Time Intelligence Layer for Heterogeneous Data Aggregation

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Solution Overview

Problem

Enterprise performance management (EPM) software faces challenges in consolidating data from disparate sources with different granularities, making it difficult to retrieve accurate and consistent information for business analytics, which increases costs and resource requirements.

Innovation Solution

The system extends Time Intelligence language to support period-to-date functions and queries, allowing data retrieval across heterogeneous data sources with varying granularities, and generates captions for the retrieved data, enabling users to specify periods, offsets, and granularities for unified data aggregation.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Adaptability or versatility

If data is retrieved from multiple heterogeneous data sources with different granularities, then comprehensive business analytics is achieved, but data consistency and accuracy deteriorate

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveability to retrieve data from multiple heterogeneous sourcesVSAvoiddata accuracy and consistency

Core Design Contradiction:

Adaptability or versatilityVSMeasurement precision

Solution Approach 1:

The patent introduces a time intelligence layer as an intermediary between heterogeneous data sources and the analytical application. This layer provides standardized time-based functions (PeriodToDate, YearOverYear, etc.) that automatically handle granularity differences and data alignment, ensuring consistent results without requiring application-level complexity.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

Solution Approach 2:

The system changes the parameter of time period specification from application-level custom ranges to standardized time intelligence functions with built-in granularity awareness. By parameterizing queries using functions like PeriodToDate(granularity, periodOffset), the system automatically adapts to different data source granularities while maintaining result consistency.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #35Parameter changes

2Adaptability or versatility

If custom time period queries are implemented at the application level, then flexibility in analyzing different time ranges is achieved, but system complexity and resource requirements increase

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveflexibility in time range analysisVSAvoidapplication-level complexity

Core Design Contradiction:

Adaptability or versatilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The time intelligence layer provides self-service functionality by automatically calculating period ranges, handling granularity conversions, and managing time-based aggregations. Functions like PeriodToDate and YearOverYear encapsulate complex time calculations, allowing applications to request data with simple function calls rather than implementing complex time management logic.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #25Self-service

Solution Approach 2:

The patent creates a universal time intelligence layer that serves multiple functions: data retrieval, time range calculation, granularity adaptation, and result aggregation. This single layer handles all time-related operations across different data sources, eliminating the need for separate custom implementations in each application.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #6Universality (Multi-functionality)

3Productivity

If data aggregation is performed without standardized time functions, then quick access to corporate well-being metrics is achieved, but errors from granularity mismatches increase

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvespeed of corporate wellness analysisVSAvoidaccuracy of aggregated data

Core Design Contradiction:

ProductivityVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The time intelligence functions perform preliminary actions by pre-calculating appropriate time ranges and granularity conversions before data retrieval. Functions like PeriodToDate automatically determine the correct start and end dates based on the current period and specified granularity, ensuring that subsequent data aggregation operations are performed on correctly aligned time ranges from different sources.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

Data Source

PatentUS8364676B2Period to date functions for time intelligence functionality

Publication Date: 2013.01.29 MICROSOFT TECHNOLOGY LICENSING LLC

AI summary

A system for extending a Time Intelligence language to provide support for period-to-date functions and for generating member sets in response to data queries is provided. The system may apply member aggregation functions and queries across a plurality of heterogeneous data sources. Each data source is aligned to a reference dimension and is said to organize data according to at least one level of granularity. In some embodiments, a member aggregation function specifies a period (e.g., year, quarter, month) and retrieves data from a data source starting with the current specified period and ending with the most recently completed period equal to the granularity of the data source. The system may allow a user to further customize a member aggregation function by specifying a granularity, a period offset, or a granularity end offset. Additionally, the system may generate a caption to display in association with the retrieved data.