Nice article about a base operator on Ramstein AB, Germany. It mentions the USAFE Consolidated Switchboard we installed back in 2007 AND if you look close to her monitor, you'll see our console screen.   Here's the link:  http://www.ramstein.af.mil/news/story.asp?id=123098039

We here at T-Metrics have recently released our new “T-Metrics Emailer” service, which has just been deployed to its first site.

The T-Metrics Emailer is a new product which works in tandem with the TM-2000 IP Platform to provide a more integrated communications solution.

What does that mean?

It means that emails can now be delivered to agents based on their availability and assigned skillset, just as calls are routed.

How it works:

The T-Metrics Emailer service uses POP3 authentication to check select accounts on an email server. As new email messages are received, the T-Metrics Emailer will communicate with the TM-2000 IP Platform to determine which agent is available and has the necessary assigned skills to handle those messages. The messages are then delivered, and displayed on that agent’s workstation. 

So, what good is it?

For agents, it provides a single consolidated point for much of their daily communication. It can sometimes be easy to forget about the emails accumulating in your inbox when call traffic is high. With the T-Metrics Emailer, email messages will be delivered to agents as they become available and ready. 

Supervisors will have an “at-a-glance” view of how many emails have been delivered to each of their agents, allowing them to better determine their team’s productivity and workflow. 

One of our favorite features is the T-Metrics Emailer’s configuration page. This web page is stored on the same T-Metrics provided server as the Emailer service itself, and allows the administrative staff to edit the Emailer’s settings (add new email domains, temporary deactivate email accounts, audit activity, etc.) via web browser. Depending on network settings, the web portal can be accessed from almost anywhere. Even from home.  

JITC Update:

T-Metrics finished its setup testing down at Fort Huachuca, AZ , last week and will begin the Information Assurance testing this week.  

We're very excited to present our newest tool in troubleshooting, the On-Board Diagnostics feature! We're all familiar with the Trouble Report process, where our Support techs will ask for you to click on Help-->Send Trouble Report, and then you'll wait for us to review the files for an answer to your issues. This post will review our newest tool, located under Help-->On-Board Diagnostics.

Troubleshoot Problems

As a response to some of our more frequently experienced issues (and the most time-consuming to troubleshoot), we've developed this built-in tool to help diagnose issues like:

• Log-in Problems - Can't connect to the server? Won't let you log in?
• Supervisor Listen & View - Can't hear the Agent on the phone? Can't view the Agent's screen?
• Call Recordings - No recordings showing up in the Shared drive? No audio/video on the recordings?
• We will also be expanding this feature for other issues in the future!

Agent Call Recordings

This tests all aspects of the Call Recording feature, from the MiniTAP to the permissions. It will show the steps that fail, so we can troubleshoot based on the test results!

Logging into the ACD

If you can't log in to the Agent Module, this will show where the breakdown is in the log-in process. We'll work to troubleshoot based on this test.

Supervisor Listen & View

If you're a Supervisor, and you can't listen to an Agent's calls or View their screen (if you have Video TAPs) then this tool will show us the breakdown of the system so we can troubleshoot more easily. This tool will only work if the Agent is on the phone while you are running it--and it will let you know if they are not on a call. This screenshot shows some common failures. You can also click Details for more...details...about the failure.

E-Mail a System Summary

You can also use this feature to e-mail us a system summary. This can be useful if you simply want to send us system info without having to make a Trouble Report. One click, and we'll get a summary of your internal settings/versions so we can troubleshoot more easily. This does not replace the Trouble Report function for History Files, however.

Get Version Information

Last, but not least, we have a powerful tool in the System Version Details. This will be most useful for Admins and Supervisors who want to verify which Agents are (or are not) up to date. This tool will discover the Agent Module version and system details of any Agent Module connected, as long as that version contains this On-Board Diagnostics feature--at least the Feb 2012 release. The system will take about 30 seconds, and then pull up a screen full of info:

Note that the tool will let you know if there are any clients that are not up to date enough to run this feature. While it will not identify those PCs, it will show who DOES have the feature.

Click on Details, and it will show you info on the version and date, as well as the system info from that PC. This should help to quickly identify who's running which version and which computer they're using. Also, very importantly, it can show what ACD permissions they have (Are they a T-Metrics Admin? Can they make changes to skills/log-ins/hours of operation?).

We plan to expand the usefulness of this feature in our future releases, and we always value any customer input. Try out our new feature, and feel free to let us know of anything you'd like to see!

T-Metrics is excited to announce the release of another ACD Agent Module v3.0! This release includes updates to the T-Metrics Emailer E-Mail form, On-Board diagnostics and giving the supervisors the ability to requeue all emails from the ACD Agent Module. The Patch notes from this release are at the bottom of this post.

Email Form Changes:

There have been many changes to the E-Mail form. The E-Mail form now allows for the addition of CC and BCC addresses, and also the ability to save a draft of you message! 

It is also equipped with a new text editor which will allow for richer text editing. You can now also save signatures to use when replying to E-Mails!

T-Metrics ACD Agent Version 12.5.2.0 Patch Notes

• Interface Changes
  • Additions
    • The ACD-Routed e-mail form now allows for adding CC/BCC addresses and sending that information to the server.
    • The ACD-Routed e-mail form is now equipped with a new editor which allows for richer text editing.
    • There is a new form that may appear on load of the Agent Module if there are certain dependencies missing on the PC. The form will allow the user to try to correct installation problems before proceeding.
    • The ACD-Routed e-mail form now allows users to save drafts of partially written e-mails.
    • On-Board Diagnostics now show a progress bar on the test screen.
    • In the Settings --> Unified Communications screen, users can now choose to be notified when ACD-Routed e-mails and chats have gone idle too long.
    • The ACD-Routed e-mail form now allows for the use of signatures created in Outlook and for the creation of new signatures.
    • A new option allows for an audible alert when a log off occurs.
    • The settings form is now more friendly for tabbing through it.
    • There is now a context menu item on the Agents grid that allows for supervisors to requeue all e-mails assigned to an agent.
  • Modifications
    • The skill names in the tooltip of the Agents grid are now alphabetized.
    • The Show Agents With Skills form is now sortable by its various columns.
    • When a threshold has been crossed for being On-Call too long, placing the call on hold no longer turns the color inversion off.
    • The Edit Routing Table form now requires the user to confirm deletions from the table before the change is committed.
    • The Holiday Hours of Operation form no longer requires confirmation to delete a row - this is to compliment other changes concerning deletions not being committed until the user saves or closes the form.
    • The Holiday Hours of Operation form now selects the first cell of newly added rows once they appear on the screen.
    • The form allowing for the retrieval of previous customer callbacks now gives better feedback as to how the process of retrieval is progressing during download.
    • Showing Past Caller ID's now generates a new form which allows for the sorting of records as well as copying them to the clipboard (via Ctrl-C).
    • The Agent Module now re-evaluates whether it should pop the Activity Items form after an outbound call, based on when skill levels are changed.
    • The user's choices for e-mail form size and position are now remembered and there is more flexibility for the modification of the e-mail form's component sizes.
    • The Agents and Skills grids are now both limited to a maximum size of 5,000px X 5,000px. This is to prevent a memory overload issue.
    • The ACD-Routed e-mail form no longer has a reply character minimum.
    • In the Settings --> Data Grids --> Edit Grid Columns screen, hidden fields are now denoted with an asterisk.
    • When an agent is logged out because all of their skills are closed, they are sent a more verbose explanation of the log out.
  • Corrections
    • Opening more than one Version Information screen (On-Board Diagnostics) in the same session will no longer display more than one response from the same agent module.
    • Non-Supervisors can no longer see On-Board Diagnostics tools that are limited to supervisory use.
    • Agents who are currently logged off no longer appear in the Show All Logged In Agents screen.
    • The color inversion and bubble forms for the On-Call and Ringing thresholds have not been functional since October 2011. They are now fixed.
    • When an ACD-Routed e-mail is received by the agent module, the check for the document type (HTML vs. Text) is now more robust.
    • When looking for the MiniTAP sound device, the agent module will now reject the line-in channel in favor of the microphone.
    • The Instant Message selection form no longer erroneously displays Lync agents (if unwanted) when the user opens the form a second time without closing.
    • The Pause Recording button no longer erroneously stays on the screen when a call ends if the user was not available when the call ended.
    • Non-Supervisors who do not have IM-For-All enabled will no longer see all skills unchecked when attempting to Instant Message.
    • When a supervisor clears another agent's status details, the change is now reflected on the agent's screen.
    • Changes made to the recipient list in the ACD-Routed e-mail form are now saved properly.
    • The Activity Items form no longer shows up blank for outbound calls.
    • The Activity Items form once again shows the drop-down menu for selecting a skill for outbound calls.
    • Some problems with the mouse wheel scrolling in the Settings form have been corrected.
    • Fixed a rare problem that was causing the ACD-Routed e-mail form to appear at the back of the window z-order.
    • The Holiday Hours of Operation form now allows users to add new holidays even if all of their skills currently have no holidays set.
• Logical Changes
  • Additions
    • The T-Metrics e-mailer now integrates with Microsoft Outlook for Address Book information.
    • Administrators, by use of the override XML file, may now denote that only certain types of calls be recorded (eg. outbound, inbound non-ACD, inbound ACD).
    • The Agent Module is now compatible with users whose Active Directory username contains an apostrophe.
    • Administrators, by use of the override XML file, may now disallow access to the Connections tab of the settings menu.
  • Modifications
    • The process governing the creation of network connections to servers has been strengthened.
    • A change was made in the way the agent module connects to redundant Event Servers to allow for the introduction of dual-connected Controller Modules.
    • Added a large amount of protection and sophistication when trying to connect to the Microsoft Lync client.
    • Focus is now given to the reply text box instead of the reply button on the ACD-Routed e-mail form, by default.
    • Some sophistication was added to the way the Agent Module handles requests from a PhoneGroups Console in regards to being in "Move Only" mode for recordings.
    • Better strength was built around the process of connecting and staying connected to the Enterprise Chat Server (where applicable).
    • When a supervisor is viewing an agent, special keys are no longer passed through to the agent's PC (like Print Screen).
  • Corrections
    • It is no longer possible to perform a supervisor listen operation on an agent who is not on the phone.
    • When a supervisor establishes a listen operation, the audio stream is now muted when the agent is between phone calls.
    • Made several tweaks to the networking communications infrastructure to ensure greater stability in cases of extreme network congestion and confusion.
    • The Agent Module now clears all previous knowledge of position status thresholds when a new list of thresholds is delivered.
    • Corrected an issue where multiple calls may be found inside one recording if they were delievered consecutively without a break in between. 

The week of April 23 was declared fun week at T-Metrics.

The main attraction was a 2 day cookout.  Burgers and hot dogs were served to order to everyone in the office those days.  MJ was our grill master and can be seen sporting the 2011 T-Metrics World Tour shirt.  This shirt was chosen by T-Metrics' employees and features all new installations during 2011. 

Each day of the week featured a different theme including T-Metrics shirt day, funny shoe day, and Hawaiian shirt day.  For those that remember to participate, it made for a few talking points around the ole water cooler. 

We hope to continue this tradition and hope that next time we aren't grilling in the rain.  If you have any ideas for themes and/or grillin' items, let us know. 

Hi Lynne:

I just got back from the HIMSS conference last week and wanted to send you a quick note of thanks. 

Last week was the third opportunity I’ve had to implement a call center in my career.  Without question, this was the most seamless of any that I have experienced. 

Your team and the T-Metrics folks deserve the same credit as the Tidwell team as it truly took a coordinated effort to pull this off so smoothly.  Quite honestly, even Vic’s senior staff offered unsolicited, to be a reference for T-Metrics.  That’s how impressed they were and I have to tell you that this ‘never happens’.  My technical team can be tough critics, but they were also quite pleased with the process overall. 

We at Tidewell appreciate your support and expertise in bringing us together with T-Metrics, and by demonstrating that Ronco can execute as a true partner in ensuring shared success. 

Look forward to seeing you soon, and realizing similar success on future efforts that we are already discussing.

David Lafferty, CPHIMS, Executive Vice President and CIO
 

T-Metrics is excited to announce our latest release of the ACD Agent Module v3.0! We have added the long-awaited and much-needed On-Board Diagnostics feature--and I'll soon have a whole blog post dedicated to this time-saving feature.

See below for a full list of our changes for this release: