Wait Time Estimation in Distributed Multitenant Systems : Using Queuing Theory

Abstract: Queueing theory is widely used in practical queuing applications. It can be applied for specific models of queuing systems, especially the ones that follow the Markovian property. Its purpose is to predict system behaviour in order to be used for performance optimization. In this case study, it was used to evaluate an extended queuing model with agents serving multiple queues. The purpose was to try to capture more variability and input factors into the theoretical model and test its applicability on more extended models. The main objective was to use relevant queuing theory models to estimate the wait time using real contact center data. Different from the theoretical model, the service rates of the system model depended on how many queues an agent served concurrently, which increased the complexity of the model. The obtained results demonstrated some limitations that made the models too restrictive to be applied to a model with multi-skilled agents that were not equally available. Moreover, it was shown that heuristical approaches might be more suitable for more complex queuing systems that are not covered in queueing theory models.