Patent ID: 8560576

Claim:
An article comprising a non-transitory computer-readable medium embodying instructions that, when performed by one or more machines, result in operations comprising: preparing a data entry template for entry of data in a plurality of data records distributed across a plurality of data sources, wherein the plurality of data sources include at least one of heterogeneous data sources, homogeneous data sources, and heterogeneous data sources including homogeneous sections; wherein the preparing further includes designating a test record from among the plurality of data records; comparing every other one of the plurality of data records to the test record; generating a similarity pattern based on the comparing if similarities between the test record and another compared data record in the plurality of data records exceed at least one pattern significance guideline; and repeating the designating, the comparing, and the generating until each of the plurality of records has been designated as the test record at least once; associating the prepared data entry template with at least one data record in the plurality of data records, wherein the associating includes receiving a first value of a first attribute of the at least one data record in the plurality of data records in a user interface; creating, based on the received first value, a value pattern for a second attribute for the at least one data record in the plurality of data records in the user interface; proposing, from the created value pattern, a second value for the second attribute for the at least one data record in the plurality of data records in the user interface and using the proposed second value as a second value for the second attribute, when a frequency of occurrence of the proposed second value is greater than a threshold frequency of occurrence of the second attribute; modifying the prepared data entry template to reflect a change to a business process that was previously represented by the data entry template; propagating the change to the business process as reflected by the modified prepared data entry template to two or more data records associated with and previously entered using the data entry template, the propagating comprising retroactively updating the two or more data records to reflect the modified prepared entry template; and creating a new data record using the modified prepared data entry template.