Message-Based Interface System for Heterogeneous Business Objects

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Solution Overview

Problem

Current business interfaces are not consistent across industries and departments, leading to difficulties in exchanging information between heterogeneous business entities due to differences in programming, semantics, and formatting, requiring human intervention and lacking standardization.

Innovation Solution

The development of a message-based interface system that utilizes a business object model to generate consistent interfaces, allowing for the exchange of business objects such as tax assessments, forms, and obligations across different applications and systems, using a service registry and message-based services.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Adaptability or versatility

If heterogeneous business entities use their own proprietary interfaces and formats, then each business entity can maintain its own programming semantics and data formats, but information exchange between different business entities becomes difficult and requires human intervention

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvebusiness entity independenceVSAvoidinformation exchange
Core Design Contradiction:
Adaptability or versatilityVSEase of operation

Solution Approach 1:

The patent introduces a message broker as an intermediary component that receives messages from heterogeneous business entities, routes them to appropriate destinations, and ensures proper delivery. This mediator enables communication between systems with different interfaces without requiring direct integration between each pair of entities, thus maintaining business entity independence while facilitating easy information exchange.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

Solution Approach 2:

The patent implements a universal message format and interface specification that can be used across different business entities and applications. This standardized interface serves multiple functions: it defines message structures, specifies routing rules, and establishes communication protocols. By creating a universal interface that works across heterogeneous systems, the patent enables seamless information exchange while allowing each business entity to maintain its own internal programming semantics.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #6Universality (Multi-functionality)

2Adaptability or versatility

If multiple industry-specific standards are used for business interfaces, then each industry can have specialized interfaces for its needs, but consistency between different standards is lacking

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveindustry specializationVSAvoidinterface consistency
Core Design Contradiction:
Adaptability or versatilityVSStability of the object's composition

Solution Approach 1:

The patent segments the interface standard into multiple hierarchical levels: a core universal message format that ensures consistency, and optional industry-specific extensions that allow specialization. The core segment defines mandatory elements for all messages (headers, basic structure), while extension segments allow industries to add custom fields and formats. This segmentation enables both interface consistency through the core standard and industry adaptability through optional extensions.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The patent creates a composite interface standard that combines universal messaging principles with industry-specific adaptations. The interface is composed of multiple layers: a standardized foundation layer that ensures consistency across all implementations, and specialized layers that provide industry-specific functionality. This composite structure allows the interface to maintain stability and consistency while accommodating diverse industry requirements.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #40Composite materials

3Ease of manufacture

If individual businesses create custom programs for their specific needs, then each business entity can optimize its programs for its particular purposes, but a consistent way to exchange information between different business entities is lacking

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveprogram customizationVSAvoidsystem integration
Core Design Contradiction:
Ease of manufactureVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent extracts the communication and integration concerns from individual business programs and places them into a separate, standardized messaging infrastructure. Business entities can continue to create custom programs optimized for their specific purposes without worrying about integration complexity, as the messaging standard handles all communication aspects. This extraction separates program customization from system integration, allowing each to be addressed independently.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #2Taking out (Extraction)

Solution Approach 2:

The standardized message interface acts as an intermediary layer between custom business programs and the integration requirements. Each business entity can develop programs with custom logic and data structures, and the message interface translates these into a standardized format for exchange. This intermediary eliminates the need for complex point-to-point integration between customized programs, reducing overall system complexity while preserving program customization capabilities.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

Data Source

PatentUS8577760B2Managing consistent interfaces for tax authority business objects across heterogeneous systems
Publication Date: 2013.11.05 SAP SE
  • US8577760B2 patent drawing
  • US8577760B2 patent drawing
  • US8577760B2 patent drawing

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 a tax assessment notice, a tax form, a tax object, a tax obligation and/or a tax return business object.