Electric Slide - Simple Call Distribution for Adhearsion

This library implements a simple call queue for Adhearsion.

To ensure proper operation, a few things are assumed:

• Agents will only be logged into a single queue at a time If you have two types of agents (say "support" and "sales") then you should have two queues, each with their own pool of agents
• Agent authentication will happen before entering the queue - it is not the queue's concern
• The strategy for callers is FIFO: the caller who has been waiting the longest is the next to get an agent
• Queues will be implemented as a Celluloid Actor, which should protect the call selection strategies against race conditions
• There are two ways to connect an agent:
  • If the Agent object provides an address attribute, and the queue's connection_type is set to call, then the queue will call the agent when a caller is waiting
  • If the Agent object provides a call attribute, and the queue's connection_type is set to bridge, then the call queue will bridge the agent to the caller. In this mode, the agent hanging up will log him out of the queue

TODO:

• Example for using Matrioska to offer Agents and Callers interactivity while waiting
• How to handle MOH

WARNING!

While you can have ElectricSlide keep track of custom queues, it is recommended to use the built-in CallQueue object.

The authors of ElectricSlide recommend NOT to subclass, monkeypatch, or otherwise alter the CallQueue implementation, as the likelihood of creating subtle race conditions is high.

Example Queue

my_queue = ElectricSlide.create :my_queue, ElectricSlide::CallQueue

# Another way to get a handle on a queue
ElectricSlide.create :my_queue
my_queue = ElectricSlide.get_queue :my_queue

Example CallController for Queued Call

class EnterTheQueue < Adhearsion::CallController
  def run
    answer

    # Play music-on-hold to the caller until joined to an agent
    player = play 'http://moh-server.example.com/stream.mp3', repeat_times: 0
    call.on_joined do
      player.stop!
    end

    ElectricSlide.get_queue(:my_queue).enqueue call

    # The controller will exit, but the call will remain up
    # The call will automatically hang up after speaking to an agent
    call.auto_hangup = false
  end
end

Adding an Agent to the Queue

ElectricSlide expects to be instances of the ElectricSlide::Agent class. This is designed to be extended with custom functionality when necessary.

To add an agent who will receive calls whenever a call is enqueued, do something like this:

agent = ElectricSlide::Agent.new id: 1, address: 'sip:[email protected]', presence: :available
ElectricSlide.get_queue(:my_queue).add_agent agent

To inform the queue that the agent is no longer available you must use the ElectricSlide queue interface. Do not attempt to change agent objects directly!

ElectricSlide.update_agent 1, presence: offline

If it is more convenient, you may also pass #update_agent an Agent-like object:

options = {
  id: 1,
  address: 'sip:[email protected]',
  presence: :unavailable
}
agent = ElectricSlide::Agent.new options
ElectricSlide.update_agent 1, agent

The possible presence states for an Agent are:

• :available - Waiting for a call
• :on_call - Currently connected to a call
• :after_call - In a quiet period after completing a call and before being made available again. This is only encountered with a manual agent return strategy.
• :unavailable - Agent is not available (on break, offline, etc)

Note that an :unavailable agent still counts as an agent in the queue, but will not be sent any calls. Make sure to remove agents, even unavailable ones, when agents sign out by using the #remove_agent method.

Switching connection types

ElectricSlide provides two methods for connecting callers to agents:

• :call: (default) If the Agent object provides an address attribute, and the queue's connection_type is set to call, then the queue will call the agent when a caller is waiting
• :bridge: If the Agent object provides a call attribute, and the queue's connection_type is set to bridge, then the call queue will bridge the agent to the caller. In this mode, the agent hanging up will log him out of the queue

To select the connection type, specify it when creating the queue:

ElectricSlide.create_queue :my_queue, ElectricSlide::CallQueue, connection_type: :bridge

Selecting an Agent distribution strategy

Different use-cases have different requirements for selecting the next agent to take a call. ElectricSlide provides two strategies which may be used. You are also welcome to create your own distribution strategy by implementing the same interface as described in ElectricSlide::AgentStrategy::LongestIdle.

To select an agent strategy, specify it when creating the queue:

ElectricSlide.create_queue :my_queue, ElectricSlide::CallQueue, agent_strategy: ElectricSlide::AgentStrategy::LongestIdle

Two strategies are provided out-of-the-box:

• ElectricSlide::AgentStrategy::LongestIdle selects the agent that has been idle for the longest amount of time.
• ElectricSlide::AgentStrategy::FixedPriority selects the agent with the lowest numeric priority first. In the event that more than one agent is available at a given priority, then the agent that has been idle the longest at the lowest numeric priority is selected.

Custom Agent Behavior

If you need custom functionality to occur whenever an Agent is selected to take a call, you can use the callbacks on the Agent object:

• on_connect: Args: [Queue, Agent Call, Client Call] Called as the agent is being connected to the client call
• on_disconnect: Args: [Queue, Agent Call, Client Call] Called after the agent is disconnected from the client for any reason (eg. hangup)
• connection_failed: Args: [Queue, Agent Call, Client Call] Called when the agent fails to connect with the client for any reason (eg. no answer)
• presence_change: Args: [Queue, Agent Call, New Presence] Called after the agent's presence changes

Confirmation Controllers

In case you need to execute a confirmation controller on the call that is placed to the agent, such as "Press 1 to accept the call", you currently need to pass in the confirmation class name and the call object as metadata in the call_options_for callback in your ElectricSlide::Agent subclass.

# an example from the Agent subclass
def dial_options_for(queue, queued_call)
  {
    from: caller_digits(queued_call.from),
    timeout: on_pstn? ? APP_CONFIG.agent_timeout * 3 : APP_CONFIG.agent_timeout,
    confirm: MyConfirmationController,
    confirm_metadata: {caller: queued_call, agent: self},
  }
end

You then need to handle the join in your confirmation controller, using for example:

call.join metadata[:caller] if confirm!

where confirm! is your logic for deciding if you want the call to be connected or not. Hanging up during the confirmation controller or letting it finish without any action will result in the call being sent to the next agent.

Call Variables

There are special behaviors when specific variables exist on calls:

• electric_slide_transferring_to - when containing a truthy value, the queued call is preserved instead of being hung up on when an agent call is unjoined; this is particularly useful for transferring calls, where you want to keep the queued call alive so that it can be enqueued somewhere else and have the agent call hang up

Credits

Electric Slide Copyright 2011-2015 Adhearsion Foundation Inc. See the LICENSE file for more information.

Original Author Ben Klang - Mojo Lingo

Contributors:

• Ben Langfeld - Mojo Lingo
• Neil Decapia - Mojo Lingo
• Lloyd Hughes - Teleforge
• Luca Pradovera - Mojo Lingo

Also thanks to Power Home Remodeling Group, Teleforge, and Atlanta Game Adventures for sponsoring development.