Abstract:
A method and a system for providing and presenting performance statistics to an agent. A further embodiment of the present invention provides performance comparison reporting between an agent and an agent data group and/or a management unit. This is achieved by collecting and calculating statistical parameters that characterize the performance of agents, providing periodic updates to the performance data, and providing access to the performance data to the agent.

Description:
CLAIM OF PRIORITY  
       [0001]    This application claims priority from U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/182,988 entitled “METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR VIEWING PERSONAL CONTACT STATISTICS IN A CONTACT CENTER ENVIRONMENT” filed on behalf of Meghan Herbert and Paul H. Leamon, on Feb. 16, 2000 (Attorney Docket No. IEX 2047000). 
     
    
     
       TECHNICAL FIELD  
         [0002]    The invention relates generally to computerized methods and systems for providing performance statistics and, more particularly, to providing methods and systems for providing performance statistics to agents in an environment comprising one or more teams of agents.  
         BACKGROUND  
         [0003]    In a work environment, such as a multimedia contact center, comprising one or more teams of agents, it is desirable to allow the individual agents to track their own performance and compare their performance with the performance of their peers. By comparing the performance of an agent with the performance of one or more peer groups, the agent is better able to determine areas requiring improvement. Furthermore, the comparison allows the individual agents to set and monitor personal goals, such as maintaining or exceeding the performance of a peer group, thereby improving job satisfaction.  
           [0004]    Measuring agent performance, however, is laborious and is generally made with historical data. An agent, upon request, is usually given by their supervisor data concerning the activity of the agent, such as the amount of time worked and the number of contacts handled, such contacts including, for example, voice calls and other contacts, such as faxes, e-mail, voice mail, web requests, web call-back requests, web chats, web voice calls, web video calls, and the like. The supervisor typically calculates the desired performance statistics either by manual calculations or by entering the data into a spreadsheet, which then calculates the performance measurements from the entered data. Moreover, the supervisor typically compiles and calculates the same performance statistics for all of the agents within the peer group in order to compare the performance of the agent with the performance of the peer group. As a result, the availability of the performance measurements is often limited by the amount of time the supervisor has available to perform the calculations.  
           [0005]    Moreover, even if a supervisor is willing to calculate the performance statistics for all members of a peer group, the supervisors generally do not have access to the data required to make a comparison to other groups. Generally, supervisors are not provided with performance data of another supervisor&#39;s agents. Therefore, while the supervisor may calculate his own group&#39;s performance, there is typically no means to compare his group&#39;s performance with another supervisor&#39;s group or multiple supervisor groups, including all supervisors at a contact center or across multiple contact centers.  
           [0006]    Therefore, what is needed is a method and a system for providing performance information to an agent in a manner that is readily accessible by the agent, and for providing the agent with a performance comparison between the agent and the peer groups of the agent.  
         SUMMARY  
         [0007]    The present invention provides a method and a system through which an agent may readily access comparison information between the individual agent and the peer groups of the agent. The method and system comprise obtaining information from one or more contact handling systems regarding the number and types of contacts for each agent and groups of agents. Reports are generated from the information and made available to the agents. 
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0008]    For a more complete understanding of the present invention, and the advantages thereof, reference is now made to the following descriptions taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:  
         [0009]    [0009]FIG. 1 schematically depicts a network environment that embodies features of the present invention;  
         [0010]    [0010]FIG. 2 schematically depicts an organization of agents within a contact center environment;  
         [0011]    FIGS.  3 A- 3 B illustrate one embodiment in which a supervisor configures a performance management system;  
         [0012]    [0012]FIG. 4 illustrates one embodiment in which the agent configures the performance management system; and  
         [0013]    FIGS.  5 A- 5 B illustrate one embodiment in which performance statistics are presented to the agent. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION  
       [0014]    In the following discussion, numerous specific details are set forth to provide a thorough understanding of the present invention. However, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that the present invention may be practiced without such specific details. In other instances, well-known elements have been illustrated in schematic or block diagram form in order not to obscure the present invention in unnecessary detail. Additionally, for the most part, details concerning automatic call distributors, multimedia servers, and the like have been omitted inasmuch as such details are not considered necessary to obtain a complete understanding of the present invention, and are considered to be within the skills of persons of ordinary skill in the relevant art.  
         [0015]    It is further noted that, unless indicated otherwise, all functions described herein are performed by a processor such as a computer or electronic data processor in accordance with code such as computer program code, software, or integrated circuits that are coded to perform such functions.  
         [0016]    The principles of the present invention and their advantages are best understood by referring to the illustrated embodiment depicted in FIGS.  1 - 5 .  
         [0017]    Referring to FIG. 1 of the drawings, the reference numeral  100  generally designates one environment that embodies features of the present invention. The environment  100  is exemplified herein as a contact center environment, though it is understood that other types of environments, such as sales force environments, field service environments, manufacturing environments and other types of environments in which tasks are repeated and performance statistics are collected, may constitute the environment  100  as well, and the environment  100  is not limited to being a contact center environment.  
         [0018]    The environment  100  generally comprises an automatic call distributor (ACD)  110  and a multimedia server  112  generally coupled to a central processing computer  120  via a network  114 , such as a wireline and/or wireless local area network (LAN), a wireline and/or wireless wide area network (WAN), the Internet, an Intranet, or the like. The ACD  110  and multimedia server  112  generally provide routing capabilities for incoming voice calls (via the ACD) and other contacts (via the multimedia server), such as faxes, e-mail, voice mail, web requests, web call-back requests, web chats, web voice calls, web video calls, and the like. The function and operation of the ACD  110  and multimedia server  112  are considered to be well-known to a person having ordinary skill in the art and will, therefore, not be discussed in further detail herein, except to the extent necessary to disclose the present invention.  
         [0019]    The central processing computer  120  receives from the ACD  110  and the multimedia server  112  periodic contact information, such as the number of contacts handled (“in contacts”), the amount of time an agent spends on incoming contacts (“talk time”), the amount of time an agent spends after the talk time for administrative duties related to contact resolution (“work time”), the amount of time an agent spends in talk time and work time (“total time), the amount of time an agent spends available to take a call (“available time”), the amount of time an agent spends in an auxiliary state and/or is unable to take a call (“aux time” and/or “break time”), the number of outgoing contacts made by the agent (“out contacts”), the time spent on the outgoing contacts (“out time”), the elapsed time spent logged into the service system (“system time”), and the like, and preferably stores the information in a database  122  coupled to the central processing computer  120 , preferably at 15-30 minute intervals or real-time. Optionally, other systems, such as a quality monitoring and recording system (not shown), a workforce management system  126  (discussed below), and the like, may be connected to the network  114  to provide additional data, such as a quality score, schedule adherence measurements, and the like. While the database  122  is shown external to the computer, one skilled in the art will appreciate that the database  122  may be included within the central processing computer  120 , or that the data be retrieved when needed instead of storing. These variations, and others, are considered to be well known to one skilled in the art upon a reading of the present disclosure. The central processing computer  120  is also coupled via the network  114  to one or more agent workstations  130  and to one or more supervisor workstations  140 , which provide an interface between the network  114  and one or more agents  132  and supervisors  142 , respectively. The agent workstations  130  and the supervisor workstations  140  are preferably configured to access the central processing computer  120  through the network  114  via a browser, such as a JAVA-enabled web browser, an application, or a JAVA applet run without a web browser by using technologies such as the application WebStart available from Sun Microsystems, or the like. WebStart is preferred for providing access due to its ability to run different JAVA programs that require run different versions of JAVA.  
         [0020]    Agents  132  access, via the telephone (not shown) and agent workstation  130  , the ACD  110 , multimedia server  112 , or other contact servers (not shown) to aid in contact resolution. As the agents  132  service the contacts, the ACD  110  and the multimedia server  112  collect performance data for each of the agents  132 . The performance data of the agents  132 , such as the in contacts, talk time, work time, total time, available time, aux time, out contacts, out time, system time, and the like, are sent periodically by the ACD  110  and the multimedia server  112  to the central processing computer  120  and, preferably, stored in the database  122 .  
         [0021]    In one embodiment of the present invention, the central processing computer  120  preferably comprises a workforce management system (WMS)  126 , such as TotalView™ Workforce Management available from IEX Corporation. The WMS  126  integrates many management functions, such as workforce forecasting and scheduling, skill planning and scheduling, multimedia contact management, real-time schedule adherence, and the like, and provides an interface to the database  122 .  
         [0022]    Preferably, the WMS  126  also comprises a performance statistics system (PSS)  128 . In accordance with the present invention, the PSS  128  provides supervisors  142  and agents  132  reporting capabilities of performance statistics of individual agents and, preferably, performance comparison reports between individual agents and peer groups of the agent. Preferably, the PSS  128  provides to agents  132  and one or more peer groups of agents performance statistics such as, for example, in contacts, talk time, work time, total time, available time, aux time, out contacts, out time, system time, and the like. Additionally, the PSS  128  preferably calculates and provides additional performance statistics, such as the average handling time (“AHT”), the average work time (“AWT”), the average talk time (“ATT”), and the like. All of the above statistics and calculations are considered to be well-known to a person of ordinary skill in the art and are discussed in greater detail in the appendix entitled “Statistics Field Specifications,” which is incorporated herein for all purposes. The capabilities of the PSS  128  are discussed further below with reference to FIGS.  3 - 5 .  
         [0023]    Alternatively, a stand-alone PSS, i.e., such as a PSS separate from the WMS  126  and/or the central processing computer  120 , may access the database  122  and provide performance statistics to the agents  132  and supervisors  142 . While it is preferred that the PSS  128  be part of the WMS  126 , the following discussion is relevant for either embodiment.  
         [0024]    The PSS  128  is preferably configurable by the agents  132  and the supervisors  142 . Supervisors would preferably be allowed to configure default settings of the PSS  128  and grant access of specific performance statistics to the agents  132 . Agents  132  would preferably be allowed to configure the display of the specific parameters and the comparison. One embodiment of the supervisor configuration capabilities is discussed below with reference to FIG. 3, and one embodiment of the agent configuration capabilities is discussed below with reference to FIG. 4.  
         [0025]    In accordance with the present invention, contacts (not shown) are received from a telecommunications network (not shown) by the ACD  110  and/or the multimedia server  112 , which routes the contacts to an appropriate queue and agent according to internal algorithms. Agents log into the ACD  110  and/or the multimedia server  112  to service the contacts. As agents  132  service the contacts, the ACD  110  and multimedia server  112  periodically, such as every 15-30 minutes or real-time, report contact statistic data to the central processing computer  120 , which stores the data in the database  122 . Additional performance statistics, such as the averages discussed above, are calculated when the data is requested by the agent  132  and/or supervisor  142 . Alternatively, the additional performance statistics are calculated periodically and stored as are the performance statistics reported by the ACD  110  and the multimedia server  112 .  
         [0026]    The supervisors  142  and the agents  132  may access the PSS  128  executing on the central processing computer  120 . Through the PSS  128 , the supervisors  142  may allow agents  132  to access specific performance statistics and general display properties. Agents  132  may, through the PSS  128 , further configure display properties of the performance statistics to suit their personal tastes.  
         [0027]    [0027]FIG. 2 illustrates a preferred embodiment of the present invention in which peer groups of the agents  132  constitute agent data groups  210 , and multiple agent data groups  210  constitute management units  220 . Each agent  132  belongs to one or more agent data groups  210 . Preferably, all agents  132  reporting to a particular supervisor are preferably grouped into one agent data group  210 . Alternatively, an agent data group  210  may be configured according to the skills, seniority, service priority level, and/or the like, of the agents  132 .  
         [0028]    One or more agent data groups  210  and the respective supervisors  142  are preferably organized into a management unit (MU)  220 . An MU  220  is preferably located at a single location, such as a building, a city, a floor of a building, a department, or the like. Each MU  220  is preferably managed locally as a single unit with its own work rules and hours of operation.  
         [0029]    FIGS.  3 A- 3 B illustrate a preferred embodiment of the present invention, which allows a supervisor  142 , or other person with appropriate access privileges, to configure the PSS  128 . Preferably, access to the PSS  128  is restricted via the use of a logon screen, or a comparable restricted access system. The methods and use of restricting access to a system are considered to be well-known to a person of ordinary skill in the art and, therefore, will not be discussed in greater detail herein.  
         [0030]    The reference numeral  300  generally designates a screen shot, which may be generated and displayed on a supervisor workstation  140  (FIG. 1) using a web browser, such as the Microsoft Internet Explorer. Although FIGS.  3 A- 3 B depict a screen shot generated by a web browser, it is preferred that a Java applet is used without a web browser by using WebStart to run programs that require different versions of JAVA. Additionally, other means of generating the screen shot  300  and interfacing with the PSS  128 , such as via a textual-based interface, a graphical-based interface, a voice interface, or the like, may be used and are to be included within the scope of the present invention.  
         [0031]    The supervisor  142  preferably provides access to specific performance statistics to agents  132  at the supervisory level, i.e., to agents  132  of an agent data group  210 , or all agents  132  reporting to a particular supervisor  142 . The supervisor  142  selects, preferably from a drop-down selection box  310 , an MU  220  (FIG. 2) and a group value  312 , the combination of which identifies agents  132  for which the supervisor is able to configure the PSS  128 . Preferably, the MU  220  identified in the box  310  is the same MU  220  to which the supervisor  142  belongs, and the group value identified in the box  312  is the name of the supervisor of the group. Alternatively, different groupings of agents may be created. For example, an agent data group may not exist for these purposes and a supervisor may configure the PSS  128  for all agents of the MU  220 , or groupings of agents may be created that span across agent data groups  210  and/or MUs  220 . The purpose of the MU drop-down box  310  and the group value box  312  is to identify a group of agents  132  to which a user is able to grant access and configure the PSS  128 . These alternative groupings are considered to be included within the present invention.  
         [0032]    A columns group box  320  enables a supervisor  142  to select specific performance statistics which may be accessed by agents  132  identified by the MU  220  drop down box  310  and the group value  312 . The performance statistics, listed in the column field  322 , preferably comprise the in contacts, the talk time, the work time, the total time, the AHT, the AWT, the ATT, the out calls, the out time, and the system time. Optionally, additional performance statistics, such as available time, aux time, and the like, may be included in the column field  322 . The supervisor  142  controls access to the performance statistics by selecting/deselecting the show checkbox  324 . If the show checkbox  324  is selected, the agent  132  may view the value of the respective performance statistic. If the show checkbox  324  is deselected, however, the agent  132  is prevented from viewing the respective performance statistic.  
         [0033]    Preferably, the supervisor  142  is also allowed to configure the appearance of each performance statistic on the performance report display (discussed below with reference to FIG. 5) by defining over and under threshold values,  326  and  330 , respectively, and over and under threshold colors,  328  and  332 , respectively. The over threshold value  326  represents the value at which if the value of a performance statistic of the agent  132  is greater than the respective performance statistic value of a peer group, and the percentage difference between the respective performance statistic value of the agent  132  and the respective performance statistic value of a peer group is greater than the over threshold value  326 , then the respective performance statistic value of the peer group will be displayed in the color indicated by the over threshold color  328 . Similarly, the under threshold value  330  represents the value at which if a performance statistic value of the agent  132  is less than the respective performance statistic value of a peer group, and the percentage difference between the performance statistic value of the agent  132  and the respective performance statistic value of the peer group is less than the under threshold value  330 , then the respective performance statistic value of the peer group will be displayed in the color indicated by the under threshold color  332 .  
         [0034]    For example, if the over threshold value  326  is 15 and the under threshold value  330  is 10, and the average number of in contacts for all agents  132  in an agent data group  210  is 100, then the average number of in contacts for the agent data group  210  will be displayed in the over threshold color  326  if the number of in contacts for the agent  132  is over 115 (100+(15%*100)=115), and the average number of in contacts for the agent data group  210  will be displayed in the under threshold color  322  if the number of in contacts for the agent  132  is under 90 (100−(10%*100)=90). As an alternative to colors, different fonts, such as Arial, Times Roman, and the like, different font characteristics, such as italicizing, reverse printing, bolding, underlining, and the like, different background patterns, such as shading, cross-hatching, diagonal lines, horizontal/vertical lines, and the like, or other notification systems, such as pop-up windows, sounds, and the like, may be used to indicate the above conditions.  
         [0035]    Alternatively, the over threshold value  326  and the under threshold value  330  may be an explicit value range for each performance statistic. For example, in the above example the over threshold value  326  may be entered as 115 and the under threshold value  330  may be entered as 90.  
         [0036]    Preferably, a defaults group box  340  allows the supervisor to specify default values for the agents  132  identified by the MU  220  drop down box  310  and the group value  312 . The default values preferably comprise the time format  342  for presentation, a comparison method  344 , and the number of past days to present in a performance comparison report  346 . Preferably, the choices for the time format  332  comprise standard HH:MM:SS, HH:MM:SS.S, HH:MM:SS.SS, MMMM:SS, MMMM:SS.S, MMMM:SS.SS, SSSSSS, SSSSSS.S, and SSSSSS.SS formats, where “H” represents hours, “M” represents minutes, and “S” represents seconds, including tenths and hundredths of seconds in some formats as shown above.  
         [0037]    The comparison method  344  identifies the method used to compare an agent  132  to the peer groups of the agent  132  for purposes of presenting the performance comparison report to the agent  132 . Preferably, the alternatives for the comparison method  344  comprise none (no comparison), difference, and percent difference. If none is selected, the performance statistic values presented will comprise the average value for all agents  132  of the peer group. If difference is selected as the comparison method  344 , then the respective parameter value presented will comprise the performance statistic value of the agent  132  less the respective performance statistic value of the peer group. If percent difference is selected as the comparison method  344 , then the value displayed is the percent difference between the performance statistic value of the agent  132  and the respective performance statistic value of the peer group, relative to the peer group. In other words, the value presented for the respective performance statistic of a peer group is the quotient of the performance statistic value of the agent  132  less the respective performance statistic value of the peer group, divided by the respective performance statistic value of the peer group. Preferably, a minus sign will be presented preceding the value to indicate negative results if either the difference method or the percent difference method is selected.  
         [0038]    The “Number of past days to show data” field  346  specifies the number of days to include in the performance comparison report. The agent  132  is preferably allowed to modify the number of days, as specified below with reference to the “Number of past days to show data” field  426  of FIG. 4, up to the “Maximum number of past days allowed” field  350 .  
         [0039]    Preferably, the supervisor  142  is also able to grant agents  132  identified by the MU  220  drop down box  310  and the group value  312  the ability to modify the preferences and to print the comparison report. The supervisor  142  grants agents  132  the ability to modify the preferences by selecting the “Allow agents to enter preferences” option box  360 . If the “Allow agents to enter preferences” option box  360  is selected, then the agents  132  identified by the MU  220  drop down box  310  and the group value  312  are allowed to alter the preferences as indicated in the discussion below with reference to FIG. 4. If, however, the “Allow agents to enter preferences” option box  360  is not selected, then the agents  132  identified by the MU  220  drop down box  310  and the group value  312  are prohibited from altering the preferences set by the supervisor  142 .  
         [0040]    The supervisor  142  grants the agents  132  the ability to print the performance comparison report by selecting the “Allow agents to print their statistics” box  370 . If the “Allow agents to print their statistics” box  370  is selected, then the agents  132  identified by the MU  220  drop down box  310  and the group value  312  are allowed to print the performance comparison report. If, however, the “Allow agents to print their statistics” box  370  is not selected, then the agents  132  identified by the MU  220  drop down box  310  and the group value  312  are prohibited from printing the performance comparison report.  
         [0041]    [0041]FIG. 4 illustrates one embodiment of the present invention, which allows an agent  132  to configure performance comparison reports via a respective agent workstation  130 . Specifically, FIG. 4 is one embodiment in which the agent  132  may configure the display of performance statistics if the supervisor  142  of the agent  132  granted access to the agent  132  by selecting the “Allow agents to enter preferences” checkbox  360  (FIG. 3).  
         [0042]    Reference numeral  400  generally designates a screen shot of a web browser, such as the Microsoft Internet Explorer, effective for accessing an agent configuration screen in accordance with the present invention. The agent configuration screen, however, is preferably accessed via a Java applet using WebStart. Preferably, access to the agent configuration screen is restricted via the use of a logon screen, or a comparable restricted access system. The methods and use of restricting access is considered to be well-known to a person of ordinary skill in the art and, therefore, will not be discussed in greater detail herein.  
         [0043]    The agent configuration screen  400  preferably comprises a columns group box  410  and a defaults group box  420 . The columns group box  410  comprises performance statistics that the supervisor  142  has granted access to the agent  132 , via the “Allow agents to enter preferences” checkbox  360  discussed above with reference to the supervisor configuration (FIG. 3). The agent  132  may select or deselect the show checkbox  414  to control the display of the performance statistics listed in the columns  412  that the agent  132  desires, and is a subset of the parameters selected by the supervisor  142  as described above with respect to FIG. 3. The performance statistics in column  412  and the functionality of the show checkbox  414  are similar to that described above with respect to the column  322  and the show checkbox  324 , respectively, of FIG. 3.  
         [0044]    The defaults group box  420  allows the agent  132  to specify the desired time format  422 , the comparison method  424 , and the “Number of past days to show data” field  426 . The preferred functionality of the time format field  422  and the comparison field  424  are similar to that described above with respect to the time format field  342  and the comparison field  344  of FIG. 3.  
         [0045]    The “Number of past days to show data” field  426  allows the agent  132  to specify the number of days the agent  132  wishes to have performance comparisons displayed. Preferably, the agent  132  is allowed to view past days up to the number of days indicated in the “Maximum number of past days allowed” field  350  (FIG. 3).  
         [0046]    FIGS.  5 A- 5 B illustrate one embodiment of the present invention in which a performance comparison report is displayed to an agent  132 , a supervisor  142 , and/or other authorized person on a respective agent workstation  130  and/or supervisor workstation  140 . Reference numeral  500  generally designates a screen shot of a web browser, such as the Microsoft Internet Explorer, effective for accessing a performance comparison report for an agent  132 . The performance comparison report, however, is preferably accessed via a Java applet using WebStart. While the illustrated and preferred embodiment of the present invention comprises a primarily textual comparison report, a comparison report may be generated that includes graphical reports, such as a bar chart, a line chart, and the like, and/or multimedia, including audio and the like. Moreover, the agent  132 , supervisor  142 , or other authorized user may optionally customize the type of presentation they desired.  
         [0047]    In addition to the time format and comparison default fields discussed above with respect to FIGS. 3A, 3B, and  4  (see time format fields  342  and  422 , respectively, and the comparison method fields  344  and  424 , respectively), the accessing agent  132  preferably also has the ability to modify the time format  514  and the comparison method  516  when viewing the performance comparison report. The functions of both of these fields are as described in the referenced sections pertaining to FIGS. 3A, 3B, and  4 , and therefore, will not be discussed in greater detail.  
         [0048]    The performance comparison report preferably comprises two sections, a daily totals section  520  and a summary section  550 . The presentation of the performance statistics utilize the graphical user interface (GUI) explosion (+) and contraction (−) techniques, and utilize vertical and horizontal scroll bars as necessary, all of which are commonly known to a person of ordinary skill in the art and, therefore, will not be discussed in greater detail.  
         [0049]    Each of the daily totals section  520  and the summary section  550  comprise a day/group column  524  and one or more performance statistics columns  526 . The day/group column  524  represents the day and group to which the values of the performance statistics presented in the one or more performance statistics columns  526  pertain.  
         [0050]    The day/group indicated in column  524  preferably comprises the agent  132  (FIG. 1), the agent data group  210  (FIG. 2), and the MU  220  (FIG. 2). The performance statistics of the agent  132  are contained in the total rows indicated by an icon comprising a single head as shown in the daily total lines  522   a - e , and/or by the daily skill total rows  530  and the daily queue total rows  540 . Preferably, the daily skill totals are indicated by an “[S]” as illustrated in the daily skill total row  530 , and the daily queue totals are indicated by a “[Q]” as illustrated in the daily queue total row  540 . Values for the performance statistics  526  of the agent  132  are preferably displayed in a bold font.  
         [0051]    The agent data group  210  is preferably indicated by an icon comprising two heads, as illustrated in daily totals  526 ,  532 , and  542 . The MU  220  is preferably indicated by “MU”, as illustrated in the daily totals  528 ,  534 , and  544 . The values for the performance statistics  526  of the agent data group  210  and the MU  220  are preferably presented in a non-bold font colored as described above in reference to the over threshold value  326 , over threshold color  328 , under threshold value  330 , and under threshold color  332  of FIG. 3.  
         [0052]    The daily totals section  520  comprises one or more daily total rows  522   a - 522   e  for each date from the from date  510  to the to date  512 , of which daily total row  522   a  is shown in an exploded state, daily total rows  522   b - 522   c  are shown in a contracted state, and daily total rows  522   d - 522   e  are shown in an empty state, possibly indicating the agent did not work the date shown. Each daily total row  522   a - 522   e  preferably expands to present daily totals for an agent data group  526  and an MU  528 . Optionally, also presented are one or more daily skill totals  530  and/or one or more daily queue totals  540 . The daily skill total  530  presents the performance statistics  526  for the agent  132 . The daily skill total  530 , such as the ability to handle Spanish-speaking calls (illustrated), product and/or problem type, and the like, preferably expands to present the daily skill total of the agent data group  532  and/or the daily skill total of the MU  534 .  
         [0053]    Likewise, the daily queue total  540  presents the performance statistic  526  for the agent  132 . The daily queue total  540 , such as the contacts handled from the Texas Sales queue (illustrated), Texas Service queue (illustrated), and the like, preferably expands to present the daily queue total of the agent data group  542  and the daily queue total of the MU  544 .  
         [0054]    The summary section  550  comprises the total performance statistics summarized from the from date  510  to the to date  512 . Preferably, the performance statistics are displayed for each agent  552 , agent data group  554 , MU  556 , skill and/or queue  558 . Alternatively, the performance statistics may comprise of a subset of the groupings discussed above and/or comprise of additional groupings that a user desires. The format and the content of rows within the summary section  550  are equivalent to the daily total section  520  discussed above, except that the values of the performance statistics  526  are calculated over the entire date range from the from date  510  to the to date  512 .  
         [0055]    It is understood that the present invention can take many forms and embodiments. Accordingly, several variations may be made in the foregoing without departing from the spirit or the scope of the invention. For example, additional performance statistics, such as schedule adherence, state adherence, agent conformance, agent sales, agent revenue, agent attendance, entitlement adherence, quality scores, and the like, additional groupings, varying display formats, such as graphical display (e.g., bar charts) instead of textual display, and the like, are considered within the spirit and/or the scope of the invention. Having thus described the present invention by reference to certain of its preferred embodiments, it is noted that the embodiments disclosed are illustrative rather than limiting in nature and that a wide range of variations, modifications, changes, and substitutions are contemplated in the foregoing disclosure and, in some instances, some features of the present invention may be employed without a corresponding use of the other features. Many such variations and modifications may be considered obvious and desirable by those skilled in the art based upon a review of the foregoing description of preferred embodiments. Accordingly, it is appropriate that the appended claims be construed broadly and in a manner consistent with the scope of the invention.