Method for verifying user changeable configuration settings and selectively modifying non-supported setting values to supported setting values in user selected and non-selected content units

• US 8,438,379 B2
• Filed: 09/24/2010
• Issued: 05/07/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 09/24/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: SAP SE
• Original Assignee: SAP AG (SAP SE)
• Inventors: Hoff, Roland, Krieg, Jan, Folmer, Viktor, Bthe, Robert
• Primary Examiner(s): Lee, Thomas
• Assistant Examiner(s): CASSITY, ROBERT A
• Application Number:
  US12/889,782
• Publication Number:
  US 20120079264A1
• Time in Patent Office: 956 Days
• Field of Search: 714/38, 714/46, 713/100
• US Class Current: 713/100
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06 Resources, workflows, human or project management; Enterprise or organisation planning; Enterprise or organisation modelling

Abstract

A value of a configuration setting contained within a selected content unit of an application may be used as input for a configuration check algorithm to calculate a control parameter output. The algorithm may include logical operators, conditional statements, mathematical logic, and mathematical functions. The algorithm may be used to verify the correctness of the value. Different control parameter output values may be associated with different options in the automated configuration verification program. The options may include, but are not limited to, modifying an unsupported configuration setting value to a supported value, updating configuration setting values in non-selected content units, exiting the automated program and switching to a manual configuration setting change mode, and automatically updating a configuration setting value to a supported value without further intervention.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method for performing a configuration check to verify a validity of user changeable configuration settings in an application comprising:

responsive to receiving an identifier of a selected content unit in the application containing a plurality of user changeable configuration settings of the application, retrieving a configuration check algorithm to verify the validity of a configuration setting of the selected content unit, the selected content unit representing a subset of functionality of the application;

applying, through a processing device, a value of the configuration setting in the selected content unit retrieved from the application to the configuration check algorithm to calculate a control parameter output;

identifying at least one instance in at least one non-selected content unit of the application where the retrieved configuration check algorithm generates a same calculated control parameter output;

including each identified instance in each non-selected content unit in a table;

responsive to the calculated control parameter output having a first unsupported value in a first automated configuration check interface, sending an option to exit the first automated configuration check interface and enter a second manual configuration check interface to a user interface system, the second manual configuration check interface providing options in an interface for a user to manually change the configuration setting value (i) in the selected content unit and (ii) in the selected content unit and those non-selected content units in the table;

responsive to the calculated control parameter output having a second unsupported value in the first automated configuration check interface, sending options to modify the configuration setting value to a predetermined supported value fp in the selected content unit and (ii) in those non-selected content units in the table and after an option selection is made, continue checking another configuration setting value in the first configuration check interface to the user interface system; and

responsive to the calculated control parameter output having a supported value in a first configuration check interface, continue checking another configuration setting value in the first configuration check interface to the user interface system.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the first configuration check interface is an automated interface that automatically modifies a configuration setting value, the second configuration check interface is a manual interface to enable a manual user modification of the configuration setting value, and the second configuration check interface exits and the first configuration check interface resumes once the manual user modification of the configuration setting value is complete.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the application includes a plurality of business objects, a plurality of document types associated with the plurality of business objects, and a plurality of groupings associated with the plurality of document types, each grouping having designated configuration settings with designated values.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the selected content unit includes a designated grouping within a designated document type of a designated business object.

5. The method of claim 4, further comprising:

identifying configuration settings in non-selected content units having a same applied value of the same configuration setting in the selected content unit;

responsive to the calculated control parameter output having the second unsupported value, sending, to the user interface system, an option to modify at least one of the identified configuration settings in non-selected content units to the supported value; and

changing the configuration settings of any identified configuration settings opted for modification to the supported value.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the first unsupported value is different from the second unsupported value.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the first unsupported value is a same value as the second unsupported value.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the predetermined supported value is a predetermined value of the configuration setting that when applied to the configuration check algorithm, generates a supported control parameter output.

9. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

identifying instances of the configuration setting in non-selected content units of the application;

applying, through the processing device, a value of the configuration setting in each instance to the configuration check algorithm to calculate a control parameter output for each instance;

identifying those instances having unsupported control parameter output values in the first configuration check interface that would be supported if modified to supported values; and

sending an option to modify configuration values in one or more of the unsupported instances to supported values.

10. A computer-implemented method for performing automated configuration checks to verify a validity of user changeable configuration settings in an application of an enterprise system comprising:

iteratively applying, through a processing device, values of selected configuration settings in the enterprise system to respective configuration check algorithms in a selected content unit of an application representing a subset of functionality of the application to verify the validity of the user changeable configuration settings;

calculating a control parameter outputs from applying each of the configuration setting values to the respective configuration check algorithms;

identifying at least one instance in at least one non-selected content unit of the application where the respective configuration check algorithm generates a same calculated control parameter output;

including each identified instance in each non-selected content unit in a table;

responsive to an application indicating that the respective value is supported, proceeding to a next iteration; and

responsive to the application indicating that the respective value is not supported, providing options to modify the respective value to a supported value (i) in the selected content unit and (ii) in those non-selected content units in the table, and after an option selection is made, substituting the unsupported value with the supported value according to the option selection, the supported value identified from a data source linked to the respective algorithm, and proceeding to the next iteration.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the selected configuration settings are specified in a configuration content unit.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the enterprise system includes a plurality of business objects, a plurality of document types associated with the plurality of business objects, and a plurality of groupings associated with the plurality of document types, each grouping having designated configuration settings with designated values and the configuration content unit identifies at least one of the groupings in at least one of the document type associated with at least one of the business objects.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the selected configuration settings include only those within the identified at least one grouping in the content configuration unit.

14. The method of claim 10, further comprising, responsive to the application indicating that the respective value is not supported, identifying similar instances of non-selected configuration settings with the unsupported value and changing at least one of these unsupported values to the supported value.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein each identified similar instance is included in a table that is sent to an interface system for subsequent selection of instances to be changed from the unsupported value to the supported value.

16. A system to verify a validity of user changeable configuration settings of an application comprising:

a configuration database storing a configuration check algorithm to verify a validity of a configuration setting of a selected content unit representing a subset of functionality of the application, and a plurality of options;

a connection to a user interface and the application; and

a processing device to apply a value of a configuration setting retrieved from the application through the connection to a corresponding configuration check algorithm retrieved from the configuration database in a selected content unit of the application, calculate a control parameter output from the application, identify at least one instance in at least one non-selected content unit of the application where the retrieved configuration check algorithm generates a same calculated control parameter output, include each identified instance in each non-selected content unit in a table; and

send an option from configuration database to the user interface through the connection corresponding to the control parameter output, the options including;

responsive to the calculated control parameter output having a first unsupported value in a first automated configuration check interface, a first option to exit the first automated configuration check interface and enter a second manual configuration check interface, the second manual configuration check interface providing options in an interface for a user to manually change the configuration setting value (i) in the selected content unit and (ii) in the selected content unit and those non-selected content units in the table;

responsive to the calculated control parameter output having a second unsupported value in the first automated configuration check interface modifiable to a supported value, second options to modify the unsupported value to the supported value (i) in the selected content unit and (ii) in those non-selected content units in the table, and after an option selection is made, continue checking another configuration setting value in the first configuration check interface; and

responsive to the calculated control parameter output having a supported value in a first configuration check interface, a third option to continue checking another configuration setting value in the first configuration check interface.

17. The system of claim 16, wherein the first configuration check interface is an automated interface that automatically modifies a configuration setting value, the second configuration check interface is a manual interface to enable a manual user modification of the configuration setting value, and the second configuration check interface exits and the first configuration check interface resumes once the manual user modification of the configuration setting value is complete.

18. The system of claim 16, wherein the application includes a plurality of business objects, a plurality of document types associated with the plurality of business objects, and a plurality of groupings associated with the plurality of document types, each grouping having designated configuration settings with designated values.

19. The system of claim 18, wherein the selected content unit includes a designated grouping within a designated document type of a designated business object.

20. The system of claim 19, wherein the processing device:

identifies configuration settings in non-selected content units having a same applied value of the same configuration setting in the selected content unit;

responsive to the calculated control parameter output having the second unsupported value, sends, to the user interface system, an option to modify at least one of the identified configuration settings in non-selected content units to the supported value; and

changes the configuration settings of any identified configuration settings opted for modification to the supported value.