U.S. patent application number 14/942160 was filed with the patent office on 2016-04-07 for system and method for managing a resource.
The applicant listed for this patent is III HOLDINGS 1, LLC. Invention is credited to Abdul G. Balogun, Amy Heydon, Zeeshan Ishaq, Greg Keeley, Daniel Puleri, Orville A. Williams.
Application Number | 20160098657 14/942160 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 47142777 |
Filed Date | 2016-04-07 |
United States Patent
Application |
20160098657 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Heydon; Amy ; et
al. |
April 7, 2016 |
SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR MANAGING A RESOURCE
Abstract
Systems and methods for managing a resource are disclosed.
Resource may include vendors, suppliers, partners and the like. The
systems allow users to conduct a weighted analysis of various
resources and compare multiple resources on the same scale.
Moreover, the systems are configured to grade various resources
based on their strategic value to a business. This analysis and the
resulting strategic value may be based on qualitative data provided
by users and quantitative data captured from the business
relationship between the business and the resource.
Inventors: |
Heydon; Amy; (Scottsdale,
AZ) ; Keeley; Greg; (New York, NY) ; Puleri;
Daniel; (New Hyde Park, NY) ; Williams; Orville
A.; (Phoenix, AZ) ; Balogun; Abdul G.; (Allen,
TX) ; Ishaq; Zeeshan; (Phoenix, AZ) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
III HOLDINGS 1, LLC |
Wilmington |
DE |
US |
|
|
Family ID: |
47142777 |
Appl. No.: |
14/942160 |
Filed: |
November 16, 2015 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
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13104850 |
May 10, 2011 |
9189765 |
|
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14942160 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
705/7.13 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G06Q 10/06311 20130101;
G06Q 10/0637 20130101; G06Q 10/06393 20130101 |
International
Class: |
G06Q 10/06 20060101
G06Q010/06 |
Claims
1-20. (canceled)
21. A method comprising: maintaining, by a computer system, a
database having information describing a plurality of resources,
wherein the plurality of resources includes at least two entities
that provide a good or service; associating, by the computer system
within the database, one or more scores to various ones of the
plurality of resources; causing display, by the computer system, of
a user interface that includes graphical elements representative of
at least a portion of the plurality of resources, wherein the
graphical elements are displayed relative to one another within the
user interface according to criteria based at least in part on
scores associated with the plurality of resources; receiving, by
the computer system via the user interface, an assignment of a task
to an indicated one of the plurality of resources; and assigning,
by the computer system, the task to the indicated resource.
22. The method of claim 21, wherein the plurality of resources are
resources of a business entity, and wherein at least one of the
plurality of resources is a supplier of the business entity.
23. The method of claim 21, wherein the one or more scores include
qualitative and quantitative performance data for various ones of
the plurality of resources.
24. The method of claim 23, wherein the graphical elements in the
user interface are plotted against a first axis corresponding to
quantitative performance data and against a second axis
corresponding to qualitative performance data.
25. The method of claim 21, further comprising assigning various
ones of the plurality of resources to one a plurality of categories
based on the associated scores.
26. The method of claim 21, further comprising: associating overall
indicators to various ones of the plurality of resources, wherein
the associated overall indicators are based at least in part on the
associated scores; wherein the graphical elements are displayed
relative to one another within the user interface according to
criteria based at least in part on the overall indicators.
27. The method of claim 21, further comprising providing at least
some of the plurality of resources access to the database, wherein
the provided access allows those resources having access to view
their assigned tasks.
28. The method of claim 27, wherein the provided access allows
those resources having access to view progress associated with
their assigned tasks.
29. The method of claim 27, wherein the provided access allows
those resources having access to view their associated one or more
scores.
30. The method of claim 21, wherein the user interface displays
graphical elements corresponding to the at least a portion of the
plurality of resources relative to a normalized scale.
31. A non-transitory computer-readable medium having stored thereon
instructions executable by a computer system to cause the computer
system to perform operations comprising: maintaining a database
having information describing a plurality of resources, wherein the
plurality of resources includes at least two entities that provide
a good or service; associating, within the database, a category
with respective ones of the plurality of resources, wherein the
category corresponds to a score of the respective ones of the
plurality of entities falling within a designated range of scores;
causing display of a user interface that includes graphical
elements representative of at least a portion of the plurality of
resources, wherein the graphical elements are displayed relative to
one another within the user interface based at least in part on
categories associated with the plurality of resources; receiving
via the user interface an assignment of a task to an indicated one
of the plurality of resources, wherein the assignment is based at
least in part on the category; and assigning the task to the
indicated resource.
32. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 31,
wherein the score is based on historical performance data
associated with the plurality of entities.
33. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 32,
wherein the performance data comprises weighted values
corresponding to a relative importance of a corresponding component
of the performance data.
34. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 33,
wherein the associating is based on one or more rules including
whether respective components of the performance data reach a
respective threshold, wherein components above the threshold are
assigned a set value.
35. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 31,
wherein the graphical elements corresponds to a visual
representation of the category of the resource.
36. A system comprising: a processor; and a memory coupled to the
processor, wherein the memory has stored thereon instructions
executable by the system to cause the system to perform operations
comprising: maintaining a database having information describing a
plurality of resources, wherein the plurality of resources includes
at least two entities that provide a good or service; associating,
within the database, one or more scores to various ones of the
plurality of resources; causing display of a user interface that
includes graphical elements representative of at least a portion of
the plurality of resources, wherein the graphical elements are
displayed relative to one another within the user interface
according to criteria based at least in part on scores associated
with the plurality of resources; receiving via the user interface
an assignment of a task to an indicated one of the plurality of
resources; and assigning the task to the indicated resource.
37. The system of claim 36, wherein the operations further comprise
updating the one or more scores in response to receiving further
information describing the plurality of resources.
38. The system of claim 37, wherein the graphical elements
correspond to both the scores and the updated scores.
39. The system of claim 36, wherein the operations further comprise
providing at least one of the plurality of resources access to
graphical elements associated with the at least one resource.
40. The system of claim 36, wherein the operations further comprise
providing at least one of the plurality of resources access to a
benchmarking capability of the database that allows a resource to
view the one or more scores of the resource.
Description
FIELD OF THE INVENTIONS
[0001] The present disclosure generally relates to management of
resources, and more particularly, to a method and system for
evaluating resources based on quantitative information and
qualitative information.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTIONS
[0002] Large businesses are typically geographically and culturally
diverse, segmented, and employ thousands of people. These factors
may make it difficult to share information regarding resources used
by a particular business. For example, a first business unit may
use a resource to provide a service. A second business unit may
require the same resource, but may be unaware that the resource
provides the service to the first business unit. Moreover, even if
the second business unit is aware that the resource provides the
service to the first business unit, there is often no sufficient
way for the second business unit to understand how the resource
performs for the first business unit.
[0003] As such, it is desirable to a business to identify and
quantify the performance of its resources. Moreover, it is
desirable to a business to have a uniform process and scale to
assess and evaluate resource performance, in order to communicate
the capabilities of the resource across a diverse business.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONS
[0004] The present disclosure describes systems, methods and
computer readable media for managing a resource. Resources may
include, for example, vendors, partners, suppliers, and the like.
The systems and methods disclosed herein may be configured to
receive or capture qualitative data and quantitative data for a
particular resource, based on the resource's performance. A score
for each resource may be determined based on the qualitative and
quantitative data associated with the resource. Each of the
qualitative and quantitative data may be associated with a
predefined selectable scale or may be captured as raw data. Based
on this score, the resource may be assigned to one or more
categories corresponding to the strategic value of the resource to
a business. The strategic value may be displayed in a variety of
ways including, for example, on a plot, in a chart, as text and/or
the like. Moreover, the strategic value may allow one resource to
be compared to another resource based on the same scale of
strategic value. The strategic value may also be evaluated and
adjusted over time based on data continually collected for the
resource, or tasks and associated feedback for the resource.
[0005] The systems and methods of the present disclosure may be
configured to capture qualitative and quantitative data from users
and from business resources such as, for example, purchasing
systems, program management metrics, and the like. This qualitative
and quantitative value may be analyzed using, for example,
weighting systems, threshold rules, historical trends and the
like.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0006] A more complete understanding of the present disclosure may
be derived by referring to the detailed description and claims when
considered in connection with the Figures, wherein like reference
numbers refer to similar elements throughout the Figures, and:
[0007] FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating major system
components for managing a resource, in accordance with an exemplary
embodiment;
[0008] FIG. 2 is an exemplary user interface, in accordance with an
exemplary embodiment; and
[0009] FIG. 3 is a flow chart illustrating an exemplary process for
managing a resource, in accordance with an exemplary
embodiment.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0010] The present disclosure provides systems and methods to
quantify the importance, quality, and performance of a particular
resource such that diverse business units have baseline information
for selecting and/or evaluating resources.
[0011] "User" may include any individual, customer, cardmember,
employee, contractor, group, participant, beneficiary, account
holder, account owner, recipient, charitable organization,
software, hardware, and/or other entity that has an interest in the
system.
[0012] "Resource" may include any individual, entity, contractor,
group, participant, beneficiary, vendor, partner, supplier, or any
other entity that provides an item to a business.
[0013] Phrases and terms similar to an "item" may include any good,
service, information, experience, reward, points, coupons, credits,
monetary equivalent, anything of value, something of minimal or no
value, etc.
[0014] The terms "transaction", "purchase" and similar terms may be
used interchangeably, and include any monetary or non-monetary
agreement, exchange, negotiation, procedure, arrangement or other
type of deal. The transaction may or may not include an exchange of
an item.
[0015] With reference to FIG. 1, and in accordance with an
embodiment, system 100 may be any system configured to track,
manage, analyze, identify, plot, display, manipulate, interpret,
satisfy, and/or store resource data associated with a business.
System 100 may monitor, request, receive, detect and/or acquire
data from users, resources, business, and/or the like. In an
exemplary embodiment, system 100 comprises a resource management
system ("RMS") 110 in electronic communication with a user
interface 120.
[0016] RMS 110 may be any hardware or hardware-software system
configured to manage resource information. RMS 110 may comprise an
RMS middleware 107, resource data module 130, a resource analysis
module 140, and a resource access module 150. RMS 110 may be
configured to interface with user interface 120 over a network. RMS
110 and user interface may be connected or configured to
communicate through any suitable hardware or hardware-software
configuration including for example, an interne server and a
firewall.
[0017] User interface 120 may be any hardware or hardware-software
system configured to process and/or present information. User
interface 120 may be configured to receive, request, manipulate,
display, and update information. User interface 120 may be
configured with a login to allow access to information from RMS
110. User interface 120 may communicate the login information or
identity of a user, based on the login information provided by the
user to RMS 110. In response to obtaining the identity information
from user interface 120, RMS 110 may identify information available
to the identified user based on a user predefined preferences or
predetermined rules. User interface 120 may be configured as a
gateway or portal for access to RMS 110 (e.g., by a user and/or a
resource). User interface 120 may be connected to RMS 110 such that
data provided by a user at user interface 120 is transmitted to RMS
110.
[0018] In one embodiment, and with reference to FIG. 2, user
interface 220 may comprise an information request module 221 and a
resource information display module 222. Information request module
221 may be any hardware or hardware-software system configured to
request and receive data about a resource. For example, information
request module 221 may comprise one or more prompts or questions
and associated fields for user provided data. The prompt may be a
request to provide information, which may include a solicitation
for quantitative data and/or qualitative data. The field may be
configured with a suggested, predefined scale. The scale may be
selectable by a user as part of the information solicited. The
prompt may also request non-predefined user provided information.
The field corresponding to the prompt may be configured to receive
data about a resource as text, as a computer file, as a user
selection, or as any other suitable medium.
[0019] Information display module 222 may be any hardware and/or
software system configured to access and/or display information
about a resource from RMS 110. User interface 220 may comprise
selectable fields or search fields. In response to a specific user
selection or search, information display module may be configured
to access RMS 110, identify resource data corresponding to the user
selection or search and/or display that data to the user. Where
multiple sets of resource data correspond to the selection or
search, information display module 222 may request additional
selections or search terms from the user or may provide the user
with one or more links to each set of corresponding resource data.
For example, a user may select telecommunications vendors or may
search for voice and data service providers through information
display module 222. In response to either query, information
display module 222 may select one or more resources corresponding
to the search (e.g. AT&T and Verizon). In response to one or
more resources being provided, information display module 222 may
present the user with a link to each resource. Based on the user
selection of the presented links, information resource 222 may be
configured to present resource data to the user through user
interface 220. The resource data may be presented in any suitable
format including, for example a chart, a graph, text and the like.
The data may be processed at user interface 220 or may be processed
at RMS 110 and provided to user interface 220 for review by the
user.
[0020] In an embodiment, and with reference again to FIG. 1,
resource data module 130 may be any hardware and/or software system
configured to receive, associate, parse, store, recall, and/or
transmit resource information. Resource data module 130 may be
coupled to various systems, modules and data sources including, for
example, purchasing management systems, account payable systems,
accounting systems, and the like. Resource data module 130 may be
configured to actively accumulate resource information such as, for
example, resource cost information, deliverable management
information, program management metrics, user provided information
(e.g., quantitative and qualitative information), and the like. For
example, resource data module 130 may be configured to monitor,
collect, and store cost information from various telecommunications
providers used by a business. Resource data module 130 may parse
the cost information by specific cost types (e.g., cost codes),
such that each piece of cost data may be stored distinctly, and
subsequently recalled based on a request from RMS 110. Resource
data module 130 may be coupled to or in electronic communication
with resource analysis module 140.
[0021] Resource analysis module 140 may be any hardware or
hardware-software system configured to access, request, receive,
analyze, parse, configure, or manipulate resource data. Resource
analysis module 140 may be coupled to an in electronic
communication with user interface 120 and/or resource data module
130. Resource analysis module 140 may comprise a set of predefined
rules. These predefined rules may allow resource analysis module
140 to evaluate and/or analyze quantitative and qualitative
resource data provided by a user or stored in resource data module
130.
[0022] These predefined rules may include a weighting system. The
weighting system may be configured to provide a baseline analysis
given the variety of factors that may effect the evaluation of a
resource. For example, various factors may be weighted differently
such that a less important resource is not evaluated higher than a
more important resource. The predefined rules may also include
thresholds. These thresholds may be configured to normalize
resource data. For example, resources with very high costs may
reach a predetermined threshold and may be assigned an equal
rating. While the costs associated with each resource may not be
the same, the costs are sufficiently high such that both resources
may be equally important. The weighting system and thresholds may
be defined by historical data, by key business objectives, or by
any other suitable rationale.
[0023] Resource analysis module 140 may be configured to evaluate
and/or categorize analyzed resource data. The analysis may include
assigning a category or indicator to a resource based on the
analysis of the resource data in view of the predefined rules. For
example, resource analysis module 140 may be configured to assign a
resource to one of a plurality of categories based on the analysis
of the qualitative data associated with the resource. Similarly,
resource analysis module 140 may be configured to assign a resource
to a category of a plurality of categories based on the analysis of
the quantitative data associated with the resource. Based on the
categorization of the resource corresponding to each of the
qualitative analysis and the quantitative analysis, resource
analysis module 140 may be configured to associate an overall
indicator to the resource.
[0024] The overall indicators may be determined based on a set of
predetermined rules governing the strategic value of a resource to
a business generally. For example, a business may define various
levels of strategic value and associated indicators based on
quantitative performance (e.g., cost or resources for on-time
deliverable performance) and qualitative performance (e.g., an
employees perception about the ability to work with the resource or
the willingness of a resource to help an employee).
[0025] The overall indicator may be associated with a grading
system, such as for example, tiers 1-4. Each tier and associated
indicator may provide a summary of the general strategic value of
the resource to the business based on a sliding scale of
importance. These tiers may be represented to a user in any
fashion. For example, where there are four tiers, resources may be
represented graphically in quadrants. The graphical representation
may further be defined by an axis associated with a tier's
corresponding quantitative data and an axis associated with a
tier's qualitative data. This type of representation provides a
uniform baseline (e.g., scale) for evaluation of unrelated
resource. Moreover, the representation allows a user to quickly and
visually identify the varying strategic value of each of a
plurality of resources.
[0026] Resource analysis module 140 may be configured to associate
tasks with a resource or group of resources based on the indicator,
strategic value, or tier of a resource. Resource analysis module
140 may also be configured to track, monitor, and/or capture
progress associated with the specific task. Moreover, resource
analysis module 140 may be configured to collect qualitative and
quantitative data associated with the task. This task data may be
further analyzed by resource analysis module 140 to refine the
indicator, strategic value, or tier of a resource. This task data
may also be used to validate the indicator, strategic value, or
tier of a resource.
[0027] Resource access module 150 may be any hardware and/or
software system configured to receive, request, capture, display,
and/or analyze resource data. Resource access module 150 may be
configured to provide a resource with a certain level of access to
system 100. Based on this access, the resource may be able to
review quantitative and qualitative data associated with the
resource. Moreover, the resource may be able to review and complete
associated tasks. Resource access module 150 may include a
benchmarking capability based on a previous grading (e.g. the tier
the resource has been assigned based on one or more prior
quantitative assessments and/or qualitative assessments). This
allows the resource to observe its progress and/or perception with
a business.
[0028] Moreover, the benchmarking capability may provide a user
from the business the ability to allocate the correct services
(e.g. periodic reviews, a dedicated resource manager, an increase
in the volume of items purchased from the resource) to the resource
based on the corresponding grading and/or tier. Trending analysis
may be used to identify the progress of the resource through the
grading scale (e.g. is the resource improving or declining such
that an exit strategy is required). The benchmarking capability
and/or associated trending analysis be configured to cause RMS 110
to suggest services that may be requested by a resource through
resource access module 150.
[0029] In an embodiment, and with reference to FIGS. 1 and 3,
system 100 may be configured to receive qualitative data for a
first resource through at least one of user interface 120 and
resource data module 130 (Step 310). Similarly, system 100 may be
configured to receive quantitative data for a first resource
through at least one of user interface 120 and resource data module
130 (Step 320). System 100 may be configured to determine a score
for the first resource based on the quantitative and qualitative
data at resource analysis module 140 (Step 330). The resource
analysis module 140 may be configured with predetermined rules
including, for example, a weighting system and/or threshold values
as discussed above. These scores allow system 100 to assign the
resource to one of a plurality of categories (step 340). These
categories may correspond to the strategic value of a business.
[0030] This process may be repeated for one or more resources, such
that the systems and methods described herein are able to evaluate
and display data for a plurality of resources based on the same
scale (Step 370). This allows a user to quickly evaluate the extent
of a resources impact or strategic value to a business in the
context of other resources. For example, system 100 may be
configured to plot one or more resources on a uniform manner (e.g.,
a normalized scale) based on the category or score associated with
the resource (Step 350). Moreover, the plot may include and/or
display other information including for example, a strategic
indicator (Step 360). This indicator may correspond to one or more
tasks or business objectives associated with the resource.
[0031] The detailed description of exemplary embodiments herein
makes reference to the accompanying drawings and pictures, which
show the exemplary embodiment by way of illustration and its best
mode. While these exemplary embodiments are described in sufficient
detail to enable those skilled in the art to practice the
disclosure, it should be understood that other embodiments may be
realized and that logical and mechanical changes may be made
without departing from the spirit and scope of the disclosure.
Thus, the detailed description herein is presented for purposes of
illustration only and not of limitation. For example, the steps
recited in any of the method or process descriptions may be
executed in any order and are not limited to the order presented.
Moreover, any of the functions or steps may be outsourced to or
performed by one or more third parties. Furthermore, any reference
to singular includes plural embodiments, and any reference to more
than one component may include a singular embodiment.
[0032] Systems, methods and computer program products for resource
management and implementing resource management tools are provided.
In the detailed description herein, references to "one embodiment",
"an embodiment", "an example embodiment", etc., indicate that the
embodiment described may include a particular feature, structure,
or characteristic, but every embodiment may not necessarily include
the particular feature, structure, or characteristic. Moreover,
such phrases are not necessarily referring to the same embodiment.
Further, when a particular feature, structure, or characteristic is
described in connection with an embodiment, it is submitted that it
is within the knowledge of one skilled in the art to effect such
feature, structure, or characteristic in connection with other
embodiments whether or not explicitly described. After reading the
description, it will be apparent to one skilled in the relevant
art(s) how to implement the disclosure in alternative
embodiments.
[0033] In various embodiments, the methods described herein are
implemented using the various particular machines described herein.
The methods described herein may be implemented using the
particular machines disclosed herein, and those hereinafter
developed, in any suitable combination, as would be appreciated
immediately by one skilled in the art. Further, as is unambiguous
from this disclosure, the methods described herein may result in
various transformations of certain articles.
[0034] For the sake of brevity, conventional data networking,
application development and other functional aspects of the systems
(and components of the individual operating components of the
systems) may not be described in detail herein. Furthermore, the
connecting lines shown in the various figures contained herein are
intended to represent exemplary functional relationships and/or
physical couplings between the various elements. It should be noted
that many alternative or additional functional relationships or
physical connections may be present in a practical system.
[0035] The various system components discussed herein may include
one or more of the following: a host server or other computing
systems including a processor for processing digital data; a memory
coupled to the processor for storing digital data; an input
digitizer coupled to the processor for inputting digital data; an
application program stored in the memory and accessible by the
processor for directing processing of digital data by the
processor; a display device coupled to the processor and memory for
displaying information derived from digital data processed by the
processor; and a plurality of databases. Various databases used
herein may include: client data; resource data; financial
institution data; and/or like data useful in the operation of the
system. As those skilled in the art will appreciate, user computer
may include an operating system (e.g., Windows NT, 95/98/2000, XP,
Vista, OS2, UNIX, Linux, Solaris, MacOS, etc.) as well as various
conventional support software and drivers typically associated with
computers. A user may include any individual, business, entity,
government organization, software and/or hardware that interact
with a system.
[0036] A web client includes any device (e.g., personal computer)
which communicates via any network, for example such as those
discussed herein. Such browser applications comprise Internet
browsing software installed within a computing unit or a system to
conduct online transactions and/or communications. These computing
units or systems may take the form of a computer or set of
computers, although other types of computing units or systems may
be used, including laptops, notebooks, hand held computers,
personal digital assistants, set-top boxes, workstations,
computer-servers, main frame computers, mini-computers, PC servers,
pervasive computers, network sets of computers, personal computers,
such as iPads, iMACs, and MacBooks, kiosks, terminals, point of
sale (POS) devices and/or terminals, televisions, or any other
device capable of obtaining data over a network. A web-client may
run Microsoft Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox, Google Chrome,
Apple Safari, or any other of the myriad software packages
available for browsing the internet.
[0037] Practitioners will appreciate that a web client may or may
not be in direct contact with an application server. For example, a
web client may access the services of an application server through
another server and/or hardware component, which may have a direct
or indirect connection to an Internet server. For example, a web
client may communicate with an application server via a load
balancer. In an exemplary embodiment, access is through a network
or the Internet through a commercially-available web-browser
software package.
[0038] As those skilled in the art will appreciate, a web client
includes an operating system (e.g., Windows NT,
95/98/2000/CE/Mobile, OS2, UNIX, Linux, Solaris, MacOS, PalmOS,
etc.) as well as various conventional support software and drivers
typically associated with computers. A web client may include any
suitable personal computer, network computer, workstation, personal
digital assistant, cellular phone, smart phone, minicomputer,
mainframe or the like. A web client can be in a home or business
environment with access to a network. In an exemplary embodiment,
access is through a network or the Internet through a commercially
available web-browser software package. A web client may implement
security protocols such as Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) and Transport
Layer Security (TLS). A web client may implement several
application layer protocols including http, https, ftp, and
sftp.
[0039] In an embodiment, various components, modules, and/or
engines of system 100 may be implemented as micro-applications or
micro-apps. Micro-apps are typically deployed in the context of a
mobile operating system, including for example, a Palm mobile
operating system, a Windows mobile operating system, an Android
Operating System, Apple iOS, a Blackberry operating system and the
like. The micro-app may be configured to leverage the resources of
the larger operating system and associated hardware via a set of
predetermined rules which govern the operations of various
operating systems and hardware resources. For example, where a
micro-app desires to communicate with a device or network other
than the mobile device or mobile operating system, the micro-app
may leverage the communication protocol of the operating system and
associated device hardware under the predetermined rules of the
mobile operating system. Moreover, where the micro-app desires an
input from a user, the micro-app may be configured to request a
response from the operating system which monitors various hardware
components and then communicates a detected input from the hardware
to the micro-app.
[0040] As used herein, the term "network" includes any cloud, cloud
computing system or electronic communications system or method
which incorporates hardware and/or software components.
Communication among the parties may be accomplished through any
suitable communication channels, such as, for example, a telephone
network, an extranet, an intranet, Internet, point of interaction
device (point of sale device, personal digital assistant (e.g.,
iPhone.RTM., Palm Pilot.RTM., Blackberry.RTM.), cellular phone,
kiosk, etc.), online communications, satellite communications,
off-line communications, wireless communications, transponder
communications, local area network (LAN), wide area network (WAN),
virtual private network (VPN), networked or linked devices,
keyboard, mouse and/or any suitable communication or data input
modality. Moreover, although the system is frequently described
herein as being implemented with TCP/IP communications protocols,
the system may also be implemented using IPX, Appletalk, IP-6,
NetBIOS, OSI, any tunneling protocol (e.g. IPsec, SSH), or any
number of existing or future protocols. If the network is in the
nature of a public network, such as the Internet, it may be
advantageous to presume the network to be insecure and open to
eavesdroppers. Specific information related to the protocols,
standards, and application software utilized in connection with the
Internet is generally known to those skilled in the art and, as
such, need not be detailed herein. See, for example, DILIP NAIK,
INTERNET STANDARDS AND PROTOCOLS (1998); JAVA 2 COMPLETE, various
authors, (Sybex 1999); DEBORAH RAY AND ERIC RAY, MASTERING HTML 4.0
(1997); and LOSHIN, TCP/IP CLEARLY EXPLAINED (1997) and DAVID
GOURLEY AND BRIAN TOTTY, HTTP, THE DEFINITIVE GUIDE (2002), the
contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference.
[0041] The various system components may be independently,
separately or collectively suitably coupled to the network via data
links which includes, for example, a connection to an Internet
Service Provider (ISP) over the local loop as is typically used in
connection with standard modem communication, cable modem, Dish
networks, ISDN, Digital Subscriber Line (DSL), or various wireless
communication methods, see, e.g., GILBERT HELD, UNDERSTANDING DATA
COMMUNICATIONS (1996), which is hereby incorporated by reference.
It is noted that the network may be implemented as other types of
networks, such as an interactive television (ITV) network.
Moreover, the system contemplates the use, sale or distribution of
any goods, services or information over any network having similar
functionality described herein.
[0042] "Cloud" or "Cloud computing" includes a model for enabling
convenient, on-demand network access to a shared pool of
configurable computing resources (e.g., networks, servers, storage,
applications, and services) that can be rapidly provisioned and
released with minimal management effort or service provider
interaction. Cloud computing may include location-independent
computing, whereby shared servers provide resources, software, and
data to computers and other devices on demand. For more information
regarding cloud computing, see the NIST's (National Institute of
Standards and Technology) definition of cloud computing at
http://csrc.nist.gov/groups/SNS/cloud-computing/cloud-def-v15.doc
(last visited Feb. 4, 2011), which is hereby incorporated by
reference in its entirety.
[0043] As used herein, "transmit" may include sending electronic
data from one system component to another over a network
connection. Additionally, as used herein, "data" may include
encompassing information such as commands, queries, files, data for
storage, and the like in digital or any other form.
[0044] The system contemplates uses in association with web
services, utility computing, pervasive and individualized
computing, security and identity solutions, autonomic computing,
cloud computing, commodity computing, mobility and wireless
solutions, open source, biometrics, grid computing and/or mesh
computing.
[0045] Any databases discussed herein may include relational,
hierarchical, graphical, or object-oriented structure and/or any
other database configurations. Common database products that may be
used to implement the databases include DB2 by IBM (Armonk, N.Y.),
various database products available from Oracle Corporation
(Redwood Shores, Calif.), Microsoft Access or Microsoft SQL Server
by Microsoft Corporation (Redmond, Wash.), MySQL by MySQL AB
(Uppsala, Sweden), or any other suitable database product.
Moreover, the databases may be organized in any suitable manner,
for example, as data tables or lookup tables. Each record may be a
single file, a series of files, a linked series of data fields or
any other data structure. Association of certain data may be
accomplished through any desired data association technique such as
those known or practiced in the art. For example, the association
may be accomplished either manually or automatically. Automatic
association techniques may include, for example, a database search,
a database merge, GREP, AGREP, SQL, using a key field in the tables
to speed searches, sequential searches through all the tables and
files, sorting records in the file according to a known order to
simplify lookup, and/or the like. The association step may be
accomplished by a database merge function, for example, using a
"key field" in pre-selected databases or data sectors. Various
database tuning steps are contemplated to optimize database
performance. For example, frequently used files such as indexes may
be placed on separate file systems to reduce In/Out ("I/O")
bottlenecks.
[0046] More particularly, a "key field" partitions the database
according to the high-level class of objects defined by the key
field. For example, certain types of data may be designated as a
key field in a plurality of related data tables and the data tables
may then be linked on the basis of the type of data in the key
field. The data corresponding to the key field in each of the
linked data tables is preferably the same or of the same type.
However, data tables having similar, though not identical, data in
the key fields may also be linked by using AGREP, for example. In
accordance with one embodiment, any suitable data storage technique
may be utilized to store data without a standard format. Data sets
may be stored using any suitable technique, including, for example,
storing individual files using an ISO/IEC 7816-4 file structure;
implementing a domain whereby a dedicated file is selected that
exposes one or more elementary files containing one or more data
sets; using data sets stored in individual files using a
hierarchical filing system; data sets stored as records in a single
file (including compression, SQL accessible, hashed via one or more
keys, numeric, alphabetical by first tuple, etc.); Binary Large
Object (BLOB); stored as ungrouped data elements encoded using
ISO/IEC 7816-6 data elements; stored as ungrouped data elements
encoded using ISO/IEC Abstract Syntax Notation (ASN.1) as in
ISO/IEC 8824 and 8825; and/or other proprietary techniques that may
include fractal compression methods, image compression methods,
etc.
[0047] In one exemplary embodiment, the ability to store a wide
variety of information in different formats is facilitated by
storing the information as a BLOB. Thus, any binary information can
be stored in a storage space associated with a data set. As
discussed above, the binary information may be stored on the
financial transaction instrument or external to but affiliated with
the financial transaction instrument. The BLOB method may store
data sets as ungrouped data elements formatted as a block of binary
via a fixed memory offset using either fixed storage allocation,
circular queue techniques, or best practices with respect to memory
management (e.g., paged memory, least recently used, etc.). By
using BLOB methods, the ability to store various data sets that
have different formats facilitates the storage of data associated
with the financial transaction instrument by multiple and unrelated
owners of the data sets. For example, a first data set which may be
stored may be provided by a first party, a second data set which
may be stored may be provided by an unrelated second party, and yet
a third data set which may be stored, may be provided by an third
party unrelated to the first and second party. Each of these three
exemplary data sets may contain different information that is
stored using different data storage formats and/or techniques.
Further, each data set may contain subsets of data that also may be
distinct from other subsets.
[0048] As stated above, in various embodiments, the data can be
stored without regard to a common format. However, in one exemplary
embodiment, the data set (e.g., BLOB) may be annotated in a
standard manner when provided for manipulating the data onto the
financial transaction instrument. The annotation may comprise a
short header, trailer, or other appropriate indicator related to
each data set that is configured to convey information useful in
managing the various data sets. For example, the annotation may be
called a "condition header", "header", "trailer", or "status",
herein, and may comprise an indication of the status of the data
set or may include an identifier correlated to a specific business
or owner of the data. In one example, the first three bytes of each
data set BLOB may be configured or configurable to indicate the
status of that particular data set; e.g., LOADED, INITIALIZED,
READY, BLOCKED, REMOVABLE, or DELETED. Subsequent bytes of data may
be used to indicate for example, the identity of the business,
user, transaction/membership account identifier or the like. Each
of these condition annotations are further discussed herein.
[0049] The data set annotation may also be used for other types of
status information as well as various other purposes. For example,
the data set annotation may include security information
establishing access levels. The access levels may, for example, be
configured to permit only certain individuals, levels of employees,
companies, or other entities to access data sets, or to permit
access to specific data sets based on the transaction, resource,
business, user or the like. Furthermore, the security information
may restrict/permit only certain actions such as accessing,
modifying, and/or deleting data sets. In one example, the data set
annotation indicates that only the data set owner or the user are
permitted to delete a data set, various identified users may be
permitted to access the data set for reading, and others are
altogether excluded from accessing the data set. However, other
access restriction parameters may also be used allowing various
entities to access a data set with various permission levels as
appropriate.
[0050] The data, including the header or trailer may be received by
a stand alone interaction device configured to add, delete, modify,
or augment the data in accordance with the header or trailer. As
such, in one embodiment, the header or trailer is not stored on the
transaction device along with the associated business-owned data
but instead the appropriate action may be taken by providing to the
transaction instrument user at the stand alone device, the
appropriate option for the action to be taken. The system may
contemplate a data storage arrangement wherein the header or
trailer, or header or trailer history, of the data is stored on the
transaction instrument in relation to the appropriate data.
[0051] One skilled in the art will also appreciate that, for
security reasons, any databases, systems, devices, servers or other
components of the system may consist of any combination thereof at
a single location or at multiple locations, wherein each database
or system includes any of various suitable security features, such
as firewalls, access codes, encryption, decryption, compression,
decompression, and/or the like.
[0052] Encryption may be performed by way of any of the techniques
now available in the art or which may become available--e.g.,
Twofish, RSA, El Gamal, Schorr signature, DSA, PGP, PKI, and
symmetric and asymmetric cryptosystems.
[0053] The computing unit of the web client may be further equipped
with an Internet browser connected to the Internet or an intranet
using standard dial-up, cable, DSL or any other Internet protocol
known in the art. Transactions originating at a web client may pass
through a firewall in order to prevent unauthorized access from
users of other networks. Further, additional firewalls may be
deployed between the varying components of CMS to further enhance
security.
[0054] Firewall includes any hardware and/or software suitably
configured to protect CMS components and/or enterprise computing
resources from users of other networks. Further, a firewall may be
configured to limit or restrict access to various systems and
components behind the firewall for web clients connecting through a
web server. Firewall may reside in varying configurations including
Stateful Inspection, Proxy based, access control lists, and Packet
Filtering among others. Firewall may be integrated within an web
server or any other CMS components or may further reside as a
separate entity. A firewall may implement network address
translation ("NAT") and/or network address port translation
("NAPT"). A firewall may accommodate various tunneling protocols to
facilitate secure communications, such as those used in virtual
private networking. A firewall may implement a demilitarized zone
("DMZ") to facilitate communications with a public network such as
the Internet. A firewall may be integrated as software within an
Internet server, any other application server components or may
reside within another computing device or may take the form of a
standalone hardware component.
[0055] The computers discussed herein may provide a suitable
website or other Internet-based graphical user interface which is
accessible by users. In one embodiment, the Microsoft Internet
Information Server (IIS), Microsoft Transaction Server (MTS), and
Microsoft SQL Server, are used in conjunction with the Microsoft
operating system, Microsoft NT web server software, a Microsoft SQL
Server database system, and a Microsoft Commerce Server.
Additionally, components such as Access or Microsoft SQL Server,
Oracle, Sybase, Informix MySQL, Interbase, etc., may be used to
provide an Active Data Object (ADO) compliant database management
system. In one embodiment, the Apache web server is used in
conjunction with a Linux operating system, a MySQL database, and
the Perl, PHP, and/or Python programming languages.
[0056] Any of the communications, inputs, storage, databases or
displays discussed herein may be facilitated through a website
having web pages. The term "web page" as it is used herein is not
meant to limit the type of documents and applications that might be
used to interact with the user. For example, a typical website
might include, in addition to standard HTML documents, various
forms, Java applets, JavaScript, active server pages (ASP), common
gateway interface scripts (CGI), extensible markup language (XML),
dynamic HTML, cascading style sheets (CSS), AJAX (Asynchronous
Javascript And XML), helper applications, plug-ins, and the like. A
server may include a web service that receives a request from a web
server, the request including a URL
(http://yahoo.com/stockquotes/ge) and an IP address
(123.56.789.234). The web server retrieves the appropriate web
pages and sends the data or applications for the web pages to the
IP address. Web services are applications that are capable of
interacting with other applications over a communications means,
such as the internet. Web services are typically based on standards
or protocols such as XML, SOAP, AJAX, WSDL and UDDI. Web services
methods are well known in the art, and are covered in many standard
texts. See, e.g., ALEX NGHIEM, IT WEB SERVICES: A ROADMAP FOR THE
ENTERPRISE (2003), hereby incorporated by reference.
[0057] RMS Middleware may include any hardware and/or software
suitably configured to facilitate communications and/or process
transactions between disparate computing systems. RMS Middleware
components are commercially available and known in the art.
Middleware may be implemented through commercially available
hardware and/or software, through custom hardware and/or software
components, or through a combination thereof. Middleware may reside
in a variety of configurations and may exist as a standalone system
or may be a software component residing on the Internet server.
Middleware may be configured to process transactions between the
various components of an application server and any number of
internal or external systems for any of the purposes disclosed
herein. WebSphere MQTM (formerly MQSeries) by IBM, Inc. (Armonk,
N.Y.) is an example of a commercially available middleware product.
An Enterprise Service Bus ("ESB") application is another example of
middleware.
[0058] Practitioners will also appreciate that there are a number
of methods for displaying data within a browser-based document.
Data may be represented as standard text or within a fixed list,
scrollable list, drop-down list, editable text field, fixed text
field, pop-up window, and the like. Likewise, there are a number of
methods available for modifying data in a web page such as, for
example, free text entry using a keyboard, selection of menu items,
check boxes, option boxes, and the like.
[0059] The system and method may be described herein in terms of
functional block components, screen shots, optional selections and
various processing steps. It should be appreciated that such
functional blocks may be realized by any number of hardware and/or
software components configured to perform the specified functions.
For example, the system may employ various integrated circuit
components, e.g., memory elements, processing elements, logic
elements, look-up tables, and the like, which may carry out a
variety of functions under the control of one or more
microprocessors or other control devices. Similarly, the software
elements of the system may be implemented with any programming or
scripting language such as C, C++, C#, Java, JavaScript, VBScript,
Macromedia Cold Fusion, COBOL, Microsoft Active Server Pages,
assembly, PERL, PHP, awk, Python, Visual Basic, SQL Stored
Procedures, PL/SQL, any UNIX shell script, and extensible markup
language (XML) with the various algorithms being implemented with
any combination of data structures, objects, processes, routines or
other programming elements. Further, it should be noted that the
system may employ any number of conventional techniques for data
transmission, signaling, data processing, network control, and the
like. Still further, the system could be used to detect or prevent
security issues with a client-side scripting language, such as
JavaScript, VBScript or the like. For a basic introduction of
cryptography and network security, see any of the following
references: (1) "Applied Cryptography: Protocols, Algorithms, And
Source Code In C," by Bruce Schneier, published by John Wiley &
Sons (second edition, 1995); (2) "Java Cryptography" by Jonathan
Knudson, published by O'Reilly & Associates (1998); (3)
"Cryptography & Network Security: Principles & Practice" by
William Stallings, published by Prentice Hall; all of which are
hereby incorporated by reference.
[0060] Each participant is equipped with a computing device in
order to interact with the system and facilitate online commerce
transactions. The customer has a computing unit in the form of a
personal computer, although other types of computing units may be
used including laptops, notebooks, hand held computers, set-top
boxes, cellular telephones, touch-tone telephones and the like. The
resource has a computing unit implemented in the form of a
computer-server, although other implementations are contemplated by
the system. The business has a computing center shown as a main
frame computer. However, the business computing center may be
implemented in other forms, such as a mini-computer, a PC server, a
network of computers located in the same of different geographic
locations, or the like. Moreover, the system contemplates the use,
sale or distribution of any goods, services or information over any
network having similar functionality described herein.
[0061] The electronic commerce system may be implemented at the
business and resource. In an exemplary implementation, the
electronic commerce system is implemented as computer software
modules loaded onto the business computer system and the resource
computing center.
[0062] As will be appreciated by one of ordinary skill in the art,
the system may be embodied as a customization of an existing
system, an add-on product, upgraded software, a stand alone system,
a distributed system, a method, a data processing system, a device
for data processing, and/or a computer program product.
Accordingly, the system may take the form of an entirely software
embodiment, an entirely hardware embodiment, or an embodiment
combining aspects of both software and hardware. Furthermore, the
system may take the form of a computer program product on a
computer-readable storage medium having computer-readable program
code means embodied in the storage medium. Any suitable
computer-readable storage medium may be utilized, including hard
disks, CD-ROM, optical storage devices, magnetic storage devices,
and/or the like.
[0063] The system and method is described herein with reference to
screen shots, block diagrams and flowchart illustrations of
methods, apparatus (e.g., systems), and computer program products
according to various embodiments. It will be understood that each
functional block of the block diagrams and the flowchart
illustrations, and combinations of functional blocks in the block
diagrams and flowchart illustrations, respectively, can be
implemented by computer program instructions.
[0064] These computer program instructions may be loaded onto a
general purpose computer, special purpose computer, or other
programmable data processing apparatus to produce a machine, such
that the instructions that execute on the computer or other
programmable data processing apparatus create means for
implementing the functions specified in the flowchart block or
blocks. These computer program instructions may also be stored in a
computer-readable memory that can direct a computer or other
programmable data processing apparatus to function in a particular
manner, such that the instructions stored in the computer-readable
memory produce an article of manufacture including instruction
means which implement the function specified in the flowchart block
or blocks. The computer program instructions may also be loaded
onto a computer or other programmable data processing apparatus to
cause a series of operational steps to be performed on the computer
or other programmable apparatus to produce a computer-implemented
process such that the instructions which execute on the computer or
other programmable apparatus provide steps for implementing the
functions specified in the flowchart block or blocks.
[0065] Accordingly, functional blocks of the block diagrams and
flowchart illustrations support combinations of means for
performing the specified functions, combinations of steps for
performing the specified functions, and program instruction means
for performing the specified functions. It will also be understood
that each functional block of the block diagrams and flowchart
illustrations, and combinations of functional blocks in the block
diagrams and flowchart illustrations, can be implemented by either
special purpose hardware-based computer systems which perform the
specified functions or steps, or suitable combinations of special
purpose hardware and computer instructions. Further, illustrations
of the process flows and the descriptions thereof may make
reference to user windows, webpages, websites, web forms, prompts,
etc. Practitioners will appreciate that the illustrated steps
described herein may comprise in any number of configurations
including the use of windows, webpages, web forms, popup windows,
prompts and the like. It should be further appreciated that the
multiple steps as illustrated and described may be combined into
single webpages and/or windows but have been expanded for the sake
of simplicity. In other cases, steps illustrated and described as
single process steps may be separated into multiple webpages and/or
windows but have been combined for simplicity.
[0066] Benefits, other advantages, and solutions to problems have
been described herein with regard to specific embodiments. However,
the benefits, advantages, solutions to problems, and any elements
that may cause any benefit, advantage, or solution to occur or
become more pronounced are not to be construed as critical,
required, or essential features or elements of the disclosure. The
scope of the disclosure is accordingly to be limited by nothing
other than the appended claims, in which reference to an element in
the singular is not intended to mean "one and only one" unless
explicitly so stated, but rather "one or more." Moreover, where a
phrase similar to `at least one of A, B, and C` or `at least one of
A, B, or C` is used in the claims or specification, it is intended
that the phrase be interpreted to mean that A alone may be present
in an embodiment, B alone may be present in an embodiment, C alone
may be present in an embodiment, or that any combination of the
elements A, B and C may be present in a single embodiment; for
example, A and B, A and C, B and C, or A and B and C. Although the
disclosure includes a method, it is contemplated that it may be
embodied as computer program instructions on a tangible
computer-readable carrier, such as a magnetic or optical memory or
a magnetic or optical disk. All structural, chemical, and
functional equivalents to the elements of the above-described
exemplary embodiments that are known to those of ordinary skill in
the art are expressly incorporated herein by reference and are
intended to be encompassed by the present claims. Moreover, it is
not necessary for a device or method to address each and every
problem sought to be solved by the present disclosure, for it to be
encompassed by the present claims. Furthermore, no element,
component, or method step in the present disclosure is intended to
be dedicated to the public regardless of whether the element,
component, or method step is explicitly recited in the claims. No
claim element herein is to be construed under the provisions of 35
U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, unless the element is expressly
recited using the phrase "means for." As used herein, the terms
"comprises", "comprising", or any other variation thereof, are
intended to cover a non-exclusive inclusion, such that a process,
method, article, or apparatus that comprises a list of elements
does not include only those elements but may include other elements
not expressly listed or inherent to such process, method, article,
or apparatus.
* * * * *
References