US20210117906A1 - Systems and methods for workforce management system deployment - Google Patents

Abstract

A system for quickly deploying WFM systems in contact centers is provided. A user or administrator can quickly install a WFM application on a deployment server. The administrator can provide the WFM application access to the contact center data where the WFM application can import data from the contact center about one or more customers, agents, queues, teams, and any other items typically associated with contact centers. The imported data may also include presence data about the agents, teams, and customers. Based on the imported data, the WFM application may execute one or more workflows to automatically determine information such as maximum and minimum hours, break patterns, and shift data about the agents and teams.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
• This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/654,356 filed on Oct. 16, 2019, entitled “SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR WORKFORCE MANAGEMENT SYSTEM DEPLOYMENT.” The contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference.
BACKGROUND
• The initial deployment and configuration of a contact center workforce management (WFM) system is a typically time-consuming processes often taking weeks or months. In particular, parameters must be configured to represent external conditions of work to be done, the employees who are expected to do the work, and rules for how the employees can be scheduled to do the work. The inability of WFM systems to configure these items quickly and automatically leads to a large amount of work for WFM administrators to collect, interpret, and input the necessary information.
SUMMARY
• A system for quickly deploying WFM systems in contact centers is provided. A user or administrator can quickly install a WFM application on a deployment server. The administrator can provide the WFM application access to the contact center data where the WFM application can import data from the contact center about one or more customers, agents, queues, teams, and any other information or items typically associated with contact centers. The imported data may also include presence data about the agents, teams, and customers. Based on the imported data, the WFM application may execute one or more workflows to automatically determine information such as maximum and minimum hours, break patterns, and shift data about the agents and teams. This information can be used by the WFM system to automatically generate forecasts and schedules.
• As may be appreciated, the WFM deployment systems and methods described herein provide many advantages over the prior art. By leveraging the information that is already part of the contact center used by an entity, WFM systems can be easily and quickly deployed without significant input from an administrator. Accordingly, the WFM deployment systems and applications described herein can save these entities significant time and money.
• In an embodiment, a method for configuring an application for a contact center is provided. The method includes: interfacing with a contact center by an application; receiving contact center data from the contact center by the application; receiving a selection of an item of the application to configure by the application; based on the selected item, selecting a workflow corresponding to the selected item by the application; and configuring the item of the application automatically using the selected workflow and the contact center data by the application.
• Embodiments may include some or all of the following features. The application may be a WFM application. The method may further include: determining a plurality of agents associated with the contact center; and configuring the item of the application automatically using the selected workflow and the contact center data by the application comprises: configuring one or more of a minimum hours for the at least one agent, a break pattern for the at least one agent, and a shift for the at least one agent. The method may further include retrieving presence data for each agent from the contact center, wherein the presence data for an agent comprises a plurality of events and each event is associated with a time. The method may further include: for the at least one agent of the plurality of agents, determining a location for the agent; retrieving one or more rules that relate to scheduling for the determined location; and for the at least one agent of the plurality of agents, generating the schedule for the at least one agent based on the one or more rules and the minimum hours for the at least one agent. Determining a location for the agent may include determining a telephone number associated with the agent and determining the location for the agent based on the telephone number. Interfacing with the contact center by the application may include: requesting credentials from a user associated with the contact center; and interfacing with the contact center using the requested credentials.
• In an embodiment, a method for configuring a workforce management system for a contact center is provided. The method includes: interfacing with a contact center by a workforce management system; determining a plurality of agents associated with the contact center by the workforce management system; retrieving presence data for each agent from the contact center by the workforce management system, wherein the presence data for an agent comprises a plurality of events and each event is associated with a time; for at least one agent of the plurality of agents, determining a maximum hours for the at least one agent based on the presence data for the agent by the workforce management system; and for the at least one agent of the plurality of agents, generating a schedule for the at least one agent based on the determined maximum hours by the workforce management system.
• Embodiments may include some or all of the following features. The method may further include: for the at least one agent of the plurality of agents, determining a location for the at least one agent; retrieving one or more rules that relate to scheduling for the location; and for the at least one agent of the plurality of agents, determining the maximum hours for the at least one agent based on the presence data for the at least one agent and the one or more rules. Determining the maximum hours for the at least one agent based on the presence data for the at least one agent may include: inferring, from the presence data, a number of hours worked by the at least one agent for each week of a plurality of weeks; and determining the maximum hours for the at least one agent based on the number of hours worked by the at least one agent for each week of the plurality of weeks. The events may include one or more of computer logins, computer logouts, communications, and application activities. The method may further include for the at least one agent of the plurality of agents, determining a minimum hours for the at least one agent based on the presence data for the at least one agent. The method may further include for the at least one agent of the plurality of agents, generating the schedule for the at least one agent based on the determined maximum hours and the determined minimum hours. The method may further include, for the at least one agent of the plurality of agents, determining, based on the presence data, one or more shifts that the at least one agent is available to work, and one or more break patterns associated with the at least one agent. The method may further include generating the schedule for the at least one agent based on the determined maximum hours, the determined one or more shifts that the at least one agent is available to work, and the determined one or more break patterns associated with the at least one agent.
• In an embodiment, a method for configuring a workforce management system for a contact center is provided. The method includes: interfacing with a contact center by a workforce management system; determining a plurality of agents associated with the contact center by the workforce management system; retrieving presence data for each agent from the contact center by the workforce management system, wherein the presence data for an agent comprises a plurality of events and each event is associated with a time; for at least one agent of the plurality of agents, determining one or more shifts for the at least one agent based on the presence data for the at least one agent by the workforce management system; and for the at least one agent of the plurality of agents, generating a schedule for the at least one agent by the workforce management system based on the determined one or more shifts.
• Embodiments may have some or all of the following features. The method may further include: for the at least one agent of the plurality of agents, determining a location for the agent; retrieving one or more rules that relate to scheduling for the location; and for the at least one agent of the plurality of agents, generating the schedule for the at least one agent based on the one or more rules and the determined one or more shifts. Determining the one or more shifts for the at least one agent based on the presence data for the at least one agent may include: inferring, from the presence data, times worked by the at least one agent for each week of a plurality of weeks; and determining the one or more shifts for the at least one agent based on the times worked by the at least one agent for each week of the plurality of weeks. The events may include one or more of computer logins, computer logouts, communications, and application activities. The method may further include, for the at least one agent of the plurality of agents, determining, based on the presence data, maximum hours for the at least one agent, minimum hours for the at least one agent, and a break pattern associated with the at least one agent. The method may further include generating the schedule for the at least one agent based on the determined maximum hours, the determined minimum hours, the determined one or more shifts that the at least one agent is available to work, and the determined break pattern associated with the at least one agent. Interfacing with the contact center by the workforce management system may include: requesting credentials from a user associated with the contact center; and interfacing with the contact center using the requested credentials.
• In an embodiment, a method for configuring a workforce management system for a contact center is provided. The method includes: interfacing with a contact center by a workforce management system; determining a plurality of agents associated with the contact center by the workforce management system; retrieving presence data for each agent from the contact center by the workforce management system, wherein the presence data for an agent comprises a plurality of events and each event is associated with a time; for at least one agent of the plurality of agents, determining a break pattern associated with the at least one agent based on the presence data for the at least one agent by the workforce management system; and for the at least one agent of the plurality of agents, generating a schedule for the at least one agent based on the determined break pattern by the workforce management system.
• Embodiments may include some or all of the following features. The method may further include: for the at least one agent of the plurality of agents, determining a location for the agent; retrieving one or more rules that relate to scheduling for the location; and for the at least one agent of the plurality of agents, generating the schedule for the at least one agent based on the one or more rules and the determined break pattern. The method may further include: determining the break pattern associated with the at least one agent based on the presence data for the at least one agent comprises: inferring, from the presence data, breaks taken by the at least one agent for each day of a plurality of days; and determining the break pattern for the at least one agent based on the breaks taken by the at least one agent for each day of the plurality of days. The events may include one or more of computer logins, computer logouts, communications, and application activities. The method may further include, for the at least one agent of the plurality of agents, determining, based on the presence data, maximum hours for the at least one agent, minimum hours for the at least one agent, and one or more shifts that the at least one agent is available to work. The method may further include generating the schedule for the at least one agent based on the determined break pattern, the determined minimum hours, the determined maximum hours, and the determined one or more shifts that the at least one agent is available to work. Interfacing with the contact center by the workforce management system may include: requesting credentials from a user associated with the contact center; and interfacing with the contact center using the requested credentials.
• Other systems, methods, features and/or advantages will be or may become apparent to one with skill in the art upon examination of the following drawings and detailed description. It is intended that all such additional systems, methods, features and/or advantages be included within this description and be protected by the accompanying claims.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
• The components in the drawings are not necessarily to scale relative to each other. Like reference numerals designate corresponding parts throughout the several views.
• FIG. 1 is an illustration of an example system architecture;
• FIG. 2 is an illustration of an example environment for installing and configuring a WFM application;
• FIG. 3 is an illustration of an example method for configuring a WFM system;
• FIG. 4 is an illustration of an example method for automatically configuring items for a WFM application based on data received from a contact center;
• FIGS. 5-7 are illustrations of example methods for automatically configuring a WFM application;
• FIG. 8 is an illustration of an example method for automatically configuring a WFM application using workflows and for generating one or more forecasts and schedules;
• FIG. 9 illustrates an example computing device.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
• Unless defined otherwise, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art. Methods and materials similar or equivalent to those described herein can be used in the practice or testing of the present disclosure. While implementations will be described within a cloud-based contact center, it will become evident to those skilled in the art that the implementations are not limited thereto.
• FIG. 1 is anexample system architecture100, and illustrates example components, functional capabilities and optional modules that may be included in a cloud-based contact center infrastructure solution. Customers110 interact with acontact center150 using voice, email, text, and web interfaces in order to communicate with theagents120 through anetwork130 and one or more of text or multimedia channels. The system that controls the operation of thecontact center150 including the routing and handling of communications between customers110 andagents120 for thecontact center150 is referred to herein as the contact routing system153. Depending on the embodiment, the contact routing system153 could be any of a contact center as a service (CCaS) system, an automated call distributor (ACD) system, or a case system, for example.
• Theagents120 may be remote from thecontact center150 and handle communications with customers110 on behalf of an enterprise. Theagents120 may utilize devices, such as but not limited to, work stations, desktop computers, laptops, telephones, a mobile smartphone and/or a tablet. Similarly, customers110 may communicate using a plurality of devices, including but not limited to, a telephone, a mobile smartphone, a tablet, a laptop, a desktop computer, or other. For example, telephone communication may traverse networks such as a public switched telephone networks (PSTN), Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) telephony (via the Internet), a Wide Area Network (WAN) or a Large Area Network. The network types are provided by way of example and are not intended to limit types of networks used for communications.
• In some embodiments, theagents120 may be assigned to one or more queues. Theagents120 assigned to a queue may handle communications that are placed in the queue by thecontact center150. For example, there may be queues associated with a language (e.g., English or Chinese), topic (e.g., technical support or billing), or a particular country of origin. When a communication is received by thecontact center150, the communication may be placed in a relevant queue, and one of theagents120 associated with the relevant queue may handle the communication.
• Theagents120 of acontact center150 may be further organized into one or more teams. Depending on the embodiment, theagents120 may be organized into teams based on a variety of factors including, but not limited to, skills, location, experience, assigned queues, associated or assigned customers110, and shift. Other factors may be used to assignagents120 to teams.
• Entities that employ workers such asagents120 typically use a WFM system. Typically, WFM systems are used to scheduleagents120 based on workload forecasts. To generate schedules the WFM systems must take into account information such as local employment laws, time and shift preferences of eachagent120, and the skills of eachagent120, for example.
• As may be appreciated, initially gathering and providing the information needed to set up a WFM system may be a time-consuming task. Accordingly, to solve this problem, theenvironment100 further includes aWFM application250 that may be used to quickly deploy and configure WFM systems. The workings of theapplication250 will be described in further detail with respect toFIG. 2.
• Initially, when an administrator associated with a contact routing system153 desires to set up a WFM system, the administrator may first create or designate what is referred to as a deployment sever170. Thedeployment server170 may implement the WFM system for thecontact center150. Note that depending on the embodiment, the WFM system may be implemented on itsown deployment server170. In addition, some or all of the contact routing system153 or the WFM system may be implemented together on the same computer,deployment server170, or cloud-computing environment. Anexample deployment server170 is thecomputing system900 illustrated with respect toFIG. 9.
• After creating thedeployment server170, the administrator may then cause theWFM application250 to be installed on thedeployment server170 by anapplication server160. Depending on the embodiment, theapplication server160 may function similar to an “app store” where the administrator of thecontact center150 may view one or more applications (including the application250) that are available for download. After selecting theWFM application250, theapplication server160 may cause theapplication250 to be installed on thedeployment server170.
• In order to configure theWFM application250, rather than have the administrator configure theapplication250 from scratch, theapplication250 may be configured to interface with, and retrieve data from, the contact routing system153. As may be appreciated, because the contact routing system153 already includes data that is relevant to the WFM application250 (e.g., information onagents120 such as hours worked and schedules, and information on customers110 such as communications received), it may be desirable to import the data directly from the contact routing system153.
• After the relevant data has been imported into theWFM application250, the application may have one or more workflows that can be executed by the administrator to automatically set up and configure the application using the imported data. Each workflow may attempt to configure the application from the imported data with as little input from the administrator as possible. At the end of each workflow, the administrator may be asked to confirm or accept any proposed configurations or settings suggested by the workflow.
• For example, there may be workflows that infer, for eachagent120 or team ofagents120, settings for theapplication250 such asagent120 hours, schedules, and work preferences. The particular workflows will be described further with respect toFIG. 2.
• As may be appreciated, the embodiments described herein are not limited to configuring theWFM applications250 using data imported from a contact routing system153. Other sources of data may be used. For example, theapplication250 may import data from a variety of systems including, but not limited to, customer relationship management systems and document management systems. Other systems may be included.
• FIG. 2 is an illustration of anexample environment200 for installing and configuring aWFM application250. As shown, theenvironment200 includes adeployment server170, acontact center150 including a contact routing system153, and anadministrator290. Depending on the embodiment, each of the contact routing system153,deployment server170, andadministrator290 may be implemented together or separately by one or more general purpose computing devices such as thecomputing system900 illustrated with respect toFIG. 9.
• Theadministrator290 may cause theWFM application250 to be installed on thedeployment server170. As part of the configuration process, theadministrator290 may allow theWFM application250 to access the contact routing system153. For example, theadministrator290 may provide credentials (e.g., login and password) to theWFM application250, and theWFM application250 may use an API to access the contact routing system153 using the credentials. Other methods for accessing a contact routing system153 (or other data source) may be used.
• TheWFM application250 may initially downloadcontact center data159 and may begin using thecontact center data159 to configure theWFM application250 for theadministrator290. Depending on the embodiment, thecontact center data159 may include information about thecontact center150 such as information about theagents120, teams that theagents120 are organized into, queues associated with thecontact center150, contacts110 associated with thecontact center150, skills associated with theagents120 and queues, historical contact data (e.g., historical data for each queue about the volume of contacts, handling times, etc.), and event types.
• Thecontact center data159 may further include information such as consistency rules (e.g., rules about whether shifts need to start and stop at the same time), and presence data (e.g., data showing whenagents120 were available to receive communications or interact with customers110). Other information may be included in thecontact center data159.
• TheWFM application250 may use some or all of thecontact center data159 to begin setting up theWFM application250 for theadministrator290. For example, theWFM application250 may extract all of theagents120 associated with thecontact center150 and may enter them into theWFM application250. TheWFM application250 may similarly, extract information such as the customers110 associated with thecontact center150, the queues associated with thecontact center150, and any teams associated with thecontact center150.
• In some implementations, theWFM application250 may provide a graphical-user interface (GUI) through which theadministrator290 can review and control what information is imported into theWFM application250 from thecontact center data159. For example, theWFM application250 may ask theadministrator290 to confirm eachagent120, contact110, or team that it extracts from thecontact center150. Depending on the embodiment, theadministrator290 may also use the GUI to add any additional information to theWFM application250 including anyagents120, customers110, teams, or queues that theWFM application250 was unable to extract from thecontact center data159.
• As may be appreciated, by initially configuring theWFM application250 automatically using thecontact center data159, a great amount of time and energy is saved by theadministrator290. Previously, to configure aWFM application250, theadministrator290 would have had to manually add eachagent120, contact110, queue, or team to theWFM application250.
• In addition to the automatic importing of certaincontact center data159. TheWFM application250 described herein may use one or more workflows to inferadditional WFM application250 items or settings to further reduce the amount of time that theadministrator290 may spend configuring the application.
• TheWFM application250 may use workflows to infer or more items such as minimum ormaximum hours171 foragents120 individually or as a team, shifts172 that eachagent120 can work individually or as a team, breakpatterns173 associated with eachagent120 or team, and startrules173 for eachagent120 or team. Other items may be inferred and configured by theWFM application250 using a workflow.
• TheWFM application250 may infer the one or more items from what is referred to herein aspresence data155. Depending on the embodiment, thepresence data155 may include a plurality of events associated with eachagent120 or customer110, and each event may be associated with a time. For anagent120, the events may include logging in or out of a computer, receiving or responding to a communication such as an email or telephone call, and updating a record in an application, for example. Other types of events may be supported.
• In some embodiments, thepresence data155 may be received from the contact routing system153 by theWFM application250. Alternatively, or additionally, thepresence data155 may be extracted from thecontact center data159. The events included in thepresence data155 may be selected by theadministrator290, for example.
• For a customer110, the events may include sending a communication to thecontact center150, receiving a communication from thecontact center150, and interacting with anagent120. Other types of events may be supported.
• In one embodiment, theWFM application250 may configure various WFM related items on a team-by-team basis. As part of an initial setup procedure, theWFM application250 may attempt to associate each team with a geographic location. As will be described further below, the location associated with a team (and theagents120 associated with each team) can be used to determine location-basedrules157 that govern howlong agents120 can work, how many breaks eachagent120 must receive, etc.
• TheWFM application250, may for each team, determine the geographic location associated with the team. TheWFM application250 may infer the location of a team using thecontact center data159. For example, theWFM application250 may determine the location for a team based on the home or work addresses listed for theagents120 on the team or may determine the location for a team based on the area codes of the phone numbers used by theagents120 on the team. Alternatively, the WFM application20 may infer the location based on an address associated with thecontact center150, or an area code of one or more phone numbers associated with thecontact center150. Any method for infering the locations ofagents120 or employees may be used.
• After determining a possible location for a team, theWFM application250 may present the determined location to theadministrator290 in a GUI. Theadministrator290 may either confirm the determined location or may provide a different location using the GUI.
• In some embodiments, after theadministrator290 confirms or provides the location, theWFM application250 may ask theadministrator290, through the GUI, whether all of the teams of thecontact center150 may be associated with the same location. If theadministrator290 affirms that all of the teams may be associated with the same location, theWFM application250 may associated each team with the location and stop the workflow. Otherwise, theWFM application250 may continue the workflow and may determine a location for the next team based on thecontact center data159.
• After determining the location for each team, theadministrator290 may select another item of theWFM application250 to configure for a team. One example of such an item may be a minimum and maximum workinghours171 for eachagent120 in a team. Initially, theWFM application250 may ask the administrator290 (using the GUI) whether eachagent120 in the team has the same minimum ormaximum hours171. If theadministrator290 answers affirmatively, theWFM application250 may request the minimum andmaximum hours171 for theagents120 in the team from theadministrator290. TheWFM application250 may then consider a next team of thecontact center150.
• If theadministrator290 answers negatively (i.e., eachagent120 does not have the same minimum or maximum hours171), theWFM application250 may use a workflow to determine the minimum ormaximum hours171. In some embodiments, theWFM application250, for eachagent120 of the team, may use thepresence data155 to determine the minimum andmaximum hours171 for theagent120.
• For example, theWFM application250 may determine the minimum and maximumweekly hours171 for anagent120 by using thepresence data155 to determine events that indicate that theagent120 was likely working such as computer logins, application usage information, phone usage information, etc. TheWFM application250 may then use the times associated with each determined event to infer, for one or more weeks, the hours that theagent120 was likely working during the one or more weeks. The maximum andminimum hours171 for theagent120 may then be inferred based on the likely hours determined for each of the one or more weeks.
• Depending on the embodiment, theWFM application250 may use the location determined for the team oragent120, to determine location-basedrules157 that may apply to anagent120. TheWFM application250 may then ensure that the determined maximum orminimum hours171 comply with the location-basedrules157. Depending on the embodiment, the location-basedrules157 may include legal rules related to the maximum number of hours that anagent120 may work in a day or week, as well as entity orcontact center150 policies about the minimum and maximum number of hours that anagent120 may work during a day or week. For example, an entity such as a corporation may prefer that anagent120 not work more than some number of overtime hours per week. Depending on the embodiment, the entity orcontact center150 policies may be provided by anadministrator290.
• After theWFM application250 infers maximum andminimum hours171 for theagents120 in a team, theWFM application250 may present the determined maximum andminimum hours171 for eachagent120 to theadministrator290 through the GUI. Theadministrator290 may then accept or modify the determined maximum andminimum hours171 for eachagent120. The maximum andminimum hours171 for eachagent120 may be used later by theWFM application250 to generate one ormore schedules255.
• Another example of an item that theWFM application250 may infer for one or more teams and/oragents120 using a workflow may beshifts172 that eachagent120 for a team can work. Depending on the embodiment, the contact routing system153 of thecontact center150 may scheduleagents120 to one or more of a plurality ofshifts172. Examples ofshifts172 include a morning shift, an afternoon shift, and a night shift. More orfewer shifts172 may be used by thecontact center150.
• Initially, theWFM application250 may ask the administrator290 (using the GUI) whether eachagent120 in the team works thesame shifts172. If theadministrator290 answers affirmatively, theWFM application250 may request theshifts172 for theagents120 in the team from theadministrator290. TheWFM application250 may then consider a next team of thecontact center150.
• If theadministrator290 answers negatively (i.e., eachagent120 does not work the same shift172), theWFM application250, for eachagent120 of the team, may use thepresence data155 to determine theshifts172 for theagent120.
• For example, theWFM application250 may determine theshifts172 for anagent120 by using thepresence data155 to determine events that indicate that theagent120 was likely working such as computer logins, application usage information, phone usage information, etc. TheWFM application250 may then use the times associated with each determined event to infer, for one or more weeks, theshifts172 that theagent120 was likely working during the one or more weeks. Theshifts172 for theagent120 may then be determined based on theshifts172 that theagent120 was likely working for the one or more weeks.
• Similarly as described above, theWFM application250 may use the location-basedrules157 to ensure that the determined shifts for eachagent120 comply with all local laws and entity policies.
• After theWFM application250 infers theshifts172 for eachagent120 in a team, theWFM application250 may present thedetermined shifts172 for eachagent120 to theadministrator290 through the GUI. Theadministrator290 may then accept or modify thedetermined shifts172 for eachagent120.
• Another example of such an item thatapplication250 may infer from thecontact center data159 and/orpresence data155 are startrules173 for eachagent120 of a team. Astart rule173 for anagent120 may indicate by how much the time at which theagent120 begins their work day varies over the week. For example, oneagent120 may start work at the same time every day of the week, while anotheragent120 may start at a different time every day of the week. Thestart rule173 for anagent120 may generally indicate how flexible anagent120 is regarding their start time, and therefore may be considered by theWFM application250 when generating aschedule255.
• Initially, theWFM application250 may ask the administrator290 (using the GUI) whether eachagent120 in the team must start their shift at the same time each day. If theadministrator290 answers affirmatively, theWFM application250 may request the start time from theadministrator290. TheWFM application250 may then consider a next team of thecontact center150.
• If theadministrator290 answers negatively (i.e., eachagent120 does not have the same start-time each day), theWFM application250, for eachagent120 of the team, may use thepresence data155 to determine the variability of the start times for eachagent120.
• For example, theWFM application250 may determine the different start times for anagent120 by using thepresence data155 to determine events that indicate that theagent120 was likely working. TheWFM application250 may then use the times associated with each determined event to infer, for one or more weeks, the different times that theagent120 likely started each shift.
• The different times may be used to construct astart rule173 for theagent120. For example, if theWFM application250 determines that the start times for anagent120 varies as much as three hours, then theagent120 may be associated with astart rule173 that says that the start time for theagent120 may be varied by at most three hours. In another example, if theWFM application250 determines that the start times for anagent120 does not vary at all, then theagent120 may be associated with astart rule173 that says that the start time for theagent120 may not be varied.
• After theWFM application250 infers the start rules173 for eachagent120 in a team, theWFM application250 may present thedetermined start rules173 for eachagent120 to theadministrator290 through the GUI. Theadministrator290 may then accept or modify thedetermined start rules173 for eachagent120.
• Another example of such an item that theWFM application250 may infer for eachagent120 of a team is abreak pattern174. Thebreak pattern174 for anagent120 may be indicators of when, and for how long, theagent120 typically takes breaks during a workday or shift including longer breaks such as lunch and shorter breaks such as lavatory breaks, etc.
• Initially, theWFM application250 may ask the administrator290 (using the GUI) whether eachagent120 in the team must have thesame break pattern174 during their shifts. If theadministrator290 answers affirmatively, theWFM application250 may request thebreak pattern174 from theadministrator290. TheWFM application250 may then consider a next team of thecontact center150.
• If theadministrator290 answers negatively (i.e., eachagent120 does not have the same break pattern174), theWFM application250, for eachagent120 of the team, may use thepresence data155 to determine thebreak pattern174 for eachagent120.
• For example, theWFM application250 may use thepresence data155 to determine events that indicate that theagent120 has taken a break during their shift or workday. These events may include logging out on an application or workstation, or setting a presence indicator to away, for example. TheWFM application250 may then use the times associated with each determined event to infer, for one or more weeks, the different times that theagent120 likely took breaks. These times may be used to determine abreak pattern174 for theagent120. Depending on the embodiment, theWFM application250 may use the location-basedrules157 to ensure that thedetermined break pattern174 for anagent120 complies with all applicable laws and regulations (e.g., does theagent120 take enough breaks as required by law), as well as any entity orcontact center150 specific policies.
• After theWFM application250 infers abreak pattern174 for eachagent120 in a team, theWFM application250 may present thedetermined break pattern174 for eachagent120 to theadministrator290 through the GUI. Theadministrator290 may then accept or modify the presentedbreak pattern174 for eachagent120.
• TheWFM application250 may further us thecontact center data159 and thepresence data155 to generate one ormore forecasts251 for thecontact center150. Aforecast251 for acontact center150 may be an estimate or prediction of how busy thecontact center150 will likely be at date or time in the future.
• Depending on the embodiment, theWFM application250 may determine theforecast251 for thecontact center150 by processing thepresence data155 andcontact center data159 to determine indicators of how busy thecontact center150 was in the past. These indicators can then be used by theWFM application250 to train a model to predict how busy thecontact center150 will likely be at a future date based on characteristics of the future date like day of the week or proximity to a holiday, for example. Other information may be used to train the model. Depending on the embodiment, the model may be further trained by comparingforecasts251 generated by the model with actual observed workload data for thecontact center150 for the same dates (e.g., using machine learning).
• TheWFM application250 may further generateschedules255 for the contact center150 (or team) based on theforecasts251, and the various items that were inferred for eachagent120 such as maximum andminimum hours171, shifts172, breakpatterns174, and startrules173. TheWFM application250 may further consider the location-basedrules157 to ensure that eachschedule255 complies with all laws and regulations as well as entity policies. Any method forscheduling agents120 may be used.
• Depending on the embodiment, theWFM application250 may present each proposedschedule255 to theadministrator290 for approval through the GUI. Theadministrator290 may either approve the proposedschedule255, may reject the proposedschedule255, or may make one or more changes to the proposedschedule255.
• FIG. 3 is an illustration of anexample method300 for configuring a WFM system. Themethod300 may be performed by theWFM application250. Depending on the embodiment, anadministrator290 may have installed theWFM application250, and themethod300 may configure one or more items of theWFM application250 usingcontact center data159 andpresence data155 automatically downloaded from a contact routing system153 of acontact center150.
• At301, an item is selected to configure. The item may be a configurable item or setting of theWFM application250. The configurable items may include minimum ormaximum hours171, shifts172, and breakpatterns174. Other configurable items may be supported. Depending on the embodiment and items, the items may be configurable peragent120, per customer110, or per team, for example. The item may be selected automatically by theWFM application250, or may be selected by a user (e.g., administrator290) using a GUI.
• At303, a team is selected. The team may be a group ofagents120 and may be selected by theadministrator290 through the GUI. Alternatively, the team may be selected automatically (i.e., without user input) by theWFM application250. Depending on the embodiment, the teams may be teams of thecontact center150 and may have been determined fromcontact center data159 downloaded from the contact routing system153. Because the teams were determined from thecontact center data159, theadministrator290 did not have to manually enter the teams (and associated agents120) into theWFM application250.
• At305, a determination is made as to whether the selected item has a simple configuration with respect to the team. Depending on the embodiment, theWFM application250 may make the determination by asking theadministrator290 using the GUI.
• Whether or not an item has a simple configuration may be dependent on the item. Generally, an item has a simple configuration if allagents120 associated with the team have the same value or setting for the item. For example, for an item such asmaximum hours171, the item may have a simple configuration if allagents120 of the team have the same maximum hours171 (e.g.,40).
• If theadministrator290 indicates that the item has a simple configuration, themethod300 may continue at307. Else, themethod300 may continue at309.
• At307, user input is received and the item is configured. Because the configuration was determined to be simple, the item may be configured by theWFM application250 asking theadministrator290 to provide a value for the item (through the GUI). User input including the value may be received from theadministrator290 and may be used by theWFM application250 to configure the item for allagents120 associated with the team.
• Continuing themaximum hours171 example above, theadministrator290 may provide the value “40” as themaximum hours171 for theagents120 in the team. TheWFM application250 may then configure themaximum hours171 to “40” for allagents120 in the team.
• At309, automatic configuration of the item is performed. The automatic configuration of the item may be performed by theWFM application250 using one or both of thecontact center data159 or thepresence data155. In particular, the item may be configured by, for eachagent120 of the team, inferring the value of the item from thecontact center data159 or thepresence data155. The value may be inferred using a workflow associated with the item.
• Continuing the example above, for an item such as themaximum hours171, theWFM application250, for eachagent120 in the team, may analyze thepresence data155 associated with theagent120 to determine events such as logins and application usage, that may indicate when theagent120 was likely working. Based on these determined events and their associated times, theWFM application250 may infer themaximum hours171 for theagent120.
• At311, a user review is performed. The user review may be performed by theWFM application250. Depending on the embodiment, theWFM application250 may display the proposed configuration for the item with respect to eachagent120 in the team to theadministrator290, and theadministrator290 may approve the configurations, or may provide different values to use for some or all of the proposed item configurations.
• At313, a determination is made of whether there are more teams that the selected item may be configured for. The determination may be made by theWFM application250. If there are more teams, then themethod300 may return to303 where a new team may be selected. Else, themethod300 may continue at315.
• At315, a determination is made of whether there are more items that may be configured. The determination may be made by theWFM application250. If there are more items, then themethod300 may return to301 where a new item may be selected. Else, themethod300 may exit at317.
• FIG. 4 is an illustration of anexample method400 for automatically configuring items for aWFM application250 based on data received from a contact routing system153. Themethod400 may be implemented by theWFM application250.
• A410, a contact routing system is interfaced with. TheWMF application250 may interface with the contact routing system153 using credentials provided by theadministrator290.
• At415,contact center data159 is received. Thecontact center data159 may be received by theWFM application250 from the contact routing system153 through the interface.
• At420, a selection of an item to configure is received. The selection of the item may be received by theWFM application250 from anadministrator290 through a GUI. The GUI may be used by theadministrator290 to configure theWFM application250.
• The selected item may be a configurable item associated with theWFM application250. The configurable items may include startrules173, shifts172,hours171, and breakpatterns174. Other items may be configured. The configurable items may be related toagents120, teams, or customers110 associated with thecontact center150.
• At425, a workflow corresponding to the selected item is selected. The workflow may be selected by theWFM application250 from a plurality of workflows. For example, theWFM application250 may have separate workflows to configure items such as start rules173, breakpatterns174, and shifts172.
• At430, the selected item is configured automatically using the selected workflow and the contact center data. The selected item may be configured by theWFM application250. Depending on the embodiment, the item may be configured also usingpresence data155 and one or more location-basedrules157 corresponding to a location of one ormore agents120, teams, or thecontact center150.
• FIG. 5 is an illustration of anexample method500 for automatically configuring aWFM application250 based on data received from a contact routing system153 of acontact center150. Themethod500 may be implemented by theWFM application250.
• A510, a contact routing system is interfaced with. AWFM application250 may interface with the contact routing system153 as part of configuring theWFM application250. In some embodiments, an entity oradministrator290 associated with thecontact center150 may have determined to create and configure a WFM management system for theagents120 and employees of thecontact center150. Accordingly, theadministrator290 may have caused an instance of theWFM application250 to be installed on adeployment server170. Thedeployment server170 executing theWFM application250 may be referred to as the WFM server.
• At515, a plurality of agents associated with the contact center are determined. The plurality ofagents120 may be determined by theWFM application250 fromcontact center data159 received from the contact routing system153. Depending on the embodiment, theWFM application250 may further determine teams associated with thecontact center150 and may determineagents120 associated with each team.
• At520, presence data associated with each agent is received. Thepresence data155 may be received by theWFM application250 from the contact routing system153. Depending on the embodiment, thepresence data155 for anagent120 may include a plurality of events, and each event may be associated with a time. Example events may include logging in, or out, or a computer or application, using a particular application, setting a presence indicator to present or away, and handling a communication such as a phone call, email, or text message. Other events may be supported. Thepresence data155 may be part of thecontact center data159 or may be received separately from the contact routing system153.
• At525, for at least one agent of the plurality of agents, a maximum and aminimum hours171 is determined. The maximum andminimum hours171 may be determined by theWFM application250 using thepresence data155 associated with the at least oneagent120.
• Themaximum hours171 for anagent120 may be the maximum hours that theagent120 is willing to work during some period such as a day, week, month, etc. Similarly, theminimum hours171 may be the minimum hours that theagent120 that theagent120 is willing to work during the period. As may be appreciated, knowing the minimum andmaximum hours171 for eachagent120 is desirable when generating aschedule255 to ensure that eachagent120 is satisfied with the number of hours that they are assigned.
• FIG. 6 is an illustration of anexample method600 for automatically configuring aWFM application250 based on data received from contact routing system153 of acontact center150. Themethod600 may be implemented by theWFM application250.
• A610, a contact routing system is interfaced with. AWFM application250 may interface with the contact routing system as part of configuring theWFM application250.
• At615, a plurality of agents associated with the contact center are determined. The plurality ofagents120 may be determined by theWFM application250 fromcontact center data159 received from the contact routing system153. Depending on the embodiment, theWFM application250 may further determine teams associated with thecontact center150 and may determineagents120 associated with each team.
• At620, presence data associated with each agent is received. Thepresence data155 may be received by theWFM application250 from the contact routing system153.
• At625, for at least one agent of the plurality of agents, one or more shifts are determined. The shifts172 (e.g., morning shift, day shift, or night shift) may be determined by theWFM application250 using thepresence data155 associated with the at least oneagent120.
• Theshifts172 for anagent120 may be theshifts172 that theagent120 typically worked in the past for thecontact center150. As may be appreciated, knowing theshifts172 for eachagent120 is desirable when generating aschedule255 to ensure that eachagent120 is only scheduled to work during a shift that they are willing to work.
• In some embodiments, theWFM application250 may determine theshifts172 using thepresence data155. For example, theWFM application250 may determine events from thepresence data155 that indicate when theagent120 was likely working. TheWFM application250 may then determine what shifts of thecontact center150 that the determined events occurred during based on the times associated with the determined events. The shifts with the most associated events may be determined as theshifts172 for theagent120. Other methods may be used.
• FIG. 7 is an illustration of anexample method700 for automatically configuring aWFM application250 based on data received from a contact routing system153 of acontact center150. Themethod700 may be implemented by theWFM application250.
• A710, a contact routing system is interfaced with. AWFM application250 may interface with the contact routing system153 as part of configuring theWFM application250.
• At715, a plurality of agents associated with the contact center are determined. The plurality ofagents120 may be determined by theWFM application250 fromcontact center data159 received from the contact routing system153. Depending on the embodiment, theWFM application250 may further determine teams associated with thecontact center150 and may determineagents120 associated with each team.
• At720, presence data associated with each agent is received. Thepresence data155 may be received by theWFM application250 from the contact routing system153.
• At725, for at least one agent of the plurality of agents, abreak pattern174 is determined. Thebreak pattern174 may be determined by theWFM application250 using thepresence data155 associated with the at least oneagent120.
• Thebreak pattern174 for anagent120 may be a data structure that identifies the time and duration of each break taken by theagent120 during a shift or other period (e.g., day or week). As may be appreciated, thebreak pattern174 associated with theagent120 may be used for generating aschedule255 so that any breaks that theagent120 is used to taking are scheduled at their expected times.
• In some embodiments, theWFM application250 may determine thebreak pattern174 using thepresence data155. For example, theWFM application250 may determine events from thepresence data155 that indicate when theagent120 was likely on break. These events may include logging out of a computer, closing one or more applications or setting a presence indicator to away. TheWFM application250 may then determine the times usually associated with breaks for theagent120 and may use those times to determine thebreak pattern174 for theagent120. Other methods may be used.
• In some embodiments, theWFM application250 may determine the minimum andmaximum hours171 for a period using thepresence data155. For example, theWFM application250 may, for previous periods, determine events from thepresence data155 that indicate when theagent120 was likely working. These events may include when theagent120 first logged into their computer during a period, and when theagent120 last logged out from their computer during the period. Average minimum and maximum hours worked by theagent120 during the periods may be used as the minimum andmaximum hours171 for theagent120. Other methods may be used.
• FIG. 8 is an illustration of anexample method800 for automatically configuring aWFM application250 using workflows and for generating one or more forecasts and schedules. Themethod800 may be implemented by theWFM application250.
• At805, an application is deployed. The application may be aWFM application250 and may be deployed on adeployment server170 by anadministrator290. Depending on the embodiment, theadministrator290 may have selected theapplication260 to deploy from a plurality of applications made available by anapplication server160.
• At810, a contact routing system is interfaced with. AWFM application250 may interface with the contact routing system153 as part of configuring theWFM application250. TheWFM application250 may import data from the contact routing system153 such ascontact center data159 andpresence data155. Other types of data may be imported from the contact routing system153.
• At815, the application is configured. TheWFM application250 may be configured automatically using one or more workflows and the data imported from the contact routing system153. The items of theWFM application250 that may be configured using workflows may include teams, locations, queues, event types, historical contact data,agents120, minimum andmaximum hours171, shifts172, breaks or breakpatterns174, constancy rules (e.g., start rules173), andagent120 availability. Other items may be configured.
• At820, one or more forecasts are generated. The one ormore forecast251 may be generated by theWFM application250. Eachforecast251 may be an indication of how busy thecontact center150 is likely to be at some future time or period (e.g., day, week, or month). Theforecast251 may be generated using historical data about the workload or overall busyness of thecontact center150 during past periods. The historical data may be part of the contactdata center data159, for example. Any method for generating aforecast251 for a future period based on historical data from past periods may be used.
• At825, the one or more forecasts are validated. The one or more forecasts may be validated by theadministrator290. For example, the one ormore forecasts251 may have been provided to theadministrator290 in a GUI. If theadministrator290 is satisfied by the one ormore forecasts251, theadministrator290 may use the GUI to validate the one or more forecasts.
• At830, one or more schedules are generated. The one ormore schedules255 may be generated by theWFM application250. Eachschedule255 may be generated for one of the generatedforecasts251 according to the items configured for theapplication250 at815.
• For example, theWFM application250 may generate eachschedule255 such thatsufficient agents120 are scheduled to handle the workload predicted by the associatedforecast251 while also complying with location-basedrules157 associated with the location determined for theagents120 or thecontact center150. TheWFM application250 may further generate eachschedule255 to honor items such as start rules173, breakpatterns174,hours171, and shifts172 determined by theWFM application250 for eachagents120 or team.
• At825, the one or more schedules are validated. The one ormore schedules835 may be validated by theadministrator290 through the GUI. Depending on the embodiment, after the one ormore schedules255 are validated by theadministrator290 they may be implemented by thecontact center150.
• FIG. 9 shows an exemplary computing environment in which example embodiments and aspects may be implemented. The computing system environment is only one example of a suitable computing environment and is not intended to suggest any limitation as to the scope of use or functionality.
• Numerous other general purpose or special purpose computing system environments or configurations may be used. Examples of well-known computing systems, environments, and/or configurations that may be suitable for use include, but are not limited to, personal computers, servers, handheld or laptop devices, multiprocessor systems, microprocessor-based systems, network personal computers (PCs), minicomputers, mainframe computers, embedded systems, distributed computing environments that include any of the above systems or devices, and the like.
• Computer-executable instructions, such as program modules, being executed by a computer may be used. Generally, program modules include routines, programs, objects, components, data structures, etc. that perform particular tasks or implement particular abstract data types. Distributed computing environments may be used where tasks are performed by remote processing devices that are linked through a communications network or other data transmission medium. In a distributed computing environment, program modules and other data may be located in both local and remote computer storage media including memory storage devices.
• With reference toFIG. 9, an exemplary system for implementing aspects described herein includes a computing device, such ascomputing device900. In its most basic configuration,computing device900 typically includes at least oneprocessing unit902 andmemory904. Depending on the exact configuration and type of computing device,memory904 may be volatile (such as random access memory (RAM)), non-volatile (such as read-only memory (ROM), flash memory, etc.), or some combination of the two. This most basic configuration is illustrated inFIG. 9 by dashedline906.
• Computing device900 may have additional features/functionality. For example,computing device900 may include additional storage (removable and/or non-removable) including, but not limited to, magnetic or optical disks or tape. Such additional storage is illustrated inFIG. 9 byremovable storage908 andnon-removable storage910.
• Computing device900 typically includes a variety of tangible computer readable media. Computer readable media can be any available tangible media that can be accessed bydevice900 and includes both volatile and non-volatile media, removable and non-removable media.
• Tangible computer storage media include volatile and non-volatile, and removable and non-removable media implemented in any method or technology for storage of information such as computer readable instructions, data structures, program modules or other data.Memory904,removable storage908, andnon-removable storage910 are all examples of computer storage media. Tangible computer storage media include, but are not limited to, RAM, ROM, electrically erasable program read-only memory (EEPROM), flash memory or other memory technology, CD-ROM, digital versatile disks (DVD) or other optical storage, magnetic cassettes, magnetic tape, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other medium which can be used to store the desired information and which can be accessed by computingdevice900. Any such computer storage media may be part ofcomputing device900.
• Computing device900 may contain communications connection(s)912 that allow the device to communicate with other devices.Computing device900 may also have input device(s)914 such as a keyboard, mouse, pen, voice input device, touch input device, etc. Output device(s)916 such as a display, speakers, printer, etc. may also be included. All these devices are well known in the art and need not be discussed at length here.
• Returning toFIG. 1, agent(s)120 and customers110 may communicate with each other and with other services over thenetwork130. For example, a customer calling on telephone handset may connect through the PSTN and terminate on a private branch exchange (PBX). A video call originating from a tablet may connect through thenetwork130 terminate on the media server. A smartphone may connect via the WAN and terminate on an interactive voice response (IVR)/intelligent virtual agent (IVA) components. IVR are self-service voice tools that automate the handling of incoming and outgoing calls. Advanced IVRs use speech recognition technology to enable customers to interact with them by speaking instead of pushing buttons on their phones. IVR applications may be used to collect data, schedule callbacks and transfer calls to live agents. IVA systems are more advanced and utilize artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML), advanced speech technologies (e.g., natural language understanding (NLU)/natural language processing (NLP)/natural language generation (NLG)) to simulate live and unstructured cognitive conversations for voice, text and digital interactions. In yet another example, Social media, email, SMS/MMS, IM may communicate with their counterpart's application (not shown) within thecontact center150.
• Thecontact center150 itself be in a single location or may be cloud-based and distributed over a plurality of locations. Thecontact center150 may include servers, databases, and other components. In particular, thecontact center150 may include, but is not limited to, a routing server, a SIP server, an outbound server, a reporting/dashboard server, automated call distribution (ACD), a computer telephony integration server (CTI), an email server, an IM server, a social server, a SMS server, and one or more databases for routing, historical information and campaigns.
• The ACD is used by inbound, outbound and blended contact centers to manage the flow of interactions by routing and queuing them to the most appropriate agent. Within the CTI, software connects the ACD to a servicing application (e.g., customer service, CRM, sales, collections, etc.), and looks up or records information about the caller. CTI may display a customer's account information on the agent desktop when an interaction is delivered. Campaign management may be performed by an application to design, schedule, execute and manage outbound campaigns. Campaign management systems are also used to analyze campaign effectiveness.
• For inbound SIP messages, the routing server may use statistical data from reporting/dashboard information and a routing database to the route SIP request message. A response may be sent to the media server directing it to route the interaction to atarget agent120. The routing database may include: customer relationship management (CRM) data; data pertaining to one or more social networks (including, but not limited to network graphs capturing social relationships within relevant social networks, or media updates made by members of relevant social networks); agent skills data; data extracted from third party data sources including cloud-based data sources such as CRM; or any other data that may be useful in making routing decisions.
• The integration of real-time and non-real-time communication services may be performed by unified communications (UC)/presence sever. Real-time communication services include Internet Protocol (IP) telephony, call control, instant messaging (IM)/chat, presence information, real-time video and data sharing. Non-real-time applications include voicemail, email, SMS and fax services. The communications services are delivered over a variety of communications devices, including IP phones, personal computers (PCs), smartphones and tablets. Presence provides real-time status information about the availability of each person in the network, as well as their preferred method of communication (e.g., phone, email, chat and video).
• Recording applications may be used to capture and play back audio and screen interactions between customers and agents. Recording systems should capture everything that happens during interactions and what agents do on their desktops. Surveying tools may provide the ability to create and deploy post-interaction customer feedback surveys in voice and digital channels. Typically, the IVR/IVA development environment is leveraged for survey development and deployment rules. Reporting/dashboards are tools used to track and manage the performance of agents, teams, departments, systems and processes within the contact center. Reports are presented in narrative, graphical or tabular formats. Reports can be created on a historical or real-time basis, depending on the data collected by the contact center applications. Dashboards typically include widgets, gadgets, gauges, meters, switches, charts and graphs that allow role-based monitoring of agent, queue and contact center performance. Unified messaging (UM) applications include various messaging and communications media (voicemail, email, SMS, fax, video, etc.) stored in a common repository and accessed by users via multiple devices through a single unified interface.
• It should be understood that the various techniques described herein may be implemented in connection with hardware or software or, where appropriate, with a combination of both. Thus, the methods and apparatus of the presently disclosed subject matter, or certain aspects or portions thereof, may take the form of program code (i.e., instructions) embodied in tangible media, such as floppy diskettes, CD-ROMs, hard drives, or any other machine-readable storage medium wherein, when the program code is loaded into and executed by a machine, such as a computer, the machine becomes an apparatus for practicing the presently disclosed subject matter. In the case of program code execution on programmable computers, the computing device generally includes a processor, a storage medium readable by the processor (including volatile and non-volatile memory and/or storage elements), at least one input device, and at least one output device. One or more programs may implement or utilize the processes described in connection with the presently disclosed subject matter, e.g., through the use of an application programming interface (API), reusable controls, or the like. Such programs may be implemented in a high level procedural or object-oriented programming language to communicate with a computer system. However, the program(s) can be implemented in assembly or machine language, if desired. In any case, the language may be a compiled or interpreted language and it may be combined with hardware implementations.
• Although the subject matter has been described in language specific to structural features and/or methodological acts, it is to be understood that the subject matter defined in the appended claims is not necessarily limited to the specific features or acts described above. Rather, the specific features and acts described above are disclosed as example forms of implementing the claims.

Claims (20)

What is claimed:

1. A method for configuring an application for a contact center comprising:

receiving contact center data from the contact center by an application;

determining a plurality of teams associated with the contact center using the contact center data by the application;

determining a plurality of agents associated with each team of the plurality of teams using the contact center data by the application;

selecting a team of the plurality of teams by the application;

selecting an item of a plurality of items by the application;

determining whether the selected item has a simple configuration for the selected team; and

when it is determined that the selected item does not have a simple configuration for the selected team:

selecting a workflow corresponding to the selected item by the application; and

configuring the item automatically for each agent associated with the selected team using the selected workflow and the contact center data by the application.

2. The method ofclaim 1, further comprising:

when it is determined that the selected item does have a simple configuration for the selected team:

receiving input for the selected item; and

configuring the item using the received input.

3. The method ofclaim 1, wherein the application is a WFM application.

4. The method ofclaim 1, further comprising:

interfacing with a contact center by the application; and

receiving the contact center data through the interface with the contact center.

5. The method ofclaim 4, wherein interfacing with the contact center comprises:

requesting credentials from a user associated with the contact center; and

interfacing with the contact center using the requested credentials.

6. The method ofclaim 1, wherein selecting the team comprises receiving input selecting the team.

7. The method ofclaim 1, wherein determining whether the selected item has a simple configuration comprises:

requesting input on whether the selected item has a simple configuration;

in response to the request, receiving input for the selected item; and

in response to receiving the input, determining that the selected item has a simple configuration.

8. A non-transitory computer-readable medium comprising instructions that, when executed by at least one processor, cause a computer system to:

receive contact center data from the contact center;

determine a plurality of teams associated with the contact center using the contact center data;

determine a plurality of agents associated with each team of the plurality of teams using the contact center data;

select a team of the plurality of teams;

select an item of a plurality of items;

determine whether the selected item has a simple configuration for the selected team; and

when it is determined that the selected item does not have a simple configuration for the selected team:

select a workflow corresponding to the selected item; and

configure the item automatically for each agent associated with the selected team using the selected workflow and the contact center data.

9. The computer-readable medium ofclaim 8, further comprising:

when it is determined that the selected item does have a simple configuration for the selected team:

receiving input for the selected item; and

configuring the item using the received input.

10. The computer-readable medium ofclaim 8, wherein the computer system is a WFM system.

11. The computer-readable medium ofclaim 8, further comprising:

interface with a contact center by the application; and

receive the contact center data through the interface with the contact center.

12. The computer-readable medium ofclaim 11, wherein interfacing with the contact center comprises:

request credentials from a user associated with the contact center; and

interface with the contact center using the requested credentials.

13. The computer-readable medium ofclaim 8, wherein selecting the team comprises receiving input selecting the team.

14. The computer-readable medium ofclaim 8, wherein determining whether the selected item has a simple configuration comprises:

requesting input on whether the selected item has a simple configuration;

in response to the request, receiving input for the selected item; and

in response to receiving the input, determining that the selected item has a simple configuration.

15. A system comprising:

at least one processor; and

a non-transitory computer readable medium comprising instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the system to:

receive contact center data from the contact center;

determine a plurality of teams associated with the contact center using the contact center data;

determine a plurality of agents associated with each team of the plurality of teams using the contact center data;

select a team of the plurality of teams;

select an item of a plurality of items;

determine whether the selected item has a simple configuration for the selected team; and

when it is determined that the selected item does not have a simple configuration for the selected team:

select a workflow corresponding to the selected item; and

configure the item automatically for each agent associated with the selected team using the selected workflow and the contact center data.

16. The system ofclaim 15, further comprising:

when it is determined that the selected item does have a simple configuration for the selected team:

receiving input for the selected item; and

configuring the item using the received input.

17. The system ofclaim 15, wherein the system is a WFM system.

18. The system ofclaim 15, further comprising:

interface with a contact center by the application; and

receive the contact center data through the interface with the contact center.

19. The system ofclaim 18, wherein interfacing with the contact center comprises:

request credentials from a user associated with the contact center; and

interface with the contact center using the requested credentials.

20. The system ofclaim 15, wherein determining whether the selected item has a simple configuration comprises:

requesting input on whether the selected item has a simple configuration;

in response to the request, receiving input for the selected item; and

in response to receiving the input, determining that the selected item has a simple configuration.

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