Real-Time Delay Estimation in Overloaded Multiserver Queues with Abandonments

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Ibrahim, Rouba; Whitt, Ward
• 署名单位: Columbia University
• 刊物名称: MANAGEMENT SCIENCE
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0025-1909
• DOI: 10.1287/mnsc.1090.1041
• 发表日期: 2009
• 页码: 1729-1742
• 关键词: delay estimation; delay announcements; Call centers; many-server queues; customer abandonment; simulation; heavy traffic

摘要

We use heavy-traffic limits and computer simulation to study the performance of alternative real-time delay estimators in the overloaded GI/GI/s+GI multiserver queueing model, allowing customer abandonment. These delay estimates may be used to make delay announcements in call centers and related service systems. We characterize performance by the expected mean squared error in steady state. We exploit established approximations for performance measures with a nonexponential abandonment-time distribution to obtain new delay estimators that effectively cope with nonexponential abandonment-time distributions.