Calendar-driven Business Intelligence

• US 20090271242A1
• Filed: 04/25/2008
• Published: 10/29/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 04/25/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Oracle International Corporation (Oracle Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Oracle International Corporation (Oracle Corporation)
• Inventors: Lloyd, Margaret, Stafford, Seth
• Granted Patent: US 8,626,549 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/9
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06 Resources, workflows, human or project management; Enterprise or organisation planning; Enterprise or organisation modelling
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/109 Time management, e.g. calendars, reminders, meetings or time accounting
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/1093 Calendar-based scheduling for persons or groups

Abstract

Techniques for aiding individuals in managing work activities. In one set of embodiments, information about work activities for an individual is received from a plurality of different business applications. The work activities relate to business transactions facilitated by the plurality of different business applications. Calendar entries are then generated for each work activity based on the received information, and presented in a calendar of the individual. In various embodiments, the calendar entries are generated automatically (i.e., without human intervention). By focusing on the time sequence in which work activities should be addressed, embodiments of the present invention enable individuals to quickly and efficiently prioritize and carry out their pending work activities, thereby improving the operational efficiency of an enterprise.

Claims

1. A method for aiding an individual in managing work activities, the method comprising:

receiving, from a first software application in a plurality of software applications, first information about a first work activity for the individual, the first work activity relating to a first business transaction facilitated by the first software application;

receiving, from a second software application in the plurality of software applications, second information about a second work activity for the individual, the second work activity relating to a second business transaction facilitated by the second software application;

generating, based on the first information, a first calendar entry for the first work activity, the first calendar entry indicating one or more dates relevant to the first work activity;

generating, based on the second information, a second calendar entry for the second work activity, the second calendar entry indicating one or more dates relevant to the second work activity; and

displaying the first and second calendar entries in a calendar of the individual.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the first and second calendar entries are generated without any human intervention.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more dates relevant to the first work activity include a due date for the first work activity, and wherein the one or more dates relevant to the second work activity include a due date for the second work activity.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more dates relevant to the first work activity include a due date range for the first work activity, and wherein the one or more dates relevant to the second work activity include a due date range for the second work activity.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein one or more business rules are used to determine the one or more dates relevant to the first work activity and the one or more dates relevant to the second work activity.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the one or more business rules are further used to determine how the first and second calendar entries are displayed in the calendar.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the one or more business rules are further used to determine actions that may be performed with respect to the first and second calendar entries.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the one or more business rules are configurable by the individual.

9. The method of claim 7, wherein the one or more business rules are configured to take into account one or more attributes of the first or second work activities.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the one or more attributes are selected from a group consisting of:

type, description, status, responsible party, and priority.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the first calendar entry includes a link to a first transactional user interface of the first software application, the first transaction user interface being operable to complete the first work activity, and wherein the second calendar entry includes a link to a second transactional user interface of the second software application, the second transactional user interface being operable to complete the second work activity.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein updates to the first and second work activities are automatically propagated to the first and second calendar entries.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein the calendar is displayed as part of a business intelligence dashboard.

14. The method of claim 1, wherein the first and second software applications are workflow-enabled applications, and wherein the first and second work activities are workflow tasks.

15. A method for aiding an individual in managing work activities, the method comprising:

receiving, from a software application, information about a work activity for the individual, the work activity relating to a transaction facilitated by the software application;

generating, based on the information, a calendar entry for the work activity, wherein the calendar entry indicates one or more dates relevant to the work activity, and wherein the calendar entry is generated without any human intervention; and

displaying the calendar entry in a calendar of the individual.

16. A system for aiding an individual in managing work activities, the system comprising:

an application programming interface (API) for use by a plurality of software applications; and

a calendar module configured to;

receive, via an invocation of the application programming interface by a first software application in a plurality of software applications, first information about a first work activity for the individual, the first work activity relating to a first transaction facilitated by the first software application;

receive, via an invocation of the application programming interface by a second software application in the plurality of software applications, second information about a second work activity for the individual, the second work activity relating to a second transaction facilitated by the second software application;

generate, based on the first information, a first calendar entry for the first work activity, the first calendar entry indicating one or more dates relevant to the first work activity;

generate, based on the second information, a second calendar entry for the second work activity, the second calendar entry indicating one or more dates relevant to the second work activity; and

display the first and second calendar entries in a calendar of the individual.

17. The system of claim 16 further comprising one or more business rules, wherein the one or more business rules are used by the calendar module to determine the one or more dates relevant to the first work activity and the one or more dates relevant to the second work activity.

18. The system of claim 17, wherein the one or more business rules are further used by the calendar module to determine how the first and second calendar entries are displayed in the calendar.

19. The system of claim 18, wherein the one or more business rules are further used by the calendar module to determine actions that may be performed with respect to the first and second calendar entries.

20. A machine-readable medium for a computer system, the machine-readable medium having stored thereon a series of instructions which, when executed by a processing component, cause the processing component to aid an individual in managing work activities by:

receiving, from a first software application in a plurality of software applications, first information about a first work activity for the individual, the first work activity relating to a first transaction facilitated by the first software application;

receiving, from a second software application in the plurality of software applications, second information about a second work activity for the individual, the second work activity relating to a second transaction facilitated by the second software application;

generating, based on the first information, a first calendar entry for the first work activity, the first calendar entry indicating one or more dates relevant to the first work activity;

generating, based on the second information, a second calendar entry for the second work activity, the second calendar entry indicating one or more dates relevant to the second work activity; and

displaying the first and second calendar entries in a calendar of the individual.