System and method for associating services information with selected elements of an organization

• US 6,072,493 A
• Filed: 03/30/1998
• Issued: 06/06/2000
• Est. Priority Date: 03/31/1997
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Bellsouth Intellectual Property Corporation (AT&T, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: BellSouth Corporation (AT&T, Inc.)
• Inventors: Greenspan, Michael, Henley, Vivian C., Nielsen, Betty J., Driskell, Dwight D., MacFarlane, Lloyd, Lane, Nancy C.
• Primary Examiner(s): Bayerl, Raymond J.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Thai, Cuong T.
• Application Number:
  US09/050,333
• Time in Patent Office: 799 Days
• Field of Search: 345/357, 345/356, 345/346, 345/353, 345/962, 705/8, 705/26, 705/27
• US Class Current: 715/854
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06 Resources, workflows, human or project management; Enterprise or organisation planning; Enterprise or organisation modelling
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/0875 Itemisation or classification of parts, supplies or services, e.g. bill of materials
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/102 Bill distribution or payments
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/04 Billing or invoicing
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/06 Buying, selling or leasing transactions
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/12 Accounting
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 715/962 Operator interface for marketing or sales

Abstract

A system and method for providing and analyzing information regarding the association of services with elements of an organization. The system gathers information encoded in electronic form, organizes it into a services list, and correlates it with elements of an organization that are classified in an organizational hierarchy. A user of the system may examine a selected elements at any level of the organizational hierarchy and obtain information regarding all associated services, or vice versa. A user may further synchronize the services list and organizational hierarchy in such a manner that selection of an item from one displays corresponding data from the other.

Claims

1. A method to analyze information regarding the association of services with elements of an organization, comprising the steps of:

A. displaying an organizational hierarchy on a display device, the organizational hierarchy comprising a list of elements and subelements of an organization, and the display device comprising a single frame bounded by a single view;

B. displaying a services list on the display device, the services list comprising a plurality of services available to the organization, wherein each service may be comprised of one or more subcategories of services;

C. associating each said service from the services list with the respective said elements from the organizational hierarchy that have utilized the service;

D. interpreting an input signal as representing a selected element from the organizational hierarchy or a selected service from the services list; and

E. in response to interpreting the input signal,

if the signal represents the selected element, then displaying on the display device each said subelement that comprises the selected element, each said service from the services list that is associated with the selected element, and a dynamic display of information relating to the usage of each said service by the selected element and said subelements;

or

if the signal represents the selected service, then displaying on the display device any subcategories of services that comprise the selected service, each element and subelement from the organizational hierarchy that is associated with the selected service, and a dynamic display of information relating to the usage of the selected service and said subcategories of services by each said element and subelement.

2. The method of claim 1, further including the step of generating reports based on said dynamic display of information.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the dynamic display of information in Step E comprises data relating to usage fees for each said service incurred by each said element and subelement.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the single frame is comprised of a first sub-frame and a second sub-frame;

wherein Step A comprises displaying the organizational hierarchy in the first sub-frame; and

wherein Step B comprises displaying the services list in the second sub-frame.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the display device comprises four quadrants, including a quadrant A being an upper left quadrant, a quadrant B being an upper right quadrant, a quadrant C being a lower left quadrant, and a quadrant D being a lower right quadrant;

wherein Step A comprises displaying the organizational hierarchy in the quadrant A;

wherein Step B comprises displaying the services list in the quadrant C; and

wherein Step E comprises

if the signal represents the selected element, then displaying in the quadrant B each said subelement that comprises the selected element, displaying in the quadrant D each said service from the services list that is associated with the selected element, and displaying in both said quadrants B and D a dynamic display of information relating to the usage of each said service by the selected element and its said subelements;

or

if the signal represents the selected service, then displaying in the quadrant D any subcategories of services that comprise the selected service, displaying in the quadrant B each element and subelement from the organizational hierarchy that is associated with the selected service, and displaying in both said quadrants B and D a dynamic display of information relating to the usage of the selected service and its said subcategories of services by each said element and subelement.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the dynamic display of information in Step E comprises data relating to usage fees for each said service incurred by each said element and subelement.

7. A computer-readable medium having computer-executable instructions for performing the steps of claim 1.

8. The computer-readable medium of claim 7 having further computer-executable instructions for performing the step of generating reports based on the dynamic display of information.

9. The computer-readable medium of claim 7 wherein, the dynamic display of information displayed by the computer-executable instruction for performing Step E, comprises data relating to usage fees for each said service incurred by each said element and subelement.

10. The computer-readable medium of claim 7 having further computer-executable instructions for dividing the single frame into a first sub-frame and a second sub-frame;

wherein the computer-executable instructions for executing Step A further include provide for displaying the organizational hierarchy in the first sub-frame; and

wherein the computer-executable instructions for executing Step B further provide for displaying the services list in the second sub-frame.

11. The computer-readable medium of claim 7 having further computer-executable instructions for dividing the single frame into four quadrants, including a quadrant A being an upper left quadrant, a quadrant B being an upper right quadrant, a quadrant C being a lower left quadrant, and a quadrant D being a lower right quadrant;

wherein the computer-executable instructions for executing Step A further provide for displaying the organizational hierarchy in the quadrant A;

wherein the computer-executable instructions for executing Step B further provide for displaying the services list in the quadrant C; and

wherein the computer-executable instructions for executing Step E further provide for

if the signal represents the selected element, then displaying in the quadrant B each said subelement that comprises the selected element, displaying in the quadrant D each said service from the services list that is associated with the selected element, and displaying in both said quadrants B and D a dynamic display of information relating to the usage of each said service by the selected element and its said subelements;

or

if the signal represents the selected service, then displaying in the quadrant D any subcategories of services that comprise the selected service, displaying in the quadrant B each element and subelement from the organizational hierarchy that is associated with the selected service, and displaying in both said quadrants B and D a dynamic display of information relating to the usage of the selected service and its said subcategories of services by each said element and subelement.

12. The computer-readable medium of claim 11 having further computer-executable instructions for performing the step of generating reports based on the dynamic display of information.

13. The computer-readable medium of claim 11, wherein the dynamic display of information, displayed by the computer-executable instruction for performing Step E, comprises data relating to usage fees for each said service incurred by each said element and subelement.

14. In a computer system including a display device and a user input device for generating an input signal, a display device having rendered thereon a single frame bounded by a single view;

wherein the single frame comprises four quadrants, including a quadrant A being an upper left quadrant, a quadrant B being an upper right quadrant, a quadrant C being a lower left quadrant, and a quadrant D being a lower right quadrant;

wherein an organizational hierarchy, comprised of elements and subelements of an organization, is displayed in the quadrant A;

wherein a services list, comprised of a plurality of services available to the organization, is displayed in the quadrant C;

wherein

if the input signal represents a selected element, then each said subelement that comprises the selected element is displayed in quadrant B, each said service from the services list that is associated with the selected element is displayed in quadrant D, and a dynamic display of information relating to the usage of each said service by the selected element and its said subelements is displayed in both the quadrants B and D;

or

if the input signal represents the selected service, then any subcategories of services that comprise the selected service are displayed in the quadrant D, each element and subelement from the organizational hierarchy that is associated with the selected service is displayed in the quadrant B, and a dynamic display of information relating to the usage of the selected service and its said subcategories of services by each said element and subelement is displayed in both said quadrants B and D.