MERLIN LEGEND Communications System Release 5.0
Feature Reference
555-650-110
Issue 1
June 1997
Features
Page 286
Group Calling
levels, with either a flash or steady lighting. If DSS buttons are used
to monitor calling group queue status, only two alarm thresholds
should be set.
■
Status buttons for controlling calling group member availability; an
Available (ES2) button and an Unavailable (ES1) button. Extension Status
features allow a calling group supervisor to change and monitor calling
group members’ status (and enable members to sign in and out of the
calling group). See
‘‘Extension Status’’ on page 256
for additional
information.
Hunt Type
2
2
The placement of each extension in the hunting sequence used by the system to
search for an available calling group member is determined by the order in which
each extension is assigned to the group during system programming. When the
first call arrives for a calling group after a system is installed or restarted (cold
start), the system searches for an available group member, starting with the first
extension assigned to the group during system programming.
The order in which the system searches for available calling group members for
subsequent calls can be circular, linear, or according to which agent is most idle
and is called the
hunt type
. The hunt types are as follows:
■
Circular. The system searches for an available calling group member
starting with the extension after the last extension to receive a call. The
circular order is the factory setting and is used when all group members
have the same responsibilities for handling calls.
■
Most Idle (Release 5.0 and later systems only). The system distributes
calls according to the most-idle queue. Whenever an agent transfers or
hangs up on a call, he or she moves to the end of the queue. For some
applications, this hunt type is more efficient than the circular method,
because it takes into account the varying duration of calls. Members are
selected based on when they last
completed
a calling group call, not on
when they last
received
one. When an agent first logs into a group, he or
she is most likely to be the most idle and receive the next call. The Most
Idle hunting method ignores non-calling group calls. For example, if an
agent transfers a call that arrived on a personal line, the calling group
member’s most-idle status is unaffected. This setting is also used when all
group members have the same responsibilities for handling calls.
NOTE:
In a Hybrid/PBX mode system, a calling group member may receive
a calling group call at an SA button, then put that call on hold at the
SA button. If the agent then picks up the call at a personal line button
at his or her telephone, the agent moves to the end of the most-idle
queue.
