Formal model, language and tools for design agent's scenarios in call center systems

Abstract

During the last few years there continues to be remarkable growth in telephone call-center systems. There are many applications of call-centers in different areas of business such as in telemarketing, insurance, customer service, electronic commerce, etc. Moreover, in some cases it is reasonable to think of a call-center as an integrated part of a whole business system responsible for the telephone interface with the outside world. Typically, a call center consists of a set of operators, called agents, who process inbound calls from clients. Call processing may involve the use of computer systems (e.g. database), other devices (e.g. fax-machines, interactive voice response units) as well as communication with other agents (e.g. deliver a call to more qualified agent, making a consulted call). The call processing may also produce outbound calls. The treatment of each call being processed is heavily regulated by scenarios called scripts which are specially designed for specific kind's of the calls. The design of such scripts is one of the main problems in call center maintenance. To cope with this problem we need special tools, i.e., scripting language, corresponding editor, related environment. In this paper we present an ongoing project aimed at the design of such a platform. We introduce a Petri net-based model for representation of scripts and a logical structure of the call center. The model, called script-net, is based on object-oriented Petri net dialect belonging to a class of high-level Petri nets. In particular, the model allows one to formally represent scripts their communication with agents and other resources, exception handling time constrains. We also consider some implementation issues. In particular, we outline a visual iconic language specially designed for script specification. The semantics of the language is based on script-nets. An agent of the call center can be perceived as a specific resource and is implemented with the aid of Internet/Intranet technology. To illustrate the use of suggested tools, some typical examples of scripts are presented including scenarios for inbound and outbound telemarketing.