Methods and apparatus for maintaining business rules in a configuration system

摘要

Methods and apparatus for maintaining businesses rules in a configuration system are disclosed. The presently disclosed system allows systems to be configured using a plurality of rules that are syndicated by a plurality of different manufacturers. Each manufacturer syndicates a portion of the overall system attributes and/or configuration rule set for use by others. Configuration users, such as the sales channel, may then create additional rules and/or configure products with the most recent version of the component attributes and configuration rules, and no single entity is burdened with maintaining the entire attribute and/or rule set.

主权项

1. A method of configuring a system, the method comprising:
providing a configuration system for receiving and consolidating one or more configuration rules pertaining to configuration attributes of products from a plurality of manufacturers,
the configuration attributes being selectable component configuration parameters, and the configuration rules comprising logic that analyzes whether a first configuration attribute is compatible with a second configuration attribute,
wherein the configuration rules associated with the plurality of manufacturers are not maintained at the configuration system but rather are maintained by the plurality of manufacturers, andwherein the configuration system maintains non-manufacturer rules in addition to the one or more configuration rules received from the plurality of manufacturers, the non-manufacturer configuration rules pertaining to the configuration attributes from the one or more configuration rules received from the plurality of manufacturers; receiving, at the configuration system, a first configuration rule from a first manufacturer, the first configuration rule pertaining to a first product associated with the first manufacturer; receiving, at the configuration system, a second different configuration rule from a second manufacturer, the second configuration rule pertaining to a second product associated with the second manufacturer, wherein the first product and the second product are of the same type, and wherein the first configuration rule is of a different type than the second configuration rule; storing the first configuration rule and the second configuration rule in the configuration system; and configuring one or more products by executing the configuration rules to determine compatibility of the configuration attributes selected by an end-user using the configuration system,
wherein the configuration system causes a first configuration control and a second different configuration control to be displayed to the end-user,the first configuration control being associated with the first configuration attribute, and the second configuration control being associated with the second configuration attribute, andwherein the configuration system modifies a value associated with the first configuration control based on the end-user's selection in the second configuration control.