Abstract: A business object model, which reflects data that is used during a given business transaction, is utilized to generate interfaces. This business object model facilitates commercial transactions by providing consistent interfaces that are suitable for use across industries, across businesses, and across different departments within a business during a business transaction. In some operations, software creates, updates, or otherwise processes information related to a property library, a property list template, a quantity conversion virtual object, and/or a supplier property specification business object.

Abstract: Example methods and apparatus to measure market statistics are disclosed. A disclosed example method includes retrieving a service penetration value from a managed data source, retrieving an Internet protocol (IP) address from a convenience data source, and identifying a household identification number associated with the retrieved IP address. The example method also includes retrieving household data associated with the household identification number, verifying a service provider name provided by the convenience data source, and adjusting a weight value of the retrieved household data when the service provider name provided by the convenience data source is different than a current service provider name. Additionally, the example method includes calculating service provider flow share based on the adjusted weight value and the service penetration value, and generating a report including the calculated service provider flow share.

Abstract: A method and system that provide analytical tools for increasing average revenue per user (ARPU) allows users to design and execute marketing campaigns that target customers with a statistically significant likelihood of accepting a marketing campaign offer and generating the greatest increase in revenue. The method and system creates statistical models to determine an individual customer's propensity to respond positively to a campaign and propensity to generate increased revenue. The method and system scores the customers according to the customers' propensities, and uses the scoring results to select an optimal mix of customers to contact during the marking campaign.

Abstract: A method of determining a set of future actions includes providing an interface to a user, the interface including an adjustable element associated with a future value of an influencer. The influencer is associated with an action. The method further includes receiving via the interface an adjusted future value of the influencer, projecting a future value of a performance indicator based at least in part on the adjusted future value of the influencer, and providing a results interface to the user indicative of the future value of the performance indicator.

Abstract: Methods, systems, and apparatus, including computer programs encoded on a computer storage medium, for prioritizing social activity postings. In one aspect, a method includes receiving a request for prioritized social activity postings, the request being associated with a company identifier. Social activity postings are identified. The social activity postings are available to users on a social activity system of one or more computers, and each social activity posting is associated with a user identifier. For each social activity posting, the user identifier associated with the social activity posting is matched with a customer identifier associated with the company identifier. A respective priority rating is determined for the social activity posting using configuration information associated with the customer identifier.

Abstract: Methods, systems, and apparatus, including computer program products, for implementing a software architecture design for a software application implementing time recording. The application is structured as multiple process components interacting with each other through service interfaces, and multiple service interface operations, each being implemented for a respective process component.

Abstract: Systems and methods are provided for determining a distribution of each of a plurality of inner packs to a plurality of stores. Mismatch cost data and product demand data are received for the plurality of stores. A first inner pack quantity for distribution is determined based on the product demand data. A supply difference amount is determined, where the supply difference amount is a difference between the first inner pack quantity and the number of first inner packs available for distribution. A determination is made that adjusting the first inner pack quantity for the particular store based on the supply difference amount would have less effect on mismatch costs than other stores, and the first inner pack quantity is adjusted for the particular store based on the supply difference.

Abstract: A risk framework is described for computing risk. One or more persons may be grouped into classes of stakeholders. Different types of risk may be classified into risk categories. Within each risk category, events contributing to that type of risk may be determined and assigned a weight/severity value and a likelihood of occurrence value. Risk likelihood may be computed for each risk category by summing the products of weight/severity value and likelihood of occurrence value for each event within the risk category. A severity level may be determined and assigned with respect to each class of stakeholders regarding the risk categories, and a risk score may be computed for each stakeholder class and risk category combination. An aggregate risk likelihood may be computed by summing and/or weighting the risk likelihoods computed for each risk category.

Abstract: An overall average review rating for a product may be determined, based on user ratings that are associated with opinions of a product, within a dimension corresponding to a user trait. A segment variation score for each of a plurality of segments of the dimension may be determined. Each segment may correspond to one or more values of the user trait corresponding to the dimension. A total variation score may be determined for the dimension based on the segment variation scores determined for each of the plurality of segments of the dimension. The total variation score for the dimension may be compared to a polarization threshold to determine whether the dimension is polarized. Generated information may identify the product as having sentiment that is polarized.

Abstract: Provided are a synchronization control section that executes a current thread and a reference thread in parallel, a waiting time calculation section that calculates the time needed for the reference thread to reach a second synchronization point as a waiting time of the current thread when the reference thread does not reach the second synchronization point at a time when the current thread reaches a first synchronization point, a quality difference calculation section that estimates a quality difference between data that the current thread generates by referring to processing data at the second synchronization point of the reference thread and data that the current thread generates without referring to the processing data, and a synchronization determination section that determines whether to make the current thread wait until the reference thread reaches the second synchronization point depending on the waiting time and the magnitude of the quality difference.

Abstract: Techniques for determining maturity of a delivery process in an information technology maintenance project are provided. The techniques include collecting information during a delivery process, wherein the information comprises operational data, aggregating the collected information for each delivery dimension into one or more aggregate delivery measures, wherein the one or more aggregate delivery measures comprise one or more delivery dimensions, comparing the one or more delivery dimensions against a threshold to determine a level of maturity for each delivery dimension, and determining an overall level of maturity of the delivery process by combining the level of maturity for each delivery dimension.

Abstract: Systems and techniques for entry and presentation of project planning information, showing activities in their geographic context. Information relating to activities and groupings of activities is entered, updated and presented. Information associated with one or more groupings of activities is associated with a graphical icon, with the appearance of the icon changing in response to changes in the associated information. The icon is placed in a graphical display, with the graphical display showing geographic information, such as a map, and the icon being placed in a map location showing the location of the activities associated with the icon. The graphical display maintains links to the information associated with the icon so that updating the information changes the appearance of the icon, calling attention to changes in their geographic context.

Abstract: A method of and system for defining a sales promotion is disclosed. The method includes receiving a hierarchical listing of items, including a plurality of levels, each level including at least one node. The method also includes selecting a first node to define a first sales promotion, and selecting a second node below the first node to define a second sales promotion, wherein the second sales promotion is more specific than the first sales promotion. The system includes means for receiving a hierarchical listing of items, including a plurality of levels, each level including at least one node. The system also includes means for selecting a first node to define a first sales promotion, and means for selecting a second node below the first node to define a second sales promotion, wherein the second sales promotion is more specific than the first sales promotion.

Abstract: A method of defining a sales promotion for a plurality of products includes determining a group of sales promotion sites to be included in the sales promotion from a plurality of sites using a computerized system, wherein the plurality of sites have been previously organized according to a predetermined grouping structure, and wherein the group of sales promotion sites is independent of the predetermined grouping structure. The method also includes determining a list of products associated with the group of sales promotion sites, and determining the products to be included in the sales promotion from the list of products associated with the group of sales promotion sites.

Abstract: A management database is queried to determine which customers have failed to respond to recall notices. The resulting list of customers may be sorted or filtered so that some customers are preferentially contacted first, based on expected value or office preferences. The list may also be sorted or filtered to fill specific providers' schedules first. Customer names and contact information are then presented to schedulers so that customers may be contacted. The time and date of each contact is automatically recorded along with the outcome of the contact. A customer name is presented to a scheduler only if the same name is not being simultaneously presented to other schedulers and that customer was not too recently contacted, so that redundant or too frequent contacts are avoided.

Abstract: Methods and apparatus, including systems and computer program products, for a services architecture design that provides enterprise services having accounting functionality at the level of an enterprise application. The design includes a set of service operations, process components, and optionally deployment units. Suitable business objects are also described.

Abstract: A cross-functional area service identification method and system. The method includes reading by a computing system, processes. The computing system processes process elements associated with the processes. The computing system identifies a first functional area associated with a first current process element of the process elements and a second functional area associated with a first parent process element of the first current process element. The computing system compares the first functional area to the second functional area and determines if the first functional area comprises a same functional area as the second functional area. The computing system generates and stores results indicating if the first functional area comprises a same functional area as the second functional area.

Abstract: A method and system for scheduling is disclosed. A computer generated generic matrix is provided allowing for creation of discrete pairs of discrete elements in combination, permutation, and the like. Applications of the method and system include, but are not limited to, sports scheduling, labor scheduling, manufacturing scheduling, laboratory experiments scheduling, sales performance scheduling.

Abstract: A computer-readable medium to direct a computer to function in a specified manner includes executable instructions to: generate a set of qualitative assessments; convert the set of qualitative assessments into a set of quantitative assessments; produce a quantitative forecast from the set of quantitative assessments; and translate the quantitative forecast to a qualitative forecast.

Abstract: A method of determining a set of future actions includes providing an interface to a user, the interface including an adjustable element associated with a future value of an influencer. The influencer is associated with an action. The method further includes receiving via the interface an adjusted future value of the influencer, projecting a future value of a performance indicator based at least in part on the adjusted future value of the influencer, and providing a results interface to the user indicative of the future value of the performance indicator.