Release notes for version 16.140 of Connect (Pilot, Enhancement and Bug Fix release)

Date of release

 

Summary

Connect Component Optimisations (Enhancement)

Replace Dial Entry with new Pending, Active & Processed Dial Entry objects to improve response times.

We originally built Connect around two Salesforce custom objects in a master/detail relationship, Dial List and Dial Entry which allowed summary information to be provided out of the box by Salesforce.

We've discovered that this arrangement is unsuitable for high volume usage because agents working together on Dial Lists then receive slow responses or errors.   To reduce response times, we've updated our object model with new objects that do not participate in a master/detail relationship with Dial List but use lookup relationships instead.

To further improve transaction response times when agents work with the Connect component we also split the work initiated by the Next button into two separate Apex transactions, this is to safeguard against Concurrent Request Limit Exceeded errors being encountered in high volume usage scenarios.

In addition, for efficiency, when a dynamic dial list is refreshed, so that agents can continue to work on the currently available pending calls, Connect now tops up the cache of pending calls without automatically replacing all of the items in the cache whilst still respecting the order criteria you have configured for your Dial List.

Finally, we have made the work Connect does to keep track of stats for your Dial List optional.  If within your organisation you have many agents working from the same dial list making very frequent calls they may experience errors when working with the Connect Component due to the work Connect must carry out on the Dial List fields such as Outstanding Calls, Skipped Calls and Completed Calls.  In these circumstances you can prevent Connect from updating these fields by enabling the Ignore dial list stats  checkbox in custom settings.

Availability

ContactWorld for Sales Select & Premium

Upgrading Connect

When Connect is upgraded in your Org a batch process will run that migrates existing VCCConnect__Dial_Entry__c records to new records of the correct type so that you can continue to use your existing Dial Lists.

Agent changes

None

Supervisor changes

Reports that used to reference VCCConnect__Dial_Entry__c for skipped or completed dial entries should be updated to refer to VCCConnect__ProcessedDialEntry__c instead.

Salesforce administrator changes

In this version we have replaced VCCConnect__Dial_Entry__c with three new custom objects:

  • VCCConnect__PendingDialEntry__c
  • VCCConnect__ActiveDialEntry__c
  • VCCConnect__ProcessedDialEntry__c


Connect Component - agent assigned to two dial entries simultaneously (Bug fix)

Occasionally, when clicking the Next button on the Connect Component the current call displayed on Connect was not the same record as the screen popped record. 

We added a locking mechanism that prevents requests from multiple browser tabs causing an agent to be assigned to two 'started' dial entries simultaneously.

Availability

Contact World for Sales Select & Premium

Agent changes

Improved screen popping experience.

Supervisor changes

None

Salesforce administrator changes

None

Allow Processed Dial Entries To Be Deleted (Enhancement)

This feature changes the way contacted records are handled.

Previously, records that had already been contacted were excluded from query results when a dynamic dial list was refreshed based on the presence of skipped or completed ("processed") dial entries.

When you enable this feature, Connect will directly update the Salesforce record a dial entry represents to mark the record as contacted.

This extends the lifetime of dial lists, removing the need to query for processed dial entries, an operation which prevented us from refreshing a list with more than around 50,000 processed dial entries due to a Salesforce governor limit.

Availability

Contact World for Sales Select & Premium

Agent changes

None

Supervisor changes

None

Salesforce administrator changes

With this feature a new custom field VCCConnect__NextContactTime__c is added to the Activity, Case, Contact and Lead standard objects.  You can also add NextContactTime__c to a custom object.

This feature is made available by installing the latest version of the package but is disabled by default.  It can be enabled by enabling the checkbox Use Next Contact Time in custom settings.

Dynamic Dial Lists - relax cache size limit (Enhancement)

We now allow you to set the cache size for dynamic dial lists to any integer value up to 9999.

Please note that it is not advisable to set an actual value of 9999, we recommend that the maximum cache size used is 4500.

When the dynamic dial list refresh runs we will attempt to generate pending dial entries up to the number specified in the Cache size field in custom settings. We also perform some maintenance tasks during the refresh which require DML(data manipulation language) operations.

Salesforce' governor limits include a limit on the number of DML operations on records in a single transaction and will not allow more than 10,000 of them.

The ideal setting is the minimum value that consistently allows agents to access pending dial entries from the cache when they click Next.

Availability

ContactWorld for Sales Select & Premium

Agent changes

None

Supervisor changes

None

Salesforce administrator changes

It is now possible to enter a 4 digit figure in the Cache size field in custom settings.

Redundant features & components removed (Enhancement)

As a result of the changes already described here VCCConnect__Dial_Entry__c is deprecated as of this version, it will be removed from the package in a future version.

We have removed a number of related components from the package that were no longer needed or no longer functioned as before.

In addition the link between Task and Dial Entry established after completing a call is no longer supported.

Availability

ContactWorld for Sales Select & Premium

Agent changes

None

Supervisor changes

None

Salesforce administrator changes

The following components and features were removed from the package and can also be removed from your Org:

  • The Dial Entry related list on the default page layout for Dial Lists. Similar related lists for Pending, Active and Processed Dial Entry records can be added to this page layout if desired but have not been included by default in the package.
  • The Roll Up Summary fields on Dial List for Skipped and Completed Dial Entry records that relied on the master/detail relationship between Dial List and Dial Entry.
  • A redundant feature (List From Dial Entries) which enabled creating a new Dial List from a set of earlier Dial Entry records.
  • A visualforce page (Dialler Launch Page) which displayed a graphical summary to an agent of the Dial Entry records they were pre-assigned to.
  • VCCConnect__DialList__c.VCCConnect__Last_Activated_On__c

Lookup from Task to Dial List (Enhancement)

In this version we've replaced the previous link from Task to Dial Entry with a direct link from Task to Dial List.  This enables you to construct reports that show which Tasks relate to which Dial Lists.

Enabled by default when you upgrade to this version of the package.

Availability

Contact World for Sales Select & Premium

Agent changes

None

Supervisor changes

Any reports that previously used the Dial Entry custom field on Task should be adjusted to use the new Dial List custom field on Task instead.

Salesforce administrator changes

A new Activity custom field has been added to the package called Activity.VCCConnect__DialList__c.

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