Patent Publication Number: US-2012047079-A1

Title: Providing foundation application as enterprise services

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
     This application is a continuation application of and claims priority to U.S. application Ser. No. 12/233,530, filed on Sep. 18, 2008, the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND 
     This specification relates to data processing systems implemented on computers, and, more particularly, to data processing systems providing services in the nature of web services. Enterprise software systems are generally large and complex. Such systems can require many different components, distributed across many different hardware platforms, possibly in several different geographical locations. Thus, the architecture of a large software application, i.e., what its components are and how they fit together, is an important aspect of its design for a successful implementation. 
     Web services are one technology for making the functionality of software applications available to other software, including other applications. A web service is a standards-based way of encapsulating the functionality of an application that other applications can locate and access. A service-oriented architecture is a distributed software model within which functionality is defined as independent web services. Within a service-oriented architecture, web services can be used in defined sequences according to business logic to form applications that enable business processes. 
     SUMMARY 
     This specification describes the foundation layer for a services architecture design for implementing services-based applications having various functionality at the level of an enterprise application. 
     In its various aspects, the invention can be embodied in systems, methods, and computer program products. For example, a system in one embodiment implements a services architecture design that provides foundation layer functionality for enterprise applications. The design includes service operations, data objects, and process components. Business objects can also be included. Particular embodiments can be replicated and synchronized on multiple computer hardware platforms that are distinct and separate from each other to support a software application deployed in distinct aspects on the separate hardware platforms. 
     The subject matter described in this specification can be implemented to realize one or more of the following advantages. Effective use is made of process components as units of software reuse, to provide a design that can be implemented reliably in a cost effective way. Effective use is made of deployment units, each of which is deployable on a separate computer hardware platform independent of every other deployment unit, to provide a scalable design. Service interfaces of the process components define a pair-wise interaction between pairs of process components that are in different deployment units in a scalable way. 
     Details of one or more implementations of the subject matter described in this specification are set forth in the accompanying drawings and in the description below. Further features, aspects, and advantages of the subject matter will become apparent from the description, the drawings, and the claims. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIGS. 1A ,  1 B,  1 C,  1 D,  1 E,  1 F,  1 G,  1 H,  1 I,  1 J,  1 K,  1 L,  1 M,  1 N,  10 ,  1 P, and  1 Q collectively illustrate a foundation layer in accordance with one implementation of the invention. 
         FIG. 2  illustrates a deployment of the foundation layer of  FIGS. 1A ,  1 B,  1 C,  1 D,  1 E,  1 F,  1 G,  1 H,  1 I,  1 J,  1 K,  1 L,  1 M,  1 N,  1 O,  1 P, and  1 Q in accordance with one implementation of the invention. 
         FIG. 3  is a block diagram showing a software problem reporting process component. 
         FIGS. 4A-4C  are block diagrams showing an organizational management process component. 
         FIG. 5  is a block diagram showing an interaction in a date and time process component. 
         FIG. 6  is a block diagram showing an input and output management process component. 
         FIG. 7  is a block diagram showing an interaction with a payment authorization process component. 
         FIGS. 8A-B  are block diagrams showing a product property management process component. 
         FIG. 9  is a block diagram showing an identity management process component. 
         FIGS. 10A-B  are block diagrams showing a product data maintenance process component. 
         FIGS. 11A-B  are block diagrams showing a business partner data management process component. 
         FIG. 12  is a block diagram showing an inspection master data management process component. 
         FIG. 13  is a block diagram showing a payment master data management process component. 
         FIG. 14  is a block diagram showing an interaction with an accounting coding block distribution processing process component. 
         FIG. 15  is a block diagram showing a document management process component. 
         FIG. 16  is a block diagram showing a quantity conversion process component. 
         FIG. 17  is a block diagram showing a data flow verification process component. 
         FIG. 18  is a block diagram showing a business document flow processing process component. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       FIGS. 1A ,  1 B,  1 C,  1 D,  1 E,  1 F,  1 G,  1 H,  1 I,  1 J,  1 K,  1 L,  1 M,  1 N,  1 O,  1 P, and  1 Q collectively illustrate a foundation layer  100  in accordance with one implementation of the invention. The foundation layer can be used to support application software deployed in an application layer. In particular, the foundation layer can be used in connection with application software implemented in accordance with a software architecture that provides a suite of enterprise service operations having various application functionality. 
     The elements of the architecture include the business object, the process component, the service operation (or simply, the operation), the service interface, the message, and the deployment unit. The elements can also include process agents and reuse service components. These will be generally described below. 
     In some implementations, the application software is implemented to be deployed on an application platform that includes a foundation layer that contains all fundamental entities that can be used from multiple deployment units. These entities can be process components, business objects and reuse service components. A reuse service component is a piece of software that is reused in different transactions. A reuse service component is used by its defined interfaces, which can be, e.g., local APIs (Application Programming Interfaces) or service interfaces. 
     The elements of the architecture can be implemented to realize a software application that implements enterprise application service interfaces. The elements of the architecture are at times described in this specification as being contained or included in other elements; for example, a process component is described as being contained in a deployment unit. It should be understood, however, that such operational inclusion can be realized in a variety of ways and is not limited to a physical inclusion of the entirety of one element in another. 
     The architectural elements include the business object. A business object is a representation of a type of a uniquely identifiable business entity (an object instance) described by a structural model. Processes operate on business objects. 
     A business object represents a specific view on some well-defined business content. A business object represents content, and instances of business objects include content, which a typical business user would expect and understand with little explanation. Whether an object as a type or an instance of an object is intended by the term “object” is generally clear from the context, so the distinction will be made explicitly only when necessary. Also, for convenience and brevity, an object instance may be described in this specification as being or including a real world event, activity, item, or the like; however, such description should be understood as stating that the object instance represents (i.e., contains data representing) the respective event, activity, item, or the like. Properly implemented, business objects are implemented free of redundancies. 
     Business objects are further categorized as business process objects, master data objects, mass data run objects, dependent objects, and transformed objects. A master data object is an object that encapsulates master data (i.e., data that is valid for a period of time). A business process object, which is the kind of business object generally found in a process component, is an object that encapsulates transactional data (i.e., data that is valid for a point in time). A mass data run object is an application object that executes an algorithm for a particular mass data run, and generally has a name that includes “run.” An instance of a mass data run object embodies or contains a particular set of selections and parameters. A mass data run object implements an algorithm that modifies, manages, and/or processes a large amount of data in multiple transactions, possibly but not necessarily with parallel processing. A dependent object is a business object used as a reuse part in another business object. A dependent object represents a concept that cannot stand by itself from a business point of view. Instances of dependent objects only occur in the context of a non-dependent business object. A transformed object is a transformation of multiple business objects for a well-defined purpose. It transforms the structure of multiple business objects into a common structure. A transformed object does not have own persistency. 
     The architectural elements also include the process component. A process component is a software package that realizes a business process and generally exposes its functionality as services. The functionality includes the ability to perform all or parts of particular kinds of business transactions. A process component contains one or more semantically related business objects. Any business object belongs to no more than one process component. 
     Process components are modular and context-independent. That they are context-independent means that a process component is not specific to any specific application and is reusable. The process component is the smallest (most granular) element of reuse in the architecture. 
     The architectural elements also include the operation. An operation belongs to exactly one process component. A process component generally has multiple operations. Operations can be synchronous or asynchronous, corresponding to synchronous or asynchronous process agents, which will be described below. An operation is the smallest, separately-callable function, described by a set of data types used as input, output, and fault parameters, or some combination of them, serving as a signature. For convenience in supporting use of the operations supported by a system implementing elements of the design, such a system can optionally include a repository of service descriptions that includes a standards-based description of each of the supported service operations. 
     The architectural elements also optionally include the service interface, which may be referred to simply as an interface. An interface is a named group of operations. Each operation belongs to exactly one interface. An interface belongs to exactly one process component. A process component might implement multiple interfaces. In some implementations, an interface will have only inbound or outbound operations, but not a mixture of both. One interface can include both synchronous and asynchronous operations. All operations of the same type (either inbound or outbound) which belong to the same message choreography will preferably belong to the same interface. Thus, generally, all outbound operations to the same other process component are in one interface. 
     The architectural elements also include the message. Operations transmit and receive messages. Any convenient messaging infrastructure can be used. A message is information conveyed from one process component instance to another, with the expectation that activity will ensue. An operation can use multiple message types for inbound, outbound, or error messages. When two process components are in different deployment units, invocation of an operation of one process component by the other process component is accomplished by an operation on the other process component sending a message to the first process component. 
     The architectural elements also include the process agent. Process agents do business processing that involves the sending or receiving of messages. Each operation will generally have at least one associated process agent. A process agent can be associated with one or more operations. Process agents can be either inbound or outbound, and either synchronous or asynchronous. 
     Asynchronous outbound process agents are called after a business object changes, e.g., after a create, update, or delete of a business object instance. 
     Synchronous outbound process agents are generally triggered directly by a business object. 
     An outbound process agent will generally perform some processing of the data of the business object instance whose change triggered the agent or caused the agent to be called. An outbound agent triggers subsequent business process steps by sending messages using well-defined outbound services to another process component, which generally will be in another deployment unit, or to an external system. An outbound process agent is linked to the one business object that triggers the agent, but it is sent not to another business object but rather to another process component. Thus, the outbound process agent can be implemented without knowledge of the exact business object design of the recipient process component. 
     Inbound process agents are called after a message has been received. Inbound process agents are used for the inbound part of a message-based communication. An inbound process agent starts the execution of the business process step requested in a message by creating or updating one or multiple business object instances. An inbound process agent is not the agent of a business object but of its process component. An inbound process agent can act on multiple business objects in a process component. 
     Synchronous agents are used when a process component requires a more or less immediate response from another process component, and is waiting for that response to continue its work. 
     Operations and process components are described in this specification in terms of process agents. However, in alternative implementations, process components and operations can be implemented without use of agents using other conventional techniques to perform the functions described in this specification. 
     The architectural elements also include the deployment unit. A deployment unit includes one or more process components and, optionally, one or more business objects, that are deployed together on a single computer system platform. Conversely, separate deployment units can be deployed on separate physical computing systems. For this reason, a deployment unit boundary defines the limits of an application-defined transaction, i.e., a set of actions that have the ACID properties of atomicity, consistency, isolation, and durability. To make use of database manager facilities, the architecture requires that all operations of such a transaction be performed on one physical database; as a consequence, the processes of such a transaction must be performed by the process components of one instance of one deployment unit. 
     The process components of one deployment unit interact with those of another deployment unit using messages passed through one or more data communication networks or other suitable communication channels. Thus, a deployment unit deployed on a platform belonging to one business can interact with a deployment unit software entity deployed on a separate platform belonging to a different and unrelated business, allowing for business-to-business communication. More than one instance of a given deployment unit can execute at the same time, on the same computing system or on separate physical computing systems. This arrangement allows the functionality offered by a deployment unit to be scaled to meet demand by creating as many instances as needed. 
     Since interaction between deployment units is through service operations, a deployment unit can be replaced by other another deployment unit as long as the new deployment unit supports the operations depended upon by other deployment units. Thus, while deployment units can depend on the external interfaces of process components in other deployment units, deployment units are not dependent on process component interactions (i.e., interactions between process components involving their respective business objects, operations, interfaces, and messages) within other deployment units. Similarly, process components that interact with other process components or external systems only through messages, e.g., as sent and received by operations, can also be replaced as long as the replacement supports the operations of the original. 
     Interactions between process components that occur only within a deployment unit are not constrained to using service operations. These can be implemented in any convenient fashion. 
     In contrast to a deployment unit, the foundation layer does not define a limit for application-defined transactions. Deployment units communicate directly with entities in the foundation layer, which communication is typically not message based. The foundation layer is active in every system instance on which the application is deployed. Business objects in the foundation layer are generally master data objects. In addition, the foundation layer may include some business process objects that are used by multiple deployment units. Master data objects and business process objects that should be specific to a deployment unit should be assigned to their respective deployment unit. 
       FIGS. 1A ,  1 B,  1 C,  1 D,  1 E,  1 F,  1 G,  1 H,  1 I,  1 J,  1 K,  1 L,  1 M,  1 N,  1 O,  1 P, and  1 Q collectively illustrate a foundation layer in accordance with one implementation of the invention. The Foundation Layer  100  includes a Business Partner Data Management process component  101 , an Organizational Management process component  102 , a Product Data Maintenance process component  103 , a Resource Data Management process component  104 , a Location Data Management process component  105 , a Logistics Area and Storage Management process component  106 , a Human Capital Master Data Management process component  107 , a Business Document Flow Processing process component  108 , a Document Management process component  109 , a Production Model Management process component  110 , a Site Logistics Model Management process component  111 , an Activity Management process component  112 , a Source of Supply Determination process component  113 , a Software Problem Reporting process component  114 , an Installed Base Data Management process component  115 , a Price Master Data Management process component  116 , an Identity Management process component  117 , a Data Flow Verification process component  118 , an Engineering Change Processing process component  119 , a Financial Market Data Management process component  120 , a Logistic Unit Data Management process component  121 , an Input and Output Management process component  122 , a Payment Master Data Management process component  123 , a Pricing Engine process component  124 , a Property Management process component  125 , a Product Property Management process component  126 , a Business Rules Management process component  127 , an Accounting Coding Block Distribution Processing process component  128 , a Business process component  129 , a Number Range process component  130 , a Date and Time process component  131 , a Payment Authorization process component  132 , a Logistics Shift process component  133 , an application log administration process component  134 , a change document management process component  135 , an Inspection Master Data Management process component  136 , a Product Engineering Foundation process component  137 , a Records and Case Management process component  138 , a Key Performance Indicator Management process component  139 , and an Address Data Management process component  140 . 
     The Business Partner Data Management process component  101  ( FIG. 1A ) manages the business partner master data of a company containing information used to describe the rights and obligations of a business partner participating in various business processes such as sales, purchasing and accounting processes. The Business Partner Data Management process component  101  includes: a Company Tax Exemption Certificate master data object  141 , a Business Partner master data object  142 , an Employee master data object  143 , a Clearing House master data object  144 , a Party transformed object  145 , a Payment Card master data object  146 , a Customer master data object  147 , a Supplier master data object  148 , a Tax Authority master data object  149 , a House Bank master data object  150 , a Communication Arrangement master data object  151 , a Sales Arrangement master data object  152 , a Procurement Arrangement master data object  153 , a Supplier Product Category Life cycle master data object  154 , a Payment Agreement master data object  155 , a Company Tax Arrangement master data object  156 , and a Customer Tax Exemption Certificate  157 . 
     The Company Tax Exemption Certificate master data object  141  represents a certificate issued by a company to a supplier claiming exemption from product tax for purchases. The Business Partner master data object  142  represents a person, organization or group of persons or organizations in which a company has a business interest. The Employee master data object  143  represents a person who contributes or has contributed to the creation of goods or services for a company, and can describe “internal” employees and/or “external” employees. Unlike externals, an internal employee is in a position of subordination to another&#39;s authority. The Clearing House master data object  144  represents an organization that provides services for the settlement of payment card payments, such as the authorization of payments. The Party transformed object  145  represents a person, an organization, an organizational center, or a group of persons, in which a company has a business interest. The Payment Card master data object  146  represents an issued identification card that can enable the card holder to achieve cashless payments for invoices to an accepting company (e.g., a merchant). The Customer master data object  147  represents a business partner with whom a business relationship exists. The Supplier master data object  148  represents a business partner who provides materials and/or services. The Tax Authority master data object  149  represents a business partner for value added tax declaration. The House Bank master data object  150  represents a business partner providing services for a company, such as account management or lock box. The Communication Arrangement master data object  151  represents an arrangement between the system owner and a business partner, containing the communication settings for XML messaging, file-based communication and form-based communication via output channels like print, email and fax. The Sales Arrangement master data object  152  represents an arrangement that is made by a sales unit for a customer, and is used for sales transactions. The arrangement can include, for example, terms of payment, invoice currency, and incoterms. The arrangement can optionally constitute a contract with a customer. The Procurement Arrangement master data object  153  represents an arrangement used to control procurement transactions, which can be established between a supplier and a purchasing unit, but also for one supplier across all purchasing units. The Supplier Product Category Life Cycle master data object  154  represents a supplier life cycle that contains information about the status of supplier development and the product category delivered by that supplier. The Payment Agreement master data object  155  represents the agreement between a company and a business partner concerning the handling of payments. The Company Tax Exemption Certificate master data object  156  represents a certificate issued by a company to a supplier claiming exemption from product tax for purchases. The Customer Tax Exemption Certificate  157  represents a certificate sent by a customer to a company claiming exemption from tax on sales/purchases. 
     The Organizational Management process component  102  ( FIG. 1B ) provides central and unified organizational structures of the enterprise and its collaborative partners. The Organizational Management process component  102  includes: a Company Tax Arrangement master data object  158 , an Organizational Center master data object  159 , a Position master data object  160 , a Cost Center master data object  161 , a Reporting Line Unit master data object  162 , a Company master data object  163 , a Permanent Establishment master data object  164 , a Responsibility master data object  165 , a Functional Unit master data object  166 , a Profit Center master data object  167 , a Segment master data object  168 , a Job master data object  169 , a Company Financials Process Control master data object  170 , an Organizational Center Template master data object  171 , a Program master data object  172 , a Business Plan Variant Specification master data object  173 , and an Organizational View of Project master data object  174 . The Company Tax Arrangement master data object  158  represents an agreement between a company and a tax authority regarding the declaration and payment of taxes. The Organizational Center master data object  159  represents a business unit within an organizational structure (e.g., organizational plan, financial structure, geographical structure) of a company within the extended enterprise. The data object can incorporate different business roles that are defined in detail by specializing the organizational center into business characters. The Position master data object  160  represents an organizational element within the organizational plan of an enterprise, and can permanently combines tasks, competencies and responsibilities that can be taken care of by one or more suitable employees. The Cost Center master data object  161  represents an organizational unit that represents a defined location of cost incurrence and for which costs are recorded separately. The Reporting Line Unit master data object  162  represents the organizational unit in the personnel reporting line of the enterprise. The reporting line unit can typically have a personnel manager who is responsible for defining the objectives and salaries of the directly or indirectly assigned holders. The Company master data object  163  represents a financially and legally independent, locally unbound entity registered under business law. The Permanent Establishment master data object  164  represents an organizational unit that represents a localized subdivision of a company whose business activities are subject to uniform fiscal treatment. The Responsibility master data object  165  represents an assignment of an agent responsible to a parameter set describing the agent&#39;s duty within a certain responsibility type. The Functional Unit master data object  166  represents an organizational center responsible for the planning, execution and administration of business process steps. The responsibility can be performed by the organizational center itself, or it can be delegated. The Profit Center master data object  167  represents an organizational unit that represents a company area for which a separate period-based result for profit-oriented rating is determined. The Segment master data object  168  represents a business branch of a company for which a closing statement (e.g., a financial statement and a profit and loss statement) is to be created based on the segment reporting regulations within the context of the particular accounting principle (e.g., IAS, US-GAAP, or HGB). The Job master data object  169  represents the type of a position, such as task description, task profile, competencies, responsibilities, required qualifications and skill profiles. The Company Financials Process Control master data object  170  represents information about a company that is used in financial processes. In particular, it contains the assignment of departments that are responsible for the planning, the execution, and the monitoring of financials processes of a company. The Organizational Center Template master data object  171  represents a business unit in an organizational structure of a company within the extended enterprise. The Program master data object  172  represents an organizational center for managing a group of subprograms and projects. A program represents a complex, time-restricted set of activities for achieving high-level goals in the context of an extensive company strategy. The Business Plan Variant Specification master data object  173  represents a specification of external business conditions, business assumptions, business goals, and procedures of data collection for a business plan. For example, different business variant specifications based on optimistic, conservative, or pessimistic assumptions can be used in parallel. The Organizational View of Project master data object  174  represents the representation of the organizational data of a project. 
     The Product Data Maintenance process component  103  ( FIG. 1C ) enables a company to manage all product data that describes its tangible and intangible products and that is used to control its business processes, such as sales, purchasing, planning, production and accounting processes. The Product Data Maintenance process component  103  includes: a Material Procurement Process Control master data object  175 , a Material Supply Planning Process Control Template master data object  176 , a Material Supply Planning Process Control master data object  177 , a Service Product Financials Process Control master data object  178 , a Material Inventory Process Control Template master data object  179 , a Service Product Procurement 
     Process Control master data object  180 , a Material Procurement Process Control Template master data object  181 , a Material Financials Process Control Template master data object  182 . a Service Product Procurement Process Control Template master data object  183 , a Warranty master data object  184 , an Individual Material Service Process Control master data object  185 , a Material Sales Process Control Template master data object  186 , an Individual Material master data object  187 , a Material Financials Process Control master data object  188 , a Service Product Financials Process Control Template master data object  189 , a Material Availability Confirmation Process Control master data object  190 , a Warranty Service Process Control master data object  191 , a Material Sales Process Control master data object  192 , a Service Product Template master data object  193 , a Material Template master data object  194 , a Material master data object  195 , a Service Product Sales Process Control Template master data object  196 , a Material Availability Confirmation Process Control Template master data object  197 , a Service Product master data object  198 , a Service Product Sales Process Control master data object  199 , an Identified Stock master data object  101 A, and a Material Inventory Process Control master data object  102 A. 
     The Material Procurement Process Control master data object  175  represents a process-driven view that contains information about a material that is used in procurement-relevant processes. The Material Supply Planning Process Control Template master data object  176  represents a template that simplifies the maintenance of material master data used to control procurement planning Planning is performed at supply planning area level (including specifications for lot-size planning, requirement consumption, in-house production. The Material Supply Planning Process Control master data object  177  represents a process-driven view that contains information about a material that uses the material in supply planning processes. The Service Product Financials Process Control master data object  178  represents a process-driven view that contains information about a service that is used in financial processes. The Material Inventory Process Control Template master data object  179  represents a template that simplifies the maintenance of material master data used to control several logistic processes. The collection includes the inventory management unit of measure and the unit of measure in which a material is serialized. The Service Product Procurement Process Control master data object  180  represents a process-driven view that contains information about a service that is used in procurement-relevant processes. The Material Procurement Process Control Template master data object  181  represents a template that simplifies the maintenance of material master data used in procurement-relevant processes. The Material Financials Process Control Template master data object  182  represents a template that simplifies the maintenance of material master data used to process in Financials (including the inventory valuation). The Service Product Procurement Process Control Template master data object  183  represents a template that simplifies the maintenance of Service Product master data used in procurement-relevant processes. The Warranty master data object  184  represents a guarantee to vouch for defects or faults in the product purchased that is valid for a specific period of time. The type and scope of the services covered, such as repairing a defect for free or taking the product back, are defined in the warranty. The Individual Material Service Process Control master data object  185  represents a process-driven view that contains information about an individual material in customer service processes. The Material Sales Process Control Template master data object  186  represents a template that simplifies the maintenance of material master data used to control presales, sales, and customer service processes. The Individual Material master data object  187  represents a tangible product that occurs only once in the real world and is therefore uniquely identifiable. The Material Financials Process Control master data object  188  represents a process-driven view that contains information about a material that is used in financial processes. The Service Product Financials Process Control Template master data object  189  represents a template that simplifies that simplifies the maintenance of Service Product master data used in processes in Financials (including the inventory valuation). The Material Availability Confirmation Process Control master data object  190  represents a process-driven view that contains information about a material that is used in availability confirmation processes. The Warranty Service Process Control master data object  191  represents a process-driven view that contains information about a warranty that is used in customer service processes. The Material Sales Process Control master data object  192  represents a process-driven view that contains information about a material that is used in presales, sales, and customer service processes. The Service Product Template master data object  193  represents a template that contains service product data relevant for presales, sales, and financials processes. The Material Template master data object  194  represents a template that contains material data relevant for presales, sales, financials, supply planning, and availability confirmation processes. The Material master data object  195  represents a tangible product, such as a sellable article, packaging, auxiliary material, and expendable supplies, that can be created and then represents a business value. In general, a material can be traded, consumed, or produced. The Service Product Sales Process Control Template master data object  196  represents a template that simplifies the maintenance of service product master data used to control presales, sales, and customer service processes. The Material Availability Confirmation Process Control Template master data object  197  represents a template that simplifies the maintenance of material master data used to execute the availability check. The Service Product master data object  198  represents an intangible product that describes the provision of a service. A service is provided at the time of its use. The Service Product Sales Process Control master data object  199  represents a process-driven view that contains information about a service that used in presales, sales, and customer service processes. The Identified Stock master data object  101 A represents a subset of a material that shares a set of common characteristics, is logistically handled separately from other subsets of the same material and is uniquely identified. The Material Inventory Process Control master data object  102 A represents a process-driven view that contains information about a material that is used in logistics processes. 
     The Resource Data Management process component  104  ( FIG. 1D ) manages the master data used to define a resource. This data specifies the nature of the resource as well as the capacities and the services that can be provided by the resource. The Resource Data Management process component  104  includes: a Resource transformed object  103 Ald , an Equipment Resource master data object  104 A, a Vehicle Resource master data object  105 A a Labor Resource master data object  106 A, a Resource Group master data object  107 A, and a Resource Operating Time Template master data object  108 A. The Resource transformed object  103 A represents an asset that contributes to the sourcing, production or delivery of a product. The Equipment Resource master data object  104 A represents a machine, device, tool, or a group of identical machines, devices, or tools having the capacity to provide services. The Vehicle Resource master data object  105 A represents a means of transportation or a group of identical means of transportation providing capacity to perform transportation services. The means of transportation are not necessarily directly assigned to the vehicle resource. That is, the capacity of a vehicle resource can be provided by several means of transportation either at the same time or alternatively. The Labor Resource master data object  106 A represents an employee or a group of employees with the same skills and qualifications that provides capacity to operate specific devices or to perform specific tasks. The Resource Group master data object  107 A represents a grouping of individual resources based on similar physical characteristics, identical functional characteristics, or because of their usage in the same business area. The Resource Operating Time Template master data object  108 A represents a template of an operating time definition that contains information used to maintain the operating times for multiple resources. 
     The Location Data Management process component  105  ( FIG. 1D ) manages master data used for physical locations, the data including the location as well as objects that depend on the location or group locations. The Location Data Management process component  105  includes: a Location master data object  109 A, a Transportation Zone master data object  110 A, a Transportation Lane master data object  111 A, and a Supply Planning Area master data object  112 A. The Location master data object  109 A represents a geographical place. The Transportation Zone master data object  110 A represents a zone containing geographical locations that may be considered collectively for modeling or planning transportation routes or transportations. The Transportation Lane master data object  111 A represents a relationship between two locations or transportation zones that specifies which materials can be transported between the locations or transportation zones, and which means of transport can be used. The Supply Planning Area master data object  112 A represents groups of requirements, stocks and other requirements coverage elements with the purpose of being together taken into account in net requirements calculation of supply planning For example, the elements can provide a separate allocation of products and ensure the availability of products on time for a supply planning area. Requirements, stocks and other requirements coverage elements typically can be assigned to exactly one supply planning area. A systematic and specific supply planning for products within a supply planning area can be enabled. Every site can have a supply planning area. Introducing additional supply planning areas can help to separate requirements, stocks and other requirements coverage elements of one site. 
     The Logistics Area and Storage Management process component  106  ( FIG. 1E ) maintains logistics area master data and storage methods, as well as placement and retrieval rules for inventory. The Logistics Area and Storage Management process component  106  includes: a Logistics Area master data object  113 A, a Logistics Source and Destination Determination Rule master data object  114 A, a Storage Behavior Method master data object  115 A, and a Storage Control master data object  116 A. The Logistics Area technical object  113 A represents a freely definable area within a location providing detailed physical and operational information used for storage and production. Logistics areas can be arranged in a hierarchy according to physical aspects or logistical functions. The Logistics Source and Destination Determination Rule master data object  114 A represents a rule for identifying the source storage location for inventory retrieval or the destination storage location for inventory placement. The Storage Behavior Method master data object  115 A represents a set of rules defining the manner in which a storage location is managed. The Storage Control master data object  116 A a specification of inventory items&#39; constraints and inventory items&#39; rules applied in a storage location, such as logistics area or resource, as well as requirements for actions. 
     The Human Capital Master Data Management process component  107  ( FIG. 1E ) manages the work agreements, employments, and human capital master data used in different human capital master areas. The Human Capital Master Data Management process component  107  includes: a Work Agreement master data object  117 A, an Employment master data object  118 A, and a Compensation Component Type master data object  119 A. The Work Agreement master data object  117 A represents a contract between an employer and an employee by means of which the employee is obliged to provide his or her labor while the employer is obliged to provide the agreed compensation. The Employment master data object  118 A represents a relationship which comes into being by virtue of one or more valid work agreements. For example, the work agreement can consist only of the specific labor-related arrangements agreed between company and employee; the employment can encompass the entire legal relationship between the contracting parties. The Compensation Component Type master data object  119 A represents a description of the employee compensation components in the context of human resources. 
     The Business Document Flow Processing process component  108  ( FIG. 1E ) collects a sequence of documents related to a business transaction. The Business Document Flow Processing process component  108  includes a Business Document Flow transformed object  120 A, and a Business Process Chain Assignment dependent object  121 A. The Business Document Flow transformed object  120 A represents a view on the flow of business transaction documents. Predecessor and successor documents for a given business document can be compiled and included. The Business Process Chain Assignment dependent object  121 A represents an assignment of a business object node to a business process chain. 
     The Document Management process component  109  ( FIG. 1E ) manages documents related to business transactions. The Document Management process component  109  includes a Document master data object  122 A and the Document Template technical object  123 A. The Document master data object  122 A represents a carrier of unstructured information and additional control and monitoring information. The Document Template technical object  12 A represents a template, which defines the content, format, placeholders and the structure for creating new documents having a uniform style. 
     The Production Model Management process component  110  ( FIG. 1F ) maintains and releases master data used for production planning and production execution. The Production 
     Model Management process component  110  includes: a Production Model master data object  124 A, a Production Bill of Material master data object  125 A, a Production Bill of Operations master data object  126 A, a Released Planning Production Model master data object  127 A, a Released Execution Production Model master data object  128 A, and a Production Segment master data object  129 A. The Production Model master data object  124 A represents a model of a production process in a production center that is defined by a network of production segments. The Production Bill of Material master data object  125 A represents a complete and structured list that defines and describes the components that are used in the production of a material or family of similar materials. The Production Bill of Operations master data object  126 A represents a description of a production process for manufacturing a product. The description can include the processing or transformation steps that have to be executed. The description can also define the resources to be used with the necessary technical specifications such as the standard times, capacity requirements, and work instructions. The Released Planning Production Model master data object  127 A represents a released version of a production model that contains all the production bill of operations and production bill of material data used for the planning of a production process. The Released Execution Production Model master data object  128 A represents a released version of a production model that contains all the production bill of operations and production bill of material data used for the execution of a production process. The Production Segment master data object  129 A represents part of a production process in a production center specified by a network of operations and assigned materials for the production of a material. 
     The Site Logistics Model Management process component  111  ( FIG. 1F ) maintains and releases master data used for site logistics execution. The Site Logistics Model Management process component  111  includes: a Site Logistics Bill of Operations master data object  130 A, a Site Logistics Process Segment master data object  131 A, a Site Logistics Process Model master data object  132 A, and a Released Site Logistics Process Model master data object  133 A. The Site Logistics Bill of Operations master data object  130 A represents a detailed description of how a product is to be moved, packed and otherwise dealt with during site logistics processing. The site logistics bill of operations can consist of operations with attached execution instructions. The Site Logistics Process Segment master data object  131 A represents a part of a logistics process specified by a set of operations for packing, moving and checking of goods. The Site Logistics Process Model master data object  132 A represents a model of the site logistics process that is specified by a sequence of site logistics process segments. The Released Site Logistics Process Model master data object  133 A represents a released version of a site logistics process model that contains all elements required for defining and describing the execution of a site logistics process. 
     The Activity Management process component  112  ( FIG. 1G ) records activities, such as business activities and tasks, undertaken on behalf of the company. The Activity Management process component  112  includes: an Activity Task business process object  134 A, a Phone Call Activity business process object  135 A, a Letter Activity business process object  136 A, an Appointment Activity business process object  137 A, an Email Activity business process object  138 A, a Fax Activity business process object  139 A, and an Activity transformed object  140 A. The Activity Task business process object  134 A represents information an employee needs to do within a certain time frame and can be related to a business partner. The Phone Call Activity business process object  135 A represents an activity that records telephone interactions that are undertaken by employees on behalf of their company. The Letter Activity business process object  136 A represents an activity that records a message written on paper by an employee of a company on the company&#39;s behalf. The Appointment Activity business process object  137 A represents a planned or unplanned activity that is maintained in a calendar of an employee of a company. It can include external appointments and scheduled meetings with other business partners. An appointment can typically contain information regarding the business partner involved, the date on which it is to take place, and whether it is related to business or is private in nature. The Email Activity business process object  138 A represents an activity that contains information communicated via the Internet or an internal groupware server. The information can include texts and attachments. The Fax Activity business process object  139 A represents an activity that contains documents or graphics transmitted via a telecommunications facility by an employee of a company. The Activity transformed object  140 A represents a structured view of activities of various types in order to plan and document all actions and interactions related to business partners. 
     The Source of Supply Determination process component  113  ( FIG. 1G ) maintains and provides access to sources of supply and quota arrangements for external and internal procurement processes. The Source of Supply Determination process component  113  includes a Supply Quota Arrangement master data object  141 A, a Source of Supply master data object  142 A, a Sourcing Allocation business process object  144 A, and a Sourcing List transformed object  143 A. The Supply Quota Arrangement master data object  141 A represents a distribution of material requirements or issues to different sources of supply, business partners, or internal organizational units. The Source of Supply master data object  142 A represents an object that describes a logical link between a possible source of products and a possible target. The Sourcing Allocation business process object  144 A represents the allocation of a product quantity to a source of supply or a supply quota arrangement item that is to be procured or produced. The Sourcing List transformed object  143 A represents a sorted list of procurement possibilities which can be used for a source of supply determination. The list can contain information regarding sources of supply, means of transport and supply quota arrangements. 
     The Software Problem Reporting process component  114  ( FIG. 1G ) is used for collecting context data in a centric information technology (IT) solution in case of an incident, summarizing these data in a software problem report, and sending the report to an appropriate service desk. An incident can be a term according to ITIL (IT Infrastructure Library) terminology, an international de-facto standard for IT service and application management. Software Problem Reporting functionality can be deployed on more than one decentralized system, and can forward the information to a central service desk. The Software Problem Reporting process component  114  includes a Software Problem Report technical object  145 A. The Software Problem Report technical object  145 A represents a report about an incident in a centric information technology solution. The report can be triggered, for example, either by an end-user or by the system itself. The report can document the information about the person, system, and context data of the incident. 
     The Installed Base Data Management process component  115  ( FIG. 1G ) manages and structures installed objects, such as personal computers or parts of a software installation, in an installed base, according to their logical or physical location. The Installed Base Data Management process component  115  includes an Installed Base master data object  146 A and an Installation Point master data object  147 A. The Installed Base master data object  146 A represents a container that holds structured information of business components and their compositions, as well as their business features. Installed base components carry properties of business objects (e.g., materials or individual materials), which have been assigned to an installed base. The components can be multi-level structured, can be time dependent, and can contain descriptive information about their corresponding business component. An installed base component can include, for example, address and/or application specific extensions. The Installation Point master data object  147 A represents a physical or logical location at which a business object, such as software or a material, is installed during a certain period of time. An installation point can contain descriptive information about its installed object, such as the quantity of materials used, and can be structured in a hierarchical relationship with other installation points. 
     The Price Master Data Management process component  116  ( FIG. 1H ) manages prices and price-related data for sales and procurement processes. The Price Master Data Management process component  116  includes: a Sales Price Specification master data object  148 A, a Sales Price List master data object  149 A, and a Procurement Price Specification master data object  150 A. The Sales Price Specification master data object  148 A represents the specification of a price, discount or surcharge used indirectly for pricing in sales and service documents. The Sales Price List master data object  149 A represents a list of price specifications with respect to common identifying criteria. The Procurement Price Specification master data object  150 A represents the specification of a price, a discount, or a surcharge for procurement of goods or services. The specification is defined for a combination of property values and is valid for a specific period. 
     The Identity Management process component  117  ( FIG. 1H ) identifies individuals in a system landscape and controls their access by associating user rights and restrictions. The Identity Management process component  117  includes: an Identity master data object  151 A, an Access Group process control object  152 A, and an Access Control List process control object  153 A. The Identity master data object  151 A represents a combination of all user accounts of a person in a system landscape and can include the settings used for system access and the associated user rights and restrictions. The Access Group process control object  152 A represents a group of identities for which access control is specified in a certain context. The Access Control List process control object  153 A represents a list of access groups that have access to the entire host object during a validity period. 
     The Data Flow Verification process component  118  ( FIG. 1H ) represents the act of verifying that the data flow between business objects has been carried out correctly. For example, the flow of data between business objects can be checked by examining the message exchange between sender and receiver, or by comparing the business object instances. The Data Flow Verification process component  118  includes: a Data Flow Verification Run mass data run object  154 A and a Data Flow Verification Result business process object  155 A. The Data Flow Verification Run mass data run object  154 A represents the specification of an automated run to verify the data flow between business objects. The Data Flow Verification Result business process object  155 A represents the result of the verification process of the data flow between business objects. 
     The Engineering Change Processing process component  119  ( FIG. 1I ) processes changes to master data used in the product lifecycle phases engineering and manufacturing, including the definition of validity parameters and the release of the changes. The Engineering Change Processing process component  119  includes an Engineering Change Order business process object  156 A. The Engineering Change Order business process object  156 A represents a set of instructions to make changes to a number of objects from the areas of engineering or production. An engineering change order can define the conditions under which these changes become effective and can specify the release status of these changes. 
     The Financial Market Data Management process component  120  ( FIG. 1I ) manages financial market data such as data obtained from generally accepted external providers. The Financial Market Data Management process component  120  includes a Bank Directory Entry master data object  157 A. The Bank Directory Entry master data object  157 A represents an entry with the main information on a bank in a classified directory of banks. 
     The Logistic Unit Data Management process component  121  incorporates all master data necessary when handling or using logistic units, including grouping and packing instructions. The Logistic Unit Data Management process component  121  includes a Logistic Unit master data object  158 A, a Logistic Unit Usage master data object  159 A, and a Packing Bill of Material master data object  160 A. The Logistic Unit master data object  158 A represents an item established for logistics operations, such as storage, movement, and packing. The Logistic Unit master data object  158 A can represent all physical units handled in the same manner during logistic operations, whether they are packed or unpacked goods. The Logistic Unit Usage master data object  159 A represents a logistics purpose for which Logistic Units are grouped. The Logistic Unit Usage can represent a process or an activity, such as conveying, packing, or storing. The Packing Bill of Material master data object  160 A represents a complete and structured list of components that define the packing structure of logistic units. 
     The Input and Output Management process component  122  covers form-based input and output as well as structured file import and export. For example, form-based input and output can include collaboration by means of interactive forms. Output management can handle front-end and back-end output. Form-based output can have different channels such as print, e-mail and fax. The  122  Input and Output Management process component includes: a Controlled Output Request dependent object tl 6 lA, an Output Request technical object  162 A, an Output Task technical object  163 A, an Output Error technical object  164 A, a File Input Control technical object  165 A, an Output Control dependent object  166 A, and an Output Determination Rule master data object  167 A. The Controlled Output Request dependent object  161 A represents a request to send documents related to the hosting business object to a specified output channel. It can support form-based back-end output of the hosting business object and stores the output history. The Output Request technical object  162 A represents a request to send a document to a specified output channel. The Output Task technical object  163 A represents a task that outputs data to an output channel. The Output Error technical object  164 A represents an error that occurred during the processing of an output request. The File Input Control technical object  165 A represents the initiation and control of the processing of inbound files by the adapter service. The Output Control dependent object  166 A represents a set of settings for form-based output via channels like print, email and fax. It controls master-data dependent output. The Output Determination Rule master data object  167 A represents a rule defining which set of output parameters to use during output. An Engineering Change Case business process object  168 A is also included in the Foundation layer in  FIG. 1L . The Engineering Change Case business process object  168 A represents a collection of documents, references, and decisions used to identify a potential solution to problems that initiate an engineering change; to research, design, and validate engineering change alternatives; and to review and decide on the implementation of the change. It contains instructions for the participants in the change and defines their responsibilities. 
     As shown in  FIG. 1J , the Foundation Layer  100  also includes: a Payment Explanation dependent object  169 A, an Accounting Coding Block Distribution dependent object  146 A, a Financial Audit Trail Documentation dependent object  170 A, an Address dependent object  148 A, a Storage Control dependent object  171 A, a Payment Control dependent object  172 A, a Market Segment dependent object  173 A, a Cash Discount Terms dependent object  174 A, an Attachment Folder dependent object  175 A, a Text Collection dependent object  176 A, a Product Requirement Specification business process object  155 A, and an Identified Stock master data object  158 A. 
     The Payment Explanation dependent object  169 A represents the reason(s) for a payment, typically with reference to one or more business documents such as contracts, invoices, credit memos, or sales orders. The Accounting Coding Block Distribution dependent object  146 A represents the distribution of coding blocks to enterprise resources changes, such as expenses or material movements. A coding block can be a set of accounting objects to which an enterprise resource change is assigned. The resource change can ultimately be valued in Accounting. For example, an employee can record eight hours of his working time (the resource change), allocated six hours to a project and two hours to his cost center, thereby distributing his total time to two coding blocks (the first containing the project, and the second containing the cost center). The Financial Audit Trail Documentation dependent object  170 A represents the uniform documentation of the changes to receivables and payables and financial transactions linked to a business transaction for audit purposes. The Address dependent object  148 A represents the data that describes the addressee, postal address and communication connections. The address can be used both in master data objects (e.g., customer) and business process objects (e.g., sales order). The Storage Control dependent object  171 A represents the specification of inventory items&#39; constraints and inventory items&#39; rules applied in a storage location (such as logistics area or resource), as well as requirements for actions (such as replenishment and cleanup). The Payment Control dependent object  172 A represents an agreement between a company and a business partner on processing payments for an individual business transaction. The Market Segment dependent object  173 A represents a sector of the overall market that is characterized by a specific constellation of supply and demand and that exhibits specific customer and product characteristics as well as characteristics for regional and organizational classification (e.g., sweets that are sold within the region Europe). The Cash Discount Terms dependent object  174 A represents the modalities agreed upon between business partners for the payment of goods delivered or services provided. These modalities can consist of incremental payment periods and the cash discounts that are allowed when payment is made within one of these periods. Cash discount terms can be used to define terms of payment, for example, for a purchase order or invoice issue for control the common transactional buffer for Folder dependent object  175 A represents a collection of planning data. The Go Live Checklist transformed object  166 A represents a check list which guides the customer through the activities which are mandatory or critical before going live with the customer&#39;s system landscape. During business setup or during continuous change, the customer can typically perform several activities in order to adjust the system to specific business needs. 
     As shown in  FIG. 1K , the Foundation Layer  100  also includes: a Cross Product Catalog Search technical object  177 A, a Transactional Planning Data Buffer Control technical object  178 A, a Process Integration Inbound Error technical object  179 A, a Task technical object  180 A, a Catalog Access Result technical object  181 A, and a Catalog Access Specification technical object  182 A 
     The Cross Product Catalog Search technical object  177 A represents the condition used for and the result of a search across product catalogs. The Transactional Planning Data Buffer Control technical object  178 A represents a means to control the common transactional buffer for planning data. The Process Integration Inbound Error technical object  179 A represents an error that occurred during the inbound message processing. It contains information about the incorrectly exchanged message like the message payload and log messages of the inbound processing. The Task technical object  180 A represents a task is a request to perform an action that can be executed in order to achieve a business or technical objective. The task results from changes within a business or technical process. The Catalog Access Result technical object  181 A represents a result from a catalog that contains user-requested data, which is transferred from a catalog to a business document. The Catalog Access Specification technical object  182 A represents a specification to access a web-based catalog that contains a uniform identifier including parameters and control settings. 
     As shown in  FIG. 1L , the Foundation Layer  100  also includes: a Currency Conversion reuse service component  183 A and a Quantity Conversion reuse service component  184 A. The Currency Conversion reuse service component  183 A offers a service that converts currency amounts in different currencies. The Quantity Convention reuse service component  184 A offers services for conversion, calculation and comparison of quantities and measures. 
     As shown in  FIG. 1M , the Foundation Layer  100  also includes the Payment Master Data Management process component  123  and the Pricing Engine process component  124 . The Payment Master Data Management process component  123  handles the management of payment master data, such as clearing house accounts, that is used in different business areas. It also contains views of house bank accounts and cash storages. The Payment Master Data Management process component  123  includes a Clearing House Account master data object  185 A, a Core View of House Bank Account master data object  186 A, and a Core View of Cash Storage master data object  187 A. The Clearing House Account master data object  185 A represents a company-internal representation of an account that is set up and managed at a clearing house for card payments for the company. It is based on an agreement between the company and the clearing house. The Core View of House Bank Account master data object  186 A represents a view of a house bank account that contains identification, type, and currency data. The Core View of Cash Storage master data object  187 A represents cash storage availability. 
     The Pricing Engine process component  124  handles the processing of price and tax calculation. The Pricing Engine process component  124  includes a Price and Tax Calculation dependent object  188 A, a Price Calculation dependent object  189 A, a Tax Calculation dependent object  190 A, and a Price Specification dependent object  191 A. The Price and Tax Calculation represents the summary of the determined price and tax components for a business case. The Price Calculation dependent object  189 A represents the summary of the determined price components for a business case. The Tax Calculation dependent object  190 A represents the summarization of the determined and calculated tax elements of a business case. The Price Specification dependent object  191 A represents a specification of a price, a discount, or a surcharge for sales, service, and purchasing. The specification is defined for a combination of properties and is valid for a specific period. 
     As shown in  FIG. 1N , the Foundation Layer  100  also includes the Property Management process component  125  and a Product Property Management process component  126 . The Property Management process component  125  handles the management of properties along with their valuations. The Property Management process component  125  includes a Property Type System Value Help dependent object  192 A, a Property Valuation List dependent object  193 A, a Property Type System View dependent object  194 A, and a Property Type System dependent object  195 A. The Property Type System Value Help dependent object  192 A represents a value-help enabler for nodes of the Property Type System dependent object. The Property Valuation List dependent object  193 A represents a list of instance- or group-specific properties (qualities) of an object, along with their valuations. The Property Type System View dependent object  194 A represents a view that provides both aggregated and detailed information about property type systems. The Property Type System dependent object  195 A represents a consistent system of object properties, along with their definitions and underlying property data types. 
     The Product Property Management process component  126  handles the management of product properties along with their valuations. The Product Property Management process component  126  includes a Product Property List master data object  196 A, Product Property Valuation List dependent object  197 A, a Product Category Hierarchy master data object  198 A, a Product Property Library master data object  199 A, and a Product Property Type System dependent object  101 B. The Product Property List master data object  196 A represents a list of properties from product property libraries that are adjusted to suit one or more products. Attributes of the properties can be added or changed in the list. The Product Property Valuation List dependent object  197 A represents a list of product properties of an object with their valuations. The properties and valuations are based on a product property list or product property library. The Product Category Hierarchy master data object  198 A represents a hierarchical arrangement of product categories according to objective business aspects. Subordinate product categories represent a semantic refinement of the respective higher-level product category. The Product Property Library master data object  199 A represents a library of product properties that can be reused to further describe instances or groups of business objects in specific application areas. The Product Property Type System dependent object  101 B represents a consistent system of product properties, along with their definitions and underlying property data types. 
     As shown in  FIG. 10 , the Foundation Layer  100  also includes the Application Log Administration process component  134 , the Change Document Management process component  135 , the Inspection Master Data Management process component  136 , the Product Engineering Foundation process component  137 , the Records and Case Management  138 , and the Key Performance Indicator Management process component  139 . 
     The Application Log Administration process component  134  handles the administration of application logs. The Application Log Administration process component  134  includes an Application Log technical object  102 B that represents a collection of textual information automatically created by the application that describes the activities of a business object. This also includes relevant information about the environment and references to the business object nodes that are involved in the creation of the information. 
     The Change Document Management process component  135  handles the management of changed documents. The Change Document Management process component  135  includes the Change Document business process object  103 B that represents a record of changes made to a object instance. It specifies the identity of the user responsible for the change and the change date and time. 
     The Inspection Master Data Management process component  136  handles the management of inspection-relevant master data, such as inspection rules and sample-drawing procedures, as well as the definition of quality-relevant catalogs. The Inspection Master Data Management process component  136  includes a Quality Issue Category Catalog  104 B, a Sample Drawing Procedure  105 B, and an Inspection Rule master data object  106 B. The Quality Issue Category Catalog master data object  104 B represents a structured catalog of categories that classifies quality-related issues for a particular quality aspect. The Sample Drawing Procedure master data object  105 B represents a procedure that defines how samples are to be taken. It contains data for the sample-drawing frequency, sample size, and sample quantity. The Inspection Rule master data object  106 B represents a rule that contains the specifications for an inspection. The inspection is used to check whether an object or procedure meets predefined requirements. 
     The Records and Case Management  138  handles the structuring of business folders. The Records and Case Management  138 , includes a Business Folder dependent object  107 B and a Business Folder Structure Definition master data object  108 B. The Business Folder dependent object  107 B represents a folder for collecting and organizing information relating to a business subject according to customer needs. The Business Folder Structure Definition master data object  108 B represents a definition of the internal structure and constraints of business folders. 
     The Product Engineering Foundation process component  137  handles the engineering of product designs. The Product Engineering Foundation process component  137  includes the Product Design business object  109 B. 
     The Key Performance Indicator Management process component  139  handles the management of key performance indicators of a company along with their evaluations. It comprises the services to identify, define, and evaluate key performance indicators of a company for management purposes. The Key Performance Indicator Management process component  139  includes a Key Performance Indicator Evaluation business process object  110 B and a Key Performance Indicator business process object  111 B. 
     The Key Performance Indicator Evaluation business process object  110 B represents a user-specific, time-dependent, and parameter-based evaluation of a key performance indicator that results in a value. The key performance indicator value is usually assessed against a reference value based on a rule. The Key Performance Indicator business process object  111 B represents a quantifiable business performance factor. 
     As shown in  FIG. 1P , the Foundation Layer  100  also includes the Business Rules Management process component  127 , the Accounting Coding Block Distribution Processing process component  128 , the Business process component  129 , the Number Range process component  130 , the Data and Time process component  131 , the Payment Authorization process component  132 , and the Logistics Shift process component  133 . 
     The Business Rules Management process component  127  includes the Business Rule Definition technical object  112 B, the Business Rule Expression technical object  113 B, and the Business Rule Parameter Definition technical object  114 B. The Business Rule Definition technical object  112 B represents a business rule comprising the name and the signature. It describes the operations, definitions, and constraints that apply to an organization in achieving its goals. The Business Rule Expression technical object  113 B represents an expression that specifies the business logic of a business rule in a formal way. Business Rule Expressions may be simple such as a constant, case or range or complex such as a decision tree, a decision table or formula. Business Rule Expressions may be nested. The Business Rule Parameter Definition technical object  114 B represents the definition of a formal parameter that can be used as an input or output parameter in one or more business rule definitions and in one or more business rule expressions. 
     The Accounting Coding Block Distribution Processing process component  128  includes an Accounting Coding Block Distribution dependent object that represents the Distribution of Coding Blocks to enterprise resources changes, such as expenses or material movements. A Coding Block is a set of accounting objects to which an enterprise resource change is assigned. The resource change is ultimately valued in Accounting. 
     The Business process component  129  includes a Go Live Checklist transformed object  116 B that represents a list of business options for a business system&#39;s customer/prospect to check or further maintain in order to adjust the business system to their specific business needs. Until all activities in Go Live checklist are closed, the customer/prospect&#39;s business system can not go live. Each business option in Go Live Checklist is a group of predefined content sets or a manual activity which describes what needs to be done by documentation. The Go Live Checklist transformed object  116 B offers the capability for system&#39;s customer/prospect to check and further maintain these content sets. 
     The Number Range process component  130  includes a Number Range technical object  117 B that represents a range of numbers that are delimited by an upper and lower boundary, and generated in a consecutive order. 
     The Date and Time process component  131  includes an Operating Hours dependent object  118 B that represents a generic description of time periods based on a recurrence pattern, during which operations are performed. 
     The Payment Authorization process component  132  includes a Payment Card Payment Authorization technical object  119 B that represents an authorization for a payment made using a payment card. It contains payment information including a description of the goods/services purchased, the authorization request, and the result of the authorization request based on the response from the clearing house. 
     The Logistics Shift process component  133  includes a Logistics Break Program master data object  120 B that represents a set of breaks in supply chain processes such as production, warehousing and transportation that are either scheduled at an absolute time of the day or scheduled relative to the start time of a shift; a Logistic Shift master data object  121 B that represents a period of working time (called shift) in supply chain processes such as production, warehousing, and transportation that can be interrupted by break; and a Logistics Shift Program master data object  122 B that represents a set of shifts, organized as a generic program, in supply chain processes such as production, warehousing and transportation that span over a period of time. 
     As shown in  FIG. 1Q , the Foundation Layer  100  also includes an Address Data Management process component  140 . The Address Data Management process component  140  includes a Used Address technical object  123 B that represents an address that is currently being used by a business object node that can have multiple references for its address; an Organization Address dependent object  124 B that represents an address of an organization, a group, or a similar entity; an Address dependent object  125 B that represents data that describes the addressee, postal address, and communication data; a Workplace Address dependent object  126 B that represents an address of a person&#39;s workplace within an organization; a Personal Address dependent object  127 B that represents an address of a person; a Communication Data dependent object  128 B that represents a set of communication data that does not include a postal address; and a Partner Address dependent object  129 B that represents an address of an organization or a group, or the address of a person. 
     As shown in  FIG. 2 , the Foundation Layer  100  can be deployed on multiple separate and distinct hardware platforms, e.g., System A  210  and System B  220 , to support application software deployed as two or more deployment units distributed on the platforms, including deployment unit  212  deployed on System A and deployment unit  222  deployed on System B. As explained above, process components in separate deployment units interact through service operations, as illustrated by messages passing between service operations  216  and  226 , which are implemented in process components  214  and  224 , respectively, which are included in deployment units  212  and  222 , respectively. As also explained above, some form of direct communication is generally the form of interaction used between a business object, e.g., business object  218  and  228 , of an application deployment unit and a business object, e.g., master data object  230 , of the Foundation Layer  100 . 
       FIG. 3  is a block diagram of the Software Problem Reporting process component  114 . The Support Request Processing process component  302  is shown in the figures for convenience in describing the process component  114 . The process component  302  is not part of the process component being described. The Support Request Processing process component  302  is a request reflecting the initial inquiry to clarify and solve an incident during the operations of an IT system, sent by a user to an internal IT service desk. The support request documents the incident, the solution process and the solutions found. The process component  302  is used to represent software external to the process component in describing its interactions with the external software; however, while the external software can be implemented as such process component, this is not required. 
     An interaction may begin when a software problem report is to be changed. The Support Request Processing process component  302  can send a request for changing a software problem report, based on a confirmation coming from a service desk, to the Software Problem Reporting process component  114 . The request is received as a message by a Change Software Problem Report operation  304 . The operation  304  is included in a Software Problem Reporting In interface  306 . The operation  304  initiates a Change Software Problem Report based on Confirmation asynchronous outbound process agent  308  to create or update the Software Problem Report technical object  145 A. 
     The Support Request Processing process component  302  can send a request for changing a software problem report, based on provider information coming from a service desk, to the Software Problem Reporting process component  114 . The request is received as a message by a Change Software Problem Report Based on Provider operation  310 . The operation  310  is included in an External Requesting In interface  312 . The operation  310  initiates a Change Software Problem Report based on Provider Information asynchronous outbound process agent  314  to create or update the Software Problem Report technical object  145 A. 
     An update in the Software Problem Report technical object  145 A calls a Request Support from Software Problem Report to Support Request Processing asynchronous outbound process agent  316  to invoke a Request Support operation  318 . The operation  318  requests a creation or modification of a support request document in a service desk. For example, such a request can be sent to the Support Request Processing process component  302 . The operation  318  is included in a Software Problem Reporting Out interface  320 . 
     An update in the Software Problem Report technical object  145 A calls a Request Service from Software Problem Report to Service Request Processing asynchronous outbound process agent  322  to invoke a Request Service operation  324 . The operation  324  requests a creation or modification of a service request document in a service desk. For example, such a request can be sent to a Service Request Processing at Provider component  326 . The Service Request Processing at Provider component may include logging and resolving of service requests concerning issues that customers have, for example, with regard to products. The operation  324  is included in a External Requesting Out interface  328 . 
       FIGS. 4A-4C  are block diagrams showing an organizational management process component. As shown in  FIG. 4A , the Organizational Management process component  102  provides central and unified organizational structures of the enterprise and its collaborative partners. The Organizational Management process component  102  includes a Position master data object  160 , a Cost Center master data object  161 , a Reporting Line Unit master data object  162 , a Company master data object  163 , a Permanent Establishment master data object  164 , a Functional Unit master data object  166 , a Profit Center master data object  167 , a Segment master data object  168 , a Job master data object  169 , an Organizational Center Template master data object  171 , and a Program master data object  172 . The Position master data object  160  represents an organizational element within the organizational plan of an enterprise, and can permanently combines tasks, competencies and responsibilities that can be taken care of by one or more suitable employees. The Cost Center master data object  161  represents an organizational unit that represents a defined location of cost incurrence and for which costs are recorded separately. The Reporting Line Unit master data object  162  represents the organizational unit in the personnel reporting line of the enterprise. The reporting line unit can typically have a personnel manager who is responsible for defining the objectives and salaries of the directly or indirectly assigned holders. The Company master data object  163  represents a financially and legally independent, locally unbound entity registered under business law. The Permanent Establishment master data object  164  represents an organizational unit that represents a localized subdivision of a company whose business activities are subject to uniform fiscal treatment. The Functional Unit master data object  166  represents an organizational center responsible for the planning, execution and administration of business process steps. The responsibility can be performed by the organizational center itself, or it can be delegated. The Profit Center master data object  167  represents an organizational unit that represents a company area for which a separate period-based result for profit-oriented rating is determined. The Segment master data object  168  represents a business branch of a company for which a closing statement (e.g., a financial statement and a profit and loss statement) is to be created based on the segment reporting regulations within the context of the particular accounting principle (e.g., IAS, US-GAAP, or HGB). The Job master data object  169  represents the type of a position, such as task description, task profile, competencies, responsibilities, required qualifications and skill profiles. The Organizational Center Template master data object  171  represents a business unit in an organizational structure of a company within the extended enterprise. The Program master data object  172  represents an organizational center for managing a group of subprograms and projects. A program represents a complex, time-restricted set of activities for achieving high-level goals in the context of an extensive company strategy. 
     As shown in  FIG. 4B , the Responsibility business object  165  uses a Notify of Responsibility to Groupware outbound process agent  402  to invoke either a Notify of Contract and Account Maintenance operation  404  or a Notify of Contact and account Cancellation operation  406 . The operations  404  and  406  are included in a Contact Notification Out interface  408 . The operations  404  and  406  can update an external Standards Based Groupware process component  410  or an external Duet process component  412 . In some implementations, a change in the Organization View of Project business object  174  can invoke the interaction in  FIG. 4B . 
     As shown in  FIG. 4C , a File System process component  414  invokes a Replication Organizational Structure operation  416 . The operation  416  is included in an Organizational Structure Replication In interface  418 . The operation  416  uses a Replication Organizational outbound process agent  420  to update the Organizational Center business object  159 . The Organizational Center business object  159  uses a Replication Organizational inbound process agent  422  to invoke a Request Organizational Structure Replication operation  424 . The operation  424  is included in an Organizational Structure Replication Requesting Out interface  426 . The operation  424  provides an update to the File System process component  414 . 
       FIG. 5  is a block diagram showing an interaction in a date and time process component. 131 . The Date and Time process component. 131  is a reusable service that handles the conversion, calculation, and comparison of time points, durations, and time periods. This component facilitates the handling of date and time information in a unified manner, configuration of date rules, and handling of working shifts, breaks, and operating hours. 
     An interaction can begin with an update to the Operating Hours business object  118 B (not shown). The update may invoke a Move Time Point operation  502 , a Check if Time Point is Active operation  504 , a Get Next Time Active Time Point operation  506 , or a Calculation Duration Between Time Points operation  508 . The operations  502 - 508  are included in a Calendar-Based Calculation In interface  510 . If one or more of the operations  502 - 508  are invoked, a Calendar-Based Calculation synchronous inbound process agent  512  can be used to update a business object or process component. 
       FIG. 6  is a block diagram of the Input and Output Management process component  122 . The Input and Output Management process component  122  handles the form-based input and output as well as structured file import and export. The Input and Output Management process component  122  includes the Controlled Output Request business object  161 A, the Output Request business object  162 A, the Output Task business object  163 A, the Output Error business object  164 A, and the File Input Control business object  165 A 
     An update in the File Input Control business object  165 A calls a Notify of File Input to Adapter Service Outbound process agent  602  to invoke a Notify of File Input operation  604 . The operation  604  notifies Input and Output Management about a file, which has to be processed. For example, such an update can be sent to the Input and Output Management process component  122 . The operation  604  is included in a File Input Out interface  606 . 
       FIG. 7  is a block diagram showing an interaction with a Payment Authorization process component  132 . The Payment Authorization process component  132  is a reusable service that is used to process the authorization request for a payment made using a payment card, at the clearing house. For example, component  132  can authorize the payment for goods or services purchased from an online store using a credit card. The Payment Authorization process component  132  can send an update to an external Settlement Processing at Clearing House process component  702 . The Payment Authorization process component  132  includes the Payment Card Payment Authorization business object  119 B. 
     An update in the Payment Card Payment Authorization business object  119 B calls a Payment Authorization synchronous inbound process agent  704  to invoke a Request Payment Authorization operation  706 . The operation  706  requests a clearing house for authorization of a payment made by a payment card. For example, the operation  706  may request a clearing house for authorization to the external Settlement Processing at Clearing House process component  702 . The Request Payment Authorization operation  706  is included in a Payment Authorizing Requesting Out interface  708 . 
       FIGS. 8A-B  are block diagrams showing a product property management process component  126 . A Data Migration System process component  802  is shown in the figures for convenience in describing the process component  126 . The process component  802  is not part of the process component being described. The Data Migration System process component  802  is a request reflecting the initial inquiry to clarify and solve an incident during the operations of a system, sent by a user to an internal service desk. The support request documents the incident, the solution process and the solutions found. The process component  802  is used to represent software external to the process component in describing its interactions with the external software; however, while the external software can be implemented as such process component, this is not required. 
     The product property management process component  126  handles the management of product properties along with their valuations.  FIG. 8A  includes the Product Property business object  196 A, the Product Property Valuation List business object  197 A, the Product Property Library business object  199 A, and the Product Property Type System business object  101 B. 
     As shown in  FIG. 8B , an update to any or all of the above business objects in  FIG. 8A  (e.g.,  196 A,  197 A,  199 A, or  101 B) causes a Data Migration System process component  802  to invoke a Replicate Product Category Hierarchy operation  804  or a Synchronous Replicate Product Category Hierarchy operation  806 . The Replicate Product Category Hierarchy operation  804  can create, update, or delete product category hierarchy master data in a target system, using product category hierarchy master data from a source system or file. The Synchronous Replicate Product Category Hierarchy operation  806  can create, update, or delete product category hierarchy master data in a target system, using product category hierarchy master data from a source file. The operations  804  and  806  are included in a Product Category Hierarchy Replication In interface  808 . 
     If the Replicate Product Category Hierarchy operation  804  is invoked, a Replicate Product Category Hierarchy inbound process agent  810  can provide an update to the Product Category Hierarchy business object  198 A. If the Synchronous Replicate Product Category Hierarchy operation  806  is invoked, a synchronous Replicate Product Category Hierarchy inbound process agent  812  can provide an update to the Product Category Hierarchy business object  198 A. 
       FIG. 9  is a block diagram showing an identity management process component  117 . The identity management process component  117  handles the identification of individuals in a system landscape and controlling their access by associating user rights and restrictions. The identity management process component  117  includes the Access Control List business object  153 A and the Access Group business object  152 A. An update to either business object  152 A or  153 A invokes the Data Migration System process component  802  to invoke a Replicate Identity operation  902 . The operation  902  can access identity information about a particular group individual or group. The Replicate Identity operation  902  is included in an Identity Replication In interface  904 . The operation  902  can use a Replicate Identity Inbound process agent  906  to provide an update to the Identity business object  151 A. 
       FIGS. 10A-B  are block diagrams showing a product data maintenance process component  103 . The product data maintenance process component  103  handles the maintenance of all product data that describes a company&#39;s tangible and intangible products, and that is used to control business processes such as sales, purchasing, planning, production, and accounting. 
     The interactions can be invoked by an update to an update in a Data Migration System process component  802 . The Data Migration System process component  802  can invoke a Replicate Material operation  1002 . The Replicate Material operation  1002  creates or updates material master data in a target system using material master data form a source system or file. The operation  1002  is included in a Material Replication In interface. The operation  1002  uses a Replicate Material inbound process agent  1006  to update the Material business object  195 , the Material Inventory Process Control business object  102 A, the Material Availability Confirmation Process Control business object  190 , the Material Sales Process Control business object  192 , the Material Financials Process Control business object  188 , the Material Supply Planning Process Control business object  177 , or the Material Procurement Process Control business object  175 . 
     The Data Migration System process component  802  can also invoke a synchronous Replicate Material operation  1008  in the Material Replication In interface  1004 . The synchronous Replicate Material operation  1008  uses a Replicate Material synchronous inbound process agent  1010  to update the Material business object  195 , the Material Inventory Process Control business object  102 A, the Material Availability Confirmation Process Control business object  190 , the Material Sales Process Control business object  192 , the Material Financials Process Control business object  188 , the Material Supply Planning Process Control business object  177 , or the Material Procurement Process Control business object  175 . 
     The Data Migration System process component  802  can also invoke a Replicate Service Product operation  1012 . The operation  1012  provides a process agent that migrates or replicates service product master data from a source system or file to a target system. The operation  1012  is included in a Service Product Replication In interface  1014 . The Replicate Service Product operation  1012  uses a Replicate Service Product inbound process agent  1016  to update the Service Product business object  198 , the Service Product Financials Process Control business object  199 , the Service Product Procurement Process Control business object  180 , or the Service Product Sales Process Control business object  199 . 
     The Data Migration System process component  802  can also invoke a synchronous Replicate Service Product operation  1018 . The operation  1018  uses a process agent that migrates or replicates service product master data from a source system or file to a target system. The operation  1018  is included in the Service Product Replication In interface  1014 . The synchronous Replicate Service Product operation  1018  uses a Replicate Service Product synchronous inbound process agent  1020  to update the Service Product business object  198 , the Service Product Financials Process Control business object  199 , the Service Product Procurement Process Control business object  180 , or the Service Product Sales Process Control business object  199 . 
     As shown in  FIG. 10B , the Data Migration System process component  802  can also invoke a Replicate Individual Material operation  1022  included in an Individual Material Replication In interface  1024 . The operation  1022  uses a Replicate Individual Material inbound process agent  1026  to update the Individual Material business object  187  or the Individual Material Service Process Control business object  185 . 
     The Data Migration System process component  802  can also invoke a Replicate Warranty operation  1028  included in a Warranty Replication In interface  1030 . The operation  1028  uses a Replicate Warranty inbound process agent  1032  to update the Warranty business object  184  or the Warranty Service Process Control business object  191 . 
     The Data Migration System process component  802  can also invoke a Replicate Identified Stock operation  1034  included in an Identified Stock Replication In interface  1036 . The operation  1034  uses a Replicate Identity inbound process agent  1038  to update the Identified Stock business object  101 A. 
       FIGS. 11A-B  are block diagrams showing a business partner data management process component. The interactions can be invoked by an update to an update in the external Standard Based Groupware process component  410 . The process component  410  invokes a Maintain Contact and Account operation  1102  or a Cancel Contract and Account  1104 . The operations are included in a Contact Notification In interface  1106 . The operations  1102  and  1104  use a Maintain Contact and Account based on Groupware Contact Transmission inbound process agent  1108  to update the Business Partner business object. In a similar fashion a Find Calling Business partner By Phone Number operation  1110  included in a Query Business Partner In interface  1112  can use a synchronous inbound process agent  1114  to update the Business Partner business object  142 . In addition , a Create Contact and Account business object  1116 , a Change Contact and Account business object  1118 , or a Cancel Contact and Account business object  1120  (included in a Manage Contact In interface  1122 ) use a synchronous inbound process agent  1124  to update the Business Partner business object  142 . 
     The Business Partner operation  142  uses a Notify of Contact outbound process agent  1126  to invoke a Notify of Contact and Account Maintenance operation  1128  or a Notify of Contact and Account Cancellation operation  1130 . The operations  1128  and  1130  are included in a Contact Notification Out interface  1132 . The operation  1128  updates the Standard Based Groupware process component  410  and the Duet process component  1134 . 
     The Data Migration System process component  802  invokes a Replicate Business Partner operation  1136  or a Cancel Contact and Account operation  1138 . The operations  1136  and  1138  are included in a Business Partner Replication In interface  1140 . The operation  1136  uses a Replicate Business Partner inbound process agent  1142  to update the Business Partner business object  142 . The operation  1138  uses a Cancel Contact synchronous inbound process agent  1144  to update the Business Partner business object  142 . 
     As shown in  FIG. 11B , the Data Migration System process component  802  can also invoke a Synchronous Replicate Employee operation  1146  or a Replicate Employee operation  1148 . The operations  1146  and  1148  are included in an Employee Replication In interface  1150 . The operation  1146  uses a Replicate Employee synchronous inbound process agent  1152  to update the Employee business object  143 . The operation  1148  uses a Replicate Employee inbound process agent  1154  to update the Employee business object  143 . 
     The Data Migration System process component  802  can also invoke a Replicate Customer operation  1156  or a Synchronous Replication Customer operation  1158 . The operations  1156  and  1158  are included in an Customer Replication In interface  1160 . The operation  1156  uses a Replicate Customer synchronous inbound process agent  1162  to update the Customer business object  147 , the Sales Arrangement business object  152 , or the Payment Agreement business object  155 . The operation  1158  uses a Replicate Customer inbound process agent  1164  to update the Customer business object  147 , the Sales Arrangement business object  152 , or the Payment Agreement business object  155 . 
     The Data Migration System process component  802  can also invoke a Replicate Supplier operation  1166  or a Synchronous Replication Supplier operation  1168 . The operations  1166  and  1168  are included in a Supplier Replication In interface  1170 . The operation  1166  uses a Replicate Supplier synchronous inbound process agent  1172  to update the Supplier business object  148  or the Procurement Arrangement business object  153 . The operation  1168  uses a Replicate Supplier inbound process agent  1174  to update the Supplier business object  148  or the Procurement Arrangement business object  153 . 
     In some implementations, the Data Migration System process component  101  can provide updates to the Party business object  145 , the Customer Tax Exemption business object  156 , the Clearing House business object  144 , the Tax Authority business object  149 , the House Bank business object  150 , the Company Tax Arrangement business object  141 , and the Payment Card  146 . 
       FIG. 12  is a block diagram showing an inspection master data management process component. The Inspection Master Data Management process component  136  handles the management of inspection-relevant master data, such as inspection rules and sample-drawing procedures, as well as the definition of quality-relevant catalogs. The Inspection Master Data Management process component  136  includes the Quality Issue Category Catalog  104 B, the Sample Drawing Procedure  105 B, and the Inspection Rule master data object  106 B. The Quality Issue Category Catalog master data object  104 B represents a structured catalog of categories that classifies quality-related issues for a particular quality aspect. The Sample Drawing Procedure master data object  105 B represents a procedure that defines how samples are to be taken. It contains data for the sample-drawing frequency, sample size, and sample quantity. The Inspection Rule master data object  106 B represents a rule that contains the specifications for an inspection. The inspection is used to check whether an object or procedure meets predefined requirements. 
       FIG. 13  is a block diagram showing a payment master data management process component  123 . The payment master data management process component  123  handles the management of payment master data, such as clearing house accounts, that is used in different business areas. It also contains views of house bank accounts and cash storages. The payment master data management process component  123  includes a Clearing House Account master data object  185 A, a Core View of House Bank Account master data object  186 A, and a Core View of Cash Storage master data object  187 A. The Clearing House Account master data object  185 A represents a company-internal representation of an account that is set up and managed at a clearing house for card payments for the company. It is based on an agreement between the company and the clearing house. The Core View Of House Bank Account master data object  186 A represents a view of a house bank account that contains identification, type, and currency data. The Core View of Cash Storage master data object  187 A represents cash storage availability. 
       FIG. 14  is a block diagram showing an interaction with an accounting coding block distribution processing process component  131 . The Accounting Coding Block Distribution Processing process component  131  includes the Accounting Coding Bock Distribution business object  115 B. An update to either the business object  115 B uses a Request Project Task Accountability Info from Accounting Coding Block Distribution to Project Processing synchronous outbound process agent  1402 . The process agent  1402  invokes a Request Project Task Accountability Information operation  1404 . The operation  1404  checks the project task accountability. The operation  1404  is included in a Project Task Accountability Out interface  1406 . The Request Project Task Accountability Information operation  1404  can then send an update to A Project Processing process component  1408  regarding the Project Task. 
       FIG. 15  is a block diagram showing a document management process component  109 . The Document Management process component  109  includes the Document business object  122 A. The Document business object  122 A represents a carrier of unstructured information and additional control and monitoring information. 
       FIG. 16  is a block diagram showing a quantity conversion process component  1602 . The Quantity Conversion process component  1602  is a reusable service that handles the conversion, calculation, and comparison of quantities and units of measurement. Product-specific conversion factors are maintained in the Product Master. For example, the conversion of quantities in gallons to liters can be stored in the Product Master. The quantities can be converted if requested by a Convert Quantities business object  1604  or a Convert Product Based on Quantities business object  1606 . The business objects  1604  and  1606  are included in a Convert Quantities In interface  1608 . The conversion can be transferred to other process components or system using a Convert Quantity synchronous inbound process agent  1610 . 
       FIG. 17  is a block diagram showing a data flow verification process component  118 . The Data Flow Verification process component  118  represents the act of verifying that the data flow between business objects has been carried out correctly. For example, the flow of data between business objects can be checked by examining the message exchange between sender and receiver, or by comparing the business object instances. The Data Flow Verification process component  118  includes a Data Flow Verification Run mass data run object  154 A and a Data Flow Verification Result business process object  155 A. The Data Flow Verification Run mass data run object  154 A represents the specification of an automated run to verify the data flow between business objects. The Data Flow Verification Result business process object  155 A represents the result of the verification process of the data flow between business objects. 
       FIG. 18  is a block diagram showing an interactions with a business document flow processing process component  108 . The Business Document Flow Processing process component  108  can invoke a Find Related Business Document operation  1802 . The operation  1802  can find a business document related to a given business document. The operation  1802  is included in a Query Business Document Flow In interface  1804 . The operation  1802  uses a synchronous Business Document Flow Processing to Business Document Flow outbound process agent  1806  to update the Business Document Flow business object  120 A. 
     If the Business document Flow business object  120 A receives an update, the business object  120 A uses a synchronous Business Document Flow Processing to Business Document Flow inbound process agent  1808  to invoke a Query Related Business Document operation  1810 . The operation  1810  can query a business document related to a given business document. The operation  1810  is included in a Query Business Document Flow Out interface  1812 . 
     The subject matter described in this specification and all of the functional operations described in this specification can be implemented in digital electronic circuitry, or in computer software, firmware, or hardware, including the structural means disclosed in this specification and structural equivalents thereof, or in combinations of them. The subject matter described in this specification can be implemented as one or more computer program products, i.e., one or more computer programs tangibly embodied in an information carrier, e.g., in a machine-readable storage device or in a propagated signal, for execution by, or to control the operation of, data processing apparatus, e.g., a programmable processor, a computer, or multiple computers. A computer program (also known as a program, software, software application, or code) can be written in any form of programming language, including compiled or interpreted languages, and it can be deployed in any form, including as a stand-alone program or as a module, component, subroutine, or other unit suitable for use in a computing environment. A computer program does not necessarily correspond to a file. A program can be stored in a portion of a file that holds other programs or data, in a single file dedicated to the program in question, or in multiple coordinated files (e.g., files that store one or more modules, sub-programs, or portions of code). A computer program can be deployed to be executed on one computer or on multiple computers at one site or distributed across multiple sites and interconnected by a communication network. 
     The processes and logic flows described in this specification can be performed by one or more programmable processors executing one or more computer programs to perform functions by operating on input data and generating output. The processes and logic flows can also be performed by, and apparatus can also be implemented as, special purpose logic circuitry, e.g., an FPGA (field programmable gate array) or an ASIC (application-specific integrated circuit). 
     Processors suitable for the execution of a computer program include, by way of example, both general and special purpose microprocessors, and any one or more processors of any kind of digital computer. Generally, a processor will receive instructions and data from a read-only memory or a random access memory or both. The essential elements of a computer are a processor for executing instructions and one or more memory devices for storing instructions and data. Generally, a computer will also include, or be operatively coupled to receive data from or transfer data to, or both, one or more mass storage devices for storing data, e.g., magnetic, magneto-optical disks, or optical disks. Information carriers suitable for embodying computer program instructions and data include all forms of non-volatile memory, including by way of example semiconductor memory devices, e.g., EPROM, EEPROM, and flash memory devices; 
     magnetic disks, e.g., internal hard disks or removable disks; magneto-optical disks; and CD-ROM and DVD-ROM disks. The processor and the memory can be supplemented by, or incorporated in, special purpose logic circuitry. 
     To provide for interaction with a user, the subject matter described in this specification can be implemented on a computer having a display device, e.g., a CRT (cathode ray tube) or LCD (liquid crystal display) monitor, for displaying information to the user and a keyboard and a pointing device, e.g., a mouse or a trackball, by which the user can provide input to the computer. Other kinds of devices can be used to provide for interaction with a user as well; for example, feedback provided to the user can be any form of sensory feedback, e.g., visual feedback, auditory feedback, or tactile feedback; and input from the user can be received in any form, including acoustic, speech, or tactile input. 
     The subject matter described in this specification can be implemented in a computing system that includes a back-end component (e.g., a data server), a middleware component (e.g., an application server), or a front-end component (e.g., a client computer having a graphical user interface or a Web browser through which a user can interact with an implementation of the subject matter described herein), or any combination of such back-end, middleware, and front-end components. The components of the system can be interconnected by any form or medium of digital data communication, e.g., a communication network. Examples of communication networks include a local area network (“LAN”) and a wide area network (“WAN”), e.g., the Internet. 
     The computing system can include clients and servers. A client and server are generally remote from each other and typically interact through a communication network. The relationship of client and server arises by virtue of computer programs running on the respective computers and having a client-server relationship to each other. 
     While this specification contains many specific implementation details, these should not be construed as limitations on the scope of the invention or of what may be claimed, but rather as illustrating preferred embodiments of the invention. Certain features that are described in this specification in the context of separate embodiments may also be provided in combination in a single embodiment. Conversely, various features that are described in the context of a single embodiment may also be provided in multiple embodiments separately or in any suitable subcombination. Moreover, although features may be described above as acting in certain combinations and even initially claimed as such, one or more features from a claimed combination can in some cases be excised from the combination, and the claimed combination may be directed to a subcombination or variation of a subcombination. 
     The subject matter has been described in terms of particular variations, but other variations can be implemented and are within the scope of the following claims. For example, the actions recited in the claims can be performed in a different order and still achieve desirable results. As one example, the processes depicted in the accompanying figures do not necessarily require the particular order shown, or sequential order, to achieve desirable results. In certain implementations, multitasking and parallel processing may be advantageous. Other variations are within the scope of the following claims.