Patent ID: 7634478

Claim:
A computer-implemented method for enabling a user to extract information from business data, comprising: receiving an object model description describing an object model used in collecting the business data; generating a dimensional object model and an analytical programming object model from the object model description, wherein generating comprises deriving data from both the dimensional model and the object model such that the analytical programming model represents data derived from both the dimensional model and the object model; automatically identifying, using a processor that is a functional component of the computer, a data navigation path between a set of business data in the object model and a set of business data in the analytical programming model; wherein automatically identifying a data navigation path further comprises acquiring a set of metadata from a metadata store, the set of metadata being utilized as a reference to support the automatic identification of the data navigation path; storing, on a computer-readable storage medium, a record of the automatically identified data navigation path; providing an indication of the automatically identified data navigation path to the user, wherein the indication of the automatically identified data navigation path is provided to the user as part of a collection of automatically identified data navigation paths that includes an automatically identified logic association type of navigation path; receiving, from the user, a command to activate the automatically identified data navigation path; and responding to the command by facilitating an automatic transitioning of a display of the business data, wherein automatically transitioning comprises automatically transitioning between a display of the set of business data in the object model and the set of business data in the analytical programming model.