WO2002005535A1

WO2002005535A1 - A communication system and a method for optimising the arrangement of contacts

Info

Publication number: WO2002005535A1
Application number: PCT/SE2001/001593
Authority: WO
Inventors: Gustav Mango
Original assignee: Gustav Mango
Priority date: 2000-07-10
Filing date: 2001-07-09
Publication date: 2002-01-17
Also published as: AU2001271186A1; SE0002648L; SE517265C2; SE0002648D0

Abstract

The present invention relates to a communication system for optimising the arrangement of contacts via telephone and/or computer networks between at least two parties. The system (10) comprises at least one booking means (12) able to achieve booking of times for contact between the at least two parties. The system (10) also comprises at least one memory unit (14) connected to the booking means (12), said unit(s) storing a specific profile for each party, as well as booked contacts for each party. The system (10) also comprises at least one connection arrangement (16) connected to said at least one booking means (12) and to said memory unit(s) (14), which arrangement(s) automatically establish(es) a connection between the at least two parties at said booked time.

Description

A COMMUNICATION SYSTEM AND A METHOD FOR OPTIMISING THE ARRANGEMENT OF CONTACTS

Technical field A first aspect of the present invention relates to a communication system for optimising the arrangement of contacts via telephone and/or computer networks between at least two parties.

A second aspect of the present invention relates to a method for optimising the arrangement of contacts via telephone and/or computer networks between at least two parties.

A third aspect of the present invention relates to at least one computer software product for optimising the arrangement of contacts via telephone and/or computer networks between at least two parties.

Background art

A company customer who encounters problems with a product or service generally telephones to a Call centre to obtain answers to questions concerning the problem the customer is trying to solve. At a Call centre problems are usually divided into two groups: the first group covers problems that can be solved at the first call by any of the company's Call-centre staff, the second group covers problems that require some form of specialist competence. This constitutes a considerable problem for all CRM (Customer Relationship Marketing) departments as regards planning and allocating resources. In order to solve the problem it should be possible to direct calls to certain periods of the day. However, the greatest cause of frustration to the customer is not knowing whether specialist competence is available and how and when it will be available. Usually one is just passed around within an organisation until one gives up, resulting in an unsatisfied, frustrated customer.

Similar problems arise in other situations also, such as project work and all work processes where it is often necessary to contact a number of people.

Brief description of the invention

One object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned problems. Another object of the present invention is to achieve a flexible and user- friendly method of optimising the arrangement of contacts via telephone and/or computer networks between at least two parties.

In accordance with a first aspect the present invention provides a communication system for optimising the arrangement of contacts via telephone and/or computer networks between at least two parties. The system comprises at least one booking means able to achieve booking of times for contact between the at least two parties, at least one memory unit connected to the booking means, said unit(s) storing a specific profile for each party, as well as booked contacts for each party. The system also comprises at least one connection arrange- ment connected to said at least one booking means and to said at least one memory unit, which arrangement(s) automatically establish(es) a connection between the at least two parties at said booked time. An advantage with this system is that the telephone and/or computer traffic is optimised on the basis of the information stated by the parties in profiles. This means that the number of unsuc- cessful "calls", such as engaged, no answer or "back later" is minimised.

The advantages of this system can be divided into three groups: advantages for the calling party, for the receiving party and for operators.

One reaches a person when he/she has the time and inclination to talk, avoids reaching an answering machine, an engaged signal or a frustrated, stressed person. Furthermore, the likelihood is radically increased of speaking to the correct person at the first call instead of having to make several calls to achieve the same result. The possibility of booking calls also means that one can fit all outgoing calls into a period when one has time. This makes it possible to focus on other things the rest of the time. An advantage of filtering incoming calls is that one is not disturbed all day by people calling, but at the same time availability is not reduced for those requiring contact. It is also possible to prepare for each call by requesting advanced notice of what the purpose of the call is. The advantages for a third person, such as a telephone operator, are equally great. The system could create a completely new model for the telecommunications branch since a company can asses in advance approximately how many calls need to be made and to whom. The company could then make these call lists available for bidding.

In this context it is an advantage if the communication system also comprises at least one interface means connected to the connection arrangement, which interface means is connected to a switchboard.

Another advantage in this context is if this least one interface means is a TAPI or JTAPI interface. ₍

In this context it is an advantage if the communication system also com- prises at least one SIP server connected to the connection arrangement, which server is connected to a routing device for connection to at least one telecommunication network.

Another advantage in this context is if said at least one telephone network comprises a VOIP system or a radio communication network, or a combination thereof.

In this context it is an advantage if the communication system also comprises at least one WAP routing device connected to said at least one booking means, for connection to mobile telephones.

Another advantage in this context is if the communication system also comprises at least one computer telephony device connected to said at least one booking means, for connection to telephones.

In this context it is an advantage if the communication system also comprises at least one exchange connected to said at least one booking means, for connection to computers. Another advantage in this context is if the communication system also comprises at least one web member connected to said at least one booking means, for connection to computers.

In this context it is an advantage if the communication system also comprises at least one catalogue member connected to said at least one web member connected to at least one booking means, for storing catalogue data.

A further advantage in this context is if each booking means consists of a booking server.

In this context it is an advantage if each memory unit consists of a database. In this context it is an advantage if, when the connection established results in contact between the at least two parties, a message is transmitted to the memory unit that said contact has been completed.

Another advantage in this context is if, when the connection established does not result in contact between the at least two parties, the calling party is noti- fied of a new call time.

In this context it is an advantage if said connection can be made to a public telephone network, a VOIP system or a radio communication network.

A further advantage in this context is if each party has a digital calendar to which said at least one booking means has access.

In this context it is an advantage if each booking means consists of a booking server.

Another advantage in this context is if each memory unit consists of a database. Another object of the present invention is to provide a method for optimising the arrangement of contacts via telephone and/or computer networks between at least two parties by means of a communication system comprising at least one booking means, at least one memory unit connected to the booking means and at least one connection arrangement connected to said at least one booking means and to said at least one memory unit. The method comprises the following steps:

• sending a booking enquiry to said booking means;

• said booking means collecting profiles and booked contacts relating to said at least two parties from the memory unit;

• said booking means calculating the optimum duration of call for said contact; • storing the duration of call in said memory unit;

• said connection arrangement collecting call information for said at least two parties from the memory unit; and

• said connection arrangement automatically establishing a connection between the at least two parties. An advantage with this method is that the telephone and/or computer traffic is optimised on the basis of the information stated by the parties in profiles. This means that the number of unsuccessful "calls", such as engaged, no answer or "back later" is minimised.

In this context it is an advantage if, when the connection established re- suits in contact between the at least two parties, a message is transmitted to the memory unit that said contact has been completed.

Another advantage in this context is if, when the connection established does not result in contact between the at least two parties, the calling party is notified of a new call time. In this context it is an advantage if said connection can be made to a public telephone network, a VOIP system or a radio communication network.

A further advantage in this context is if each party has a digital calendar to which said at least one booking means has access. In this context it is an advantage if each booking means consists of a booking server.

Another advantage in this context is if each memory unit consists of a database.

An additional object of the present invention is to provide at least one computer software product that can be downloaded directly into the internal memory of at least one digital computer. The at least one computer software product comprises software code sections for executing the steps in accordance with the method in accordance with the present invention when said at least one product is run on said at least one computer. An advantage with the computer software product(s) in accordance with the present invention is that the telephone and/or computer traffic is optimised on the basis of the information stated by the parties in profiles. This means that the number of unsuccessful "calls", such as engaged, no answer or "back later" is minimised.

It should be emphasised that when the term "comprise(s)/comprising" is used in this description it shall be construed to denote the presence of the fea- . tures, steps or components stated but does not exclude the presence of one or more other features, parts, steps, components or groups thereof.

Brief description of the drawings Embodiments of the invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

Figure 1 shows a block diagram of a communication system for optimising the arrangement of contacts via telephone and/or computer networks between at least two parties; Figure 2 is a flow chart for a method for optimising the arrangement of contacts via telephone and/or computer networks between at least two parties;

Figure 3 shows a flow chart and time schedule for use of the present invention in conjunction with a "Call centre"; Figs. 4a and 4b show flow charts and time schedules for two applications of the present invention in conjunction with project work;

Figure 5 shows a flow chart and time schedule for an application of the present invention in conjunction with the use of mobile tele- phones;

Figure 6 shows a flow chart and time schedule for an application of the present invention in conjunction with use of the Internet;

Figure 7 shows a flow chart and time schedule for an application of the present invention in conjunction with a work process; Figure 8 shows a flow chart and time schedule for an application of the present invention in conjunction with "mass contact"; and

Figure 9 shows a schematic diagram of some computer software products in accordance with the present invention.

Detailed description of embodiments

Figure 2 shows a block diagram of a communication system 10 for optimising the arrangement of contacts via telephone and/or computer networks between at least two parties, in accordance with the present invention. The communication system 10 comprises at least one booking means 12 able to achieve booking of times for contact between the at least two parties. For the sake of simplicity only one booking means 12 is shown in fig. 1. The communication system 10 also comprises at least one memory unit 14 connected to the booking means 12. For the sake of simplicity only one memory unit 14 is shown in fig. 1. The memory unit(s) 14 store(s) a specific profile for each party, as well as booked con- tacts for each party. These profiles include a list of the calls the parties have booked for the immediate future. The profile for outgoing calls governs how calls are booked for others and the profile for incoming calls filters how other parties can book themselves in on the user's call list. The communication system 10 also comprises at least one connection arrangement 16 connected to said at least one booking means 12 and to said at least one memory unit 14. For the sake of simplicity only one connection arrangement 16 is shown in fig. 1. The connection arrangement 16 automatically establishes a connection between the at least two parties at said booked time. When the user requests contact with another party the system 10 takes the parameters in the contracting parties' profiles and opti- mises the time when a contact is established so that the call has the highest possible quality as regards exchange of knowledge, etc., instead of one party not having time, for instance, or not being sufficiently prepared. The system 10 automatically establishes contact between the parties at the appointed time, over the 5 telephone network, for instance. The communication system 10 can also include an interface means 18 connected to the connection arrangement 16, which is connected to a switchboard 20. This interface means 18 may be e.g. a TAPI interface 18 (Telephony Application Programming Interface) or a JTAPI interface 18 (Java Telephony Application Programming Interface). The communication system

10 10 also comprises an SIP server 22 connected to the connection arrangement 16, which server is connected to a routing device 24 for connection to at least one telecommunication network. Said at least one telephone network may consist of a public telephone network 26 (PSTN-network), a VOIP system 28 or a radio communication network 30, or a combination thereof. VOIP stands for Voice over IP

15 and denotes voice traffic over an IP network. Another concept is IP telephony. The radio communication network 30 may be a GSM network 30. The communication system 10 may also comprise a WAP routing device 32 connected to the one booking means 12, for connection to a mobile telephone 34. The communication system 10 may also comprise a computer telephony 36 device connected to

20 the booking means 12, for connection to a telephone 38. The communication system 10 may also comprise an exchange 40 connected to the booking means 12, for connection to a computer 42. The communication system 10 may also comprise a web member 44, e.g. in the form of a web server 44, connected to the booking means 12, for connection to a computer 42. The communication system

25. 10 may furthermore also comprise a catalogue member 46 for storing catalogue data. The catalogue member 46 is connected to the booking means 12, the memory unit 14 and the web member 44.

In accordance with a preferred embodiment of the communication system 10 each booking means 12 consists of a booking server 12.

30 In accordance with a preferred embodiment of the communication system

10 each memory unit 14 consists of a database 14.

The function of the communication system 10 shown in fig. 1 is described in more detail with reference to figs. 2-8, explained below.

Figure 2 shows a flow chart for a method for optimising the arrangement of contacts via telephone and/or computer networks between at least two parties in accordance with the present invention. The method is performed by means of a communication system comprising at least one booking means, at least one memory unit connected to the booking means and at least one connection ar- rangement connected to said at least one booking means and to said at least one memory unit. The method starts at block 50. The method then continues at block 52 with the step of: sending a booking enquiry to said booking means. Thereafter the method continues at block 54 with the step of: the booking means collecting profiles and booked contacts relating to said at least two parties from the memory unit. The method then continues at block 56 with the step of: said booking means calculating the optimum duration of call for said contact. Thereafter the method continues at block 58 with the step of: storing the duration of call in said memory unit. The method then continues at block 60 with the step of: said connection arrangement collecting call information for said at least two parties from the memory unit. Thereafter the method continues at block 62 with the step of the connection arrangement automatically establishing a connection between the at least two parties. The method then terminates at block 64.

If the connection established results in contact between the at least two parties, a message is transmitted to the memory unit that said contact has been completed.

If, on the other hand, the connection established does not result in contact, the calling party is notified of a new call time.

Said connection may be made to a public telephone network, a VOIP system or a radio communication network (see fig. 1). In a preferred embodiment of the method each party has a digital calendar to which said at least one booking means has access.

Figure 3 shows a flow chart and time schedule for an application of the ^■ present invention in conjunction with a "Call centre". A company customer who encounters problems with a product or service generally telephones to the com- pany's Call centre to obtain answers to questions concerning the problem the customer is trying to solve. At the Call centre problems are divided into two groups: the first group covers problems that can be solved at the first call by any of the company's Call-centre staff, the second group of calls require some form of specialist competence. This constitutes a considerable problem for all CRM depart- ments as regards planning and allocating resources. In order to solve the problem it should be possible to direct calls to certain periods of the day. The greatest cause of frustration to the customer is not knowing whether specialist competence is available and how and when it will be available. Usually the customer is just passed around within the organisation until he/she gives up, resulting in an unsatisfied, frustrated customer.

In accordance with the invention the incoming calls are automatically checked, by discovering what the customer's problem is and then matching this with a specialist. The next step is connecting the call to the customer when the specialist is available or during the time interval when he/she is best prepared to solve the identified problem. The parameters the CRM department sets for the filter for incoming calls is based on describing the problem and then connecting a qualified group to the problem. The parameters thus consist of factors such as which product the problem relates to and the customer situation in which the prob- lem arose. This allows a customer-care centre to be arranged in a completely unique manner. Narrow specialist competence can thus be allocated to the unit with good precision, thus involving considerable improvement in quality. Talking to a competent person is of great importance in solving a problem.

The flow is described below. When the customer encounters a problem and calls the company he/she will either reach an audio response unit or will surf in on a web page or some other type of interface. The customer then explains the problem, following a process based on the parameters the company needs to define the competence required to answer the customer's questions. The customer is then informed that the customer centre will call at a certain time and that it will be a person having the correct degree of competence who will make the call. If the customer approves the time proposed this will be entered into a database. If not, a new time will be suggested until the customer is satisfied. A connection machine will connect the call at the appointed time between a specialist from the customer-care centre and the customer. The call is completed and a message is transmitted automatically to the company's case-handling system that this case has been completed. The specialist is able at any time to book a new time for the customer if the problem requires specialised knowledge of a kind other than that possessed by the specialist dealing with the case. One of the many positive side effects is that the number of calls to the exchange decreases, while at the same time the quality of service is improved. If nobody answers at the customer's number a notice stating the fact is sent by e-mail, SMS or some other medium to both customer and system, and all others the system is designed to send data to. A person in charge of customer relations perhaps wants to know how the contact with his/her customer is dealt with by the company. A new time for calling is booked in in this message. The system endeavours to book a new time as many times as it is programmed by the company to do so.

Figures 4a and 4b show flow charts and time schedules for two applications of the present invention in conjunction with project work. During work in project form the project group, customers and specialists are often located far outside geographically linked areas, with different time zones and tight schedules, which is not conducive to good communication. This contributes to deteriorating performance for the project since decisions and expertise are left "hanging" while waiting for contacts to be taken. It is also extremely usual for experts to be working on several projects, which entails communication chaos where the experts are interrupted throughout the working day and have great difficulty in reaching the people they need to reach in order to produce results. This is one of the most usual reasons for people becoming burned out in certain branches. A frequent solution is to make use of e-mail and/or various forms of digital planning tools such as digital calendars to enable joint time planning. Another alternative is to employ a project administrator to try to create a favourable communication environment and to provide a mediation point at the centre of the project. However, this is an almost impossible task. What each person requires is a communication profile that filters incoming calls according to the projects each is working on and the tasks he or she has. A personal support is required that books all calls to be made and connects them at the appointed time. This process is as follows:

Each person has a calendar from which the system can collect times when contact can be made. If the person does not have a digital calendar, the pe- riod during which he/she is accessible to others must be stated, e.g. by means of an audio response unit, a web page or some other type of system client. The user decides who, where, when, how and why he/she will receive a call. A person with customer responsibility in a project organisation, for instance, might set the system as follows: Available for contact from all customers between 9.00 and 11.30 a.m., with the exception of customer A who is deemed of critical importance and may book in calls at any time of the day or night. All project members can obtain contact during the afternoon, divided into three intervals depending on which project they are working on. The immediate superior and each project leader may al- ways book in time during office hours, with priority given to projects for customer A.

When customer C wants a situation report, he/she surfs in to a web page or opens his/her digital calendar to book a call, stating the project in question, who he or she is and the reason for the call. These elements are created by the receiv- ing party when the latter sets up his/her profile in the system. When the project is set up, parts of the interested party's calendar can be distributed for access by the system so that an optimum call time can be found between two parties, on the basis of their calendars. This occurs through a standard interface to the system. No user can access the calendar data of another person. It is only the system that can find free times in the calendars. Customer C also states the priority of the case and sends the enquiry to the server. The system replies with a call time, say two hours and twenty minutes layer, and customer C accepts this. A notice appears in the parties' calendars that a call has been booked and what the contact is to deal with. The receiving party is thus able to prepare for the call. In the event of an enquiry for a situation report the system can always book in a call with the project leader or with the person responsible for customers before the call to the customer, and automatically open the project plan.

If the call is missed by one or the other party due to some unforeseen event such as a meeting that goes over time, a new time is booked and a mes- sage is sent to both parties concerning the missed call and the new call time. This message can be transmitted as SMS, WAP, e-mail or some other medium as desired by each individual.

A user can always inspect and correct his/her contact calendar manually, via a web page, WAP service or some other medium. If a call is erased from the list a message is immediately sent to the other party.

Figure 5 shows a flow chart and time schedule for an application of the present invention in conjunction with the use of mobile telephones. The number of mobile telephone users is increasing with a strongly exponential trend. This means that the number of contacts over the telephone network is increasing ex- plosively, which in turn results in a decrease in the quality of each call. The reasoning is based on ever more contacts being pressed in to less and less time. This means increased likelihood of the quality of each "call" being low, e.g. reaching an engaged tone, answering service or a person who does not have time. By the same reasoning people are constantly disturbed by a mobile telephone ringing, that they do not wish to turn off for fear of missing one of the contacts they are trying to maintain. The flow is explained best in fig. 5.

Figure 6 shows a flow chart and time schedule for an application of the present invention in conjunction with use of the Internet. A desire often exists to reach a person to talk to via a web page. Human communication has a much higher band width than e-mail, for instance. It should therefore be possible from a web page or e-post to directly book in a call time with a person responsible for the contents of the web page or the e-mail. A method for this might have the following appearance. A user has downloaded the web page and wishes to talk to someone in the company who is responsible for the web page. The user clicks on a button where he leaves his number, when he desires the call and what the call is about. The company can always add parameters here.

The parameters provide the basis for a booking enquiry and the user re- ceives a call time with a named person in the company. At the appointed time a call connection is established between a person in the company and the user. Figure 7 shows a flow chart and time schedule for an application of the present invention in conjunction with a work process. All work processes follow a set number of steps and it is often necessary to reach various people, on the ba- sis of these steps. This often causes the process to "limp" when these people are not available. An example is a sales person where the steps may be as follows: first contact, sale, acceptance and follow-up. The user may need support to book in these four contacts automatically. The flow may have the following appearance: A procedure is first constructed that can be followed in a number of steps, and what shall be done in each step. The next phase is to create a list of the people that must be contacted and assign them priorities. The system creates an optimal call list based on these two parameters (procedure and list of people). A connection server the connects calls in accordance with the call list and displays, for instance, a model speech with help words for making a sale. A customer or a case

Claims

is followed up by the system throughout. A report is provided throughout as to which steps have been completed and which remain, as well as when execution of these steps is planned.Figure 8 shows a flow chart and time schedule for an application of the present invention in conjunction with "mass contact". A person wishing to maintain regular contact with a large number of people often wishes to be able to talk randomly with a group of the total population. The selection is often based on certain parameters such as opinion, qualifications or other data. Examples might be a politician, a managing director or the chairman of a society or association. The flow might then have the following appearance: The politician creates a selection with existing lists of members, entirely randomly or based on a list of people who have called. The selection is then sent to the booking server as a mass enquiry with 100 calls planned over a period of one week, for instance. A call list is created and executed by the system. The politician is thus able at any time to make a spot check of members' opinions and at the same time maintain personal contact with selected groups.Figure 9 shows a schematic diagram of some computer software products in accordance with the present invention, n different digital computers 100ι , ..., 10n are shown. The various computer software products 102-] , ..., 102n can be downloaded directly into the internal memory of the various digital computers 100-1 , ..., 100n. Each computer software product 102 -| , ..., 102n comprises software code sections for executing some or all of the steps in accordance with fig. 2 when the product(s) 102-1 , ..., 102n is/are run on the computer 100ι , ..., 100n. The computer software products 102 -j , ..., 102n may be in the form of floppy disks, CDs, RAM discs, magnet tape, opto-magnetic discs or any other suitable product.The invention is not limited to the embodiments described above. It is obvious to one skilled in the art that many modifications are feasible within the scope of the following claims. CLAIMS

1. A communication system for optimising the arrangement of contacts via telephone and/or computer networks between at least two parties, which system comprises at least one booking means able to achieve booking of times for contact between the at least two parties, at least one memory unit connected to the booking means, said unit(s) storing a specific profile for each party, as well as booked contacts for each party, and at least one connection arrangement connected to said at least one booking means and to said at least one memory unit, which arrangement(s) automatically establish(es) a connection between the at least two parties at said booked time.

2. A communication system for optimising the arrangement of contacts via telephone and/or computer networks between at least two parties as claimed in claim 1 , characterized in that the communication system also comprises at least one interface means connected to the connection arrangement, which interface means is connected to a switchboard.

3. A communication system for optimising the arrangement of contacts via telephone and/or computer networks between at least two parties as claimed in claim 2, characterized in that said at least one interface means is a TAP! or JTAPI interface.

4. A communication system for optimising the arrangement of contacts via telephone and/or computer networks between at least two parties as claimed in claim 1 , characterized in that the communication system also comprises at least one SIP server connected to the connection arrangement, which server is connected to a routing device for connection to at least one telecommunication network.

5. A communication system for optimising the. arrangement of contacts via telephone and/or computer networks between at least two parties as claimed in claim 4, characterized in that said at least one telephone network comprises a VOIP system or a radio communication network, or a combination thereof.

6. A communication system for optimising the arrangement of contacts via telephone and/or computer networks between at least two parties as claimed in any one of claims 1-5, characterized in that the communication system also comprises at least one WAP routing device connected to said at least one book- ing means, for connection to mobile telephones.

7. A communication system for optimising the arrangement of contacts via telephone and/or computer networks between at least two parties as claimed in any one of claims 1-6, characterized in that the communication system also comprises at least one computer telephony device connected to said at least one booking means, for connection to telephones.

8. A communication system for optimising the arrangement of contacts via telephone and/or computer networks between at least two parties as claimed in any one of claims 1-7, characterized in that the communication system also comprises at least one exchange connected to said at least one booking means, for connection to computers.

9. A communication system for optimising the arrangement of contacts via telephone and/or computer networks between at least two parties as claimed in any one of claims 1-8, characterized in that the communication system also comprises at least one web member connected to said at least one booking means, for connection to computers.

10. A communication system for optimising the arrangement of contacts via telephone and/or computer networks between at least two parties as claimed in claim 9, characterized in that the communication system also comprises at least one catalogue member connected to said at least one web member connected to at least one booking means, for storing catalogue data.

11. A communication system for optimising the arrangement of contacts via telephone and/or computer networks between at least two parties as claimed in any one of claims 1-10, characterized in that each booking means consists of a booking server.

12. A communication system for optimising the arrangement of contacts via telephone and/or computer networks between at least two parties as claimed in any one of claims 1-11 , characterized in that each memory unit consists of a database.

13. A method for optimising the arrangement of contacts via telephone and/or computer networks between at least two parties by means of a communication system comprising at least one booking means, at least one memory unit connected to the booking means and at least one connection arrangement connected to said at least one booking means and to said at least one memory unit, which method comprises the steps of:

• sending a booking enquiry to said booking means;

• said booking means collecting profiles and booked contacts relating to said at least two parties from the memory unit; • said booking means calculating the optimum duration of call for said contact;

• storing the duration of call in said memory unit;

• said connection arrangement automatically establishing a connection between the at least two parties.

14. A method for optimising the arrangement of contacts via telephone and/or computer networks between at least two parties as claimed in claim 13, characterized in that if the connection established results in contact between the at least two parties, a message is transmitted to the memory unit that said contact has been completed.

15. A method for optimising the arrangement of contacts via telephone and/or computer networks between at least two parties as claimed in claim 13, charac- terized in that if the connection established does not result in contact between the at least two parties, the calling party is notified of a new call time.

16. A method for optimising the arrangement of contacts via telephone and/or computer networks between at least two parties as claimed in any one of claims 13-15, characterized in that said connection may be made to a public telephone network, a VOIP system or a radio communication network.

17. A method for optimising the arrangement of contacts via telephone and/or computer networks between at least two parties as claimed in any one of claims

13-16, characterized in that each party has a digital calendar to which said at least one booking means has access.

18. A method for optimising the arrangement of contacts via telephone and/or computer networks between at least two parties as claimed in any one of claims

13-17, characterized in that each booking means consists of a booking server.

19. A method for optimising the arrangement of contacts via telephone and/or computer networks between at least two parties as claimed in any one of claims 13-18, characterized in that each memory unit consists of a database.

20. At least one computer software product (1021 , ..., 102n) that can be downloaded directly into the internal memory of at least one digital computer (1001 , ..., 100_n) comprising software code sections for executing the steps in ac- cordance with claim 13 when said at least one product (102-| , ..., 102n) is run on said at least one computer (1001 , ..., 100_n).