Arrangement for guiding user design of comprehensive product solution using on-the-fly data validation
First Claim
1. A computer-implemented method of guiding a user in designing a product defined by data, the method comprising:
- using at least one computer, examining items of the data to detect whether each item conforms to rules or violates the rules;
using at least one computer, performing at least one action in response to a detection of a rule violation;
displaying the data to the user in a manner emphasizing at least one particular data item that caused the rule violation;
receiving any new data input from the user; and
repeating the examining, action performing, and displaying steps using the new data;
wherein the data displaying step includes displaying data defining a current state of the product in a tabular format including cells containing the data, including displaying data detected to have caused the rule violation in a first manner that is visibly distinct from a second manner of displaying other data that is not detected to have caused the rule violation.
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Abstract
A computer-implemented method guides a user in designing a product defined by data. The method involves examining (420) items of the data to detect whether each item conforms to rules (106) or violates the rules; performing (431 . . . ) at least one action in response to a detection of a rule violation; displaying (450) the data to the user in a manner emphasizing at least one particular data item that caused the rule violation; receiving (460) any new data input from the user; and repeating the examining, action performing, and displaying steps using the new data. The displaying step may involve displaying data defining a current state of the product in a tabular (spreadsheet) format, including displaying data detected to have caused the rule violation in a first manner that is visibly distinct from displaying other data that is not detected to have caused the rule violation.
97 Citations
15 Claims
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1. A computer-implemented method of guiding a user in designing a product defined by data, the method comprising:
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using at least one computer, examining items of the data to detect whether each item conforms to rules or violates the rules; using at least one computer, performing at least one action in response to a detection of a rule violation; displaying the data to the user in a manner emphasizing at least one particular data item that caused the rule violation; receiving any new data input from the user; and repeating the examining, action performing, and displaying steps using the new data; wherein the data displaying step includes displaying data defining a current state of the product in a tabular format including cells containing the data, including displaying data detected to have caused the rule violation in a first manner that is visibly distinct from a second manner of displaying other data that is not detected to have caused the rule violation. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
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14. A computer-implemented method of guiding a user in designing a product defined by data, the method comprising:
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using a rule-based expert system, examining items of the data to detect whether each item conforms to rules in the rule-based expert system or whether any items violate the rules; forming a list of at least one action to be taken in response to a detection of a rule violation, wherein a rule violation includes an error in a data item and an inconsistency between at least two data items; performing the at least one action using a corresponding applet; displaying the data to the user in a manner emphasizing for the user at least one particular data item that caused the rule violation, the displaying step including displaying data defining a current state of the product in a tabular format including cells containing the data, including displaying data detected to have caused the rule violation in a first manner that is visibly distinct from a second manner of displaying other data that is not detected to have caused the rule violation; receiving any new data input from the user; and repeating the examining, list forming, action performing, and displaying steps using the new data. - View Dependent Claims (15)
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Specification