Sample Avaya Interaction Center (IC) 6.1 SoftDialer Outbound Contact Configuration - Issue 1.0

Transcription

1 Avaya Solution and Interoperability Test Lab Sample Avaya Interaction Center (IC) 6.1 SoftDialer Outbound Contact Configuration - Issue 1.0 Abstract These Application Notes describe how to configure the Avaya IC 6.1 SoftDialer for outbound contacts. The sample Avaya IC 6.1 outbound dialing configuration depicted in these Application Notes allows contact center managers and supervisors to associate a list of customer telephone numbers with specific goals and calling activities. 1 of 41

2 1. Introduction These Application Notes describe how to configure the Avaya IC 6.1 SoftDialer for outbound contacts. The sample Avaya IC 6.1 outbound dialing configuration depicted in these Application Notes allows contact center managers and supervisors to associate a list of customer telephone numbers with specific goals and calling activities. Avaya Outbound Contact Management (Outbound Contact) works with a PBX to enable agents to handle predictive, preview, and automatic outbound dialing. These three outbound dialing modes are defined as follows: Predictive mode predicts when an agent is likely to be available for the next call, and then dials the next telephone number automatically. When the customer answers the telephone, Avaya IC Outbound Contact routes the call to an available agent. Preview mode displays information about the next customer to initiate a call on the agent desktop before launching the dial attempt. The agent chooses to accept or to reject the call attempt, rescheduling for a later time and date. Automatic mode selects an agent and dials the next number automatically as soon as an agent becomes available. Avaya IC Outbound Contact displays the customer information as the call attempt is initiated. An agent cannot choose whether to accept or reject the call attempt. Figure 1 illustrates the components of the sample Avaya IC 6.1 Outbound Contact configuration used to verify these Application Notes. The Avaya IC agents at the call center office were configured to handle outbound calls. The Avaya IC Outbound Calling list was configured with the three PSTN customer telephone numbers shown below. Figure 1: Sample Avaya IC 6.1 Outbound Contact Configuration 2 of 41

3 Note: These Application Notes assume the Layer 2 and Layer 3 network configuration depicted in Figure 1 is already in place. Furthermore, it is assumed that the Avaya IC 6.1 voice channel configuration is also already in place. Consequently, only the configuration related to Avaya IC 6.1 Outbound Contact configuration is addressed. Please consult the appropriate User Guides for more information on how to set up the remaining components. 2. Hardware and Software Validated Hardware and Software Version Avaya Interaction Center (IC) 6.1 Avaya S8700 Media Servers 1.3 Avaya G600 Media Gateway 1.3 Avaya 4624 IP Telephone 1.8 Avaya 6210 Analog Phones --- Servers: Microsoft Windows 2000 Server (SP3) PC Workstations: Microsoft Windows 2000 Professional (SP3) Table 1: Hardware and Software Versions 3. Avaya IC 6.1 Outbound Contact Configuration The following sub-sections show how to configure Avaya IC Outbound Contact Management (OCM) to initiate outbound calling campaigns IC 6.1 Dialer Database Configuration Avaya IC uses a separate database to store information for outbound contacts. Use the steps described in Avaya Interaction Center Release 6.1 Installation and Configuration, DOC ID: , Chapter 7 to configure the dialer database. The sample configuration used to verify these Application Notes used a Microsoft SQL 2000 database. The SQL database was installed on the same machine as the Avaya IC server. 3 of 41

4 3.2. IC 6.1 Outbound Servers Configuration Perform the following steps to configure the Avaya IC servers for outbound contact: Step Description 1. Modify the IC configuration file for IC Outbound Contact: Using a text editor, open the mcscon.ini file in the \IC61\etc\ directory. Replace the entries in bold with values similar to the following example: Save and close the file. Note: Predictive dialing campaigns use the PredictiveRoutePoint VDN to route calls to agents. 4 of 41

5 2. Create a user with administrator privileges for Outbound Contact: From Avaya IC Manager, select the Agent tab and Administrator in the left pane. Select Agent New from the main menu. The Agent Editor window is displayed. Select the General tab and complete the fields as shown. Make sure the Login id: * field matches the LoginName specified in step 1. 5 of 41

6 3. Create a user with administrator privileges for Outbound Contact continued: Select the Channels tab and complete the fields as shown: 6 of 41

7 4. Create a user with administrator privileges for Outbound Contact continued: Select the Security tab and complete the fields as shown. Make sure the Password: and Confirm: fields match the password specified in step 1. Click the OK button. 7 of 41

8 5. Create the Softdialer server: From Avaya IC Manager, select Server New from the main menu. Select Softdialer from the list of servers. Click the OK button. The Server Editor window is displayed. Select the General tab and complete the fields as shown: 8 of 41

9 6. Create the Softdialer server continued: Select the SoftDialer tab and complete the fields as shown: Click the OK button and start the server. 9 of 41

10 7. Create the Dialing Kernel server: From Avaya IC Manager, select Server New from the main menu. Select DialingKernel from the list of servers. Click the OK button. The Server Editor window is displayed. Select the General tab and complete the fields as shown: 10 of 41

11 8. Create the Dialing Kernel server continued: Select the DialingKernel tab and complete the fields as shown. The Time to Run (HH:MM) field stores the time when the call records are copied from the Dialing Kernel to the database. Click the OK button and start the server. 11 of 41

12 9. Update the runtime settings for the Outbound Contact Dialing Client: Using a text editor, open the mcdesk.ini file in the \IC61\etc\ directory. Replace the entries in bold with values similar to the following example: Save and close the file. If IC Manager is open, close and re-open IC Manager to ensure that these changes take effect. 12 of 41

13 3.3. Configuring Disconnects For Answering Machines This section shows how to configure IC Outbound Contact to disconnect and route nuisance calls and call attempts answered by answering machines. Step Description 1. Configure disconnects for Answering Machines in the Avaya IC Server: Using a text editor, open the mcscon.ini file in the \IC61\etc\ directory. Enter a switch VDN for the PredictiveDropPoint. This VDN will need to be configured on the switch. 13 of 41

14 3.4. Outbound Contact Report Configuration A connection to the SQL Dialer database can be configured for Avaya IC Outbound Contact reports. Use the steps described in Avaya Interaction Center Release 6.1 Installation and Configuration, DOC ID: , Chapter 7 to configure outbound reports Web Scheduled Calls Configuration Avaya IC 6.1 Outbound Contact Management supports web-scheduled calls. Use the steps described in the Avaya Interaction Center Release 6.1 Installation and Configuration Guide, DOC ID: Chapter 7 to configure the customer website to send scheduled call requests to Outbound Contact. 14 of 41

15 3.6. Predictive Dialing Campaign Configuration This section shows how to configure a sample predictive dialing campaign/job using IC Outbound Contact Management. Predictive dialing is the most aggressive IC dialing mode. Predictive campaigns dial ahead, evaluating the probability that a live customer will be reached when an agent becomes available to handle the call. In predictive dialing, IC Outbound Contact Management calculates when agents will be available to handle calls. The calculation uses timebased events, including call duration and call distribution time. Step Description 1. Create a predictive dialing job: From Avaya IC Manager, select the Tools Outbound Contact. The Outbound Contact Management window is displayed: 15 of 41

16 2. Define outbound dialing job Properties tab: Right-click Outbound Jobs in the tree view and select New Job. Outbound Contact assigns the new job ID, which appears above the Name field. Complete the following fields as defined in the Properties tab. Name: Enter the name of the outbound job. Description: Enter a description for the outbound job. Dialing Window: Select a dialing window option provided by IC Outbound Contact. Flow Set: Select the appropriate flow set for the prompter script assigned to guide agents while talking to customers. This is optional. Flow: Select a flow to use with the selected flow set. This is optional. Note: The sample configuration provided in this document does not use a prompter script. 16 of 41

17 3. Define outbound dialing job Outbound tab: Select the Outbound tab and complete the following fields. Outbound priority: Enter priority value (e.g., 1 to 100). Maximum connects: Number of outbound contacts before Outbound Contact stops making outbound calls. Entering 0 or -1 will indicate the maximum number. No answer timeout: Enter timeout value for the customer s telephone to ring before the call is classified as a no answer call. Route nuisance call to: Enter extension to route nuisance calls. Dial mode: Select Predictive dial mode. Answering machine treatment: Select how Outbound Contact handles a call that connects to an answering machine or voice mail. Selecting Drop automatically closes and reschedules the job. 17 of 41

18 4. Define outbound dialing job Calendar tab: An outbound contact s calendar defines when Outbound Contact runs the job. Select the Outbound tab and highlight the time when the outbound job will run. The time resolution schedules the time intervals when the job runs. 18 of 41

19 5. Define outbound dialing job Parameters tab: Select the Parameters tab and enter the job parameters. The job parameters define what happens when call attempts do not connect to a customer, an answering machine, or voice mail. Answering Machine Period: Length of time that Outbound Contact waits before redialing a call attempt that reached an answering machine. Appointment Redial Period: Length of time that Outbound Contact waits before redialing a customer for a rescheduled call. Busy Period: Length of time that Outbound Contact waits before redialing a call attempt that resulted in a busy signal. Fax or Modem Period: Length of time that Outbound Contact waits before redialing a call attempt that reached a fax or modem. Maximum Appointment Dial Backs: Maximum number of times that Outbound Contact will call the customer who rescheduled the original call. Maximum Dial Attempts: Maximum number of times that Outbound Contact attempts to call a telephone number in the calling list. Maximum Fax or Modem: Maximum number of times a call attempt reaches a fax or modem. Outbound Contact marks a number unreachable after the call attempts. No Answer Period: Length of time before redialing a call attempt not answered. No Required Agent Period: Length of time before redialing a successful call attempt when an agent is not available to talk to the customer. Nuisance Call Period: Length of time before redialing a nuisance call again. Preview Reject Period: Length of time before activating the record of a call attempt that an agent rejected in preview dialing mode. Note: The default Outbound Contact parameters were used. 19 of 41

20 6. Define outbound dialing job Advanced tab: Select the Advanced tab and enter the advanced job parameters. The advanced parameters are used to balance contact center needs to reduce nuisance calls and keep most agents occupied all the time. Threshold: Lower: Enter lower threshold to calculate the probability of a nuisance call. Upper: Enter upper threshold to calculate the probability of a nuisance call. Adjustment: Interval: Enter adjustment interval in seconds. Percentage: Enter adjustment percentage. Note: The default Outbound Contact Advanced parameters were used. 20 of 41

21 7. Define outbound dialing job Skills tab: Select the Skills tab and enter the skills an agent must have to perform the tasks during an outbound job. 21 of 41

22 8. Define outbound dialing job Blending tab: Select the Blending tab and specify the priority and staffing levels that the system uses to determine the most efficient use of agent resources. Agent Blending priority level: Enter the blending priority of the outbound job among all other IC channels. Initial number of agents: Enter number of agents that must be available before the system moves agents to Outbound Contact. Maximum number of agents: When the number of agents active on a job exceeds the maximum number of agents, the system moves agents to other channels. Minimum number of agents: When the number of agents active on a job drops below the minimum number of agents, the system moves agents to other channels. Preferred minimum number of agents: Number of agents the system tries to keep on the job. If the number of agents drops, the system moves agents to the job. Minimum number of calls per agent: Number of calls an agent must normally handle after each assignment to Outbound Contact. Maximum agent idle time: Maximum number of seconds that an agent can be idle. The agent is removed from Outbound Contact when exceeding this length of time. 9. Save the outbound predictive job: Select File Save. 22 of 41

23 10. Configure the Outbound Contact calling list: Select Enterprise Configuration Outbound Jobs in the tree view. Right click the outbound job name and select New Calling List. Name: Enter calling list name. Description: Enter calling list description. Conditions: Enter conditions to restrict telephone numbers to be loaded. Order by: Field: Select a calling list. Direction: Select an order to sort the calling list. Include new telephone numbers: Select to add new numbers to the list. Call states: Select completion codes from the Available box and move to the Selected box. Select File Save to save the calling list. 23 of 41

24 11. Create an import list file: Select Start Run and type Notepad. Click OK to enter bring up the Notepad application and define the customer telephone numbers for the outbound campaign. Select File Save to save the file. 24 of 41

25 12. Configure the Outbound Contact import list: Select Enterprise Configuration Outbound Jobs in the tree view. Right click the outbound job name and select New Import List. Name: Enter import list name. Description: Enter import list description. Association rules: Select a Region: or Dialing Window:. Date format: Select the date format. Date delimiter: Select character to separate the date fields. Field delimiter: Select character to separate the import list file fields (Note: Notice that this field delimiter was used in Step 11). Browse: Select the browse button to select the location of the import file. View File: Select to display a preview of the import list file. Top Rows: Select to display only the first top rows of the import file. Select File Save to save the import list. 25 of 41

26 13. Load the Import List into the database. Select Enterprise Configuration Outbound Jobs Predictive job in the tree view. Right click the import list name and select Import. A status window is displayed confirming the records were successfully imported to the database. Select Close to close the window. 14. Connect to the Dialing Kernel: Select Enterprise Dialers in the Outbound Contact Management window tree view. Rightclick a dialer and select Connect. 26 of 41

27 15. Load the outbound job: Select Enterprise Configuration Outbound Jobs in the tree view. Right-click the job and select Load. 27 of 41

28 16. Start the outbound job campaign: Select Enterprise Configuration Outbound Jobs in the tree view. Right-click the job name and select Start. IC Outbound Contact cannot make calls until the job is started and the minimum number of agents join the job. 28 of 41

29 3.7. Preview Dialing Campaign Configuration This section shows how to configure a sample Preview dialing campaign/job using IC Outbound Contact Management. Preview mode is the least aggressive IC dialing mode. Preview campaigns let users review the customer information before the agents accept the call attempts. The Preview campaign configuration is similar to the Predictive campaign configuration with the exception of the job name specified in the outbound dialing mode configuration. As a result, the steps shown in Section 3.6 can be used to configure Preview campaigns with the exception of Steps 2 and 3, which are shown below: Step Description 2. Define outbound dialing job Properties tab: Right-click Outbound Jobs in the tree view and select New Job. Outbound Contact assigns the new job ID, which appears above the Name field. Complete the following fields as defined in the Properties tab. Name: Enter the name of the outbound job. Description: Enter a description for the outbound job. Dialing Window: Select a dialing window option provided by IC Outbound Contact. Flow Set: Select the appropriate flow set for the prompter script assigned to guide agents while talking to customers. This is optional. Flow: Select a flow to use with the selected flow set. This is optional. Note: The sample configuration provided in this document does not use a prompter script. 29 of 41

30 3. Define outbound dialing job Outbound tab: Select the Outbound tab and complete the following fields. Outbound priority: Enter priority value (e.g., 1 to 100). Maximum connects: Number of outbound contacts before Outbound Contact stops making outbound calls. Entering 0 or -1 will indicate the maximum number. No answer timeout: Enter timeout value for the customer s telephone to ring before the call is classified as a no answer call. Route nuisance call to: Enter extension to route nuisance calls. Dial mode: Select Preview dial mode. Answering machine treatment: Select how Outbound Contact handles a call that connects to an answering machine or voice mail. Selecting Drop automatically closes and reschedules the job. This field is not applicable for Preview jobs/campaigns. 30 of 41

31 3.8. Automatic Dialing Campaign Configuration This section shows how to configure a sample Automatic dialing campaign/job using IC Outbound Contact Management. Automatic dialing is the moderately aggressive IC dialing mode. Automatic dialing campaigns let users review the customer information, but agents cannot choose whether or not to accept telephone calls. The Automatic campaign configuration is similar to the Predictive campaign configuration with the exception of the job name specified in the outbound dialing mode configuration. As a result, the steps shown in Section 3.6 can be used to configure Automatic campaigns with the exception of Steps 2 and 3, which are shown below: Step Description 2. Define outbound dialing job Properties tab: Right-click Outbound Jobs in the tree view and select New Job. Outbound Contact assigns the new job ID, which appears above the Name field. Complete the following fields as defined in the Properties tab. Name: Enter the name of the outbound job. Description: Enter a description for the outbound job. Dialing Window: Select a dialing window option provided by IC Outbound Contact. Flow Set: Select the appropriate flow set for the prompter script assigned to guide agents while talking to customers. This is optional. Flow: Select a flow to use with the selected flow set. This is optional. Note: The sample configuration provided in this document does not use a prompter script. 31 of 41

32 3. Define outbound dialing job Outbound tab: Select the Outbound tab and complete the following fields. Outbound priority: Enter priority value (e.g., 1 to 100). Maximum connects: Number of outbound contacts before Outbound Contact stops making outbound calls. Entering 0 or -1 will indicate the maximum number. No answer timeout: Enter timeout value for the customer s telephone to ring before the call is classified as a no answer call. Route nuisance call to: Enter extension to route nuisance calls. Dial mode: Select Automatic dial mode. Answering machine treatment: Select how Outbound Contact handles a call that connects to an answering machine or voice mail. Selecting Drop automatically closes and reschedules the job. This field is not applicable for Automatic jobs/campaigns. 32 of 41

33 3.9. Outbound Contact Agent Configuration This section describes how to configure agents to handle outbound contacts. For more information on agent configuration please refer to Avaya Interaction Center Release 6.1 Installation and Configuration, DOC ID: , Chapter 11. Step Description 1. Configure Agent Outbound Contact Voice properties: Select the Agent tab in IC Manager. Double click an agent in the list of agents. Select the Channels tab and make sure voice is enabled. 33 of 41

34 2. Configure Agent Outbound Contact Skills: Select the Skills tab. Double-click each desired outbound skill and select the Apply button. 3. Configure Agent Outbound Contact Properties: Select the Properties tab and set the following property values. Property Name Value Agent\Desktop\ScreenPop PopOnAllArrivingContacts Yes Agent\Desktop\Softphone SwapHeldEnabled Yes Click the OK button to save the agent configuration. 34 of 41

35 4. Avaya S8700 Media Server Configuration This section describes how to configure the PredictiveRoutePoint and PredictiveDropPoint VDNs for use with IC Outbound Contact (See Sections 3.2 and 3.3). Step Description 1. Configure the PredictiveRoutePoint VDN to work with Avaya IC Outbound Contact: Telnet to the S8700 Media Servers active IP address. At the terminal command prompt, enter add vdn <VDN number> and match the following parameters. Press Esc-e to submit the form. 35 of 41

36 2. Configure the vector assigned to the PredictiveRoutePoint VDN: At the terminal command prompt, enter change vector <vector number> and match the following parameters. Press Esc-e to submit the form. Note: Adjunct routing link 3 is the CTI link between the S8700/G600 switch and IC. 36 of 41

37 3. Configure the PredictiveDropPoint VDN to work with Avaya IC Outbound Contact: Telnet to the S8700 Media Servers active IP address. At the terminal command prompt, enter add vdn <VDN number> and match the following parameters. Press Esc-e to submit the form. 37 of 41

38 4. Configure the vector assigned to the PredictiveDropPoint VDN: At the terminal command prompt, enter change vector <vector number> and match the following parameters. Press Esc-e to submit the form. Note: A different VDN extension may have to be used depending on your switch dial plan configuration. 38 of 41

39 5. Verification Steps In the field, the following tests can be performed to verify the Avaya IC 6.1 Outbound Contact configuration is working with the Avaya S8700 Media Server/G600 Media Gateway. Step Description 1. Login an Avaya Agent with voice and outbound contact capabilities. Move the agent out of the Aux-Work mode and verify the agent Outbound Contact tab appears with the scheduled jobs. 39 of 41

40 2. Join a job and move the agent out of the Aux-work mode. Verify the outbound contact is initiated with the customer. 6. Conclusion As illustrated in these Application Notes, the Avaya IC 6.1 Outbound Contact SoftDialer can be successfully configured to handle Predictive, Preview, and Automatic campaigns with the Avaya S8700 Media Server and Avaya G600 Media Gateway. 7. References Avaya Interaction Center (IC) Release 6.1 Installation and Configuration, Document ID: Avaya Interaction Center (IC) Release 6.1 IC Administration Volume 2: Agents, Customers, & Queues, Document ID: of 41

41 2004 Avaya Inc. All Rights Reserved. Avaya and the Avaya Logo are trademarks of Avaya Inc. All trademarks identified by and are registered trademarks or trademarks, respectively, of Avaya Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. The information provided in these Application Notes is subject to change without notice. The configurations, technical data, and recommendations provided in these Application Notes are believed to be accurate and dependable, but are presented without express or implied warranty. Users are responsible for their application of any products specified in these Application Notes. Please any questions or comments pertaining to these Application Notes along with the full title and filename, located in the lower right corner, directly to the Avaya Solution & Interoperability Test Lab at 41 of 41