Business Content Design Wizard for Reporting Tools
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current software applications for designing business content for reports are cumbersome and require programming expertise, making it tedious and time-consuming to create complex business scenarios, and often necessitate separate queries for each reporting field.
Innovation Solution
A business content design wizard that allows users to select and display attributes associated with business objects, enabling the creation of object-based reports and charts without programming, using a meta-data structure that can be persistently stored and used to generate reports with current data, and supporting multiple reporting tools through a plug-and-play interface.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If users code or model business queries using application programming to describe fields for reports, then reporting functionality can be achieved, but the process becomes tedious and time consuming
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a business content provider as an intermediary layer between the database and reporting tools. This provider contains pre-modeled business objects and attributes that can be selectively included in reports without requiring users to code queries. The business content provider acts as a mediator that translates high-level user selections into detailed reporting queries automatically.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements preliminary action by pre-modeling business objects, attributes, and relationships in the business content provider before report generation is needed. Business queries are pre-structured and stored as reusable templates, so when users need reports, they simply select from pre-defined content rather than creating queries from scratch each time.
2Adaptability or versatility
If separate business queries are modeled for each reporting field, then comprehensive reporting coverage is achieved, but the complexity of the design process increases
Solution Approach 1:
The business content provider is designed as a universal repository that can serve multiple reporting tools and various reporting needs simultaneously. A single business content provider can generate reports for different tools (Excel, Word, Crystal Reports) and support diverse reporting scenarios through its structured business objects and attributes, eliminating the need for separate query models for each field.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent merges multiple separate query modeling tasks into a unified business content provider structure. Instead of creating individual queries for each reporting field, all business objects, attributes, and relationships are consolidated into a single modular framework that can be selectively assembled for different report requirements.
3Reliability
If users need to be adept application programmers to effectively utilize the application, then sophisticated query capabilities are achieved, but the user base is restricted
Solution Approach 1:
The business content provider enables self-service reporting where users can independently select and assemble business objects and attributes to create reports without requiring programming expertise. The system automatically handles the complex query generation and data retrieval processes, allowing business users to serve their own reporting needs.
Solution Approach 2:
The business content provider acts as an intermediary that shields users from programming complexity. It translates simple user selections of business objects and attributes into sophisticated structured queries automatically, so users get reliable, sophisticated reporting capabilities without needing to understand or write complex query code.
Data Source
AI summary
Techniques are disclosed for designing business content for reporting tools. In one general aspect, the invention provides for receiving a user selection of a business object having associated attributes and displaying a view of the attributes. A user selection of one or more of the attributes is received, indicating the selected one or more attributes are to be displayed in a report generated in the external reporting application. The selected one or more attributes are added to a business content structure. Data associated with the business content structure is retrieved and an output file is generated. The reporting application can use the output file to generate the report that includes the business content structure and the data associated therewith. The business content structure can be stored in a database and later retrieved to generate an output file, allowing a report with current data to be generated by the reporting application.