Adaptable Business Objects via Metadata-Driven Runtime Adaptation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional approaches to creating new business objects with user interfaces, print forms, and analytics reports in business software architectures require proficiency in development environments like SDKs, posing a barrier due to complexity and high learning curves, making it difficult for non-technical users to adapt and extend existing software features.
Innovation Solution
The introduction of adaptable business objects, provided as content-free and meaning-free skeletons, allows users to create new business objects with minimal training through a simple adaptation interface, enabling field extensibility and terminology adaptation, which can be integrated into metadata repositories to determine screen titles at runtime, thus facilitating user-friendly extension and customization without requiring development environment expertise.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If conventional approaches are used to create new business objects with user interfaces, print forms, and analytics reports, then the software architecture can be extended with full functionality, but the complexity and learning curve increase significantly requiring proficiency in development environments like SDKs
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces an intermediary layer between the user and the complex SDK development environment. This intermediary provides a simplified adaptation interface that translates user-friendly operations into the underlying SDK commands, allowing users to create business objects without directly interacting with the complex development environment
Solution Approach 2:
The patent segments the business object creation process into distinct, manageable components such as user interfaces, print forms, and analytics reports. Each component can be adapted independently through the simplified interface, reducing the perceived complexity compared to creating a complete business object through the full SDK
2Adaptability or versatility
If conventional approaches are used to create new business objects, then full functionality can be achieved, but the learning curve becomes steep requiring significant training and external expertise
Solution Approach 1:
The adaptation interface acts as a mediator that shields users from the complexity of the SDK. It provides familiar, business-oriented terminology and operations that map to the underlying technical implementation, making the system accessible to non-technical users without requiring external expertise
Solution Approach 2:
The patent enables users to copy and reuse existing business object templates and components. This copying mechanism allows users to start with pre-defined structures and modify them for their specific needs, significantly reducing the learning curve compared to creating business objects from scratch using the SDK
3Adaptability or versatility
If field extensibility is provided to allow addition of extension fields to business objects, then flexibility is improved, but the system complexity increases requiring management of multiple fields across multiple business objects
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a universal field extension mechanism that can be applied to multiple business objects through a single configuration. Extension fields defined in one place can be automatically applied across relevant business objects, reducing the complexity of managing fields across multiple objects while maintaining flexibility
Data Source
AI summary
An adaptable business object can include a generic, content-free, and meaning-free skeleton business object, which can be used to create a new business object without requiring that a user be proficient in a development environment such as a software development kit (SDK). Definitions of a first field to be added to a header of the adaptable business object and a second field to be added to an item node of the adaptable business object can be received via a field extensibility tool, and a terminology tool can adapt the adaptable business object by storing metadata relating to the terminology of the business object in a metadata repository such that screen and section titles for at least one user interface screen supported by the new business object can be presented at runtime using the stored metadata.