Glossary

ANI

ANI stands for Automatic Number Identification.  ANI is often called Caller ID. All phone calls contain the numbers of the dialing phone. Those numbers can be displayed on a screen or used by the receiving phone system to tell the call recipient useful information.

Audio Prompts

Audio prompts are the messages (with the file extension .wav) that Interaction Attendant plays to callers. Examples include the greeting played for callers when the call is picked up, and any instructions played to describe menu options. A default set of prompts is installed with Interaction Attendant.  You can change these prompts and add your own. You might do this so that all prompts are spoken in the same voice.

Attendant Configuration File

Attendant Configuration (.att) files contain all of the information that is associated with a server profile, including its schedules, and settings affecting operations.  Attendant Configuration files make it quick and easy to back up or restore a particular server configuration.  The File | Import File command reads in an .att configuration file.  Likewise, the File | Export File command saves an .att configuration file for the all connected servers.

Audio Playback

Audio playback plays a .wav file to caller. You can use the .wav files that are installed with Interaction Attendant, or you can record your own .wav files and store them in a language-specific folders below the AttendantWaves share on the CIC server.

Auto Attendant

Auto attendant is a shortened name for automatic attendant. An auto attendant is a device that automatically answers a call, prompts a caller to make menu choices, and routes a call according to that caller's choice. Callers choose options by pressing keys on their telephone. Based on the caller's choice, an auto attendant will offer a sub menu, transfer a call to a queue, allow callers to search an employee directory, send or receive a fax, or perform many other actions. Interaction Attendant is the tool for configuring CIC's auto attendant.

Auto Attendant Processing

Auto Attendant Processing is a call processing style that interacts with the caller using menus.  See also: Direct to Queue Processing.

Backup Export

A export option that saves server-specific information that must be imported by the same server.

Call Attribute

A call attribute is a piece of information about an object that travels with it throughout the Customer Interaction Center.   For example, one standard attribute of a call object is the telephone number of the person who placed the call.  A call object can have as many attributes as are needed.  Attributes stay with a call until it is disconnected.  The CIC supports application programming interfaces (API's) that provide access to call object attributes.  Dynamic Data Exchange (DDE) is commonly used to accomplish this, as is the Interaction Client Win32 COM API.  Attributes typically store information that is passed to a database or a third-party application.  For example, the CIC can be set up to "pop" a database application when an incoming call arrives at an agent's workstation.  For more information about attributes, DDE and APIs, see the PureConnect Documentation Library.  The Interaction Attributes Technical Reference describes attribute names that are reserved by CIC.   If you assign data to a standard CIC attribute, you could potentially affect the execution of a handler.  The Interaction Attributes Technical Reference identifies attributes whose value you should not change.

Call Flow Configuration

A call flow configuration processes inbound calls, outbound calls (those placed by Interaction Dialer), or calls to the Operator.  Attendant displays each call flow in its own tree view.  Tabs below the tree view allow you to switch to a different call flow configuration.  The call flow and tabs that you see (if any) are determined by whether or not you have rights to view or modify a given call flow type, and by command line switches that specify which call flows you want to see.

Call Processing Style

Call processing styles determine whether Auto Attendant Processing or Direct to Queue Processing are used to process an inbound telephone interaction.

Current Language

The language used to play back a voice prompt.  The current language is set using profile forms, or by allowing callers to select a language from a menu (using Language Selection operations).  Attendant plays back voice prompts and performs text-to-speech operations in the appropriate language based upon this information.

Customer Interaction Center (CIC)

The Customer Interaction Center (CIC) is designed for sophisticated contact centers managing inbound, outbound, or blended interactions. CIC provides skills-based routing not only for telephone interactions, but faxes, Emails, text chats, Web call-back requests, and voice over IP calls. CIC can support up to several hundred agents per site, and offers optional pre and post-call routing across multiple locations. And it makes screen popping a breeze, with easy interfaces to products from leading CRM vendors such as Siebel, Pivotal, Onyx, Peoplesoft, and many more.

Default Action

The operation defined by the default node that is performed if the caller does not press a key within the timeout period specified by that menu. The icon for default forms has a green border in the tree structure.

Default Language

The names of supported languages (e.g., English, French, Spanish, etc.) are defined on each CIC server using Interaction Administrator.  Handlers that play voice prompts use these language attributes internally.  The default language is used to play system prompts when no other language attribute is specified.

Default Node

The form whose default action check box is checked.

Dial by Name

Dial by Name allows a caller to enter the first three characters of a Interaction Client user's last name.  Dial by Name then searches for the extension and transfers the call to that user.

Direct to Queue Processing

Direct to Queue Processing is a call processing style that sends a call to the user queue, station queue, or workgroup queue specified in the profile.  Users may be returned to Auto Attendant processing if the call is not picked up from a queue in a specified number of seconds. 

Direct to Queue performs special processing for each of the supported queue types.  The call is trapped before normal queue processing takes place so that the Attendant handlers can maintain control.  All custom prompts, call coverage options, and thin client rules are bypassed while direct to queue processing is in effect.

DNIS

Dialed Number Identification Service (DNIS) is a feature of digital T-1 and ISDN lines (like 800 and 900 lines) that provides the number the caller dialed.  DNIS is a system by which CIC can determine what number a caller dialed. Knowing that dialed number allows Interaction Attendant to perform unique processing on that call, such as playing special messages or offering special menu choices. For example, a company has two levels of technical support, silver and gold. Silver members call 555-1111, and Gold members call 555-2222. In Interaction Attendant you can create a profile for each number. When callers dial 555-2222, they hear the profile for gold support. When callers dial 555-1111, they hear the profile for the silver.  The Default Inbound Call Profile is used when no DNIS information accompanies the call, or when the DNIS is not recognized.

Full Export

A export option that saves all configuration data that is not tied to a server to an Attendant configuration file.  This allows an  exact copy of one server's configuration to be loaded on to an identically configured server.  It is frequently used to move a configuration from a test server to a production server.  The source server must be identical to the destination server in terms of line names, workgroup names—everything except server name and password.

CIC Server

The Customer Interaction Center (CIC) is a client/server software product that transforms a Windows NT server into a comprehensive communications system. The CIC server answers and processes calls. The profiles you create in Interaction Attendant are saved to the CIC Server where they are executed when a call is picked up.

Dial Extension

Allows a caller to dial an Interaction Client user's extension. If a match is found, the call is transferred; if not, the caller is returned to the menu from which Dial Extension was called.  See the Dial Extension operation.

External Transfer

This operation transfers a call to specified telephone number outside of the CIC.

Fax Back

Allows a caller to request a fax and send it to a fax number that the caller specifies. Fax Back functionality in Interaction Attendant requires some handler modification.

Handler

Handlers are programs that the CIC Server executes to respond to an event, such as an incoming call.   Handlers are created using Interaction Designer, the visual programming tool included with Customer Interaction Center.  Few users of Interaction Attendant ever need to create or modify handlers.  The sophisticated handlers included with Interaction Attendant are sufficient to meet all but the most extraordinary needs. However, it is important to understand that handlers work behind the scenes to implement the profiles and menus that you create using Interaction Attendant. 

A handler performs an action or actions in response to the occurrence of some event. A handler is simply a collection of steps that are organized and linked to form a logical flow of actions and decisions. 

Incoming Call Selection

Incoming Call Selection is enabled on custom profile forms.  You can filter calls to various schedules based upon the line or line group used, the number dialed (DNIS), or the caller ID (ANI).  A server's default profile does not support this feature, since the default profile is intended as a catch all. 

Interaction Attendant

The graphical tool for configuring and maintaining CIC's auto attendant.

Interaction Designer

The CIC graphical application development tool for creating, debugging, editing, and managing handlers and subroutines.

Interaction ID Key

Interaction ID Key is a unique ID number that identifies a call.  This number is always unique, while Call ID numbers may not be.

IVR

Interactive Voice Response (IVR) allows phone users to use their telephone keypad as a keyboard to input values in response to voice prompts played by a computer.

Line Name

Every line coming into CIC has an assigned line name. You can view and change these line names in the Lines container in Interaction Administrator.   In Interaction Attendant, line names can be assigned to a profile form.  Any call that comes in on the named line is processed by that profile. When assigning line names to profiles, refer to the Interaction Administrator lines container for a list of line names. 

Menu

The group of operations that Interaction Attendant performs, based upon user selections, are collectively called a menu.  A menu is a set of operations that appear below a schedule or another menu in the tree structure.  A caller selects menu entries by pressing keys on a telephone. Based on the caller's choice, an auto attendant can offer a submenu, transfer a call to a queue, allow a caller to search an employee directory, send or receive a fax, or perform many other actions.  Each menu is owned by a single schedule.  Menus become active when the conditions stipulated by the schedule form are met.  In other words, a menu is not available to callers unless its parent schedule is active.  

Menu Entry

A menu entry is an action that is assigned to menus. The action associated with that menu entry is executed when the caller presses the assigned key.

Menu Transfer

Transfers a call to another menu within the same profile or a different profile. For example, suppose you create a complex set of submenus that you will use in all profiles. Instead of creating the same menu structure repeatedly in every profile, transfer a call to the special menu. This allows a single menu to be shared by all profiles.

Node

A node is an item in the tree that you can select for editing.

Notifier

The Notifier is an CIC module that acts as a communication center for all other modules.  It listens for events generated by other modules and notifies other interested modules that the event has occurred.

Operations

Operations are actions that Interaction Attendant can perform when a user makes a menu selection. 

Profile

Attendant compares call characteristics to predefined profiles for that server.  It gives control over the call to the profile that most closely matches the call.  Calls come into a server and are filtered by a profile.  Profiles filter calls by DNIS, ANI and/or line or line group information.  Wildcards can be used in matching.  Calls that don't match a user-defined profile are processed by the default profile.  Each profile contains a collection of one or more schedules. Profiles can be scheduled to run at certain times. A profile can also be configured to start for a specific ANI, DNIS or Line Name entry so that callers who dial specific numbers hear specific profiles.

Profile Telephone Number

A telephone number that matches DNIS criteria defined in an Attendant profile (either explicitly or using wildcards) that is used for special routing purposes.

Queue

Queues are containers for calls and other types of interactions that can be processed.  Each Interaction Client user has a user queue. Each workgroup, such as marketing or support, has a workgroup queue. Stand-alone phones not connected to PCs and fax machines have station queues.

Queue Transfer

Transfers a call directly to a user, workgroup, or station queue.

Receive Fax

Allows a caller to send a FAX to a specific user or workgroup.

Remote Voice Mail

Allows Interaction Client users to retrieve their voice mail remotely.

Schedule

A schedule is a special form associated with each profile that allows you to control when menus contained within the profile become active.  A schedule stipulates when a menu can run.

Station Groups

Station groups are groups of phones in break rooms, conference rooms, and other public areas.

Station Queue

A queue where interactions are placed when they are to be processed by a station.

Submenu

Submenus are menus within menus. They allow you to add branches to your auto attendant. For example, you can set up a submenu for each workgroup in your company, allowing callers to perform a variety of actions within each workgroup. Submenus also allow you to re-use the keys that are used in higher menus. For example, pressing 4 in the top level menu might allow callers to enter a Support submenu. In the Support submenu, callers might press 4 to send a fax. 

Subroutine Initiator

Allows you to add your own custom functionality to a menu entry. Using the Subroutine Initiator menu entry requires some handler modification.

Template Export

A export option that saves generic configuration data that can be loaded onto any server.  The resulting Attendant configuration file contains the general Attendant layout, but without server-specific information, such as workgroup names, user names, or audio files.  The resulting file can be loaded onto a server and customized to match the destination server.   This option is geared for partners and administrators who manage multiple sites.  It does not require servers to be identically configured.

Trunk

A trunk is a communications line that connects two switching systems, such as the equipment in a telephone company's central office, and the PBX in a company.

User Queue

A queue where interactions (such as calls and chat sessions) intended for an individual user are routed.

Voice Mail Transfer

Allows a caller to leave a voice mail for a specific queue.