Managing and unifying structured representations of product information
First Claim
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1. At least one tangible computer-readable medium having a plurality of computer-readable data structures stored thereon, comprising:
- a plurality of items included on the at least one tangible computer-readable medium, the plurality of items representing a plurality of co-existing perspective structures of items relating to product information, each item included on the at least one computer-readable medium comprised of one or more computer-readable item structures that define subitems of the item;
the item representing product information, a set of item specifications corresponding to the subitems, wherein zero or more item specifications exist which correspond to each subitem, wherein each perspective structure corresponds to a particular one of a plurality of co-existing perspectives and each perspective is indicative of process and practices to, during the lifecycle of a product to which the product information pertains, control the items of the perspective structure corresponding to that perspective; and
a set of commitment structures included on the at least one computer-readable medium, wherein each commitment structure associates, for the context of the perspective in which an item exists, each subitem for two or more item specifications with one of the two or more item specifications,such that when the item is processed by a computer, any item specification associated with a subitem by a commitment structure is determinable from the commitment structure.
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Abstract
Aspects of the subject matter described herein relate to defining, sharing, unifying, and managing multiple structured representations of product information in the context of business activities. In certain aspects a data structure is provided that enables, among other things, unambiguous specification of subelements. In other aspects, a method is provided which may be used to, among other things, unambiguously specify subelements. Other aspects are described in the specification.
9 Citations
19 Claims
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1. At least one tangible computer-readable medium having a plurality of computer-readable data structures stored thereon, comprising:
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a plurality of items included on the at least one tangible computer-readable medium, the plurality of items representing a plurality of co-existing perspective structures of items relating to product information, each item included on the at least one computer-readable medium comprised of one or more computer-readable item structures that define subitems of the item;
the item representing product information, a set of item specifications corresponding to the subitems, wherein zero or more item specifications exist which correspond to each subitem, wherein each perspective structure corresponds to a particular one of a plurality of co-existing perspectives and each perspective is indicative of process and practices to, during the lifecycle of a product to which the product information pertains, control the items of the perspective structure corresponding to that perspective; anda set of commitment structures included on the at least one computer-readable medium, wherein each commitment structure associates, for the context of the perspective in which an item exists, each subitem for two or more item specifications with one of the two or more item specifications, such that when the item is processed by a computer, any item specification associated with a subitem by a commitment structure is determinable from the commitment structure. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
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8. In a computing environment, a method of manipulating at least one tangible computer-readable medium, comprising:
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maintaining a plurality of items included on the at least one tangible computer-readable medium, the plurality of items representing a plurality of co-existing perspective structures of items relating to product information, wherein each perspective structure corresponds to a particular one of a plurality of co-existing perspectives and each perspective is indicative of process and practices to, during the lifecycle of a product to which the product information pertains, control the items of the perspective structure corresponding to that perspective; editing a first one of the items tangibly embodied on the at least one computer-readable medium that includes an item specification and an item structure;
finding a second one of the items that already exists as being tangibly embodied on the at least one computer-readable medium, wherein the second item is a component of the first item, and wherein the first item and the second item represent product information;adding a reference to the second item to the item structure; determining whether additional qualification is needed to unambiguously specify the second item in context of the first item; and if the second item is associated with one or more specifications, selecting one of the one or more specifications for the context of the perspective in which the second item exists to commit to such that the second item is unambiguously specified in the context of the first item, wherein committing to the one of the one or more specifications includes establishing, in a computer-readable manner, that in the context of the perspective in which the second item is being created, the selected one of the one or more specifications has a relationship to the first item based on an applicability policy.
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9. A tangible computer-readable medium having computer-executable instructions embodied therein configured to cause a computing system to maintain a structured item configuration that accommodates item and relationship reusability and multiple co-existing specification perspectives, including to:
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maintain, on a tangible computer-readable medium, a plurality of co-existing perspective structures of items relating to product information, wherein each perspective structure corresponds to a particular one of a plurality of co-existing perspectives and each perspective is indicative of processes and practices to, during the lifecycle of a product to which the product information pertains, control the items of the perspective structure corresponding to that perspective; create a second item, on a tangible computer-readable medium and in the context of one of the plurality of co-existing perspectives, including creating a computer-readable item structure for the second item that references a first item in the structure for that one perspective; determine whether the first item includes multiple item specifications; and if the first item includes multiple item specifications, commit in the computer-readable item structure for the context of the perspective in which the second item is being created to one of the multiple item specifications of the first item, wherein committing in the computer-readable item structure to the one of the multiple item specifications of the first item includes establishing, in a computer-readable manner, that in the context of the perspective in which the second item is being created, the second item has a relationship to the one of the multiple item specifications of the first item based on an applicability policy. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19)
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Specification