This page explains the most important terms in thematic order. Where the user interface uses several words for the same thing, this is noted under the respective term.
Conversations and channels
Conversation
Any contact with a customer, whatever the channel: a call, an email, a fax, a chat, a voicemail. myContactCenter distributes, measures and stores conversations according to the same rules. Some lists and reports also say “contact” or “call” instead.
Channel
The way in which a conversation comes in: Call, Email, Fax, Chat or Voicemail. Qualifications, distribution rules and flows each apply to one channel.
Callback and dial-in
Forms of the virtual queue: the caller hangs up but keeps their place in the queue. With a callback, myContactCenter calls them back as soon as it is their turn; with dial-in, they call again themselves within a set period. Both relieve the lines and spare the customer from waiting on hold.
Web callback
A callback request that a customer submits through a form on your website. It is distributed like a callback.
Voicemail
A message that a caller leaves in the flow. It is distributed like a call to an agent, who listens to it. In lists and reports, its conversation type is shown as Voicemail.
Playback call
A call with which myContactCenter plays a recording or a voicemail to an agent. It is only used for listening and is not distributed.
Qualified call and private call
Calls that an agent starts themselves. A qualified call belongs to a skill, a private call to none.
Ticket
The case file of an issue. A ticket bundles all calls, emails and chats that belong together, including recording and transcription.
Distribution
ACD
Automatic conversation distribution (the abbreviation comes from Automatic Call Distribution): the rules by which waiting conversations go to agents. In myContactCenter, each skill has exactly one ACD with the same name. For each channel, it defines business hours, limits, priorities, wrap-up, classification and the distribution rules. In the Administration, this area is called Automatic conversation distribution.
Skill
A topic or area of responsibility, such as sales, technical support or complaints. Every conversation belongs to a skill, and every agent is qualified for certain skills. In contact center jargon, this method is called skill-based routing.
Language
The language in which a conversation is conducted. Distribution is by skill and language. You create the languages in the Administration; each one comes with the voices for announcements that are generated with speech synthesis. They have nothing to do with the language of the user interface.
Qualification
How well an agent masters a skill in a particular channel, and how well they speak a language. Qualifications are levels; level 1 is the best, higher levels are weaker. An ACD can require minimum levels.
Queue
The waiting line of a skill. Conversations wait here until a suitable agent is free. A queue has limits: a Maximum wait time and a maximum number of waiting conversations.
Priority
Determines which waiting conversation comes first. The priority of the skill counts first — the higher number goes first — then the VIP class, then the wait time. This applies across all skills and channels: an email with a higher priority goes before a call with a lower one to an agent who is qualified for both. With Increase priority after time, the priority rises the longer a conversation waits, up to the Best priority.
VIP class
A level of preferential treatment in the queue, for example for premium customers. The flow or a filter on the phone number or sender address assigns a conversation to a VIP class. With Treat as VIP after, an ordinary conversation that waits too long moves up to the highest VIP level by itself.
Known agent and preferred agents
A customer who has recently spoken with an agent is preferably connected to that agent again (Known agent). The flow can also specify Preferred agents, who take precedence for a set period.
Distribution strategy
Selects the next agent among several suitable, free agents. The criteria are weighted: how long an agent has been free (in the user interface Longest idle time), how many conversations they have handled, how long they have been busy in total and how much time they have spent in activities and wrap-up. This spreads the work evenly.
Distribution scheme and escalation
Defines what happens if no sufficiently qualified agent is free: step by step, agents who are less qualified for the skill or the language also come into consideration. When escalation takes place depends on the number of waiting conversations or on the wait time of the longest-waiting one.
Routing group
Combines several skills for distribution. The workload of the agents is then calculated jointly across all skills of the group — an agent who has just had a lot to do in one skill does not get their turn again right away in the others.
Business hours and holidays
Determine when a skill accepts conversations. Outside these hours, on holidays or when it has been closed manually, the queue accepts nothing, and the flow reacts accordingly.
Constraints
Rules that prevent too many agents from being away at the same time. Depending on the situation in the skill — such as too few free agents — they allow switching to an activity or wrap-up, logging off and changing skill or language, warn against it or forbid it.
Agents
Logging in and logging off
An agent only receives conversations while logged in to the Agent program. Logging in takes up their licenses.
Available
A logged-in agent who is neither in an activity nor in wrap-up is available and receives conversations.
Activity
A state in which an agent receives no conversations because they are doing something else: a break, a meeting, training. The activities are set up in the Administration; depending on the settings, switching to one requires the approval of a supervisor. Some messages and statistics call an activity a “break” or “pause” instead.
Wrap-up
The time after a conversation in which the agent still takes notes or deals with something and receives no new conversation. Dynamic wrap-up ends by itself after a set time; the agent ends manual wrap-up.
Signaling
The window with which the Agent program offers a new conversation. The agent accepts it there. If they don’t do so within the signaling time, the conversation goes back to the queue.
Automatic acceptance
The agent does not have to accept a conversation first; it is put through to them directly. In the skill, this setting is called Force feed conversations.
Picking
An agent takes a waiting conversation from the list on their own initiative instead of waiting for the distribution. In the skill, the Pick setting enables this.
Parallel handling
How many conversations an agent may handle at the same time, in total and per channel — typically one call, but several chats or emails.
Classification
The categorization of a completed conversation, such as “Order”, “Complaint” or “Wrong number”. The possible values are defined by the ACD; it can require a classification. Classifications are the basis for analyzing content.
Attached data
Data attached to a conversation: information determined by the flow, such as a customer number or values from a database. The agent sees it in the Attached data module.
Boilerplate
A prepared text that agents insert into emails and chats.
Listening in, whispering, conference
The three ways in which a supervisor intervenes in a call. When listening in (in the user interface Listen), they listen without anyone hearing them. With Whisper, only the agent hears them — so they can coach without the customer noticing. With Conference, they join the call audibly.
Flows
Flow
A graphically designed sequence that receives an incoming conversation before it enters the queue. In contact centers, the term IVR (Interactive Voice Response) is also common for this; however, a flow can do more than a voice menu. There are flows for calls, emails, faxes and chats — see Flows.
Node
A building block of a flow: an announcement, a query, a decision, setting a skill. Nodes are connected in the flow designer of the Administration — see Nodes.
Mapping
Links a flow to what triggers it: a phone number, the address of a mailbox or, for chat, the combination of skill and language. The mapping also sets the skill and language with which the conversation starts — see Mapping.
Callback scheduler
A node that offers the caller times for a callback — see Callback scheduler.
Reporting
Recording
An audio recording of a call.
Transcription
The conversion of a call into text while it is in progress. It is stored with the conversation in the ticket.
Report
An analysis over a period of time, such as wait times per skill or the working hours of the agents. Reports are designed in the Administration and can be created on demand or at fixed times.
Dashboard
An interactive overview with key figures and charts on the screen of an administrator or supervisor.
Wallboard
The display of real-time key figures on a large screen in the room. It is designed in the Administration and shown by the Wallboard program.
Performance indicator, severity and alarm
A performance indicator monitors a value, such as the number of waiting calls. If the value reaches a threshold, an alarm with a severity is raised. This way, a bottleneck is noticed before customers feel it — see Performance monitoring and alarms.
Wait time and abandoned conversations
Two of the most important key figures in a contact center. The wait time is the time a customer spends in the queue until an agent accepts. A conversation is abandoned if the customer gives up before reaching an agent. Together, both show how well the contact center can be reached.