Dimensional data explorer

• US 8,458,178 B2
• Filed: 12/19/2011
• Issued: 06/04/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 03/14/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Workday Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Workday Incorporated
• Inventors: Qayyum, Kashif, Ruggiero, Jon
• Primary Examiner(s): NGUYEN, KIM T
• Application Number:
  US13/329,544
• Publication Number:
  US 20120089636A1
• Time in Patent Office: 533 Days
• Field of Search: 707/736, 707/769
• US Class Current: 707/736
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/26 Visual data mining; Browsing structured data
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/10 Office automation; Time management

Abstract

A dimensional data explorer for an enterprise system is disclosed. Dimensional data exploration includes providing a list of dimensions by which aggregated data in a report can be disaggregated and reaggregated. Aggregated data comprises a set of measures that have been aggregated for each object of a set of objects. Dimensional data exploration further includes providing the aggregated data disaggregated and reaggregated using a dimension from the list of dimensions.

Claims

1. A system for reporting, comprising:

a processor configured to;

generating a report from a set of objects;

determine whether a data comprises an aggregated data in the report, wherein the aggregated data comprises a set of measures that have been aggregated for each object of the set of objects, wherein the set of measures is aggregated using an aggregation function comprising one of the following;

a summing function, an averaging function, a minimum function, a maximum function, or a counting function;

in the event that the data comprises the aggregated data in the report;

determine a list of dimensions by which the aggregated data can be disaggregated and reaggregated; and

receive a selected dimension from the list of dimensions; and

provide the aggregated data disaggregated and reaggregated using the selected dimension, wherein the aggregated data includes another aggregated data comprising another set of measures that have been aggregated for each object of another set of objects; and

in the event that a different dimension is selected, provide the aggregated data disaggregated and reaggregated using the selected different dimension;

a memory coupled to the processor and configured to provide the processor with instructions.

2. A system as in claim 1, wherein the processor is further configured to receive a request to explore the aggregate data.

3. A system as in claim 1, wherein the processor is further configured to store the aggregate data in the report with a link to the set of objects.

4. A system as in claim 1, wherein the processor is further configured to present a new report of the aggregated data disaggregated and reaggregated using the dimension from the list of dimensions.

5. A system as in claim 1, wherein the processor is further configured to build the set of objects, wherein the set of related objects is built by executing a method of a parent object.

6. A system as in claim 1, wherein a set of sets of related objects is built by executing a method of each of a set of parent objects.

7. A system as in claim 1, wherein a measure is any method of an object in the set of related objects that returns a number.

8. A system as in claim 1, wherein a dimension is any method of an object in the set of related objects that returns a set of object instances.

9. A system as in claim 1, wherein aggregated data can be disaggregated and reaggregated using two or more dimensions in a single new report.

10. A system as in claim 1, wherein the processor is further configured to build the report, wherein data in the report is aggregated from objects accessible from a parent object.

11. A system as in claim 10, wherein data in the report is organized into one or more columns defined by a report creator.

12. A system as in claim 10, wherein each object in an instance set returned by a report data source method of the parent object is assigned to a row of the report.

13. A method for reporting, comprising:

generating a report from a set of objects;

determining, using a processor, whether a data comprises an aggregated data in the report, wherein the aggregated data comprises a set of measures that have been aggregated for each object of the set of objects, wherein the set of measures is aggregated using an aggregation function comprising one of the following;

a summing function, an averaging function, a minimum function, a maximum function, or a counting function;

in the event that the data comprises the aggregated data in the report;

determining a list of dimensions by which the aggregated data can be disaggregated and reaggregated; and

receiving a selected dimension from the list of dimensions; and

providing the aggregated data disaggregated and reaggregated using the selected dimension, wherein the aggregated data includes another aggregated data comprising another set of measures that have been aggregated for each object of another set of objects; and

in the event that a different dimension is selected, providing the aggregated data disaggregated and reaggregated using the selected different dimension.

14. A computer program product for reporting, the computer program product being embodied in a non-transitory computer readable medium and comprising computer instructions for:

generating a report from a set of objects;

determining whether a data comprises an aggregated data in the report, wherein the aggregated data comprises a set of measures that have been aggregated for each object of the set of objects, wherein the set of measures is aggregated using an aggregation function comprising one of the following;

a summing function, an averaging function, a minimum function, a maximum function, or a counting function;

in the event that the data comprises the aggregated data in the report;

determining a list of dimensions by which the aggregated data can be disaggregated and reaggregated; and

receiving a selected dimension from the list of dimensions; and

providing the aggregated data disaggregated and reaggregated using the selected dimension, wherein the aggregated data includes another aggregated data comprising another set of measures that have been aggregated for each object of another set of objects; and

in the event that a different dimension is selected, providing the aggregated data disaggregated and reaggregated using the selected different dimension.