WO2004079475A2

WO2004079475A2 - A method and a computer system for data assignment

Info

Publication number: WO2004079475A2
Application number: PCT/EP2004/002300
Authority: WO
Inventors: Frank Westendorf; Michael Ihle; Daniel Waasmaier; Norbert Schröder
Original assignee: Sap Aktiengesellschaft
Priority date: 2003-03-06
Filing date: 2004-03-05
Publication date: 2004-09-16
Also published as: DE602004001762D1; US20040254941A1; DE602004001762T2; ATE335243T1; AU2003229699A1; US8027980B2; WO2004079588A1; WO2004079475A3

Abstract

A method and computer system for data assignment comprising a computer unit (12); and a data object component (20) for managing a set of data objects; wherein data objects of the set of data objects can be divided into segments (52) according to selectable criteria, further comprising an interface unit (22) interconnecting the computing unit (12) and the data object component (20), the interface unit (22) being arranged and constructed to include an inventory assignment of segments (52) created in the data object component (20) such that, in case of an assignment inquiry by the computing unit (12), an assignment of one or more segments (52) being inquired for is carried out in the interface unit (22).

Description

A method and a computer system for data assignment

Field of the invention

[0001] The present invention relates to the field of data assignment and more particularly to a method for data assignment in a computer system as well as a computer system which is suitable to perform data assignment. The invention further relates to a computer program product with a computer-readable medium and a computer program stored on the computer-readable medium with program coding means which are suitable for carrying out such a method when the computer program is run on a computer system.

Description of the Related Art

[0002] In inventory-oriented software solutions which find use in inventory data objects in various business fields a data object component manages a set of (inventory) data objects. A computing unit is interconnected with the data object component via an interface. For purposes of statistical or evaluation nature, it is appropriate to classify data objects of the set of data objects into segments according to selectable criteria so that the computing unit can access selected/classified data objects via specific segment access in order to perform certain tasks.

[0003] One example of an inventory-related software solution can be found in the field of insurance companies which use software solutions to manage their insurance contracts and their clients' data. Inventory in this specific example could mean the sum of all insurance contracts and/or the clients of a given insurance company. The data objects describing the insurance contracts and/or the clients are called business objects. A segment is then a subset of business objects of a given business object type. These subsets, i.e. segments, are created by individual assignment or by classifying the business objects according to one or several criteria, such as geographical criteria (e.g. region, county, district), product related criteria (e.g. health insurance, life insurance, car insurance, etc.) or client group criteria (e.g. private client, business client, industrial client) . Depending on a given context, a business object can be classified into one or more segments, i.e. belong to one or several subsets. However, within a given context, the relation between the business object and the segment (s) must be unequivocal.

[0004] Another example for inventory-related software solutions is in the field of commission systems containing a plurality of commission contracts between a company and its employees or contracting agents.

[0005] In order to be able to perform different tasks concerning statistical and evaluational aspects as well as concerning responsibilities and tasks or targets within the organisational structure of a company, it is important that business objects can be easily related to an employee or a contracting agent, or that a relation between a single contract and an inventory (subset) can be created. For example, typical relations can be the responsibility for all life insurance contracts in a given postal code area, the management of all car insurance contracts or the advisory function for all clients with profession physicist in the field of health insurances. It is easily understood by these examples that the segments are not directly created or classified but in connection with a given responsibility or task ("being in charge of", "managing", "advisory function", "contact person" etc.).

[0006] In order to be able to create an assignment between a given employee or contracting agent, i.e. the data object of that employee or contracting agent, and a segment, the business data objects in the data object component must contain pointer structures or other suitable reference information. If there are changes to either the business data objects or the employee/agent data objects, the according reference information in the business data object has to be updated, i.e. the data contained in the data object component has to be attended to regularly and reliably. In practice, this is a potential source of malfunctioning as data attendance (or data maintenance) is not always performed in a reliable manner as it is an additional task to be performed by a human operator, and very often there is no direct understanding for the need to perform data maintenance.

Summary of the Invention

[0007] It is therefore an aspect of the invention to provide a data assignment system which allows for faster and more reliable access to related segments. This aspect is achieved by proposing a method for data assignment with the features of claim 1 and a computer system for data assignment with the features of claim 10.

[0008] Accordingly, an interface unit is provided which interconnects the computing unit and the data object component, the interface unit being arranged and constructed to include an inventory assignment of segments created in the data object component. This allows that, in case of an assignment enquiry by the computing unit, an assignment of one or more segments being inquired for be carried out in the interface unit . Accordingly, the invention provides for operational systems to be able to determine for a given business object in connection with the responsibility the responsible employee/agent, or more generally speaking to determine for a given (classified) data object in connection with a relation the related data object in the operational system of the computing unit.

[0009] In a possible embodiment of the invention, the interface unit may contain segment relations for the (business) data objects contained in the data object component. The segment relations can be based on keys or key terms which may be published, or on rules. The classification of data objects into segments is then based on given rules, on keys or - alternatively - on individual assignment. It is therefore an important advantage of the invention that any kind of segment relation rules have not to be input, stored and maintained to in the data object component but are fully manageable in the interface unit according to the invention.

[0010] For the mapping of segments, the system and method according to the invention may provide for customized definition of individual segment types. Each segment type represents a certain segmentation (classification) . The segments of a segment type form delimited segments according to given predefined criteria. An object within a segment type does not have to be related to a segment in an unequivocal manner.

[0011] The invention thus provides for a creation or generation of new object classes on the basis of existing data objects by way of segmentation. This allows for direct access to inventory data through an object class without the need of administering individual assignments. As an advantage the invention leads to noon-hierarchical data structures and minimized data volume.

[0012] The invention also covers a computer program with program coding means which are suitable for carrying out a process according to the invention as described above when the computer program is run on a computer. The computer program itself as well as stored on a computer- readable medium is claimed.

[0013] Further features and embodiments of the invention will become apparent from the description and the accompanying drawings .

[0014] It will be understood that the features mentioned above and those described hereinafter can be used not only in the combination specified but also in other combinations or on their own, without departing from the scope of the present invention.

[0015] The invention is schematically illustrated in the drawings by means of an embodiment by way of example and is hereinafter explained in detail with reference to the drawings. It is understood that the description is in no way limiting on the scope of the present invention and is merely an illustration of a preferred embodiment of the invention.

Brief description of the Drawings

[0016] In the drawings,

Figure 1 is a schematic view of a data assignment computer system according to the invention; Figure 2 is a schematic block diagram representation of the system of the invention;

Figure 3 shows a more detailed block diagram of a data assignment system according to the invention;

Figure 4 shows the block diagram of Figure 3 in a configuration according to the diagram representation of Figure 2 ; and

Figure 5 shows a schematic illustration of an embodiment of the invention.

Detailed Description

[0017] Figure 1 shows a schematic block diagram representation of a data assignment computer system 10 according to the present invention. Computer system 10 comprises a server or computer unit 12 with a central processing unit 14 and a connection with at least one input/output means 18. Further, a commission system 16 is installed and runs on the computer unit 12. Commission system 16 serves for determining, retrieving and calculating remuneration payments such as commissions, bonus payments etc. which are to be paid to employees or agents on the basis of achieved objectives. Still further, the computer unit comprises an interface unit 22 which links the computer unit 12 to a database system 20 with data objects stored thereon.

[0018] The system as shown in Figure 1 is used in the field of data assignment of (inventory) data objects. As already pointed out above, it is appropriate to classify data objects belonging to a data object component 200 (cf. Figure 2) into segments according to selectable criteria so that computing unit 12 can access selected/classified data objects via specific segment access in order to perform certain tasks .

[0019] Figure 2 depicts in more detail the data assignment system according to the invention. As can be seen from Figure 2, the system according to the invention particularly consists of three components, namely a first component I which comprises the commission system 16 (commission component) , a second component II which comprises the data object component 200 (inventory component) and a third component III (segment type component) which may comprise a modelling tool (not shown) for creating new object classes (segment types) . The segment type component III may also comprise administration tools (not shown) for administrating the objects of classes created by the modelling tool.

[0020] Commission component I manages any kind of commission contract or commission remuneration system which relates achieved objectives to an employee or agent and calculates a remuneration entitlement in favour of this employee or agent. The data object component 200 in the inventory component II can be any kind of business enterprise solution which stores and manages various kind of business data objects, such as financial services solutions, data mining solutions or business warehouse solutions. However, the inventory component II can also comprise additional subcomponents in which business objects can be stored and managed, such as a client management system 24 and/or a policy management system 26 which manage insurance policies and/or client contracts.

[0021] According to the invention, the segment type component III comprising a modelling tool is arranged and constructed to include an inventory assignment of segments created in the inventory component II such that, in case of an assignment enquiry by the computing unit 12, i.e. the commission component I, an assignment of one or more segments being inquired for is carried out in the segment type component III.

[0022] In the context of a commission system, a segment is a subset of an inventory. The segment can be arranged in different manners within a certain inventory. The type of inventory depends on the business and the field of business, e.g. insurance companies, software companies, car companies etc. The (external) segment relation defines the relationship between a segment and a commission contract stored in the commission system such as depicted with reference numerals 30, 32, 34 in Figure 2. The type of relation between the commission contract and the segment is defined via a commission relation agreement, i.e. whether a given commission case is triggered or not. In contrast to the above-mentioned external segment relations, internal segment relations would be the relation between segment constituents (objects) and segment structure (typical attributes being grouping, aggregation etc.).

[0023] The inventory of a business enterprise as stored in the inventory component II can be divided or classified in segments according to various criteria. For example, the segments can be related to employees or agents who are responsible for these segments, activities and achievements connected with said responsibility being remunerated by means of commissions.

[0024] According to the schematic block diagram of Figure 2, the commission system 16 is connected with the segment type component III via so-called logical services and remote function call (RFC) functional units (depicted by arrows 30, 32, 34). The RFC units provide access for the commission system 16 to the segment relation systems 36, 38, 40 of the segment type component III. [0025] Inventory component II comprises a data object component 200 (such as a financial services or data mining system) , and a first BZO system 36 of the interface component III is linked to this data object component 200 for reading and "managing" the data contained in the data object component 200. This first segment relation system 36 could be an agent system in which segment relations for data business objects of the data object component 200 are stored. Advantageously, the segment relations stored in the agent system 36 are based on keys or key terms or on rules . Further segment relation systems can be provided in the interface component in order to be able to retrieve according segment data from additional inventory systems 24, 26, such as a client segment relation system 38 and/or a policy segment relation system 40. External relations between data object component 200 and additional inventory systems 24 and 26 are depicted by reference numerals AA, BB and CC in Figure 2.

[0026] Segments according to the invention my be selectively "edited" by single object assignment or by description assignment, and a segment can retrieve the set of all assigned and segmented objects (cf. also Figure 3). An example for a single object assignment could be the allocation of a company XYZ to an object class "clients", an example for a description assignment could be the allocation of all clients with seat of business in country CC to an object class "countries".

[0027] A significant advantageous of the invention consists in the fact that no rules concerning segment relations have to be stored in the inventory component II as they are included in the interface component III according to the invention. Instead of a direct link between commission component I and inventory component II, according to the invention, commission component I accesses the data contained in the inventory component II via interface component III in which all necessary segment relation data (keys, rules) are stored. Thus, the interface component retrieves business data objects from the inventory component II on the basis of key terms and rules concerning various segment classification stored in the interface component III. For a given enquiry of the commission component I (i.e. commission system 16 running on computing unit 12) this enquiry is directed to the interface component III which internally retrieves the relevant data from data object component 200 on the basis of hitherto stored relations, keys, key terms and/or rules .

[0028] Referring now to Figure 3, in order to be able to map segments, individual segment types 50 have to be defined first in the customizing section of the user application according to the invention. Each segment type represents a certain way of looking at the inventory, i.e. various categories into which data objects of the inventory can be classified in. For each segment type 50, segments 52 can be defined according to the given criteria. In this context, it is to be pointed out that the arrows between the block diagram boxes in Figure 3 are so-called l:n arrows, i.e. a single arrowhead stands for an unequivocal unambiguous relation, a double arrowhead stands for an equivocal ambiguous relation. For example, the segment type 50 is the basis for a plurality of segments 52 (double arrowhead pointing from 50 to 52) but each of the segments 52 is based on one and only one segment type (single arrowhead pointing from 52 to 50) . This means that there is a l:n relation between segment type and segment. The segment type defines which object type is the target of the segment generation and according to which criteria the generation of subsets is performed. [0029] In the commission system 16, one or more segments 52 can be related individually to one or several individual commission contracts 62 (an individual commission contract being based via a l:n relation on a standard commission contracts 60). The relation of the segment to the individual commission contract can be done, as depicted in the exemplary embodiment shown in Figure 3, via a segment relation agreement 54. Various types of relations can be maintained which is done via said segment relation agreement 54. The segment relation agreement controls the type of relationship between a commission contract and a segment, i.e. the system checks whether the cause for the existence of an additional commission case is identical for the related commission contract and the segment relation agreement. The segment relation agreement is related to a segment type in an unequivocal manner .

[0030] In terms of data modelling, a segment corresponds to a business object of a given business object type. A segment type in this context corresponds to a business object type with a certain characteristic or instance. An inventory can be divided or segmented into various segments according to various criteria. In most business enterprises, segmenting, can be performed in various combinations according to the following criteria:

[0031] Figure 4 shows the configuration of Figure 3 in an arrangement according to Figure 2 , i.e. the elements of Figure 3 are grouped and arranged in such a manner to illustrate to which of the components I, II, and III as described with reference to Figure 2 they belong to. As can be seen, the elements "Segment Type" 50 and "Segment" 52 as well as the element "Data Retrieval Relation" are comprised in the segment type component III where they are constituents of the segment relation systems 36, 38, 40. The element "Segmented Object" belongs to the data object component 200 in the inventory component II, and the remaining elements are grouped in the commission component I where the elements "Segment Relation" and Segment Relation Agreement" 54 are comprised in the functional units 30, 32, 34. The elements relating to the actual Commission Contract are comprised in the commission system 16.

[0032] Figure 5 shows a schematic illustration of an embodiment of the invention by way of example for system according to the invention implemented in an insurance company. All of the clients (policy holders or insurance holders) of this insurance company constitute a set of data in an object class OCl. In the depiction of Figure

5, object classes are shown schematically as circles, and the data objects are shown as crosses.

[0033] According to the invention, segments can be created for the objects "policy holders" on the basis of rules defined by the user. For example, as shown in the embodiment of Figure 5, a classification of the policy holder objects in geographical areas results in the creation/segmentation of an object class 0C2 with objects A, B, C, each of these segments representing a country, such as Germany (A) , Austria (B) and Switzerland (C) . Each of the newly created objects is assigned the according objects from object class "policy holders" OCl having their seat in the according countries, respectively (this is illustrated by way of example only for the policy holder objects belonging to the object "Germany" A) . It is to be understood that the delimitations of the three objects in object class OC2 is shown in object class OCl for illustrative purposes only. The link between the objects of object class OCl and the according respective object A, B, or C in object class OC2 can be realized by relation, description, formulas, copying or any other manner known to the person skilled in the art .

[0034] The objects "policy holders" of object class OCl can be segmented according to a further rule, e.g. to an age group rule consisting in five age groups, as shown in Figure 5 by way of example by dashed delimitation lines. This segmentation creates a new object class "age group" 0C3 with five segments or objects D, E, F, G, and H. Each of the new objects D, E, F, G, and H is assigned the according policy holder objects of object class OCl (illustrated in Figure 5 for the example of the policy holders belonging to age group F only) . Again, the dashed lines delimiting the objects D to H in the circle depiction of object class 0C3 are shown in the circle of object class OCl for illustrative purposes only.

[0035] Thus, there are three object classes OCl,

OC2 , and OC3 , OCl comprising 15 objects "policy holders", 0C2 comprising three objects "countries", and 0C3 comprising five objects "age groups".

[0036] Finally, there is a fourth object class in the embodiment of the invention as illustrated in Figure 5, namely object class OC4 comprising the employees of the insurance company (six objects shown as dots in the depiction of Figure 5) . If, for example, a first employee Ml is in charge of all policy holders with seat in Switzerland, this is shown with a relation between object Ml of object class OC4 and object C of object class 0C2. Object C of object class OC2 in turn is related (80) to all objects "policy holders" contained in object class OCl having their seat in Switzerland (these objects being shown in Figure 5 as encircled crosses) . The relation 80 between employee Ml and the clients with seat in Switzerland can contain further information or requirements, e.g. activities such as contract conclusion, client interview, contact person, etc.

[0037] A second employee M2 might be responsible for all clients belonging to age group F, which results in an according relation 82 pointing from object employee M2 of object class OC4 to object F of object class 0C3 , and the relation can again contain according activities as explained above in connection with relation 80, or other activities .

[0038] The invention thus provides for the possibility of looking at an inventory under various angles which allows an additional commissioning

(remuneration) . The additional commission is usually paid periodically dependent on the inventory, the segment type or, respectively, the segment. The remuneration can be dependent on amount, quality etc. of the segments. As an example, in many business fields, the term "inventory" usually stands for the complete set of our contracts and/or clients. Responsibility (i.e. being in charge of) of these inventory is usually compensated by means of a commission payment (inventory commission) .

Claims

CLAIMSWhat is claimed:

1. A method for data assignment in a computer system (10) comprising a computer unit (12) ; and a data object component (200) for managing a set of data objects; wherein data objects of the set of data objects can be divided into segments (52) according to selectable criteria, further comprising an interface unit (22) interconnecting the computing unit (12) and the data object component (200) , the interface unit (22) being arranged and constructed to include an inventory assignment of segments (52) created in the data object component (200) such that, in case of an assignment inquiry by the computing unit (12) , an assignment of one or more segments (52) being inquired for is carried out in the interface unit (22) .

2. A method according to claim 1, wherein new objects (A, B, C; D, E, F, G, H) are created by dividing an existing data objects class (OCl) into segments, the new objects forming a new object class (0C2 ; 0C3) .

3. A method according to claim 1, wherein the interface unit (22) contains segment relations for the data objects contained in the data object component (200) .

4. A method according to claim 3 , wherein the segment relations are based on rules.

5. A method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein in the interface unit (22) a segment type (50) is defined containing one or more assignment rules for assigning data objects from the data object component (200) to a given category in order to create one or more data object segments (52) .

6. A method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the type of relationship between a query data object (62) of the computing unit (12) and a segment (52) is controlled by a segment relation agreement module (54) contained in the interface unit (22) .

7. A method according to claim 6, wherein the segment relation agreement module (54) is created on the basis of a segment relation register contained in the data object component (200) .

8. A computer system comprising a computing unit (12) ; and a data object component (200) for managing a set of data objects; wherein data objects of the set of data objects can be divided into segments (52) according to selectable criteria, further comprising an interface unit (22) interconnecting the computing unit (12) and the data object component (200), the interface unit (22) being arranged and constructed to include an inventory assignment of segments (52) created in the data object component (200) such that, in case of an assignment inquiry by the computing unit (12) , an assignment of one or more segments (52) being inquired for is carried out in the interface unit (22) .

9. A computer system according to claim 8 , wherein new objects (A, B, C; D, E, F, G, H) are created by dividing an existing data objects class (OCl) into segments, the new objects forming a new object class (0C2;

OC3) .

10. A computer system according to claim 8, wherein the interface unit (22) contains segment relations for the data objects contained in the data object component (200) .

11. A computer system according to claim 10, wherein the segment relations are based on rules.

12. A computer system according to any one of claims 8 to 11, wherein in the interface unit (22) a segment type (50) can be defined containing one or more assignment rules for assigning data objects from the data object component (200) to a given category in order to create one or more data object segments (52).

13. A computer system according to any one of claims 8 to 12, wherein the type of relationship between a query data object (62) of the computing unit (12) and a segment (52) is controlled by a segment relation agreement module (54) contained in the interface unit (22) .

14. A computer system according to claim 13, wherein the segment relation agreement module (54) is created on the basis of a segment relation register contained in the data object component (200) .

15. A computer program product with a computer- readable medium and a computer program stored on the computer-readable medium with program coding means which are suitable for carrying out a method according to any one of claims 1 to 7 when the computer program is run on a computer .

16. A computer program with program coding means which are suitable for carrying out a method according to any one of claims 1 to 7 when the computer program is run on a computer.

17. A computer-readable medium with a computer program stored thereon, the computer program comprising program coding means which are suitable for carrying out a method according to any one of claims 1 to 7 when the computer program is run on a computer.