XML document frameworks

• US 20030066028A1
• Filed: 09/27/2002
• Published: 04/03/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 10/01/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Oracle America, Inc. (Oracle Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Oracle America, Inc. (Oracle Corporation)
• Inventors: Payne, Geoff, Harrison, Paul, Bell, Elizabeth E., Black, Peter
• Granted Patent: US 7,703,003 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 715/500
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/174 Form filling; Merging

Abstract

An apparatus may be configured to generate document data representing a document for use in providing a service comprising a number of different activities that are to be carried out in providing the service. The apparatus may enable a user to retrieve previously stored document portions in accordance with the activity to which the document portion relates so that it is not necessary for the user to identify a specific document portion, a specific filename or an inventory part number allocated to that document portion. In one embodiment, an apparatus may be configured to generate a document that enables a user to assemble a document in accordance with the activities to which the document relates rather than to the actual content of the document. Thus, the user wishing to assemble a document may be concerned with the activities instead of which precise document portions to include in the document.

Claims

1. Computer processing apparatus for generating document data representing a document for use in providing a service comprising a number of different activities that are to be carried out in providing the service, the apparatus comprising:

a data store storing activity data for a plurality of activities that may be carried out in providing a service, the data store storing, for each activity, activity data associating the activity with at least one service element forming a component of the activity and storing service element data associating the service element with data defining text describing that component of the activity;

a service representation provider operable to provide a service representation defining the activities that are to be carried out in providing a service;

a service representation store configured to store service representations defined by the service representation provider;

a document framework store storing a plurality of document frameworks each for a respective different document and each defining the service elements for which text is to be included in that document;

a service selector operable to select a service representation from the service representation store;

a document framework selector operable to select a document framework from the document framework store;

an identifier operable to identify from the activity data associated with the selected service representation any service element defined by the selected document framework; and

a document data producer operable to produce document data incorporating the text associated with the defined service element or service elements identified by the identifier.

2. Apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the service representation provider comprises a user-operable selector operable to select the activities that are to be carried out in providing a service and a service representation generator operable to generate the service representation defining the activities selected by the selector.

3. Apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the service representation provider is operable to provide at least one predefined service representation.

4. Apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the data store stores data for at least one activity such that the service element data for at least one service element is stored separately from the activity data and the data associating the activity with that service element is a pointer to the corresponding service element data.

5. Apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the data store stores data for at least one activity such that the service element data for at least one service element associated with the activity is contained within the activity data.

6. Apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the data store stores the service element data for at least one service element so that the data defining the text is a pointer to the text.

7. Apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the data store stores the service element data for at least one service element so that the data defining the text actually contains the text.

8. Apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the data store stores activity data such that the activity data for each activity consists of one of:

a single service element, a number of service elements, a service, and a combination of at least one service element and a service.

9. Apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the data store stores service elements including at least service elements of a type selected from:

a description of the activity, an input for the activity, an output or deliverable from the activity, an assumption for the activity, information regarding responsibility for the activity, a subsidiary activity of the activity, a sub-work plan of the activity.

10. Apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the said document frameworks are arranged to define the service elements for which the text is to be included in the corresponding document by at least one of:

specifying the service element by name, specifying the service element by type, defining rules to obtain text associated with the service elements of all activities of a specific type of the selected service, defining rules to obtain text associated with all service elements of a specific type of the selected service, defining rules to obtain text related to an activity and the associated service elements by defining the activity by name or type.

11. Apparatus according to claim 1, wherein, for at least one service element, the data store stores data associating that service element with at least one other service element.

12. Apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the said document frameworks are arranged to define a service element for which the text is to be included in the corresponding document by identifying the specific service element.

13. Apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the said document frameworks are arranged to define a service element for which the text is to be included in the corresponding document by defining rules determining the activities and service elements relevant to that document.

14. Apparatus according to claim 1, wherein at least one document framework includes data defining standard or boiler plate clauses.

15. Apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising an supplier operable to supply document data produced by the document data producer to a user.

16. Apparatus according to claim 15, wherein the supplier comprises a communicator operable to communicate with a user'"'"'s computer.

17. Apparatus according to claims 15, wherein the supplier comprises a printer operable to print a document in accordance with document data produced by the document data producer.

18. Computer processing apparatus for generating document data representing a document for use in providing a service comprising a number of different activities that are to be carried out in providing the service, the apparatus comprising:

a service representation store storing a service representation defining a service as a set of a plurality of activities that are to be carried out in providing the service and associating the service with a data store storing, for each activity, activity data associating the activity with a number of service elements forming components of the activity and, for each service element, service element data associating the service element with data defining text describing that component of the activity;

a document framework store storing a plurality of document frameworks each for a respective different document and each defining the service elements for which text is to be included in that document;

a document framework selector operable to select a document framework from the document framework store;

an identifier operable to identify from the activity data associated with the service representation any service element defined by the selected document framework; and

a document data producer operable to produce document data incorporating the text associated with the defined service element or service elements identified by the identifier.

19. Computer processing apparatus for defining a representation of a service comprising a number of different activities that are to be carried out in providing the service, the apparatus comprising:

a data store storing activity data for a plurality of activities that may be carried out in providing a service, the data store storing for each activity, activity data associating the activity with at least one service element forming a component of the activity so that at least some activities are associated with more than one service element and storing for each service element service element data associating the service element with data defining text describing that component of the activity;

a user-operable selector operable to select the activities that are to be carried out in providing a service;

a service representation generator operable to generate a service representation defining the activities selected by the user using the selector so that the service representation is associated with the activity data stored in the data store for the activities selected by the user; and

a service representation store configured to store service representations generated by the service representation generator.

20. Apparatus according to claim 19, wherein the data store stores data for at least one activity such that the service element data for at least one service element is stored separately from the activity data and the data associating the activity with that service element is a pointer to the corresponding service element data.

21. Apparatus according to claim 19, wherein the data store stores data for at least one activity such that the service element data for at least one service element associated with the activity is contained within the activity data.

22. Apparatus according to claim 19, wherein the data store stores the service element data for at least one service element so that the data defining the text is a pointer to the text.

23. Apparatus according to claim 19, wherein the data store stores the service element data for at least one service element so that the data defining the text actually contains the text.

24. Apparatus according to claim 19, wherein the data store stores activity data such that the activity data for each activity consists of one of:

a single service element, a number of service elements, a service, and a combination of at least one service element and a service.

25. Apparatus according to claim 19, wherein the data store stores service elements including at least service elements of one type selected from:

a description of the activity, an input for the activity, an output or deliverable from the activity, an assumption for the activity, information regarding responsibility for the activity, a subsidiary activity of the activity, a sub-work plan of the activity.

26. Apparatus according to claim 19, wherein, for at least one service element, the data store stores data associating that service element with at least one other service element.

27. Computer processing apparatus for producing document data representing a document for use in the providing of a service comprising a number of different activities that are to be carried out in providing the service using a service representation store storing representations of services each service representation defining the activities that are to be carried out in providing a service and being associated with activity data defining, for each activity, a number of service elements forming components of the activity and each being associated with service element data associating each service element with data defining text describing that component of the activity, the apparatus comprising:

a document framework store storing a plurality of document frameworks each for a respective different document and each defining the service elements for which text is to be included in that document;

a service selector operable to select a service representation from the service representation store;

a document framework selector operable to select a document framework from the document framework store;

an identifier operable to identify from the activity data associated with the selected service representation any service element defined by the selected document framework; and

a document data producer operable to produce document data incorporating the text associated with the defined service element or service elements identified by the identifier.

28. Apparatus according to claim 27, wherein the said document frameworks are arranged to define a service element for which the text is to be included in the corresponding document by identifying the specific service element.

29. Apparatus according to claim 27, wherein the said document frameworks are arranged to define a service element for which the text is to be included in the corresponding document by defining rules determining the activities and service elements relevant to that document.

30. Apparatus according to claim 27, wherein the document frameworks are arranged to define the service elements for which the text is to be included in the corresponding document by at least one of:

specifying the service element by name, specifying the service element by type, defining rules to obtain text associated with the service elements of all activities of a specific type of the selected service, defining rules to obtain text associated with all service elements of a specific type of the selected service, defining rules to obtain text related to an activity and the associated service elements by defining the activity by name or type.

31. Apparatus according to claim 27, wherein each document framework defines a layout for the corresponding document.

32. Apparatus according to claim 27, wherein at least one document framework includes data defining standard or boiler plate clauses.

33. A method of operating computer processing apparatus to generate document data representing a document for use in providing a service comprising a number of different activities that are to be carried out in providing the service, wherein the computer processing apparatus has a data store storing activity data for a plurality of activities that may be carried out in providing a service, the data store storing, for each activity, activity data associating the activity with a number of service elements forming components of the activity and storing for each service element service element data associating the service element with data defining text describing that component of the activity and a document framework store storing a plurality of document frameworks each for a respective different document and each defining the service elements for which text is to be included in that document, the method being carried out by a processor of the computing apparatus and comprising:

providing a service representation defining the activities that are to be carried out in providing a service;

selecting a document framework from the document framework store;

identifying from the activity data associated with the provided service representation any service element defined by the selected document framework; and

producing document data incorporating the text associated with the defined service element or service elements thus identified.

34. A method according to claim 33, further comprising carrying out the service representation by causing the processor to determine the activities selected by a user that are to be carried out in providing a service and to generate the service representation as a service representation defining the activities selected by the user.

35. A method according to claim 33, further comprising carrying out the service representation providing by causing the processor to access a predefined service representation.

36. A method according to claim 33, wherein the selected document framework defines a service element for which the text is to be included in the corresponding document by identifying the specific service element.

37. A method according to claim 33, wherein the selected document framework defines a service element for which the text is to be included in the corresponding document by rules that determine the activities and service elements relevant to that document.

38. A method according to claim 33, wherein the selected document framework defines the service elements for which the text is to be included in the corresponding document by at least one of:

specifying the service element by name, specifying the service element by type, defining rules to obtain text associated with the service elements of all activities of a specific type of the selected service, defining rules to obtain text associated with all service elements of a specific type of the selected service, defining rules to obtain text related to an activity and the associated service elements by defining the activity by name or type.

39. A method according to claim 33, wherein the selected document framework defines a layout for the corresponding document.

40. A method according to claim 33, wherein the selected document framework includes data defining standard or boiler plate clauses.

41. A method according to claim 33, further comprising outputting produced document data.

42. A method according to claim 41, wherein outputting the produced document data comprises printing a document in accordance with the produced document data.

47. A computer program product comprising processor implementable instructions for causing a processor to carry out a method in accordance with claim 33.

48. A storage medium carrying a computer program product in accordance with claim 47.

49. A signal carrying a computer program product in accordance with claim 47.

43. A method of operating a computer processing apparatus to enable a user to define a service representation comprising a number of different activities that may be carried out in providing the service, the computer processing apparatus having a processor and a display and being coupled to a data store storing activity activity data for a plurality of activities, the data store storing for each activity data associating the activity with a number of service elements forming components of the activity and storing for each service element service element data associating the service element with data defining text describing that component of the activity, the method being carried out by the processor and comprising:

displaying to the user a number of activity identifiers each identifying a corresponding different one of the activities stored in the data store;

receiving instructions from the user that indicate selection of display activity identifiers;

displaying to the user a list of the activity identifiers selected by the user; and

receiving instructions from the user to define a service representation comprising the activities corresponding to the activity identifiers selected by the user.

44. A method according to claim 43, the method further comprising displaying to the user a search screen, receiving search criteria from the user and selecting the activity identifiers to be displayed to the user in accordance with the search criteria.

45. A method according to claim 43, the method further comprising, after receipt of instructions from a user indicating selection of an activity identifier, adding that activity identifier to a basket for activity identifiers selected by the user, wherein displaying the list of selected activity identifiers comprises displaying the basket of activity identifiers selected by the user and wherein receiving instructions from the user to define the service representation comprises receiving instructions from the user that indicate selection of displayed activity identifiers from the basket to define the service representation and the method further comprises displaying a list of activity identifiers selected from the basket by the user to define the service representation.

46. A method of operating a computer processing apparatus to enable a user to obtain a document for use in providing a service, the computer apparatus having a processor and a display and being coupled to a service representation store storing representations of services each service representation defining activities that are to be carried out in providing a corresponding service and being associated with activity data defining for each activity a number of service elements forming components of the activity and with service element data associated each service element with data defining text describing that component of the activity, the computer processing apparatus also being coupled to a document framework store storing a plurality of document frameworks each for a respective different document and each identifying the service elements for which text is to be included in that document, the method being carried out by the processor and comprising:

receiving instructions from the user to select one of the service representations stored in the service representation store;

displaying to the user a number of document identifiers each identifying a corresponding different one of the document frameworks stored in the document framework store;

receiving instructions from the user that indicate selection of one of the displayed document identifiers; and

displaying to the user a document produced using the selected document framework and incorporating the text associated with the service elements of the selected service and identified by the document framework.

50. Computer processing apparatus for generating document data representing a document for use in providing a service comprising a number of different activities that are to be carried out in providing the service, the apparatus comprising:

a data store configured for storing activity data for a plurality of activities that may be carried out in providing a service, the data store being configured to store for each activity, activity data associating the activity with at least one service element forming a component of the activity with at least some of the activities being associated with a plurality of service elements and for each service element service, element data associated the service element with data defining text describing that component of the activity;

a service representation provider operable to provide a service representation defining the activities that are to be carried out in providing a service;

a service representation store configured to store service representations defined by the service representation provider;

a document framework store configured to store a plurality of document frameworks each for a respective different document and each defining the service elements for which text is to be included in that document;

a service selector operable to select a service representation from the service representation store;

a document framework selector operable to select a document framework from the document framework store; and

a document data producer operable to produce document data incorporating the text associated with the service elements defined by the selected document framework and associated with the activity data of the selected service.

51. Computer processing apparatus for producing document data representing a document for use in providing a service comprising a number of different activities that are to be carried out in providing the service, the apparatus comprising:

a data store storing, for each activity that may be carried out in providing a service, data associating the activity with at least one document portion relating to that activity;

a service representation store storing service representations defining the activities that are to be carried out in providing a service;

a document template store storing a plurality of document templates each defining the document portions required to produce a corresponding document;

a service selector operable to select a service representation from the service representation store;

a document template selector operable to select a document template from the document template store; and

a document data producer operable to produce document data incorporating those document portions associated with the activities of the selected service that are defined by the selected document template to be required to produce the corresponding document.