Efficient reprocessing of compensation calculations

• US 10,621,521 B1
• Filed: 07/22/2004
• Issued: 04/14/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 07/22/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Versata Development Group, Inc. (ESW Capital, LLC)
• Original Assignee: Versata Development Group, Inc. (ESW Capital, LLC)
• Inventors: Vaughan, Paul W., Brokaw, David A.
• Primary Examiner(s): Behncke, Christine M
• Assistant Examiner(s): Turner, Shelby A
• Application Number:
  US10/896,687
• Time in Patent Office: 5,745 Days
• Field of Search: 705 26, 705 39, 705 14, 705 4, 705 7, 705 36, 705 11, 705 2, 705 711, 705 729, 705 733, 705 742, 705 36 R, 705 34, 705 40, 705100, 395615, 1 1, 707100, 707 14, 718105
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/466 Transaction processing
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/4843 by program, e.g. task dispatcher, supervisor, operating system
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/063 Operations research, analysis or management
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/12 Accounting

Abstract

A transaction processing system includes an engine to process transactions in accordance with rules and data. Changes can be made to the rules and data, transactions, and other parameters that have retroactive affects. The transaction processing system includes a reprocessing system to submit reprocessing requests that prompt a transaction processing engine to efficiently reprocess data to generate accurate output data. In addition to helping ensure accurate output results, the reprocessing operation selectively reprocesses information to avoid unnecessarily reprocessing every transaction. Additionally, embodiment of the compensation system allow parallel processing of current transactions and reprocessing operations using batch processing mechanisms. The transaction processing system can be implemented to perform a variety of transaction processing operations, such as processing of compensation related data.

Claims

1. A method of using an electronic data processing system to reprocess transaction data related to compensation of participants, the method comprising:

performing by the electronic data processing system programmed with code stored in a memory and executing by a processor of the electronic data processing system that transforms the electronic data processing system into a machine for;

determining that a compensation model has been changed;

generating queries to query multiple transaction data properties to determine if any of values of the multiple transaction data properties have changed in previously processed transaction data stored in a storage medium;

determining if any of the values indicate that the changed compensation model affects the previously processed transaction data so that current compensation data is no longer accurate;

responsive to determining that a change has been made to information affecting the previously processed transaction data including the change to the compensation model, issuing a retro-request to reprocess the affected transaction data without reprocessing all previously processed transaction data stored in the storage medium;

adding the retro-request to a batch for reprocessing;

determining if the batch of retro-requests is ready for reprocessing;

reprocessing the affected transaction data when the batch is ready for reprocessing to generate compensation data consistent with the change in the information, including the change to the compensation model, affecting the previously processed transaction data; and

storing the compensation data for subsequent compensation determination use.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the information affecting previously processed transaction data is selected from the group comprising the transaction data properties and the compensation model that governs transaction processing.

3. The method of claim 2 wherein if the information affecting previously processed transaction data is a rules-data model that governs transaction processing changes, the method further comprises:

reprocessing the affected transaction data for a particular time period affected by the change in the compensation model.

4. The method of claim 3 wherein:

the information comprises a plurality of components including compensation rules in the compensation model, compensation hierarchical information in the compensation model, and the transaction data properties;

the transaction data comprises a plurality of transactions;

each component of the information is effectivity dated; and

the method further comprises;

using the effectivity dates of the components to determine if a change has been made to the information affecting the previously processed transaction data and to reprocess the affected transaction data.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein reprocessing the affected transaction data comprises:

utilizing overload protection processes.

6. The method of claim 5 wherein the affected transaction data comprises a plurality of transactions and utilizing overload protection processes comprises:

adding the affected transaction data to the batch of retro-requests;

reprocessing the batch of retro-requests after the batch of retro-requests reaches a predetermined number of transactions; and

adding affected transaction data to another batch of retro-requests when a previously filled batch of retro-requests reaches the predetermined number of transactions, wherein the predetermined size is set to restrict the number of transactions to be reprocessed.

7. The method of claim 6 wherein utilizing overload protection processes further comprises:

limiting a number of batches of retro-requests to be reprocessed to a predefined number.

8. The method of claim 6 wherein adding affected transaction data to the batch of retro-requests comprises:

assigning a batch number to each transaction in the added, affected transaction data; and

updating the batch number of each transaction in the added, affected transaction data to be reprocessed with respective monotonically increasing batch numbers.

9. The method of claim 6 wherein reprocessing the batch of retro-requests further comprises:

processing a first subset of the plurality of affected transactions during a first period of time; and

processing one or more additional subsets of the plurality of affected transactions during one or more subsequent periods of time.

10. The method of claim 6 further comprising:

assigning monotonically increasing numbers to each batch of retro-requests.

11. The method of claim 5 wherein utilizing overload protection processes further comprises:

receiving the retro-requests and reprocessing the affected transaction data over a period of time to prevent overloading a compensation system with reprocessing operations.

12. The method of claim 1 wherein the change affecting previously processed transaction data comprises new transaction data effectivity dates.

13. The method of claim 1 wherein reprocessing the affected transaction data comprises:

loading newly and previously generated compensation data into the memory of the electronic data processing system;

comparing newly generated compensation data with the previously generated compensation data; and

wherein if a match between newly generated and previously generated compensation data occurs, discarding at least a portion of the newly generated compensation data and, if a match between newly generated and previously generated compensation data does not occur, canceling at least a portion of unmatched, previously generated compensation data and persisting at least a portion of the newly generated compensation data.

14. The method of claim 13 wherein each transaction comprises a plurality of properties and:

comparing the newly generated compensation data with the previously generated compensation data comprises comparing each value of the transaction data properties independently;

discarding at least a portion of the newly generated compensation data, wherein the discarding comprises discarding values of the transaction data properties of the newly generated compensation data that match values of the transaction data properties of corresponding values of the previously generated compensation data;

canceling at least a portion of unmatched, previously generated compensation data; and

persisting the newly generated compensation data, wherein the persisting comprises canceling values of the transaction data properties corresponding to the unmatched, previously generated compensation data and persisting unmatched values of the transaction data properties of corresponding properties of the newly generated compensation data.

15. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

changing the information through a user interface having access to the transaction data properties and a compensation model of the electronic data processing system.

16. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

changing the information by directly accessing the compensation model and entering changes to the compensation model.

17. The method of claim 16 wherein changes to the compensation model are selected from the group comprising:

changes to quotas, bonuses, commissions, compensation hierarchies, allocation rules, and compensation participation.

18. The method of claim 16 wherein issuing the retro-request occurs automatically if a change has been made to the information affecting the previously processed transaction data.

19. A method of reprocessing transactions affected by data changes in a compensation system, the method comprising:

performing by a computer system programmed with code stored in a memory and executing by a processor of the computer system that transforms the computer system into a machine for;

receiving data in the compensation system;

determining that a compensation model has been changed by the received data;

determining if any of the received data alters any previous compensation calculations in accordance with the changed compensation model; and

if any compensation calculations were altered;

generating queries to query multiple transaction data properties to identify transactions associated with the altered previous compensation calculations whose properties indicate that the changed compensation model affects the transactions so that current compensation data is no longer accurate;

adding a retro-request for the identified transactions to a batch for reprocessing;

determining if the batch of retro-requests is ready for reprocessing;

when the batch is ready for reprocessing, reprocessing the identified transactions determined to have been associated with the altered previous compensation calculations; and

storing results of reprocessing the identified transactions for subsequent compensation determination use.

20. A non-transitory, machine transaction processing system for reprocessing transaction data related to compensation of participants, the system comprising:

a first engine comprising a processor and code to determine that a compensation model has been changed;

a reprocessing engine comprising the processor and code to cause the processor to (i) generate queries to query multiple transaction data properties to determine if any of values of the properties in previously processed transaction data indicate that the changed compensation model affects the previously processed transaction data so that current compensation data is no longer accurate and, responsive to determining that a change has been made to the information affecting the previously processed transaction data stored in a storage medium including the change to the compensation model, to (ii) issue a retro-request to reprocess the affected transaction data without reprocessing all previously processed transaction data stored in the storage medium; and

a second engine comprising the processor and code to add the retro-request to a batch for reprocessing and determine if the batch of retro-requests is ready for reprocessing;

a transaction processing engine comprising the processor and code to cause the processor to receive retro-request data from the reprocessing engine and reprocess the affected transaction data when the batch is ready for reprocessing to generate compensation data consistent with the change in the information, including the change to the compensation model, affecting the previously processed transaction data and store the compensation data in a memory for subsequent compensation determination use.

21. The system of claim 20 wherein the information affecting previously processed transaction data is selected from the group comprising the transaction data properties and the compensation model that governs transaction processing.

22. The system of claim 21 wherein if the information affecting previously processed transaction data is a rules-data model that governs transaction processing changes, the transaction processing system further comprises code to reprocess the affected transaction data for a particular time period affected by the change in the compensation model.

23. The system of claim 22 wherein:

the information comprises a plurality of components including compensation rules in the compensation model, compensation hierarchical information in the compensation model, and the transaction data properties;

the transaction data comprises a plurality of transactions;

each component of the information is effectivity dated; and

the system further includes code to;

use the effectivity dates of the components to determine if a change has been made to the information affecting the previously processed transaction data and to reprocess the affected transaction data.

24. The system of claim 20 wherein the transaction processing engine includes code to protect the system from reprocessing overload.

25. The system of claim 24 wherein the affected transaction data comprises a plurality of transactions and the code to protect the system from reprocessing overload comprises code to:

add the affected transaction data to the batch of retro-requests;

reprocess the batch of retro-requests after the batch of retro-requests reaches a predetermined number of transactions; and

add affected transaction data to another batch of retro-requests when a previously filled batch of retro-requests reaches the predetermined number of transactions, wherein the predetermined size is set to restrict the number of transactions to be reprocessed.

26. The system of claim 25 wherein the code to protect the system from reprocessing overload further comprises code to:

limit a number of batches of retro-requests to be reprocessed to a predefined number.

27. The system of claim 25 wherein the code to add affected transaction data to the batch of retro-requests further comprises code to:

assign a batch number to each transaction in the added, affected transaction data; and

update the batch number of each transaction in the added, affected transaction data to be reprocessed with respective monotonically increasing batch numbers.

28. The system of claim 25 wherein the code to reprocess the batch of retro-requests further comprises code to:

process a first subset of the plurality of affected transactions during a first period of time; and

process one or more additional subsets of the plurality of affected transactions during one or more subsequent periods of time.

29. The system of claim 25 wherein the code to protect the system from reprocessing overload further comprises code to assign monotonically increasing numbers to each batch of retro-requests.

30. The system of claim 25 wherein the code to protect the system from reprocessing overload further comprises code to:

receive the retro-requests and reprocessing the affected transaction data over a period of time to prevent overloading a compensation system with reprocessing operations.

31. The system of claim 20 wherein the change affecting previously processed transaction data comprises new transaction data effectivity dates.

32. The system of claim 20 wherein reprocessing engine further comprises code to:

load newly and previously generated compensation data into the memory of the electronic data processing system;

compare newly generated compensation data with the previously generated compensation data; and

wherein if a match between newly generated and previously generated compensation data occurs, discard at least a portion of the newly generated compensation data and, if a match between newly generated and previously generated compensation data does not occur, cancel at least a portion of unmatched, previously generated compensation data and persisting at least a portion of the newly generated compensation data.

33. The system of claim 32 wherein each transaction comprises a plurality of properties and:

code to compare the newly generated compensation data with the previously generated compensation data comprises comparing each value of the transaction data properties independently;

code to discard at least a portion of the newly generated compensation data, wherein the discarding comprises discarding values of the transaction data properties of the newly generated compensation data that match values of the transaction data properties of corresponding values of the previously generated compensation data; and

code to cancel at least a portion of unmatched, previously generated compensation data and persist the newly generated compensation data, wherein the persisting comprises canceling values of the transaction data properties corresponding to the unmatched, previously generated compensation data and persisting unmatched values of the transaction data properties of corresponding properties of the newly generated compensation data.

34. The system of claim 20 further comprising code to:

change the information through a user interface having access to the transaction data properties and a compensation model of the electronic data processing system.

35. The system of claim 20 further comprising code to:

change the information by directly accessing the compensation model and entering changes to the compensation model.

36. The system of claim 35 wherein changes to the compensation model are selected from the group comprising:

changes to quotas, bonuses, commissions, compensation hierarchies, allocation rules, and compensation participation.

37. The system of claim 20 wherein the code of the reprocessing engine automatically issues a retro-request if a change has been made to the information affecting the previously processed transaction data.

38. A non-transitory, computer program storage medium comprising code embedded therein that transforms a computer system into a machine to:

determine that a compensation model has been changed;

generate queries to query multiple transaction data properties to determine if any of values of the multiple transaction data properties in previously processed transaction data indicate that the changed compensation model affects the previously processed transaction data so that current compensation data is no longer accurate;

responsive to determining that a change has been made to the information including the change to the compensation model affecting the previously processed transaction data stored in a storage medium, issue a retro-request to reprocess the affected, previously processed transaction data without reprocessing all transaction data stored in the storage medium;

add the retro-request to a batch for reprocessing;

determine if the batch of retro-requests is ready for reprocessing;

cause a processor to receive retro-request data and when the batch is ready for reprocessing reprocess the affected transaction data to generate compensation data consistent with the change in the information, including the change to the compensation model, affecting the previously processed transaction data; and

store the compensation data for subsequent compensation determination use.