1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to business suite customization, and in particular, to a user feedback method and system for business suite customization.
2. Description of the Related Art
A business suite is a collection of a suit of business software functions for business process management, which provides business process support for enterprises or organizations. The business suite is developed typically in a uniform manner, i.e., the business suite is designed for a certain kind of user group or for a certain industrial domain. This enables repeated use of the same business requirements because certain user groups or users in a certain industrial domain have the most probability of having the same business requirement. Since different users have different skills, preferences, needs and goals, the business suite software requires customization. The existing business suites generally provide some core components capable of satisfying basic requirements in advance, and then different customization needs are collected during the process when enterprise customers utilize the business suite, to perform customization.
In the prior art, the customization mainly is performed in two ways. One way is through interviewing, i.e., the enterprise user introduces business logic to the business suite developer, the developer introduces the current state of the business suite and creates customization requirement according to the business logic provided by the enterprise user, and after the both parties come to an agreement, the developer performs customization on the business suite. This process is time-consuming. At the same time, since the customization requirements do not exist in advance, both parties are required to come to a common understanding on the enterprise business logic and the business suite state, to effectively perform customization. In fact, the enterprise user and the developer usually have some differences in understanding, so that the customization cannot be effectively performed. The other way is that the enterprise user provides comments or makes demands during the trial and testing phase of the business suite, by common communication mechanisms, such as telephone, email, instant message and so on, or by a built-in user feedback mechanism (since the comments and the requirements concern the customization of the business suite, they are collectively referred to as customization requirement). This process is also time-consuming, and meanwhile, since there are a lot of enterprise users, the developer has to deal with various customization requirements from a large number of enterprise users, and understand the inter-relationship among these requirements before performing customization.
According to an aspect of the invention, a computer-implemented user feedback method is provided for customizing business suite software that is executable on a computer system. The method includes: acquiring a business logic software function associated with a feedback mechanism in a business suite software user interface for the business suite software; acquiring an existing customization requirement related to the business logic software function and the relationship between the existing customization requirement related to the business logic software function and another existing customization requirement related to the business logic software function; and presenting the acquired existing customization requirement and the relationship between the existing customization requirement related to the business logic software function and the other existing customization requirement related to the business logic software function.
According to a further aspect of the invention, a computer-implemented user feedback system is provided for customizing business suite software that is executable on a computer system. The system includes: a business logic software function collector for acquiring a business logic software function associated with a feedback mechanism in a business suite software user interface for the business suite software; a customization requirement manager for acquiring an existing customization requirement related to the business logic software function and the relationship between the existing customization requirement related to the business logic software function and another existing customization requirement related to the business logic software function; and a customization requirement presenter for presenting the acquired existing customization requirement and the relationship between the existing customization requirement related to the business logic software function and the other existing customization requirement related to the business logic software function.
According to another aspect of the present invention, an article of manufacture tangibly embodying computer readable instructions which when implemented, causes a computer to carry out the steps of the method.
Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the invention will be described with reference to the drawings. For clarity and simplification, not all the features of the actual embodiments are described in the specification. However, it should be understood that during developing any practical embodiment many decisions specific to the practical embodiment must be made, to realize the particular target of the developer, for example, to conform those limitation conditions related to the system and the business, and those limitation conditions may vary with different embodiments. In addition, it should be understood that the developing work may be very complicated and time-consuming, but for the person skilled in the art benefiting from the disclosure of the invention, such developing work is only a routine task.
In addition, it is to be noted that, in order to avoid blurring the invention by unnecessary details, only structures and/or processing steps closely related to the solutions of the invention are shown in the drawings, while omitting other details little related to the invention.
Most existing business suites contain a user feedback mechanism. The user feedback mechanism has various representing forms, for example, there can be a comment issuance mechanism in some of the pages of the business suite or there can be a mechanism to acquire feedback by email, instant message and so on, or there can be other mechanisms that allow users to provide feedback. The user feedback mechanism in the prior art is separated from the business logic of the business suite, i.e., the user feedback mechanism only serves as an additional function for the business suite for a user of the business suite to make customization requirements to the developer, so that the developer is able to perform customization on the business suite according to the customization requirements made by the user.
The various customization requirements made by the users normally have internal correlations between them. For example, the customization requirements made by the users working in the warehouse department at the same time are normally correlated. The customization requirements made by the user working in the warehouse department and by the user working in the purchasing department may have correlations of a certain degree. These correlations are brought by the correlations in the relationship between the respective users in the business logic. Separating the relationship between the user feedback mechanism of the existing Business Suite from the business suite complicates the work of the developer in processing various customization requirement.
The user feedback method and system for customizing business suite software that is executable on a computer system according to the present invention will be described in detail below.
With reference to
The example in
For example, as shown in
As described above, the user feedback mechanisms of the respective user interfaces in the business suite have been correlated with the respective logic functions of the business suite, and since the business suite logic function associated with the user feedback mechanism in the “stock-out” page is “stock-out” function, the user feedback system according to the present invention can first acquire the “stock-out” function, and further acquire the existing customization requirement correlated with the “stock-out” function and the relationship between the existing customization requirements, and present them to Linda. As shown in
With reference to
Then, the method proceeds to step 304, in which, in response to the feedback mechanism in the business suite user interface being activated, the business logic function associated with the feedback mechanism of the business suite user interface is acquired. This object can be achieved by storing correspondence relationship between identifiers of the feedback mechanisms in respective user interfaces in the business suite and respective business logic functions in the business suite in advance, and inquiring the correspondence relationship at the time of use, or by acquiring the corresponding user interface identifier by means of the identifiers of the feedback mechanism in the respective user interface in the business suite, and searching the correspondence relationship between the user interface identifiers and the respective business logic functions in the business suite.
Then, the user feedback method 300 proceeds to step 306, in which the existing customization requirement correlated with the business logic function and the relationship between the existing customization requirements are acquired. The existing customization requirements includes all the customization requirements correlated with the business logic function in the user feedback system, and the relationship between the existing customization requirements is the internal connection among the existing customization requirements, and the relationship between the existing customization requirements can be inputted by the user, such as, the relationship between a plurality of existing customization requirements accumulated by Linda correlating, when making the customization requirement about “the checking stock function must support checking the shelf life of the product”, the customization requirement and a customization requirement about “the shelf life should be labeled when stocking in a produced product” made by Peter; or the relationship obtained by the user feedback system through performing semantic analysis on the customization requirements.
For example, the system recognizes that the customization requirement made by Linda is correlated with subjects “checking stock function” and “shelf life” by semantic analysis, and the system also recognizes that the customization requirement made by Peter is correlated with subjects “product stock-in”, and “shelf life” by semantic analysis. The system recognizes that they both are correlated with the subject “shelf life” by semantic analysis, thereby storing this relationship between them. This relationship can be stored in a tree-based data structure, in which the root node is the common subject among the customization requirements (“shelf life” in this example), and the leaf nodes are respective customization requirements, and the links between the leaf nodes indicate the relationship between the customization requirements. The existing customization requirement and the relationship between the customization requirement can be stored by other data structures in the prior art, such as linked list, array and so on.
After acquiring the above existing customization requirement and the relationship between the existing customization requirements, the user feedback method 300 proceeds to step 308, in which the acquired existing customization requirement and the relationship between the existing customization requirements are presented. The purpose for presenting the existing customization requirement and the relationship between the existing customization requirements to the user is for enabling the user to understand the current state of the existing customization requirement in the user feedback system and thus correlate a new customization requirement with the existing customization requirement according to the relationship is between the customization requirements when making the new customization requirement, so that the customization requirements can be stored more effectively for the demands of the customization, and for example, the existing customization requirement and the relationship between the existing customization requirements can be presented through a tree structure or other graphics, and any other manners in the prior art, as long as the above purpose can be attained. Then, the method proceeds to step 310 and is ended.
Since the roles of the users in the business process may be different, i.e., the positions of the user in the business logic of the business suite are different, there is a corresponding user profile for each user, recording information such as roles in the business process and the like, and the user feedback method according to the present invention also can further filter the existing customization requirements by using the user profile, thereby obtaining the existing customization requirement that is further correlated with the user and the relationship between the existing customization requirements. That is, the user feedback method for business suite customization according to the present invention can further include acquiring the user profile, and further acquiring the existing customization requirement related to the content of the user profile and the relationship between the existing customization requirements.
For example, Linda is a salesman, so her corresponding user profile will record her position in the business logic. With respect to the business logic of
At this time, in addition to the processes as shown in
For example, in addition to the customization requirement, “creating stock-out sheets for a part of the order forms,” which was previously made by Linda, the customization requirement, “it is required to input product batch number when stocking-in a product,” made by Peter, the packer of the production department, and is the relationship between this requirement and other existing customization requirements can also be acquired and presented to Linda.
Alternatively, when the user inputs a new customization requirement, the user feedback method for business suite customization according to the embodiment of the present invention can further include: receiving the new customization requirement inputted by the user; acquiring the relationship between the new customization requirement and the existing customization requirement by semantic analysis; if there is no existing customization requirement consistent with the new customization requirement, storing the new customization requirement and the relationship between the existing customization requirement and the new customization requirement; alternatively, if there is no existing customization requirement consistent with the new customization requirement, presenting to the user the acquired relationship between the existing customization requirement and the new customization requirement inputted by the user, receiving the user verification result on the above relationship; and storing the user-verified new customization requirement and the relationship between the new customization requirement and the existing customization requirement.
Described above is the process of the user feedback system for business suite customization according to the present invention when the user inputs a new customization requirement. Still taking the above cake factory as an example, Linda makes the customization requirement, “the checking stock function must support checking the shelf life of the product,” through the feedback mechanism. The user feedback mechanism analyzes that there is correlation between this requirement and the requirement, “the shelf life of the product should be input when stocking-in the produced product,” previously made by Peter. Thereafter, the user feedback system stores this correlation, or after this correlation is confirmed by Linda, Linda's requirement and the requirement, “the shelf life of the product should be input when stocking-in the produced product,” previously made by Peter, are stored under the same subject “shelf life”. Alternatively, the user can also directly input the relationship between the existing customization requirement and the new customization requirement inputted by the user.
Since for different customization requirements, the levels of concern or attention received are different, according to another embodiment of the present invention, the weight of the customization requirement can be utilized to indicate the level of concern. Alternatively, when a user inputs a new customization requirement, the user feedback method for business suite customization according to the embodiment of the present invention further includes: receiving the new customization requirement inputted by the user; acquiring the relationship between the existing customization requirement and the new customization requirement inputted by the user through semantic analysis; and if there is an existing customization requirement consistent with the new customization requirement, a weight of the existing customization requirement consistent with the new customization requirement is increased.
Alternatively, if there is an existing customization requirement consistent with the new customization requirement, the existing customization requirement consistent with the new customization requirement is presented to the user to be verified by the user, the user's verification result is received, and a weight of the existing customization requirement consistent with the new customization requirement after verified by the user is increased. If there is no existing customization requirement consistent with the new customization requirement, the new customization requirement and the relationship between the existing customization requirement and the new customization requirement are stored.
Still taking the above cake factory as an example, when the salesman Linda makes a customization requirement, “creating stock-out sheets for a part of the order forms,” through the user feedback interface, and submits it, the user feedback system analyzes the existing customization requirement, and acquires the relationship between the existing customization requirement and the customization requirement, “creating stock-out sheets for a part of the order forms”. For example, the system acknowledges that the customization requirement, “creating stock-out sheets for a part of the order forms,” is consistent with the customization requirement, “creating stock-out sheets for a part of the order forms,” which was previously made by Linda through semantic analysis. After this analysis result is confirmed by Linda, the user feedback system will increase the weight of the requirement, “creating stock-out sheets for a part of the order forms”.
Alternatively, when the user inputs a new customization requirement, and further inputs the relationship between the new customization requirement and the existing customization requirement, the user feedback method for business suite customization according to an embodiment of the invention further includes: receiving the new customization requirement input by the user; receiving the relationship between the new customization requirement input by the user and the existing customization requirement; verifying the relationship between the new customization requirement input by the user and the existing customization requirement; and storing the relationship between the new customization requirement input by the user and the existing customization requirement verified by the system. The purpose for this is to avoid the erroneously storing of the relationship between the customization requirements caused by the user's mis-operation. Since the feedback system according to the present invention presents to the user the existing customization requirement and the relationship between the existing customization requirements, so that the user can view the current state of the existing customization requirement in the user feedback system, when submitting the new customization requirement, the user can correlate the new customization requirement with the existing customization requirement according to the relationship between customization requirements.
Still taking the above cake factory as an example, when the salesman Linda makes the customization requirement, “the checking stock function must support checking the shelf life of the product,” and submits it, the user feedback system analyzes the existing customization requirement, acquires the relationship between the existing customization requirement and the customization requirement, “the checking stock function must support checking the shelf life of the product,” made by Linda, and presents the above relationship to the user. For example, by semantic analysis, the system can obtain the customization requirement, “the checking stock function must support checking the shelf life of the product,” made by Linda and the customization requirement, “the shelf life of the product should be input when stocking-in the produced product,” previously made by Peter are both related to the topic of “shelf life”, and the above relationship is presented to Linda. At this time, by choosing the customization requirement, “the shelf life of the product should be input when stocking-in the produced product,” made by Peter and clicking a button such as “agree with an existing customization requirement”, Linda can indicate that her requirement is consistent with this requirement.
At this time, there mis-operation may occur. For example, Linda can mistakenly select an existing customization requirement, “needing to input product batch number when stocking-in a product,” made by Peter, and click the button such as “agree with an existing customization requirement” to indicate that her requirement is consistent with this requirement, so that the relationship between the input new customization requirement and the existing customization requirement is incorrect.
In the above case, according to the present invention, after receiving the new customization requirement inputted by the user and the relationship between the new customization requirement and the existing customization requirement, by verifying the relationship between the new customization requirement inputted by the user and the existing customization requirement by the means of semantic analysis and so on, or by the user's verification, the user feedback system can correctly store the relationship between the new customization requirement inputted by the user and the existing customization requirement. In the above situation, through the verification, the user feedback system can acknowledge that the relationship between the customization requirement input by Linda and the existing customization requirement is not correct, the customization requirement made by Linda should be correlated with the customization requirement, “the shelf life of the product should be input when stocking-in the produced product”. Thus, the system prompts Linda to make a correction, and after Linda's verification, the customization requirement, “the checking stock function must support checking the shelf life of the product,” is stored.
Below, with reference to
According to one aspect of the present invention, the user feedback system for business suite customization can further include a user profile manager 508 for acquiring a user profile of a business suite user, where the customization requirement manager further acquires the existing customization requirement related to the user profile and the relationship between the existing customization requirements.
Alternatively, the customization requirement manager can further receive the new customization requirement inputted by the user, acquire the relationship between the existing customization requirement and the new customization requirement inputted by the user, and store the new customization requirement and the relationship between the existing customization requirement and the new customization requirement.
Alternatively, the customization requirement manager can receive the new customization requirement inputted by the user, acquire the relationship between the existing customization requirement and the new customization requirement inputted by the user, and in response to the presence of the existing customization requirement consistent with the new customization requirement, increase the weight of the existing customization requirement consistent with the new customization requirement.
Alternatively, the customization requirement manager can receive the new customization requirement inputted by the user, receive the relationship between the new customization requirement inputted by the user and the existing customization requirement, verify the relationship between the new customization requirement inputted by the user and the existing customization requirement, and store the relationship between the new customization requirement and the existing customization requirement verified by the system.
The basic principle of the present invention is described above in connection with the particular embodiments, but it is to be noted that, for the person skilled in the art, he can understand all or any step or means of the method and the apparatus of the present invention can be implemented in any computing device (including processor, and storage medium and so on) or a network of computing device, in hardware, firmware, software or combination thereof. This can be implemented by the person skilled in the art after reading the specification of the present invention, using their basic programming skills.
Thus, the present invention can be implemented by running a program or a set of programs on a computing device. The computing device can be a well-known general-purpose device. The present invention can also be implemented by a program product that contains program codes for executing the method or apparatus. That is, the present invention can include such a program product or a storage medium for storing such a program product. The storage medium can be a known storage medium or a storage medium which will be developed in the future.
It is also to be noted that, in the apparatus and method of the present invention, each means or each step can be split and/or recombined. Such split and/or recombination should be considered as an equivalent solution of the present invention. Further, the steps for performing the above series of processes can be performed in chronological order according to the illustrative order, but need not be performed in chronological order. Some steps can be performed in parallel or independently with each other.
Although the present invention and its advantages have been described in detail, it should be understood that a modification, substitution and alternation can be made without departing from the spirit and the scope of the present invention defined by the attached claims. The terms “including”, “containing” or any other variation of the application are intended to cover the non-exclusive including, so that the procedure, method, article or means including a series of elements, not only include these elements, but also include other elements not definitely listed here, or include inherent elements for the procedure, method, article or means. Without other limitations, the element defined by the sentence “including a . . . ” does not exclude another same element present in the procedure, method, article or means including the element.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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200910161823.1 | Jul 2009 | CN | national |
This application is a Continuation application of copending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/740,819, filed on Jan. 14, 2013, incorporated herein by reference in its entirety, and which claims priority under 35 U.S.C. §119 to Chinese Patent Application No. 200910161823.1 filed Jul. 31, 2009, the entire contents of which are also incorporated by reference herein.
Number | Date | Country | |
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Parent | 13740819 | Jan 2013 | US |
Child | 14799359 | US | |
Parent | 12845120 | Jul 2010 | US |
Child | 13740819 | US |