Patent Document

FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
       [0001]    One embodiment is directed generally to Enterprise Application (“EAS”) systems, and in particular to a combined directory of personal contact information and EAS data. 
       BACKGROUND INFORMATION 
       [0002]    Enterprise Application Systems are typically integrated software applications that perform business functions such as accounting, production scheduling, customer information management, human capital management, etc. They are frequently implemented on servers and simultaneously provide services to a large number of users, typically over a computer network. These systems are in contrast to the more common single-user software applications which run on a user&#39;s own local computer and serve only one user at a time. Typically, the Enterprise Application System (“EAS”) is implemented as a group of software modules sharing a common database. Examples of an EAS include a Customer Relations Management (“CRM”) system, a Manufacturing Resource Planning (“MRP”) system, and an Enterprise Resource Planning (“ERP”) system. 
         [0003]    Enterprise Resource Planning is an industry term for integrated, multi-module application software packages that are designed to serve and support multiple business functions. An ERP system can include software for manufacturing, order entry, accounts receivable and payable, general ledger, purchasing, warehousing, transportation and human resources. Evolving out of the manufacturing industry, ERP implies the use of packaged software rather than proprietary software written by or for one customer. ERP modules may be able to interface with an organization&#39;s own software with varying degrees of effort, and, depending on the software, ERP modules may be alterable via the vendor&#39;s proprietary tools as well as proprietary or standard programming languages. 
         [0004]    One module of the ERP system that enjoys widespread use is the human resources module. Through the human resources module employees of the organization typically have access to fellow employee&#39;s contact information, such as e-mail address, phone number, office location and so on through a worker directory. Data held in an ERP system is kept up to date, for example, when e-mail addresses or phone numbers are changed. However, if the employee knows more information about their fellow employees than is stored in the corporate directory, including private information such as cell phone numbers or home addresses, they would typically store this in a contact application such as Microsoft® Outlook. The conventional ERP system does not allow non-administrators to access or add to the ERP system. That means that the employee has to look in two places to find the complete set of information about their colleague. One way of dealing with this problem is to copy the ERP contact details into the Outlook contact list. However, then there is a risk of having out-of-date information, as the information is no longer linked and updated from the ERP system. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0005]    One embodiment is a method for combining private contact information and enterprise application system data in a directory. The method includes receiving private contact information regarding a first employee from a second employee, storing the private contact information regard the first employee on an EAS server, and displaying the private contact information to the second employee upon request, wherein the private contact information is viewable only to the second employee. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0006]      FIG. 1  is a block diagram of an ERP system in accordance with an embodiment; 
           [0007]      FIG. 2  is a block diagram of a human resources module in accordance with an embodiment; 
           [0008]      FIG. 3  illustrates a work directory user interface; 
           [0009]      FIG. 4  is a flow chart illustrating a method for combining private contact information and ERP data. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0010]    An embodiment is a method for combining private contact information and EAS data in the same directory. In one embodiment, the EAS data and contact information are stored on an ERP server.  FIG. 1  is a block diagram of an ERP server  100  in accordance with this embodiment. ERP is a software architecture that facilitates the flow of information among the different functions within an enterprise. Similarly, ERP facilitates information sharing across organizational units and geographical locations. It enables decision-makers to have an enterprise-wide view of the information they need in a timely, reliable and consistent fashion. ERP provides the backbone for an enterprise-wide information system. At the core of this enterprise software is a central database that draws data from and feeds data into modular applications that operate on a common computing platform, thus standardizing business processes and data definitions into a unified environment. With an ERP system, data needs to be entered only once. The system provides consistency and visibility or transparency across the entire enterprise. A primary benefit of ERP is easier access to reliable, integrated information. A related benefit is the elimination of redundant data and the rationalization of processes, which result in substantial cost savings. 
         [0011]    In one embodiment, ERP server  100  is implemented as part of the Oracle® E-Business Suite. ERP server  100  includes a processor (not shown) for executing instructions and a memory (not shown) for storing an operating system and software modules executable by the processor. ERP server  100  is accessible by at least one administrator  120  and at least one employee  130  via, for example, network  140 . ERP server  100  includes a plurality of modules  102 - 108  and a central database  110  including data collected, utilized and reported by modules  102 - 108 . Manufacturing module  102  collects, utilizes and reports data relating to manufacturing engineering, bills of material, scheduling, capacity, workflow management, quality control, cost management, manufacturing process, manufacturing projects, and manufacturing flow, among other aspects. Supply Chain Management module  103  collects, utilizes and reports data relating to inventory, order entry, purchasing, supply chain planning, supplier scheduling, inspection of goods, claim processing, and commission calculation, among other aspects. Financials module  104  collects, utilizes and reports data relating to general ledgers, cash management, accounts payable, accounts receivable, and assets, among other aspects. Projects module  105  collects, utilizes and reports data relating to costing, billing, and time and expenses of projects, employee activity on a project, among other aspects. Customer Relationships Management module  106  collects, utilizes and reports data relating to sales and marketing, commissions, service, customer contact, and call center support, among other aspects. Data Warehouse module  107  includes interfaces for suppliers, customers, and employees to access a data warehouse. Human Resources module  108  collects, utilizes and reports data relating to position management, performance review, applicant tracking, payroll, training, time and attendance, and benefits, among other aspects. Human Resources module  108  is described in greater detail below. 
         [0012]      FIG. 2  is a block diagram of Human Resources module  108  in accordance with an embodiment. Human Resources module  108  includes a plurality of modules  201 - 207  that collect, utilize and report data relating to human resources. Position Management module  201  collects, utilizes and reports data relating to positions held by employees within the organization, and any change in those positions, among other aspects. Performance Review module  202  collects, utilizes and reports data relating to performance evaluations of employees within an organization, for example, as the evaluations relate to promotion or compensation, among other aspects. Applicant Tracking module  203  collects, utilizes and reports data relating to potential candidates for employment within the organization, among other aspects. Payroll module  204  collects, utilizes and reports data relating to employ compensation within the organization, among other aspects. Training module  205  collects, utilizes and reports data relating to continuing education courses available to employees, and which employees have completed such courses, among other aspects. Time and Attendance module  206  collects, utilizes and reports data relating to hours worked, days present, sick leave, and vacation leave for employees within the organization, among other aspects. Benefits module  207  collects, utilizes and reports data relating to employee benefits, for example, health and dental insurance, transit benefits, pension and retirement programs, and profit sharing programs, among other aspects. 
         [0013]    Human Resources module  108  further includes a rostering module  208  for collecting, maintaining and displaying contact information for employees in the organization. This information, stored in database  110 , typically includes but is not limited to work email, work phone, office location, title, supervisor, a picture of the employee, a public work calendar, social security number, home address, home phone, mobile phone, and emergency contact information. This information may be changed or created only by permitted personnel, such as a human resources administrator. When an employee  130  accesses the rostering module  208  to retrieve contact information for a coworker, for example, via an organizational intranet, the employee  130  receives a limited view of the information. Typically, this information is limited to organizational information such as work email, work phone, office location, title, supervisor, public work calendar, and picture of the coworker. A human resources administrator  120  may configure which information should be displayed to coworkers. 
         [0014]    In addition to this information, employee  130  sees private contact information about their coworker that the employee added via the rostering module  208 .  FIG. 3  illustrates a directory user interface (“UI”)  301  displaying public organizational information  303  and private contact information  305 . For example, if employee  130  knows the private home phone, home address, and/or mobile phone of coworker A, then employee  130  adds that private contact information  305  to database  110  via rostering module  208 . The private contact information  305  regarding coworker A is visible and accessible only to the person that added it, that is, employee  130 . However, employee  130  may also grant permissions to other employees to allow them to see the data also, and push that data (send an alert) to other employees when that data changes or is updated. One or ordinary skill in the art will also understand that network administrator  120  could likely have access to the private contact information. 
         [0015]    Furthermore, because the private contact information  305  is stored on ERP server  101 , the private contact information enjoys the benefit of the periodic archiving of database  110 . When employee  130  views their own contact information, they see all of the information collected by rostering module  208 , and may select which private information to make public via rostering module  208 . 
         [0016]      FIG. 4  illustrates a flow diagram of the functionality of ERP server  100  in accordance with an embodiment when combining personal contact information and ERP data. In one embodiment, the functionality of the flow diagram of  FIG. 4  is implemented by software stored in memory and executed by a processor. In other embodiments, the functionality can be performed by hardware, or any combination of hardware and software. An employee  130  accesses a coworker&#39;s organizational information on ERP server  101  via, for example, an intranet page ( 400 ). That page includes a limited view of organizational information regarding the coworker. Employee  130  submits, via the page, private contact information  305  regarding the coworker ( 410 ). For example, employee  130  submits a home phone number for the coworker, acquire from the coworker. In one embodiment, employee  130  selects a group of users who are allowed to view the private contact information. In an embodiment, that group of users may be limited to employee  130 . Rostering module receives the private contact information and stores it securely in database  110  ( 420 ). Subsequently, employee returns to the coworker&#39;s intranet page and views the private contact information  305  ( 430 ). The private contact information is not retrievable by anyone else in the organization that is not permitted to see it. 
         [0017]    In the past, people had to have a separate repository for their personal data about another person and the ERP data held about a person. This meant either visiting two or more sources to find the complete set of information, or holding information in multiple places, which led to it often getting out of date. This embodiment allows both organization and private information about a person to be stored in a single place. By having all of the data in a single repository, synchronization of data to mobile phones is also simplified, without the user having to worry about duplicate information from different sources. Furthermore, because the data is stored on the ERP server, the private contact information is securely stored and archived, thus the information is less likely to be exposed or lost. Moreover, users may alert others that their contact information has changed. 
         [0018]    Some embodiments of the invention have been described as computer-implemented processes. It is important to note, however, that those skilled in the art will appreciate that the mechanisms of the invention are capable of being distributed as a program product in a variety of forms. The foregoing description of example embodiments is provided for the purpose of illustrating the principles of the invention, and not in limitation thereof, since the scope of the invention is defined solely by the appended claims.

Technology Category: 3