Architectural design for selling standardized services application software

A system, comprising:

• a computer system comprising one or more hardware platforms for executing a computer software application;
• a plurality of process components, each of the process components being a package of software implementing a respective and distinct business process, the plurality of process components including:
• an accounting process component that handles the representation of relevant business transactions for valuation and profitability analysis;
• a financial accounting master data management process component that handles the management of financial accounting master data that is used both for accounting and costing purposes;
• a balance of foreign payment management process component that handles the collection, processing, and reporting of receivables and payables according to foreign trade regulations that are used by the financial authority of a country;
• a due item processing process component that handles the collection, management, and monitoring of trade receivables or payables and corresponding sales tax or withholding tax;
• a customer quote processing process component that handles the processing of quotes to customers offering the delivery of goods according to specific terms;
• a sales order processing process component that handles the processing of customers' requests to a seller for the delivery of goods, on a specific date, for a specific quantity, and for a specific price;
• a service confirmation processing process component that handles the reporting back of actual times and quantities for services provided, and spare parts consumed related to the execution of a service order;
• and
• a payment processing process component that handles the processing and management of payments, and is responsible for the associated communication with financial institutions;
• and
• a plurality of service operations, each service operation being implemented for a respective process component, the operations comprising inbound and outbound operations, the outbound operation for a first process component being operable to send a message to a second process component of the plurality of process components, the second process component having an inbound operation for receiving the message, the passing of messages between an inbound and an outbound operation defining a message-based pair-wise interaction between the respective process components of the respective operations, the pair-wise interactions between pairs of the process components including interactions between:
• a payment processing at business partner process component and the payment processing process component;
• the payment processing process component and a payment order processing at house bank process component;
• a bank statement creation at bank process component and the payment processing process component;
• the due item processing process component and a due item processing at business partner process component;
• the sales order processing process component and a financial accounting master data management process component;
• the service confirmation processing process component and the accounting process component;
• the sales order processing process component and the due item processing process component;
• the customer quote processing process component and the due item processing process component;
• the sales order processing process component and the accounting process component;
• the customer quote processing process component and the financial accounting master data management process component;
• and
• the payment processing process component and the due item processing process component.

A method for developing a computer software application, comprising:

• obtaining in a computer system digital data representing an architectural design for a set of processes implementing an end-to-end application process, the design specifying a process component for each process in the set of processes, the design specifying further specifying a set of process component interactions, wherein:
• the specified process components include:
• an accounting process component that handles the representation of relevant business transactions for valuation and profitability analysis;
• a financial accounting master data management process component that handles the management of financial accounting master data that is used both for accounting and costing purposes;
• a balance of foreign payment management process component that handles the collection, processing, and reporting of receivables and payables according to foreign trade regulations that are used by the financial authority of a country;
• a due item processing process component that handles the collection, management, and monitoring of trade receivables or payables and corresponding sales tax or withholding tax;
• a customer quote processing process component that handles the processing of quotes to customers offering the delivery of goods according to specific terms;
• a sales order processing process component that handles the processing of customers' requests to a seller for the delivery of goods, on a specific date, for a specific quantity, and for a specific price;
• a service confirmation processing process component that handles the reporting back of actual times and quantities for services provided, and spare parts consumed related to the execution of a service order;
• and
• a payment processing process component that handles the processing and management of payments, and is responsible for the associated communication with financial institutions;
• and
• the process component interactions include interactions between:
• a payment processing at business partner process component and the payment processing process component;
• the payment processing process component and a payment order processing at house bank process component;
• a bank statement creation at bank process component and the payment processing process component;
• the due item processing process component and a due item processing at business partner process component;
• the sales order processing process component and a financial accounting master data management process component;
• the service confirmation processing process component and the accounting process component;
• the sales order processing process component and the due item processing process component;
• the customer quote processing process component and the due item processing process component;
• the sales order processing process component and the accounting process component;
• the customer quote processing process component and the financial accounting master data management process component;
• and
• the payment processing process component and the due item processing process component;
• using the design including the specified process components and the specified process component interactions to develop a computer software application to perform the set of processes.