Object Layers

Real-Time Designer provides the powerful features of object-oriented system without the need for programming. Its straightforward and intuitive interface enables designers to set up automated sequences.

Objects in Real-Time Designer are logically structured in layers. These layers are represented as the modules of the system, which can be accessed from the Real-Time Designer Module Tab Bar. These layers also provide a broad guideline regarding the order in which you can start designing your customer/agent interactions.

Typically, you should define your Real-Time Designer project from the bottom layer up, meaning that each subsequent layer in the list below is structured based on (on top of) the layer described above it.

Layer 1: Captured Objects

This is the first layer on which all other layers are based. It represents real entities in the environment in which Advanced Process Automation will operate. Each object is a connection to a source of information, such as a database object in the organization's database or an element in a screen of an application that is used by the agent or the organization.

Advanced Process Automation enables you to simply drag-and-drop in order to detect and connect the value of any field of an application that is open with a screen element that you define in Real-Time Designer.

Advanced Process Automation also enables you to drag-and-drop to define a connection between Real-Time Designer and a field or table in your legacy database.

Examples of objects are:

The Purchase Amount field in a legacy customer care screen used by an agent in a call center.

The Agent Grade field in the database of the legacy customer care application.

There is no need for programming! For example, you can define a rule that influences the suggestions shown in a callout displayed for an agent based on the purchase amount displayed on an agent's screen in a third-party application or based on the Agent Grade field in a database.

Real-Time Designer enables capturing objects in two modes:

Object Connectivity: The Real-Time Client is installed on the same machine as the application and can connect directly with the application.

Surface Connectivity: The Real-Time Client and application are installed on different machines and cannot directly connect. Objects are captured by VDI (Virtual Desk Infrastructure).

Objects can be captured in any of the following ways:

Physical objects: Utilizes object connectivity. See Physical Objects.

Simulated Objects: Utilizes surface connectivity. See Simulated Objects.

Layer 2: Business Entity Types

This is the second layer, which structures physical objects into business entities. Business entities represent an abstraction of physical objects into the logical elements used in a business. Each business entity is actually only a data structure. In Real-Time Designer, these data structures are called business entity types. Examples of business entities types are Transaction, Customer, Call, Policy, Account, Billing Information, Lead, interaction, Service Request, Proposal, Product, Address, Contact Information, or Agent Scores.

Layer 3: Business Entity User Instances

Each business entity type can be used as the basis (instantiated) to create a business entity user instance, which is the definition of the actual entity in your business in which actual data is entered from the physical objects defined above.

Examples of business entities user instances are:

A business entity user instance of the business entity type Customer may be an Active Customer, Overdue Customer or Dormant Customer.

The following shows examples of two business entity user instances and their properties:

Business Entity User Instances: interaction

Property: Customer

Property: Agent Scores

Property: Offer Attempt

Business Entity User Instances: Account

Property: Contact Info

Property: Home Address

Property: Work Address

Layer 4: Business Logic, Presentations & Decision Support

The Business Logic, Presentations and Decision Support layer specifies which conditions trigger actions, which actions are taken, and how these actions are presented on an Agent's and a supervisor's screen (callouts, launch in context and alerts) or implemented in the background (actions).

A rule specifies a condition that triggers a function in Advanced Process Automation.

An example of rule is:

In a call, customer qualifies as gold, agent is qualified to sell home policy

An event handler triggers a function in Advanced Process Automation. An event handler is triggered by Advanced Process Automation events or by events that occur in external applications, such as an account being opened or a button on a specific screen element being clicked.

Examples of event handlers include:

Entering the accounts screen, the New button was clicked, customer qualified as gold, offer models are evaluated

A workflow specifies a series of business process functions that depend on conditions that can be triggered by an Agent from a list that appears on screen or by the Real-Time Client.

Examples of workflows include:

Convert a lead to a new Account, Create a service request, Navigate to the billing info screen, Get and rank available offers.

A presentation defines the objects displayed on an agent's or a supervisor's desktop, which can be triggered by from the Launchbar. Presentation objects can also be triggered by Advanced Process Automation.

Examples of callouts, alerts and documents that can be displayed as presentations include:

Best offer callout, demographics remainder callout, VIP customer alert, product description launch in context

Decision support provides KPIs and data collections that can be used to generate reports.

Examples of decision support include:

Collect data about the interaction, Collect Time spent in each workflow step, Average Handling Time KPI, Conversion Rate KPI

Rules, workflows, and event handlers are described in Business Logic. See also Presentations and Decision Support.

Layer 5: Projects and Business Applications

At any given time, you can edit a single Real-Time Designer project, which you can save and then open again later. All the definitions described throughout this guide, such as the screen objects, database objects, business entities, rules, and workflows are contained in a single project.

Advanced Process Automation provides ready-made, industry-specific business applications containing predefined Real-Time Designer rules, workflows, and event handlers specifically designed to support distinct business needs and objectives, such as Advanced Process Automation - Best Practices, Advanced Process Automation for Revenue, Advanced Process Automation for Retention, and Advanced Process Automation for Efficiency. Each of these is provided as a project.

Layer 6: Solutions

Each project may have its own purpose and may represent an entirely different kind of solution. Projects can be combined together and can share information in order to deploy a single Real-Time solution. A solution may be built from one or more projects and may include business application projects.