Introduction

Assembled will automatically forecast contacts and reopens for you, but if you wish to override that forecast and use your own, you can either do so using our API or uploading a comma-separated value (CSV) file. The real power of this feature is that you don't have to provide a forecast for every 30 or 60-minute increment. Assembled can actually take a forecast over any time period and apply our forecasted arrival patterns, leaving the tedious work to us and allowing you to focus on the accuracy of your or your team's forecast over a broader period of time.

Note: if you or your team plan on using the API, the CSV upload is a great way to test out the behavior and data since the inputs are the same.

Uploading files

1. Navigate to Uploads > Forecast totals.
2. Drag and drop your CSV file or click on Choose a file...and select a file.

You'll have an opportunity to map columns from your file to the fields needed for Assembled.

• You don't have to provide a queue, in which case the forecast will be for the entire channel, however, if you do have specific queues it's recommended that you provide a forecast for each channel and queue combination.
• If you do not have forecasted volumes for reopened tickets you can uncheck the box next to that field. 
• Be sure to select the same timezone as the timezone in your upload. 

Once you are ready to upload click Upload. You'll be able to view this data from any of the reports where you usually look at forecasts (Staffing timeline, Forecasted v Actual etc). 

How it works - data requirements

This upload can take data for any 15 minute time increment. So if you wish to forecast down to that level of granularity, you can do so and Assembled will just accept those values. However, if your team is focused on forecasting contact volume over a wider time range (eg. over the course of a holiday week), you can provide a single bulk number for the entire week and Assembled will apply the necessary arrival patterns to ensure that you're able to schedule your agents for that week.

Example: If you provide a start of January 1, 2022 00:00:00PT and an end time of January 8, 2022, 00:00:00PT, and a Forecast Total of 1,000 contacts, we would not just average 1,000 over the course of those 7 days. Instead, you would see those 1,000 contacts following historical arrival patterns.

If you run into any issues please reach out to support@assembledhq.com!