Abstract:
Proximity-based interactions with wallboards and mobile devices create an interactive and effective communication model, efficiently utilizing space and opportunities for communication between a contact center and its agents and supervisors. The system provides a dynamic, proximity-based location service including displays for agents and real-time message capabilities for supervisors.

Description:
FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE 
       [0001]    The present disclosure is generally directed toward communications and more specifically toward contact centers. 
       BACKGROUND 
       [0002]    Large wallboard displays in contact centers are not customized to audiences with variable viewing ranges, thereby making effectiveness of the wallboard questionable in large contact centers. Also, valuable resolution and display space is wasted to make the display useful to those at far distances, regardless of the dynamic nature of the audience and the distance from the largest number of actual viewers. 
         [0003]    Wallboards currently display a feed that includes a fraction of available and actionable data. The wallboards typically time slice the data or filter the data based on need for a critical response. Slicing and filtering data reduces the value of the wallboard since the data is presented to everyone in the contact center, including agents and supervisors who may not understand the data, be permitted to take action, or be required to take action. This problem also exists in virtual reality environments (VREs) where information is posted on walls without fine-tuning for users present in the VRE. 
         [0004]    Additionally, wallboards provide status on contact center performance, the agents, or information important to the general audience of the location/company. The usefulness of the wallboards is limited to the data presented at a particular moment and for a particular audience. It would be advantageous for agents and supervisors to have direct interaction with the system, including the ability to send queries, to change the display, to post targeted information, and to find agents and/or supervisors for whom the data is relevant. 
       SUMMARY 
       [0005]    These and other needs are addressed by the various aspects, embodiments, and/or configurations of the present disclosure. The present disclosure is directed to a contact center wallboard display system that can allow agent and/or supervisor interactions using smart devices, thereby allowing supervisors to push component display information to wallboards in proximity to certain agents and/or groups, allowing a new level of efficiency on the contact center floor and further increasing the usefulness of the wallboard to the entire contact center floor. 
         [0006]    With the introduction of smart devices, the wallboard display system allows viewers of a wallboard to interact with the wallboard. To enhance the usefulness of the data presented, one feature can include the ability for viewers to request information on a particular element of the contact center that is pertinent to them, process this request, and have this information presented on the nearest wallboard for consumption. As a result, the wallboard can be used for faster course correction and processing than could be done on a smart device or shown on a standard wallboard with a rich site summary (RSS) feed. 
         [0007]    A Global Positioning System (GPS) enabled display system can detect where agents are and determine which wallboard is closest to those agents. The agents would also be able to use an application on a smart device and/or on a web page to request information from the system. The system would determine the closest wallboard to a requesting agent, and post the relevant data to that wallboard. The GPS-enabled system would additionally allow supervisors to push relevant information to the displays based on the location of his or her agents. 
         [0008]    For example, Mark would like information on the queue/skill targets including counts, alerts, etc. when he comes in during shift change. He takes out his smartphone, opens the application, and puts in a request. The system detects his location, and it displays the requested information on wallboard display  7 , closest to Mark&#39;s desk based on the GPS in his smartphone. 
         [0009]    In an additional example, Maynard the supervisor takes a walk around the floor, carrying his iPad. He is running an instance of Avaya Aura® Performance Center Mobile for Supervisors, an application that allows a supervisor to roam a contact center floor while tracking and managing agents and queues. Maynard is able to review and provide component display based on agent performance and other Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), thresholds, availability, etc. As Maynard passes each group, he uses the application to push information on display 1 for queue/skill  6  and to push information on display 2 on the other side of the room for queue/skill  8  as they are nearing warning levels for two KPIs. The agents see the displays managed by Maynard, and they respond appropriately to course-correct the lagging indicators. 
         [0010]    In additional embodiments, location of the agents and/or supervisors may be done with radio-frequency identification (RFID), a human microchip implant, or other tracking devices in addition to the GPS option discussed previously. 
         [0011]    These and other advantages will be apparent from the disclosure. 
         [0012]    The term “automatic” and variations thereof, as used herein, refers to any process or operation done without material human input when the process or operation is performed. However, a process or operation can be automatic, even though performance of the process or operation uses material or immaterial human input, if the input is received before performance of the process or operation. Human input is deemed to be material if such input influences how the process or operation will be performed. Human input that consents to the performance of the process or operation is not deemed to be “material.” 
         [0013]    The term “computer-readable medium” as used herein refers to any storage and/or transmission medium that participate in providing instructions to a processor for execution. Such a medium is commonly tangible and non-transient and can take many forms, including but not limited to, non-volatile media, volatile media, and transmission media and includes without limitation random access memory (“RAM”), read only memory (“ROM”), and the like. Non-volatile media includes, for example, NVRAM, or magnetic or optical disks. Volatile media includes dynamic memory, such as main memory. Common forms of computer-readable media include, for example, a floppy disk (including without limitation a Bernoulli cartridge, ZIP drive, and JAZ drive), a flexible disk, hard disk, magnetic tape or cassettes, or any other magnetic medium, magneto-optical medium, a digital video disk (such as CD-ROM), any other optical medium, punch cards, paper tape, any other physical medium with patterns of holes, a RAM, a PROM, and EPROM, a FLASH-EPROM, a solid state medium like a memory card, any other memory chip or cartridge, a carrier wave as described hereinafter, or any other medium from which a computer can read. A digital file attachment to e-mail or other self-contained information archive or set of archives is considered a distribution medium equivalent to a tangible storage medium. When the computer-readable media is configured as a database, it is to be understood that the database may be any type of database, such as relational, hierarchical, object-oriented, and/or the like. Accordingly, the disclosure is considered to include a tangible storage medium or distribution medium and prior art-recognized equivalents and successor media, in which the software implementations of the present disclosure are stored. Computer-readable storage medium commonly excludes transient storage media, particularly electrical, magnetic, electromagnetic, optical, magneto-optical signals. 
         [0014]    The term “user,” “customer,” or “client” denotes a party patronizing, serviced by, or otherwise doing business with a contact center and/or an enterprise business. 
         [0015]    A “database” as used herein refers to an organized set of data held in a computer. The organization schema or model for the data can, for example, be hierarchical, network, relational, entity-relationship, object, document, XML, entity-attribute-value model, star schema, object-relational, associative, multidimensional, multi-value, semantic, and other database designs. 
         [0016]    The terms “determine,” “calculate,” and “compute,” and variations thereof as used herein, are used interchangeably and include any type of methodology, process, mathematical operation or technique. 
         [0017]    The term “means” as used herein shall be given its broadest possible interpretation in accordance with 35 U.S.C., Section 112, Paragraph 6. Accordingly, a claim incorporating the term “means” shall cover all structures, materials, or acts set forth herein, and all of the equivalents thereof. Further, the structures, materials or acts and the equivalents thereof shall include all those described in the summary of the invention, brief description of the drawings, detailed description, abstract, and claims themselves. 
         [0018]    The term “module” as used herein refers to any known or later developed hardware, software, firmware, artificial intelligence, fuzzy logic, or combination of hardware and software that is capable of performing the functionality associated with that element. Also, while the disclosure is presented in terms of exemplary embodiments, it should be appreciated that individual aspects of the disclosure can be separately claimed. 
         [0019]    The preceding is a simplified summary of the disclosure to provide an understanding of some aspects of the disclosure. This summary is neither an extensive nor exhaustive overview of the disclosure and its various aspects, embodiments, and/or configurations. It is intended neither to identify key or critical elements of the disclosure nor to delineate the scope of the disclosure but to present selected concepts of the disclosure in a simplified form as an introduction to the more detailed description presented below. As will be appreciated, other aspects, embodiments, and/or configurations of the disclosure are possible utilizing, alone or in combination, one or more of the features set forth above or described in detail below. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0020]      FIG. 1  is a block diagram of a communication system in accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure; 
           [0021]      FIG. 2  is an example of a contact center floor with supervisor-controlled display in accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure; 
           [0022]      FIG. 3  is an example of a visual proximity wallboard display in accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure; 
           [0023]      FIG. 4  are examples of location-based wallboard messaging displays in accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure; 
           [0024]      FIG. 5  depicts a flow diagram for display determination in accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure; 
           [0025]      FIG. 6  depicts a flow diagram for a supervisor proximity and push wallboard display method in accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure; 
           [0026]      FIG. 7  depicts a flow diagram for an agent proximity and request wallboard display method in accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure; and 
           [0027]      FIG. 8  is a data diagram of data that is used by the features of the wallboard in accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0028]      FIG. 1  shows an illustrative embodiment of a communication system  100  in accordance with at least some embodiments of the present disclosure. The communication system  100  may be a distributed system and, in some embodiments, comprises a communication network  104  connecting one or more customer communication devices  108  and one or more supervisor communication devices  132  to a work assignment mechanism  116 , which may be owned and operated by an enterprise administering a contact center in which a plurality of resources  112  are distributed to handle incoming work items from the customer communication devices  108  and may be managed with the use of a supervisor communication device  132 . 
         [0029]    In accordance with at least some embodiments of the present disclosure, the communication network  104  may comprise any type of known communication medium or collection of communication media and may use any type of protocols to transport messages between endpoints. The communication network  104  may include wired and/or wireless communication technologies. The Internet is an example of the communication network  104  that constitutes and Internet Protocol (IP) network consisting of many computers, computing networks, and other communication devices located all over the world, which are connected through many telephone systems and other means. Other examples of the communication network  104  include, without limitation, a standard Plain Old Telephone System (POTS), an Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN), the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN), a Local Area Network (LAN), a Wide Area Network (WAN), a Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) network, a Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) network, a cellular network, and any other type of packet-switched or circuit-switched network known in the art. In addition, it can be appreciated that the communication network  104  need not be limited to any one network type, and instead may be comprised of a number of different networks and/or network types. As one example, embodiments of the present disclosure may be utilized to increase the efficiency of a grid-based contact center. Examples of a grid-based contact center are more fully described in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/469,523 to Steiner, the entire contents of which are hereby incorporated herein by reference. Moreover, the communication network  104  may comprise a number of different communication media such as coaxial cable, copper cable/wire, fiber-optic cable, antennas for transmitting/receiving wireless messages, and combinations thereof. 
         [0030]    The communication devices  108  may correspond to customer communication devices. In accordance with at least some embodiments of the present disclosure, a customer may utilize the communication device  108  to initiate a work item, which is generally a request for a processing resource  112 . Exemplary work items include, but are not limited to, a contact directed toward and received at a contact center, a web page request directed toward and received at a server farm (e.g., collection of servers), a media request, an application request (e.g., a request for application resources location on a remote application server, such as a SIP application server), and the like. The work item may be in the form of a message or collection of messages transmitted over the communication network  104 . For example, the work item may be transmitted as a telephone call, a packet or collection of packets (e.g., IP packets transmitted over an IP network), an email message, an Instant Message, an SMS message, a fax, and combinations thereof. In some embodiments, the communication may not necessarily be directed at the work assignment mechanism  116 , but rather may be on some other server in the communication network  104  where it is harvested by the work assignment mechanism  116 , which generates a work item for the harvested communication. An example of such a harvested communication includes a social media communication that is harvested by the work assignment mechanism  116  from a social media network or server. Exemplary architectures for harvesting social media communications and generating work items based thereon are described in U.S. patent application Ser. Nos. 12/784,369, 12/706,942, and 12/707,277, filed Mar. 20, 1010, Feb. 17, 2010, and Feb. 17, 2010, respectively, each of which are hereby incorporated herein by reference in their entirety. 
         [0031]    The communication device  132  may correspond to supervisor communication device or collection of devices. In accordance with at least some embodiments of the present disclosure, a supervisor may utilize the communication device  132  to evaluate or help the handling of the work item by a resource  112 . The supervisor may utilize the communication device  108  to initiate or respond to interaction regarding work items with the work assignment mechanism  116 , a wallboard module  128 , elements within or outside of the communication network  104 , and to processing resources  112 . 
         [0032]    The format of the work item may depend upon the capabilities of the communication device  108  and the format of the communication. In particular, work items are logical representations within a contact center of work to be performed in connection with servicing a communication received at the contact center (and more specifically the work assignment mechanism  116 ). The communication may be received and maintained at the work assignment mechanism  116 , a switch or server connected to the work assignment mechanism  116 , or the like until a resource  112  is assigned to the work item representing that communication at which point the work assignment mechanism  116  passes the work item to a routing engine  124  to connect the communication device  108  to the assigned resource  112 . 
         [0033]    Although the routing engine  124  is depicted as being separate from the work assignment mechanism  116 , the routing engine  124  may be incorporated into the work assignment mechanism  116  or its functionality may be executed by the work assignment engine  120 . 
         [0034]    In accordance with at least some embodiments of the present disclosure, the communication devices  108  may comprise any type of known communication equipment or collection of communication equipment. Examples of a suitable communication device  108  include, but are not limited to, a personal computer, laptop, tablet, cellular phone, smartphone, telephone, or combinations thereof. In general, each communication device  108  may be adapted to support video, audio, text, and/or data communications with other communication devices  108  as well as the processing resources  112 . The type of medium used by the communication device  108  to communicate with other communication devices  108  or processing resources  112  may depend upon the communication applications available on the communication device  108 . 
         [0035]    In accordance with at least some embodiments of the present disclosure, the work item is sent toward a collection of processing resources  112  via the combined efforts of the work assignment mechanism  116  and routing engine  124 . The resources  112  can either be completely automated resources (e.g., Interactive Voice Response (IVR) units, processors, servers, or the like), human resources utilizing communication devices (e.g., human agents utilizing a computer, telephone, laptop, etc.), or any other resource known to be used in contact centers. 
         [0036]    As discussed above, the work assignment mechanism  116  and resources  112  may be owned and operated by a common entity in a contact center format. In some embodiments, the work assignment mechanism  116  may be administered by multiple enterprises, each of which has their own dedicated resources  112   a - n  connected to the work assignment mechanism  116 . 
         [0037]    In some embodiments, the work assignment mechanism  116  comprises a work assignment engine  120  which enables the work assignment mechanism  116  to make intelligent routing decisions for work items. In some embodiments, the work assignment engine  120  is configured to administer and make work assignment decisions in a queueless contact center, as is described in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/882,950, the entire contents of which are hereby incorporated herein by reference. 
         [0038]    More specifically, the work assignment engine  120  can determine which of the plurality of processing resources  112  is qualified and/or eligible to receive the work item and further determine which of the plurality of processing resources  112  is best suited (or is the optimal processing resource) to handle the processing needs of the work item. In situations of work item surplus, the work assignment engine  120  can also make the opposite determination (i.e., determine optimal assignment of a work item resource to a resource). In some embodiments, the work assignment engine  120  is configured to achieve true one-to-one matching by utilizing bitmaps/tables and other data structures. 
         [0039]    The work assignment mechanism  116  can communicate with the wallboard module  128  which may attempt to detect presence and/or location of, display data for, and respond to supervisors  212  and processing resources  112  in the contact center. 
         [0040]      FIG. 2  depicts a contact center  200  in accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure. The phrase “contact center” as used herein refers to a company that manages client correspondence through a variety of mediums, including telephone, fax, email, mail, chat, text, etc. A contact center “floor”  204  typically contains resources  112 , one or more supervisors  212 , and large, wall-mounted Light Emitting Diode (LED) displays  208 . 
         [0041]    The contact center floor  204  can contain one or more large, wall-mounted displays, commonly referred to as wallboards  208 , operable to integrate with data sources. The wallboard  208  may display many types of information, including but not limited to, RSS feed data, statistics (e.g., KPIs), metrics, graphs, images, announcements, alerts, thresholds, and messages. The contact center  200  can include more or fewer elements, and elements of the contact center  200  can be arranged differently and interact differently than those shown in  FIG. 2 . 
         [0042]    Contact center resources may be agents  112  at workstations and may be seated with a view of one or more wallboards  208 . Generally, the agent  112  can have a workstation that includes a telephone, a computer, a smart device, and other communication devices. As can be appreciated, the contact center floor  204  and the agent  112  workstations may comprise more or fewer of the elements listed. One or more supervisors  212  may be available to monitor activities on the contact center floor  204  and to assist, restrain, and train agents  112 . 
         [0043]    In a preferred embodiment, the supervisor  212  may have a smart communication device  132 . A smart device is a communication device that generally is mobile, cordless, connected via wireless/3G/4G, and capable of browsing, telephony, and geo-location. The smart device may be a telephone or a tablet. The supervisor communication device  132  may be a telephone or tablet, operable to run applications related to the supervision of the contact center floor  204 . The supervisor communication device  132  may be operable to receive calls, short message service (SMS) texts, pop-ups, and data as well as operable to communicate with a wallboard module  128  and other contact center  200  elements. 
         [0044]    Referring to  FIG. 3 , an example of a visual proximity wallboard display  300  for multiple sets of agents  112  is shown. Generally, on a contact center floor  204 , groups of agents  112  may sit at varying distances from the wallboard display  208 . 
         [0045]    When an agent  112  logs in, a Global Positioning System (GPS) enabled display system  208  can detect where the agent  112  is physically sitting and determine which wallboard  208  can best display relevant information to the agent  112 . In some embodiments, the determination of which wallboard  208  is best for an agent  112  may include considerations such as which wallboard  208  is closest to the agent  112  and/or which wallboard  208  is most easily viewed by the agent. The closest wallboard  208  may not always be the best wallboard for an agent  112  if it is around a corner, obstructed from view by another object, etc. Relevant data may be posted to the wallboard  208  in a resolution determined to be optimal for the distance. The GPS-enabled system may give supervisors the option to push relevant data to the wallboard  208  based on the physical location of his or her agents  112 . 
         [0046]    For example, a Sales Group, including Valentino  112   f  and Stefan  112   g , may sit five feet from a large, wall-mounted display  208 . An International Group, including Trae  112   b  and Katie  112   c , may sit ten feet from a large, wall-mounted display  208 . A Tier III Group, including Claudio  112   d  and Bryan  112   e , may sit fifteen feet from a large, wall-mounted display  208 . The display data  304  for Trae  112   b  and Katie  112   c  (and additional members of the International Group) may be moderately sized since agents  112  in the group are ten feet from the wallboard  208 . The display data  308  for Claudio  112   d  and Bryan  112   e  (and additional members of the Tier III Group) may be relatively large sized since agents  112  in the group are fifteen feet from the wallboard  208 . The display data  312  for Valentino  112   f  and Stefan  112   g  (and additional members of the Sales Group) may be significantly smaller than for the International and Tier III Groups since agents  112  are only five feet from the wallboard  208 . 
         [0047]    Additionally, Ivan  212  the supervisor can customize the display data  304 ,  308 ,  312  for one or more groups of agents  112 . Display data may be automatically generated and displayed (e.g., from an automatic call distributer—ACD) like the date 316 (e.g., JAN 24) and/or manually entered and displayed (e.g., from the supervisor). The International Group&#39;s display data  304  might display metrics and/or status, with examples like, “Metrics=Green” and “Great work!” The Tier III Group&#39;s display data  308  might display metrics and/or status, with examples like, “Metrics=Yellow” and “Wait time is too long.” The Sales Group&#39;s display data  312  might display metrics and/or status, with examples like, “Metrics=Red” and “Abandons are too high.” As can be understood from the example data displays  304 ,  308 ,  312 , each group may have a display specific to agents  112  in the group. Data displays  304 ,  308 ,  312  for additional groups could be identical or distinctly different from other data displays  304 ,  308 ,  312 . General information  316  may be displayed with a size that can be seen by all agents  112  on the contact center floor  204 . 
         [0048]    Referring now to  FIG. 4 , examples of location-based wallboard messaging displays  400  are shown. Generally, a contact center may contain one or more wallboards. The wallboards  404 ,  208 ,  412  may be located on different walls of the contact center floor  204  and/or located in different rooms within the contact center  200 , operable to receive information from a smart device  132  from a supervisor  212 . 
         [0049]    For example, Ivan the supervisor  212  has an application on his smart device  132 . The application allows Ivan  212  to push information to one or more wallboards in the contact center. A very large earthquake has occurred in Japan where the company has a satellite contact center. Ivan  212  is contacted by the supervisor from the satellite location, notifying him that the facility is in shambles. The supervisor asks Ivan  212  if his teams can help if he can redirect the communications for handling. It is critically important that Ivan  212  find all available qualified agents  112  as quickly as possible so that he can brief agents  112  on the situation. Once briefed, agents  112  can accept work from the crippled satellite contact center. Rather than running around to find agents  112  who can be available to take work, Ivan  212  opens up the application on his smart device  132 . He pushes a message, “Emergency International Group Meeting C2S20.” The wallboard module  128  may know where agents  112  are based on GPS, RFID, or other location indicators and display the message accordingly. A wallboard  408  in a break room  404  may display the message “Emergency International Group Meeting C2S20” since Trae  112   b  from the International Group is within detectable vicinity of the wallboard  408 . The wallboard  208  on the contact center floor  204  may display the message “Emergency International Group Meeting C2S20” with a medium data display  304  since Katie  112   c  is at her desk and within detectable vicinity of the wallboard  208 . A wallboard  416  may not display the message “Emergency International Group Meeting C2S20” in a conference room  412  since Valentino  112   f  and Stefan  112   g  are not part of the available and qualified agents  112  who can help with the work from the satellite contact center. The wallboard module  128  may keep the current data display  416  that is relevant to the Sales Group. The agents  112  see the message in the break room  404  and on the contact center floor  204 , and immediately proceed to a meeting room. After the brief, the agents  112  respond appropriately to the surge of incoming work. 
         [0050]    The method  500  for display determination in accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure is shown in  FIG. 5 . Generally, the method  500  begins with a start operation  504  and terminates with an end operation  544 . While a general order for the steps of the method  500  are shown in  FIG. 5 , the method  500  can include more or fewer steps or the order of the steps can be arranged differently than those shown in  FIG. 5 . The method  500  can be executed as a set of computer-executable instructions executed by a computer system and encoded or stored on a computer readable medium. Further, the method may also be embodied by a set of gates or other structures in an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), a Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA), or other configurable hardware component, module, or system. Hereinafter, the method  500  shall be explained with reference to the systems, components, modules, software, data structures, etc. described in conjunction with  FIGS. 1-4 . 
         [0051]    Typically, the process queries at step  508  to see who may be in the vicinity of the wallboard  208 . Many agents  112  assigned to different groups and/or work may be available and detectable. In step  512 , agents  112  who work in the International Group and who are logged in may be detected by the wallboard module  128 . In step  516 , agents  112  who work in the Tier III group and who are logged in may be detected by the wallboard module  128 . In step  520 , agents  112  who work in the Sales Group and who are logged in may be detected by the wallboard module  128 . Agents  112  may be located with RFID, GPS, a human microchip implant, and other tracking and/or locating devices. 
         [0052]    The wallboard module  128  may determine an agent&#39;s distance from a wallboard  208  and display data  304 ,  308 ,  312  that may be displayed on the wallboard  208  closest to the agent  112  with appropriate sizing of the display for the distance, in step  524 . In step  528 , the wallboard module  128 , after determining the relative position of available agents  112  in the International Group, may update the display data  304  appropriately sized and placed for the available agents  112 . Concurrently, in step  532 , the wallboard module  128 , after determining the relative position of available agents  112  in the Tier III Group, may update the display data  308  appropriately sized and placed for the available agents  112 . Before, after, or simultaneous with step  528  and step  532 , in step  536 , the wallboard module  128 , after determining the relative position of available agents  112  in the Sales Group, may update the display data  312  appropriately sized and placed for the available agents  112 . The wallboard module  128  may continuously monitor the contact center floor  204  for new logins. In step  540 , when a new agent  112  login is detected, the wallboard module  128  may begin the process again at step  508 . If no new agent  112  logins are detected in step  540 , the process may end, at step  544 . 
         [0053]    The method  600  for a supervisor proximity and push wallboard display in accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure is shown in  FIG. 6 . Generally, the method  600  begins with a start operation  604  and terminates with an end operation  632 . While a general order for the steps of the method  600  are shown in  FIG. 6 , the method  600  can include more or fewer steps or the order of the steps can be arranged differently than those shown in  FIG. 6 . The method  600  can be executed as a set of computer-executable instructions executed by a computer system and encoded or stored on a computer readable medium. Further, the method may also be embodied by a set of gates or other structures in an ASIC, an FPGA, or other configurable hardware component, module, or system. Hereinafter, the method  600  shall be explained with reference to the systems, components, modules, software, data structures, etc. described in conjunction with  FIGS. 1-5 . 
         [0054]    Generally, the process begins when a supervisor steps onto a contact center floor  204 , in step  608 . As the supervisor  212  comes into the vicinity of a wallboard  208 , the wallboard  208  may detect the presence of the supervisor  212  and/or a supervisor&#39;s communication device  132 , in step  612 . The presence of the supervisor  212  and/or the supervisor&#39;s communication device  132  may be detectable via login, extension activation, RFID, GPS, a human microchip implant, and/or other tracking devices or presence indicators. As a routine part of a shift, the supervisor  212  may check contact center statistics, in step  616 . Typical contact center statistics might include, but are not limited to, Average Call Handle Time (ACHT) which may include total talk time and wrap time divided by the total number of calls, Service Level (SL %) which may indicate the percentage of calls answered within a certain amount of time (e.g., 30 seconds), Abandon Rate (ABN %) which may be the number of dropped calls divided by total incoming calls, Average Speed Answer (ASA) which may be the average number of seconds or minutes it takes to answer a call, Longest Wait Time (LWT) and Average Wait Time (AWT) for incoming calls, and Calls in Queue (CIQ) which may indicate how many calls are pending, waiting for agent  112  handling. 
         [0055]    If the supervisor  212  determines that any of the statistics needs adjustment and/or special attention, the supervisor  212  may use the supervisor&#39;s communication device  132  to push information to a wallboard module  128 . The wallboard module  128  may send data to one or more wallboards  208 , in step  620 . Data sent to the wallboard  208  may include instructions to agents  112 , announcements, warnings, etc. For example, the supervisor  212  may post a message on the wallboard  208  that reads, “The abandon call time is going up. Does anyone need assistance?” Agents  112  within the viewing range and for whom the data push is relevant may take action in step  624  based on the push data on the wallboard  208 . Actions by agents  112  might include, but are not limited to, finishing calls in progress to free up agents  112  to take calls in queue, teamwork by agents  112  to answer incoming calls more quickly, more experienced agents  112  may start helping other agents  112 , or agents  112  may take other actions to reduce backlog, taking breaks if some agents  112  may be getting tired, and asking for supervisor  212  assistance, if needed. Katie  112   c  may raise her hand and ask the supervisor  212  what data in a trace might indicate. As the supervisor  212  observes, the statistics generally improve as the supervisor  212  helps and agents  112  respond to the data push from the wallboard module  128 . At the end of a shift, in step  628 , the agents  112  and the supervisor  212  may log out and leave. The wallboard module  128  may detect that the supervisor  212  and the supervisor&#39;s communication device  132  and the agents  112  are no longer in the vicinity and adjust the data display on the wallboard  208  appropriately. The process ends at step  632 . As new agents  112  and supervisors  212  come onto the contact center floor  204 , the method  600  may begin again. 
         [0056]    The method  700  for an agent proximity and request wallboard display in accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure is shown in  FIG. 7 . Generally, the method  700  begins with a start operation  704  and terminates with an end operation  740 . While a general order for the steps of the method  700  are shown in  FIG. 7 , the method  700  can include more or fewer steps or the order of the steps can be arranged differently than those shown in  FIG. 7 . The method  700  can be executed as a set of computer-executable instructions executed by a computer system and encoded or stored on a computer readable medium. Further, the method may also be embodied by a set of gates or other structures in an ASIC, an FPGA, or other configurable hardware component, module, or system. Hereinafter, the method  700  shall be explained with reference to the systems, components, modules, software, data structures, etc. described in conjunction with  FIGS. 1-6 . 
         [0057]    Typically, the method begins when an agent  112  arrives at a contact center facility for a shift, in step  708 . As the agent  112  comes into the vicinity of a wallboard  208 , the wallboard  208  may detect the presence of the agent  112 , in step  712 . The presence of the agent  112  may be detectable via login, extension activation, RFID, GPS, a human microchip implant, and/or other tracking devices or presence indicators. Once the agent  112  is detected in step  712 , the wallboard  208  may customize the display data for the agent, in step  716 . For example, Valentino  112   f  in the Sales Group reports for his shift. A wallboard module  128  may gather and post statistics, metrics, messages, announcements, etc. to the wallboard  208  for the Sales Group, set at a certain text size appropriate for viewing from a workstation where Valentino  112   f  sits. 
         [0058]    After a few hours, Valentino  112   f  may go to a break room  404  for a short break. During this time, Valentino&#39;s supervisor Ivan  212  may have a surge of calls come into a queue handled by the Sales Group. Instead of walking around the facility looking for agents  112 , Ivan  212  may invoke a find agent feature, in step  720 . The find agent feature may be invoked via an application on Ivan&#39;s communication device  132  and/or via an application on a website. Ivan  212  may be able to “find” all agents  112  in the Sales Group. If Ivan  212  specifically needs Valentino  112   f , he may walk to the break room  404  to get Valentino  112   f , and/or Ivan  212  may send a message from the supervisor communication device  132  to the wallboard module  128  to display a message, summoning Valentino  112   f  and potentially other members of the Sales Group back to the contact center floor  204 . 
         [0059]    Valentino  112   f  in the break room  404  may see a data display message  408  from Ivan  212  that reads, “Queue surge.” Before heading back to the contact center floor  204 , Valentino  112   f  may send a request to the wallboard module  128  to display queue statistics for the Sales Group, in step  724 . The wallboard and/or a communication device may display the requested queue statistics specific to the request from Valentino  112   f , in step  728 . In step  732 , Valentino  112   f  may respond to the message from Ivan  212  and return to the contact center floor  204 . Valentino  112   f  may be able to jump in quickly to respond to the queue surge since Ivan  212  and/or the wallboard module  128  gave timely and valuable information to Valentino  112   f , even during the break. When Valentino  112   f  returns to the workstation, the wallboard  208  may update the display data with current data for the Sales Group, Ivan&#39;s message, and Valentino&#39;s request. 
         [0060]    When Valentino  112   f  logs out, in step  736 , and/or exits the facility, the wallboard module  128  may send and the wallboard  208  may display a default data display and/or a data display for the next closest agent  112  is in the facility. The data display may also change when the supervisor Ivan  212  logs out and/or leaves the facility, in step  736 . In step  740 , the method ends. As new agents  112  and supervisors  212  come onto the contact center floor  204 , the method  700  may begin again. 
         [0061]    An embodiment of wallboard data  800  is shown in  FIG. 8 . The phrase “wallboard data,” as used herein, refers to a collection of information that may be presented on a wallboard by a wallboard module  128 . Wallboard data can include, but is not limited to, enrollment information  804 , RSS Feed data  808 , push data from a supervisor  212  or other resource  112  with permission  812 , information on wallboard physical locations  816 , and security data including passwords and permissions  820 . 
         [0062]    The wallboard data  800  may include specific information from interactions within a contact center  200 , a direct feed into the contact center  200  from a CMS, a supervisor  212 , or other resources  112  through push, proximity, and/or other system mechanisms. The wallboard data  800  may include metadata. The metadata may include information on resource proximity and/or availability  804 . It may also include an RSS Feed  808  that may be associated with statistics and/or metrics for the contact center  200 . A database may capture and store any push messages  812  from agents  112  and supervisors  212  with appropriate credentials. The security field  820  can include one or more user names/handles/aliases, login information, contact information, and passwords for accessing the wallboard display. 
         [0063]    The stored information may include communication and context information important for human and wallboard interaction. The database information may also include additional agent  112 , supervisor  212 , and customer information that has been collected in response to multiple interactions with a company or a contact center  200 . While there are only five input fields  804 ,  808 ,  812 ,  816 , and  820  as shown in  FIG. 8 , there may be more or fewer data fields associated with data structure  800 . 
         [0064]    Although the present disclosure describes components and functions implemented in the aspects, embodiments, and/or configurations with reference to particular standards and protocols, the aspects, embodiments, and/or configurations are not limited to such standards and protocols. Other similar standards and protocols not mentioned herein are in existence and are considered to be included in the present disclosure. Moreover, the standards and protocols mentioned herein and other similar standards and protocols not mentioned herein are periodically superseded by faster or more effective equivalents having essentially the same functions. Such replacement standards and protocols having the same functions are considered equivalents included in the present disclosure. 
         [0065]    The foregoing discussion has been presented for purposes of illustration and description. The foregoing is not intended to limit the disclosure to the form or forms disclosed herein. In the foregoing Detailed Description for example, various features of the disclosure are grouped together in one or more aspects, embodiments, and/or configurations for the purpose of streamlining the disclosure. The features of the aspects, embodiments, and/or configurations of the disclosure may be combined in alternate aspects, embodiments, and/or configurations other than those discussed above. This method of disclosure is not to be interpreted as reflecting an intention that the claims require more features than are expressly recited in each claim. Rather, as the following claims reflect, inventive aspects lie in less than all features of a single foregoing disclosed aspect, embodiment, and/or configuration. Thus, the following claims are hereby incorporated into this Detailed Description, with each claim standing on its own as a separate preferred embodiment of the disclosure.