CONFIGURABLE GOALS IN A DASHBORAD APPLICATION

• US 20080162210A1
• Filed: 05/09/2007
• Published: 07/03/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 12/28/2006
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Oracle International Corporation (Oracle Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Oracle International Corporation (Oracle Corporation)
• Inventors: Jacot, Kimberly, Cheng, Anthony H., Liu, Lujiang, Gu, Yu-Feng, Jamison, Todd F., Laurent, Nicole J.
• Application Number:
  US11/746,216
• Publication Number:
  US 20080162210A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/7
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/00 Information retrieval; Database structures therefor; File system structures therefor
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/2428 Query predicate definition using graphical user interfaces, including menus and forms G06F16/2423 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/248 Presentation of query results
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/26 Visual data mining; Browsing structured data
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/95 Retrieval from the web
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/957 Browsing optimisation, e.g. caching or content distillation
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9577 Optimising the visualization of content, e.g. distillation of HTML documents
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0484 for the control of specific functions or operations, e.g. selecting or manipulating an object, an image or a displayed text element, setting a parameter value or selecting a range
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/0637 Strategic management or analysis, e.g. setting a goal or target of an organisation; Planning actions based on goals; Analysis or evaluation of effectiveness of goals
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06375 Prediction of business process outcome or impact based on a proposed change
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06395 Quality analysis or management
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising

Abstract

A dashboard application can enable a user to quickly view data (and, in a particular aspect, data from one or more business applications) in an efficient manner. The dashboard application may allow a user to configure one or more goals, and/or to issue an alert when the goal(s) are not being met.

Claims

1. In a computer system, a method of presenting data to a user, the method comprising:

accessing a set of data produced by one or more business applications, the set of data being stored in a data store;

providing a dashboard application configured to display at least some of the set of data, wherein the dashboard application comprises a first visible component; and

wherein the set of data pertains to a metric that measures an identified business objective;

displaying, in the first visible component, at least some of the set of data;

providing an interface to allow a user to define a goal for the metric, wherein the goal identifies a threshold value for the metric; and

triggering an alert when the metric does not attain the goal.

2. A method as recited by claim 1, wherein the set of data pertains to a metric.

3. A method as recited by claim 2, wherein at least some of the set of data is used to calculate the metric.

4. A method as recited by claim 2, wherein displaying at least some of the set of data comprises displaying the metric.

5. A method as recited by claim 1, wherein the set of data pertains to the operation of one or more pieces of equipment, and wherein the method further comprises:

detecting an abnormal condition in a piece of equipment; and

triggering an alert based on the abnormal condition.

6. A method as recited by claim 1, wherein triggering an alert comprises sending an electronic mail message to an entity responsible for the metric.

7. A method as recited by claim 6, wherein the entity is the user.

8. A method as recited by claim 1, wherein triggering an alert comprises displaying a message in the dashboard application.

9. A method as recited by claim 1, further comprising:

providing an input mechanism to allow the user to define one or more filter criteria; and

filtering the set of data according to the one or more filter criteria;

wherein displaying at least some of the data comprises displaying the filtered data.

10. A method as recited by claim 9, further comprising:

establishing a dynamic goal for the filtered data, based at least in part on the goal defined for the metric; and

triggering an alert when the filtered data indicates that the dynamic goal is not being met.

11. A method as recited by claim 10, wherein the filtered data is a discrete subset of the set of data, and wherein establishing the dynamic goal comprises interpolating from the defined goal based on a relationship between the filtered data and the set of data.

12. A method as recited by claim 9, wherein establishing the dynamic goal comprises providing an input mechanism for a user to input a value for the dynamic goal.

13. A method as recited by claim 9, further comprising:

aggregating a plurality of dynamic goals to produce an aggregate dynamic goal, each of the plurality of dynamic goals being associated with a different one of a plurality of sets of filtered data; and

triggering an alert if an aggregation of the plurality of sets of filtered data indicates that the aggregate dynamic goal is not being met.

14. A method as recited by claim 1, wherein the set of data comprises a plurality of records, each of the plurality of records comprising a plurality of data elements, wherein each data element in a record has at least one corresponding dimension, the method further comprising:

displaying, for the user, a list of available dimensions;

providing a first input mechanism to allow the user to select one or more dimensions for categorizing the plurality of records;

receiving, from the user and via the first input mechanism, an identification of a first set of one or more dimensions by which the plurality of records are to be categorized;

providing a second input mechanism to allow the user to select one or more dimensions for filtering the set of data;

receiving, from the user and via the second input mechanism, an identification of a second set of one or more dimensions by which the plurality of records are be filtered;

generating a display hierarchy for displaying the set of data, based on the second set of dimensions; and

displaying, for the user, a representation of the display hierarchy.

15. A method as recited by claim 1, wherein a web page comprises the first visible component and the interface.

16. A method as recited by claim 1, further comprising:

providing a second interface to allow a user to select an action to be performed, with respect to at least a portion of the data, outside the dashboard application; and

initiating, with the dashboard application, the selected action.

17. A system, comprising:

means for accessing a set of data produced by one or more business applications, the set of data being stored in a data store;

means for providing a dashboard application configured to display at least some of the set of data, wherein the dashboard application comprises a first visible component; and

wherein the set of data pertains to a metric that measures an identified business objective;

means for displaying, in the first visible component, at least some of the set of data;

means for providing an interface to allow a user to define a goal for the metric, wherein the goal identifies a threshold value for the metric; and

means for triggering an alert when the metric does not attain the goal.

18. A computer system comprising:

a processor;

a communication interface; and

a computer readable medium, the computer readable medium comprising a set of instructions executable by the processor, the set of instructions comprising;

instructions to access a set of data produced by one or more business applications, the set of data being stored in a data store;

instructions to provide a dashboard application configured to display at least some of the set of data, wherein the dashboard application comprises a first visible component; and

wherein the set of data pertains to a metric that measures an identified business objective;

instructions to display, in the first visible component, at least some of the set of data;

instructions to provide an interface to allow a user to define a goal for the metric, wherein the goal identifies a threshold value for the metric; and

instructions to trigger an alert when the metric does not attain the goal.

19. A computer system as recited by claim 18, wherein the computer system comprises a server computer, the server computer being in communication with a client computer, and wherein the instructions to display the at least some of the set of data comprise instructions to transmit information to the client computer for displaying the first visible component, and wherein the instructions to provide an interface to allow a user to define a goal for the metric comprise instructions to provide the interface on the client computer.

20. A computer system as recited by claim 19, wherein the server computer comprises a web server and the client computer comprises a web browser, and wherein the first visible component, and the interface, are provided by the web server to the web browser.

21. A computer system as recited by claim 18, wherein the instructions to access a set of data comprise:

instructions to establish communication with the data store;

instructions to request the set of data from the data store; and

instructions to receive the set of data from the data store.

22. A computer readable medium having stored thereon a set of instructions executable by one or more processors, the set of instructions comprising:

instructions to access a set of data produced by one or more business applications, the set of data being stored in a data store;

instructions to provide a dashboard application configured to display at least some of the set of data, wherein the dashboard application comprises a first visible component; and

wherein the set of data pertains to a metric that measures an identified business objective;

instructions to display, in the first visible component, at least some of the set of data;

instructions to provide an interface to allow a user to define a goal for the metric, wherein the goal identifies a threshold value for the metric; and

instructions to trigger an alert when the metric does not attain the goal.