present invention. A call center is sometimes referred to as a “contact center.” Telecommunications system  100  comprises calling telecommunications terminal  101 ; telecommunications network  102 ; call center data-processing system  103 ; and enterprise telecommunications terminals  104 - 1  through  104 -N, wherein N is a positive integer, the depicted elements being interconnected as shown. 
         [0020]    Calling telecommunications terminal  101  is a device that is capable of originating or receiving calls, or both. For example, terminal  101  can be one of a telephone, a notebook computer, a personal digital assistant (PDA), and so forth. 
         [0021]    Terminal  101  handles calls via telecommunications network  102  and is capable of exchanging audio and call processing-related signals with one or more other devices, such as terminal  104 - n  through data-processing system  103 . To this end, terminal  101  exchanges one or more of Internet Protocol (IP) data packets, Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) messages, Voice over IP (VoIP) traffic, and stream-related messages (e.g., Real Time Streaming Protocol [RTSP] messages, etc.) with network  102 , as well as system  103  and terminal  104 - n.    
         [0022]    Telecommunications network  102  is a network such as the Public Switched Telephone Network [PSTN], the Internet, etc. that carries calls to and from telecommunications terminal  101 , call center data-processing system  103 , and other devices not appearing in  FIG. 1 . A call might be a conventional voice telephony call, a video-based call, a text-based instant messaging (IM) session, a Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) call, and so forth. 
         [0023]    Call center data-processing system  103  provides the functionality of a private-branch exchange with an automatic call distributor (ACD), in that it receives incoming calls from telecommunications network  102  and directs the calls to one of a plurality of telecommunications terminals within the enterprise (i.e., enterprise terminals  104 - 1  through  104 -N) or to another function such as interactive voice response (IVR), depending on how system  103  is programmed or configured. For example, in an enterprise call center, system  103  might comprise logic for routing calls to call agents&#39; terminals based on criteria such as how busy various call agents have been in a recent time interval, the telephone number called, and so forth. 
         [0024]    In handling incoming calls, system  103  is capable of exchanging Internet Protocol (IP) data packets, Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) messages, Voice over IP (VoIP) traffic, and stream-related messages (e.g., Real Time Streaming Protocol [RTSP] messages, etc.) with calling terminals such as terminal  101  and enterprise terminals  104 - 1  through  104 -N. 
         [0025]    In some embodiments, system  103  might be programmed or configured so that an incoming call is initially routed to an IVR function, and, based on caller input, is subsequently redirected back to the private-branch exchange function of system  103  for routing to an appropriate telecommunications terminal within the enterprise (i.e., one of terminals  104 - 1  through  104 -N). Possibly, system  103  might queue each incoming call if all agents are busy, until the queued call can be routed to an available agent at one of enterprise terminals  104 - 1  through  104 -N. System  103  also receives audio signals from enterprise terminals  104 - 1  through  104 -N, and transmits the audio signals on to telecommunications network  102  for delivery to a caller&#39;s terminal. 
         [0026]    The salient components of system  103  that enable communication between a calling terminal (e.g., terminal  101 , etc.) and enterprise terminal  104 - n  are described below and with respect to  FIG. 2 . System  103  also performs the tasks of the illustrative embodiment, the salient tasks being described below and with respect to  FIG. 3 . 
         [0027]    Enterprise telecommunications terminal  104 - n , where n has a value between 1 and N, is a device that is capable of originating or receiving calls, or both. In accordance with the illustrative embodiment, terminal  104 - n  is a workstation softphone at a call center; in some alternative embodiments, however, terminal  104 - n  can be one of a telephone, a notebook computer, a personal digital assistant (PDA), and so forth. As those who are skilled in the art will appreciate, terminals  104 - 1  through  104 -N can be different from one another. 
         [0028]    Terminal  104 - n  handles calls via system  103  and is capable of exchanging audio and call processing-related signals with one or more other devices, such as terminal  101  via network  102 . To this end, terminal  104 - n  exchanges one or more of Internet Protocol (IP) data packets, Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) messages, Voice over IP (VoIP) traffic, and stream-related messages (e.g., Real Time Streaming Protocol [RTSP] messages, etc.) with system  103 . 
         [0029]    As will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, some embodiments of the present invention might feature an architecture for telecommunications system  100  that is different than that of the illustrative embodiment. For example, in some embodiments, the interactive voice response (IVR) system functionality of system  103  might be provided by a separate server. In some other embodiments, the IVR functionality might not even be present. It will be clear to those skilled in the art, after reading this specification, how to make and use such alternative architectures. 
         [0030]      FIG. 2  depicts the salient components of data-processing system  103 , in accordance with the illustrative embodiment of the present invention. System  103  comprises network interface  201 , processor  202 , and memory  203 , interconnected as shown. It will be clear to those skilled in the art, after reading this disclosure, how to make and use alternative embodiments of the present invention in which system  103  comprises any subcombination of the components listed above. 
         [0031]    Network interface  201  comprises the circuitry that enables system  103  to receive signals from and transmit signals to any terminal such as terminals  101  (via network  102 ) and  104 - n  in well-known fashion. 
         [0032]    Processor  202  is a general-purpose processor that is capable of receiving information from and transmitting information to network interface  201 , of executing instructions stored in memory  203  including those that correspond to the tasks of the illustrative embodiment, and of reading data from and writing data into memory  203 . In some alternative embodiments of the present invention, processor  202  might be a special-purpose processor. 
         [0033]    Memory  203  stores the instructions and data used by processor  202 , in well-known fashion. Memory  203  can be any combination of dynamic random-access memory (RAM), flash memory, disk drive memory, and so forth. 
         [0034]      FIG. 3  depicts a flowchart of the salient tasks performed by call center data-processing system  103 , in accordance with the illustrative embodiment of the present invention. As those who are skilled in the art will appreciate, some or all of the tasks depicted in  FIG. 3  can be performed simultaneously or in a different order than that depicted. 
         [0035]    In accordance with the illustrative embodiment, call center data-processing system  103  performs the depicted tasks, which are described below. However, it will be clear to those skilled in the art, after reading this specification, how to make and use alternative embodiments of the present invention, in which a data-processing system other than system  103  performs some or all of the described tasks, such as a separate automatic call distributor (ACD) system. 
         [0036]    In order to understand the salient tasks of the illustrative embodiment, it is important to understand the spatial relationship among call agents in determining how to assign a call agent to each incoming call.  FIG. 4  depicts an overhead view of call center  400 , in which call agents are stationed at various locations relative to one another. In the illustrative call-center layout that is depicted, there are four clusters of workstation areas, clusters  401 - 1  through  401 - 4 . Each of enterprise terminals  104 - 1  through  104 -N is associated with a different call agent who is located at a different workstation area, as depicted in  FIG. 4 . For example, agent  1  of a given cluster sits at the position at the upper left-hand corner of the cluster, agent  2  sits next to agent  1 , and so on, while agent  7  (of a twelve-agent cluster) sits in front of agent  1 , agent  8  sits in front of agent  2 , and so on. 
         [0037]    Across clusters, agent  7  of a first cluster (e.g., cluster  401 - 1 ) sits directly behind agent  1  of a second, adjacent cluster (e.g., cluster  401 - 2 ); agent  8  of the first cluster sits directly behind agent  2  of the second cluster; and so forth. 
         [0038]    Although four elongated clusters of workstation areas are depicted, it will be clear to those skilled in the art how to make and use alternative embodiments of the present invention, in which a different number of clusters, a different number of workstation areas in each cluster, a different physical arrangement within a cluster (e.g., circular orientation, etc.), or a different combination of clusters applies. 
         [0039]    The call agents that are located at call center  400  are continually receiving incoming telephone calls from calling terminals such as terminal  101 . As a result, acoustic noise is present at one or more workstation areas throughout call center  400 . Depending on various factors, the acoustic noise will vary across time and space. Such factors include the acoustics present at call center  400 , the speech characteristics of the call agents, and how incoming calls are assigned to call agents. Although call-center acoustics and agents&#39; speech characteristics might be changeable to some extent, the illustrative embodiment of the present invention concerns the assignment of call agents to the incoming calls, and in particular, in respect of the acoustic noise present throughout the call center. 
         [0040]    At task  301 , system  103  receives an incoming call from calling terminal  101 . As those who are skilled in the art will appreciate, system  103  is capable of continually receiving incoming calls from other calling terminals as well. 
         [0041]    At task  302 , system  103  identifies a plurality of call agents who are available to handle the incoming call from calling terminal  101 . In some embodiments, the call agents that are included in the plurality are not those who are merely available, but are those agents who are the best available agents to respond to the given incoming call. To determine the best agent or agents, system  103  can retrieve and review additional data (e.g., via the interactive voice response function, the caller&#39;s caller ID, etc.) to find out the reason for the call. 
         [0042]    In some embodiments, the plurality of call agents identified by system  103  also includes one or more call agents who are presently unavailable but who will become available within a predetermined time interval. As those who are skilled in the art will appreciate, techniques exist for determining when an unavailable call agent will become available for an incoming call. The unavailable agents who are included in the plurality might include those agents who previously have been associated with a favorable level of acoustic noise, or who might be associated with a favorable level pending a measurement. 
         [0043]    At task  303 , system  103  determines the acoustic noise that is present in the vicinity of each call agent in the plurality. As those who are skilled in the art will appreciate, after reading this specification, various methods can be used for determining the acoustic noise, either individually or in combination with one another. For example, in a first method of determining the acoustic noise present, system  103  measures acoustic noise that is present at one or more workstation areas. System  103  can direct the telephone and/or the computer within each workstation area to activate its microphone, listen for acoustic signals when the associated call agent is idle, and report one or more measurements back to system  103 . 
         [0044]    In some embodiments of the first method, system  103  accumulates multiple measurements of acoustic noise, wherein at least one of the multiple measurements was made prior to receiving the incoming call. 
         [0045]    As another example, in a second method of determining the acoustic noise present, system  103  infers a level of acoustic noise from the location of each available call agent relative to the locations of other call agents who are presently engaged in calls. In this example, if several call agents are available to handle an incoming call, namely agents at clusters  401 - 1  and  401 - 2  in  FIG. 4 , and most of the agents already engaged in calls are sitting at clusters  401 - 3  and  401 - 4 , then the method of inferring the acoustic noise would tend to assign, to the incoming call, one of the agents sitting at the left side of cluster  401 - 1  (i.e., one of the agents furthest away from the agents already engaged in calls). 
         [0046]    At task  304 , if an acceptable candidate call agent with favorable acoustic noise characteristics is available to handle the incoming call, task execution proceeds to task  308 . Otherwise, task execution proceeds to task  305 . 
         [0047]    In some embodiments, the assigning described below and with respect to task  308  will occur when the acoustic noise is less than a first, predetermined threshold, while in some alternative embodiments, the assigning will occur when the acoustic noise is greater than a second, predetermined threshold. 
         [0048]    The first and/or second predetermined threshold, as well as the decision to select an agent with a lower or a high background noise level, can be based on one or more attributes of the incoming call. For example, if the purpose of the incoming call is to obtain technical support, then a minimal amount of background noise is probably desired. In some embodiments, the call agent candidate who is associated with the least amount of acoustic noise can be selected. In contrast, if the purpose of the incoming call is to pledge money for a telethon, then an increased noise level might be desired to create a sales “buzz” on the caller&#39;s part. 
         [0049]    At task  305 , if no agent who is associated with a favorable noise level is available, system  103  queues the incoming call in order for the incoming call to be assigned a call agent at a future time. 
         [0050]    At task  306 , in order to update the acoustic noise data, system  103  determines the acoustic noise that is present in the vicinity of each available (or soon-to-be-available) call agent, as performed at task  303 . 
         [0051]    At task  307 , if an agent with favorable acoustic noise characteristics becomes available to handle the incoming call or if the predetermined time interval lapses, task execution proceeds to task  308 . Otherwise, task execution proceeds to task  306 . 
         [0052]    At task  308 , system  103  assigns a call agent to the incoming call. In accordance with the illustrative embodiment, the assignment is based on the acoustic noise, in particular on an available call agent being associated with favorable acoustic noise, as described earlier. 
         [0053]    System  103  performs the tasks described with respect to  FIG. 3  on additional, incoming calls as they arrive at the call center. 
         [0054]    It is to be understood that the disclosure teaches just one example of the illustrative embodiment and that many variations of the invention can easily be devised by those skilled in the art after reading this disclosure and that the scope of the present invention is to be determined by the following claims.