Use of abstracted data in pattern matching system

Abstract

Method, system and program product, for operating a call center system, the method comprising: obtaining performance data for agents in a set of agents; obtaining a respective abstracted data stream for multiple calls, each respective data stream having multiple different locations along the abstracted data stream representing multiple different respective fields, the meaning for the field data in the respective different locations for the different respective fields not known by the system; determining respective patterns for the respective data streams; obtaining performance data for the respective patterns; matching using a selected matching algorithm one of the agents from the set of agents to one of the calls based at least in part on the performance data for the respective pattern of the call and on performance data for the respective agents of the set of agents.

We claim: 
     
       1. A method of operating a call center system, comprising:
 obtaining, by one or more computers, performance data for agents in a set of agents;   obtaining, by the one or more computers, a respective abstracted data stream for each of multiple calls, with each respective data stream having multiple different locations along the abstracted data stream representing multiple different respective fields, wherein the meaning for the field data in the respective different locations for the different respective fields is not known by the system;   determining, by the one or more computers, from respective field data positions in the respective data streams respective patterns for the respective data streams;   obtaining, by the one or more computers, performance data for the respective patterns; and   matching, by the one or more computers, using a selected matching algorithm one of the agents from the set of agents to one of the calls based at least in part on the performance data for the respective pattern of the call and based at least in part on the performance data for the respective agents of the set of agents.   
     
     
       2. The method as defined in  claim 1 , wherein the abstracted data stream is one selected from the group of 0's and 1's, yes and no, true and false, binary, integer, decimal, and alphanumeric. 
     
     
       3. The method as defined in  claim 1 , wherein the abstracted data stream is scrambled, but the scrambling is the same for calls received during a period. 
     
     
       4. The method as defined in  claim 1 , wherein the abstracted data stream is scrambled, and further comprising:
 rearranging, by the one or more computers, the data to an order of a data set to be used for correlation.   
     
     
       5. The method as defined in  claim 1 , further comprising the steps:
 determining, by the one or more computers, field positions for the fields in the abstracted data stream; and   selecting, by the one or more computers, only the determined field positions from the data stream to form the pattern.   
     
     
       6. The method as defined in  claim 1 ,
 wherein for multiple of the abstracted data streams received during the period, the abstracted data for the different fields are received in two or more different orders over the course of the period of time, and   further comprising arranging, by the one or more computers, the field data for the different fields for the data streams of the respective calls in a same order, by the one or more computers.   
     
     
       7. The method as defined in  claim 1 , wherein the respective pattern determined for the call is ranked by performance, and wherein the matching algorithm performs matching based at least in part on the performance rank of the call and the performance data of the respective agents in the set of agents. 
     
     
       8. The method as defined in  claim 1 , wherein the performance of the call is based on one or more selected from the group of sale, call handle time, retention, customer satisfaction, revenue, first call resolution, units sold, and transaction points. 
     
     
       9. The method as defined in  claim 1 , further comprising:
 obtaining, by the one or more computers, a call type for the respective call selected from the group of sale, complaint, information request, and very important person (VIP), and   wherein the matching algorithm performs matching based at least in part on the call type.   
     
     
       10. The method as defined in  claim 1 , wherein the matching step during a period further comprises:
 switching, by the one or more computers, to using a different matching algorithm based on correlation of call performance to agent performance at a switchover point in the period.   
     
     
       11. A system of operating a call center system, comprising:
 a communications component for handling calls; and   one or more computers configured with the following components;   a collector configured in the one or more computers to obtain performance data for agents in a set of agents;   the collector configured in the one or more computers to obtain a respective abstracted data stream for each of multiple of the calls, with each respective data stream having multiple different locations along the abstracted data stream representing multiple different respective fields, wherein the meaning for the field data in the respective different locations for the different respective fields is not known by the system;   the collector configured in the one or more computers to determine from respective field data positions in the respective data streams respective patterns for the respective data streams;   the collector configured in the one or more computers to obtain performance data for the respective patterns; and   a matching engine configured in the one or more computers with a matching algorithm to match one of the agents from the set of agents to one of the calls based at least in part on the performance data for the respective pattern of the call and based at least in part on the performance data for the respective agents of the set of agents.   
     
     
       12. The system as defined in  claim 11 , wherein the abstracted data stream is one selected from the group of 0's and 1's, yes and no, true and false, binary, integer, decimal, and alphanumeric. 
     
     
       13. The system as defined in  claim 11 ,
 wherein abstracted data stream is scrambled, and   wherein the collector is configured in the one or more computers to rearrange the data to an order of a data set to be used for correlation.   
     
     
       14. The system as defined in  claim 11 ,
 wherein the collector is configured in the one or more computers   to determine field positions for the fields in the abstracted data stream; and   to select only the determined field positions from the data stream to form the pattern.   
     
     
       15. The system as defined in  claim 11 ,
 wherein for multiple of the abstracted data streams received during the period, the abstracted data for the different fields are received in two or more different orders over the course of the period of time, and   wherein the collector is further configured in the one or more computers to arrange the field data for the different fields for the data streams of the respective calls in a same order.   
     
     
       16. The system as defined in  claim 11 ,
 wherein the matching engine is configured to rank the respective patterns by performance, and to perform matching based at least in part on the performance rank of the call and the performance data of the respective agents in the set of agents.   
     
     
       17. Non-transitory computer-readable media, comprising:
 computer-readable program code embodied therein, to perform, when executed by one or more computers, the steps:   obtaining, by the one or more computers, performance data for agents in a set of agents;   obtaining, by the one or more computers, a respective abstracted data stream for each of multiple calls, with each respective data stream having multiple different locations along the abstracted data stream representing multiple different respective fields, wherein the meaning for the field data in the respective different locations for the different respective fields is not known by the system;   determining, by the one or more computers, from respective field data positions in the respective data streams respective patterns for the respective data streams;   obtaining, by the one or more computers, performance data for the respective patterns; and   matching, by the one or more computers, using a selected matching algorithm one of the agents from the set of agents to one of the calls based at least in part on the performance data for the respective pattern of the call and based at least in part on the performance data for the respective agents of the set of agents.   
     
     
       18. A method for contact-agent pairing in a contact center system comprising:
 receiving, by at least one computer processor communicatively coupled to and configured to operate in the contact center system, abstracted data for a first contact or a first agent;   pairing, by the at least one computer processor and based on the abstracted data, the first contact with one of a plurality of agents or the first agent with one of a plurality of contacts; and   establishing, by the at least one computer processor, in a switch module of the contact center system, a communication channel between communication equipment of the first contact or the first agent and communication equipment of one of the plurality of agents or one of the plurality of contacts, respectively, to optimize performance of the contact center system attributable to the abstracted data.   
     
     
       19. The method of claim 18, wherein respective positions of one or more data fields within the abstracted data are scrambled. 
     
     
       20. The method of claim 19, wherein the pairing based on the abstracted data further comprises determining, by the at least one computer processor, respective positions of one or more data fields within the abstracted data. 
     
     
       21. The method of claim 18, wherein respective identifiers of one or more data fields within the abstracted data are abstracted. 
     
     
       22. The method of claim 18, wherein the abstracted data includes information about at least one of:
 sensitive contact data,   sensitive agent data,   monthly contact subscription rate,   customer tenure data,   customer phone number data, and   customer billing address.   
     
     
       23. The method of claim 18, wherein the at least one computer processor cannot determine respective meanings of one or more data fields within the abstracted data or respective meanings of respective identifiers of one or more data fields within the abstracted data. 
     
     
       24. The method of claim 18, wherein the pairing based on the abstracted data further comprises determining, by the at least one computer processor, correlations between the abstracted data of the first contact or the first agent and abstracted historical data of the contact center system. 
     
     
       25. A system for contact-agent pairing in a contact center system comprising:
 at least one computer processor communicatively coupled to and configured to operate in the contact center system, wherein the at least one computer processor is further configured to:
 receive abstracted data for a first contact or a first agent; 
 pair, based on the abstracted data, the first contact with one of a plurality of agents or the first agent with one of a plurality of contacts; and 
 establish, in a switch module of the contact center system, a communication channel between communication equipment of the first contact or the first agent and communication equipment of one of the plurality of agents or one of the plurality of contacts, respectively, to optimize performance of the contact center system attributable to the abstracted data. 
   
     
     
       26. The system of claim 25, wherein respective positions of one or more data fields within the abstracted data are scrambled. 
     
     
       27. The system of claim 26, wherein the at least one computer processor, configured for pairing based on the abstracted data, is further configured to determine respective positions of one or more data fields within the abstracted data. 
     
     
       28. The system of claim 25, wherein respective identifiers of one or more data fields within the abstracted data are abstracted. 
     
     
       29. The system of claim 25, wherein the abstracted data includes information about at least one of:
 sensitive contact data,   sensitive agent data,   monthly contact subscription rate,   customer tenure data,   customer phone number data, and   customer billing address.   
     
     
       30. The system of claim 25, wherein the at least one computer processor cannot determine respective meanings of one or more data fields within the abstracted data or respective meanings of respective identifiers of one or more data fields within the abstracted data. 
     
     
       31. The system of claim 25, wherein the at least one computer processor, configured for pairing based on the abstracted data, is further configured to determine correlations between the abstracted data of the first contact or the first agent and abstracted historical data of the contact center system. 
     
     
       32. An article of manufacture for contact-agent pairing in a contact center system comprising:
 a non-transitory processor readable medium; and   instructions stored on the medium;   wherein the instructions are configured to be readable from the medium by at least one computer processor communicatively coupled to and configured to operate in the contact center system and thereby cause the at least one computer processor to operate so as to:
 receive abstracted data for a first contact or a first agent; 
 pair, based on the abstracted data, the first contact with one of a plurality of agents or the first agent with one of a plurality of contacts; and 
 establish, in a switch module of the contact center system, a communication channel between communication equipment of the first contact or the first agent and communication equipment of one of the plurality of agents or one of the plurality of contacts, respectively, to optimize performance of the contact center system attributable to the abstracted data. 
   
     
     
       33. The article of manufacture of claim 32, wherein respective positions of one or more data fields within the abstracted data are scrambled. 
     
     
       34. The article of manufacture of claim 33, wherein the at least one computer processor, configured for pairing based on the abstracted data, is further configured to determine respective positions of one or more data fields within the abstracted data. 
     
     
       35. The article of manufacture of claim 32, wherein respective identifiers of one or more data fields within the abstracted data are abstracted. 
     
     
       36. The article of manufacture of claim 32, wherein the abstracted data includes information about at least one of:
 sensitive contact data,   sensitive agent data,   monthly contact subscription rate,   customer tenure data,   customer phone number data, and   customer billing address.   
     
     
       37. The article of manufacture of claim 32, wherein the at least one computer processor cannot determine respective meanings of one or more data fields within the abstracted data or respective meanings of respective identifiers of one or more data fields within the abstracted data.