Application Programming Guide
This glossary defines terms, abbreviations and acronyms used in
CallCoordinator documentation.
For a more extensive list of communications definitions, refer
to the
IBM Dictionary of Computing (Information Processing,
Personal Computing, Telecommunications, Office Systems, IBM-Specific
Terms), GC20-1699.
- A
- ACD
- Automatic call distribution.
- ACD group
- A set of multiple agents assigned to process incoming calls that are
assigned to the same dialed number. The ACD feature of the switch routes
the incoming call to one of the agents in the ACD group based upon such
properties as availability of the agent and length of time since the
agent last completed an incoming call.
- ACD pilot number
- The telephone number that calling parties dial to access any one of
the multiple agents in an ACD group.
When the incoming call arrives at the ACD
pilot number, the ACD feature routes the call to an available
agent in the ACD group.
- action message
- A message that tells a user that something unexpected
has occurred and an action is required by the operator.
This message type has a message ID suffix of E.
See also information message and
warning message.
- active call
- A call in progress.
- active terminal
- An agent terminal signed on to CallCoordinator, ready to display
application panels associated with incoming or outgoing calls.
- agent
- A customer-service person whose job is to handle outgoing or incoming
telephone calls, for example, an agent in an ACD group.
- agent terminal
- A terminal used by an agent. The terminal is
attached to the host computer and controlled by CallCoordinator software.
It is a component of a workstation that comprises an agent
terminal and telephone extension.
- Agents Table
- A CallCoordinator table that relates
telephone extensions to agent terminals
and agent information.
- ANI
- Automatic Number Identification.
- AOR
- Application-owning region.
- API
- Application program interface.
- application
- See application program.
- application program
- A program used to connect and communicate with stations in a network,
enabling users to perform application-oriented activities. Sometimes
referred to as "program" within this book.
- application owning region (AOR)
- The CICS region in which a specific application runs.
When installed in an MRO environment, CallCoordinator can interact with an
application that runs in an AOR other than the CallCoordinator region.
- application program interface (API)
- The formally defined programming language interface between
CallCoordinator and the user of the program.
- automatic call distribution (ACD)
- A service that allows incoming calls directed to the same dialed number to
be routed to one of multiple agents, all of whom can provide the same service
to the calling party and are assigned to the same ACD group. Automatic call
distribution enables the efficient distribution of a high volume of incoming
calls, by directing each call to the first available agent. The common
dialed number is often referred to as the ACD pilot number.
- Automatic Number Identification (ANI)
- A service offered by the public
telephone network that provides the billing
directory number associated with a calling party. The number provided by ANI
will not always be the same as the number of the calling party.
- B
- inter-switch tracking number
- For Transfer Load Balancing, a pilot number used to track calls transferred
between switches.
See also reserved inter-switch tracking number.
- C
- call
- A physical or logical association between two or more parties.
A "held"
call has two or more parties logically connected although they are physically
disconnected.
- Call Analysis Program
- The data reduction program that produces a file of totals
from the multiple party event message file.
- call center
- A business center where customer access
is by telephone.
People working in call centers are called agents. They
often use a terminal
to access databases for needed information. In addition,
call center environments often include ACD groups, IVRs,
and other related technologies.
- call center manager
- The person who manages a call center, evaluates customer service,
and recommends improvements.
- call distribution
- See automatic call distribution.
- call event data collection
- A record of call events and requests kept in the MIS Log.
This data can be used to create reports analyzing call patterns,
or to correlate call activity with data-transmission activity.
- Call Management Control Table (CMCT)
- A table that contains call tracking data from
call-progress event messages and CallCoordinator data for active calls.
- call queue
- A collection of calls waiting to be answered or placed.
- call-progress event
- Any significant occurrence on a switch.
- call-progress event message
- A category of CallPath Services messages. Call-progress event messages
originate in a switch and provide information to a CallPath Service program
regarding the progress of an incoming or outgoing telephone call.
- Call Tracking Manager (CTM)
- The facility in the software that
performs call tracking and determines screen environment for calls.
CTM receives messages from CallPath/CICS and writes the records for
each call in the CMCT.
- called number identification
- A generic term for switch features that identify the telephone number
dialed by the caller.
These features are used when there is more than one telephone number
in the same routing arrangement.
An example is Dialed Number Identification Service (DNIS).
- CallCoordinator system administrator
- The person in charge of the CallCoordinator system on the
IBM System/390® computer.
The system administrator maintains configuration
tables in the host computer
and assists in problem determination.
- CallPath Services
- An architecture that defines communication between a computer and a
telephone switch so that a program on the computer can monitor and
influence the actions of the switch. The CallPath Services functions are
presented to the program in the form of an application program interface.
- CallCoordinator terminal
- A terminal that is identified as part of the CallCoordinator system.
Each CallCoordinator terminal is logically
associated with one CallCoordinator extension.
- casual user
- An agent who is signed on and
disables the CallCoordinator panel display.
The agent can restore the CallCoordinator panel display for an
incoming call.
- Casual User Restore Screen Environment API
- The
API that permits an agent to restore the saved screen display
for an active call when the agent is signed on with CallCoordinator
screen activity disabled.
- CICS system log
- A record of operational events maintained by the Customer
Information Control System (CICS) on the host computer.
CallCoordinator writes operational and error messages to the
CICS system log.
- CICS/MVS
- Customer Information Control System / Multiple Virtual System.
The subsystem that provides operating facilities
to the CallCoordinator program on the host computer.
- CMCT
- Call Management Control Table.
- communication data area (COMMAREA)
- An area in the computer's memory that stores data for transfer
between programs or screen pseudo-conversations.
- conference call
- A telephone call consisting of three or more parties.
- Connect Table
- In a multiregion operation (MRO) environment,
a table that relates application- or terminal-owning regions
to the CallCoordinator region that provides CallCoordinator services.
- connection ID
- An identifier assigned by the system to a connect call event.
- connection
- A logical association between a call participant (party) and a switch. A
party's connection represents that party's participation in a telephone call.
- consultation call
- A call that is made by placing a previously connected call
on hold, allowing an agent to consult with another agent.
The first agent can reconnect with the party on hold
after acquiring information from the consulted party.
- control number
- A code assigned by the user's application to identify
telephony events related to a call being tracked in the CallCoordinator CMCT.
The code can be a customer account number, a social security
number, or some other specified number.
- Coordinated Voice and Data Transfer
- The CallCoordinator feature in which transaction data
is transferred from one terminal to another when a telephone call
is transferred between two telephones associated with those terminals.
- COR
- CallPath owning region.
A CICS region where a CallPath/CICS system
and a CallCoordinator system reside.
One switch, or a group of switches, are serviced by one COR.
- CTM
- Call Tracking Manager.
- D
- DD statement
- A data definition statement for job control language (JCL).
- Diagnosis, Modification, and Tuning Information
- Any information that is provided to assist users in
performing tasks (such as diagnosing, modifying, monitoring,
repairing, tailoring, and tuning) that is not a
programming interface.
- Dialed Number Identification Service (DNIS)
- A number supplied by the public telephone network to identify a logical
called party. For example, two toll-free
numbers might both be translated to
a single real number. The DNIS information distinguishes which of the two
toll-free numbers was dialed.
- disabled terminal
- A terminal that
does not display panels initiated or transferred by CallCoordinator.
- distribution group
- A preselected group of extensions
on a switch that share an incoming call
load. Calls routed to a distribution group are routed through an
extension number called a pilot number. Incoming calls are evenly
allocated to each extension in the group.
- DNIS
- Dialed Number Identification Service.
- E
- ECR
- Examine Call Results process.
- enabled terminal
- A terminal that is associated with an agent who
is signed on to CallCoordinator with all CallCoordinator screen activity enabled.
- event
- See call-progress event.
- event message
- See call-progress event message.
- exit
- See installation-wide exit.
- F
- FOR
- File owning region.
- function
- Business purpose of group of call center agents, such as
SERVICE or INQUIRY.
CallCoordinator uses the functional group definitions to correctly
route transferred calls (for Transfer Load Balancing).
- G
- general-use programming interface
- An interface available for use in user-written
programs with few restrictions. Most programming interfaces
are general-use programming interfaces.
- Get Next CICS Transaction ID API
- The API that allows an
application program to retrieve the next
transaction ID from CICS for the transferred-from terminal.
- H
- hold
- A situation in which a call, consisting of two or more parties, is
temporarily suspended by one of the parties in the call; that is, by the
holding party. The held call and the holding party continue to have a logical,
but not a physical, association during the suspension of the call.
- host-based routing
- Routing of telephone calls where
a host-based application program can make a redirection
decision and send instructions back to the switch.
- host computer
- A computer or processor
that provides the end user with services and
usually performs network control functions.
For CallCoordinator, the host computer is
a System/390 computer.
- Host Initiated Telephony API
- The CallCoordinator API used to allow agents to transfer calls
by using their terminals rather than their telephones.
The transfer is initiated by the host computer, not the switch.
- Host Trace Facility
- The CallCoordinator facility that records information for problem
determination.
This trace facility also loads the
system resources and therefore can degrade
overall performance; it is used
only when requested by IBM.
- hunt group
- A group of extensions assigned to and accessed
through a dummy extension called a pilot number.
Calls are routed to the first available member in the group.
- I
- inactive agent
- An agent not signed on to CallCoordinator.
- call management feature
- The CallCoordinator software designed to run integrated data and telephony
applications for incoming calls on the host computer.
- individual-party event message file
- The file containing
records of single-party event messages
obtained by breaking down the records from the multiple party event
message file.
- individual-party event messages
- Single-party event messages (one message per party per call event)
obtained by breaking down multiple-party event messages.
The individual-party event messages are written to the
individual party event message file.
- information message
- A message that tells a user that a function is performing
normally or has completed normally. User acknowledgment
may not be required, depending on the message.
This message type has a message ID suffix of I.
See also action message and
warning message.
- initial screen
- The first application panel displayed on a CallCoordinator
agent terminal when the agent makes or receives a call.
- initial transaction
-
In CallCoordinator, the CICS transaction ID that displays the initial
panel appearing at the CallCoordinator agent's terminal
with an incoming or outgoing call.
- Initiate With Data Interface
- The interface that provides call data
such as ANI and DNIS to an initial transaction for Intelligent Answering.
- Inquire Call Data API
- The API used to retrieve call data from the Call
Management Control Table (CMCT).
- Inquire Call Tracking Parameters API
- The API that retrieves current values from the
Call Management Control Table (CMCT).
The Inquire Call Data API and Inquire Party Data API provide
more complete data.
- Inquire Party Data API
- The API used to retrieve data about a party in a call
being tracked in the Call Management Control Table (CMCT).
- Inquire Agents Table API
- The API used to retrieve
information from the Agents Table.
- Installation Verification Program
- The program used to verify installation and
configuration.
- installation-wide exit
- A programming interface supplied by an IBM software
product used to modify or extend the functions of the
IBM software product.
- Intelligent Answering
- The feature that
coordinates an incoming call with the starting of a transaction
based on DNIS, a pilot number, a trunk number, an extension, or
a default.
See also initial transaction.
- L
- load balancing
- See Transfer Load Balancing.
- Load Balancing Manager (LBM)
- The facility that selects load-balanced numbers
when an agent wants to transfer a call to an
agent in a specific function group.
- load-balanced number
- The telephone number returned to the requesting agent by the
Transfer Load Balancing API to specify the least busy
group that can provide a requested function.
- local network
- Your company's internal telephone system.
- M
- MCP
- Make Call Process.
- MIS Log
- The Management Information System (MIS) Log.
A VSAM file used by software
to record all event messages plus some or all messages
from and API modules.
Reports can be generated from this information
to help with analysis and problem determination.
- monitored resources
- Telephony resources, such as extensions or ACD pilot numbers,
that are monitored by CallCoordinator for call-progress event messages.
- MRO
- Multiregion operation.
- multiple-party event message
- A call-progress event message that identifies all of the parties
participating in a single
call event (such as a caller, a called party and a conferee).
These messages are written to the multiple-party event message file.
- multiple-party event message file
- The file containing multiple-party event messages, with
each record related to a single call event.
- multiregion operation (MRO)
- A CICS feature.
A CallCoordinator system can run in one CICS region and interact with application
programs and terminals in other CICS regions.
- MVS/SP(TM), MVS/XA(TM), or MVS/ESA(TM)
- Multiple Virtual Storage/System Program,
MVS/Extended Architecture, and MVS/Enterprise System Architecture.
The types of systems that can provide computer operating functions
for the CallCoordinator programs installed on the host computer.
- N
- non-processed event record
- An MIS Log record created when the Call Tracking Manager
does not have enough information to process the event message.
- O
- original call
- A call between two parties who have no current connections
to other parties. See related call.
- P
- party
- An addressable participant of a telephone call.
- PBX
- Private branch exchange.
- pilot number
- See ACD pilot number.
- primary called party
- The CallCoordinator called party that owns or controls the
process of transferring call control using switch features,
such as invoking a telephone call transfer.
- private branch exchange (PBX)
- A switching system, located on a customer's premises, that
concentrates the
number of inside (extension) lines into a smaller number of outside lines
(trunks). Many PBXs also provide advanced voice and data communication
features.
- private network
- Your company's telephone system.
- processed event record
- An MIS Log record that contains data from event messages
that Call Tracking Manager processed.
The data describes the calling party, the called party, and
any other parties involved with the event.
- product sensitive programming interface
- An interface for a specialized task such as diagnosing,
modifying, monitoring, repairing, tailoring, or tuning an
IBM software product. Installation-wide exits are typically
product-sensitive programming interfaces.
- programming interface
- The means by which a user program obtains the services of an
IBM software product.
- protocol
- A set of rules governing the communications between
functional units, such as a host computer and a switch.
- public network
- Your local telephone company's system.
- Q
- queue
- A list whose elements represent telephone calls waiting to be serviced
by a system resource--for example, an ACD group.
While a telephone call is in
the queue, the queue is considered a participant in the call.
- queued call
- A call that has been placed on "hold"
and is waiting in the queue of
telephone calls to be serviced by a system resource--for example,
an ACD group.
- R
- RDC
- Recycle/Delete Calls process.
- Re-initialize API
- The API used to start a new transaction for the
transferred-to terminal rather than save and transfer the transaction
of the transferred-from terminal.
- related call
- A call between two parties, one of whom has current connections
to another party. This happens when one party places a call on hold to
transfer or consult.
See original call.
- Rename Temporary Storage Queues Interface
- The data from processes that is output by
the Rename Temporary Storage Queue exit to a user-written rename
program.
- Report File Extract program
- The program that extracts processed telephony event records
from the MIS Log, formats them into records, and writes
them to the individual party event message file and the
multiple party event message file.
- request
- The formatted information that the CallPath Services subsystem sends to a
switch as a result of a program issuing a CallPath Services program call.
- reserved inter-switch tracking number
- For Transfer Load Balancing, a inter-switch tracking number that
is used to track calls that are transferred from one
switch to another.
This number is reserved exclusively for the requesting agent
until it is released.
- reserved pilot number available delay
- For Transfer Load Balancing, the number of seconds of delay between
the release of a reserved pilot number and its
availability for a new request.
A reserved pilot number is released when the number is used or
when its requestor's call ends.
- response
- A message sent from a switch that informs the requesting application
whether an earlier request was accepted or rejected.
- S
- SCP
- Select Call Process.
- Screen Control Interface
- The interface that makes data
from CallCoordinator processes available for output to a
user-written screen control program.
- screen copy
- A duplicate application panel
displayed at the terminal of another agent.
Supervisors or agents in a conference call can
copy the screen from another agent's terminal, but
they cannot change the data or see the data change if
the first agent makes a change.
See also Screen Copy API.
- Screen Copy API
- The API used by an agent to copy another
agent's application panel within the same switch, or
for conference calls across switches.
- Screen Presentation Manager (SPM)
- The host facility that
provides the display of panels on
CallCoordinator agent terminal screens, as determined by SPM.
- server agent
- An agent responsible for the call.
- Set ANI ID API
- The API used to update the ANI number associated
with an active call.
- Set Control Number API
- The API that enables the user to add, change, or delete
control numbers and business values
in the Call Management Control Table (CMCT).
The control number ties user records and CallCoordinator records together.
This allows identification in the MIS Log for extraction
of report data.
- shutdown
- An orderly ending of operation that ignores any new
event messages, but finishes processing any that are current.
- Sign Off API
- The API that signs an agent off from and
updates the terminal status in the Agents Table.
- Sign On API
- The API that signs an agent on to and
updates the terminal status in the Agents Table.
The agent can update other data in the Agents
Table while signing on.
- SPM
- Screen Presentation Manager.
- startup
- A CallCoordinator system administrator function.
No CallCoordinator long-running tasks are active on the host computer when
startup occurs.
See also table reload.
- switch
- Equipment that makes, breaks, or changes the connections between
telephone lines in order to establish, terminate, or change a telephone
call. Private branch exchange switches reside on a customer's premises,
whereas central office switches reside within the telephone service
provider's network.
- sysplex
- Systems complex - a multiple-MVS environment.
- T
- table reload
- A procedure to refresh CallCoordinator tables.
If there is some possibility that
the CallCoordinator tables have been corrupted, or the table sizes have changed,
the system administrator
shuts down CallCoordinator, reloads the tables, and restarts CallCoordinator.
- target pilot default
- The backup extension for all calls
to a specified target pilot number.
The backup extension number is used in Transfer
Load Balancing when no other extension is available
for that target pilot number.
The default must be in the same switch as the requesting agent.
- Task Sequencing API
- The API used to specify proper sequence of screen
presentation tasks related to a call or call transfer
between different CICS terminals.
- TCA
- Track Call Attempts process.
- terminal-owning region (TOR)
- The CICS region to which a specified terminal is attached.
When installed in an MRO environment, CallCoordinator can interact with
terminals in a TOR other than the CallCoordinator region.
- test environment
- The setup of CICS regions and switch lines used to initially
install and configure CallCoordinator. System parameters are tested here
before moving to a production environment.
- time offset
- The
differences in hours between Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) and
the location of the switch,
GMT and the host computer, and GMT and the client used to
calculate the current time for the agent and the client. This
ensures that the client is called at the correct time.
- time-zone offset
- For Transfer Load Balancing, the number
applied to the balance-point times when the host computer
is located in one time zone and the switch is located
in another time zone.
Number of hours added to or subtracted
from the time at the host computer location to get the
time at the switch location.
- TOR
- Terminal owning region.
- Trace Log
- See Host Trace Facility.
- transaction ID
- For CallCoordinator, CICS transaction identifier (ID)
used to start your business application.
The application panel
is displayed when the transaction starts.
See also initial transaction.
- Transfer Load Balancing
- The feature that evenly distributes calls among ACD groups
by providing the number of the least busy
agent group to a requesting agent.
ACD groups can be on different switches.
- Transfer Load Balancing API
- The API that retrieves least-busy and backup
numbers from the Load Balancing Manager.
The numbers are displayed for use by the agent requesting
Transfer Load Balancing numbers.
- trunk
- Circuits that connect two switching systems, as opposed to connecting a
customer line to a switching system.
- U
- Update Enable/Disable Terminal Status Flag API
- The API that turns automatic screen
activity on or off.
- user control mode
- The state in which a user-provided
CICS application program controls screen presentation for an agent.
User control mode is specified by the CallCoordinator system administrator
or by the agent at sign on.
- V
- VSAM
- Virtual storage access method on the host computer.
The MIS Log and several
CallCoordinator tables are VSAM files.
- W
- warning message
- A message that tells a user that a potentially
undesirable situation could occur.
This message type has a message ID suffix of W.
See also action message and information
message.
- workstation
- For CallCoordinator, an agent workstation consisting of a telephone
attached to a switch
and a terminal attached to a host computer with CallCoordinator software.
- Write MIS Record API
- The API that permits user-written
programs to write records to the MIS Log.
