Creating Predicted Outbound Call Tasks

Prerequisites

• The platform role of a user account is agent.
• To create an outbound call task, you have completed the operations in Preparations for Creating Outbound Call Tasks.
• At least one voice skill queue has been configured by referring to Maintaining Tenant Space Skill Queues. The skill queue has been associated with the agent who needs to make an outbound call. For details about the association method, see Associating an Allocated Agent ID with a Business Account and Skill Queue.
• If the tenant space is in trial commercial use, you have contacted O&M personnel to add the numbers used for making outbound calls to the tenant space trustlist.
• To send SMS notifications for failed outbound calls, you have configured an internal SMS template on the Configuration Center > Workbench Configuration > Notification Template page. For details about how to configure an SMS notification template, see Configuring Notification Templates as an Administrator.
• To configure a callback URL, an application has been submitted to the system administrator and approved to add the callback URL to the address trustlist.

Context

A predicted outbound call task depends on algorithms. The system provides the following algorithms for a call center to automatically calculate the number of calls to be assigned to each agent:

• Algorithm for Empirical Prediction: monitors and collects statistics on parameters such as the off-hook rate, average call duration, and number of queuing calls in real time to control the outbound call speed to indirectly reduce queuing calls. In this way, the agent usage is maximized under acceptable call loss conditions.

  This algorithm applies to the scenarios with more than 15 agents, a relatively stable call process, and all factors following the normal distribution, that is, objective factors such as the off-hook rate, call duration, number of agents in working state, wrap-up state duration, and queuing duration do not change dramatically and can be collected.

• Algorithm for Agent Usage: dynamically adjusts the number of calls assigned to each agent by controlling the agent usage and call loss rate.
• Algorithm for Outbound Call Connection Rate: dynamically adjusts the number of calls assigned to each agent by controlling the call loss rate, customer waiting time, and call connection rate.
• Algorithm for Offhook Rate: makes predicted outbound calls based on the current off-hook rate. This algorithm reduces the changes in the number of agents and call duration, and minimizes the call loss caused by the changes.

Procedure

1. Sign in to the AICC as a tenant administrator and choose Outbound Call > Call Mgmt.
2. Click New and choose System Automatic Outbound Call. On the Create System Auto Outbound Call page, set Task Type to Predicted Outbound Call.
   Figure 1 Page for configuring the basic information of a predicted outbound call task
   

3. Configure basic information.
   • Task Name: Enter a customized task name.
   • Organization Unit: The OU selected on the Create page when an outbound call task is created is automatically displayed.
   • Caller Number:
     1. If the tenant parameter Has the tenant enabled inter-organization data isolation enforcement is set to Yes, only the calling numbers of the OU bound to the outbound call task and calling numbers or number groups of Unorganized can be selected.
     2. If the tenant parameter Has the tenant enabled inter-organization data isolation enforcement is set to No, the calling numbers or number groups of all OUs, including Unorganized, can be selected.
     3. A maximum of 100 calling numbers can be added. You can select only one number group and cannot select numbers from the number list at the same time.
     4. Calling numbers can be directly added when the Calling Number Anonymization feature is enabled for the tenant space and the system parameter Allowing Tenants to Maintain Calling Numbers. is set to Yes.
   • Task Start and End Time: Select the task start time and end time.
   • Task Type: Select Predicted Outbound Call. For an outbound call task created using a template, the value of this parameter is the type configured in the template by default and cannot be changed.
     

     1. For a created outbound call task in the draft, suspended, completed, or waiting state, the predicted outbound call type and preempted outbound call type can be changed to each other.
     2. When changing the predicted outbound call to the preempted outbound call, you need to configure Max. Response Duration in the Task Strategy area. When changing the preempted outbound call to the predicted outbound call, you need to configure Algorithm for Predicted Outbound Calls, Max. Response Duration, Max. Average Call Duration, Min. Average Call Duration, and Outbound Call Speed in the Task Strategy area.
   • Skill Queue: Select an existing skill queue. For details about how to configure a skill queue, see Maintaining Tenant Space Skill Queues.
   • Questionnaire: The options are Manual Questionnaire and Manual and IVR Questionnaire. If Manual and IVR Questionnaire is selected, the survey can be used on the outbound call workbench or used together with the Questionnaire diagram element in an IVR flow.
   • Type of the outgoing call failure SMS notification: The options are HUAWEI CLOUD SMS and SMS Gateway SMS.
   • SMS Template for Failed Outbound Call:
     1. External SMS notification template. For details, see Configuring Notification Templates as an Administrator. The recipient of an SMS message for a failed outbound call is the customer.
     2. If the tenant parameter Has the tenant enabled inter-organization data isolation enforcement is set to Yes, only the SMS templates for failed outbound calls of the OU bound to the outbound call task and SMS templates for failed outbound calls of Unorganized can be selected.
     3. If the tenant parameter Has the tenant enabled inter-organization data isolation enforcement is set to No, the SMS templates for failed outbound calls of all OUs, including Unorganized, can be selected.
   • Priority: Select a value from 1 to 5. A smaller value indicates a higher priority. If tasks are started at the same time, the task with a higher priority is called preferentially. If a task with a higher priority is not complete, the task with a lower priority is not executed.
   • Play Voice: When an agent makes an outbound call, a recording can be played to the customer. Voice resources are prompt tones with Status being Approved on the Configuration Center > Resource Management > Audio and Video page. A maximum of 10 voice resources can be selected.
     Figure 2 Playing a recording
     
     1. If the tenant parameter Has the tenant enabled inter-organization data isolation enforcement is set to Yes, only the prompt tones of the OU bound to the outbound call task and prompt tones of Unorganized can be selected.
     2. If the tenant parameter Has the tenant enabled inter-organization data isolation enforcement is set to No, the prompt tones of all OUs, including Unorganized, can be selected.
   • Associate Business Result: After an outbound call task is associated with a business result, only the associated business result and its sub-business results can be selected for outbound calls in the task. If Appointment Pop-up Screen is enabled for the business result, after the business result is selected for an outbound call, the dialog box for creating a reserved outbound call task is displayed. The options are as follows:
     1. If the tenant parameter Has the tenant enabled inter-organization data isolation enforcement is set to Yes, only the business results of the OU bound to the outbound call task and business results of Unorganized can be selected.
     2. If the tenant parameter Has the tenant enabled inter-organization data isolation enforcement is set to No, the business results of all OUs, including Unorganized, can be selected.
   • Callback Address: Enter the URL for callback upon call connection or release on the customer side. An example is https://support.huaweicloud.com/productdesc-cec/cec_01_0001.html.
     

     The callback URL is a third-party URL and can carry data. The carried parameters include dataId, taskId, sessionId, calledNo, beginTime, vdnId, failCode, callId, filePath, and customFiled.

     In the integrated environment, the callback URL can be configured only in the outbound call task.

   • Blocklist Group: If a blocklist group is selected, all numbers in this group are not called within a specified period.
     1. If the tenant parameter Has the tenant enabled inter-organization data isolation enforcement is set to Yes, only the blocklist groups of the OU bound to the outbound call task and blocklist groups of Unorganized can be selected.
     2. If the tenant parameter Has the tenant enabled inter-organization data isolation enforcement is set to No, the blocklist groups of all OUs, including Unorganized, can be selected.
   • Business Result SMS Template Configuration: Associate business results with external notification templates. If the business result selected during an outbound call is associated with a template, notifications are sent to specified recipients based on the template. A maximum of 10 templates can be added.

4. Configure the outbound call duration. The parameters take effect according to the following priority: Allocate time periods by special dates > Special Date > Regular Date Time Period.
   Figure 3 Outbound Call Duration page
   
   1. In Regular Date Time Period(UTC+08:00), set the start time and end time of the working period. Examples are as follows:

      9:00–11:30

      14:00–18:00

   2. In the Special Date area, click Add Special Date to add days such as holidays and weekends as special dates.
      1. If the tenant parameter Has the tenant enabled inter-organization data isolation enforcement is set to Yes, only the special dates of the OU bound to the outbound call task and special dates of Unorganized can be selected.
      2. If the tenant parameter Has the tenant enabled inter-organization data isolation enforcement is set to No, the special dates of all OUs, including Unorganized, can be selected.
   3. In Special Time Period(UTC+08:00), click Add Time Period and set Start Time and End Time to 00:00 and 23:59, respectively.
   4. In Allocate time periods by special dates(UTC+08:00), set a period. If this function is not required, disable it.
      

      If calls do not need to be made on some special dates, for example, weekends, you can set Regular Date Time Period(UTC+08:00) to 00:00 - 23:59, set weekends as special dates, and set Special Time Period(UTC+08:00) to 00:00 - 00:00, as shown in the following figure.

      

5. Configure the task strategy by referring to Table 1, which describes the key parameters for each algorithm.
   

   The following parameter settings must be verified and optimized for multiple times. If you are not sure about the initial settings, retain the recommended settings and adjust them later based on the outbound call effect.

   Figure 4 Task Strategy page
   

   Table 1 Parameters in the Task Strategy area

   Algorithm Type	Parameter	Description
   Algorithm for Empirical Prediction	Outbound Call Speed	Prediction factor of the maximum outbound call speed, which is calculated by the system based on the empirical model. You are advised to set this parameter based on the project type and dialing test result for each average call duration. Set this parameter to 70 for projects whose average call duration is less than 100 seconds, to 40 for projects whose average call duration is between 100 seconds and 140 seconds, and to 20 for projects whose average call duration is between 140 seconds and 180 seconds.
   Algorithm for Agent Usage	Min. Call Loss Rate	The call loss rate is the ratio of calls that are hung up during queuing to the total off-hook calls. Set this parameter to the minimum call loss rate. When the call loss rate calculated by the system is lower than the value of this parameter, the system reduces the calls assigned to the agent to prevent the call loss rate from increasing.
   	Agent Usage	Agent usage threshold. When the agent usage calculated by the system exceeds the value of this parameter, the system reduces the calls assigned to the agent to prevent the call loss rate from increasing.
   	Method for Calculating Agent Usage	Whether the numerator includes the working state duration (that is, the wrap-up state duration).
   Algorithm for Outbound Call Connection Rate	Min. Call Loss Rate	The call loss rate is the ratio of calls that are hung up during queuing to the total off-hook calls. Set this parameter to the minimum call loss rate. When the call loss rate calculated by the system exceeds the value of this parameter, the system reduces the calls assigned to the agent to prevent the call loss rate from increasing.
   	Outbound Call Connection Rate	Ratio of connected calls to the total calls. Set this parameter to the maximum connection rate. When the call connection rate is less than the value of this parameter, the system reduces the calls assigned to the agent.
   	Called Party's Waiting Time	Maximum customer waiting time, in seconds. If the waiting time exceeds the value of this parameter, the system reduces the calls assigned to the agent to prevent customers from waiting for a long time.
   Algorithm for Offhook Rate	Calculation Factor	Off-hook rate calculation factor. If multiple agents meet the routing rules, the system preferentially assigns calls to the agent with a high off-hook rate.

6. Configure the call strategy.
   1. In the Call Strategy area, customize the call strategy for pre-called customer numbers. Set parameters based on Table 2.
      Figure 5 Call Strategy page
      

      Table 2 Parameters in the Call Strategy area

      Parameter	Description
      Call Sequence: Customize the call sequence of pre-called customer numbers.
      No sorting	-
      By Number	-
      By priority	After By priority is selected, you can set the priority when adding outbound call data. The priority ranges from 1 to 5. 1 indicates the highest priority, and 5 indicates the lowest priority. When an outbound call task is executed, the outbound call data is extracted by priority.
      By data attribute	By default, By data attribute is hidden. To display this parameter, contact the tenant administrator to set Switch for filtering outgoing call data attributes and calling by data attribute sequence to Yes on the Configuration Center > System Management > Tenant Parameter page. Click Add, select attributes, and set the sorting type. You can adjust the attribute sequence after adding the attributes. The options are as follows: If the tenant parameter Has the tenant enabled inter-organization data isolation enforcement is set to Yes, only the outbound call data attributes of the OU bound to the outbound call task and outbound call data attributes of Unorganized can be selected. If the tenant parameter Has the tenant enabled inter-organization data isolation enforcement is set to No, the outbound call data attributes of all OUs, including Unorganized, can be selected. If Mandatory is disabled for an outbound call data attribute, the attribute cannot be selected.
      Multi-number customer call rounds: Mode for calling multiple numbers of a customer.
      In sequence	Call multiple numbers of a customer in sequence.
      By number type	You can select Existing number type or New number type. After the configuration, the number with the specified type placed ahead is called first. If the tenant parameter Has the tenant enabled inter-organization data isolation enforcement is set to Yes, the new number type is bound to the OU selected during creation of the outbound call task by default. If the tenant parameter Has the tenant enabled inter-organization data isolation enforcement is set to No, the new number type belongs to Unorganized.
      By sequence number	You can enter the sequence numbers of numbers. After the configuration, the number with a smaller sequence number is called first.

   2. Configure Outbound Call Result Policy, which indicates the processing method when an outbound call is not connected due to an unallocated number, busy line, or other exceptions. Select Global policy or Contact Policy.
      • Global policy
        • Disable Configure Policy Based On Results.

          Set Max. Call Attempt Days, Maximum number of call attempts per day, and Call-Out Interval (s).

          Click and set Add non-retry result code. When the result of an outbound call to a customer matches a result code configured in Add non-retry result code, the system stops retrying calling all other numbers of the customer.

          Figure 6 Disabling Configure Policy Based On Results
          
        • Enable Configure Policy Based On Results.

          In Results processing strategy, click and set Outbound Call Failure Cause, Retry Times and Call-Out Interval (s). Click for multiple times to add multiple policies one by one. Policies with the same values of Outbound Call Failure Cause cannot be added.

          Click and set Add non-retry result code. When the result of an outbound call to a customer matches a result code configured in Add non-retry result code, the system stops retrying calling all other numbers of the customer.

          Figure 7 Enabling Configure Policy Based On Results
          
        

        If the outbound call interval is set to a large value, outbound call operations indicators, such as the call connection rate, may be affected. You are advised to use the default value.

        After the Configure Policy Based On Results switch is turned on, if the external result codes configured for Results processing strategy and Add non-retry result code are the same, the system does not retry.

      • Contact Policy
        • Default number type: Set Whether to configure based on the result to configure the policy.

          If it is set to No, you can set Max. Call Attempt Days and Maximum number of call attempts per day.

          Figure 8 Setting Whether to configure based on the result to No
          

          If it is set to Yes, you can set Outbound Call Failure Cause, Retry Times, and Call-Out Interval (s). Click for multiple times to add multiple policies one by one. Policies with the same values of Outbound Call Failure Cause cannot be added.

          Figure 9 Setting Whether to configure based on the result to Yes
          
        • Added number type: Click to access the Configure Policy Based On Results dialog box. You must set Number Type first regardless of whether Configure Policy Based On Results is enabled, and then set other parameters.

          If Configure Policy Based On Results is disabled, set Number Type to New number type and set Max. Call Attempt Days and Maximum number of call attempts per day.

          Figure 10 Disabling Configure Policy Based On Results
          

          If Configure Policy Based On Results is enabled, set Number Type to New number type, click , and set Outbound Call Failure Cause, Maximum number of call attempts, and Call-Out Interval (s). Click for multiple times to add multiple policies one by one. Policies with the same values of Outbound Call Failure Cause cannot be added.

          Figure 11 Enabling Configure Policy Based On Results
          

7. (Optional) Click Save as Template. In the dialog box that is displayed, enter a template name and click confirm to save the current configuration as an outbound call template.
8. Click Save.
9. Return to the Call Mgmt page, click Contact list in the Operation column corresponding to the new outbound call task, and add outbound call data to the outbound call task. For details, see Configuring Outbound Call Data.
10. Return to the Call Mgmt page and click corresponding to the new outbound call task.

Follow-up Procedure

To modify an outbound call task, click Suspend to suspend it.

After the task is suspended, click Edit to modify the outbound call task. The procedure for changing the calling number is as follows:

1. Click Caller Number. The page for selecting a calling number is displayed. The selected calling number is displayed by default.
   Figure 12 Select Caller Number page
   
2. Click Add and select another calling number. The selected calling number cannot be selected again. The number of new calling numbers cannot exceed the Maximum number of calling numbers configured by an administrator.
   Figure 13 Adding a calling number
   
3. Click OK. Return to the Select Calling Number page and click OK.

To view the task result, you can click a task to access the outbound call task details page and click the outbound call result on the outbound call task details page to view the outbound call result for each customer.

To enable the recording function for intelligent robot outbound call results, choose Configuration Center > Chatbot Management > Flow Configuration > System > System Settings, click the System Settings tab, and set FLOWRECORDFLAG (whether to enable the recording function for intelligent IVR call flows) to Enable. In this way, Play is displayed for intelligent robot outbound call results.

On the task result page, you can perform the following operations:

• Click Details to view all outbound call results of all called numbers under the customer.
• Click Business Result to remark the called outbound numbers.
• Click Export to export the task result.
• Click View Export Result to view the export result. On the displayed page, you can download the result.
  

  The exported data contains personal data. Exercise caution when processing the exported data to prevent personal data leakage and abuse.