Priority-based routing with strict deadlines and server flexibility under uncertainty

In this research we present a simulation-based approach to study alternative dynamic assignment policies in an information technology (IT) service delivery environment. Our overarching goal is to find the most cost-effective assignment of service requests to cross-trained agents in a large-scale network. We present a novel heuristic algorithm that assigns an analytically described allocation index to each service request that has arrived. It incorporates factors such as variability in agents' capabilities, uncertainty in request inter-arrival times and complex service level agreements (SLA). We investigate the effectiveness of our proposed assignment algorithm using real world data from an IT service environment on a small problem instance. We discuss how the results of this simulation can help improve the terms of service level contracts as well as agent training programs. ©2009 IEEE.