Consistent Interface for Business Opportunity

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Solution Overview

Problem

Current interfaces for exchanging business information across different business entities are inconsistent and industry-specific, leading to difficulties in transactions due to varying semantics, formatting, and currency usage, requiring a consistent method for heterogeneous systems to cooperate effectively.

Innovation Solution

A message-based interface system that generates consistent interfaces from a business object model, allowing for the exchange of business transaction information and party identification across heterogeneous applications, using a hierarchical message structure and standardized data types to facilitate seamless communication.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Adaptability or versatility

If heterogeneous business entities use their own programs with different semantics and formatting, then each entity can handle its part of the transaction according to its specific needs, but information exchange between entities becomes difficult and requires human interaction

Engineering Contradiction:

ImproveAbility of each business entity to handle its own transaction needsVSAvoidDifficulty of information exchange between entities

Core Design Contradiction:

Adaptability or versatilityVSEase of operation

Solution Approach 1:

The patent introduces a message-based interface as an intermediary layer between heterogeneous business entities. This interface uses standardized message formats and semantics that all entities can understand, enabling automatic information exchange without requiring human intervention to translate between different internal formats.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

Solution Approach 2:

The message-based interface provides a universal communication protocol that works across different businesses, industries, and departments. The standardized message structure can be used by any entity regardless of its internal programming, allowing one interface to serve multiple purposes across diverse systems.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #6Universality (Multi-functionality)

2Adaptability or versatility

If different business entities use different standards and formats for information exchange, then each entity maintains its own semantic conventions, but consistency and reliability of information exchange deteriorates

Engineering Contradiction:

ImproveAbility to maintain entity-specific semanticsVSAvoidConsistency of information exchange

Core Design Contradiction:

Adaptability or versatilityVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The standardized message-based interface acts as a mediator that translates between different internal formats and a common external format. This ensures reliable information exchange while allowing each entity to maintain its own internal semantics through the translation layer.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

3Adaptability or versatility

If human interaction is required to facilitate transactions between heterogeneous programs, then information exchange can be adapted to specific needs, but productivity and automation level decrease

Engineering Contradiction:

ImproveFlexibility in handling specific transaction needsVSAvoidTransaction processing efficiency

Core Design Contradiction:

Adaptability or versatilityVSProductivity

Solution Approach 1:

The standardized message interface enables systems to perform transactions automatically without human intervention. Each entity can send and process messages autonomously using the common protocol, significantly improving productivity while the standardized structure provides the necessary flexibility for different transaction types.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #25Self-service

4Ease of operation

If a consistent standardized interface is implemented across all business entities, then information exchange becomes simple and automated, but the complexity of system integration increases

Engineering Contradiction:

ImproveSimplicity of information exchangeVSAvoidComplexity of integrating heterogeneous systems

Core Design Contradiction:

Ease of operationVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent segments the integration complexity into two parts: the standardized message interface layer (simple) and the internal entity-specific processing (complex). By separating these concerns, the standardized interface remains simple to implement while the complexity is contained within individual entities' internal systems.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

Data Source

PatentUS9246869B2Consistent interface for opportunity

Publication Date: 2016.01.26 SAP SE

AI summary

A business object model, which reflects data that is used during a given business transaction, is utilized to generate interfaces. This business object model facilitates commercial transactions by providing consistent interfaces that are suitable for use across industries, across businesses, and across different departments within a business during a business transaction. In some operations, software creates, updates, or otherwise processes information related to an opportunity business object.