Method of and system for associating an electronic signature with an electronic record

A computer system that manages a database of electronic records, the computer system comprising:

• a processor;
• and
• a computer-readable memory coupled to the processor, the computer-readable memory configured to store a computer program;
• wherein the processor is operative with the computer program to:
• (i) receive first information provided by a user via a graphical user interface configured to enable users of the graphical user interface to define operations by one or more database applications as triggering conditions for application events and processing that occurs when the application events are triggered, the first information defining an application event that, upon occurrence, causes the processor to intercept a database transaction instantiated by one of the database applications with a database management system of a database and generate from data identified in the database transaction an electronic record that requires an electronic signature;
• (ii) receive second information provided by the user via the graphical user interface, the second information defining one or more fields for data to be stored in the electronic record;
• (iii) receive third information provided by the user via the graphical user interface, the third information providing a mapping between data from underlying database tables associated with the database transaction to at least some of the fields defined for the electronic record;
• (iv) receive fourth information provided by the user via the user interface, the fourth information defining a layout that is applicable when an electronic signature is collected for the electronic record for displaying data stored in the electronic record on a computer display;
• (v) receive fifth information provided by the user via the graphical user interface, the fifth information identifying a signatory approver for the electronic record;
• (vi) intercept data from the database transaction instantiated by the one of the database applications with the database management system of a database to generate the electronic record in response to detecting the occurrence of the application event, the electronic record generated by the processor according to the mapping between the data from the underlying database tables associated with the database transaction to the at least some of the fields in the electronic record;
• (vii) receive an electronic signature from the signatory approver for the electronic record;
• and
• (viii) generate sixth information that associates the electronic signature from the signature approver with the electronic record prior to performing an action committing the database transaction instantiated by the one of the database applications with the database management system of a database to the database associated with the database management system.

A computer program product embodied on a computer-readable storage medium configured to store a set of code modules which when executed by a processor of a computer system cause the processor to manage a database of electronic records, the computer program product comprising:

• code for displaying a graphical user interface configured to enable users of the graphical user interface to define operations in one or more database applications as triggering conditions for application events and processing that occurs when the application events are triggered;
• code for receiving first information provided by a user via the graphical user interface, the first information defining an application event that, upon occurrence, causes a database transaction instantiated by one of the database applications with a database management system of a database to be intercepted and an electronic record that requires an electronic signature to be generated from data identified in the database transaction;
• code for receiving second information provided by the user via the graphical user interface, the second information defining one or more fields for data to be stored in the electronic record;
• code for receiving third information provided by the user via the graphical user interface, the third information providing a mapping between data from underlying database tables associated with the database transaction to at least some of the fields defined for data to be stored in the electronic record;
• code for receiving fourth information provided by the user via the graphical user interface, the fourth information defining a layout that is applicable when an electronic signature is collected for the electronic record for displaying data stored in the electronic record on a computer display;
• code for receiving fifth information provided by the user via the user interface, the fifth information identifying a signatory approver for the electronic record;
• code for, in response to detecting the occurrence of the application event when the one of the database applications instantiates the database transaction with the database management system of a database, generating the electronic record from data intercepted from the database transaction according to the mapping between the data from the underlying database tables associated with the database transaction to the at least some of the fields in the electronic record;
• code for displaying the electronic record to the signatory approver according to the defined layout in order to collect an electronic signature;
• code for receiving an electronic signature from the signatory approver for the electronic record;
• and
• code for generating sixth information associating the electronic signature from the signatory approver with the electronic record prior to performing an action that results in committing the database transaction to the database associated with the database management system.