Call Center
Introduction
The Dev Hound Call Center Application is an additional feature of Dev Hound which allows help desk personell to quickly log calls without using the Dev Hound web application.
Why is it useful?
In a company that has many clients with many personnel dedicated to help desk support a quick way of logging calls is required. Although Dev Hound may be used for this task it is often easier to log multiple calls and log calls faster using a dedicated application.
How does it work?
When installed a system tray icon will appear near the time:
How do I Install it?
When installed on a computer it will prompt for the servers name and port. If you view Dev Hound by visiting http://servername/devhound.dll then enter servername and port 80. Note that the call center application can be used across the internet as well as your local area network.
You can download Dev Hound Call Center from:
http://www.nexusconcepts.com/downloads/installdhcallcenter.exe
The Dev Hound Call Center Application is an additional feature of Dev Hound which allows help desk personell to quickly log calls without using the Dev Hound web application.
Why is it useful?
In a company that has many clients with many personnel dedicated to help desk support a quick way of logging calls is required. Although Dev Hound may be used for this task it is often easier to log multiple calls and log calls faster using a dedicated application.
How does it work?
When installed a system tray icon will appear near the time:
- Click on it to begin
- A list of clients will appear
- As you type in the search area the list of clients matching the search appear
- When the correct client is found press Enter or click "Add Call"
- Enter the details of the support call and click "Save"
How do I Install it?
When installed on a computer it will prompt for the servers name and port. If you view Dev Hound by visiting http://servername/devhound.dll then enter servername and port 80. Note that the call center application can be used across the internet as well as your local area network.
You can download Dev Hound Call Center from:
http://www.nexusconcepts.com/downloads/installdhcallcenter.exe
Starting Call Center
After double clicking the Dev Hound Call Center icon you will be presented with the following login screen (Note: the Call Center will also start automatically when you login to Windows)
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| Server
This is the server name where Dev Hound was installed. If you can access Dev Hound in your web browser it will be the name between http:// and /devhound.dll Note: If you have taken advantage of the option in Dev Hound's web server to specify a virtual folder (also possible in IIS) then you can enter the server name as servername/virtualfoldername Port The port will always be 80 unless you have installed the Dev Hound web server on a different port (eg you already have Microsoft IIS on port 80) Application This will always be devhound.dll unless you have installed the CGI version of Dev Hound with Microsoft IIS in which case it will be devhound.exe. Database This will usually be [Default]. However if you have installed multiple Dev Hound databases on the one server you can enter the name of the database here. Server Type This will be Dev Hound Web Server unless you are using Microsoft IIS. Essentially the difference is that with IIS Dev Hound is installed in a Virtual Folder called devhound and when the server type is set to IIS it will be accessed by this virtual folder. It is possible to achieve the same result when using IIS by setting the server type to Dev Hound Web Server and changing the server to servername/devhound |
Notifications
Dev Hound will popup notifications when certain events occur. You can control which ones you would like to see in the notifications tab.
- Accept Public Notifications - These include any notifications sent to all users using the Call Center
- Calls added to the Queue - These occur when a support call is queued rather than saved (which assigns them to someone)
Logging Calls
To log a call in the Dev Hound Call Center you can either double click a client from the client list or click Add Call on the toolbar after selecting a client.
A new tab will appear as shown below.
Note: You are able to log multiple calls at the same time
A new tab will appear as shown below.
Note: You are able to log multiple calls at the same time
As well as data entry for the description, solution, project, type and category for the call there are other features that are not as obvious:
- Selecting a different contact will display their phone number. If you click on the word contact it will launch a new email to that contact (or client).
- If you select a Status other than Resolved the support call will continue to be listed in the My Calls tab.
- Clicking Save will log the call in the My Calls tab as well as storing it permanently in Dev Hound
- Clicking Assign will allow you to select a user to assign the call to and save the call
- Clicking Queue will store the call in the queue. All queued calls appear in My Calls for every Call Center user
- Clicking History will display a tab of the call history for this client
Managing Calls
You can see a list of calls in the call center by clicking the My Calls tab. This will display:
Opening calls
You can open an existing call by simply clicking the call under the tab My Calls
If a call was assigned to the queue then it will be taken from the queue until you save the call. If you cancel the call it will be readded to the queue
Queuing calls
Queuing calls can be very useful if you have a pool of support operators especially when they work part time. A part time worker can queue their calls at the end of the day so that another operator can see them in the queue. The Call Center will also send a broadcast to all users when a call is queued.
Call timing
Calls are timed automatically and the My Calls tab displays call ordered by the call's age by default. You can sort by a different column by clicking the column header.
Logged Calls
The logged calls area of the My Calls tab shows any calls that you have created during this windows session. It does not show all of your calls logged, just the ones you have added since starting the call center application.
- Any calls you have created
- Any calls that have been assigned to you
- Any calls that are assigned to the queue
- Other peoples outstanding calls (if you uncheck the option Show only my calls)
Opening calls
You can open an existing call by simply clicking the call under the tab My Calls
If a call was assigned to the queue then it will be taken from the queue until you save the call. If you cancel the call it will be readded to the queue
Queuing calls
Queuing calls can be very useful if you have a pool of support operators especially when they work part time. A part time worker can queue their calls at the end of the day so that another operator can see them in the queue. The Call Center will also send a broadcast to all users when a call is queued.
Call timing
Calls are timed automatically and the My Calls tab displays call ordered by the call's age by default. You can sort by a different column by clicking the column header.
Logged Calls
The logged calls area of the My Calls tab shows any calls that you have created during this windows session. It does not show all of your calls logged, just the ones you have added since starting the call center application.
Instant Messaging
The Dev Hound Call Center allows you to collaborate between other call center users through instant messages. This is particularly useful because the call center will work across the internet.
Seeing other users
You can see a list of the other users who have the call center running by clicking the Messages tab. Users whose icon is grayed out are not running the call center. Users who are using the call center appear at the top of the list.
Contacting another user
You can chat to another user by clicking their name in the list of users. This will open a conversation window. You can chat my typing your message and pressing Enter or clicking Send. The message will appear on the other users screen (with a popup sound) after no more than 5 seconds. They can then send a message to you (and so on and so forth).
To end a conversion simply close the window. Note: It is also possible to conduct multiple conversations with people.
Seeing other users
You can see a list of the other users who have the call center running by clicking the Messages tab. Users whose icon is grayed out are not running the call center. Users who are using the call center appear at the top of the list.
Contacting another user
You can chat to another user by clicking their name in the list of users. This will open a conversation window. You can chat my typing your message and pressing Enter or clicking Send. The message will appear on the other users screen (with a popup sound) after no more than 5 seconds. They can then send a message to you (and so on and so forth).
To end a conversion simply close the window. Note: It is also possible to conduct multiple conversations with people.
Client Search
The main screen of Call Center is the client page. It displays the list of all clients entered into Dev Hound.
Note: For speed reasons this list is loaded into Dev Hound when starting Call Center. If you cannot see a client in this list then you may have added it to Dev Hound since the last time you started Call Center.
Searching by Letter
To search for a client by the first letter of their name click the tab corresponding to the letter. The list of clients will be sorted appropriately. To view all clients again click the All tab.
Searching by keyword
You can search by a keyword by typing in the search edit box. This can be any part of the client name. The list of clients will be filtered as you type
Note: For speed reasons this list is loaded into Dev Hound when starting Call Center. If you cannot see a client in this list then you may have added it to Dev Hound since the last time you started Call Center.
Searching by Letter
To search for a client by the first letter of their name click the tab corresponding to the letter. The list of clients will be sorted appropriately. To view all clients again click the All tab.
Searching by keyword
You can search by a keyword by typing in the search edit box. This can be any part of the client name. The list of clients will be filtered as you type
Actions from the clients page
The following actions can be performed:
The following actions can be performed:
- Double clicking a client will add a call
- Clicking Add Call on the toolbar will add a call
- Clicking History will show a call history of the client together with comments