Grouping and display of logically defined reports

• US 20070260625A1
• Filed: 04/21/2006
• Published: 11/08/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 04/21/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Hulen, Corey, Lim, Chen-I, Tien, Ian, Blood, Robert
• Granted Patent: US 8,190,992 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/00 Commerce

Abstract

Report views offer a user the ability to specify ancillary data views and also view that data in a scorecard viewing experience. A report view definition may be implemented as a metadata-based mapping of logical reports to physical reports for scorecards and KPIs. Reports are categorized based on their presentation size and/or type. Categorized report attributes included in the report view metadata are managed by a configuration UI. The report view metadata further includes schema, ordering capabilities, and mapping UI such as re-use of report views in multiple areas.

Claims

1. A method to be executed at least in part in a computing device for grouping logically defined reports, comprising:

determining a plurality of logically defined reports;

determining a suitable presentation size for each of the plurality of logically defined reports; and

categorizing each of the plurality of logically defined reports based on the presentation size for each report such that each report is consumed based on its category.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

assigning one of a numeric and alphanumeric attribute to each report based on its category.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

determining a type of each of the plurality of logically defined reports; and

categorizing each of the plurality of logically defined reports based on their type.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the type of each report includes one of:

a map, a chart, one or more comments, an image, a video stream, an audio stream, and a transaction list.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein consuming the reports includes at least one from a set of:

generating the report, storing the report, and performing a query using the report.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

providing a User Interface (UI) for managing an attribute associated with each report from a set of;

a property, a layout, an order, and a mapping of each report in a report view screen.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the UI is configured to provide a listing of available reports grouped by their corresponding categories.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the UI is presented as one of a task pane, a pop-up display, a hover-over display, and a dropdown menu.

9. The method of claim 7, wherein the UI is configured to provide the listing of available reports and manage the attribute of each report based on a subscriber credential.

10. The method of claim 7, wherein the attribute of each report is included in report view metadata in a parameterized form.

11. The method of claim 6, further comprising:

providing the report view screen based on selections made through the UI for managing the reports.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein the suitable size for each report is determined based on at least one from a set of:

a computing device capability, a reporting application capability, a report content, and a user preference.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein the plurality of logically defined reports are associated with at least one element of a scorecard.

14. A computer-readable medium having computer executable instructions for managing parameterized subordinate reports in a scorecard system, the instructions comprising:

determining a plurality of reports associated with an element of a scorecard;

determining a suitable presentation size for each of the plurality of reports;

determining a type for each of the plurality of reports;

categorizing each of the plurality of reports based on a type and the presentation size for each report such that each report is consumed based on its category; and

providing a User Interface (UI) for managing at least one attribute associated with each report such that a report view for selected reports is generated based on the managed at least one attribute of the selected reports.

15. The computer-readable medium of claim 14, wherein the UI is configured to enable a subscriber to define a report type and a presentation size in addition to a predefined selection of report types and presentation sizes.

16. The computer-readable medium of claim 14, wherein the instructions further comprise creating repetitive groups of subordinate reports based on the report categories.

17. A system for managing logically defined report in a scorecard system, comprising:

a scorecard application configured to compute scorecard metrics and provide a scorecard presentation based on the computed scorecard metrics; and

a report configuration module configured to;

determine a number of available report definitions for a scorecard element based on a type of data associated with the scorecard element;

determine a presentation size for each of the available reports;

categorize the report definitions based on their presentation sizes; and

provide a set of user interface controls for visualizing and managing contents and layout of the available reports.

18. The system of claim 17, wherein the report configuration module is further configured to provide a physical instantiation of each category of available reports for generating a report view screen.

19. The system of claim 17, wherein the report configuration module is further configured to parameterized attributes of each report to a reporting application.

20. The system of claim 17, wherein the report configuration module is integrated with the scorecard application.