Consistent set of interfaces for business objects across heterogeneous systems

• US 9,047,578 B2
• Filed: 09/09/2013
• Issued: 06/02/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 06/26/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: SAP SE
• Original Assignee: SAP SE
• Inventors: Kaisermayr, Martin, Kastner, Michael, Lauff, Thomas, Singh, Abhinava Pratap, Shanbhag, Shweta R., Redmann, Michael, Reisert, Corinne, Wagenknecht, Ralf, Dvorak, Dalibor
• Primary Examiner(s): Trammell, James
• Assistant Examiner(s): Malhotra, Sanjeev
• Application Number:
  US14/021,118
• Publication Number:
  US 20140012620A1
• Time in Patent Office: 631 Days
• Field of Search: 705/14, 705/32, 705/35, 707/5, 709/223, 713/185, 235/114
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/00 Administration; Management
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06313 Resource planning in a project environment
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/08 Insurance
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/12 Accounting

Abstract

A business object model, which reflects data that is used during a given business transaction, is utilized to generate interfaces. This business object model facilitates commercial transactions by providing consistent interfaces that are suitable for use across industries, across businesses, and across different departments within a business during a business transaction. In some operations, software creates, updates, or otherwise processes information related to a budget availability control register, a financial accounting view of work order, a funds commitment document, an insurance contract, and/or a project cost estimate business object.

Claims

1. A tangible computer readable medium including program code for providing a message-based interface for performing a financial view of work order service, the financial view of work order service for providing an accounting view of a work order, the medium comprising:

program code for receiving, via a message-based interface derived from a common business object model, where the common business object model includes business objects having relationships that enable derivation of message-based interfaces and message packages, the message-based interface exposing at least one service as defined in a service registry and from a heterogeneous application executing in an environment of computer systems providing message-based services, a first message for notifying an inventory collaboration hub to accounting that a manufacturing work order has been created that includes a first message package derived from the common business object model and hierarchically organized in memory as;

a manufacturing work order accounting notification message entity; and

a manufacturing work order package, where the manufacturing work order package includes an ID and an item package, where the item package includes at least one item, where each item includes an ID;

program code for processing the first message according to the hierarchical organization of the first message package, where processing the first message includes unpacking the first message package based on the common business object model; and

program code for sending a second message to the heterogeneous application responsive to the first message, where the second message includes a second message package derived from the common business object model to provide consistent semantics with the first message package.

2. A tangible computer readable medium including program code for providing a message-based interface for performing a funds commitment document service, the funds commitment document service allowing handling of a request and confirmation to create a funds commitment document to funds commitment processing, the medium comprising:

program code for receiving, via a message-based interface derived from a common business object model, where the common business object model includes business objects having relationships that enable derivation of message-based interfaces and message packages, the message-based interface exposing at least one service as defined in a service registry and from a heterogeneous application executing in an environment of computer systems providing message-based services, a first message for requesting creation of a funds commitment document in an enterprise resource planning (ERP) system that includes a first message package derived from the common business object model and hierarchically organized in memory as;

a funds commitment document ERP create request message entity; and

a funds commitment document package, where the funds commitment document package includes a company ID, a category code, a type code, a manual change allowed indicator, a date, a posting date, and an item package, where the item package includes at least one item entity, where each item entity includes an accounting coding block assignment change allowed indicator, a consumption allowed indicator, an exceed without limit allowed indicator, a global tolerance override allowed indicator, a manual change allowed indicator, a predecessor funds commitment document item completed indicator, an update relevance indicator, a reserved transaction currency amount, and an accounting coding block assignment package, where the accounting coding block assignment package includes an accounting coding black assignment entity;

program code for processing the first message according to the hierarchical organization of the first message package, where processing the first message includes unpacking the first message package based on the common business object model; and

program code for sending a second message to the heterogeneous application responsive to the first message, where the second message includes a second message package derived from the common business object model to provide consistent semantics with the first message package.

3. The computer readable medium of claim 2, wherein the second message comprises a response to the query of the first message and the second message package is hierarchically organized in memory as:

a funds commitment document ERP create confirmation request message entity; and

a funds commitment document package and a log package, where the funds commitment document package includes a funds commitment document entity, and where the log package includes a log entity.

4. A tangible computer readable medium including program code for providing a message-based interface for performing application to application (A2A) processes in the insurance industry to exchange information from insurance-specific collection processes between a collection and disbursement component and upstream or downstream components, the medium comprising:

program code for receiving, via a message-based interface derived from a common business object model, where the common business object model includes business objects having relationships that enable derivation of message-based interfaces and message packages, the message-based interface exposing at least one service as defined in a service registry and from a heterogeneous application executing in an environment of computer systems providing message-based services, a first message for processing an exchange of information from insurance-specific collection processes between a collection and disbursement component and upstream or downstream components that includes a first message package derived from the common business object model and hierarchically organized in memory as;

a contract accounts receivables payables posting document quotation notification message entity; and

a contract accounts receivables payables posting document quotation notification package, where the contract accounts receivables payables posting document quotation notification package includes a contract accounts receivables payables posting document quotation notification entity, where the contract accounts receivables payables posting document quotation notification entity include an ID, a procedure code, a level category code, a due date, an amount, a payment amount, a date time, a party package, and a business transaction document reference package, where the party package includes a payer party, and where the business transaction document reference includes an account reference;

program code for processing the first message according to the hierarchical organization of the first message package, where processing the first message includes unpacking the first message package based on the common business object model; and

program code for sending a second message to the heterogeneous application responsive to the first message, where the second message includes a second message package derived from the common business object model to provide consistent semantics with the first message package.

5. A tangible computer readable medium including program code for providing a message-based interface for managing the estimated costs for a project, the medium comprising:

program code for receiving, via a message-based interface derived from a common business object model, where the common business object model includes business objects having relationships that enable derivation of message-based interfaces and message packages, the message-based interface exposing at least one service as defined in a service registry and from a heterogeneous application executing in an environment of computer systems providing message-based services, a first message for requesting creation of a project cost estimate in an enterprise resource processing (ERP) system that includes a first message package derived from the common business object model and hierarchically organized in memory as;

a project cost estimate ERP create request message entity; and

a project cost estimate package, where the project cost estimate package includes a project cost estimate entity, where the project cost estimate entity includes a project ID, accounting planning version code, and at least one element cost estimate;

program code for processing the first message according to the hierarchical organization of the first message package, where processing the first message includes unpacking the first message package based on the common business object model; and

program code for sending a second message to the heterogeneous application responsive to the first message, where the second message includes a second message package derived from the common business object model to provide consistent semantics with the first message package.

6. A distributed system operating in a landscape of computer systems providing message-based services defined in a service registry, the system comprising:

a graphical user interface comprising computer readable instructions, embedded on tangible media, for requesting creation of a funds commitment document in an enterprise resource planning (ERP) system using a request;

a first memory storing a user interface controller for processing the request and involving a message including a message package derived from a common business object model, where the common business object model includes business objects having relationships that enable derivation of message-based service interfaces and message packages, the message package hierarchically organized as;

a funds commitment document ERP create request message entity; and

a funds commitment document package, where the funds commitment document package includes a company ID, a category code, a type code, a manual change allowed indicator, a date, a posting date, and an item package, where the item package includes at least one item entity, where each item entity includes an accounting coding block assignment change allowed indicator, a consumption allowed indicator, an exceed without limit allowed indicator, a global tolerance override allowed indicator, a manual change allowed indicator, a predecessor funds commitment document item completed indicator, an update relevance indicator, a reserved transaction currency amount, and an accounting coding block assignment package, where the accounting coding block assignment package includes an accounting coding black assignment entity; and

a second memory, remote from the graphical user interface, storing a plurality of message-based service interfaces derived from the common business object model to provide consistent semantics with messages derived from the common business object model, where one of the message-based service interfaces processes the message according to the hierarchical organization of the message package, where processing the message includes unpacking the message package based on the common business object model.