APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR CREATING BUSINESS PROCESS WORKFLOWS WITHIN BUSINESS INTELLIGENCE SYSTEMS

• US 20080109235A1
• Filed: 09/28/2007
• Published: 05/08/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 11/03/2006
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Business Objects Incorporated (SAP SE)
• Original Assignee: Business Objects SA (SAP SE)
• Inventors: Allerton, Mark William, Binnie, Adam, Naibo, Alexis-Jean Laurent
• Application Number:
  US11/864,554
• Publication Number:
  US 20080109235A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06 Resources, workflows, human or project management; Enterprise or organisation planning; Enterprise or organisation modelling
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/063 Operations research, analysis or management

Abstract

A computer readable storage medium includes computer executable instructions to receive an action type. A set of logic is associated with the action type. An action is defined based on the action type. The action includes a further set of logic that extends the set of logic associated with the action type. A mapping of data from a report to a target object is received in a business intelligence system. The mapping is included in the further set of logic. The action is associated with the report. The action is routed to a target system outside the business intelligence system.

Claims

1. A computer readable storage medium, comprising computer executable instructions to:

receive an action type, wherein a set of logic is associated with the action type;

define an action based on the action type, wherein the action includes a further set of logic that extends the set of logic associated with the action type;

receive a mapping of data from a report to a target object in a business intelligence system;

include the mapping in the further set of logic;

associate the action with the report; and

route the action to a target system outside the business intelligence system.

2. The computer readable storage medium of claim 1 further comprising executable instructions to receive a transform applied to a portion of data in the mapping of data from the report to the target object.

3. The computer readable storage medium of claim 1 further comprising executable instructions to store one or more values in the action.

4. The computer readable storage medium of claim 3 wherein the one or more values are included in the context of the action.

5. The computer readable storage medium of claim 1 wherein:

the action type and the report are part of the business intelligence system; and

the action type is defined by the vendor of the business intelligence system.

6. The computer readable storage medium of claim 1 wherein the action type is defined by a vendor of a business process system.

7. The computer readable storage medium of claim 1 wherein the instruction to associate the action with the report includes storing a reference to the action in the report.

8. The computer readable storage medium of claim 1 further comprising computer executable instructions to:

receive the selection of an alert; and

link the alert to the action.

9. The computer readable storage medium of claim 8 further comprising executable instructions to determine if the alert requires a reply, wherein if the alert requires a reply the computer readable storage medium further comprises computer executable instructions to include metadata of the alert in a set of parameters for the action.

10. A computer readable storage medium, comprising computer executable instructions to:

receive an action invocation from a client application of a business intelligence system;

validate the parameters associated with the action;

process the action according to a set of logic associated with the action; and

make a call to a final target object, wherein the final target object is in a target system outside the business intelligence system.

11. The computer readable storage medium of claim 10 wherein the action is associated with a source object.

12. The computer readable storage medium of claim 11 wherein the source object is associated with a business intelligence application in the business intelligence system.

13. The computer readable storage medium of claim 10 further comprising executable instructions to call an intermediate target object.

14. The computer readable storage medium of claim 13 wherein the intermediate target object is an additional action and the additional action includes logic that directs the business intelligence system to make the call to the final target object.

15. The computer readable storage medium of claim 14 wherein the intermediate target object includes logic that directs the business intelligence system to make the call to a plurality of intermediate actions.

16. The computer readable storage medium of claim 10 further comprising executable instructions to:

request the client application prompt from a user for a further parameter; and

validate the further parameter.

17. The computer readable storage medium of claim 10 further comprising executable instructions to execute the action, wherein the action is substantially completed within a business process system or a data source.

18. The computer readable storage medium of claim 11 wherein the business intelligence system includes data describing the context of the source object within the business intelligence system.

19. The computer readable storage medium of claim 18 wherein the executable instructions to receive an action invocation include executable instructions to pass data describing the context of the source object to the target system.

20. The computer readable storage medium of claim 11 wherein the action is substantially completed within the target system, wherein the target system is selected from a business process system and a data source.

21. The computer readable storage medium of claim 10 further comprising executable instructions to send a response from the target system to the client application through the business intelligence system.

22. A computer readable storage medium, comprising computer executable instructions to:

receive a source object from a business intelligence system;

specify an action type and a target object within the business intelligence system;

receive a mapping of a parameter to a field in the target object from a user; and

send the action type, the target object, and the mapping of the parameter to a target system outside the business intelligence system.

23. The computer readable storage medium of claim 22 further comprising executable instructions to provide a plurality of action types within an action design tool.

24. The computer readable storage medium of claim 22 further comprising executable instructions to:

define a new action type; and

receive the new action type as the action type.

25. The computer readable storage medium of claim 22 wherein:

the mapping of the parameter to the field in the target object includes as an input a parameter in the source object or a value in the metadata for the source object; and

the instruction to receive the mapping of the parameter to the field in the target object includes receiving a transform to alter the parameter prior to passing the parameter to the target object.