TY - GEN
T1 - Does the Erlang C model fit in real call centers?
AU - Robbins, Thomas R.
AU - Medeiros, D. J.
AU - Harrison, Terry P.
PY - 2010
Y1 - 2010
N2 - We consider the Erlang C model, a queuing model commonly used to analyze call center performance. Erlang C is a simple model that ignores caller abandonment and is the model most commonly used by practitioners and researchers. We compare the theoretical performance predictions of the Erlang C model to a call center simulation model where many of the Erlang C assumptions are relaxed. Our findings indicate that the Erlang C model is subject to significant error in predicting system performance, but that these errors are heavily biased and most likely to be pessimistic, i.e. the system tends to perform better than predicted. It may be the case that the model's tendency to provide pessimistic (i.e. conservative) estimates helps explain its continued popularity. Prediction error is strongly correlated with the abandonment rate so the model works best in call centers with large numbers of agents and relatively low utilization rates.
AB - We consider the Erlang C model, a queuing model commonly used to analyze call center performance. Erlang C is a simple model that ignores caller abandonment and is the model most commonly used by practitioners and researchers. We compare the theoretical performance predictions of the Erlang C model to a call center simulation model where many of the Erlang C assumptions are relaxed. Our findings indicate that the Erlang C model is subject to significant error in predicting system performance, but that these errors are heavily biased and most likely to be pessimistic, i.e. the system tends to perform better than predicted. It may be the case that the model's tendency to provide pessimistic (i.e. conservative) estimates helps explain its continued popularity. Prediction error is strongly correlated with the abandonment rate so the model works best in call centers with large numbers of agents and relatively low utilization rates.
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U2 - 10.1109/WSC.2010.5678980
DO - 10.1109/WSC.2010.5678980
M3 - Conference contribution
AN - SCOPUS:79951602248
SN - 9781424498666
T3 - Proceedings - Winter Simulation Conference
SP - 2853
EP - 2864
BT - Proceedings of the 2010 Winter Simulation Conference, WSC'10
T2 - 2010 43rd Winter Simulation Conference, WSC'10
Y2 - 5 December 2010 through 8 December 2010
ER -