Unified Date-Based Interface for Disparate Data Integration
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current user interfaces can only display data from a single data source at a time, failing to integrate disparate date-related data from multiple sources into a unified, date-oriented interface.
Innovation Solution
The system accepts date and time-related data from various sources, defines additional field definitions for tactic types, and uses cues to automate data integration, allowing for a unified interface that combines data while enabling creation and updating of original data sources, with budget and actual expense tracking and hierarchical plan viewing.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If data from multiple disparate data sources is integrated into a single user interface, then the comprehensiveness and versatility of data presentation is improved, but the system complexity and difficulty of integration increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces an intermediary layer (the unified user interface system with standardized data models) that mediates between disparate data sources and the user. This intermediary handles the complexity of integration by providing a common interface that translates and harmonizes data from different sources, thereby improving data integration capability while containing system complexity within the intermediary layer rather than propagating it to users or requiring changes to source systems.
Solution Approach 2:
The system segments the integration challenge by handling different data sources and their field definitions separately through standardized interfaces. Each data source can be integrated independently with its own field definitions, and the unified interface composes these segmented pieces into a coherent whole. This segmentation allows the system to manage complexity by breaking down the integration problem into manageable, independent units.
2Adaptability or versatility
If additional field definitions are separated from database definitions, then the adaptability and reusability of data models are improved, but the device complexity and number of components increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts additional field definitions from the core database definitions and places them in separate, configurable locations within the unified interface system. This extraction allows field definitions to be independently managed, customized, and reused across different data sources without modifying the underlying database schemas. The separation improves data model reusability while containing structural complexity within the interface layer.
Solution Approach 2:
The separated field definitions are designed to be universal and applicable across multiple data sources and tactic types. A single field definition can serve multiple purposes and be reused in different contexts, reducing the need for duplicate definitions. This universality improves reusability while the systematic organization of these multi-functional definitions prevents complexity from becoming unmanageable.
3Productivity
If cues are used to automate tactic generation, then productivity and automation level are improved, but the complexity of the system and difficulty of managing automated processes increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system employs cues that are pre-configured with the logic and parameters needed to automatically generate tactics. These cues contain predetermined rules, field mappings, and generation logic that are established in advance. When triggered by specific events or conditions, the cues automatically execute the tactic generation process without requiring real-time complex decision-making, thereby improving productivity while managing automation complexity through pre-planning.
Solution Approach 2:
The automated cue system is designed to be self-managing to the extent possible, with cues automatically triggering and executing tactic generation based on predefined conditions. The system monitors itself for cue activation conditions and autonomously generates tactics without requiring constant human intervention or complex external management. This self-service capability improves productivity while containing automation management complexity within the system's autonomous operations.
Data Source
AI summary
A system and method are presented that integrate date-related data from a variety of disparately defined data sources into a single user interface. Date-related data is defined in tactics that are associated with types. The types are associated with additional field definitions that allow for a single tactic data entity to be created for a variety of tactic types, with different tactic types being associated with different sets of additional fields. Cues are also used to automate the generation of date-related tactics. Cues can be triggered by the creation of trigger tactics of a predetermined type, or through an event in a subscribed database. Individual tactics record estimated and actual expenses for budgeting purposes. Finally, plan hierarchies allow for the integrated viewing of date-based tactics defined at different levels of the hierarchy.