Arrangement for guiding user design of comprehensive product solution using on-the-fly data validation

US7689467B1 · kind B1 · utility

Assignee

• AT&T Intellectual Property I, L.P. · US

Inventors

• David G. Belanger · Fryeburg, US
• Adrian Kester · Berkeley Heights, US
• Sam Houston Parker · Cranbury, US
• Sarat Puthenpura · Berkeley Heights, US
• Phyllis Weiss · Englewood, US

Key dates

• Filing date: Sep 23, 2005
• Grant date: Mar 30, 2010
• Expiry date: Jan 28, 2029

Classification

• Technology area (CPC G): Physics
• CPC primary: G06Q30/0633
• WIPO field: IT methods for management
• WIPO sector: Electrical engineering

Abstract

A computer-implemented method guides a user in designing a product defined by data. The method involves examining (420) items of the data to detect whether each item conforms to rules (106) or violates the rules; performing (431 . . . ) at least one action in response to a detection of a rule violation; displaying (450) the data to the user in a manner emphasizing at least one particular data item that caused the rule violation; receiving (460) any new data input from the user; and repeating the examining, action performing, and displaying steps using the new data. The displaying step may involve displaying data defining a current state of the product in a tabular (spreadsheet) format, including displaying data detected to have caused the rule violation in a first manner that is visibly distinct from displaying other data that is not detected to have caused the rule violation.