Getting Started
Introduction
CX is a contact centre solution that is powered by Amazon Connect. This getting started guide should get you familiar with CX, logging in and basic controls.
Further guidance on specific functions is available under relevant sections in this document.
Prerequisites
The following are a list of pre-requisites that are required to operate CX.
Headset
The agent's Contact Control Panel (CCP) is compatible with all types of headsets.
For the best agent and customer experience, we recommend using a USB headset.
Browser
| Browser | Version | How to check your version |
|---|---|---|
| Google Chrome | Latest three versions | Open Chrome and type chrome://version in your address bar. The version is in the Google Chrome field at the top of the results. |
| Microsoft Edge Chromium | Latest three versions | Open Edge. On the menu, choose Help and feedback and then choose About Microsoft Edge. The version number is listed in the About section. |
Minimum Workstation Requirements
Under-powered workstations can make it difficult for agents to access the tools and resources they need to service contacts. Also, keep in mind the resource requirements when scoping workstations to ensure that they can perform under load while appropriately multitasking for the use case.
The following are the minimum system requirements for workstations using CX. You'll need to scope additional memory, bandwidth, and CPU for the operating system and anything else running on the workstation to avoid resource contention. If you are running task or widget modules, you may need additional machine resources.
- Browser — Chrome / Microsoft Edge
- Network — 100 Kbps bandwidth per connected workstation
- Memory — 4GB RAM (8GB+ recommended)
- Processor (CPU) — Dual-core 2 GHz (2.4 GHz+ recommended)
Additional requirements
- JavaScript must be enabled
- Browser popups must be enabled
- Microphone permission must be granted
- Minimum screen resolution: 1024 x 768 (recommended 1366 x 768 +)
Common Insufficient Resources Behaviours
Here are some common behaviors your agents may encounter when their workstations have insufficient resources:
- The Amazon Connect login window popping up regularly during a session
- Accepting or rejecting incoming tasks appears to do nothing, before the interaction shows as missed
- General application freezing, delays or lag
- Hearing the incoming ringtone playing but not seeing any tasks appear
- Actions, such as closing tasks, taking longer than expected
Logging in
Navigate to the home URL you have been provided, you will be presented with the sign-in screen.
In the event that the Amazon Connect instance is configured with SSO, then you will be prompted with your Identity Provider's login screen (e.g. Microsoft).
Log into this with your account, then come back to the CX login screen.
In the event that the Amazon Connect instance is non-SSO, then you will be prompted with an Amazon Connect login screen.
Enter your Amazon Connect credentials, and select 'Sign In'. This will log into Amazon Connect & the Amazon Connect screen will automatically close.
You will then be navigated to the main landing page of the CX Softphone.
Where the contact centre uses multi-factor authentication, a verification step follows the Amazon Connect sign-in. See Signing In for the email and SMS verification steps.
Softphone Controls Overview
The Softphone screen presents various controls for the Contact Centre Agent to carry out their tasks.
The following sections provide an overview of these controls.
1. Create New Task
There are a few ways to create a new outbound contact task to your customers. One is to select the Plus on the top left of the screen. Here you can create new Emails (if configured), Agent tasks (if Configured) and SMS (if configured).
2. Workspace/Home
To navigate back to this landing page when no interactions/tasks are active, select the Tiles icon.
3. Interaction History
Interaction history provides your individual interaction history. This is searchable via the date range selector.
Where a previous contact was a phone call, the phone number is clickable, to make an outbound call to this contact.
4. Your Queues (Real-Time Metrics)
For each queue that is configured in your 'Routing Profile', the number of contacts, longest waiting and agents available/ agents online.
Refresh interval
Agent Stats polls data from your Amazon Connect instance every 15 seconds.
Real-time metrics
The following below are the real-time metrics displayed:
- Agents available – number of agents that can interact
- Agents online – number of agents online including those in a call
- Contacts in queue – number of contacts currently in the queue selected
- Oldest in queue – number of seconds the oldest contact has been in the queue
5. Directory
The directory is where pre-stored phone numbers are held, to either dial as outbound contacts, or transfer active interactions to. It is opened from the sidebar.
There are three types of contact:
- Agents - this is a list of all agents on the current CX instance, and their state
- Personal - contacts that you have saved personally - not accessible by any other agent. You can save your own contacts here
- Organisation - organisation-wide contacts. These may have been added by an admin, or synced from an external directory, such as Azure AD.
For Agents, the state shown is the status that agent has selected - Available, a custom away state, or Offline. Being on a call does not change it. A waveform icon indicates that an agent is on a voice call. Hovering over an agent shows a tooltip, and selecting an agent opens a popover, indicating whether they are on contact or off contact.
To transfer an active call to a directory contact, see To Agents Or Directory Contacts.
6. Shortcuts
To allow for a more efficient use of screen real estate, links to reporting (if configured) are available under the Shortcuts menu.
Select each shortcut to open a new tab with the shortcut content.
7. Widgets (if configured)
Widgets are an optional feature that can be utilised for additional functionality. Please inquire with your support channel about this functionality.
8. User Controls
The user controls open a sub menu.
This offers the following controls:
8.1 User State Control
Users can change their state by selecting this in the drop-down in the User Control menu. See here for more information on agent states.
8.2 Preferences
The preferences menu item will load the Preferences screen as follows:
Phone
You will have the option to use CX browser as the audio endpoint, or to handle audio via an external phone, such as a mobile or desk phone.
Call/ Chat Ringtone – Change the ringtone for incoming tasks for Soft Phone (You can preview the selected ringtone by clicking the play icon next to ringtone.)
Audio Devices
Speaker – Change speaker output device (Computer speaker, headset etc)
Microphone – Select microphone device to be used (Computer in-built microphone, headset etc)
Ringer – Select the device for the ringtone to be played (Computer in-built speaker, headset etc)
Enhanced Debug Logs
If requested by your support team, Debug Logs can be enabled to aiding in the debugging process. Simply tick the checkbox to enable it.
Agents will able to download the logs with user activity related to CX by selecting the 'Download Logs' option in the User Controls Menu.
8.3 Help Docs
The Help Docs link will open up a new browser tab, to the CX documentation.
8.4 Download Logs
To download the CX agent logs, select the Download Logs button. You may be requested to do this by your support team in the event you experience problems with CX.
8.5 Sign Out
To Sign Out, select 'Sign Out'.
All Agents should sign out at the end of their shift. Failing to sign out at the end of a shift can result in skewed statistics and possible timeouts during the working days.
9. Agent State Control
Changing agent status can be done via this menu on the landing page.
State can also be changed within the User Controls menu here.
The following provides an overview of the various states and their meanings:
Status Available
When the status is Available, you are ready to start receiving tasks such as calls, chats and agent tasks.
Custom Away States
You can also choose a custom away state such as 'Break' or 'Training', if configured. These are non-routable states - i.e. you will not be routed interactions whilst you are in one. Which away states are available to you is set by your administrator.
Status Offline
When the status is Offline, you will not be able to receive incoming tasks.
Your Status During a Call
Your status is not changed while you are on a call. Whichever state you selected stays selected for the duration of the interaction, and is the state other agents see for you. Whether you are offered a further interaction whilst on a call depends on your state and the capacity in your Routing Profile - see Agent State.
On a Voice Call
A waveform icon indicates that you are on a voice call. This is shown alongside your status rather than replacing it.
On Contact and Off Contact
Hovering over your own avatar shows a tooltip indicating whether you are on contact or off contact. You are on contact whilst handling an interaction, and off contact at all other times.
10. Create Task
Here you can create new Emails (if configured), Agent tasks (if Configured) and SMS (if configured). The contents of this menu may be specific to your contact centre configuration.
11. Make Call
To make an outbound call, select the 'Make a Call' icon. This will navigate you to the dial pad.
Agent State
To receive an inbound interaction, you must either:
- Be in an available state, ready to receive new interactions
- Be in an active state with other interactions, but have capacity for a another Interaction of that type. This depends on your specific Routing Profile that has been applied. Your supervisor should be able to advise.
Auto-Answer vs Manual Answer
Note: Some agents may be set up by their supervisor as 'Auto-Answer', meaning they do not need to select the answer button to pick up the ringing call - the call will automatically connect.
Please check with your supervisor
Interaction Types
The following Interaction Types may be enabled in your CX instance:
- Voice: Voice channel - customers calling in via various direct lines or via IVRs
- Chat: Webchat interactions, which may have a bot handling customer inquiries, handing off to agent chat channel
- Email: Email correspondence from your customers
- Outbound Preview: Where preview dialling campaigns have been set up to make outbound preview dialling attempts to customers/prospects.
- Voice Callbacks: Callbacks are where a customer has requested a callback
- Generic Tasks: Tasks can be created by agents and targeting towards other agents or queues, to represent an item of work to be done. Alternatively Tasks can be used to route any other piece of work to be done, for instance a case from a CRM which needs to be routed to a contact centre agent.
- Social Media Interactions: Social Media messaging from platforms such as Facebook or Instagram can be routed as a chat interaction.