A group of students from the Interactive Telecommunications Program at NYU traveled to ETel to present their projects, and all of them were excellent. But I'd like to single out one project in particular because it provides an example of brilliant, outside-the-box thinking that also illustrates one of the principles of revolutionary innovation.
Summer Bedard, a graduate student with the program, presented "The Human Race, a new way to wait on hold. If you call a company today and have to wait on hold, your place in the queue is determined by the system administrators — first-in, first-out, with perhaps some precedence for "priority" customers. Ms. Bedard decided to disaggregate this authority — to give some authority over the place in the queue to the callers themselves. As they wait on the call, instead of hearing "your call is important to us," callers are asked a series of questions; the answers to these questions move the caller up and down in the queue.
While the questions in the system are humorous (and everyone enjoyed the tape Ms. Bedard played during her presentation), the issues she raises are quite interesting: Who controls your place in the queue? You? The administrator? Or should this authority be shared?
Topics: · creativity · telecommunications
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