Abstract:
A system and method for creating a visual perspective of operational information that facilitates rapid decision making. The system and method merges existing data sources from any number of computer-fed external data sources through an applications server to display data sets in easily recognizable, repeatable images (tiles) uniquely designed for a user&#39;s application. The system and method creates visual perspectives of data that accelerate decision-making and problem-solving processes by displaying repeatable images (tiles) that display performance results versus expected performance criteria in high-volume, intuitive displays.

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
       [0001]    This application claims priority to U.S. provisional application No. 60/970,827, filed on Sep. 7, 2007, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety. 
     
    
     RESERVATION OF COPYRIGHT 
       [0002]    A portion of the disclosure of this patent document contains material which is subject to copyright protection. The copyright owner has no objection to the facsimile reproduction by any one of the patent document or patent disclosure, as it appears in the Patent and Trademark Office patent file or records, but otherwise reserves all copyrights whatsoever. 
       BACKGROUND 
       [0003]    Due to the Internet and wireless technology, data has never been more plentiful and available. Transactional applications such as ERP (enterprise resource planning), SCM (supply chain management), CRM (customer relationship management) and enterprise project management have matured and now gather large volumes of information about internal and external business processes. The gathering and use of unstructured data has also increased from the widespread use of web sites, email, knowledge management, XML (extensible markup language) and enterprise storage systems and will continue to do so as future applications are developed. 
         [0004]    Unfortunately, having access to data is not the same as effectively using it. Users with the opportunity to analyze more data are often overwhelmed and frustrated by the amount of effort required to make sense of it all. Most organizations today use tools that were developed when networks and processors were slow, disk space was expensive and databases were unable to handle complex queries. These applications failed to present information clearly to business users when there were multiple dimensions of data to integrate into a decision. 
         [0005]    Data in high-level summaries, such as simple dashboards, is presented in a rigid fashion and does not provide explanations of “why” results are as they appear. The drill-downs to detailed reports and associated search tools generate simple row and column views that have become long lists with text or numbers displayed out of context. More often than not, workers are unable to find answers to their questions through these systems alone. Because business people do not have a way to access and explore their data themselves, they usually end up either operating without the information or creating their own ad-hoc desktop solution. 
         [0006]    Traditionally, business intelligence tools have attempted to accomplish this through end-user dashboards that link static reports and expose development tools. But simple dashboard gauges fail to capture complex business problems. At the same time, the number of columns and rows in static reports has grown well beyond end users&#39; ability to quickly get meaning from the data. And, both dashboards and static reports fail to consider more than a few dimensions of data—thus failing to provide a true representation of today&#39;s more sophisticated business environments. Moreover, while graphical elements such as line and pie charts might be included in a static report, they display data in only one or two dimensions and cannot show relationships with data in other reports, which is undesirable. 
         [0007]    The complexity of businesses has out-paced today&#39;s decision-making tools. As a result, organizations are struggling to make use of the volumes of information available to them. Workers spend too much time creating reports manually, and the growing list of custom reporting requests is overwhelming information technology (IT) staff. Moreover, the traditional means of generating reports and dashboards need to be extended to help users answer the complex questions that affect corporate performance. New solutions are required to keep pace with growing business complexity. It is not easy to create a self-service interface in which business users can intuitively explore and understand high volumes of data. 
         [0008]    One attempt to overcome the above-noted problems is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,321,800. The &#39;800 patent discloses an information presentation method for a subject being monitored. In the only illustrated embodiment, display segments of fixed size, shape and location are used to map out a human body (the subject) being analyzed by a physician or lab technician. Each portion of the body being monitored is associated with a datapoint. Rectangular-shaped icons are placed in the pre-defined segments in the human body display to show the status of the datapoint. The icons can have one of a plurality of colors. In addition, effects, such as changing the intensity of an icon&#39;s color, flashing/modulating the icon, and/or placing a different color in the center portion of an icon can also be used to provide status information. 
         [0009]    The technique disclosed in the &#39;800 patent, however, remains unsatisfactory for real time repetitive data analysis, particularly when there are numerous datapoints or subjects to monitor. For example, the technique is tied to the use of rectangular icons for conveying status information of every datapoint being evaluated. Because each icon has the same shape, the icons must be placed in specific locations to represent the datapoint of interest; this forces the observer to remember numerous datapoint-to-location correlations for a single subject (e.g., as shown in FIG. 3 of the &#39;800 patent, the head portion alone contains 18 different datapoint locations). Moreover, if images for multiple subjects are displayed at the same time, it may be difficult to quickly determine the status of a particular datapoint or datapoints. 
         [0010]    Accordingly, there is a need and desire for a technique that creates a suitable visual perspective of high volume, repetitive data that allows an observer to quickly determine the status of a particular subject (i.e., person, thing, business) being monitored even when multiple subjects are being monitored at the same time. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0011]      FIG. 1  illustrates a block diagram of an example system according to an embodiment of the invention. 
           [0012]      FIG. 2  illustrates a block diagram of another example system constructed in accordance with an embodiment of the invention. 
           [0013]      FIG. 3  illustrates an example mosaic display output from a system constructed in accordance with an embodiment of the invention. 
           [0014]      FIGS. 4   a  and  4   b  illustrate the concept of layering utilized in a system constructed in accordance with an embodiment of the invention. 
           [0015]      FIG. 5  illustrates another example mosaic display output from a system constructed in accordance with an embodiment of the invention. 
           [0016]      FIG. 6  illustrates an example tile from the  FIG. 5  mosaic display. 
           [0017]      FIG. 7  illustrates a modified version of the  FIG. 6  title using layering in accordance with an embodiment of the invention. 
           [0018]      FIG. 8  illustrates a modified version of the  FIG. 7  title using layering in accordance with an embodiment of the invention. 
           [0019]      FIG. 9  illustrates a modified version of the  FIG. 8  title using layering in accordance with an embodiment of the invention. 
           [0020]      FIG. 10  illustrates a modified version of the  FIG. 9  title in accordance with an embodiment of the invention. 
           [0021]      FIGS. 11-19  illustrate respective examples of tiles that can be displayed in accordance with embodiments of the invention. 
           [0022]      FIG. 20  illustrates an example mosaic display whereby one tile is magnified (and other tiles are shifted and shrunk) in accordance with an embodiment of the invention. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0023]    Example embodiments and applications will now be described. Other embodiments may be realized and structural or logical changes may be made to the disclosed embodiments. Although the embodiments disclosed herein have been particularly described as applied to a business or office environment, it should be readily apparent that the embodiments may be embodied for any use or application having the same or similar problems. 
         [0024]    Embodiments disclosed herein relate to a system for creating, and outputting to a user device, a visual perspective of operational information that facilitates rapid decision making by a user/observer of the system. Embodiments disclosed herein create visual displays of high volume, repetitive data generated from multiple operational sources. Display tiles, formed using individual layers of images that represent individual attributes being monitored, make up an overall mosaic display that provides a picture of the status of an entire system. Each tile in the display provides information about one discrete component (e.g., employee, seaport, cargo container) within the system being monitored. Each tile contains a plurality of image layers. Each layer consists of an image associated with an attribute being monitored. Each layer is linked to a value, threshold, or range of values so that a current state of that attribute is displayed within the tile. The images from the active layers create the unified image of the tile. 
         [0025]    Unlike other systems, the image layers are designed to represent the attribute associated with that layer so that the attribute is easily recognizable from the image itself. The images of each layer are chosen to be easily recognizable as (or associated with) the attribute being monitored. In disclosed embodiments, there can be multiple layers that may have same image, but different color to represent a different status of the attribute. For example, dark blue may indicate a status that is severely below what is expected; light blue may indicate a status that is slightly below what is expected; green may indicate a status that the attribute (e.g., sales by a salesperson) is meeting expected performance; orange may indicate a status that is slightly above what is expected; and gold may indicate a status that greatly exceeds expectation. However, the ability to distinguish various states of an attribute is not limited to colors, but can also be extended by using different images. For example, an image of a man or a woman can indicate the gender of the salesperson. Another way to distinguish the state of an attribute is by having images of different sizes. For example, the size of the bars in a bar graph may vary to further indicate the status of the attribute being monitored. 
         [0026]    In operation, when input data dictates that an attribute has a changed status, a new layer containing the appropriate image is brought to the top of the other layers, which supplants the prior image of that attribute, but does not change the images of other elements/attributes being displayed using the other layers. The changing mosaic allows observers to quickly and accurately make the decisions required to maintain the appropriate operational level for the entire system and rapidly pinpoint areas that need to be addressed. 
         [0027]      FIG. 1  illustrates a block diagram of an example system  10  constructed in accordance with an embodiment of the invention. The system  10  comprises an application server  20 , database server  30  and data management server  40 . The application server  20  is connected to the database server  30  and the data management server  40  via data adapters  45 . 
         [0028]    The application server  20  accepts input through a data adapter  45  with links to the original data repository/data source and to the management server  40 . The management server  40  may comprise spreadsheets, database tables, data streams and/or reports. The application server  20  links the input to a set of image layers that are being used to represent attributes being monitored. The application server  20 : (1) monitors the ranges or discrete values of the data associated with the attributes that are associated with each image layer; (2) feeds the display with the properly compiled image layers to produce a unified display tile; and (3) provides sorting and filtering capabilities according to the values and the proper association to the tiles. 
         [0029]    The database server  30  serves as a data source that provides data to the application server  20  (through a data adapter  45 ). The data can be collected from any of numerous sources, and it should be appreciated that how the data is collected is not important as long as the relevant data is collected. For example, sales data from different regions can be obtained in different formats. For example, sales data from North America is available from a Microsoft SQL Server database, data from Europe is obtained from an Excel spreadsheet, and data from Far East Asia in kanji and katakana Japanese scripts is provided in a text file. A data adapter  45  can collect data from these different sources, run the translation if necessary and present the data to the application server  20 . The data management server  40  provides a vehicle to easily set up parameters for the ranges and thresholds used by the application server  20 . It should be appreciated that the servers  30 ,  40  may be connected to a variety of data sources, to produce similar results discussed herein, as long as the application server  20  is programmed to manage the resultant displays, perform the necessary value monitoring, and perform the resultant technical management of image layer/input data value correlation. It should also be appreciated that in some applications, a data management server  40  may not be required since the application server  20  may be programmed handle the functions of the data management server  40 . Moreover, it should also be appreciated that a single server computer can implement the functionality of the application server  20 , data management server  40  and database server  30 , if desired and system requirements allow. 
         [0030]    Although not shown in  FIG. 1 , a user interface/display mechanism (e.g., an Internet browser, PDA, web enabled device) in communication with the application server  20  is used to display the operational status of the monitored system using multiple tiles arranged according to user definable desired patterns. Example mosaic displays and tiles are discussed below with reference to  FIGS. 3 , and  5 - 20 . The concept of layering is also discussed below with reference to  FIGS. 4   a  and  4   b.    
         [0031]      FIG. 2  illustrates a block diagram of another example system  110  constructed in accordance with an embodiment of the invention. The system  110  comprises an application server  120 , database server  130 , and data management server  140 . The application server  120  is shown accessing security services  105  and external services  115 , the data management server  140  and the database server  130  (via data adapters  145 ). User interface devices such as an Internet browser  125 , Internet enabled telephone  135  and PDA (personal digital assistant)  145  can access a mosaic display  160  output from the system  100 . A management console  150  is shown having access to the data management server  140 . 
         [0032]    The application server  120  delivers a client application to the user/observer&#39;s devices  125 ,  135 ,  145  or computer (not shown) typically over the Internet and using the hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP) or by any known mechanism. The application server  120  handles the business logic required for the application by encapsulating a rules engine  122  and an image services function  124 . The application server  120  may optionally notify or invoke external services using a notification service function  126 . The application server  120  handles data accesses through the data adapters  145 . As is described in more detail below, the application server  120  is responsible for generating the mosaic display  160  such that users/observers can determine the status of the monitored system in a manner that is currently unavailable in prior art systems. 
         [0033]    In a preferred embodiment, the data adapters  145  are Microsoft® “.NET” assemblies (although not limited to the said platform or programming language) that provide for extracting, transforming, and loading (ETL) of business data as is known in the art. The extract stage, generally reads data from the database server  130 ; however, a data adapter  145  can extract data from different source systems that may use different data organization formats. Data adapters  145 , during the transform stage, may optionally apply a series of rules or functions prior to or after the data is extracted to derive data that meets the business and the technical needs of validating, cleansing, and/or manipulating of the data. The load phase loads the data into the application server  120 . 
         [0034]    The management console  150  provides access and persists various resources such as mosaic definitions  142 , image packages  144 , user defined filters  146 , and user preferences  148 , collectively referred to as “operation data” and stored in the data management server  140 . The mosaic display  160  is the data visualization component of the system  110 . After the relevant business data is processed by the rules engine  122 , the image services function  124  renders the data as display tiles (discussed below in more detail). The mosaic display application  160  displays the tiles, allowing the end user to sort through and filter the visual data (referred to herein as “visual data-mining”). It should be appreciated that a single server computer can implement the functionality of the application server  120 , data management server  140  and database server  130 , if desired and system requirements allow. 
         [0035]      FIG. 3  illustrates an example mosaic display  200  output from a system constructed in accordance with an embodiment of the invention (e.g., systems  10  or  110 ). The display  200  comprises a plurality of display tiles  202  shown in an array of rows and columns, each tile  202  comprising an object  204  or objects being monitored by the system. Optionally, text labels  206  can be included within, or adjacent to, a tile  202  to provide additional information about the tile  202  or its object  204 . In the illustrated embodiment, the label  206  associates display tile  202  and object  204  with “Terminal 1” while another label  206   a  associates tile  206   a  and object  204   a  with “Terminal 19”. Other tiles e.g., tile  202   b  and its associated object  204   b  are not associated with a label. 
         [0036]    As mentioned above, each display tile is made up of images from a plurality of image layers, each layer corresponding to an attribute being monitored. For example, in  FIG. 3 , each tile  206  represents a seaport. The image layers within a seaport tile  206  represent the status of specific attributes of the seaport. For example, each tile  206  has an object  204  comprising a layer  204 L 1  having an image of a first portion of the seaport object  204  that is associated with the communications status of the seaport; each tile  206  has a layer  204 L 2  having an image of a second portion of the seaport object  204  that is associated with the electrical status of the seaport; each tile  206  has a layer  204 L 3  having an image of a third portion of the seaport object  204  that is associated with the mechanical status of the seaport; and each tile  206  has a layer  204 L 4  having an image of a fourth portion of the seaport object  204  that is associated with the mooring status of the seaport. A background B, although not required, is used in the illustrated embodiment to fulfill the tile  202 . Combined, the layers  204 L 1 ,  204 L 1 ,  204 L 1 ,  204 L 1 , comprise the object  204  of an individual tile  202 . 
         [0037]    Each layer has an image associated with a specific attribute being monitored. According to a preferred embodiment, there are multiple layers having the same image, but each layer contains an image that is varied by color or other design to represent a potential status of that attribute. For example, a gray version of the image on a layer (e.g., object  204   a  having all gray layers illustrated) may represent no information, a red version (e.g., object  204  in tile  202  has a red layer  204 R 1  while the remaining layers are green) may represent a state requiring that law enforcement be notified, and a green version (e.g., object  204   b  of tile  206   b ) may represent a normal status. It should be appreciated that the color/status correlations described herein are examples and are not provided to limit the claimed invention. When the selected image layers for the seaport are combined, the unified image layers complete the object  204  inside the tile  202 . Repeatable tiles  202  in a display showing e.g., ports across the country, complete the mosaic display  200  giving an accurate representation of the entire system. The changing mosaic display  200  allows observers to quickly and accurately make the decisions required to maintain the appropriate operational level for the entire system and rapidly pinpoint areas that need to be addressed. 
         [0038]    It should be appreciated that the embodiments of the invention are not limited to the illustrated seaport example. The principles disclosed herein can be used for any type of business, medical, military, social, etc. activity that needs to examine repeatable datasets that have a frequency of change. A detailed example is described below with reference to  FIGS. 5-10 . 
         [0039]    The embodiments of the invention employ a data feed from existing data sources (from databases, sensors, etc) and provide a layered representation of the relevant data. Each layer is linked to a value, threshold, or range of values so that a current state of that attribute is displayed in a unified representation in a repeatable display tile. Tiles have additional capabilities of showing labels, values, photographs, clipart, symbols, words, and/or additional color variations, and tile perimeter handles that allow for a drill down to the values being displayed, or when multiple tiles are selected to show comparisons between the selected tiles. 
         [0040]    The  FIG. 3  example is suitable for a Homeland Security system that would display the operational status of many seaports around the country. Although not illustrated in  FIG. 3 , the status of each seaport may also comprise monitoring shipping delays, utility status, container content sensors, seaport alerts, and passengers on watch lists who have or are being checked in. Each of these attributes may have a variety of levels indicating normalcy, below expectations or even heightened alert. Thus, the embodiments disclosed herein should not be limited to the illustrated examples. The applications server  120  ( FIG. 2 ) connects to the data sources and inputs data for each of the attributes required to monitor the current state-of-health/operational status of the seaport and then feed the display  160  ( FIG. 2 ) showing that state-of-health/operational status. The unique nature of the display consists of a composite image representing the seaport. That composite image could look similar to a seaport terminal with different, distinct parts of the terminal image representing an item such as “container content sensor” (see e.g.,  FIG. 18  discussed below). One of the multiple layers representing the different potential states of “container content sensor” can be triggered to become visible through the centrally fed applications server  120 . These triggers could be discrete numbers or states or even a range of numbers. 
         [0041]    The resultant seaport pictogram shows a unified display depicting the state-of-health/operational status of that seaport. If there were hundreds of seaports, the repeatable image would show a display that indicates the state-of-health/operational status of all of them on a single screen (e.g.,  FIG. 3  illustrates  35  seaport tiles). Because the images on the layers that are different in individual tiles are distinguishable from other image layers of other tiles, they stand out even in a display containing hundreds of seaports. An agent who is monitoring the seaports can then click on the seaport tile of interest and rapidly determine the reasons for the different statuses. A screen showing multiple seaports could be sorted to show which seaports are showing “customs delays” or those with power outages or any other item of interest that is being monitored. The screen can also be filtered to show only those seaports that meet certain monitoring criteria. Moreover, in response to a user input (via e.g., mouse, keypad, stylus, trackball, track wheel, etc.), a tile  202  can be opened-up to reveal additional tiles (see e.g., tiles  744 ,  754  of  FIGS. 18 and 19 , respectively) associated with the main tiles  302 . Additionally, in response to a user input (via e.g., mouse, keypad, stylus, trackball, track wheel, etc.), a tile  202  can be opened-up to reveal the underlying data causing the displayed status of the tiles. 
         [0042]      FIGS. 4   a  and  4   b  illustrate the concept of layering while  FIGS. 5-10  illustrate a specific example of an embodiment of the invention. In  FIG. 4   a , a display tile  202   x  is shown having the text “type”  214  inside a circle  212  and on top of a background  210 . Viewing  FIG. 4   a , it appears that there is only one unified image. In accordance with an embodiment described herein, and as illustrated in  FIG. 4   b , there are actually three separate image layers: (1) a first layer L1 containing the circle; (2) a second layer L2 containing the text “type”; and (3) a background B. The layers L1, L2 contain one image each, the remaining portions of the layer are transparent such that when one layer L2 is stacked over another layer L1 (and over the background B) each layer image is displayed in what appears to be a single image. This allows one image to be changed without disturbing the other images on other layers. 
         [0043]      FIG. 5  illustrates another example mosaic display  300  output from a system constructed in accordance with an embodiment of the invention (e.g., systems  10  or  110 ). The display  300  comprises a plurality of display tiles  302  shown in an array of rows and columns, each tile  302  comprising an image of an object  304  being monitored by the system. In the illustrated example, the object  304  corresponds to the status of employee performance such as e.g., the performance of a salesman or saleswoman (although only men images are illustrated). Each display tile  302  in the mosaic display  300  represents a particular salesman and the image object  304  illustrates key criteria/attributes associated with the salesman&#39;s performance that are to be monitored. In the illustrated example, the object  304  contains images of the salesman  310  upon which a suit image  312  will be used to represent the overall employee performance/score. The object  304  will also include a credit card image  314  representing the salesman&#39;s expenses and a bar graph whereby the four left-most bars  316  represent the salesman&#39;s performance over the past four rolling quarters and the right-most bar  318  represents the salesman&#39;s sales pipeline. An out-of-office status image can also be displayed if the salesman is out of the office that day. In the illustrated example, there is a palm tree image  322  for vacation, an airplane image  320  for travel, and a hospital cross image  324  for sick leave. If the employee is in the office, no out-of-office image is displayed. The illustrated example also contains white background B1 and bar graph background B2 images to help make the object  304  easier to view. 
         [0044]    Each image  310 ,  312 ,  314 ,  316 ,  318 ,  320 ,  322 ,  324  within a tile  302  can be selected from one of a plurality of image layers. Most layers comprise the image associated with an attribute being monitored (e.g., credit card) in a color or with another type of marking that makes it clear what the status of the attribute is at that moment. For these layers, each layer is linked to a value, threshold, or range of values that represents a particular status of that attribute. Some layers contain a different image to represent a different status for an attribute. For example, the out-of-office status will have a clear image when the employee is in the office, a palm tree image  322  when the employee is on vacation, an airplane image  320  when the employee is on travel, and a hospital cross image  324  when the employee is out sick. The application server  120  ( FIG. 2 ) determines from the monitored data which layer is to be displayed for a particular attribute so that a current state of that attribute is displayed within the tile  302 . Other layers are merely background images B1, B2 or images to complete the overall object  304  (e.g., image  310 ). 
         [0045]    The images of each layer are chosen to be easily recognizable as (or associated with) the attribute being monitored. For example, in the salesman example, there are layers comprising images that represent the salesman&#39;s expenses (credit card), performance over the past 4 rolling quarters (left-most 4 bars in the bar graph), sales pipeline (right-most bar in the bar graph), overall employee score (color of suit), and out of office status (e.g., a palm tree for vacation, an airplane for travel, cross for sick leave, etc.). The colors of the layers can be selected to represent the status of an attribute as follows: dark blue may indicate a status that is severely below what is expected; light blue may indicate a status that is slightly below what is expected; green may indicate a status that the salesman is meeting the expected performance; orange may indicate a status that is slightly above what is expected; and gold may indicate a status that greatly exceeds what is expected. Moreover, referring in this example to the bar graph, the images on the layers can have different sizes. For example, the size of the bars in the bar graph may vary from no bar to a very large bar to further indicate the status of the salesman&#39;s performance during the quarters (or the size of the associated pipeline). 
         [0046]    To achieve the bottom right employee tile  302   a , there is one layer containing a gold suit image  312   a , one layer containing a green credit card image  314   a , four layers containing one of the four left-most bars  316   a  in the bar graph (the first layer contains a long yellow bar, the second layer contains a short green bar, the third layer contains a longer orange bar, and the fourth one containing another long yellow bar), one layer containing a mid-size green right-most bar image  318   a , and one layer containing the airplane image  320  for the business travel out-of-office status. By comparison, tile  302   b  contains a blue suite image  3126  and shorter blue left-most bar images  316   b  in its bar graph, which represent different statuses for the salesman associated with tile  302   b  when compared to the salesman associated with tile  302   a . Tile  302   c , which represents another salesman, illustrates four of the largest available left-most bars  316 , each in a gold color, which in the illustrated example is an indication of the highest achievable status for the attribute. Tile  302   c  also indicates that the employee is out sick (via image  324 ). 
         [0047]    In operation, when input data dictates that an attribute has a changed status, a new layer containing the appropriate image is brought to the top of the layers, which supplants the prior image of that element, but does not change the images of other elements/attributes being displayed thru other layers. The changing mosaic allows managers to quickly and accurately make the decisions required to maintain the appropriate operational level for the entire system (in this case a group of employees) and rapidly pinpoint areas that need to be addressed. 
         [0048]    The illustrations of  FIGS. 6-10  are used to describe an example operation of the system of an embodiment of the invention whereby a particular salesman&#39;s status changes from the status displayed in  FIG. 6  to the status displayed in  FIG. 10 .  FIG. 6  illustrates a tile  402  comprising a salesman  410  having a green suit  412 . A clear background B1 is also displayed. A light blue credit card image  414  indicates that the salesman&#39;s expenses are slightly below what is expected. Over the bar chart background B2, there are layers containing a small blue left-most bar  416   a , a slightly longer green bar  416   b , slightly longer orange bar  416   c , and long gold bar  416   d  to represent the status of the salesman&#39;s last four rolling quarters (collectively  416 ). That is, four different bar heights and four different colors are used in the last four rolling quarters bar chart (collectively  416 ). Each bar color and length combination is its own layer representative of a particular status. A long, but not the longest, orange bar  418  is used to represent the salesman&#39;s pipeline, which e.g., is slightly above expectations. In addition, the employee is currently working in the office since there is no out-of-office image (i.e., a layer with a blank image in the out-of-office status position is used). 
         [0049]    During the monitoring period, data is received indicating that the salesman&#39;s pipeline (represented by image  418 ) has improved to the greatly exceeds expectations status. As such, the application server  20  ( FIG. 1 ),  120  ( FIG. 2 ) determines that a new layer containing the tallest gold pipeline bar graph image  418 ′ ( FIG. 7 ) must be displayed. The layer associated with this image  418 ′ is selected from the available layers (illustrated next to the updated tile  402 ′ for explanation purposes only) and is brought to the top of the tile, changing the  FIG. 6  tile  402  to the  FIG. 7  tile  402 ′. 
         [0050]    Subsequently, data is received indicating that the salesman&#39;s expenses have also improved to the status of greatly exceeds expectations. As such, the application server  20  ( FIG. 1 ),  120  ( FIG. 2 ) determines that a new layer containing a gold credit card image  414 ′ ( FIG. 8 ) must be displayed. The layer associated with this image  418 ′ is selected from the available layers (illustrated next to the updated tile  402 ″ for explanation purposes only) and is brought to the top of the tile, changing the  FIG. 7  tile  402 ′ to the  FIG. 8  tile  402 ″. 
         [0051]    Subsequently, data is received indicating that the salesman&#39;s overall score has improved to the status of greatly exceeds expectations. As such, the application server  20  ( FIG. 1 ),  120  ( FIG. 2 ) determines that a new layer containing a gold suit image  412 G ( FIG. 9 ) must be displayed over the salesman image  410  (which when uncovered by a suit layer, comprises only a head, shirt and tie of the salesman). The layer L 412 G ( FIG. 9 ) associated with the gold suit image  412 G is selected from the available layers.  FIG. 9  is at an intermediate stage where the selected layer L 412 G has not yet been brought to the top of the tile  402 ′″.  FIG. 9  also shows a layer L 320  comprising the airplane image  320  used to represent an out-of-office status; in this example, however layer L 320  is not selected because the salesman is still in the office. 
         [0052]    In  FIG. 10 , it can be seen that the layer L 412 G associated with the gold suit image  412 G was brought to the top of the  FIG. 9  tile  402 ′″ creating an updated tile  502 . At some point, data was received indicating that the salesman is on vacation and the application server  20  ( FIG. 1 ),  120  ( FIG. 2 ) determined that a new layer containing a palm tree image  322  must be displayed. As such, the  FIG. 10  tile  502  also contains the palm tree image  322  to reflect that the salesman is on vacation. Thus, the completed tile  502  comprises a background B and a salesman image  510  covered by a layer comprising a gold suit image  512 . The bar chart background B2 comprises the same left-most bar chart image  416  (as that status was not changed in this example) and an updated right-most bar  518  (to reflect the change in pipeline status described above). The tile  502  contains the updated credit card image  514  and the updated out-of-office palm tree image  322 . 
         [0053]    As can be seen from the above example, an observer can quickly determine changes in attribute status because of the layering technology used by the systems  10 ,  110 . That is, layers containing images that are easily identifiable with the attribute being monitored are used. The size and color of the images may vary to further reflect changes in status of the attributes. Moreover, because identifiable images are being used to represent the status of the appropriate attribute, users/observers are not required to memorize a plurality of location-to-attribute correlations as is required to use the prior art systems. It should be appreciated that text and/or symbols may also be used as forms of labeling for the tiles or they may be used to represent additional status indicators; as with all layers, the images chosen, the color, size, text and/or symbology used to represent the status of an attribute should be chosen by a system administrator/observer or other authorized personnel to visually represent the attribute in a manner that can be easily identifiable. Accordingly, the embodiments described herein are not limited to any particular image/color/symbol/size combination. 
         [0054]      FIGS. 11-19  illustrate respective examples of display tiles that can be displayed in accordance with embodiments of the invention. The examples are not intended to be limiting, and are supplied only to further illustrate the scalability and visual perspectives that may be achieved with the systems  10  ( FIG. 1 ),  110  ( FIG. 2 ) described herein.  FIG. 11  illustrates tiles  602 ,  602   a ,  602   b  and  602   c  associated with network or communications devices being monitored. Tile  602  illustrates a gray device e.g., having no information at that point in time. Alternatively, the color gray could represent a particular status level, if desired. The tile  602  can be used to convey status information about the device battery, boots, key strokes, network connectivity, and/or number of scans. Tile  602   a  represents a green device representing one status of the attributes for the monitored device. Tile  602   b , on the other hand, has a first portion  620  having a yellow status for the circled attributes of the device, and a second portion  622  having a blue status for the battery of the device. Each portion  620 ,  622  is a different layer placed on top of the prior layers of tiles  602  and  602   a  to reflect the change in status of the particular attributes of the device. Tile  602   c  has a portion  624  having a purple status for the circled keypad attribute and another second portion  626  having a yellow status for circled attribute of the device. Each portion  624 ,  626  is a different layer that is placed on top of the prior layers of tiles  602 ,  602   a  and  602   b  to reflect the change in status of the particular attributes of the device. 
         [0055]      FIG. 12  illustrates tiles  652 ,  652   a ,  652   b  associated with a school being monitored by the systems  10  ( FIG. 1 ),  110  ( FIG. 2 ) described herein. Attributes whose statuses that can be monitored and displayed can include e.g., attendance, grades, test scores, budget, class size, poverty level and dual enrollment, to name a few. Tile  652  shows a gray school image, but includes several symbols on the school to reflect a different type of status. For example, image  654  includes the symbol “A” to reflect a grade for the school. Other symbols (e.g., $, apple, etc.) can also be used to reflect other attributes. The symbols may be a form of labeling for the tile  652  or they may be additional status indicators, as chosen by the system administrator/observer or other authorized personnel. Tile  652   a  represents a green school representing one status of the attributes for the monitored school. Tile  6526 , includes several different colored portions, represented by the circle  658 , each portion reflecting a separate status. As with all tiles described herein, each image/color/symbol combination illustrated in  FIG. 12  is a respective image layer, which is associated with a threshold, range of values, etc. to visually represent a status of the attribute. 
         [0056]      FIG. 13  illustrates tiles  672 ,  672   a ,  672   b ,  682 ,  682   a  associated with students being monitored by the systems  10  ( FIG. 1 ),  110  ( FIG. 2 ) described herein. Tiles  672 ,  672   a ,  6726  represent a male student while tiles  682 ,  682   a  represent a female student. Attributes whose statuses that can be monitored and displayed can include e.g., communications, life skills, social skills, writing, math, reading and discipline. Tiles  672  and  682  are gray indicating e.g., that no status information is presently available. Alternatively, the color gray could represent a particular status level, if desired. Tiles  672   a ,  682   a  are green representing a status of each attribute being associated with a green image. Tile  6726  has several different images (associated with different layers) in comparison to tile  672   a  such as the orange book image  674 . 
         [0057]      FIG. 14  illustrates two tiles  692 ,  696  that may be suitable for monitoring military personnel. Tile  692  comprises an image of a blue soldier (one layer) having an image of a gun  694  (second layer) superimposed on the soldier. Tile  696  includes an image of multiple soldiers that may be used to represent a division, battalion, etc. being monitored. 
         [0058]      FIG. 15  illustrates tiles  702 ,  702   a ,  702   b  associated with delivery vehicles being monitored by the systems  10  ( FIG. 1 ),  110  ( FIG. 2 ) described herein. Attributes whose statuses that can be monitored and displayed can include e.g., time between stops, time at a stop, average time per call, number of deliveries, orders placed, vehicle utilization and miles per day. Tile  702  is gray indicating e.g., that no status information is presently available. Alternatively, the color gray could represent a particular status level, if desired. Tile  702   a  is green representing a status that each attribute is associated with a green image. Tile  702   b  has several colored portions (each associated with a different layer) in comparison to tile  702   a  such that several attributes have different status when compared to tile  702   a.    
         [0059]      FIG. 16  illustrates tiles  712 ,  712   a ,  712   b ,  712   c ,  712   d  associated with patients being monitored by the systems  10  ( FIG. 1 ),  110  ( FIG. 2 ) described herein. Attributes whose statuses that can be monitored and displayed can include e.g., the patient&#39;s temperature, respiratory system, pulse and activity. Tile  712  contains an image of a green patient with a blue heart image  714 , representing different statuses for the attributes of the patient. Tile  712   a  illustrates a green heart, which represents a change from tile  712  (while also providing its own status). Tile  712   b  illustrates the patient in all orange, tile  712   d  illustrates the patient in all blue while tile  712   c  contains different color images for the legs, chest and heart and head. As with all other tiles discussed herein, each attribute status is displayed using an appropriate layer, which appear as a single unified image. 
         [0060]      FIG. 17  illustrates tiles  722 ,  722   a ,  7226 ,  722   c  associated with a communications device being monitored by the systems  10  ( FIG. 1 ),  110  ( FIG. 2 ) described herein. Attributes whose statuses can be monitored and displayed using appropriate layers can include e.g., communications and electrical functionality of the device. Tile  722  illustrates all attributes having a green status. Tile  722   a  illustrates that a layer having a yellow image  724  has been placed over a green portion in tile  722 . Tile  722   b  illustrates that a layer having a yellow image  726  has been placed over a green portion in tile  722   a  and that a layer having a green image has been placed over the layer comprising the yellow image  724  in tile  722   a . Tile  722   c  illustrates that a layer comprising a red image  728  has been placed over the layer comprising the yellow image  726  of tile  712   b.    
         [0061]      FIG. 18  illustrates tiles  742 ,  742   a ,  742   b  associated with a cargo container being monitored by the systems  10  ( FIG. 1 ),  110  ( FIG. 2 ) described herein. Attributes whose statuses can be monitored and displayed using appropriate layers can include the contents of the container such as e.g., urine, chemicals, explosives, flammable material and radioactive material. Tile  742  illustrates all attributes having a gray status (which may mean that no information has been received or it may mean that a particular status level has been reached), but also includes symbols such as e.g., the radioactive symbol image  744 . The symbols may be a form of labeling for the tile  742  or they may be additional status indicators, as chosen by the system administrator/observer or other authorized personnel. It should be appreciated that the symbols are provided on layers that can be superimposed on other layers containing the color/shape of the appropriate portions of the container or that the symbol and the color/shape of the appropriate portion of the container may be on the same layer, if desired. Tile  742   a  illustrates that all attributes have a green status; moreover, tile  742   a  does not contain any symbols. Tile  742   b  illustrates that one portion of the container has changed status when compared to tile  742   a . That is, tile  742   b  contains an image  746  that is a red portion of the container along with a star symbol representing that the container now contains explosive materials. 
         [0062]      FIG. 19  illustrates tiles  752 ,  752   a ,  752   b  associated with a vessel being monitored by the systems  10  ( FIG. 1 ),  110  ( FIG. 2 ) described herein. Attributes whose statuses that can be monitored and displayed using appropriate layers can include the fuel, electrical and mechanical status of the vessel. Tile  552  is gray indicating e.g., that no status information is presently available. Alternatively, the color gray could represent a particular status level, if desired. Tile  752   a  illustrates that some attributes have a green status as shown e.g., by green image  754 . Tile  752   b  illustrates that one portion of the vessel now contains a wrench symbol image  756  to represent a mechanical status of the vessel. The symbol may be a form of labeling for the tile  752   b  or it may be another status indicator, as chosen by the system administrator/observer or other authorized personnel. 
         [0063]      FIG. 20  illustrates an example mosaic display  800  whereby one tile  802   b  is magnified (and other tiles  802   a  are shifted and shrunk) in accordance with an embodiment of the invention. The mosaic display  800  comprises a plurality of tiles  802  and normally has the appearance of the mosaic  300  illustrated in  FIG. 5 . However, the systems  10  ( FIG. 1 ),  110  ( FIG. 2 ) described herein allow a user to move a cursor  811  (via e.g., mouse, keypad, stylus, trackball, track wheel, etc.) over a tile of interest (e.g., tile  802   b ) so that the user can see an enlarged tile. In response to the cursor movement and/or selection by the user, the application server  20  ( FIG. 1 ),  120  ( FIG. 2 ) enlarges/magnifies (i.e., proportionally increases the size of) tile  802   b . At the same time, the application server  20  ( FIG. 1 ),  120  ( FIG. 2 ) shrinks (i.e., proportionally decreases the size of) other tiles  802   a  in the same row R as tile  802   b  so that all of the tiles in the mosaic  800  can still be viewed. 
         [0064]    The processing described herein may be implemented in one or more hardware, software, or hybrid components residing in (or distributed among) one or more local or remote systems. Indeed, even a single general purpose computer executing a computer program stored on a recording medium to produce the functionality and/or implement any of the storage devices referred to herein may be utilized to implement the illustrated embodiments. User interface devices utilized by in or in conjunction with the systems  10 ,  110  may be any device used to input and/or output information. The interface devices may be implemented as a graphical user interface (GUI) containing a display or the like, or may be a link to other user input/output devices known in the art. 
         [0065]    The above description and drawings illustrate various embodiments It should be appreciated that modifications, though presently unforeseeable, of these embodiments that can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention which is defined by the following claims.