Business Object Model for Consistent Interface Generation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current business transaction systems face challenges in exchanging information across different industries and business entities due to varying semantics, formatting, and lack of consistent interfaces, leading to the need for harmonization and automation of processes.
Innovation Solution
The development of consistent interfaces generated from a single business object model that defines business-related concepts, ensuring semantic disjointness and structural consistency across interfaces, allowing for automated information exchange between heterogeneous business entities.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If multiple industry-specific interfaces and standards are used to exchange business information, then each interface can be optimized for its specific industry, but the overall system complexity increases and consistency between interfaces is lost
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies universality by creating a single business object model that serves multiple industries and business areas. The business object model defines a common set of business objects and relationships that can be used across different industries (e.g., manufacturing, retail, services) to represent business entities, attributes, and associations consistently, eliminating the need for multiple industry-specific models.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent segments the business object model into distinct business objects (e.g., customer, product, order, invoice) with well-defined attributes and relationships. Each business object represents a specific concept that can be independently configured and used across different industries, allowing the system to maintain complexity at the object level while achieving simplicity at the integration level.
2Ease of manufacture
If heterogeneous programs with different semantics are used by different business entities, then each program can be tailored to specific business needs, but information exchange becomes difficult and requires human interaction
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces the business object model as an intermediary layer between heterogeneous business programs. The model provides a common language and structure for representing business information, allowing programs from different businesses to exchange information automatically without human intervention. The business objects serve as mediators that translate between different program semantics and a unified representation.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies homogeneity by standardizing the representation of business information across all participating programs. All business entities use the same business object definitions, attribute types, and relationship structures, ensuring that information exchanged between programs has consistent meaning and format, eliminating semantic mismatches.
3Reliability
If human interaction is required to facilitate transactions between businesses, then information exchange can be customized and verified, but transaction efficiency decreases and automation is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The patent enables self-service by allowing business programs to automatically exchange information using the standardized business object model. Programs can independently create, validate, and transmit business documents (orders, invoices, shipments) without human intervention. The model includes built-in validation rules and constraints that ensure transaction accuracy automatically, eliminating the need for manual verification while maintaining reliability.
4Adaptability or versatility
If different formatting and semantics are used by various business entities, then each entity can maintain its internal conventions, but interface consistency is compromised and integration becomes difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The business object model provides a universal framework that maintains interface consistency across all business entities. The model defines stable, standardized representations for business concepts (customer, product, order) that remain consistent regardless of which business entity is using them, while allowing each entity to independently configure specific instances of these objects.
Data Source
AI summary
Methods and systems consistent with the present invention provide a data processing system having a business object model reflecting the data used during a business transaction. Consistent interfaces are generated from the business object model. These interfaces are suitable for use across industries, across businesses, and across different departments within a business during a business transaction.