Attachment Flow Engine for Business Object Document Management

Resolve Bottlenecks,
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions

Solution Overview

Problem

Current document management systems fail to automatically associate documents with multiple business objects, leading to extra user effort and data inconsistencies, as they do not recognize the relevance of attachments between related business objects, such as a 'Sales Order' and 'Pending Delivery', resulting in information not reaching the intended users.

Innovation Solution

A system and method that associate a file with a first business object and determine its relevance to a second business object, allowing automatic or manual association of the file with the second object, using an 'attachment flow engine' to apply rules and manage attachment flow between related business objects, including security checks and different association methods like links or copies.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If documents are manually associated with each business object, then data consistency can be maintained, but user workload increases and productivity decreases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvedata consistencyVSAvoiduser workload

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSProductivity

Solution Approach 1:

The system performs preliminary action by automatically copying attachments from source business objects to follow-up business objects based on pre-configured relationships. When a business object is created or updated, the system proactively identifies related objects and transfers relevant attachments before users can manually intervene, thus maintaining data consistency while eliminating manual effort.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

The attachment flow system enables self-service by autonomously managing the distribution of attachments across business objects. The system monitors business object relationships, determines attachment relevance, and executes copy operations without user intervention. This self-managing mechanism ensures data consistency while freeing users from repetitive manual tasks.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #25Self-service

2Ease of operation

If attachments are automatically copied to all related business objects, then information accessibility improves, but system complexity increases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveinformation accessibilityVSAvoidsystem complexity

Core Design Contradiction:

Ease of operationVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The system applies local quality by selectively copying attachments based on their specific relevance to each business object relationship. Rather than uniformly copying all attachments to all related objects, the system evaluates each attachment-document pair against the specific business context and relationship type, copying only those that are locally appropriate. This targeted approach improves information accessibility while avoiding unnecessary system complexity.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #3Local quality

Solution Approach 2:

The attachment flow mechanism is segmented into distinct functional components: relationship detection, attachment relevance evaluation, selective copying, and verification. Each component handles a specific aspect of the process independently, making the overall system more manageable despite its complexity. This modular segmentation allows the system to achieve high information accessibility through coordinated subsystems rather than monolithic complexity.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

3Measurement precision

If manual document insertion is required for each business object, then data accuracy can be controlled, but time consumption increases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvedata accuracyVSAvoidtime consumption

Core Design Contradiction:

Measurement precisionVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The system implements feedback mechanisms to maintain data accuracy during automatic attachment copying. After copying attachments from source to follow-up business objects, the system verifies the transfer success and validates that the copied attachments are appropriate for the target context. This feedback loop ensures data accuracy by detecting and correcting potential errors, while the automation eliminates the time-consuming manual insertion process.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #23Feedback

4Adaptability or versatility

If attachments are not automatically transferred between systems, then system independence is maintained, but information flow is disrupted

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvesystem independenceVSAvoidinformation flow

Core Design Contradiction:

Adaptability or versatilityVSLoss of information

Solution Approach 1:

The attachment flow system acts as an intermediary layer between independent application systems. It monitors business object relationships across system boundaries and facilitates selective attachment transfer without compromising the independence of source or target systems. The intermediary mechanism ensures information flow continuity by automatically bridging gaps between systems, while each system maintains its autonomy and data integrity.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

Data Source

PatentUS7590640B2Systems and methods for managing the flow of attachments to business objects

Publication Date: 2009.09.15 SAP SE

AI summary

Systems and methods are disclosed for managing the flow of documents. A first business object may have a file associated therewith. A second business object may be associated with the first business object. It may be determined whether the file associated with the first business object is relevant to the second business object. If the file is determined to be relevant to the second business object, the system may be operative to associate the file with the second business object.