SERVICE DESIGN AND ORDER FULFILLMENT SYSTEM WITH DYNAMIC PATTERN-DRIVEN FULFILLMENT

• US 20140012856A1
• Filed: 07/08/2013
• Published: 01/09/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 07/06/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Oracle International Corporation (Oracle Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Oracle International Corporation (Oracle Corporation)
• Inventors: ABDELRAHMAN, Ahmad Naser, BISHOP, Paul Hugh Wilkie
• Granted Patent: US 10,083,456 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 707/740
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/285 Clustering or classification
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/087 Inventory or stock management, e.g. order filling, procurement or balancing against orders
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0202 Market predictions or forecasting for commercial activities
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0621 Item configuration or customization
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0635 Processing of requisition or of purchase orders

Abstract

A system that provides a provider function is provided. The system defines a structured set of metadata for the provider function. The system further defines a transformation sequence including customizable process logic for the provider function, where the customizable process logic is structured within stages. The system further dynamically generates a runtime process flow for the provider function based on the metadata and the transformation sequence.

Claims

1. A computer-readable medium having instructions stored thereon that, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to provide a provider function, the providing comprising:

defining a structured set of metadata for the provider function;

defining a transformation sequence comprising customizable process logic for the provider function, wherein the customizable process logic is structured within one or more stages; and

dynamically generating a runtime process flow for the provider function based on the metadata and the transformation sequence.

2. The computer-readable medium of claim 1, the providing further comprising:

defining base process logic for the provider function; and

customizing the base process logic based on the metadata and the transformation sequence.

3. The computer-readable medium of claim 2,

wherein the metadata comprises one or more entities comprising metadata that defines a capability that is provided;

wherein the metadata further comprises one or more relationships comprising metadata that defines an association between a first entity and a second entity;

wherein the metadata further comprises one or more mappings comprising metadata that defines a first entity, one or more attributes of the first entity, or one or more attribute values of the first entity and a second entity, one or more attributes of the second entity, or one or more attribute values of the second entity;

wherein the metadata further comprises one or more discriminators comprising metadata that defines one or more variants used to select a fulfillment pattern from one or more fulfillment patterns; and

wherein the metadata further comprises one or more fulfillment patterns comprising metadata that defines a set of one or more fulfillment functions and one or more dependencies.

4. The computer-readable medium of claim 3, wherein the dynamically generating the runtime process flow further comprises:

selecting at least one fulfillment pattern from the one or more fulfillment patterns based on at least one entity from the one or more entities and at least one discriminator from the one or more discriminators; and

generating a fulfillment flow based on the at least one selected fulfillment pattern.

5. The computer-readable medium of claim 4, wherein the metadata is retrieved from a technical catalog.

6. The computer-readable medium of claim 5, wherein the one or more entities comprise at least one of:

a product specification comprising metadata that defines a product that is provided;

a customer-facing service specification comprising metadata that defines a customer-facing service that is provided;

a resource-facing service specification comprising metadata that defines a resource-facing service that is provided;

or

a resource specification comprising metadata that defines a resource that is provided.

7. The computer-readable medium of claim 1, the defining the structured set of metadata further comprising:

defining a plurality of structured sets of metadata for the provider function; and

selecting a structured set of metadata from the plurality of structured sets of metadata.

8. The computer-readable medium of claim 1, the defining the transformation sequence further comprising:

defining a plurality of transformation sequences for the provider function; and

selecting a transformation sequence from the plurality of transformation sequences.

9. The computer-readable medium of claim 1, wherein the provider function is a component of a fulfillment service comprising a metadata-driven executable process that fulfills an order.

10. The computer-readable medium of claim 9, wherein the order comprises an order for communication services.

11. A computer-implemented method for providing a provider function, the computer-implemented method comprising:

defining a structured set of metadata for the provider function;

defining a transformation sequence comprising customizable process logic for the provider function, wherein the customizable process logic is structured within one or more stages; and

dynamically generating a runtime process flow for the provider function based on the metadata and the transformation sequence.

12. The computer-implemented method of claim 11, further comprising:

defining base process logic for the provider function; and

customizing the base process logic based on the metadata and the transformation sequence.

13. The computer-implemented method of claim 12,

wherein the metadata comprises one or more entities comprising metadata that defines a capability that is provided;

wherein the metadata further comprises one or more relationships comprising metadata that defines an association between a first entity and a second entity;

wherein the metadata further comprises one or more mappings comprising metadata that defines a first entity, one or more attributes of the first entity, or one or more attribute values of the first entity and a second entity, one or more attributes of the second entity, or one or more attribute values of the second entity;

wherein the metadata further comprises one or more discriminators comprising metadata that defines one or more variants used to select a fulfillment pattern from one or more fulfillment patterns; and

wherein the metadata further comprises one or more fulfillment patterns comprising metadata that defines a set of one or more fulfillment functions and one or more dependencies.

14. The computer-implemented method of claim 13, wherein the dynamically generating the runtime process flow further comprises:

selecting at least one fulfillment pattern from the one or more fulfillment patterns based on at least one entity from the one or more entities and at least one discriminator from the one or more discriminators; and

generating a fulfillment flow based on the at least one selected fulfillment pattern.

15. The computer-implemented method of claim 14, wherein the metadata is retrieved from a technical catalog.

16. A system, comprising:

a metadata definition module configured to define a structured set of metadata for a provider function;

a transformation sequence definition module configured to define a transformation sequence comprising customizable process logic for the provider function, wherein the customizable process logic is structured within one or more stages; and

a process flow generation module configured to dynamically generate a runtime process flow for the provider function based on the metadata and the transformation sequence.

17. The system of claim 16, further comprising:

a base process logic definition module configured to define base process logic for the provider function; and

a base process logic customization module configured to customize the base process logic based on the metadata and the transformation sequence.

18. The system of claim 17,

wherein the metadata comprises one or more entities comprising metadata that defines a capability that is provided;

wherein the metadata further comprises one or more relationships comprising metadata that defines an association between a first entity and a second entity;

wherein the metadata further comprises one or more mappings comprising metadata that defines a first entity, one or more attributes of the first entity, or one or more attribute values of the first entity and a second entity, one or more attributes of the second entity, or one or more attribute values of the second entity;

wherein the metadata further comprises one or more discriminators comprising metadata that defines one or more variants used to select a fulfillment pattern from one or more fulfillment patterns; and

wherein the metadata further comprises one or more fulfillment patterns comprising metadata that defines a set of one or more fulfillment functions and one or more dependencies.

19. The system of claim 18,

wherein the process flow generation module is further configured to select at least one fulfillment pattern from the one or more fulfillment patterns based on at least one entity from the one or more entities and at least one discriminator from the one or more discriminators;

and

wherein the process flow generation module is further configured to generate a fulfillment flow based on the at least one selected fulfillment pattern.

20. The system of claim 19, wherein the metadata is retrieved from a technical catalog.