Glossary

When a caller hangs up the call while in the queue or before an agent answers the call, it is considered an abandoned call.

The privileges that allow a user to perform tasks or activities on a software application or a program. These rights can also be used to access resources.

Also known as an Automatic Call Distributor. This is a system that answers incoming calls. It also obtains information and/or instructions form a database to determine how best to handle the call and then sends the call to a correct agent as soon one is available. In its software version, also known as Automatic Call Distribution.

This is the time that a customer has waited in the queue before an agent answered the call.

Also known as After Call Work. This is the work that agents perform, usually after ending a call with a customer. This includes setting dispositions (or outcomes) and other assigned tasks before getting into a state that allows the next call to be routed. 

An administrator is a human entity in an organization who create users, assign access rights to users, and perform various administrative tasks in a contact center application (like but not limited to assigning agents to teams / skills / queues, creating reason codes, etc.).

An Advanced Contact Strategy allows you to configure complex retry rules - based on Modes, Outcomes, Transition Windows, etc.

Also known as ACW. This is the work that agents perform, usually after ending a call with a customer. This includes setting dispositions (or outcomes) and other assigned tasks before getting into a state that allows the next call to be routed. 

A contact-center employee who takes the routed customer calls and also handles other type of customer interactions like email and chat. The agent usually handles customer support and inquiries in a contact center.

The time an agent spent handling a particular interaction, usually customer interaction. It could be a call, email, or a chat.

The agent's current status. The agent state can be Logged-in, Logged-out, Ready, Reserved, In Call, ACW, Not Ready, Break, etc. These states are configured by the contact center administrators and agents navigate between these states from log in to log out.

Also known as Average Handle Time. The average handle time for a call. This is sum of the Average Talk Time (including Hold Time) and the Average ACW (After Call Work).

Also known as Answering Machine Detection. A contact-center feature that determines if the call is answered by a live human or an answering machine. This detection determines what protocols contact centers use to handle such scenarios.

Also known as Automatic Number Identification, CLI, or Calling Line Identification. A feature that displays the caller's telephone number so that the caller can be identified. This is done by passing the telephone number over the network to the  to the receiving location. 

Also known as AMD. A contact-center feature that determines if the call is answered by a live human or an answering machine. This detection determines what protocols contact centers use to handle such scenarios.

Also known as Application Programming Interface. A set of routines, protocols, and tools for using software applications. API also can refer to an interface that enables third-party programs to connect to any of Acqueon's applications.

Also known as API. A set of routines, protocols, and tools for using software applications. API also can refer to an interface that enables third-party programs to connect to any of Acqueon's applications. 

An ASP, as it is also known as, is an entity that offers access to applications (and related services) over the internet - to both individual and enterprise users. Users need not install or manage these service on their local computers.

The periodic activity that purges the various database tables and moves the purged records to an archived location. This location can be a local disk, a shared drive, or any cloud location. This activity helps optimal performance of the application.

An Application Service Provider is an entity that offers access to applications (and related services) over the internet - to both individual and enterprise users. Users need not install or manage these service on their local computers.

This is a form of communication - like email - where the sender does not wait for a response from the receiver. The sender can continue working even during the wait time.

Also known as an ACD. This is a system that answers incoming calls. It also obtains information and/or instructions form a database to determine how best to handle the call and then sends the call to a correct agent as soon one is available. In its software version, also known as Automatic Call Distribution.

Also known as ANI, CLI, or Calling Line Identification. A feature that displays the caller's telephone number so that the caller can be identified. This is done by passing the telephone number over the network to the  to the receiving location. 

An agent who is currently not involved in any interaction. The agent is available to take up a new interaction.

This is the state (or status) of an agent. In the Available state, an ACD (dialer) can route calls to an agent.

The average time that callers wait in the queue before abandoning the call. This is calculated considering the time for in queue only for abandoned calls.

Also known as Average After Call Work Time. This is the average time taken for after-call work (ACW) by agents. This is the sum of total time taken for after-call work divided by the number of calls answered.

Also known as Average ACW Time. This is the average time taken for after-call work (ACW) by agents. This is the sum of total time taken for after-call work divided by the number of calls answered.

Also known as AHT. The average handle time for a call. This is sum of the Average Talk Time (including Hold Time) and the Average ACW (After Call Work).

This is the average duration an agent spends on a customer interaction. This is the average obtained by dividing the total call duration (including hold time) for all calls and the number of calls handled.

An agent who is assigned to handle both inbound and outbound calls. The switch between inbound and outbound happens based on parameters configured by an administrator.

The short time-off taken by agents during the work shift. A break can be for various reasons - lunch, tea, meeting, etc. Agents may have to specify the reason (from among those created by an administrator) for the break. Calls cannot be routed to an agent on a break. 

• Unique Business Fields are specific business identifiers like Customer ID, First Name, etc.
• Common Business Fields are standard business fields like amounts, number of days, etc.

This is an agent state when an agent is currently handling a call. 

The process where an agent (or a team) is assigned to handle both inbound and outbound calls. The switch between inbound and outbound happens based on parameters configured by an administrator.

Also Contact Center. This is a generic term for a location, office, or a cloud-based organization that places and receives calls for various purposes like customer service, customer support, sales, collection, telemarketing, etc. These centers have CTI equipment that route the calls to personnel, generally designated as agents.

A unique identifier assigned to each call.

Also known as CPA. This is an analysis done on a live call to determine, based on tones, if the call is answered by a human voice, a recorded answering machine message, a fax tone, or if the call encounters just silence.

Certain dialing platforms allow the calls between agents and customers to be recorded. These recordings are stored in a location that can be accessed by supervisors for various review activities.

Usually the telephony result of the call - Success (when connected to the customer and ends in a successful interaction). Abandon, Busy, No Answer, Fax Machine, Answering Machine, Wrong Number, etc. are examples of call results.

A request by a customer to receive a call in return. Callbacks can be of two types - Personal (where the same agent handles the customer interaction) or Regular (or Normal, any available agent handles the customer interaction).

A callback strategy allows the agents to set callback requested by the customer and configure various aspects as to how this callback calls are handled with respect to dialing, agents, retries, contact status, etc.

Also known as ANI, Automatic Number Identification, or CLI. A feature that displays the caller's telephone number so that the caller can be identified. This is done by passing the telephone number over the network to the to the receiving location.

The calls in the contact center queue awaiting connection to an agent or an IVR.

A campaign is a collection of contacts or records. You can use a campaign to manage the process of making outbound calls (or non-voice modes like email, SMS, etc.) to a homogenous set of contacts. For example, a collection campaign makes calls to credit card customers reminding them of their dues to be paid.

This is the term used to define the business process of managing a campaign. From getting contact lists, segregating them by various parameters (segmentation) to increase successful connects, manage contact reschedule based on various agent dispositions, arrange callbacks to customers, etc. all form part of campaign management. This term applies to both voice and non-voice campaigns.

Also known as ANI, Automatic Number Identification, or Calling Line Identification. A feature that displays the caller's telephone number so that the caller can be identified. This is done by passing the telephone number over the network to the  to the receiving location. This is referred to as a Caller ID or Calling Line Identification (CLI).

A blind transfer of a call from an agent to another entity. In such transfers, the agent does not explain the context of the call to the transferee entity - just a one-click transfer of the call.

Also known as CSV. This is a format of presenting data as text with value in each column (corresponding to the header row) separated by a comma. Each line represents a set of data that corresponds to the header line.

Also known as CTI.  Traditional telecommunications equipment, when merged with  computers and computer applications is CTI. The use of Caller ID to retrieve customer information automatically from a database is an example of a CTI application. This integration allows users to store call- and contact-related data in a database and retrieve it as required - before, during, or after a call.

This is a call that has more than two parties connected. When an agent on a call (with a customer) adds another party (either another agent, a supervisor, or a third party), this call becomes a conference. 

Also Call Center. This is a generic term for a location, office, or a cloud-based organization that places and receives calls for various purposes like customer service, customer support, sales, collection, telemarketing, etc. These centers have CTI equipment that route the calls to personnel, generally designated as agents.

This is a series of steps that customers can make as they interact with the contact center. There are different contact flows that are set up by an administrator based on customer requirements.

Also known as UTC, the official abbreviation. This is the standard time used internationally and is based on the 0 degrees longitude that runs through Greenwich, England. This was formerly known as Greenwich Mean Time. Local times across the world are expressed as an offset from this time.

Also known as Call Progress Analysis. This is an analysis done on a live call to determine, based on tones, if the call is answered by a human voice, a recorded answering machine message, a fax tone, or if the call encounters just silence.

Also known as Customer Relationship Management. This comprises software applications and human resources that help an enterprise improve customer relations and grow business.

Also known as Comma-Separated Value. This is a format of presenting data as text with value in each column (corresponding to the header row) separated by a comma. Each line represents a set of data that corresponds to the header line.

Also known as Computer-Telephony Integration. Traditional telecommunications equipment, when merged with computers and computer applications is CTI. The use of Caller ID to retrieve customer information automatically from a database is an example of a CTI application. This integration allows users to store call- and contact-related data in a database and retrieve it as required - before, during, or after a call.

Also known as CRM. This comprises software applications and human resources that help an enterprise improve customer relations and grow business.

The is the number of cycles dialed on all modes in a Simple contact strategy. For example, if a Simple contact strategy has three modes, a cycle is completed when all the modes are dialed once.

This is the maximum number of retries that can be made for dialing each contact in a day, for a campaign.

A dashboard is a user interface that provides snippets of information on the functioning of any orgaization. Usually in an easy-to-read-and-decipher format, dashboards can help users make key decisions based on the performance metrics displayed.

Also known as DBA. This is a person responsible for maintaining the database server and the environment it is installed in. This person is also responsible to ensure data fetch for the application and all related aspects is optimal and does not lag.

Also known as DST. This is the convention of advancing clocks so that daytimes (or work hours) have more daylight and nights/mornings have less. Usually, clocks are advanced an hour at the onset of spring and set back at the onset of autumn. Though the DST changes vary locally, many geographies implement the DST change in the last week(s) of March  and October.

Also known as Database Administrator. This is a person responsible for maintaining the database server and the environment it is installed in. This person is also responsible to ensure data fetch for the application and all related aspects is optimal and does not lag.

Also known as DN. The destination point number that can be reached by dialing. Dialed numbers often are assigned to agent phones and sometimes are referred to as extension numbers.

Also known as DNIS. This is a feature that identifies the telephone number that the caller dialed to reach the contact center.

This is also known as a DN (as is the abbreviation for Dialed Number). A Directory Number is the telephone number associated with a telephone line.

Also known as Outcomes. This is the result of a call, usually a configured code, that agents select after a call has ended. These dispositions are used by the contact center software to decide the contact lifecycle - to close or reschedule the contact, to mark it as Do Not Call, etc.

Also known as Dialed Number. The destination point number that can be reached by dialing. Dialed numbers often are assigned to agent phones and sometimes are referred to as extension numbers.

Also known as Dialed Number Identification System. This is a feature that identifies the telephone number that the caller dialed to reach the contact center.

Document360 is a cloud-based help desk solution that enables users in businesses across various industries to create, collaborate and publish self-service knowledge bases for their products. Features include content management, guided problem solving, discussion boards, product cataloging, and more.

Also known as Daylight Saving Time. This is the convention of advancing clocks so that daytimes (or work hours) have more daylight and nights/mornings have less. Usually, clocks are advanced an hour at the onset of spring and set back at the onset of autumn. Though the DST changes vary locally, many geographies implement the DST change in the last week(s) of March and October.

Also known as Dual-Tone Multi Frequency. This is a system that sends pairs of audio frequencies to represent digits on a telephone keypad.

Also known as DTMF. This is a system that sends pairs of audio frequencies to represent digits on a telephone keypad.

The number of retries that the contact center has made to send campaign emails to a contact.

Also known as FTP. A protocol for exchanging files over the internet.

Also known as Fully Qualified Domian Name. This is the complete domain name for a specific computer, or host, on the Internet. It specifies all domains - right from the top- to the root-level domain.

Also known as File Transfer Protocol. A protocol for exchanging files over the internet.

Also known as FQDN. This is the complete domain name for a specific computer, or host, on the Internet. It specifies all domains - right from the top- to the root-level domain.

The maximum number of retries that can be made for dialing each contact in a campaign. The contacts are not dialed once the global retries are exhausted.

A glossary is a collection of words pertaining to a specific topic. In your articles or dissertation, it’s a list of all terms you used that may not immediately be obvious to your reader. Your glossary only needs to include terms that your reader may not be familiar with, and it’s intended to enhance their understanding of your work. Glossaries are not mandatory, but if you use a lot of technical or field-specific terms, it may improve readability to add one.

A Group is a mapping for a collection of agents. The Group has a 1:1 integration with the campaign of the partner dialer platform or with the Queue of the partner ACD platform.

See Queue also.

Also known as High Availability. This is the use of redundant infrastructure like hardware, telephone lines, etc. that minimize or eliminate interruptions to contact center business due to failure. The business (application) switches from one set (sometimes known as Side A) to another (sometimes known as Side B) and continues operations.

The total amount of time an agent spends handling calls. This includes actual talk time, hold time, and after-call work time.

The number of calls received and handled by agents or the IVR. These numbers do not include abandoned calls or dropped calls.

The duration that an agent spends on an interaction. This is the end-to-time on a call that includes talk time, hold time, and after-call work (ACW) time.

Also known as HA. This is the use of redundant infrastructure like hardware, telephone lines, etc. that minimize or eliminate interruptions to contact center business due to failure. The business (application) switches from one set (sometimes known as Side A) to another (sometimes known as Side B) and continues operations.

This is generally data from the past. Data that is not dynamic or current can be classified as Historic Data. For most contact center purposes, data up to the previous day is historic data. Users can analyze historic data for various trends and contact-center performance.

Historical Reports are reports that contain Historical Data - data that is not dynamic or current. These reports are generated by dialers, call recording systems, contact-center applications, etc. 

This is an agent state that indicates the agent is currently busy handling a call. In some ACDs, this is also termed as Busy.

A call from outside the organization, usually from a customer. The call has reached the contact center and is being handled as per the listed protocols for inbound calls. In some reports, the Call Direction mentions such calls as Inbound Calls.

Interaction is exchange of information between two (or multiple) entities. Typically, one of these entities is a contact center agent. Interactions can be voice interactions (telephone calls), email exchanges, instant messaging (chat) interactions, etc.

Also known as IVR. A system that comprises and hardware and software. The application collects responses from users' (customers) touch-tone telephone and stores such data. Recorded human voice is used for prompts to the users while requesting information.

Also known as Interactive Voice Response. A system that comprises and hardware and software. The application collects responses from users' (customers) touch-tone telephone and stores such data. Recorded human voice is used for prompts to the users while requesting information.

A knowledge base is a self-serve online library of information about a product, service, department, or topic. The data in your knowledge base can come from anywhere. Typically, contributors who are well versed in the relevant subjects add to and expand the knowledge base. The content can range from the ins and outs of your HR or legal department to an explanation of how a product works. 

A legal agreement, typically for a software application, where the owner or a representative grants permission and access to the buyer to use the application. This agreement is called the License, and can be granted for parts of the application or can encompass the entire application. 

A file that stipulates the specific features of a software application (if not licensed for the complete application) that a licensee (customer) can use. This file also contains a duration up to which a license is valid.

A record of activities that a user has performed on some hardware or software. 

A file containing the logs. The record of activities performed by a user (known as a log) is written to a file with various details like a code, date and time stamp, and a brief summary of error, if any. This file can be use for troubleshooting purposes.

The is the state of a logged in agent right after logging out. This state and the associated time is used for reporting purposes and to measure performance metrics in real time.

This is a category of software product that enables two or more different applications to be in communication with each other.

A process by which a software application user acquires and instals upgrades or new releases of these solutions. This includes installation of the new release, run a series of programs/scripts to make the data compatible between the old and the new releases, and ensure that the new release is in working order.

This is the maximum number of retries that can be made, before moving to the next mode. However, if the outcome retry limit is reached earlier, the dialing is performed to the next available mode. If a second mode is not available, the only available mode is dialed out till the Daily and/or Global retry limit is reached.

A software application that can host multiple users/customers who are called tenants. Each tenant is configured separately and cannot access other tenants' features, data, etc. 

Nailed Call refers to a call that remains connected (or "nailed") to a specific agent without being terminated or released. This enables the agent to stay connected to the contact center to receive customer calls without having to reconnect to the contact center infrastructure.

This is an agent state. The agent is logged-in, but cannot receive calls. The agent can be in this state for other reasons also, as configured by an administrator.

A call that originates from a contact center DN or a contact center IVR system and is dialed to an external entity.

This is the maximum number of retries that can be made when a specific outcome is set, before moving to the next mode. However, if the mode retry limit is reached earlier, the dialing is performed to the next available mode. If a second mode is not available, the only available mode is dialed out till the Daily and/or Global retry limit is reached.

Also known as Dispositions. This is the result of a call, usually a configured code, that agents select after a call has ended. These outcomes are used by the contact center software to decide the contact lifecycle - to close or reschedule the contact, to mark it as Do Not Call, etc.

The pacing mode in which a call is dialed out. There are three pacing modes:

1. Preview
2. Predictive
3. Progressive

A measure, in real time, of various contact center indicators like average handle time, speed of answer, after-call work time, service level, etc. at the agent, skill/queue, and contact levels.

• Before Reschedule, to change various parameters that influence the reschedule logic through custom logic.
• After Reschedule, to use the reschedule information to further change the strategy and update external platforms.
• Both to accomplish tasks before and after.

A dialing method that dials out contacts based on certain algorithms like available agents, number of contacts to dial per agent, etc. These calls, when answered, are patched to agents for an interaction.

The Preview method of dialing offers the contact details to the agent for preview. The agent can then accept, skip, or reject a contact. The call is dialed if the agent accepts a contact.

The Progressive method of dialing automatically dials a number only after an agent has completed the current call. The dialing is at one number per available agent; it connects the call only if there is a human voice at the other end.

The periodic activity that purges the various database tables and moves the purged records to an archived location. This location can be a local disk, a shared drive, or any cloud location. This activity helps optimal performance of the application.

A Queue is a mapping for a collection of agents. The Group has a 1:1 integration with the with Queue of the partner ACD platform or the campaign of the partner dialer platform.

See Group also.

The state where an agent is logged-in and in a position to receive calls from the dialer.

Also see Real-time Reports. These are reports where the data is updated on a live or near-live basis. This presents a picture of the contact center performance to the stakeholders like agents / supervisors / administrators on a real-time basis.

Also see Real Time Reports. Real-time reports are report where the data is updated on a live or near-live basis. This presents a picture of the contact center performance to the stakeholders like agents / supervisors / administrators on a real-time basis. 

This is entered by an agent to explain the agent state. The agent may be in a state named Break - this Reason Code (configured by an administrator and available for the agent to select) informs the reason for the break - could be a tea/coffee break, lunch break, etc.

The activity of deciding a fresh dialing time for a contact that has been dialed. This dialing time depends on the rescheduling algorithm set by the contact center administrators and is usually dependent on the telephony outcomes (like No Answer, Busy, etc.) and/or business outcomes set by an agent.

The number of days' data to be retained in the database when the application performs the purge and archive activity. The data for this retention period is retained in the database; the older data is archived to a configured location (typically a shared drive, an Amazon S3 bucket, or a Google Cloud location).

The role assigned to an user in a contact center. Typically, roles can be agent, supervisor, or administrator. 

The activity, in a contact center, that determines where an interaction in the queue goes to - which agent in which skill / queue has to handle the interaction.

This is the information that is automatically displayed (screen population) on the desktop when an agent answers a call. This information is pulled from the database and populated to help the agent with relevant information when handling the call.

This is a metric that measures contact-center performance on certain parameters, For example, a specific percentage of calls must be answered in x seconds.

Also known as SLA. This is a contract that the contact center (service provider) and the user enter into. This contract sets out various performance standards that the former has to meet.

A Simple Contact Strategy allows you to configure modes to be tried one at a time in a sequential order based on the weightage. The cycle is repeated till the configured number of cycles is completed.

This is a protocol for sending email messages between servers.

This is agent capability. For example, in a contact center, there may be multiple language-based skills - agents proficient in English, Spanish, German, etc This is a language skill. Another example could be agents proficient in handling queries related credit cards, loans, mortgages, etc. This is a business skill. Agents can also be grouped together based on skill(s).

This is the call routing method followed when calls have to be routed to agent having specific skills. For example, a call may be routed to an agent having proficiency in English, or may be routed to an agent having adequate knowledge about legal aspects of a mortgage. It could also be routed to an agent mapped to both these skills.

Also known as Service-Level Agreement. This is a contract that the contact center (service provider) and the user enter into. This contract sets out various performance standards that the former has to meet.

The number of retries that the contact center has made to send campaign SMS messages to a contact.

An executive in a contact center who oversees in the management of agents, assignment of teams, etc. A supervisor can barge in to any call that an agent is on, help the agent in a consult call, and perform general monitoring of mapped agents.

The amount of time that an agent is on a call talking to a customer.

A grouping of agents based on a specific parameter. These can be business-, schedule-, or skill-defined parameters.

A tenant is a business entity that occupies a part or all of a contact center. A large contact center may have multiple tenants with different businesses, differing requirements for agents and other contact-center resources. A single, large business entity can also take multiple tenancies in a contact center for different lines of business.

Tethered Connection refers to a setup where an agent's device (like a computer or phone) is directly linked or "tethered" to a specific contact center instance, ensuring a dedicated connection between the agent and the contact center.

Also known as TTS. This is the feature where textual information is converted to a synthetic voice output. After converting, it reads the text to a caller. It can be configured to convert text and read out under various scenarios in a contact center - like when a customer is waiting in a queue, when responding to a customer's answering machine, etc.

This is the total number of calls that have been abandoned in the queue. This reporting information can be for the day or for any specific reporting period.

The total number of calls that are successfuly connected to an agent. This reporting information can be for the day or for any specific reporting period. 

Transition Window offers the ability to constrain/limit the number of attempts for each mode across a defined duration threshold. Situations may arise, due to some statutory regulations or requests, when contacts in a campaign be reached out for dialing only a specified number of times during a specified time period - the Transition Window feature addresses these situation.

Also known as URI. This is a string of characters that identify a name or a resource. This identification helps users to interact, over the internet, with such resources, as per laid down protocols.

Also known as URL. This is the global address of any resource on the internet. This address contains various parts like the domain and the IP address, including the location.

Also known as Uniform Resource Identifier. This is a string of characters that identify a name or a resource. This identification helps users to interact, over the internet, with such resources, as per laid down protocols.

Also known as Uniform Resource Locator. This is the global address of any resource on the internet. This address contains various parts like the domain and the IP address, including the location.

Also known as Coordinated Universal Time. This is the standard time used internationally and is based on the 0 degrees longitude that runs through Greenwich, England. This was formerly known as Greenwich Mean Time. Local times across the world are expressed as an offset from this time.

This is a part of high-availability architecture where a backup server is initialized and ready. This backup takes over all the operations automatically when primary server or any component is down. The break in operations is kept to the minimum, if not totally eliminated.

A warm transfer happens when an agent transfers a call to another agent or a supervisor after a brief about the call/customer and an acknowledgement, so that the new handler of the call has a context before engaging in an interaction. 

This contracts with Blind Transfer or Cold Transfer when an agent transfers the call to another agent/supervisor and hangs up.

This is a portion of an application's user interface that provides information / data relevant to a specific functionality.

This is the maximum number of retries that can be made in a calling window. 

Also see Transition Window.

A component of the Windows operating system that is used to build, deploy, and run XML Web Services and Microsoft .NET–connected applications.