Patent Application
20220365861
This specification relates to tracking events, such as work actions performed by customer service agent on customer-initiated cases.
Computer users often multitask, doing multiple things at once. A computer user may be a customer support agent who may split their time across multiple cases, such as to provide support to customers phoning in or using a chat box to obtain support. The customer support representative may spend different portions of time helping each of the customers. The customer support representative may also perform other actions on the computer that are not related to any of the customers cases.
This specification describes technologies for discretizing time spent by users (e.g., customer service agents servicing customers) doing specific tasks on computers. These technologies generally involve associating identifiers from different systems while users spend time on the different systems on a specific task, such as handling a case for this pages or applications on the different systems require work.
In general, one innovative aspect of the subject matter described in this specification can be embodied in methods that include the following actions. A sequence of events are tracked which occur in multiple software services being accessed by a user. The sequence of events includes one or more events from each case of a group of cases handled by the user. Focus events are determined which identify which case in the group of cases is being worked on by the user at various points in time. The determination is made using information extracted from one or more interactions of the user with at least one service, where each focus event has a focus event duration. Each focus event of the focus events is assigned to a particular case using the extracted information. A total period of time spent by the user on the particular case is determined based on a sum of focus event durations for the focus events assigned to the particular case. Work actions of the multiple users are automatically ranked using one or both of review criteria and the total period of time spent on particular cases by each user of multiple users. The automatically ranking includes receiving an indication of reviewer intent for automatically ranking the work actions, generating a set of work actions based on at least one user metric derived from the reviewer intent, and prioritizing the set of work actions based on at least one specified criteria. Other embodiments of this aspect include corresponding computer systems, apparatus, and computer programs recorded on one or more computer storage devices, each configured to perform the actions of the methods. For a system of one or more computers to be configured to perform particular operations or actions means that the system has installed on it software, firmware, hardware, or a combination of them that in operation cause the system to perform the operations or actions. For one or more computer programs to be configured to perform particular operations or actions means that the one or more programs include instructions that, when executed by data processing apparatus, cause the apparatus to perform the operations or actions.
The previously described implementation is implementable using a computer-implemented method; a non-transitory, computer-readable medium storing computer-readable instructions to perform the computer-implemented method; and a computer-implemented system including a computer memory interoperably coupled with a hardware processor configured to perform the computer-implemented method/the instructions stored on the non-transitory, computer-readable medium.
The subject matter described in this specification can be implemented in particular embodiments so as to realize one or more of the following advantages. The techniques of the present disclosure can be used to solve the technical problem of organizing information resources, including determining what actions have been performed by different customer service agents on disparate systems and taking actions (e.g., allocating computing resources) based on determining those actions. Determining the actions can occur in near real time as data about focus events is collected and analyzed, e.g., events a particular customer service agent is focused on for a minimum period of time when completing a specific task. The information that is collected and analyzed can span hundreds or thousands of users, hundreds or thousands of cases (worked on by various customer service agents, for example), and the work (for example, for handled cases) can occur on multiple systems that are not specifically connected by identifiers or a prescribed workflow. Information about work performed by a customer service agent on different systems and having different identifiers can be correlated without a customer service agent needing to explicitly identify what they are working. The information that is derived can attain a scale and speed such as to track thousands of cases per organization, and billions of focus events, with many millions of focus events being tracked and generated daily. The techniques of the present disclosure provide an advantage over slower or less scalable conventional systems. Some analyses are possible within less than one minute of an operator's actions. Some analyses are possible within 15 minutes. Some more intricate analyses can be available in less than 6 hours. Information from multiple operators in different geographical locations can be analyzed simultaneously and married together for the purpose of some of the present disclosure's functions. This would not be possible using manual tabulation. The techniques enable batch processing of enormous amounts of data which can be far more efficient (from a technical, energetic, and temporal perspectives), rather than forcing operators and consumers to process subsets of data over much larger spans of time and using redundant means. Human computer interactions can be improved by providing guidance to humans to improve efficient and effective use of the computer using methods, processes, and workflows that have proven (through data analysis) not to be intuitive to the operator without such guidance. In a first example, processing massive amounts of data can be inherently challenging. One set of solutions implementable from the present disclosure is to assign data to various buckets of urgency and importance, then establish processing mechanisms that facilitate breaking down large data sets, while maintaining consistent and technically efficient processing of that data on timescales that are appropriate for the varying levels of analytics sophistication. In a first example, Focus Events are more urgent and important than some sort of full funnel process analysis, so Focus Events are produced and used in the present disclosure at a more rapid rate than the latter, but are also more limited in business utility scope than the latter. This is technically desirable because an individual (e.g., an agent) currently in action needs more singular guidance faster than a business needs aggregate intelligence to plan for their future. In a second example, collecting and coalescing data from multiple sources in a manner that enables the intent of the present disclosure is challenging. On the collection front, multiple extensions can be built to plug in to various data sources. Then on the storage and analysis front, abstract data models can be built that are capable of properly sequencing, then storing information, across browser (e.g., Chrome) events, and Windows OS Window events in a consistent and analyst friendly format . The past behavior patterns of customer service agents and the usual steps for completing a case can be used to correlate actions taken by a customer service agent on a new case. This information can be used to determine most efficient agents and agents that need attention, and can be used for routing of types of work and for training.
The details of one or more embodiments of the subject matter of this specification are set forth in the accompanying drawings and the description below. Other features, aspects, and advantages of the subject matter will become apparent from the description, the drawings, and the claims.
Like reference numbers and designations in the various drawings indicate like elements.
The following detailed description describes techniques for discretizing time spent by users (e.g., customer service agents) doing specific tasks on computers. These technologies generally involve associating identifiers (IDs) from different systems while users spend time handling a case spanning multiple webpages and/or multiple applications of different systems. Various modifications, alterations, and permutations of the disclosed implementations can be made and will be readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art, and the general principles defined may be applied to other implementations and applications, without departing from the scope of the disclosure. In some instances, details unnecessary to obtain an understanding of the described subject matter may be omitted so as to not obscure one or more described implementations with unnecessary detail and inasmuch as such details are within the skill of one of ordinary skill in the art. The present disclosure is not intended to be limited to the described or illustrated implementations, but to be accorded the widest scope consistent with the described principles and features.
The techniques of the present disclosure can be used to assign each user action to a single “case” that a customer service agent is working on when the customer service agent is working simultaneously on more than one case. For example, the customer service agent can be a customer representative agent that handles Customer Relationship Management (CRM) cases that arrive at a CRM system by phone call, chat session, or online portal. A case can be, for example, an exchange between a customer and the customer service agent for a specific problem, such as my printer does not work and seems to have burned out, my mail application won't start, or application X no longer does Y. In some cases, the terms “user” and “agent” can be used interchangeably throughout the present disclosure.
In some implementations, discretizing time can include setting identifier threshold rules, so as to define finer-grain criteria used to identify events that count as being associated with a case. Rules can also be used to define and access a set of identifiers used in set of systems that are to be tracked. Techniques of the present disclosure can be used to disregard time spent associated with identifiers that are not included in a tracked subset of systems to be tracked. Moreover, techniques of the present disclosure can be used to disregard identifiers corresponding to events that last less than a threshold event duration. Doing so can provide the benefit of avoiding an interruption of a current count of work being discretized, meaning that work being performed by a customer service agent can be broken down into chunks or periods of time and associated with various cases.
Identifiers from multiple systems can be linked by observing an expected behavioral pattern of a user, such as a customer support agent. As an example, the system can determine that customer support agents generally follow a certain workflow or set of potential workflows on a given case. The identifiers used in the different systems that are accessed during the workflow can be linked together even if their linkage was previously unknown. For example, a chat application (or app) for chatting with customers may have a chat ID which is used as the case ID of the case. For a new chat, the customer support agent may use their own internal CRM system to look up the customer. The internal CRM system may have a completely different set of identifiers, different from the chat app. If it is known that the customer support agent is always going to look up the customer in a certain amount of time after getting a new customer chat request, then the identifiers can be automatically associated or linked.
In some implementations, input context intervals (ICIs) can be used to improve the tracking of events in a more efficient way. An ICI is defined as a time interval having beginning and ending timestamps corresponding to a user action having a context (e.g., associated with a specific case, or with a specific webpage). ICIs can also contain information about what the user did while having the noted context (e.g., how many times did the user click their mouse or press the backspace key). ICIs can also contain information about what the user was not doing (e.g., the context for the event was the user was “idle” and performed no actions during the time interval). For example, events can be tracked by recording keystrokes. If the customer support agent is working on multiple cases at the same time, techniques of the present disclosure can be used to determine which case gets precedence. If a customer support agent is switching between systems, as noted above techniques of the present disclosure can link two systems that have their own case IDs but that are linked by the workflow. In order to be more efficient in linking cases and tracking time spent by customer support agents on each case, techniques of the present disclosure can be used to only allow one case to interrupt a second case if the duration of the interrupting event is above a threshold time. The threshold time can be variable by specific situation and the system(s) that are involved. In computer systems that implement the techniques of the present disclosure, computer-implemented methods can be implemented for determining the primary task on which an agent is working when it appears that the agent is working on multiple simultaneous tasks. The computer-implemented methods can use configurable rules.
A browser in which the chat app executes can use an application programming interface (API) to send a data stream to a back end system for interpretation. APIs can be programmed to notice events that occur inside a browser or outside a browser. For example, a browser (e.g., Chrome) plugin can be implemented such that whenever an agent switches windows within a browser and visits a new page, the system records the event (e.g., the event data is sent to the backend system). A similar API can exist in Windows, for example, when an agent switches to a different window, sending event data to a server/backend. For example, the event data can indicate that the agent spent a specified amount of time on website V, or the agent spent a specified amount of time in application window X with page title Y.
In some implementations, input context intervals (ICIs) can be implemented through the use of recording timestamps instead of just recording a time duration. In this way, the timestamps can additionally be used to correct durations corresponding to the start and end times spent on a webpage by a customer support agent. As an example, the timestamps can be fitted to key strokes that occur when a customer support agent is on a particular web page.
While an agent is using the customer relationship systems 104, a data stream 112 is sent to the workforce analytics manager 102 for interpretation. The data stream 112 can include discretized time data captured by browsers using APIs to send the data stream to a back end for analysis. The workforce analytics manager 102 can store the received data stream 112 as analytics data 116. The workforce analytics manager 102 can use the analytics data 116 to generate reports. Reports can contain information described with reference to
Examples of reports that can be produced using discretized time data can include focus events. Focus events can be used, for example, to assign each action performed by an agent to a single “case.” For example, focus events can be allocated to a particular customer service agent is focused on for a minimum period of time when completing a specific task. An action that is assigned to a case can be disambiguated from actions performed on other cases. Discretizing the time and assigning events to specific cases can be based on cross-platform tagging for each active session. Automatic matching can occur, for example, when an agent opens a specific document within a specific period of time after opening a case. The automatic matching can use agent behavior pattern recognition that incorporates logic for timeouts, accesses to specific pages and documents, and automatic linking of identifiers from disparate systems. In some implementations, a windows plugin can be used to send a timestamped indication to an API of a backend system that a window was opened by Agent A. Separately, the case management system can send a time-stamped indication to the same backend system that a case was opened by Agent A. A system on the backend can analyze the timestamped events to perform automatic matching.
The workforce analytics system 100 can perform tracking in the context of multiple workflows and multiple customers. For example, a customer service agent may have a workflow to provide a customer refund that requires the customer service agent to access a number of different systems. Based on a list or pattern of the different systems necessary for a particular type of task, workforce analytics system 100 can insure that the customer service agent follows a proper procedure while collecting metadata from each system that the customer service agent accesses and linking the metadata together.
A customer service agent may be handling multiple, simultaneously customer service cases (for example, chats) at once. Even though the time is overlapping for each of the associated customers, the workforce analytics system 100 can determine how much of their time is actually spent on each customer. The time that is tracked includes not only how much time the customer service agent is chatting with that customer, but how much time the customer service agent is spending working on that customer versus working on actions associated with another customer. The workforce analytics system 100 can use clustering algorithms and other techniques to identify that an agent is working on the same case across different systems. The clustering can occur, for example, using text copied from one box into another and based on patterns of access of different systems when handling a case. For instance, some implementations of the workforce analytics system can use K-Means clustering (with each unique case ID as a group node) to associate resources based on forward-looking temporal distance. Some more advanced implementations of the workforce analytics system can use Gaussian or Agglomerative clustering to identify and bucket unknown categories of work to improve the precision and scope of the system's review recommendations.
Working areas 206 in customer screens 202 and other pages 204 can include several pages 208a-208d (or specific screens), accessible through browsers, for example, each with corresponding identifiers 210a-210d. Other resources accessed by the customer service agent can include documents such as word documents and spreadsheets for presenting and recording information associated with a case. The identifiers 210a-210d may be completely different across the systems associated with the pages 208a-208d. However, the workforce analytics system 100 can use the analytics data 116 to associate an identifier with work done on various uncoordinated systems, which in turn can link together time spent on those different systems for the same case. The various uncoordinated systems can provide multiple software services such as web pages, documents, spreadsheets, workflows, and conversations on communication devices. The multiple software services include at least a software service of a first type and a software service of a second type, where the software service of the first type and the software service of the second type are uncoordinated software services lacking inter-service communication and a common identification labelling system.
During the time that the customer service agent, for example, is using the customer screen 202, the workforce analytics system 100 can track various user activities. The activities can include actions by the agent on various screens. In addition, the activities that are tracked can include a lack of activity (e.g., periods of time that the agent is apparently not working) and externally merged data streams (e.g., through POSTing events into the workflow analytics data stream using an API) which, along with the agent activities listed, is linked to the same case.
In some implementations, the following steps can be used for assigning an event to a case. First, the system determines a location of a case ID or other identifier. For example, the identifier may only be seen on webpages matching specific Uniform Resource Locator (URL) patterns or using specific desktop apps. Such identifiers can be extracted from the URL, from a page/app title, or from a specific region in the HTML, hierarchy of the webpage.
Each website or desktop app where an ID can be extracted is known as a service. By associating observed identifiers together with multiple services, events from multiple services can be associated together under a single case ID. The case ID can originate from whichever service the system determines to be the primary service.
To associate a first identifier with a second identifier, a sequence of events can be defined that represents the observation of identifiers in a particular order, within a bounded time-frame, such as handling a case over a few minutes or a few hours. The system can use this defined sequence of events to link events and their respective identifiers. Such a defined sequence can be a sequence of pages, for example, that are always, or nearly always, visited, in order and in a time pattern, when a new case is originated and handled by a customer service agent. Whenever a linked identifier is determined, that event and any subsequent events are associated with the case as identified by the identifier from the primary service.
In a working example, consider a customer service agent that engages in multiple simultaneous chats and uses a separate CRM service to look up customers and make changes to their accounts. Since the customer service agent switches between the chat windows and the CRM service, there is a need to know, specifically, how much time is spent on each customer and case. The following sequence of events can be defined.
First, the customer service agent receives a new chat box, for example, entitled “Chat 123” on a website that is considered as the primary service. The new Chat ID 123 is created, and the Case ID is marked with the Chat ID. Second, within a threshold time period (e.g., 60 seconds), the customer service agent searches the CRM system for the customer.
Third, within another 60 seconds, the customer service agent lands on the customer's page within the CRM that matches the URL pattern (for example, crm.site.com/customers/234). The CRM ID 234 is recognized, and the ID 234 is linked with Case ID 123.
Fourth, the customer service agent responds to another customer and enters a chat box, for example, with Chat ID 567. This action and subsequent actions in this chat box are not associated events with Chat 123, but instead are associated with Chat 567.
Fifth, the customer service agent goes back to the CRM system on page crm.site.com/customers/234. This surfaces CRM 234 which is linked with Chat 123, associating that event and subsequent events with case 123 until the next time case 123 is interrupted.
Note that, if the customer service agent performs other events at the same time as the sequence of events described above, such additional events do not affect the system's ability to recognize system operation. This is because certain implementations do not require that the set of events is exclusively limited to the chat and CRM events noted above.
In some implementations, the functionality of the techniques of the present disclosure can be represented in pseudocode. Assume that event stream is a variable that represents a time-ordered list of the following types of events: 1) webpage visits with URLs and page titles, 2) desktop application window events with page titles, and 3) clicks, events, and interactions within a web page on a particular webpage element or region that has its own descriptors. A case ID can be defined as any identifier associated with a service that is the primary tool used for customer communications. In such a case, pseudocode describing operation of the workforce analytics manager of
At a high level, the pseudocode links events (e.g., customer service agent actions) to corresponding cases and captures event information (e.g., clicks, customer service agent inputs) for the events, e.g., by stepping through a sequence of events that have occurred. Once the system has analyzed agent events and assigned those events to various cases, the system can provide a variety of useful functions. For example,
The search analytics page 300 displays data stream information that can be collected to identify how customer service agents are spending their time on particular cases. The information that is displayed can include case type (for example, printer fires) or specific application (for example, ZENDESK).
A video playback area 404 can allow the user of the dashboard 400 to open a video corresponding to focus events for a particular case. The case session video playback area 404 can include a video status bar, a case sessions bar, and a page visits bar. Each bar is displayed relative to time, for example, from opening a case until handling of the case is complete.
A video status bar in the dashboard 400 can allow the user to display a video of what has occurred on overlapping cases. For example, playing the video in high speed can show the overlapping case sessions on which a customer service agent has worked. The video can show, for example, that the customer service agent was working on case X, then looking at a different case, then working on case X again.
The system uses a Document Object Model (DOM) to monitor clicks, scrolls, and actual IDs of objects accessed, down to the class names. The DOM is a cross-platform and language-independent interface that treats an XML or HTML document as a tree structure, where each node is an object representing a part of the document. The DOM represents a document with a logical tree. Each branch of the tree ends in a node, and each node contains objects. DOM methods allow programmatic access to the tree. Nodes can have event handlers attached to them. Once an event is triggered, the event handlers are executed. The DOM information provides tracking of clicks, and the workflow analytics system can attach the tracked clicks and active page events to a corresponding case. This connection of clicks and active page events to a specified case can be used to understand, for each customer service agent, how active they are, and what opportunities exist for improving true handle times for a particular customer service agent.
Data provided in steps 852 and 854 can be fed into a query engine or insights engine 856. The query engine 856 (or insights engine) can select appropriate (or matching) data from various sources, including focus events, case sessions, sequence identifiers, and interaction data. Data can be collected through a single source in the user's machine. The data spans multiple systems in a digital work environment without additional integration, as the data is collected automatically using techniques of the present disclosure. The data is processed into continuous focus event streams and supplemental streams, which are combined to determine case sessions and sequences. The query engine 856 can analyze the data pool according to the user's selected objective and/or use defaults to analyze the information while focusing on optimizing business costs, and minimize loss, and reduce business risk.
Work actions of interest 858 are produced by the query engine 856. The work actions can be sorted and ranked according to magnitudes of realized or expected business impacts. For example, “poor quality outcomes” can be ranked to prioritize and display the worst outcomes first. For example, “projected customer churn” can be ranked to prioritize greatest lifetime value loss potential. Displayed outcomes can be displayed with a score or a metric related to business cost or risk.
As an example, a trigger event can be defined for triggering a new case (or being associated with a current case) when a customer service agent navigates to a web page such as page 208a, having a specific URL. The page 208a can correspond to the first block in
In an example, when a trigger (e.g., a page view) occurs, additional controls that are available from the trigger event definition page 1200 can be used to define certain responses that are to happen (or be triggered, in addition to logging the event). The responses can include, for example, creating an activity (e.g., marking this moment, or timestamp, in time), sending an email, sending a workbook, providing a Chrome notification, or redacting video. Marking the moment can cause the moment to be labeled on the timeline of the video playback area 404, for example.
At 1502, a sequence of events occurring in multiple software services being accessed by a user (e.g., a customer service agent) is tracked. The multiple software services can include web pages, documents, spreadsheets, workflows, and conversations on communication devices. As an example, the multiple software services can include web pages used by the user within a customer relationship management (CRM) system, and the user can be a customer service representative. The sequence of events includes one or more events from each case of a group of cases handled by the user. For example, tracking the sequence of events can include the following. In some implementations, the multiple software services can include at least a software service of a first type and a software service of a second type, where the first type is CRM software and the second type is a search engine. Other native extensions can be used, e.g., a Windows OS native extension which interprets information about a CRM that runs on Windows and reports information to a backend for marriage to other extension data for the same operator and organization. Input mechanisms can also be used directly (e.g., through the browser extension) which allows the operator to manually add an event to the event stream at a given moment. Also, the API which allows for POSTing of data can be leveraged by some customers to extend the software's functionality. Each individual agent is not posting in information, rather the customer might write their own software that leverages the API to automatically POST in information for each of their operators as they perform actions of interest to their employer.
Focus events are recorded that identify page switches by the customer service agent, views of a new resource by the customer service agent, where each focus event identifies the customer service agent, an associated case, an associated session, a time spent on a particular page, whether the particular page was refreshed, keys that were pressed, copy-paste actions that were taken, and mouse scrolls that occurred. Machine heartbeats are recorded at a threshold heartbeat interval (for example, once every 60 seconds). The machine heartbeats can indicate central processing unit (CPU) performance and whether the customer service agent has been active (and to what degree). Page load events are recorded including identifying a time to process a page load request, a time to finish loading the page, a number of tabs that are open, and whether a page load was slow. Document object model (DOM) events are recorded, including clicks by the customer service agent, scrolling by the customer service agent, an identifier of a software service, a class name and a subclass name of the software service, and content of text typed into the software service.
In some implementations, tracking the sequence of events can include setting identifier threshold rules defining a set of identifiers used in a set of systems that are to be tracked, disregarding identifiers not included in a tracked subset of the multiple software services, recording timestamps for start and end times on a particular software service, and disregarding, using the start and end times, identifiers corresponding to events that last less than a threshold event duration.
In some implementations, tracking the sequence of events can include collecting active page events, page level events, machine heartbeats, DOM events, video, audio, times when the customer service agent is speaking versus not speaking, times when the customer service agent is using video, entries written to documents, and entries extracted from the documents. From 1502, method 1500 proceeds to 1504.
At 1504, focus events identifying which case in the group of cases is being worked on by the customer service agent at various points in time are determined using information extracted from one or more interactions of the customer service agent with at least one service, where each focus event includes a focus event duration. From 1504, method 1500 proceeds to 1506.
At 1506, each focus event of the focus events is assigned to a particular case using the extracted information. For example, assigning each focus event of the focus events to a particular case can include linking previously unlinked identifiers from the software services by observing an expected behavioral pattern for using the multiple software services in a particular order pattern to respond to and close the particular case. In some implementations, the expected behavioral pattern can be company-dependent. In some implementations, the expected behavioral pattern can include input context intervals (ICIs) including a timeframe defining an amount of time between a start time of the particular case and a next step performed by the customer service agent on the particular case. From 1506, method 1500 proceeds to 1508.
At 1508, a total period of time spent by the customer service agent on the particular case is determined based on a sum of focus event durations for the focus events assigned to the particular case. As an example, assigning a focus event to the particular case can include using clustering algorithms to identify and cluster a same customer corresponding to the particular case across the multiple software services. After 1508, method 1500 can stop.
At 1552, a sequence of events occurring in multiple software services being accessed by a user are tracked. The sequence of events includes one or more events from each case of a group of cases handled by the user. The multiple software services can include web pages, documents, spreadsheets, workflows, and conversations on communication devices. Tracking also identifies periods of a lack of activity (e.g., periods of time that the agent is apparently not working) and externally merged data streams (e.g., through POSTing events into the software's data stream using an API) which, along with the agent activities listed, is linked to the same case. The multiple software services can include, for example, web pages used by the user within a customer relationship management (CRM) system. The user can be a customer service representative, for example. The multiple software services can include at least a software service of a first type and a software service of a second type. The software service of the first type and the software service of the second type can be uncoordinated software services lacking inter-service communication and a common identification labelling system. As an example, the first type can be CRM software, and the second type can be a search engine.
In some implementations, tracking the sequence of events can include the following steps. Focus events are recorded that identify, for example, page switches by the user and views of a new resource by the user. Each focus event identifies the user, an associated case, an associated session, a time spent on a particular page, whether the particular page was refreshed, keys that were pressed, copy-paste actions that were taken, and mouse scrolls that occurred. Machine heartbeats are recorded at a threshold heartbeat interval indicating central processing unit (CPU) performance and whether the user was active, as described with reference to
In some implementations, tracking the sequence of events can include the following. Identifier threshold rules (for example, configurable by a user) are set that define a set of identifiers used in set of systems that are to be tracked. Identifiers not included in a tracked subset of the multiple software services are disregarded. Timestamps for start and end times on a particular software service are recorded. Using the start and end times, identifiers corresponding to events that last less than a threshold event duration (for example, three seconds) are also disregarded. This can include times that a user simply glances at an unrelated screen or page for a few seconds, for example.
In some implementations, tracking the sequence of events can include the following. Active page events, page level events, machine heartbeats, DOM events, video, audio, times when the user is speaking versus not speaking, times when the user is using video, entries written to documents, and entries extracted from the documents are collected. Periods of user inactivity are identified including periods of user non-interaction with the multiple software services or one or more devices on which the multiple software services are executing. Events provided through external integrations are tracked including application programming interface (API) integration, where the user of the multiple software services POSTs external data into an analyzed data stream that includes the sequence of events being tracked. From 1552, method 1550 proceeds to 1554.
At 1554, focus events are determined using information extracted from one or more interactions of the user with at least one service. The focus events identify which case in the group of cases is being worked on by the user at various points in time, where each focus event has a focus event duration. The focus events can include information described with reference to
At 1556, each focus event of the focus events is assigned to a particular case using the extracted information. For example, assigning each focus event of the focus events to a particular case can include linking previously unlinked identifiers from the software services by observing an expected behavioral pattern for using the multiple software services in a particular order pattern to respond to and close the particular case. The expected behavioral pattern can be company-dependent, for example. In another example, the expected behavioral pattern can include input context intervals (ICIs) including a timeframe defining an amount of time between a start time of the particular case and a next step performed by the user on the particular case. Focus events for the case can be grouped by case number, even though the case number may only be present on an initial screen.
In some implementations, assigning a focus event to a particular case can include using clustering algorithms to identify and cluster a same customer corresponding to the particular case across the multiple software services. For example, based on the focus events data, the system can automatically assign events to a particular case based on clustered information, including for example, customer IDs, entered text, and other information. From 1556, method 1550 proceeds to 1558.
At 1558, a total period of time spent by the user on the particular case is determined based on a sum of focus events durations for the focus events assigned to the particular case. For example, total time spent on a case can be displayed as described with reference to
At 1560, work actions of the multiple users are automatically ranked using one or both of review criteria and the total period of time spent by each user of multiple users on particular cases. The review criteria can include periods of user inactivity and events provided through external integrations, including API integration in which the user POSTs external data into an analyzed data stream that includes the sequence of events being tracked. In some implementations, the automatically ranking includes steps 1562-1566.
At 1562, an indication of reviewer intent is received for automatically ranking the work actions. The reviewer intent can include, for example, reviewing poor quality customer experiences or reviewing work in-progress that is most likely to result in refunds being granted to customers. From 1562, method 1550 proceeds to 1564.
At 1564, a set of work actions is generated based on at least one user metric derived from the reviewer intent. The at least one user metric derived from the reviewer intent can include, for example, improving a quality of the one or more interactions, improving a speed of the one or more interactions, improving a consistency of the one or more interactions, and identifying groups of the one or more interactions that are candidates for process automation, including identifying the groups of the one or more interactions that follow consistent patterns of user interaction. In some implementations, user intent can be defined by user-selectable controls, such as checkboxes indicating “I want to improve quality of interactions,” “I want to improve speed of interactions,” “I want to improve consistency of interactions,” or “I want to review interactions that are consistent and may be candidates for process automation,” for example. The user-selectable controls can also include user-selectable filters by which certain case types, cases during a specific time period, or cased worked on by a particular agent can be selected. From 1564, method 1550 proceeds to 1566.
At 1566, the set of work actions is prioritized based on at least one specified criteria. For example, the system can identify ways to streamline processes by users, such as to automate sets of user actions or to suggest a sequence of steps to a customer support agent to respond to and close a case. After 1566 (and 1560), method 1550 can stop.
In some implementations, method 1550 further includes tracking and analyzing user behaviors. For example, agent behaviors can be tracked within their digital environment, including tracking the sequence of events occurring in multiple software services being accessed by the agent and associated with the reviewer intent. The agent behaviors can be analyzed in relation to historical outcome indicators related to the reviewer intent.
In some implementations, techniques of the present disclosure can be used to learn from consumer (e.g., agent) behavior, including automatically surfacing interactions of interest before the consumer explicitly indicates intent. As an example, a consumer may log in to a service after many prior interactions, and the software can automatically present a queue of actions to review because the time and usage pattern is indicative of intent to review. In some implementations, techniques of the present disclosure can be used to surface “blind spots” that include interactions of value for other consumers, which the current user has not previously used the software for, but which may be of benefit. A message with a clickable link can be presented, such as with a message: “Hint, click on this link to use application XYZ to make your process go faster: XYZ.clickable.link.” In some implementations, techniques of the present disclosure can be used to predict the next best set of actions that may benefit the consumer based on prior review history and recognized improvement trends over time for the reviewer's historic “intent.” This implies that the most beneficial review to the business is now a new bucket of actions the reviewer has not yet explicitly requested to surface. In some implementations, work actions can be ranked and provided for review manually by agents of the software provider at the request of the consumer to the software provider, rather than directly through the software platform. In some implementations, techniques of the present disclosure can be used to automatically rank and surface the next best action for an agent to take during a workflow, not just for reviewers to look at after the fact (e.g., with the agent's employer configuring “intent” to maximize the quality of interactions).
The computer 1602 can serve in a role as a client, a network component, a server, a database, a persistency, or components of a computer system for performing the subject matter described in the present disclosure. The illustrated computer 1602 is communicably coupled with a network 1630. In some implementations, one or more components of the computer 1602 can be configured to operate within different environments, including cloud-computing-based environments, local environments, global environments, and combinations of environments.
At a top level, the computer 1602 is an electronic computing device operable to receive, transmit, process, store, and manage data and information associated with the described subject matter. According to some implementations, the computer 1602 can also include, or be communicably coupled with, an application server, an email server, a web server, a caching server, a streaming data server, or a combination of servers.
The computer 1602 can receive requests over network 1630 from a client application (for example, executing on another computer 1602). The computer 1602 can respond to the received requests by processing the received requests using software applications. Requests can also be sent to the computer 1602 from internal users (for example, from a command console), external (or third) parties, automated applications, entities, individuals, systems, and computers.
Each of the components of the computer 1602 can communicate using a system bus 1603. In some implementations, any or all of the components of the computer 1602, including hardware or software components, can interface with each other or the interface 1604 (or a combination of both) over the system bus 1603. Interfaces can use an application programming interface (API) 1612, a service layer 1613, or a combination of the API 1612 and service layer 1613. The API 1612 can include specifications for routines, data structures, and object classes. The API 1612 can be either computer-language independent or dependent. The API 1612 can refer to a complete interface, a single function, or a set of APIs.
The service layer 1613 can provide software services to the computer 1602 and other components (whether illustrated or not) that are communicably coupled to the computer 1602. The functionality of the computer 1602 can be accessible for all service consumers using this service layer. Software services, such as those provided by the service layer 1613, can provide reusable, defined functionalities through a defined interface. For example, the interface can be software written in JAVA, C++, or a language providing data in extensible markup language (XML) format. While illustrated as an integrated component of the computer 1602, in alternative implementations, the API 1612 or the service layer 1613 can be stand-alone components in relation to other components of the computer 1602 and other components communicably coupled to the computer 1602. Moreover, any or all parts of the API 1612 or the service layer 1613 can be implemented as child or sub-modules of another software module, enterprise application, or hardware module without departing from the scope of the present disclosure.
The computer 1602 includes an interface 1604. Although illustrated as a single interface 1604 in
The computer 1602 includes a processor 1605. Although illustrated as a single processor 1605 in
The computer 1602 also includes a database 1606 that can hold data for the computer 1602 and other components connected to the network 1630 (whether illustrated or not). For example, database 1606 can be an in-memory, conventional, or a database storing data consistent with the present disclosure. In some implementations, database 1606 can be a combination of two or more different database types (for example, hybrid in-memory and conventional databases) according to particular needs, desires, or particular implementations of the computer 1602 and the described functionality. Although illustrated as a single database 1606 in
The computer 1602 also includes a memory 1607 that can hold data for the computer 1602 or a combination of components connected to the network 1630 (whether illustrated or not). Memory 1607 can store any data consistent with the present disclosure. In some implementations, memory 1607 can be a combination of two or more different types of memory (for example, a combination of semiconductor and magnetic storage) according to particular needs, desires, or particular implementations of the computer 1602 and the described functionality. Although illustrated as a single memory 1607 in
The application 1608 can be an algorithmic software engine providing functionality according to particular needs, desires, or particular implementations of the computer 1602 and the described functionality. For example, application 1608 can serve as one or more components, modules, or applications. Further, although illustrated as a single application 1608, the application 1608 can be implemented as multiple applications 1608 on the computer 1602. In addition, although illustrated as internal to the computer 1602, in alternative implementations, the application 1608 can be external to the computer 1602.
The computer 1602 can also include a power supply 1614. The power supply 1614 can include a rechargeable or non-rechargeable battery that can be configured to be either user- or non-user-replaceable. In some implementations, the power supply 1614 can include power-conversion and management circuits, including recharging, standby, and power management functionalities. In some implementations, the power-supply 1614 can include a power plug to allow the computer 1602 to be plugged into a wall socket or a power source to, for example, power the computer 1602 or recharge a rechargeable battery.
There can be any number of computers 1602 associated with, or external to, a computer system containing computer 1602, with each computer 1602 communicating over network 1630. Further, the terms “client,” “user,” and other appropriate terminology can be used interchangeably, as appropriate, without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. Moreover, the present disclosure contemplates that many users can use one computer 1602 and one user can use multiple computers 1602.
Described implementations of the subject matter can include one or more features, alone or in combination.
For example, in a first implementation, a computer-implemented method includes the following. A sequence of events are tracked which occur in multiple software services being accessed by a user. The sequence of events includes one or more events from each case of a group of cases handled by the user. Focus events are determined which identify which case in the group of cases is being worked on by the user at various points in time. The determination is made using information extracted from one or more interactions of the user with at least one service, where each focus event has a focus event duration. Each focus event of the focus events is assigned to a particular case using the extracted information. A total period of time spent by the user on the particular case is determined based on a sum of focus event durations for the focus events assigned to the particular case. Work actions of the multiple users are automatically ranked using one or both of review criteria and the total period of time spent on particular cases by each user of multiple users. The automatically ranking includes receiving an indication of reviewer intent for automatically ranking the work actions, generating a set of work actions based on at least one user metric derived from the reviewer intent, and prioritizing the set of work actions based on at least one specified criteria.
The foregoing and other described implementations can each, optionally, include one or more of the following features:
A first feature, combinable with any of the following features, where tracking the sequence of events includes: recording focus events identifying page switches by the user, views of a new resource by the user, wherein each focus event identifies the user, an associated case, an associated session, a time spent on a particular page, whether the particular page was refreshed, keys that were pressed, copy-paste actions that were taken, and mouse scrolls that occurred; recording machine heartbeats at a threshold heartbeat interval indicating central processing unit (CPU) performance and whether the user was active; recording page load events including identifying a time to process a page load request, a time to finish loading the page, a number of tabs that are open, and whether a page load was slow; and recording document object model (DOM) events including clicks by the user, scrolling by the user, an identifier of a software service, a class name and a subclass name of the software service, and content of text typed into the software service.
A second feature, combinable with any of the previous or following features, where tracking the sequence of events includes: setting identifier threshold rules defining a set of identifiers used in set of systems that are to be tracked; disregarding identifiers not included in a tracked subset of the multiple software services; recording timestamps for start and end times on a particular software service; and disregarding, using the start and end times, identifiers corresponding to events that last less than a threshold event duration.
A third feature, combinable with any of the previous or following features, where assigning each focus event of the focus events to a particular case includes linking previously unlinked identifiers from the software services by observing an expected behavioral pattern for using the multiple software services in a particular order pattern to respond to and close the particular case.
A fourth feature, combinable with any of the previous or following features, where the expected behavioral pattern is company-dependent.
A fifth feature, combinable with any of the previous or following features, where the expected behavioral pattern includes input context intervals (ICIs) including a timeframe defining an amount of time between a start time of the particular case and a next step performed by the user on the particular case.
A sixth feature, combinable with any of the previous or following features, where the multiple software services include web pages, documents, spreadsheets, workflows, and conversations on communication devices.
A seventh feature, combinable with any of the previous or following features, tracking the sequence of events includes: collecting active page events, page level events, machine heartbeats, DOM events, video, audio, times when the user is speaking versus not speaking, times when the user is using video, entries written to documents, and entries extracted from the documents; identifying periods of user inactivity including periods of user non-interaction with the multiple software services or one or more devices on which the multiple software services are executing; and tracking events provided through external integrations including application programming interface (API) integration, wherein the user of the multiple software services POSTs external data into an analyzed data stream that includes the sequence of events being tracked.
An eighth feature, combinable with any of the previous or following features, where assigning a focus event to the particular case includes using clustering algorithms to identify and cluster a same customer corresponding to the particular case across the multiple software services.
A ninth feature, combinable with any of the previous or following features, where the multiple software services include web pages used by the user within a customer relationship management (CRM) system and wherein the user is a customer service representative.
A tenth feature, combinable with any of the previous or following features, where the multiple software services comprise at least a software service of a first type and a software service of a second type, and wherein the software service of the first type and the software service of the second type are uncoordinated software services lacking inter-service communication and a common identification labelling system.
A eleventh feature, combinable with any of the previous or following features, where the first type is CRM software and the second type is a search engine.
A twelfth feature, combinable with any of the previous or following features, where the reviewer intent includes reviewing poor quality customer experiences.
A thirteenth feature, combinable with any of the previous or following features, where the reviewer intent includes reviewing work in-progress that is most likely to result in refunds being granted to customers.
A fourteenth feature, combinable with any of the previous or following features, the method further including: tracking operator behaviors within their digital environment, including tracking the sequence of events occurring in multiple software services being accessed by the user and associated with the reviewer intent; and analyzing the operator behaviors in relation to historical outcome indicators related to the reviewer intent.
A fifteenth feature, combinable with any of the previous or following features, where the at least one user metric derived from the reviewer intent comprises: improving a quality of the one or more interactions; improving a speed of the one or more interactions; improving a consistency of the one or more interactions; and identifying groups of the one or more interactions that are candidates for process automation, including identifying the groups of the one or more interactions that follow consistent patterns of user interaction.
A sixteenth feature, combinable with any of the previous or following features, where the review criteria includes periods of user inactivity and events provided through external integrations, including API integration in which the user POSTs external data into an analyzed data stream that includes the sequence of events being tracked.
In a second implementation, a non-transitory, computer-readable medium stores one or more instructions executable by a computer system to perform operations including the following. A sequence of events are tracked which occur in multiple software services being accessed by a user. The sequence of events includes one or more events from each case of a group of cases handled by the user. Focus events are determined which identify which case in the group of cases is being worked on by the user at various points in time. The determination is made using information extracted from one or more interactions of the user with at least one service, where each focus event has a focus event duration. Each focus event of the focus events is assigned to a particular case using the extracted information. A total period of time spent by the user on the particular case is determined based on a sum of focus event durations for the focus events assigned to the particular case. Work actions of the multiple users are automatically ranked using one or both of review criteria and the total period of time spent on particular cases by each user of multiple users. The automatically ranking includes receiving an indication of reviewer intent for automatically ranking the work actions, generating a set of work actions based on at least one user metric derived from the reviewer intent, and prioritizing the set of work actions based on at least one specified criteria.
The foregoing and other described implementations can each, optionally, include one or more of the following features:
A first feature, combinable with any of the following features, where tracking the sequence of events includes: recording focus events identifying page switches by the user, views of a new resource by the user, wherein each focus event identifies the user, an associated case, an associated session, a time spent on a particular page, whether the particular page was refreshed, keys that were pressed, copy-paste actions that were taken, and mouse scrolls that occurred; recording machine heartbeats at a threshold heartbeat interval indicating central processing unit (CPU) performance and whether the user was active; recording page load events including identifying a time to process a page load request, a time to finish loading the page, a number of tabs that are open, and whether a page load was slow; and recording document object model (DOM) events including clicks by the user, scrolling by the user, an identifier of a software service, a class name and a subclass name of the software service, and content of text typed into the software service.
In a third implementation, a computer-implemented system includes one or more processors and a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium coupled to the one or more processors and storing programming instructions for execution by the one or more processors. The programming instructions instruct the one or more processors to perform operations including the following. A sequence of events are tracked which occur in multiple software services being accessed by a user. The sequence of events includes one or more events from each case of a group of cases handled by the user. Focus events are determined which identify which case in the group of cases is being worked on by the user at various points in time. The determination is made using information extracted from one or more interactions of the user with at least one service, where each focus event has a focus event duration. Each focus event of the focus events is assigned to a particular case using the extracted information. A total period of time spent by the user on the particular case is determined based on a sum of focus event durations for the focus events assigned to the particular case. Work actions of the multiple users are automatically ranked using one or both of review criteria and the total period of time spent on particular cases by each user of multiple users. The automatically ranking includes receiving an indication of reviewer intent for automatically ranking the work actions, generating a set of work actions based on at least one user metric derived from the reviewer intent, and prioritizing the set of work actions based on at least one specified criteria.
The foregoing and other described implementations can each, optionally, include one or more of the following features:
Implementations of the subject matter and the functional operations described in this specification can be implemented in digital electronic circuitry, in tangibly embodied computer software or firmware, in computer hardware, including the structures disclosed in this specification and their structural equivalents, or in combinations of one or more of them. Software implementations of the described subject matter can be implemented as one or more computer programs. Each computer program can include one or more modules of computer program instructions encoded on a tangible, non-transitory, computer-readable computer-storage medium for execution by, or to control the operation of, data processing apparatus. Alternatively, or additionally, the program instructions can be encoded in/on an artificially generated propagated signal. For example, the signal can be a machine-generated electrical, optical, or electromagnetic signal that is generated to encode information for transmission to a suitable receiver apparatus for execution by a data processing apparatus. The computer-storage medium can be a machine-readable storage device, a machine-readable storage substrate, a random or serial access memory device, or a combination of computer-storage mediums.
The terms “data processing apparatus,” “computer,” and “electronic computer device” (or equivalent as understood by one of ordinary skill in the art) refer to data processing hardware. For example, a data processing apparatus can encompass all kinds of apparatuses, devices, and machines for processing data, including by way of example, a programmable processor, a computer, or multiple processors or computers. The apparatus can also include special purpose logic circuitry including, for example, a central processing unit (CPU), a field-programmable gate array (FPGA), or an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC). In some implementations, the data processing apparatus or special purpose logic circuitry (or a combination of the data processing apparatus or special purpose logic circuitry) can be hardware- or software-based (or a combination of both hardware- and software-based). The apparatus can optionally include code that creates an execution environment for computer programs, for example, code that constitutes processor firmware, a protocol stack, a database management system, an operating system, or a combination of execution environments. The present disclosure contemplates the use of data processing apparatuses with or without conventional operating systems, such as LINUX, UNIX, WINDOWS, MAC OS, ANDROID, or IOS.
A computer program, which can also be referred to or described as a program, software, a software application, a module, a software module, a script, or code, can be written in any form of programming language. Programming languages can include, for example, compiled languages, interpreted languages, declarative languages, or procedural languages. Programs can be deployed in any form, including as stand-alone programs, modules, components, subroutines, or units for use in a computing environment. A computer program can, but need not, correspond to a file in a file system. A program can be stored in a portion of a file that holds other programs or data, for example, one or more scripts stored in a markup language document, in a single file dedicated to the program in question, or in multiple coordinated files storing one or more modules, sub-programs, or portions of code. A computer program can be deployed for execution on one computer or on multiple computers that are located, for example, at one site or distributed across multiple sites that are interconnected by a communication network. While portions of the programs illustrated in the various figures may be shown as individual modules that implement the various features and functionality through various objects, methods, or processes, the programs can instead include a number of sub-modules, third-party services, components, and libraries. Conversely, the features and functionality of various components can be combined into single components as appropriate. Thresholds used to make computational determinations can be statically, dynamically, or both statically and dynamically determined.
The methods, processes, or logic flows described in this specification can be performed by one or more programmable computers executing one or more computer programs to perform functions by operating on input data and generating output. The methods, processes, or logic flows can also be performed by, and apparatus can also be implemented as, special purpose logic circuitry, for example, a CPU, an FPGA, or an ASIC.
Computers suitable for the execution of a computer program can be based on one or more of general and special purpose microprocessors and other kinds of CPUs. The elements of a computer are a CPU for performing or executing instructions and one or more memory devices for storing instructions and data. Generally, a CPU can receive instructions and data from (and write data to) a memory.
Graphics processing units (GPUs) can also be used in combination with CPUs. The GPUs can provide specialized processing that occurs in parallel to processing performed by CPUs. The specialized processing can include artificial intelligence (AI) applications and processing, for example. GPUs can be used in GPU clusters or in multi-GPU computing.
A computer can include, or be operatively coupled to, one or more mass storage devices for storing data. In some implementations, a computer can receive data from, and transfer data to, the mass storage devices including, for example, magnetic, magneto-optical disks, or optical disks. Moreover, a computer can be embedded in another device, for example, a mobile telephone, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a mobile audio or video player, a game console, a global positioning system (GPS) receiver, or a portable storage device such as a universal serial bus (USB) flash drive.
Computer-readable media (transitory or non-transitory, as appropriate) suitable for storing computer program instructions and data can include all forms of permanent/non-permanent and volatile/non-volatile memory, media, and memory devices. Computer-readable media can include, for example, semiconductor memory devices such as random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), phase change memory (PRAM), static random access memory (SRAM), dynamic random access memory (DRAM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), and flash memory devices. Computer-readable media can also include, for example, magnetic devices such as tape, cartridges, cassettes, and internal/removable disks. Computer-readable media can also include magneto-optical disks and optical memory devices and technologies including, for example, digital video disc (DVD), CD-ROM, DVD±R, DVD-RAM, DVD-ROM, HD-DVD, and BLU-RAY. The memory can store various objects or data, including caches, classes, frameworks, applications, modules, backup data, jobs, web pages, web page templates, data structures, database tables, repositories, and dynamic information. Types of objects and data stored in memory can include parameters, variables, algorithms, instructions, rules, constraints, and references. Additionally, the memory can include logs, policies, security or access data, and reporting files. The processor and the memory can be supplemented by, or incorporated into, special purpose logic circuitry.
Implementations of the subject matter described in the present disclosure can be implemented on a computer having a display device for providing interaction with a user, including displaying information to (and receiving input from) the user. Types of display devices can include, for example, a cathode ray tube (CRT), a liquid crystal display (LCD), a light-emitting diode (LED), and a plasma monitor. Display devices can include a keyboard and pointing devices including, for example, a mouse, a trackball, or a trackpad. User input can also be provided to the computer through the use of a touchscreen, such as a tablet computer surface with pressure sensitivity or a multi-touch screen using capacitive or electric sensing. Other kinds of devices can be used to provide for interaction with a user, including to receive user feedback including, for example, sensory feedback including visual feedback, auditory feedback, or tactile feedback. Input from the user can be received in the form of acoustic, speech, or tactile input. In addition, a computer can interact with a user by sending documents to, and receiving documents from, a device that the user uses. For example, the computer can send web pages to a web browser on a user's client device in response to requests received from the web browser.
The term “graphical user interface,” or “GUI,” can be used in the singular or the plural to describe one or more graphical user interfaces and each of the displays of a particular graphical user interface. Therefore, a GUI can represent any graphical user interface, including, but not limited to, a web browser, a touch-screen, or a command line interface (CLI) that processes information and efficiently presents the information results to the user. In general, a GUI can include a plurality of user interface (UI) elements, some or all associated with a web browser, such as interactive fields, pull-down lists, and buttons. These and other UI elements can be related to or represent the functions of the web browser.
Implementations of the subject matter described in this specification can be implemented in a computing system that includes a back-end component, for example, as a data server, or that includes a middleware component, for example, an application server. Moreover, the computing system can include a front-end component, for example, a client computer having one or both of a graphical user interface or a Web browser through which a user can interact with the computer. The components of the system can be interconnected by any form or medium of wireline or wireless digital data communication (or a combination of data communication) in a communication network. Examples of communication networks include a local area network (LAN), a radio access network (RAN), a metropolitan area network (MAN), a wide area network (WAN), Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WIMAX), a wireless local area network (WLAN) (for example, using 802.11 a/b/g/n or 802.20 or a combination of protocols), all or a portion of the Internet, or any other communication system or systems at one or more locations (or a combination of communication networks). The network can communicate with, for example, Internet Protocol (IP) packets, frame relay frames, asynchronous transfer mode (ATM) cells, voice, video, data, or a combination of communication types between network addresses.
The computing system can include clients and servers. A client and server can generally be remote from each other and can typically interact through a communication network. The relationship of client and server can arise by virtue of computer programs running on the respective computers and having a client-server relationship.
Cluster file systems can be any file system type accessible from multiple servers for read and update. Locking or consistency tracking may not be necessary since the locking of exchange file system can be done at application layer. Furthermore, Unicode data files can be different from non-Unicode data files.
While this specification contains many specific implementation details, these should not be construed as limitations on the scope of what may be claimed, but rather as descriptions of features that may be specific to particular implementations. Certain features that are described in this specification in the context of separate implementations can also be implemented, in combination, in a single implementation. Conversely, various features that are described in the context of a single implementation can also be implemented in multiple implementations, separately, or in any suitable sub-combination. Moreover, although previously described features may be described as acting in certain combinations and even initially claimed as such, one or more features from a claimed combination can, in some cases, be excised from the combination, and the claimed combination may be directed to a sub-combination or variation of a sub-combination.
Particular implementations of the subject matter have been described. Other implementations, alterations, and permutations of the described implementations are within the scope of the following claims as will be apparent to those skilled in the art. While operations are depicted in the drawings or claims in a particular order, this should not be understood as requiring that such operations be performed in the particular order shown or in sequential order, or that all illustrated operations be performed (some operations may be considered optional), to achieve desirable results. In certain circumstances, multitasking or parallel processing (or a combination of multitasking and parallel processing) may be advantageous and performed as deemed appropriate.
Moreover, the separation or integration of various system modules and components in the previously described implementations should not be understood as requiring such separation or integration in all implementations. It should be understood that the described program components and systems can generally be integrated together in a single software product or packaged into multiple software products.
Accordingly, the previously described example implementations do not define or constrain the present disclosure. Other changes, substitutions, and alterations are also possible without departing from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure.
Furthermore, any claimed implementation is considered to be applicable to at least a computer-implemented method; a non-transitory, computer-readable medium storing computer-readable instructions to perform the computer-implemented method; and a computer system including a computer memory interoperably coupled with a hardware processor configured to perform the computer-implemented method or the instructions stored on the non-transitory, computer-readable medium.
