Software for integrated modeling of user interfaces with applications

• US 8,429,597 B2
• Filed: 11/21/2008
• Issued: 04/23/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 11/21/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: SAP SE
• Original Assignee: SAP AG (SAP SE)
• Inventors: Prigge, Uta
• Primary Examiner(s): Wong, Don
• Assistant Examiner(s): Rivera, Anibal
• Application Number:
  US12/276,135
• Publication Number:
  US 20100131857A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,614 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 717/104
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/10 Requirements analysis; Specification techniques
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/38 for implementing user interfaces

Abstract

This disclosure provides various embodiments of software for providing a user interface (UI) model. In one aspect, the software identifies one or more components associated with a particular work center. The software then collects modeling information from the one or more components identified as being associated with the particular work center, and integrates the collected modeling information into a UI model associated with the particular work center. In some instances, the particular work center may be associated with or defined by a corresponding work center model illustrating the particular work center'"'"'s UI layout, including at least a portion of components associated with the particular work center.

Claims

1. A computer-accessible, non-transitory, storage medium encoded with computer-readable instructions configured to cause one or more data processing apparatus to:

identify at least one user interface (UI) component associated with a particular work center, wherein the particular work center is a collection of UI components, and wherein particular UI components of the collection of UI components are available to a user for the particular business area based on the user'"'"'s role or authorized level of access associated with the particular business area;

collect modeling information from the at least one identified UI component associated with the particular work center associated with a particular business area;

integrate the collected modeling information into a UI integration model associated with the work center; and

store the UI integration model associated with the particular work center.

2. The medium of claim 1, wherein the particular work center is associated with a corresponding work center model illustrating the UI layout for the particular work center.

3. The medium of claim 2, wherein the UI layout for the particular work center comprises at least a portion of the at least one identified UI component associated with the particular work center.

4. The medium of claim 3, wherein the at least one UI component associated with the particular work center comprises one or more UI elements associated with the work center.

5. The medium of claim 4, wherein the one or more UI elements associated with the work center comprise at least one of a work center view or a floor plan.

6. The medium of claim 3, wherein identifying the at least one UI component associated with a particular work center comprises analyzing the work center model corresponding with the particular work center for the at least one UI component associated included within the UI layout.

7. The medium of claim 1 further operable when executed to present the UI integration model to a user via an interface from storage.

8. The medium of claim 7 further operable when executed to:

receive a navigational request from a user, the navigational request comprising one of the following;

a navigational request from a UI map model to a work center model;

a navigational request from a work center model to a UI navigation model;

a navigational request from a work center model to the UI integration model;

a navigational request from a UI navigation model to the UI integration model;

or

a navigational request from the UI integration model to a business object model, a business task model, or a configuration model;

a navigational request from a work center, work center view, or floor plan to an associated process flow model or scenario flow model;

or

a navigational request from a process flow model or a scenario flow model to a work center mode

a navigational request from a work center view model to a floor plan model;

a navigational request from a work center model to a work center view model; and

a navigational request from a floor plan model to a second floor plan model; and

process the navigational request to perform the requested navigation via the interface.

9. The medium of claim 1 further operable when executed to:

export at least a portion of the UI integration model associated with the particular work center to a documentation system; and

generate one or more support documents associated with the UI integration model based at least in part on the exported portion of the UI integration model.

10. The medium of claim 1, wherein at least one particular UI component of the at least one UI component associated with the particular work center is associated with a model defining one or more attributes of the at least one particular UI component.

11. The medium of claim 1, wherein the identified component associated with a particular work center comprises a business area.

12. The medium of claim 1, wherein the UI model associated with the work center comprises a model of a UI map illustrating at least one business area, the work center, and at least one additional work center associated with the business area.

13. The medium of claim 4, wherein at least one of the UI elements associated with the work center is associated with at least one business task, wherein the at least one business task is defined by a business task model representing one or more triggering entities and tasks associated with a particular process component, and the at least one business task performs operations on a particular business object.

14. The medium of claim 13 further operable when executed to integrate the at least one business task into the UI integration model associated with the particular work center, wherein integrating the at least one business task comprises adding one or more UI components representing the at least one business task and the particular business object associated with the at least one business task into the UI integration model associated with the particular work center.

15. The medium of claim 14 further operable when executed to integrate at least a portion of the UI integration model with a defined process flow model to create an enhanced process flow model, wherein the process flow model comprises one or more process steps associated with a particular business object and process component, and further wherein each of the one or more process steps is associated with a particular business task integrated with the UI integration model.

16. The medium of claim 15, wherein each of the one or more process steps is further associated with one or more tasks associated with the particular business object.

17. The medium of claim 15, wherein integrating at least a portion of the UI integration model with the defined process flow model comprises modeling one or more connections from the one or more the process steps associated with the particular process component to the at least one business task integrated into the UI integration model.

18. The medium of claim 17 further operable when executed to display, for a particular business object within a process flow model, each work center associated with the particular business object, including one or more work center views and floor plans associated with each work center.

19. The medium of claim 17 further operable when executed to integrate at least one enhanced process flow model into a defined scenario flow model to create an enhanced scenario flow model, wherein the scenario flow model models the connections between one or more process components used to perform a particular business activity, including at least a portion of the process flow models associated with the one or more process components, and further wherein at least one of the one or more of the process flow models in the scenario flow model is replaced by the corresponding enhanced process flow model.

20. The medium of claim 5, wherein each of the at least one work center view or floor plan is associated with at least one business object or controller object.

21. The medium of claim 20, wherein the at least one controller object is associated with at least one business object.

22. The medium of claim 20, wherein the at least one floor plan is assigned one or more services bound to the at least one associated business object or controller object.

23. The medium of claim 22, wherein the at least one service allows the floor plan to read or modify the attributes of the at least one associated business object or controller object.

24. The medium of claim 20, wherein the at least one controller object is associated with at least one service, the at least one service associated with at least one business object associated with the at least one controller object.

25. The medium of claim 20, wherein at least one work center view or floor plan is associated with a configuration control, the configuration control determining whether the work center view or floor plan is activated based on one or more events associated with the work center.