Abstract: A procurement system is disclosed to make a category behave like a specific product that can be chosen and requested through the procurement system. A catalog is easily constructed which: includes all categories of products and services that an organization may procure; inserts specific pertinent products and services that the organization may want to maintain under each category; productizes categories that the organization may allow a user to request; and hides the categories and products that the organization may not allow users in certain positions to view. A procurement system with productized categories accommodates both novice and expert users. Broad product and service requests can be forwarded to designated experts for order assistance. Expert requesters and purchases can refine requests to provide detailed and specific product descriptions.

Abstract: A user interface system is disclosed which is useful for applying decision values to objects defined in terms of attributes, incorporating the concepts of inheritance, adoption, and rebel values. This invention addresses a group of objects that retain the same set of attributes and applies decision values to the selected groups of objects using a value inheritance system analogous to that of an ancestral tree. This invention employs novel methods for constructing a virtual single hierarchical system out of any multiple attributes system, inheriting decision values along family tree lines, and displaying the user's assignment decisions.