LOMA 335 EXAM STUDY GUIDE
80-20 principle - Answer -A guideline which states that 20% of the components of a
situation account for 80% of the outcomes. [10]
360-degree review - Answer -A method of performance evaluation in which opinions
about an employee's performance are solicited from several sources, such as the
employee and her superiors, peers, subordinates and customers. [3]
abandonment rate - Answer -For a contact center, the percentage of inbound telephone
calls that are placed in the queue and then terminated by the caller before the call is
answered by a customer service representative. [12]
accuracy - Answer -In research, a general term for the closeness of a model to the
system it represents, the closeness of a measured quantity to its true value, or the
closeness of a projected outcome to the actual outcome. [6]
ACORD - Answer -A standards-developing organization that supports data and
technology standards for insurance and financial services worldwide. [13]
ACORD XML LAH - Answer -ACORD's proprietary information sharing standards
developed for life insurance, annuities and non medical health insurance. [13]
acquiescence bias - Answer -a consistent error in survey data arising from the
tendency of interviewees to agree with the questioner. [6]
activity - Answer -Part of a set of actions that accomplishes a job, problem or
assignment, all of which must be accomplished within a specified time. [11]
activity analysis - Answer -A type of analysis and a report for documenting the results
of a study undertaken to identify how a given project activity is accomplished including
the tasks constituting that activity. [14]
adherence - Answer -In a contact center, the degree to which customer service
representatives follow the staffing schedule developed to handle inbound customer
contacts. [12]
administrative and support function - Answer -A function in which either managerial or
non-managerial employees perform duties to support operational or production
activities, but do not directly perform operational or production duties. [1]
agency problem - Answer -A problem that exists when one person is paid to act on
behalf of another, but the two individuals have different interests, have access to
different information about the agent's activities, and have different incentives. [2]
,agile management - Answer -An approach to business effectiveness focused on finding
and seizing opportunities to improve operations and processes. [11]
American National Standards Institute (ANSI) - Answer -A private association that
supports the creation of voluntary standards for companies operating in the United
States. [13]
antecedent - Answer -In a behavioral context, an environmental cue that prompts a
person to act in a particular manner. [3]
arithmetic average model - Answer -A model that uses the arithmetic average (the
mean) of the time-series data from previous periods as the forecast value for the next
future period. [8]
as-is flow chart - Answer -A type of flow chart that describes how a work process is
actually performed, regardless of how it should be performed. [11]
attention bias - Answer -A consistent error in research outcomes which arises because
individuals who know they are being studied tend to perform better because of the
attention to their performance. [6]
authoritarian decision process - Answer -A process that relies on one decision maker to
dictate a choice. Also known as autocratic decision process or paternalistic decision
process. [5]
authority - Answer -The right to direct the actions of others. See also power. [3]
automated underwriting system - Answer -A type of expert system that uses an expert
knowledge base, decision rules, and a company database to make automated
underwriting decisions. See expert system [6]
automatic call distributor (ACD) - Answer -A device that, at the most basic level,
receives telephone calls and directs them to the appropriate employee or work group. In
addition to routing, ACDs can perform a variety of other functions, such as facilitating
contact center management, linking multiple service centers, and integrating telephones
with other communication and information technology. [12]
automatic number identification (ANI) - Answer -A technology that identifies an inbound
telephone call by the caller's telephone number or some other type of personal
identifier. [12]
automation - Answer -The operation of a process, system or piece of equipment
without human intervention. [1]
,autonomy - Answer -As a dimension of work, the degree to which a job gives a worker
freedom, independence and discretion in scheduling the work and determining how to
carry it out. [4]
average call value - Answer -In a contact center, a measure that relates revenue to
total calls; found by dividing the total revenue of a contact center by the center's call
volume for a given time interval. [12]
average handling time (AHT) - Answer -In a contact center, the average amount of time
that employees take to handle calls; found by adding average talk time to average time
spend on after-call work. Also known as turnaround time. see also average talk time
and average time spent on after-call work. [12]
average speed of answer (ASA) - Answer -In a contact center, the amount of time, on
average, that it takes a contact center to answer a telephone call.
average talk time - Answer -In a contact center, the average amounts of time customer
service representatives spend on the telephone with callers. See also average handling
time and average time spent on after-call work. [12]
average time spent on after-call work - Answer -In a contact center, the average time
that customer service representatives spend on completing after-call work. See also
average handling time and average talk time. [12]
balanced scorecard - Answer -A graphical display of a set of performance indicators
which links measures of company activities to broad performance outcomes. A
balanced scorecard displays performance results over a specified time period - not at a
single point in time.
balanced scorecard approach - Answer -A conceptual framework used to communicate
a strategic overview of the alignment between operational results and the corporate
mission and strategy. Scorecards give decision makers actionable information about
how operations are progressing toward goal achievement. [11]
bar chart - Answer -A graphical display of a frequency distribution. Bar charts present
data in the shape of rectangles, with one rectangle for each classification. In a bar chart,
the length of the bar represents the relative size of one category of the entire data
distribution. [9, 10]
barrier to entry - Answer -In economics, an obstacle to a new seller's entry into a
market. [2]
base staff - Answer -In a contact center, the minimum number of customer service
representatives needed to be available to take calls during any given time interval to
meet the service-level objective. Also called seated agents [12].
, baseline Gantt chart - Answer -In project management, a type of Gantt chart used as
the starting point for a project plan. When placed alongside another display that shows
actual project progress, the baseline Gantt chart can show departures from the plan or
budget. [14]
basic quality tools - Answer -A set of relatively simple techniques for measuring and
analyzing quality in operations by using numerical and qualitative measures. [10]
behavior modification - Answer -An approach in which an individual systematically
manages environmental factors in order to encourage desirable behavior and
discourage undesirable behavior. [3]
benchmark - Answer -Generally, a measured and marked point for which the value is
known to a high degree of accuracy. In business performance measurement, a
performance standard that a company aspires to achieve, perhaps because it
represents a high standard that another company was able to achieve. Industry
benchmarks are results achieved by other companies in the same industry; universal
benchmarks are results achieved by another company performing the same process,
regardless of industry. [11]
benchmarking - Answer -A formal program for identifying and emulating best practices
for company processes. A benchmark serves as a best practice standard. [11]
best payoff - Answer -In a payoff table of a decision model, the payoff with the highest
positive value in a given state-of-nature column. [7]
bias - Answer -An error with a consistent direction. Also known as a systemic error. [6]
Black Belt (BB) - Answer -A Six Sigma expert and project team leader, primarily
responsible for Six Sigma improvement results. [11]
business analytics - Answer -A domain of automated research for business intelligence
that typically involves using software for data mining, statistical analysis, predictive
modeling, business process modeling and predictive analytics. [6]
business intelligence - Answer -Decision-support information about competitive factors.
[6]
business process - Answer -An ongoing method or system for fulfilling customers'
needs without involving significant mechanical or chemical processing. [11]
business process management system - Answer -Software which supports business
process management and business process automation, typically by providing process
modeling tools for business analysts, developer tools for system integration,
dashboards to help process owners with measuring, monitoring, and controlling and
user interaction tools to facilitate work for work team members. [11]
80-20 principle - Answer -A guideline which states that 20% of the components of a
situation account for 80% of the outcomes. [10]
360-degree review - Answer -A method of performance evaluation in which opinions
about an employee's performance are solicited from several sources, such as the
employee and her superiors, peers, subordinates and customers. [3]
abandonment rate - Answer -For a contact center, the percentage of inbound telephone
calls that are placed in the queue and then terminated by the caller before the call is
answered by a customer service representative. [12]
accuracy - Answer -In research, a general term for the closeness of a model to the
system it represents, the closeness of a measured quantity to its true value, or the
closeness of a projected outcome to the actual outcome. [6]
ACORD - Answer -A standards-developing organization that supports data and
technology standards for insurance and financial services worldwide. [13]
ACORD XML LAH - Answer -ACORD's proprietary information sharing standards
developed for life insurance, annuities and non medical health insurance. [13]
acquiescence bias - Answer -a consistent error in survey data arising from the
tendency of interviewees to agree with the questioner. [6]
activity - Answer -Part of a set of actions that accomplishes a job, problem or
assignment, all of which must be accomplished within a specified time. [11]
activity analysis - Answer -A type of analysis and a report for documenting the results
of a study undertaken to identify how a given project activity is accomplished including
the tasks constituting that activity. [14]
adherence - Answer -In a contact center, the degree to which customer service
representatives follow the staffing schedule developed to handle inbound customer
contacts. [12]
administrative and support function - Answer -A function in which either managerial or
non-managerial employees perform duties to support operational or production
activities, but do not directly perform operational or production duties. [1]
agency problem - Answer -A problem that exists when one person is paid to act on
behalf of another, but the two individuals have different interests, have access to
different information about the agent's activities, and have different incentives. [2]
,agile management - Answer -An approach to business effectiveness focused on finding
and seizing opportunities to improve operations and processes. [11]
American National Standards Institute (ANSI) - Answer -A private association that
supports the creation of voluntary standards for companies operating in the United
States. [13]
antecedent - Answer -In a behavioral context, an environmental cue that prompts a
person to act in a particular manner. [3]
arithmetic average model - Answer -A model that uses the arithmetic average (the
mean) of the time-series data from previous periods as the forecast value for the next
future period. [8]
as-is flow chart - Answer -A type of flow chart that describes how a work process is
actually performed, regardless of how it should be performed. [11]
attention bias - Answer -A consistent error in research outcomes which arises because
individuals who know they are being studied tend to perform better because of the
attention to their performance. [6]
authoritarian decision process - Answer -A process that relies on one decision maker to
dictate a choice. Also known as autocratic decision process or paternalistic decision
process. [5]
authority - Answer -The right to direct the actions of others. See also power. [3]
automated underwriting system - Answer -A type of expert system that uses an expert
knowledge base, decision rules, and a company database to make automated
underwriting decisions. See expert system [6]
automatic call distributor (ACD) - Answer -A device that, at the most basic level,
receives telephone calls and directs them to the appropriate employee or work group. In
addition to routing, ACDs can perform a variety of other functions, such as facilitating
contact center management, linking multiple service centers, and integrating telephones
with other communication and information technology. [12]
automatic number identification (ANI) - Answer -A technology that identifies an inbound
telephone call by the caller's telephone number or some other type of personal
identifier. [12]
automation - Answer -The operation of a process, system or piece of equipment
without human intervention. [1]
,autonomy - Answer -As a dimension of work, the degree to which a job gives a worker
freedom, independence and discretion in scheduling the work and determining how to
carry it out. [4]
average call value - Answer -In a contact center, a measure that relates revenue to
total calls; found by dividing the total revenue of a contact center by the center's call
volume for a given time interval. [12]
average handling time (AHT) - Answer -In a contact center, the average amount of time
that employees take to handle calls; found by adding average talk time to average time
spend on after-call work. Also known as turnaround time. see also average talk time
and average time spent on after-call work. [12]
average speed of answer (ASA) - Answer -In a contact center, the amount of time, on
average, that it takes a contact center to answer a telephone call.
average talk time - Answer -In a contact center, the average amounts of time customer
service representatives spend on the telephone with callers. See also average handling
time and average time spent on after-call work. [12]
average time spent on after-call work - Answer -In a contact center, the average time
that customer service representatives spend on completing after-call work. See also
average handling time and average talk time. [12]
balanced scorecard - Answer -A graphical display of a set of performance indicators
which links measures of company activities to broad performance outcomes. A
balanced scorecard displays performance results over a specified time period - not at a
single point in time.
balanced scorecard approach - Answer -A conceptual framework used to communicate
a strategic overview of the alignment between operational results and the corporate
mission and strategy. Scorecards give decision makers actionable information about
how operations are progressing toward goal achievement. [11]
bar chart - Answer -A graphical display of a frequency distribution. Bar charts present
data in the shape of rectangles, with one rectangle for each classification. In a bar chart,
the length of the bar represents the relative size of one category of the entire data
distribution. [9, 10]
barrier to entry - Answer -In economics, an obstacle to a new seller's entry into a
market. [2]
base staff - Answer -In a contact center, the minimum number of customer service
representatives needed to be available to take calls during any given time interval to
meet the service-level objective. Also called seated agents [12].
, baseline Gantt chart - Answer -In project management, a type of Gantt chart used as
the starting point for a project plan. When placed alongside another display that shows
actual project progress, the baseline Gantt chart can show departures from the plan or
budget. [14]
basic quality tools - Answer -A set of relatively simple techniques for measuring and
analyzing quality in operations by using numerical and qualitative measures. [10]
behavior modification - Answer -An approach in which an individual systematically
manages environmental factors in order to encourage desirable behavior and
discourage undesirable behavior. [3]
benchmark - Answer -Generally, a measured and marked point for which the value is
known to a high degree of accuracy. In business performance measurement, a
performance standard that a company aspires to achieve, perhaps because it
represents a high standard that another company was able to achieve. Industry
benchmarks are results achieved by other companies in the same industry; universal
benchmarks are results achieved by another company performing the same process,
regardless of industry. [11]
benchmarking - Answer -A formal program for identifying and emulating best practices
for company processes. A benchmark serves as a best practice standard. [11]
best payoff - Answer -In a payoff table of a decision model, the payoff with the highest
positive value in a given state-of-nature column. [7]
bias - Answer -An error with a consistent direction. Also known as a systemic error. [6]
Black Belt (BB) - Answer -A Six Sigma expert and project team leader, primarily
responsible for Six Sigma improvement results. [11]
business analytics - Answer -A domain of automated research for business intelligence
that typically involves using software for data mining, statistical analysis, predictive
modeling, business process modeling and predictive analytics. [6]
business intelligence - Answer -Decision-support information about competitive factors.
[6]
business process - Answer -An ongoing method or system for fulfilling customers'
needs without involving significant mechanical or chemical processing. [11]
business process management system - Answer -Software which supports business
process management and business process automation, typically by providing process
modeling tools for business analysts, developer tools for system integration,
dashboards to help process owners with measuring, monitoring, and controlling and
user interaction tools to facilitate work for work team members. [11]
