CN111083857A - System and method for automatically indicating contact center status using lighting devices - Google Patents
System and method for automatically indicating contact center status using lighting devices Download PDFInfo
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Abstract
The invention provides a system and method for automatically indicating contact center status using lighting devices. In particular, embodiments provide systems and methods for automatically controlling electronic lighting devices to indicate information about workstations or agents of a customer contact center. Some embodiments are useful in an employee-managed environment, as the lighting fixtures are used to indicate information about tasks undertaken by the employee, the performance of the employee, and the status of the employee. A computer system coupled to the lighting device executes control software configured to send control signals over a communication interface such as USB or bluetooth. The data sent to the electronic lighting devices may cause the lighting devices to turn off or on, change color, flash, strobe, etc., to produce a desired illumination effect that is representative of a status or event associated with the employee or workstation.
Description
Cross Reference to Related Applications
The present application claims priority OF provisional application entitled "using a USB-CONNECTED TO CONTACT CENTER agent computer RGB light display TO indicate at a glance various INFORMATION (USE USB-RGB LIGHT DISPLAY CONNECTED TO CONTACT CENTER agent TO INDICATE AT-a-GLANCE A VARIETY OF INFORMATION)" filed on 18.10.2018, serial No. 62/747,604, file No. TELP-0005-00.00US, and the name OF the inventor is the same as the present application. The contents of the above-referenced provisional application are incorporated by reference as if fully set forth herein.
Technical Field
Embodiments of the present invention generally relate to computer controlled lighting devices (illumination devices). More particularly, embodiments of the present invention relate to computer-implemented systems and methods for automatically controlling lighting devices to communicate information at a glance.
Background
Customer contact centers or service centers typically employ a relatively large number of employees (agents) working in public areas or floors supervised by floor managers or supervisors (supervisors). The agent selects an available workstation on which to work to receive the customer's query and assist the customer in resolving the query, such as by telephone, email, or electronic chat. In some cases, it may be difficult for an agent to determine which stations are available or which stations are occupied by an agent that temporarily leaves the station, such as when an employee is taking a short break. Once the agent is at a station, if the agent has difficulty assisting the customer in resolving the customer's query, the agent will stand up to lift their hands, indicating that they need assistance from a floor supervisor. The status of an agent requesting assistance is commonly referred to as "lifted hung". In the best case, the floor supervisor will respond quickly to the agent's request for assistance, but it is often the case that several agents will need assistance in a short time, and an agent may need to wait five minutes or more to begin obtaining assistance.
The efficiency of requiring agents to physically stand up and hold up for assistance is often low, as the agents must stop working and not access or reference knowledge bases, product manuals, customer accounts, etc. while they wait for assistance. Also, it may be difficult for a floor supervisor to determine the order in which agents request assistance, the time that agents have waited for assistance, etc., and to determine which agent should receive assistance next. Further, the floor supervisor may have to access a software program to determine information (e.g., metrics) related to the status or performance of the agent, which may, for example, take the supervisor's attention away from observing the agent on the floor in real-time.
There is a need for a method and apparatus that enables a supervisor to easily obtain information about agents working on a contact center floor at a glance, thereby enabling the supervisor to efficiently manage the agents of the contact center.
Disclosure of Invention
Embodiments of the present invention provide systems and methods for automatically controlling electronic lighting devices to indicate information about workstations or agents of a customer contact center. Embodiments of the present invention are useful in an employee managed environment, as electronic lighting devices are used to indicate information about tasks undertaken by the employee, the employee's performance, and the employee's status. A computer system coupled to the electronic lighting device executes control software configured to send control signals over a communication interface such as USB or bluetooth. The data sent to the lighting fixtures may cause the lighting fixtures to turn off or on, change color, flash, strobe, etc., to produce a desired visual effect representative of a status or event associated with the employee or workstation. By scanning on the contact center floor, the supervisor can quickly and intuitively check the type of problem, assistance, or status applicable to the agent on that floor.
According to one embodiment, an electronic device is disclosed that includes an electrical and physical interface operable to couple to a port of a computer system, wherein the computer system includes a processor, a rod-shaped housing that houses the interface, a circuit board that includes circuitry housed within the housing, wherein the circuitry receives control signals from the computer system through the interface and controls a lighting element, and the lighting element is disposed at one end of the rod-shaped housing and operable to generate a color corresponding to a real-time status associated with the computer system, wherein the real-time status is determined by the processor, and information is read by the processor from the computer system.
According to some embodiments, the computer system receives an information request from the remote monitor through the network interface, wherein in response to the information request, the computer system obtains the real-time status, and wherein in response to the information request, the circuitry further controls the lighting element.
According to some embodiments, the computer system receives the light configuration from a remote monitor, and wherein the computer system sends a control signal to the circuitry to control the lighting element based on the light configuration.
According to some embodiments, the light configuration comprises at least one of a state threshold and a performance threshold.
According to some embodiments, the real-time status represents the duration of time that an agent logged into the computer system.
According to some embodiments, the real-time status indicates that the agent requests assistance.
According to some embodiments, the real-time status represents the working hours of an agent using the computer system.
According to some embodiments, the real-time status represents an agent using a computer system, and the agent is logged into the computer system but not working on the computer system.
According to some embodiments, the real-time status represents a software program executed by the computer system.
According to some embodiments, the lighting elements change color rapidly to produce a lighting effect corresponding to a real-time state.
According to another embodiment, a method of monitoring contact center status among a plurality of agents of a contact center is disclosed. The method includes the remote monitor sending an information request to an agent computer system of a contact center, wherein the contact center includes a plurality of agents, and wherein the agent computer system includes a processor, a communication port, and an electronic lighting device, the agent computer systems of the plurality of agents determining real-time status information in response to receiving the information request, and the electronic lighting device of the agent computer system illuminating respective colors representing respective real-time status information determined by the associated agent computer system. Each electronic lighting device includes an electrical and physical interface operable to couple with a communication port of an associated agent computer system, a rod-shaped housing containing the electrical and physical interface, a circuit board including circuitry contained within the housing, wherein the circuitry receives control signals from the associated agent computer system through the interface and controls the lighting elements, and the lighting elements are disposed at one end of the rod-shaped housing and are operable to generate respective colors representing real-time status information, wherein the real-time status information is determined by the processor and information is read from the agent computer system by the processor.
According to some embodiments, the real-time status information includes the tasks currently performed by each agent.
According to some embodiments, the real-time status information includes an identity of the first agent, wherein the first agent has a highest level of performance based on the specified metric.
According to some embodiments, the real-time status information includes productivity information for the agent.
According to various embodiments, a method of monitoring contact center status among a plurality of agents is disclosed. The method comprises the following steps: determining a real-time status of an agent computer system associated with a plurality of agents, wherein the agent computer system comprises a processor and a communication port; and determining a lighting effect corresponding to the real-time status based on the real-time status read from the light configuration, causing electronic lighting devices associated with the agent computer system to produce the lighting effect reflecting the real-time status, wherein each electronic lighting device includes an electrical and physical interface operable to couple to a communication port of the agent computer system, a rod-like housing the interface, a circuit board including circuitry housed within the housing, wherein the circuitry receives control signals from the agent computer system through the interface and controls a lighting element, wherein the lighting element is disposed on one end of the rod-like housing and is operable to produce the lighting effect corresponding to the real-time status associated with the agent computer system.
According to some embodiments, the real-time status indicates whether the respective agent has requested assistance.
According to some embodiments, the method includes the electronic device illuminating a new color when the respective agent no longer needs assistance.
According to some embodiments, the agent computer system further comprises a network interface, and further comprising the agent computer system transmitting the real-time status to the remote monitor system using the network interface.
According to some embodiments, the remote monitor selects a first agent of the plurality of agents to receive assistance.
According to some embodiments, the respective electronic lighting device associated with the first agent changes color in response to a selection by the hosting computer system.
Brief description of the drawings
The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate embodiments of the invention and together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the invention:
FIG. 1A depicts an exemplary computer system for automatically controlling lighting fixtures to indicate information associated with agents and/or workstations of a contact center in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.
Fig. 1B depicts an exemplary customer contact center including an agent computer system in communication with various lighting devices to conveniently indicate information to a floor supervisor in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 depicts an exemplary electronic lighting device for emitting light to indicate the status of an agent and/or workstation of a contact center, according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 3 depicts an exemplary block diagram and dataflow diagram illustrating a computer system for automatically indicating the status of an agent and/or workstation of a contact center in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.
Fig. 4 depicts an exemplary light configuration for automatically controlling lighting fixtures to indicate information related to the status of agents and/or workstations of a contact center in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.
Fig. 5 depicts an exemplary light configuration for automatically controlling a lighting fixture based on customizable conditions or thresholds to indicate information about the status of agents working at a contact center, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.
Fig. 6 depicts an exemplary light configuration for automatically controlling lighting fixtures to indicate information related to customizable performance metrics (performance metrics) of agents working at a contact center, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.
Fig. 7 depicts an exemplary sequence of computer-implemented steps for automatically controlling lighting devices to indicate real-time information (e.g., status or performance) of agents and/or workstations of a contact center in response to an information request or query in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 8 depicts an exemplary sequence of computer-implemented steps for automatically controlling lighting devices to indicate that an agent contacting a center needs assistance, according to an embodiment of the invention.
FIG. 9 depicts an exemplary computer platform upon which embodiments of the present invention may be implemented.
Detailed Description
Reference will now be made in detail to several embodiments. While the subject matter will be described in conjunction with the alternative embodiments, it will be understood that they are not intended to limit the claimed subject matter to these embodiments. On the contrary, the claimed subject matter is intended to cover alternatives, modifications and equivalents, which may be included within the spirit and scope of the claimed subject matter as defined by the appended claims.
Furthermore, in the following detailed description, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of claimed subject matter. However, it will be recognized by one skilled in the art that the embodiments may be practiced without these specific details or with equivalents thereof. In other instances, well-known methods, procedures, components, and circuits have not been described in detail as not to unnecessarily obscure aspects and features of the present subject matter.
Portions of the detailed description that follows are presented and discussed in terms of methods. Although steps and sequences thereof are disclosed herein in the figures (e.g., fig. 7 and 8) describing the operations of the method, such steps and sequences are exemplary. Embodiments are well suited to performing various other steps or variations of the steps recited in the flowcharts of the figures herein, and in a sequence other than that depicted and described herein.
Some portions of the detailed descriptions, which follow, are presented in terms of procedures, steps, logic blocks, processing, and other symbolic representations of operations on data bits that can be performed on computer memory. These descriptions and representations are the means used by those skilled in the data processing arts to most effectively convey the substance of their work to others skilled in the art. A procedure, computer-executed step, logic block, process, etc., is here, and generally, conceived to be a self-consistent sequence of steps or instructions leading to a desired result. The steps are those requiring physical manipulations of physical quantities. Usually, though not necessarily, these quantities take the form of electrical or magnetic signals capable of being stored, transferred, combined, compared, and otherwise manipulated in a computer system. It has proven convenient at times, principally for reasons of common usage, to refer to these signals as bits, values, elements, symbols, characters, terms, numbers, or the like.
It should be borne in mind, however, that all of these and similar terms are to be associated with the appropriate physical quantities and are merely convenient labels applied to these quantities. Unless specifically stated otherwise as apparent from the following discussions, it is appreciated that throughout the discussion, discussions utilizing terms such as "accessing," "writing," "including," "storing," "transmitting," "associating," "identifying," "encoding," or the like, refer to the action and processes of a computer system, or similar electronic computing device, that manipulates and transforms data represented as physical (electronic) quantities within the computer system's registers and memories into other data similarly represented as physical quantities within the computer system memories or registers or other such information storage, transmission or display devices.
System and method for automatically indicating identity of agent using lighting device
Embodiments of the present invention provide systems and methods for automatically controlling electronic lighting devices to indicate information about workstations or agents of a customer contact center. Some embodiments are useful in an employee-managed environment, as the lighting fixtures are used to indicate information about tasks undertaken by the employee, the performance of the employee, and the status of the employee. A computer system coupled to the lighting device executes control software configured to send control signals over a communication interface such as USB or bluetooth. The data sent to the electronic lighting devices may cause the lighting devices to turn off or on, change color, flash, strobe, etc., to produce a desired lighting effect that is representative of a real-time status or event associated with the employee or workstation. According to some embodiments, the data comprises a request for information sent from a host computer system to an agent computer system. The information request may relate to performance or productivity indicators of the agent, the agent's current status, availability of the workstation, etc. By browsing the contact center floor, the supervisor can quickly and intuitively check the type of problem, assistance, or status applicable to the agents on the floor.
With respect to FIG. 1A, an exemplary computer system 100 for automatically controlling electronic lighting (e.g., LED) devices 115, 120, and 125 to indicate information associated with agents and/or workstations of a contact center is depicted in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. Computer system 100 includes a host computer system 105 connected to one or more agent computer systems 130, 135, and 140 over a computer network 110. The computer network 110 facilitates communication between computer systems via wired or wireless connections, and may include: a local area network, a wireless network, or the internet. According to some embodiments, the electronic lighting devices 115, 120, and 125 have the shape of rods or sticks and may be disposed vertically above or beside the agent computer systems 130, 135, and 140 in a manner visible by a supervisor or manager on the central floor.
In one example, the agent computer system 130 causes the lighting device 115 to turn a particular color (e.g., red) to indicate that an agent working at the computer system 130 has requested assistance. Agent computer system 130 also sends information to supervisor computer system 105 over network 110 to indicate that the agent has requested assistance, and the request for assistance may be displayed on a graphical user interface presented on a display device of supervisor computer system 105. The supervisor may select or confirm the agent's assistance request using the graphical user interface and send a control signal from the supervisor computer system 105 to the agent computer system 130, e.g., over the network 110, to turn the lighting device 115, e.g., yellow, to indicate immediate assistance.
Once the agent has received assistance, the agent computer system 130 or the agent computer system 105 may be used to indicate that assistance is no longer needed and the lighting device 115 ceases to emit light. According to some embodiments, a request for information is sent from the supervisor computer system 105 to the agent computer systems 130, 135, and/or 140. The information request may relate to performance metrics of the agent, the current status of the agent, availability of the workstation, and the like. In response, real-time information is obtained from the broker computer system 130, 135, and/or 140 to satisfy the request, and the lighting devices 115, 120, and/or 125 turn on or change color based on the real-time information. Depending on the color and/or effect produced by the electronic lighting devices 115, 120, and/or 125, the agent's real-time status information on the floor may be conveniently and efficiently obtained in response to an administrator viewing the illuminated electronic devices 145B-197B without having to access a separate device or user interface.
With respect to FIG. 1B, an exemplary customer contact center 101 includes agent computer systems 145A-197A in communication with lighting devices 145B-197B to conveniently indicate information to a floor supervisor, in accordance with embodiments of the present invention. The agent computer system may be connected to a network or communication system to communicate with the hosting system, as shown in FIG. 1A. A supervisor computer system or monitoring system communicates with the agent computer systems 145A-197A to communicate with and obtain data from the agents computer systems, such as agent status, inquiry status, agent requests assistance ("hands raised"), and performance metrics. Further, information requests can be sent to the agent computer systems 145A-197A, and the lighting devices 145B-197B turn on or change color in real time according to the criteria of the information request.
As shown in FIG. 1B, agent computer systems 150A, 170A, and 175A meet the criteria of the information request, and thus illumination devices 150B, 170B, and 175B illuminate with a first color or effect. For example, the hosting computer system may issue an information request that includes illuminating (illuminating) an illumination device of an agent computer system that is browsing a social media website, and the illumination devices 150B, 170B, and 175B are illuminated with a first color or effect to indicate that an agent using the agent computer systems 150A, 170A, and 175A is browsing the social media website, and thus meets the criteria of the information request.
With respect to fig. 2, an exemplary electrical lighting (e.g., LED) device 200 for emitting light to indicate the status of agents and/or workstations of a contact center is depicted, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. The lighting device 200 includes a circuit board that includes circuitry 205 for controlling lighting elements (e.g., LEDs) 215. The circuitry may control the LED 215 to selectively turn the LED 215 on and off and control the color of light emitted by the LED 215. For example, according to some embodiments, the circuit 205 may flash, strobe, display a pattern of light, emit light for a predetermined period of time, change color, change intensity, emit a color gradient (e.g., fade from red to green), and/or the like. The circuit 205 is disposed in a housing 210 to house and protect the circuit 205 and includes a transparent or translucent LED cover or lens 220 that can be illuminated by the LEDs 215 and/or spread the light generated by the LEDs 215. Of course, LEDs are just one example of a light source, and many other well-known suitable light sources may be employed.
The circuit 205 connects to the computer system 230 using a communication interface or port 225 (e.g., USB), although any interface known in the art may be included, and the lighting device 200 receives power through the communication interface 225. The LED device 200 uses the communication port 225 to receive control signals from the computer system that cause the circuitry 205 to control (e.g., activate, modify, adjust) the behavior of the lighting element 215 by causing the circuitry 205 to enter different modes of operation. Control signals received through the communication port 225 may cause the LED 215 to produce a lighting effect in response to an event or status associated with an agent or workstation of the contact center. According to some embodiments, the circuitry 205 controls the behavior of the lighting elements 215 based on a predetermined threshold, a performance metric, or more code numbers in response to a control signal received through the communication port 225. For example, thresholds and metrics may be defined and customized using a monitor or hosting computer system. Real-time status information of the computer system 230 may be conveniently and efficiently obtained in response to viewing the illuminated electronic device 200 based on the color and/or effect produced by the electronic lighting device 200 without accessing a separate device or user interface.
With respect to FIG. 3, an exemplary block diagram and dataflow diagram 300 is depicted for a computer system that automatically indicates the status of an agent and/or workstation of a contact center, according to an embodiment of the present invention. The supervisor computer system receives data 305 from agent computer system 320 through a communication interface 310, such as a local area network or the internet. The received data may include performance metrics of the agent, the agent's current status, the status or availability of the workstation, and the like. The hosting system 305 may also send data and control signals 315 to the agent computer system 320 to cause the lighting device 335 to controllably illuminate 340 based on predetermined events and conditions. The agent computer system 320 executes control software 345 to send control signals to the lighting device 335 through a communication interface 330 such as USB or bluetooth. Data 315 sent by the hosting system 305 and data 330 sent by the agent computer system 320 may cause the lighting device 335 to turn off or on, change color, change mode, flash, strobe, change brightness, etc., to produce a light output 340. For example, the hosting system 305 may send data to the agent computer system 320 and the control software 345 executing on the agent computer system 320 sends corresponding control signals to the lighting device 335 to produce the desired illumination effect 340. Based on the lighting effect 340, real-time status information associated with the agent computer system 320 is conveniently and efficiently obtained in response to viewing the illuminated electronic lighting effect 340 without having to access a separate device or user interface.
According to some embodiments, the data 315 includes information requests sent from the supervisor computer system 305 to the agent computer system 320. The information request may relate to performance metrics of the agent, a current status of the agent, availability or status of the workstation. In response to the information request, real-time information is obtained from agent computer system 320 to satisfy the request. The information may include an indication of: how long the agent has logged on to the computer system, what software the computer system is executing, how long the agent has been waiting to answer, whether the agent has not recently taken a break, availability of workstations, etc. The real-time information may be displayed on a display device connected to the host computer 305 and/or may be used to control the illumination 335 to turn the illumination 335 off or on, change color, change brightness, change mode, flash, strobe, etc., to produce the light output 340.
According to some embodiments, the hosting computer system 305 generates a memory-resident light profile, table or data structure 325, which is stored in memory as a data structure and is used to define the conditions for lighting the lighting fixture 335 with a predetermined effect, as shown in table 400 (fig. 4). Further, according to some embodiments, light profile or table 325 may cause lighting fixture 335 to emit light based on customizable conditions and customizable effects as shown in table 500 (fig. 5) and table 600 (fig. 6). In one example, the light profile 325 is defined by the supervisor computer system 305, and when an agent working at a workstation has worked for more than 4 hours without a break, the light profile 325 causes software executed by the agent computer system 320 to control the lighting device 335 to turn blue for 10 minutes. In another example, when an agent working on a workstation has logged in for more than 8 hours, the light configuration 325 defined by the supervisor computer system 305 causes the software executed by the agent computer system 320 to instruct the lighting device 335 to flash orange, for example, for 2 minutes.
According to some embodiments, the optical configuration 325 includes a list of required software that an agent desires to run while the workstation is working. For example, the light configuration 325 may include criteria indicating that the electronic lighting device 335 will emit solid-state (solid) violet light, for example, when the agent computer system 320 is currently executing all required software. When not all required software is being executed by the agent computer system 320, the criteria of the light configuration 325 may indicate that the electronic lighting device 335 should produce a certain lighting effect 340. For example, the electronic lighting device 335 may flash or strobe at a rate relative to the number of desired software applications that are not currently executing. Further, according to some embodiments, light configuration 325 may also include undesirable software applications that will cause the electronic lighting device to flash or strobe more quickly. For example, if agent computer system 320 is running all the required software applications and is also running a card game, electronic illumination device 335 will flash or strobe to indicate that an undesirable application is being executed. According to some embodiments, the electronic lighting device 335 will flash or strobe more quickly based on the number of undesirable software applications that the agent computer system 320 is currently executing.
With respect to fig. 4, an exemplary light configuration data structure 400 for automatically controlling lighting fixtures to indicate information related to the real-time status of agents and/or workstations of a contact center is depicted in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. The light configuration data structure 400 is stored in a memory and may include a series of entries for controlling the lighting devices based on the state 405, the color 410 and/or the effect 415. State 405 describes a state or event that triggers the lighting device to display light using color 410 and/or effect 415. Each agent computer may display a corresponding visual effect in response to a query sent by the supervisor computer of the agent's current status.
In one example, the "lifted hands" status indicates that the employee has requested assistance to complete a task, such as satisfying a customer query. For example, when an agent requests assistance by selecting a "request assistance" button on a graphical user interface displayed on its workstation, the lighting device connected to its workstation will emit a solid state red light. For example, when a floor supervisor acknowledges an assistance request, such as by selecting an agent's assistance request on a graphical user interface, a lighting device coupled to the agent workstation will emit yellow light in a solid state. Thereafter, when the agent is assisted by the supervisor or no longer needs assistance, the lighting devices connected to the agent's workstation will cease to emit light. In another example, when a workstation is available for use by an agent, a lighting device connected to the workstation may emit a solid state green light. When the workstation is occupied, the lighting device stops emitting light. A green light flash indicates that the workstation is occupied but locked by the user (e.g., during rest).
With respect to fig. 5, an exemplary light configuration 500 data structure is depicted for automatically controlling lighting fixtures to indicate information about the status of agents working at a contact center based on customizable conditions, in accordance with embodiments of the present invention. State 505 describes an event or state that triggers the lighting device to display light when customizable condition 510 is satisfied using customizable color/effect 515. Customizable conditions 510 and customizable colors/effects 515 can be defined by the supervisor of the contact center and provided to workstations of the contact center to control lighting fixtures according to light profile 500. Condition 510 and color/effect 515 are customizable so that any threshold (e.g., time threshold, quantity threshold, performance threshold) and one or more color colors may be used.
In one example, light configuration 500 causes a lighting fixture connected to a workstation to turn orange, for example, when an agent working on the workstation is engaged in a currently held call or chat. When the agent has listened to for more than a predetermined period of time (e.g., 5 minutes), the lighting device may flash orange. As another example, when an agent working on a workstation continues to work for more than 4 hours without a break, the lighting devices connected to the workstation will turn blue for 10 minutes. For another example, when an agent working on a workstation has logged in for more than 4 hours without a rest, the lighting device connected to the workstation will flash red for 2 minutes. As another example, when an agent working on a workstation has logged into the workstation but is not ready to begin work, the lighting device connected to the workstation will flash red twice and then blue twice. In response to the supervisor query sent to all agents, the agent computers will automatically display their respective visual effects to reflect their real-time status.
With respect to fig. 6, an exemplary light configuration data structure 600 is depicted, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, the light configuration data structure 600 is used to automatically control lighting fixtures to indicate information related to customizable performance metrics or thresholds for agents working at a contact center. Customizable conditions 610 and customizable colors/effects 615 may be defined by an administrator of the contact center and provided to workstations of the contact center to control the lighting fixtures according to the light configuration 600 according to the real-time status of the workstations. Conditions 610 and colors/effects 615 are customizable such that any threshold (e.g., time threshold, quantity threshold, performance threshold) and color may be used.
In one example, software executed by a computer system (e.g., a server or hosting computer system) of a contact center determines certain performance indicators related to agents of the contact center, such as which agent meets or completes the highest number of customer calls, chats, or queries. The software then sends a control signal to the agent's workstation that processes the most calls to cause the lighting devices connected to the agent's workstation to emit an orange strobe light. As another example, the software may send a control signal to the first agent's workstation to address a call to the contact center on a given date or time period to cause a multi-color pattern or fade to be generated by the lighting devices connected to the agent's workstation. As another example, the software may send a control signal to the workstation of the agent with the highest customer satisfaction (e.g., based on a customer satisfaction survey) to cause the LED devices connected to the agent's workstation to emit a blue strobe. Real-time status information for an entire contact center floor can be quickly obtained in response to a lighting electronic device viewing the floor based on color and/or effect produced by the electronic lighting device
With respect to fig. 7, an exemplary sequence of computer-implemented steps 700 is described for automatically controlling an electronic lighting device to indicate real-time information (e.g., status or performance) of an agent and/or workstation of a contact center in response to an information request or query, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. In step 705, an information request is sent to an agent computer system. The information request may include, for example, information regarding how long the agent has logged into the computer system, what software the computer system is executing, how long the agent has been waiting, whether the agent has recently taken a break, availability of workstations, performance indicators, and the like. In step 710, real-time status information is determined by the agent computer system in response to the information request. This may include all agents on the floor or only one agent. In step 715, corresponding colors and/or effects representing the real-time status information are generated by electronic lighting devices coupled to the agent computer system or from all agent computers on the floor. The floor manager or manager can easily obtain real-time status information of the contact center in response to the electronic device viewing the lighting based on the color and/or effect produced by the electronic lighting device.
With respect to fig. 8, an exemplary sequence of computer-executed steps 800 for automatically controlling lighting fixtures to indicate status of agents of a contact center is depicted, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. In step 805, real-time status information is determined by the agent computer system. The real-time status may indicate real-time performance or activity information associated with the agent or indicate that various agents of the contact center need assistance (e.g., raising hands). In step 810, the real-time status information determined in step 805 is compared to criteria of the optical configuration, which may be stored in memory as a file or data structure. In step 815, the electronic lighting device is used to illuminate a corresponding color (e.g., red) representing the real-time status information determined by the associated agent computer system, according to the criteria of the light profile. In response to viewing the illuminated electronic device, real-time status information (e.g., hands raised) may be conveniently and efficiently obtained at the contact center without accessing a separate device or user interface.
According to some embodiments, the performed function includes providing assistance to the agent requesting assistance based on the viewed status information. The functions may further include selecting an agent for assistance and clearing the hands-raised status of the agent requesting assistance. Further, step 800 may include changing a respective color (e.g., yellow) of the electronic lighting device, or turning off the electronic lighting device, in response to the agent receiving assistance.
Exemplary computer System
Embodiments of the present invention relate to electronic systems for automatically controlling lighting devices to indicate information related to workstations or agents of a customer contact center. Some embodiments are useful in an employee-managed environment to indicate information about tasks undertaken by an employee, performance of the employee, and status of the employee or workstation using lighting fixtures. The following discussion describes one such exemplary electronic or computer system that may be used as a platform for implementing embodiments of the present invention.
In the example of fig. 9, an exemplary computer system 912 (e.g., an agent system or hosting system) includes a Central Processing Unit (CPU)901 for running software applications and optionally an operating system. Random access memory 902 and read only memory 903 store applications and data for use by CPU 901. Data storage device 904 provides non-volatile storage for applications and data, and may include a fixed disk drive, a removable disk drive, a flash memory device, and a CD-ROM, DVD-ROM, or other optical storage device. Optional user inputs 906 and 907 include devices that communicate input from one or more users to computer system 912 (e.g., a mouse, joystick, camera, touch screen, and/or microphone).
Communication interface or network interface 908 allows computer system 912 to communicate with other computer systems, networks, or devices via an electronic communication network, including wired and/or wireless communications such as USB or bluetooth, and including an intranet or the internet (e.g., 802.11 wireless standards). Optional display device 910 may be any device capable of displaying visual information in response to a signal from computer system 912, and may include, for example, a flat-panel touch-sensitive display. The components of computer system 912, including CPU 901, memory 902/903, data storage 904, user input device 906 and graphics subsystem 905, may be coupled via one or more data buses 900.
In the FIG. 9 embodiment, an optional graphics subsystem 905 may be coupled to the data bus and components of computer system 912. The graphics system may include a physical Graphics Processing Unit (GPU)905 and graphics/video memory. The GPU 905 may include one or more rasterizers, transform engines, and geometry engines, and generates pixel data from rendering commands to create an output image. The physical GPU 905 may be configured as multiple virtual GPUs, which may be used in parallel (e.g., simultaneously) by multiple applications or processes executing in parallel, or multiple physical GPUs may be used simultaneously. Graphics subsystem 905 outputs display data to optional display device 910. The display device 910 may be communicatively coupled to the graphics subsystem 905 using HDMI, DVI, DisplayPort, VGA, etc.
The communication or network interface 908 may be used to power and/or control the electronic lighting device 914 using the computer system 912 and communicate with other computer systems, networks or devices via electronic communication networks including wired and/or wireless communications (e.g., USB or bluetooth), as well as intranets or the internet (e.g., 802.11 wireless standards). A communication or network interface 908 may also be used to receive and respond to information requests sent from a supervisor or monitoring system, and the computer system 912 may control the electronic lighting devices 914 in response to the information requests. Further, the computer system 912 may store a light profile or data structure in memory (e.g., RAM 902) for defining conditions and effects for controlling the electronic lighting 914. In this manner, the electronic lighting 914 may advantageously indicate information (e.g., real-time status or activity) to make the floor supervisor clear at a glance when the floor supervisor is monitoring the floor, without having to access a separate device to view the contents of the graphical user interface.
Some embodiments may be described in the general context of computer-executable instructions, such as program modules, executed by one or more computers or other devices. Generally, program modules include routines, programs, objects, components, data structures, etc. that perform particular tasks or implement particular abstract data types. Typically, the functionality of the program modules may be combined or distributed as desired in various embodiments.
Thus, embodiments of the invention have been described. While the present invention has been described in particular embodiments, it should be appreciated that the present invention should not be construed as limited by such embodiments, but rather construed according to the below claims.
Claims (20)
1. An electronic device, comprising:
an electrical and physical interface operatively coupled to a port of a computer system, wherein the computer system includes a processor;
a rod-shaped housing accommodating the interface;
a circuit board comprising circuitry housed within the housing, wherein the circuitry receives control signals from the computer system through the interface and controls lighting elements; and
the illumination element is disposed at one end of the rod-like housing and is operable to produce a color corresponding to a real-time status associated with the computer system, wherein the real-time status is determined by the processor and information is read from the computer system by the processor.
2. The electronic device defined in claim 1 wherein the computer system receives a request for information from a remote monitor through a network interface, wherein the computer system obtains the real-time status in response to the request for information, and wherein the circuitry further controls the lighting elements in response to the request for information.
3. The electronic device defined in claim 2 wherein the computer system receives a light configuration from the remote monitor and wherein the computer system also sends control signals to the circuitry to control the lighting elements based on the light configuration.
4. The electronic device of claim 3, wherein the optical configuration comprises at least one of a state threshold and a performance threshold.
5. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the real-time status represents a duration of time for an agent logged into the computer system.
6. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the real-time status represents an agent requesting assistance.
7. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the real-time status represents working hours of an agent using the computer system.
8. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the real-time status represents an agent using the computer system, and wherein the agent is logged into the computer system but is not working on the computer system.
9. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the real-time status represents a software program executed by the computer system.
10. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the lighting elements rapidly change the color to produce an illumination effect corresponding to the real-time status.
11. A method of monitoring contact center status among a plurality of agents of a contact center, the method comprising:
the remote monitor sending a request for information to an agent computer system of the contact center, wherein the contact center includes a plurality of agents, and wherein the agent computer system comprises: a processor; a communication port; and an electronic lighting device;
in response to receiving the information request, the agent computer system of the plurality of agents determining real-time status information; and
the electronic lighting devices of the agent computer systems illuminate respective colors representing respective real-time status information determined by the associated agent computer system,
wherein each electronic lighting device comprises: an electrical and physical interface operable to couple with a communication port of an associated agent computer system; a rod-shaped housing that houses the electrical and physical interfaces; a circuit board comprising circuitry housed within the housing, wherein the circuitry receives control signals from the associated agent computer system through the interface and controls lighting elements; and the illumination element is disposed at one end of the rod-like housing and is operable to produce a corresponding color representing real-time status information, wherein the real-time status information is determined by the processor and information is read by the processor from the agent computer system.
12. The method of claim 11, wherein the real-time status information includes tasks currently performed by each agent.
13. The method of claim 11, wherein the real-time status information comprises an identity of a first agent, wherein the first agent has a highest level of performance based on a specified metric.
14. The method of claim 11, wherein the real-time status information comprises productivity information of the agent.
15. A method of monitoring contact center status among a plurality of agents, the method comprising:
determining a real-time status of an agent computer system associated with the plurality of agents, wherein the agent computer system comprises a processor and a communication port; and
determining an illumination effect corresponding to the real-time status based on the real-time status read from the light configuration, thereby causing an electronic lighting device associated with the broker computer system to generate an illumination effect reflecting the real-time status,
wherein each electronic lighting device comprises: an electrical and physical interface operable to couple to a communication port of an agent computer system; a rod-shaped housing accommodating the interface; a circuit board comprising circuitry housed within the housing, wherein the circuitry receives control signals from the agent computer system through the interface and controls lighting elements; wherein the lighting element is disposed at one end of the rod-like housing and is operable to produce an illumination effect corresponding to the real-time status associated with the agent computer system.
16. The method of claim 15, wherein the real-time status indicates whether the corresponding agent has requested assistance.
17. The method of claim 15, further comprising the electronic device illuminating a new color when the corresponding agent no longer requires assistance.
18. The method of claim 15, wherein the agent computer system further comprises a network interface, and the method further comprises: the agent computer system uses the network interface to send the real-time status to a remote monitor system.
19. The method of claim 18, further comprising: the remote selecting a first agent of the plurality of agents to receive assistance.
20. The method of claim 19, wherein each electronic lighting device associated with the first agent changes color in response to a selection by a hosting computer system.
Applications Claiming Priority (2)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| US201862747604P | 2018-10-18 | 2018-10-18 | |
| US62/747,604 | 2018-10-18 |
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| CN111083857A true CN111083857A (en) | 2020-04-28 |
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Family Applications (1)
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| CN201910995739.3A Pending CN111083857A (en) | 2018-10-18 | 2019-10-18 | System and method for automatically indicating contact center status using lighting devices |
Country Status (5)
| Country | Link |
|---|---|
| CN (1) | CN111083857A (en) |
| CA (1) | CA3058956A1 (en) |
| CO (1) | CO2019011541A1 (en) |
| MX (2) | MX2023008788A (en) |
| PH (1) | PH12019000405A1 (en) |
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- 2019-10-16 CA CA3058956A patent/CA3058956A1/en not_active Abandoned
- 2019-10-17 MX MX2023008788A patent/MX2023008788A/en unknown
- 2019-10-17 CO CONC2019/0011541A patent/CO2019011541A1/en unknown
- 2019-10-17 MX MX2019012457A patent/MX2019012457A/en unknown
- 2019-10-18 CN CN201910995739.3A patent/CN111083857A/en active Pending
- 2019-10-18 PH PH12019000405A patent/PH12019000405A1/en unknown
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| CN101622131A (en) * | 2007-02-20 | 2010-01-06 | 高斯国际美洲公司 | Real-time print product status |
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| CN106797417A (en) * | 2014-09-03 | 2017-05-31 | 互联企信公司 | Liaison centre is counter to cheat monitoring, detection and prevention scheme |
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Also Published As
| Publication number | Publication date |
|---|---|
| CA3058956A1 (en) | 2020-04-18 |
| PH12019000405A1 (en) | 2020-05-11 |
| MX2023008788A (en) | 2023-11-15 |
| MX2019012457A (en) | 2020-09-28 |
| CO2019011541A1 (en) | 2021-04-19 |
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