Computer assisted contracting of application services

In an application service environment, a computer assisted method for forming an application service agreement between a first and a second organization, the method comprising:

• receiving from an authorized user of the first organization a plurality of values for a plurality of attributes defining an offer to form the application service agreement, including values specifying an offer type, one or more offered items, duration and compensation;
• and
• in response, automatically creating the offer in a form of a first hierarchy of data object instances including
• a root data object instance having an offer type attribute set with the provided offered type;
• one or more child offered item data object instances that are child data object instances of the root data object instance, each having one or more offered item attributes defining an offered item;
• an offered term data object instance that is a child data object instance of the root data object instance, having a duration term attribute and a compensation term attribute set with the provided during and compensation terms respectively.

An apparatus comprising

• storage medium having stored therein a plurality of programming instruction designed to enable the apparatus to facilitate formation of an application service agreement between a first and a second organization, including
• facilitating an authorized user of the first organization in creating an offer to form said application service agreement, with the offer comprising first one or more offer data object instances having first one or more attributes describing the offer, and the first one or more offer data object instances having association with one or more methods for an authorized user of the second organization to accept the offer or create a first counter offer to the offer, and
• facilitating an authorized user of the second organization using the first one or more methods to perform one of
• a) accepting the offer,
• b) creating a first counter offer to the offer, with the first counter offer comprising second one or more offer data object instances, derived from the first one or more offer data object instances, having second one or more attributes describing said first counter offer, and the second one or more offer data object instances also having association with the one or more methods for an authorized user of the first organization to use to accept the first counter offer or create a second counter offer to the first counter offer;
• and
• at least one processor coupled to the storage medium to execute the programming instructions.

An apparatus comprising:

• storage medium having stored therein a plurality of programming instructions designed to enable the apparatus to facilitate formation of an application service agreement between a first and a second organization, including
• receiving from an authorized user of the first organization a plurality of values for a plurality of attributes defining an offer to form the application service agreement, including values specifying an offer type, one or more offered items, duration and compensation, and
• in response, automatically creating the offer in a form of a first hierarchy of data object instances including
• a root data object instance having an offer type attribute set with the provided offered type,
• one or more child offered item data object instances that are child data object instances of the root data object instance, each having one or more offered item attributes defining an offered item,
• an offered term data object instance that is a child data object instance of the root data object instance, having a duration term attribute and a compensation term attribute set with the provided during and compensation terms respectively;
• and
• at least one processor coupled to the storage medium to execute the programming instructions.