Normative Format Mediator for Business Process Data Mapping
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Solution Overview
Problem
Business process providers face inefficiencies in serving multiple customers with different invoicing formats, requiring manual and costly mapping between client and provider formats, which becomes impractical as the number of clients and formats grows, leading to increased labor and maintenance costs.
Innovation Solution
Implementing a normative format with automatic mapping between provider and client formats, where changes in one format only require adjustments in the mapping between the normative format and the changed format, reducing manual labor and enabling efficient updates across multiple client and provider formats.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If manual mapping between client formats and provider formats is implemented, then data processing accuracy is improved, but labor cost and maintenance cost increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces an intermediate normative format that serves as a mediator between client formats and provider formats. This normative format contains standardized field definitions that both client and provider formats map to, eliminating the need for direct manual mapping between each client format and provider format. The intermediary structure enables automated mapping while maintaining data processing accuracy.
Solution Approach 2:
The normative format serves multiple functions: it acts as a common reference for both client and provider formats, provides a standardized structure for data fields, and enables automated mapping for multiple client formats simultaneously. This universal structure reduces maintenance costs when new client formats are added, as they only need to map to the existing normative format.
2Productivity
If standardized format mapping is created for multiple clients, then processing efficiency is improved, but system complexity increases as number of clients grows
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the mapping system into two independent parts: client format to normative format mapping, and normative format to provider format mapping. This segmentation allows each mapping relationship to be maintained separately, reducing overall system complexity. When a new client is added, only the client-to-normative mapping needs to be created, not the entire mapping chain.
Solution Approach 2:
The normative format acts as an intermediary that decouples the complexity between multiple client formats and the provider format. Each client format independently maps to the normative format, which then maps to the provider format. This intermediary structure prevents complexity from compounding as the number of clients increases.
3Measurement precision
If manual updates are performed for format changes, then mapping accuracy is maintained, but time consumption and labor requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The normative format serves as a stable intermediary that remains unchanged when client or provider formats evolve. When format changes occur, only the affected mapping relationship needs to be updated (client-to-normative or normative-to-provider), not the entire mapping chain. This maintains mapping accuracy while reducing update time.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent establishes the normative format in advance with comprehensive field definitions that anticipate future client and provider format variations. This preliminary action creates a robust framework that reduces the need for frequent mapping updates, as new formats can often be accommodated by mapping to existing normative fields rather than creating new mappings.
Data Source
AI summary
Business process providers implement client data processing processes for clients. The business process providers use certain formats (provider formats, defined by provider format fields). The clients use certain formats (client formats, defined by client format fields). A normative format is automatically defined and used as an intermediary between client and provider formats. Mappings between the normative format and the client and provider formats can be generated automatically.