ENTERPRISE STRUCTURE CONFIGURATOR

• US 20090063549A1
• Filed: 08/15/2008
• Published: 03/05/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 08/20/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Oracle International Corporation (Oracle Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Oracle International Corporation (Oracle Corporation)
• Inventors: Bhatia, Akash, Dubois, Timothy, King, Nigel, Ramsay, Neil
• Granted Patent: US 9,704,162 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/00 Commerce

Abstract

Tools for configuring an enterprise applications. In one aspect, the tools provide a user interface to allow an implementer describe, based on an interview with executives of the organization, an enterprise structure of an organization, and a data structure generator to configure the enterprise application to reflect this enterprise structure. In one aspect, these tools can allow a general case to guide the default assignment of intersections of legal and managerial reporting structures to a business unit, allowing the minimum number of business units to fulfill both the external and managerial responsibilities. The tools may implement a pivot table approach to provide an interface for the user to provide such input.

Claims

1. A method of configuring an enterprise application, the method comprising:

providing a user interface for a user to define a structural hierarchy of an organization comprising one or more business units, the structural hierarchy comprising a legal structure comprising one or more legal entities, a business structure comprising one or more divisions, and a functional structure comprising one or more functional units;

receiving, via the user interface, a set of information about the organization, the set of information comprising an identification of each of the one or more legal entities, an identification of each of the one or more divisions, and an identification of each of the one or more functional units;

displaying for the user, via the user interface, a pivot table comprising a plurality of cells, the pivot table being defined by a first axis and a second axis, wherein the first axis corresponds to the legal structure of the organization, and the second axis corresponds to the business structure and the functional structure of the organization, such that the first and second axes collectively define a grid comprising a plurality of cells;

receiving a set of user input defining a relationship between one or more business units and the legal structure, the business structure and the functional structure of the organization, the set of user input comprising a first user input at a first cell of the pivot table, the first cell being defined by the intersection of a row of the pivot table representing a first legal entity and a column of the pivot table representing a first division and a first functional unit, the first user input indicating that a first business unit is part of the first division, the first functional unit, and the first legal entity; and

configuring the enterprise application to account for the defined relationship, based at least in part of on the set of user input.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein configuring the enterprise application comprises defining a data structure used by the enterprise application.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein defining a data structure comprises creating one or more tables in a database used by the enterprise application.

4. The method of claim 2, wherein defining a data structure comprises adding data to one or more tables in a database used by the enterprise application.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the data represents a relationship between one of the one or more business units and one or more structures selected from the group consisting of the legal structure of the organization, the business structure of the organization and the functional structure of the organization.

6. The method of claim 2, wherein the data structure used by the enterprise application comprises one or more database tables, and wherein the method further comprises storing the one or more database tables on a computer readable storage medium.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the set of user input further comprises, for each of the one or more business units, an input indicating that the business unit is part of at least one of the one or more the divisions, at least one of the one of the one or more functional units, and at least one of the one or more legal entities

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

providing a default structural hierarchy for the organization, wherein the displayed pivot table comprises default values in one of more cells, the default values reflecting the default structural hierarchy for the organization.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the set of user input modifies the default structural hierarchy.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the set of user input comprises a modification of a value in each of one or more cells of the pivot table.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the first input further comprises an identification of the first business unit.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein the first axis is displayed vertically on a display screen for the user, and wherein the second axis is displayed horizontally on the display screen.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein each of the plurality of cells comprises a user interface element to allow the user to provide input in that cell.

14. The method of claim 1, wherein the second axis of the pivot table is organized to display the columns categorized by the functional structure in one or more sets of columns, each of the sets of columns representing one of the functional units, and to display, within each set of columns, one or more columns, each of the one or more columns representing one of the divisions.

15. The method of claim 14, further comprising:

receiving, via the user interface, a command to reorganize the second axis; and

in response to the command, redisplaying the pivot table with the second axis categorized by the business structure into a second one or more sets of columns, each of the second one or more sets of columns representing one of the divisions, and to display, within each of the second sets of columns, a second one or more columns, each of the second one or more columns representing one of the functional units.

16. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving, via the user interface, a selection of a subset of the one or more legal entities to be displayed by the pivot table, a selection of a subset of the plurality of business units to be displayed by the pivot table, and a selection of a subset of the one or more functional units to be displayed by the pivot table; and

redisplaying the pivot table to display on the first axis only rows corresponding to the selected subset of the one or more legal entities, and to display on the second axis only columns corresponding to both the selected subset of the plurality of business units and the selected subset of the one or more functional units.

17. The method of claim 1, further comprising, displaying, for the user, a representation of the structural hierarchy, as defined by the set of user input.

18. The method of claim 1, wherein displaying the pivot table comprises:

generating a web page comprising the pivot table; and

transmitting the web page from a web server for display in a web browser operated by the user.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein receiving the set of user inputs comprises receiving the set of user inputs from the web browser.

20. A computer system, comprising:

one or more processors;

one or more computer readable storage media in communication with the one or more processors, the one or more computer readable storage media having stored thereon an enterprise application for managing the business of an organization and a computer program for defining a data structure used by the enterprise application, the computer program comprising;

a user interface component for a user to define a structural hierarchy of the organization, the organization comprising one or more business units, the structural hierarchy comprising a legal structure comprising one or more legal entities, a business structure comprising one or more divisions, and a functional structure comprising one or more functional units, wherein the computer program is configured to receive, via the user interface component, a set of information about the organization, the set of information comprising an identification of each of the one or more legal entities, an identification of each of the one or more divisions, and an identification of each of the one or more functional units, and wherein the computer program is further configured to receive, via the user interface component, a set of user input defining a relationship between one or more business units, the legal structure, the business structure and the functional structure of the organization, the set of user input comprising a first user input indicating that a first business unit is part of a first division, a first functional unit, and a first legal entity; and

a data structure generator component that is configured to define a data structure used by the enterprise application, based at least in part on the set of user input.

21. The computer system of claim 20, wherein the enterprise application comprises the computer program.

22. The computer system of claim 20, wherein the computer system comprises a first computer having a first storage medium on which the enterprise application is stored, and a second computer having a second storage medium on which the computer program is stored.

23. The computer system of claim 20, wherein the data structure definition component is configured to create or modify one or more tables in a database used by the enterprise application, and wherein the one or more tables comprise the data structure of the enterprise application.

24. The computer system of claim 20, further comprising a web server configured to transmit a web page, comprising the user interface, for display in a web browser operated by the user.

25. A method of defining a data structure for an enterprise application, the method comprising:

providing a user interface for a user to define a structural hierarchy of an organization comprising one or more business units, the structural hierarchy comprising a plurality of hierarchies according to which the organization is organized, the plurality of hierarchies comprising a first hierarchy and a second hierarchy;

receiving, via the user interface, a set of information about the organization, the set of information comprising an identification of each of one or more entities in the first hierarchy and an identification of each of one or more entities in the second hierarchy;

receiving a set of user input defining a relationship between each of the one or more business units and each of the plurality of hierarchies, the set of user input comprising a first user input indicating that a first business unit is part of a first entity within the first hierarchy and part of a second entity within the second hierarchy; and

configuring the enterprise application to account for the defined relationship, based at least in part of on the set of user input.

26. The method of claim 25, further comprising:

providing a default structural hierarchy for the organization.

27. The method of claim 26, wherein the set of user input modifies the default structural hierarchy.

28. The method of claim 26, wherein the set of user input accepts the default structural hierarchy.

29. The method of claim 25, wherein the first and second hierarchies each are selected from the group consisting of a functional structure, a business structure and a legal structure.

30. The method of claim 25, further comprising:

displaying, for the user, a table comprising a plurality of cells, the table being defined by a first axis and a second axis, wherein the first axis corresponds to the first hierarchy, and the second axis corresponds to the second hierarchy, such that the first and second axes collectively define a grid comprising a plurality of cells;

wherein the first user input comprises a first input to a first cell in the table, the first cell being defined by the intersection of a row corresponding to the first entity and a column corresponding to the second entity.

31. The method of claim 30, wherein:

the structural hierarchy comprises a third hierarchy;

the second axis of the table further corresponds to the third hierarchy; and

the column corresponds to both the second entity and a third entity within the third hierarchy, the first user input indicating that the first business unit is also part of the third entity.

32. The method of claim 31, wherein the table is configured as a pivot table, such that the user can select whether the second axis is categorized by the second hierarchy or the third hierarchy.

33. A computer readable storage medium having encoded thereon a computer program comprising a set of instructions executable by a computer system to configure an enterprise application, the set of instructions comprising:

instructions for providing a user interface for a user to define a structural hierarchy of an organization comprising one or more business units, the structural hierarchy comprising a plurality of hierarchies according to which the organization is organized, the plurality of hierarchies comprising a first hierarchy and a second hierarchy;

instructions for receiving, via the user interface, a set of information about the organization, the set of information comprising an identification of each of one or more entities in the first hierarchy and an identification of each of one or more entities in the second hierarchy;

instructions for receiving a set of user input defining a relationship between each of the one or more business units and each of the plurality of hierarchies, the set of user input comprising a first user input indicating that a first business unit is part of a first entity within the first hierarchy and part of a second entity within the second hierarchy; and

instructions for configuring the enterprise application to account for the defined relationship, based at least in part of on the set of user input.

34. A computer system, comprising:

one or more processors;

one or more computer readable storage media in communication with the one or more processors, the one or more computer readable storage media having stored thereon a computer program comprising a set of instructions executable by the computer system to define a data structure for an enterprise application, the set of instructions comprising;

instructions for providing a user interface for a user to define a structural hierarchy of an organization comprising one or more business units, the structural hierarchy comprising a plurality of hierarchies according to which the organization is organized, the plurality of hierarchies comprising a first hierarchy and a second hierarchy;

instructions for receiving, via the user interface, a set of information about the organization, the set of information comprising an identification of each of one or more entities in the first hierarchy and an identification of each of one or more entities in the second hierarchy;

instructions for receiving a set of user input defining a relationship between each of the one or more business units and each of the plurality of hierarchies, the set of user input comprising a first user input indicating that a first business unit is part of a first entity within the first hierarchy and part of a second entity within the second hierarchy; and

instructions for configuring the enterprise application to account for the defined relationship, based at least in part of on the set of user input.

35. A method of configuring an enterprise application, the method comprising:

providing a user interface for a user to define a structural hierarchy of an organization comprising one or more business units, the structural hierarchy comprising a legal structure comprising one or more legal entities and a business structure comprising one or more divisions;

receiving, via the user interface, a set of information about the organization, the set of information comprising an identification of each of the one or more legal entities and an identification of each of the one or more divisions;

displaying for the user, via the user interface, a pivot table comprising a plurality of cells, the pivot table being defined by a first axis and a second axis, wherein the first axis corresponds to the legal structure of the organization, and the second axis corresponds to the business structure of the organization, such that the first and second axes collectively define a grid comprising a plurality of cells;

receiving a set of user input defining a relationship between a first division and a first legal entity, the set of user input comprising a first user input at a first cell of the pivot table, the first cell being defined by the intersection of a row of the pivot table representing the first legal entity and a column of the pivot table representing the first division, the first user input indicating that a first business unit represents the first division and is part of the first legal entity; and

configuring the enterprise application to account for the relationship between the first division and the first legal entity, based at least in part of on the set of user input.