Multi-organizational project management system

• US 7,305,392 B1
• Filed: 06/28/2002
• Issued: 12/04/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 11/02/2001
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Apex Innovations, Inc. (TT Electronics PLC)
• Original Assignee: Apex Innovations, Inc. (TT Electronics PLC)
• Inventors: Abrams, Wayne A., Bell, Kathleen J., Choi, Wing-Lik, Abrams, Joe G., Firebaugh, R. Scott
• Primary Examiner(s): Rodriguez; Paul
• Assistant Examiner(s): OSBORNE, LUKE R
• Application Number:
  US10/185,988
• Time in Patent Office: 1,985 Days
• Field of Search: 707/9, 707/10, 703/2, 345/751
• US Class Current: 707/770
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06 Resources, workflows, human or project management; Enterprise or organisation planning; Enterprise or organisation modelling
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/10 Office automation; Time management
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/959 Network
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99939 Privileged access

Abstract

A multi-organizational project management system provides for full lifecycle tracking of business activities of a complex mix of governmental entities and business organizations by maintaining a secure database of data entities or records to track such activities. The system provides for secure sharing of information among the governments and organizations by controlling access to data entities based on organizational membership and assigned role of system users. The system provides flexible structural relationships among the various data entities. A graphic, web-based user interface of the system enables efficient access to the data entities for entry and update of specific data.

Claims

1. A system for cooperative, full life-cycle management of one or more data entities related to public projects across a plurality of organizations and comprising:

(a) a database storing data relating to data entities and entered by personnel of a plurality of unrelated subscriber organizations including government agencies and corporate entities subscribed to said system, said data including shared data accessible by personnel of all said organizations, private data accessible by selected personnel of selected ones of said organizations, and some data accessible by the general public;

(b) a plurality of data processing applications capable of accessing selected data within said database and having collective capabilities to manage data entities over full life-cycles thereof using said selected data;

(c) a security structure interacting with said database and said applications to control access of users to data within said database and to said applications;

(d) said security structure including;

(1) an ordered listing of individuals or organizations with which a user may want to provide access to selected data entered by said user;

(2) a share group addend assigned in succession to said ordered listing of individuals or organizations wherein a value of each successive share group addend is twice the value of a previous share group addend;

(3) selection by said user from said ordered listing of individuals or organizations of those individuals or organizations with which said user wants to provide access to said selected data;

(4) summation of the share group addends associated with the selected individuals and organizations to obtain a share group sum and association of the share group sum with said selected data; and

(5) provision of access to said selected data only to those individuals and organizations whose share group addend was used in forming said share group sum; and

(e) an Internet user interface communicating with said security structure to provide controlled user access by said unrelated organizations to data within said database and said applications over a universal computer network and access to some data within said database over said network by the general public.

2. A system as set forth in claim 1 wherein said security structure includes:

(a) definitions of a plurality of roles of users of said system;

(b) association of access rights to selected data with respective ones of said roles; and

(c) assignment of selected roles to selected personnel enrolled as users of said system.

3. A system for managing one or more data entities related to public projects among a plurality of unrelated organizations, each organization being a subscriber to said system and including subscriber personnel, said system comprising:

(a) a shared knowledge base receiving and storing data relating to data entities and accessible by more than one of a plurality of unrelated organizations including government agencies and corporate entities and including some data accessible by the general public;

(b) a plurality of secured subscriber databases, each secured subscriber database receiving and storing data accessible by only selected users;

(c) a plurality of data applications to receive and store newly input data and to selectively receive data from, process data within, and output data to said shared knowledge base and said secured subscriber databases;

(d) a system administrative tool enabling set up of subscriber organizations within said system and creation of a respective one of said secured subscriber databases;

(e) a subscriber configuration tool enabling each subscriber organization to assign access rights to data within a respective secured subscriber database of said subscriber organization to subscriber personnel of said subscriber organization;

(f) a security structure controlling access of users to said system, said shared knowledge base, said secured subscriber databases, and said applications;

(g) a user interface to enable interaction with said security structure and said applications using selection and data entry tools standardized throughout said system;

(h) said security structure including;

(1) an ordered listing of individuals or organizations with which a user may want to provide access to selected data entered by said user;

(2) a share group addend assigned in succession to said ordered listing of individuals or organizations wherein a value of each successive share group addend is twice the value of a previous share group addend;

(3) selection by said user from said ordered listing of individuals or organizations of those individuals or organizations with which said user wants to provide access to said selected data;

(4) summation of the share group addends associated with the selected individuals and organizations to obtain a share group sum, and association of said share group sum with said selected data; and

(5) provision of access to said selected data only to those individuals and organizations whose share group addend was used in forming said share group sum; and

(i) an Internet user interface communicating with said security structure to provide controlled user access by said unrelated organizations to data within said database and said applications over a universal computer network and access to some data within said database over said network by the general public.

4. A system as set forth in claim 3 and including:

(a) said subscriber configuration tool enabling each subscriber organization to customize aspects of said applications for use by subscriber personnel of said subscriber organization, within a range of standardized aspects throughout said system.

5. A system as set forth in claim 3 wherein said security structure includes:

(a) definitions of a plurality of roles of users of said system;

(b) association of access rights to selected data with respective ones of said roles; and

(c) assignment of selected roles to selected personnel enrolled as users of said system.

6. A process for managing access by a system administrator to a database system of data records related to public projects among a plurality of unrelated subscriber organizations and comprising the steps of:

(a) said system administrator assigning subscriber administration rights to a respective subscriber administrator of each subscriber organization, said organization being one of a plurality of unrelated organizations including government agencies and corporate entities, said subscriber administration rights including a capability of assigning data record access permissions to specific personnel of said subscriber organization;

(b) said subscriber administrator assigning data record access permissions to selected personnel of said subscriber organization of said respective subscriber administrator, said permissions including a capability of enabling access to some data records to personnel of other subscriber organizations and access to some data records by the general public and a capability of denying access to other data records to personnel of other subscriber organizations and the general public;

(c) establishing an ordered listing of individuals or organizations with which any user who is one of said selected personnel may want to provide access to a data record entered by said user;

(d) assigning in succession to said ordered listing of individuals or organizations a share group addend wherein a value of each successive share group addend is twice a value of the previous share group addend;

(e) enabling said user to select from said ordered listing of individuals or organizations those individuals or organizations with which said user wants to provide access to said data record;

(f) summing the share group addends associated with the selected individuals and organizations to obtain a share group sum and associating said share group sum with said data record;

(g) providing access to said selected data only to those individuals and organizations whose share group addend was used in forming said share group sum; and

(h) providing said access to said selected data by means of an Internet user interface to thereby provide controlled user access by said unrelated organizations to said database system over a universal computer network and access to some data within said database over said network by the general public.

7. A process as set forth in claim 6 and including the steps of:

(a) said system administrator defining a plurality of personnel roles, each role having an associated set of permissions for selected types of access to some types of data records;

(b) said respective subscriber administrator assigning at least one personnel role to each of said subscriber personnel; and

(c) each of said subscriber personnel gaining said selected types of access to said some types of data records by way of said personnel role assigned thereto.

8. A process as set forth in claim 6 and including the steps of:

(a) said system administrator defining a plurality of data entity templates, each data entity template including a particular set of data fields to receive and record data pertaining to operations of a subscriber organization as a data entity;

(b) said system administrator defining a plurality of personnel roles, each role having an associated default set of permissions for selected types of access to a selected set of data entities;

(c) said respective subscriber administrator assigning at least one personnel role to each of said subscriber personnel; and

(d) each of said subscriber personnel gaining said selected types of access to said selected set of data entities by way of said personnel role assigned thereto.

9. A process as set forth in claim 6 and including the step of:

(a) said system administrator providing said subscriber administrator with a capability of modifying said default set of permissions for selected types of access to said selected set of data entities for roles associated with said subscriber organization with which said subscriber administrator is employed.

10. The process as in claim 6 wherein:

(a) prior to said step of providing access to said data record, said method further comprises the step of analyzing said share group sum to identify each of said share group addends used to form said share group sum.

11. A method for selectively controlling access to a data record entered into a computer system by a user and comprising the steps of:

(a) establishing an ordered listing of individuals or organizations of a plurality of unrelated organizations including government agencies, corporate entities, and the general public with which said user may want to provide access to a data record entered by said user;

(b) assigning in succession to said ordered listing of individuals or organizations a share group addend wherein a value of each successive share group addend is twice a value of the previous share group addend;

(c) enabling said user to select from said ordered listing of individuals or organizations those individuals or organizations with which said user wants to provide access to said data record;

(d) summing the share group addends associated with the selected individuals and organizations to obtain a share group sum and associating said share group sum with said data record;

(e) providing access to said data record only to those individuals and organizations whose share group addend was used in forming said share group sum; and

(f) providing said access to said data record by means of an Internet user interface to thereby provide controlled user access to said database system over a universal computer network.

12. A method as set forth in claim 11 and including the step of:

(a) prior to said step of providing access to said data record, said method further comprises the step of analyzing said share group sum to identify each of said share group addends used to form said share group sum to thereby determine if a user attempting to access said data record is included in said individuals and organizations whose share group was used in forming said share group sum.