ACD Routing Design¶

Overview¶

This section provides comprehensive documentation for Automatic Call Distribution (ACD) routing design, covering the transition from Avaya ACD to Webex Contact Center's skills-based routing engine.

What is ACD Routing?¶

Automatic Call Distribution (ACD) is the intelligent routing system that distributes incoming contacts to the most appropriate available agents based on predefined rules, agent skills, and business priorities.

Key ACD Components¶

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│              INCOMING CONTACT                       │
└────────────────────┬────────────────────────────────┘
                     │
                     ▼
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│           ENTRY POINT (DNIS/Channel)                │
│  Identifies the contact source and initial routing  │
└────────────────────┬────────────────────────────────┘
                     │
                     ▼
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│             QUEUE SELECTION                         │
│  Directs to appropriate queue based on criteria     │
└────────────────────┬────────────────────────────────┘
                     │
                     ▼
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│           ROUTING ENGINE                            │
│  ┌──────────────────────────────────────────────┐  │
│  │  • Skills matching                           │  │
│  │  • Proficiency scoring                       │  │
│  │  │  • Priority weighting                      │  │
│  │  • Agent availability check                  │  │
│  │  • Load balancing                            │  │
│  └──────────────────────────────────────────────┘  │
└────────────────────┬────────────────────────────────┘
                     │
                     ▼
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│            AGENT SELECTION                          │
│  Best available agent receives contact              │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

Design Goals¶

Primary Objectives¶

Optimal Customer Experience
Minimize wait times
Route to most qualified agent
First call resolution focus
Consistent service quality
Agent Efficiency
Match skills to contact requirements
Balanced workload distribution
Minimize idle time
Support agent development
Business Outcomes
Meet service level targets (80/20)
Maximize revenue opportunities
Reduce operational costs
Enable data-driven decisions

Success Metrics¶

Metric	Current (Avaya)	Target (Webex)
Service Level (80/20)	78%	85%
Average Speed of Answer	45 seconds	30 seconds
Abandonment Rate	8%	< 5%
First Call Resolution	72%	80%
Agent Utilization	75%	82%
Transfer Rate	12%	< 8%

Document Structure¶

Current Avaya ACD ¶

Complete documentation of existing Avaya ACD configuration: - Vector programming and logic - Hunt groups and skills configuration - Agent profiles and skill assignments - Current routing performance metrics - Pain points and limitations

Target Webex ACD ¶

Webex Contact Center routing design: - Queue architecture and hierarchy - Skills framework and proficiency levels - Routing strategy configuration - Performance optimization - Enhanced capabilities

Routing Strategies ¶

Detailed routing algorithms and decision logic: - Skills-based routing - Longest available agent - Priority-based routing - Business hours routing - Overflow and failover strategies

Migration Guide ¶

Step-by-step migration procedures: - Pre-migration assessment - Configuration mapping - Testing and validation - Cutover procedures - Post-migration optimization

ACD Routing Comparison¶

Avaya vs. Webex Capabilities¶

Feature	Avaya (Current)	Webex (Target)	Improvement
Skills per Agent	10 max	Unlimited	✅ More flexibility
Proficiency Levels	1-16	1-10 (configurable)	✅ Simplified
Real-time Updates	Manual reload	Immediate	✅ Faster changes
Reporting	CMS (delayed)	Real-time analytics	✅ Better insights
Multi-channel	Voice only	Voice + Digital	✅ Omnichannel
Agent Desktop	Separate app	Integrated browser	✅ User experience
Routing Flexibility	Vector programming	Visual flow designer	✅ Easier management
Geo-routing	Limited	Global capability	✅ Worldwide support

Key Concepts¶

Skills-Based Routing¶

Definition: Routing contacts to agents based on their specific abilities and expertise levels.

Example Scenario:

Customer Call: Spanish-speaking customer with billing inquiry

Required Skills:
├─ Language: Spanish (minimum level 7)
├─ Department: Billing (minimum level 5)
└─ Channel: Voice (minimum level 5)

Agent Pool:
├─ Agent A: Spanish(9), Billing(8), Voice(10) ← Best match
├─ Agent B: Spanish(7), Billing(9), Voice(8) ← Second best
└─ Agent C: Spanish(10), Sales(9), Voice(10) ← No billing skill

Result: Routed to Agent A (highest combined proficiency)

Queue Priority¶

Definition: The order in which contacts are processed within a queue.

Priority Levels:

Priority 1 (Highest): VIP customers, escalations
Priority 2 (High): Callbacks, aged contacts
Priority 3 (Normal): Standard inbound contacts
Priority 4 (Low): Internal requests, training calls

Service Level Agreement (SLA)¶

Definition: Target percentage of contacts answered within a specified time.

Standard SLA: 80/20 - 80% of contacts answered within 20 seconds - Measured per queue over reporting period

Example Calculation:

Total Calls: 1,000
Answered within 20 seconds: 850
Service Level = (850 / 1,000) × 100 = 85% ✅ Target met

Routing Architecture Layers¶

Layer 1: Entry Points¶

Entry Point Configuration:
├─ Name: Sales_Inbound_TF
├─ DNIS: 1-800-XX5-0100
├─ Channel: Voice
├─ Business Hours: 8 AM - 8 PM ET
└─ Default Destination: Sales_Main_Queue

Layer 2: Queues¶

Queue Hierarchy:
Sales Organization
├─ Sales_Main_Queue (General inquiries)
│   ├─ Sales_New_Business_Queue (New customers)
│   ├─ Sales_Existing_Queue (Account management)
│   └─ Sales_Spanish_Queue (Spanish language)
│
└─ Sales_VIP_Queue (High-value customers)

Layer 3: Routing Policies¶

Routing Policy: Sales_Skills_Routing
├─ Primary: Match required skills with proficiency
├─ Secondary: Longest available agent
├─ Tertiary: Any available agent in queue
└─ Timeout: Overflow after 5 minutes

Layer 4: Agent Assignment¶

Agent Selection Criteria:
1. Agent state = Available
2. Agent has required skills at minimum proficiency
3. Agent capacity < maximum concurrent contacts
4. Calculate agent score:
   Score = (Skill1_Proficiency × 0.4) + 
           (Skill2_Proficiency × 0.3) +
           (Idle_Time_Seconds × 0.3)
5. Select agent with highest score

Best Practices¶

Queue Design¶

✅ Do: - Keep queue structure simple (max 3 levels deep) - Use descriptive naming conventions - Document business logic for each queue - Set realistic service level targets - Monitor queue performance daily

❌ Don't: - Create queues for every minor variation - Use cryptic or unclear queue names - Set unrealistic SLA targets (99/10) - Neglect to review queue performance - Create circular routing dependencies

Skills Management¶

✅ Do: - Define clear skill categories (Language, Product, Function) - Use proficiency levels consistently (1=Basic, 10=Expert) - Review and update agent skills quarterly - Validate skills through testing/certification - Document skill definitions

❌ Don't: - Create overlapping or redundant skills - Use proficiency levels inconsistently - Assign skills without validation - Let skills become stale (outdated) - Over-complicate skill requirements

Routing Strategy¶

✅ Do: - Start with simple routing logic - Test routing changes in non-production first - Monitor impact of routing changes - Document routing decisions and rationale - Provide overflow and failover paths

❌ Don't: - Over-engineer routing with complex rules - Make routing changes during peak hours - Ignore routing performance metrics - Create routing loops or dead ends - Forget to account for edge cases

Common Routing Scenarios¶

Scenario 1: Simple Skills Routing¶

Contact Requirements:
├─ Skill: Technical_Support
└─ Minimum Proficiency: 5

Available Agents:
├─ Agent A: Technical_Support(8), Available
├─ Agent B: Technical_Support(6), Available
└─ Agent C: Technical_Support(9), Wrap-up

Selection: Agent C (highest proficiency, but not available)
Result: Route to Agent A (next highest, available)

Scenario 2: Multi-Skill Routing¶

Contact Requirements:
├─ Skill 1: Spanish (minimum 7)
└─ Skill 2: Billing (minimum 5)

Available Agents:
├─ Agent A: Spanish(9), Billing(6) ← Score: 9×0.5 + 6×0.5 = 7.5
├─ Agent B: Spanish(8), Billing(8) ← Score: 8×0.5 + 8×0.5 = 8.0 ✅ Selected
└─ Agent C: Spanish(10), Sales(9) ← Missing required skill (Billing)

Result: Route to Agent B (highest combined score with all required skills)

Scenario 3: Priority-Based Routing¶

Queue State:
├─ VIP Contact (Priority 1): Waiting 30 seconds
├─ Standard Contact (Priority 3): Waiting 2 minutes
└─ Internal Call (Priority 4): Waiting 5 minutes

Agent Available: 1 agent becomes available

Selection: VIP Contact (Priority 1) is routed first, regardless of wait time

Scenario 4: Overflow Routing¶

Primary Queue: Sales_Queue
├─ Service Level: 80/20 (target)
├─ Current State: 75/20 (below target)
├─ Queue Depth: 25 contacts waiting
└─ Average Wait: 4 minutes

Overflow Condition: Average wait > 3 minutes
Overflow Action: Route next 5 contacts to → Sales_Overflow_Queue
Overflow Queue: Different agent group with lower skill requirements

Performance Monitoring¶

Key Reports¶

Service Level by Queue
Real-time and historical SL%
Trend analysis
Alert on SL violations
Agent Performance
Contacts handled per agent
Average handle time
Agent utilization percentage
Queue Statistics
Contacts offered vs. handled
Abandonment rate
Average wait time
Routing Efficiency
First contact resolution
Transfer rate
Skill match accuracy

Sample Dashboard¶

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│            ACD ROUTING DASHBOARD                    │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│  Service Level Performance (Today)                  │
│  ┌──────────────────┬─────────┬────────┬─────────┐ │
│  │ Queue            │ Target  │ Actual │ Status  │ │
│  ├──────────────────┼─────────┼────────┼─────────┤ │
│  │ Sales_Main       │  80/20  │  85/20 │ ✅      │ │
│  │ Support_Tech     │  80/20  │  76/20 │ ⚠️      │ │
│  │ Billing          │  80/20  │  89/20 │ ✅      │ │
│  │ VIP_Queue        │  90/15  │  92/15 │ ✅      │ │
│  └──────────────────┴─────────┴────────┴─────────┘ │
│                                                     │
│  Agent Utilization                                  │
│  ├─ Active Contacts: 47 / 100 agents               │
│  ├─ Average Utilization: 78%                        │
│  └─ Agents in Wrap-up: 12                          │
│                                                     │
│  Queue Depth (Real-time)                            │
│  ├─ Sales_Main: 3 waiting (avg wait: 25s)         │
│  ├─ Support_Tech: 8 waiting (avg wait: 1m 45s) ⚠️  │
│  └─ Billing: 1 waiting (avg wait: 10s)            │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

Next Steps¶

Review Current State: Current Avaya ACD
Understand Target Design: Target Webex ACD
Study Routing Logic: Routing Strategies
Plan Migration: Migration Guide