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The CATI Supervisor module allows you to set an appointment expiration timeout so that an appointment could still be delivered to a specified user while their session remains active even if they are busy when the appointment is due.
Normally, when an appointment is due but the assigned user is not free (not logged in or working on another interview), the system removes the explicit user assignment and changes properties of the call according to scheduling script rules. However, if the interviewer is known to be logged in, the supervisor can instruct the system to wait for some time without removing the explicit user assignment and changing properties of the call. The system will then wait for some time for the status of the interviewer to change. This is done by way of adding a subrule to a corresponding scheduling script.
A special function called IsCallExpiredWithResourceLoggedIn is used as a filter in the scheduling script subrule to this end. This function uses the "(int timeout)" parameter to set timeout for the call expiration time. This parameter accepts an integer value and it means "Timeout interval in minutes".
A more detailed description of the technique used to set up appointment expiration timeout can be found in the "CATI Administrator Manual".
When the timeout countdown starts, the system (in short increments of time) checks the status of the assigned user. If they become available, the system instantly delivers the appointed call. When the timeout interval ends, and the status of the user does not change, or when they log out of the system, the current scheduling script changes the properties of the call according to the specified rules.
The illustration below shows a scheduling script configured to set a timeout for an appointment. The function parameter is set to "10", which indicates the system will check the interviewer status continuously for 10 minutes until either the interviewer becomes free to receive a call, or logs out. In the first case the system delivers an appointed call to the interviewer, in the second it will change the properties of the call according to any actions which are added to this scheduling script. The same change to the call properties will be carried out if the allotted 10 minutes complete and the status of the interviewer remains unavailable.
Figure 1 - Scheduling script containing a subrule for setting the appointment timeout