Search-Based Navigation System for Enterprise Data Contexts
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current menu-based navigation systems in software applications, such as enterprise applications, reduce user productivity and require users to navigate through multiple clicks and contexts, making it difficult to access related actions and maintain context while searching.
Innovation Solution
A search-based navigation system that indexes data across different contexts, providing a user interface with a search element that allows users to input criteria, dynamically generates results, and includes related actions and filters, enabling users to navigate and access data without relying on traditional menus.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If menu-based navigation is used, then users can access transactions through structured folders and sub-folders, but users must go through multiple clicks and hops to reach related actions, reducing productivity
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a search bar as an intermediary mechanism that allows users to directly access transactions without navigating through the traditional menu hierarchy. The search bar mediates between the user's information needs and the organized data structure, enabling direct queries across all contexts without following predefined navigation paths.
Solution Approach 2:
The search functionality is made universal by allowing it to operate across multiple contexts (e.g., transactions, users, groups) simultaneously. The search bar serves multiple functions: it can search within current context, across all contexts, or between contexts, replacing the need for multiple separate navigation paths and menu structures.
2Adaptability or versatility
If users navigate through multiple contexts using traditional menus, then users can access different data, but users must leave current context to initiate new searches, making it difficult to maintain context
Solution Approach 1:
The search bar is designed to be context-agnostic, allowing users to search within the current context, across all contexts, or switch between contexts without leaving the search interface. This universal search capability maintains context awareness while providing flexible search options across different data domains.
Solution Approach 2:
The search interface dynamically adapts to the user's current context and search history. The system automatically adjusts search scope, suggested queries, and result filtering based on the user's current location and previous actions, making context maintenance implicit and intuitive rather than requiring explicit user actions.
3Device complexity
If traditional menu navigation is used, then users can access transactions through predefined paths, but users must know the menu structure to navigate efficiently, creating a learning curve
Solution Approach 1:
The search bar acts as an intermediary that abstracts away the complex menu structure from the user. Instead of requiring users to understand and navigate the hierarchical organization of folders and sub-folders, users can simply express their information needs as search queries, and the system handles the complexity of locating relevant data.
Solution Approach 2:
The search system provides self-service by automatically interpreting user queries, suggesting relevant searches, and filtering results based on context and user preferences. This eliminates the need for users to learn and memorize the menu structure, as the system adapts to user needs and provides intuitive access to information without requiring prior knowledge of the organization hierarchy.
Data Source
AI summary
Embodiments of the invention provide systems and methods for providing a search-based navigation of data across different contexts. According to one embodiment, navigating and accessing data across different contexts can comprise maintaining indexed sets of data related to the different contexts. A user interface can be generated based on a search of the index and presented to a user. The user interface can comprise a view of a current context and a search element for receiving a set of user defined search criteria. The user defined search criteria can be received through the search element of the user interface and the contexts can be searched using the index and based on the search criteria. An updated user interface for presenting the search results be generated and presented to the user. The updated user interface can comprise a representation of the results of the searching and the search element.