User-experience-centric architecture for data objects and end user applications

• US 8,131,668 B2
• Filed: 05/28/2008
• Issued: 03/06/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 05/28/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: SAP SE
• Original Assignee: SAP AG (SAP SE)
• Inventors: Beringer, Joerg, Richter, Kai S.
• Primary Examiner(s): VO, TRUONG V
• Application Number:
  US12/128,453
• Publication Number:
  US 20090300060A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,378 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 707/609
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/24 Object-oriented
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/36 Software reuse
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/38 for implementing user interfaces
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/451 Execution arrangements for user interfaces

Abstract

Methods and apparatuses enable generation of data objects having properties that reflect business understanding and how the data objects are to be used. A user experience data object (“UX object”) is semantically defined by object characteristics including actions, attributes, and relations needed to incorporate the UX object into one or more user interface (UI) contexts. The UI contexts are contexts from which the UX object will be accessed or in which it will be used. One or more UX object usages define object characteristics related to a specific context in which the UX object is to be accessed. A usage has business logic decoupled from the UX object, and is associated with the UX object. The UX object and one or more usages are provided to enable the UX object to be incorporated into a UI component that allows access to the UX object.

Claims

1. A computer implemented method comprising:

instantiating a user experience data object (UX) object having object characteristics, including content and functionality, available when presented in a user interface (UI), wherein an object characteristic is presented based, at least in part, on a UI context in which the UI is accessed;

instantiating a UX object usage, the usage having business logic decoupled from the UX object, the instantiated usage identifying a first set of at least object characteristic related to a first UI context in which the UX object is to be accessed;

associating the UX object with the usage, where the usage provides a filter to presentation of the first set of object characteristic(s) of the UX object, where the first set of object characteristic(s) are to be presented in the first UI context, and a second set of at least one object characteristic is to not presented in the first UI context; and

providing the UX object and the usage for reusable incorporation into a UI component to present the UX object with only the first set of object characteristic(s) related to the first UI context in which the UX object is to be accessed based on the usage, the UX object capable of being associated with another UX object usage for reuse into the UI component to present the UX object to be accessed in a second UI context with the second set of object characteristic(s);

instantiating a second UX object, where a subset of object characteristics of the first UX object and a subset of object characteristics of the second UX object match the object characteristics defined by the usage; and

instantiating a second usage defining the second set of object characteristic(s) related to the second UI context, where the first object characteristic(s) defined by the first usage and the second set of object characteristic(s) defined by the second usage are included within the object characteristics defined by the UX object.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein instantiating the UX object comprises:

instantiating a UX object defined based on an understanding of what a user will do with the UX object, including domain knowledge that indicates a perception of the UX object within a business domain.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein instantiating the UX object further comprises:

binding the UX object to a backend system; and

providing the bound UX object as a reusable building block for UI component generation.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more UI contexts comprise one or more of a mobile device UI platform, or a business application UI.

5. An article of manufacture comprising a non-transitory machine-readable storage medium having content stored thereon to provide instructions to cause a machine to perform operations, including:

instantiating a user experience data object (UX) object having object characteristics, including content and functionality, available when presented in a user interface (UI), wherein an object characteristic is presented based, at least in part, on a UI context in which the UI is accessed;

instantiating a UX object usage, the usage having business logic decoupled from the UX object, the instantiated usage identifying a first set of at least one object characteristic related to a first UI context in which the UX object is to be accessed;

associating the UX object with the usage, where the usage provides a filter to presentation of the first set of object characteristic(s) of the UX object, where the first set of object characteristic(s) are to be presented in the first UI context, and a second set of at least one object characteristic is to be not presented in the first UI context; and

providing the UX object and the usage for reusable incorporation into a UI component to present the UX object with only the first set of object characteristic(s) related to the first UI context in which the UX object is to be accessed based on the usage, the UX object capable of being associated with another UX object usage for reuse into the UI component to present the UX object to be accessed in a second UI context with the second set of object characteristic(s);

instantiating a second UX object, where a subset of object characteristics of the first UX object and a subset of object characteristics of the second UX object match the object characteristics defined by the usage; and

instantiating a second usage defining the second set of object characteristic(s) related to the second UI context, where the first object characteristic(s) defined by the fist usage and the second set of object characteristic(s) defined by the second usage are included within the object characteristics defined by the UX object.

6. The article of manufacture of claim 5, wherein the content to provide instructions for instantiating the UX object further comprises content to provide instructions for

binding the UX object to a backend system;

and

providing the bound UX object as a reusable building block for UI component generation.

7. The article of manufacture of claim 5, wherein the one or more UI contexts comprise UI building blocks that provide a standard content template to be filled with content.

8. The article of manufacture of claim 5, where the content to provide instructions for instantiating the UX object usage comprises content to provide instructions for

instantiating a UX object usage derived from a source usage, the derived usage inheriting all content of the source usage, and customizable to overwrite the derived content.