Title: (cn)5
Author: Jeff Wilson
Last saved by: Laura Stone
Company: BackHouseStudios

Chapter 5 Summary
1.	Automated telephone systems enable help desks to receive and route a large number of calls more efficiently than they could with manual switchboards.
2.	Automated call distributors (ACDs) are widely used business telephone systems that route calls, prioritize calls, play recorded messages, and record data about calls. In a user support environment, an ACD’s two most important features are call routing and data collection. ACDs can provide skills-based routing through a custom set of rules developed by the company. Managers can use the data ACDs collect to make sure the help desk is responding to calls as efficiently as possible.
3.	The benefits of skill-based routing include the capability to forward the call to the agent who can best handle the request with the goal of solving the problem as efficiently as possible. Skill-based routing also keeps the help desk staff at maximum productivity.
4.	Interactive Voice Response (IVR) networks, which are in widespread use, allow users to select options from recorded lists by pressing buttons on their telephone keypads. In a help desk setting, IVR can provide automated help to users, collect caller information, and route calls to the appropriate help desk agents. Many IVR networks now include voice applications, which enable users to speak their requests instead of using a keypad.
5.	Automatic Speech Recognition (ASR) software can convert speech into instructions that computer systems can process. It enables help desk analysts to enter information into the computer faster than they could with keyboards. It can also save time by collecting information about callers before they are connected to analysts, and it can enable callers to get status information without help from analysts.
6.	Computer telephony integration (CTI) features important to help desks include the ability to display caller information automatically; unified queuing; unified messaging; and automated response. A CTI system can also collect detailed data about calls to the help desk and how they are handled. The integration of telephone and computer technologies will make help desks more productive.
7.	A unified queue ensures that the most critical problems receive attention first, regardless of how they arrived at the help desk. Unified queuing also provides valuable data to the help desk manager, including real-time queue data.
8.	The common statistics captured by a CTI application include agent statistics—such as log on and log off times, call time, idle time, other-work time, and after-call work time—and call statistics such as call type, inbound source, call duration, time placed on hold, and total hold time.