Submitted by Izabel Franco (izabel-franco@ufscar.br) on 2016-10-26T17:09:15Z No. of bitstreams: 1 TeseSCF.pdf: 10747360 bytes, checksum: 8a9b640ece219d76af8f66468c70af0a (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Marina Freitas (marinapf@ufscar.br) on 2016-11-08T18:25:43Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 TeseSCF.pdf: 10747360 bytes, checksum: 8a9b640ece219d76af8f66468c70af0a (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Marina Freitas (marinapf@ufscar.br) on 2016-11-08T18:25:51Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 TeseSCF.pdf: 10747360 bytes, checksum: 8a9b640ece219d76af8f66468c70af0a (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2016-11-08T18:25:59Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 TeseSCF.pdf: 10747360 bytes, checksum: 8a9b640ece219d76af8f66468c70af0a (MD5) Previous issue date: 2016-06-22 / Não recebi financiamento / This work deals with the analysis of queueing systems for Call Centers regarding the possibility of the customer abandon the system before being served, due to his/her impatience. The Call Centers are service organizations that predominantly serve customers by phone calls and are considered a particular kind of Contact Centers that serve their costumers through phone, fax, e-mail, chat, mobile devices and other communication channels. From a business point of view, the main concern on the management of the Call Center is the offer quality service with minimum cost. The perception of the quality of services offered is expressed, by customer, for example, through the abandonment of queue, which is considered one of the most important operational measures to evaluate the performance of a Call Center. This work aims to present and apply analytical queueing models with abandonment, represented by generic probability distributions (particularly mixed distributions), as an effective analysis approach to represent the problem of congestion in Call Center systems and support decisions of dimensioning and operations on these systems. Two studies were conducted with Call Center extracted data of a company located in the countryside of São Paulo State, Brazil and another located overseas, in Israel. The parameters (e.g, arrival rate, service rate, abandonment rate) and some measures of performance (e.g, average waiting time, waiting probability, abandonment probability and traffic intensity) were established based on these data. These sampling measures were equated with the same measures achieved by the analytical queueing models M/M/c+G, M/Gc/1+G and M/G/c+G considered in this research, using the parameters obtained empirically and mixed, Exponential, Fatigue Life, Normal and Lognormal distributions to represent the abandonment (patience) of users. It was observed that in some cases, depending on the considered performance measure, the queueing models with mixed distributions for the abandonment have better results (minor deviations, compared to the real data) than their corresponding with nonmixed distributions. It was observed, also, that independently of the analyzed performance measures, the Call Centers may be represented by a analytical queueing model with a mixed distribution for abandonment times, which behaves better than the others. There were no evidences that the mixed distributions to represent the abandonment times were the best in all analyzed performance measures, but they were always competitive. It was used, also, an experimental model of discrete simulation that properly represents the Call Center in order to check the results of the analytical models and explore alternative scenarios. The same scenarios were considered with the theoretical model and the performance measures achieved by the simulation and by the theoretical models were compared, showing the potential of the use of the approaches based on analytical models with abandonment for the Call Centers analysis. / Este trabalho trata da análise de sistemas de filas para Call Center considerando a possibilidade do cliente abandonar o sistema antes de ser servido, devido a sua impaciência. Os Call Centers são organizações de serviço que predominantemente servem os clientes via chamada telefônica e são considerados um tipo particular dos Centros de Contato, que atendem seus clientes por meio de telefone, fax, e-mail, chat, dispositivos móveis e outros canais de comunicação. Do ponto de vista dos negócios, a principal preocupação na gestão de um Call Center é oferecer serviço de qualidade com mínimo custo. A percepção da qualidade dos serviços oferecidos é manifestada, pelo cliente, por exemplo, por meio do abandono da fila de espera, que é considerado uma das medidas operacionais mais importantes para avaliar o desempenho de um Call Center. O objetivo deste trabalho é apresentar e aplicar modelos analíticos de filas com abandono, representado por distribuições genéricas (particularmente distribuições mistas), como uma abordagem de análise efetiva para representar o problema de congestão em sistemas de Call Centers e apoiar decisões de dimensionamento e operação nesses sistemas. Dois estudos foram conduzidos com dados extraídos do Call Center de uma empresa localizada no interior do Estado de São Paulo e de outro localizado no exterior, em Israel. Os parâmetros (por exemplo, taxa de chegada, taxa de serviço e taxa de abandono) e algumas medidas de desempenho (por exemplo, tempo médio de espera, probabilidade de esperar, probabilidade de abandonar e intensidade de tráfego) são determinadas com esses dados. Essas medidas amostrais são comparadas com as mesmas medidas obtidas por meio dos modelos analíticos de fila M/M/c+G, M/Gc/1+G e M/G/c+G considerados nesse estudo, que utilizam os parâmetros obtidos empiricamente e as distribuições mistas, Exponencial, Fatigue Life, Normal e Lognormal para representar o abandono (paciência) dos usuários. Observou-se como resultado, que em alguns casos, dependendo da medida de desempenho considerada, os modelos de fila com distribuição mista para o abandono têm apresentado resultados melhores (desvios menores em relação aos dados reais) que os seus correspondentes com distribuições não mistas. Observou-se, também, que independentemente das medidas de desempenho analisadas, os Call Centers podem ser representados por um modelo analítico de fila com uma distribuição mista para os tempos de abandono, que se comporta melhor do que os outros. Não houve evidências que as distribuições mistas para representar os tempos de abandono foram as melhores em todas as medidas de desempenho analisadas, mas foram sempre competitivas. Utilizou-se, também, um modelo experimental de simulação discreta, que representa apropriadamente o Call Center, para verificar os resultados dos modelos analíticos e explorar cenários alternativos. Os mesmos cenários foram considerados com o modelo teórico e as medidas de desempenho obtidas pela simulação e pelo modelo teórico foram comparadas, mostrando o potencial do uso de abordagens baseadas em modelos analíticos com abandono para análise de Call Centers.

This thesis deals with the image factors of the Contact Center Netopeer - Multi-Purpose Drug Service Znojmo, which is one of the subsidiaries of organization called Sdružení Podané ruce, o.s. The theoretical part focuses on the gathering the information concerning the individual aspects of organization image and its following application on civil society organizations. I determine the factors, which influence a good name of the Contact Center - Netopeer from the employees', clients' and public's point of view, with the help of the qualitative research method. Research shows that the important image factors for this organization are: staff behavior during the communication with customers and clients, helpfulness, efficiency and responsibility of the staff, staff competence and professionalism, trust of customers and clients in the institute, quality of offered products, services and ideas and hygiene, cleanness and aesthetics of the institute premises.

Nous étudions la gestion de centres d'appels multi-compétences, ayant plusieurs types d'appels et groupes d'agents. Un centre d'appels est un système de files d'attente très complexe, où il faut généralement utiliser un simulateur pour évaluer ses performances. Tout d'abord, nous développons un simulateur de centres d'appels basé sur la simulation d'une chaîne de Markov en temps continu (CMTC), qui est plus rapide que la simulation conventionnelle par événements discrets. À l'aide d'une méthode d'uniformisation de la CMTC, le simulateur simule la chaîne de Markov en temps discret imbriquée de la CMTC. Nous proposons des stratégies pour utiliser efficacement ce simulateur dans l'optimisation de l'affectation des agents. En particulier, nous étudions l'utilisation des variables aléatoires communes. Deuxièmement, nous optimisons les horaires des agents sur plusieurs périodes en proposant un algorithme basé sur des coupes de sous-gradients et la simulation. Ce problème est généralement trop grand pour être optimisé par la programmation en nombres entiers. Alors, nous relaxons l'intégralité des variables et nous proposons des méthodes pour arrondir les solutions. Nous présentons une recherche locale pour améliorer la solution finale. Ensuite, nous étudions l'optimisation du routage des appels aux agents. Nous proposons une nouvelle politique de routage basé sur des poids, les temps d'attente des appels, et les temps d'inoccupation des agents ou le nombre d'agents libres. Nous développons un algorithme génétique modifié pour optimiser les paramètres de routage. Au lieu d'effectuer des mutations ou des croisements, cet algorithme optimise les paramètres des lois de probabilité qui génèrent la population de solutions. Par la suite, nous développons un algorithme d'affectation des agents basé sur l'agrégation, la théorie des files d'attente et la probabilité de délai. Cet algorithme heuristique est rapide, car il n'emploie pas la simulation. La contrainte sur le niveau de service est convertie en une contrainte sur la probabilité de délai. Par après, nous proposons une variante d'un modèle de CMTC basé sur le temps d'attente du client à la tête de la file. Et finalement, nous présentons une extension d'un algorithme de coupe pour l'optimisation stochastique avec recours de l'affectation des agents dans un centre d'appels multi-compétences. / We study the management of multi-skill call centers, with multiple call types and agent groups. A call center is a very complex queueing system, and we generally need to use simulation in order to evaluate its performances. First, we develop a call center simulator based on the simulation of a continuous-time Markov chain (CTMC) that is faster than traditional discrete-event simulation. Using an uniformization method, this simulator simulates the embedded discrete-time Markov chain of the CTMC. We propose strategies to use this simulator efficiently within a staffing optimization algorithm. In particular, we study the use of common random numbers. Secondly, we propose an algorithm, based on subgradient cuts and simulation, to optimize the shift scheduling problem. Since this problem is usually too big to be solved as an integer programming problem, we relax the integer variables and we propose methods to round the solutions. We also present a local search to improve the final solution. Next, we study the call routing optimization problem. We propose a new routing policy based on weights, call waiting times, and agent idle times or the number of idle agents. We develop a modified genetic algorithm to optimize all the routing parameters. Instead of doing mutations and crossovers, this algorithm refines the parametric distributions used to generate the population of solutions. We also develop a staffing algorithm based on aggregation, queueing theory and delay probability. This heuristic algorithm is fast, because it does not use simulation. The service level constraint is converted into a delay probability constraint. Moreover, we propose a variant of a CTMC model based on the waiting time of the customer at the head of the queue. Finally, we design an extension of a cutting-plane algorithm to optimize the stochastic version with recourse of the staffing problem for multi-skill call centers.

Background: Intravenous way of drug application is the most common between problem drug users at Prague. Due Mravčík et al. (2015), the estimate is, that there was a 15 700 intravenous drug users at Prague in 2014 (7 500 pervitin users, 2 500 heroin users and 5 700 buprenorphine users). And that they spend about 15,5 millions of syringes every year (Švůgerová, 2015). But the data in Annual report on drug situation 2014 says, there was only 2, 6 millions of syringes distributed (Mravčík et al., 2015). This means, that Prague intravenous drug users spend many more syringes, that are distributed by low-treshold services and pharmacies. That is a reason of charting of the behaviour of drug users in connection with application of addictive substance, especially how the consuption of injecting material is connected with single type of drug user. Aims: The main aim of the thesis is to find out the frequency of drug application in intravenous drug users and to estimate the total consumption of injecting materialial depended on single of users typology (used drugs, frequncy of contact with harm reduction services…) Research sample: The sample consists of 155 clients of harm reduction services at Prague (3 contact centers and 3 streetwork programs). All of the respondents stated the intravenous drug using in...

<p>The goal of customer support is to help clients achieve maximum value in their services and products. Customer support is the public face of a company, which means that it is important to give the customer a positive experience and live up to customer expectations. Efficient customer support has become more important and studies show that customers who leave a company do so because of poor service. Customers' growing demands for higher quality and easier access to services means that companies must recognize the need to satisfy each customer. It is important that each customer receives the attention required and that customer needs are met quickly and flawlessly. The primary objective for an efficient customer support is to provide quick answers and solutions to achieve customer satisfaction.</p><p>This master thesis aims to examine how the support and case management process can be improved for smaller software companies with customer support. The thesis deals with four issues: how should the support process be designed in smaller software companies, which important aspects must be considered in the support-handling process, how can a case management system contribute to a better customer support and what is the customer role in the management process.</p><p>Case company for this thesis has been Medius in Linköping, which is a provider of process-related IT support. Interviews have been conducted with both employees at Medius and customers to Medius.</p><p>The thesis has resulted in a framework and a recommendation for how efficient customer support should be handled in a small software company. To obtain an efficient customer support it is important that the client knows how the customer support should be contacted and what information is required. It should be possible for the customer to contact the customer support through multiple communication channels. The customer support has to work efficiently internally. It is important to prioritize, escalate and document tasks. Between the customer support and the customer, it is beneficial to have a satisfactory communication with regular feedback. Ultimately, it is also important to regularly measure and evaluate the customer support service in order to maintain efficient customer support.</p><p>A case management system that supports the business is required for the customer support. The case management system is needed to solve problems faster and to provide the support with an overview of the business. A case management system also acts as a knowledge database with relevant information.</p><p>This thesis work has combined existing frameworks and theories about customer support. This has been supplemented with interviews in order to adapt the framework to smaller software companies. An efficient customer support is achieved by using the authors' framework and recommendations.</p> / <p>Målet med kundsupport är att hjälpa sina kunder uppnå maximalt värde i deras tjänster och produkter. Kundsupporten är ett företags ansikte utåt, vilket innebär att det är viktigt att ge kunden en positiv upplevelse och leva upp till kundens förväntningar. Effektiv kundsupport har blivit allt viktigare och studier visar att de kunder som lämnar företag gör det på grund av dålig service. Kundernas ökade krav på högre kvalité och enklare tillgång till service har lett till att företag måste inse vikten av att tillfredställa varje enskild kund. Det är viktigt att varje enskild kund erhåller den uppmärksamhet som krävs och att kundens behov tillgodoses snabbt och felfritt. Det primära för en effektiv kundsupport är att ge snabba svar och lösningar för att uppnå kundnöjdhet.</p><p>Det här examensarbetet syftar till att undersöka hur support- och ärendehanteringsprocessen kan förbättras för mindre mjukvaruföretag med kundsupport. Examensarbetet behandlar fyra frågeställningar: hur bör supportprocessen utformas i ett mindre mjukvaruföretag, vilka viktiga aspekter ska beaktas i supporthanteringsprocessen, betydelsen av ett ärendehanteringssystem samt kundens roll i supporthanteringsprocessen.  </p><p>Fallföretaget för det här examensarbetet har varit Medius i Linköping som är en leverantör av processrelaterat IT-stöd. Intervjuer har genomförts med såväl anställda på Medius som kunder till Medius.</p><p>Examensarbetet har resulterat i ett ramverk samt en rekommendation för hur effektiv kundsupport ska hanteras i ett mindre mjukvaruföretag. För att kundsupporten i ett mindre mjukvaruföretag ska fungera effektivt krävs att kunden vet hur kundsupporten ska kontaktas och vilken information som ska tillhandahållas. Det ska vara möjligt för kunden att kontakta kundsupporten via flera olika kommunikationskanaler. Kundsupporten ska i sin tur fungera effektivt internt. Det är viktigt att prioritera, eskalera och dokumentera ärenden på ett korrekt sätt. Mellan kundsupporten och kunden ska det finnas en tillfredställande kommunikation med regelbunden återkoppling. I slutändan är det viktigt att regelbundet mäta och utvärdera kundsupportens servicenivåer för att kunna upprätthålla en effektiv kundsupport.</p><p>För att kundsupporten ska kunna fungera effektiv internt krävs ett ärendehanteringssystem som stödjer verksamheten. Ett ärendehanteringssystems behövs för att kunna lösa problem snabbare och för att ge supporten en överblick över verksamheten. Ärendehanteringssystemet fungerar också som en kunskapsdatabas med relevant information.</p><p>Det här examensarbetet har kombinerat befintliga ramverk och teorier kring kundsupport. Detta har kompletterats med intervjuer för att anpassa ramverket till det mindre mjukvaruföretaget. Genom att använda författarnas ramverk och rekommendationer kommer en effektiv kundsupport att erhållas.</p>

Nous étudions la gestion de centres d'appels multi-compétences, ayant plusieurs types d'appels et groupes d'agents. Un centre d'appels est un système de files d'attente très complexe, où il faut généralement utiliser un simulateur pour évaluer ses performances. Tout d'abord, nous développons un simulateur de centres d'appels basé sur la simulation d'une chaîne de Markov en temps continu (CMTC), qui est plus rapide que la simulation conventionnelle par événements discrets. À l'aide d'une méthode d'uniformisation de la CMTC, le simulateur simule la chaîne de Markov en temps discret imbriquée de la CMTC. Nous proposons des stratégies pour utiliser efficacement ce simulateur dans l'optimisation de l'affectation des agents. En particulier, nous étudions l'utilisation des variables aléatoires communes. Deuxièmement, nous optimisons les horaires des agents sur plusieurs périodes en proposant un algorithme basé sur des coupes de sous-gradients et la simulation. Ce problème est généralement trop grand pour être optimisé par la programmation en nombres entiers. Alors, nous relaxons l'intégralité des variables et nous proposons des méthodes pour arrondir les solutions. Nous présentons une recherche locale pour améliorer la solution finale. Ensuite, nous étudions l'optimisation du routage des appels aux agents. Nous proposons une nouvelle politique de routage basé sur des poids, les temps d'attente des appels, et les temps d'inoccupation des agents ou le nombre d'agents libres. Nous développons un algorithme génétique modifié pour optimiser les paramètres de routage. Au lieu d'effectuer des mutations ou des croisements, cet algorithme optimise les paramètres des lois de probabilité qui génèrent la population de solutions. Par la suite, nous développons un algorithme d'affectation des agents basé sur l'agrégation, la théorie des files d'attente et la probabilité de délai. Cet algorithme heuristique est rapide, car il n'emploie pas la simulation. La contrainte sur le niveau de service est convertie en une contrainte sur la probabilité de délai. Par après, nous proposons une variante d'un modèle de CMTC basé sur le temps d'attente du client à la tête de la file. Et finalement, nous présentons une extension d'un algorithme de coupe pour l'optimisation stochastique avec recours de l'affectation des agents dans un centre d'appels multi-compétences. / We study the management of multi-skill call centers, with multiple call types and agent groups. A call center is a very complex queueing system, and we generally need to use simulation in order to evaluate its performances. First, we develop a call center simulator based on the simulation of a continuous-time Markov chain (CTMC) that is faster than traditional discrete-event simulation. Using an uniformization method, this simulator simulates the embedded discrete-time Markov chain of the CTMC. We propose strategies to use this simulator efficiently within a staffing optimization algorithm. In particular, we study the use of common random numbers. Secondly, we propose an algorithm, based on subgradient cuts and simulation, to optimize the shift scheduling problem. Since this problem is usually too big to be solved as an integer programming problem, we relax the integer variables and we propose methods to round the solutions. We also present a local search to improve the final solution. Next, we study the call routing optimization problem. We propose a new routing policy based on weights, call waiting times, and agent idle times or the number of idle agents. We develop a modified genetic algorithm to optimize all the routing parameters. Instead of doing mutations and crossovers, this algorithm refines the parametric distributions used to generate the population of solutions. We also develop a staffing algorithm based on aggregation, queueing theory and delay probability. This heuristic algorithm is fast, because it does not use simulation. The service level constraint is converted into a delay probability constraint. Moreover, we propose a variant of a CTMC model based on the waiting time of the customer at the head of the queue. Finally, we design an extension of a cutting-plane algorithm to optimize the stochastic version with recourse of the staffing problem for multi-skill call centers.

The goal of customer support is to help clients achieve maximum value in their services and products. Customer support is the public face of a company, which means that it is important to give the customer a positive experience and live up to customer expectations. Efficient customer support has become more important and studies show that customers who leave a company do so because of poor service. Customers' growing demands for higher quality and easier access to services means that companies must recognize the need to satisfy each customer. It is important that each customer receives the attention required and that customer needs are met quickly and flawlessly. The primary objective for an efficient customer support is to provide quick answers and solutions to achieve customer satisfaction. This master thesis aims to examine how the support and case management process can be improved for smaller software companies with customer support. The thesis deals with four issues: how should the support process be designed in smaller software companies, which important aspects must be considered in the support-handling process, how can a case management system contribute to a better customer support and what is the customer role in the management process. Case company for this thesis has been Medius in Linköping, which is a provider of process-related IT support. Interviews have been conducted with both employees at Medius and customers to Medius. The thesis has resulted in a framework and a recommendation for how efficient customer support should be handled in a small software company. To obtain an efficient customer support it is important that the client knows how the customer support should be contacted and what information is required. It should be possible for the customer to contact the customer support through multiple communication channels. The customer support has to work efficiently internally. It is important to prioritize, escalate and document tasks. Between the customer support and the customer, it is beneficial to have a satisfactory communication with regular feedback. Ultimately, it is also important to regularly measure and evaluate the customer support service in order to maintain efficient customer support. A case management system that supports the business is required for the customer support. The case management system is needed to solve problems faster and to provide the support with an overview of the business. A case management system also acts as a knowledge database with relevant information. This thesis work has combined existing frameworks and theories about customer support. This has been supplemented with interviews in order to adapt the framework to smaller software companies. An efficient customer support is achieved by using the authors' framework and recommendations. / Målet med kundsupport är att hjälpa sina kunder uppnå maximalt värde i deras tjänster och produkter. Kundsupporten är ett företags ansikte utåt, vilket innebär att det är viktigt att ge kunden en positiv upplevelse och leva upp till kundens förväntningar. Effektiv kundsupport har blivit allt viktigare och studier visar att de kunder som lämnar företag gör det på grund av dålig service. Kundernas ökade krav på högre kvalité och enklare tillgång till service har lett till att företag måste inse vikten av att tillfredställa varje enskild kund. Det är viktigt att varje enskild kund erhåller den uppmärksamhet som krävs och att kundens behov tillgodoses snabbt och felfritt. Det primära för en effektiv kundsupport är att ge snabba svar och lösningar för att uppnå kundnöjdhet. Det här examensarbetet syftar till att undersöka hur support- och ärendehanteringsprocessen kan förbättras för mindre mjukvaruföretag med kundsupport. Examensarbetet behandlar fyra frågeställningar: hur bör supportprocessen utformas i ett mindre mjukvaruföretag, vilka viktiga aspekter ska beaktas i supporthanteringsprocessen, betydelsen av ett ärendehanteringssystem samt kundens roll i supporthanteringsprocessen.   Fallföretaget för det här examensarbetet har varit Medius i Linköping som är en leverantör av processrelaterat IT-stöd. Intervjuer har genomförts med såväl anställda på Medius som kunder till Medius. Examensarbetet har resulterat i ett ramverk samt en rekommendation för hur effektiv kundsupport ska hanteras i ett mindre mjukvaruföretag. För att kundsupporten i ett mindre mjukvaruföretag ska fungera effektivt krävs att kunden vet hur kundsupporten ska kontaktas och vilken information som ska tillhandahållas. Det ska vara möjligt för kunden att kontakta kundsupporten via flera olika kommunikationskanaler. Kundsupporten ska i sin tur fungera effektivt internt. Det är viktigt att prioritera, eskalera och dokumentera ärenden på ett korrekt sätt. Mellan kundsupporten och kunden ska det finnas en tillfredställande kommunikation med regelbunden återkoppling. I slutändan är det viktigt att regelbundet mäta och utvärdera kundsupportens servicenivåer för att kunna upprätthålla en effektiv kundsupport. För att kundsupporten ska kunna fungera effektiv internt krävs ett ärendehanteringssystem som stödjer verksamheten. Ett ärendehanteringssystems behövs för att kunna lösa problem snabbare och för att ge supporten en överblick över verksamheten. Ärendehanteringssystemet fungerar också som en kunskapsdatabas med relevant information. Det här examensarbetet har kombinerat befintliga ramverk och teorier kring kundsupport. Detta har kompletterats med intervjuer för att anpassa ramverket till det mindre mjukvaruföretaget. Genom att använda författarnas ramverk och rekommendationer kommer en effektiv kundsupport att erhållas.