Patent Issued for Interface for point of use data governance (USPTO 11734255): Hartford Fire Insurance Company

2023 SEP 11 (NewsRx) -- By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Insurance Daily News -- A patent by the inventors Mackenthun, Scott Mitchell (West Hartford, CT, US), Madison, James A. (Windsor, CT, US), filed on November 2, 2020, was published online on August 22, 2023, according to news reporting originating from Alexandria, Virginia, by NewsRx correspondents.

Patent number 11734255 is assigned to Hartford Fire Insurance Company (Hartford, Connecticut, United States).

The following quote was obtained by the news editors from the background information supplied by the inventors: “The data governance community has made attempts to govern data at an element level. This is the most granular level of data and from an enterprise perspective the number of elements is impossibly large. As a result, enterprise resources have focused on governing naming conventions of data elements and organizing data stewards to complete the names. In many industries there are tens of thousands of elements. The effort required to name, define, and rationalize that number of elements can be overwhelming.

“Additionally, the data governance must account for differences in terminology between different groups within the enterprise. Such differences exponentially add to the number of elements and issues among elements. For example, people in finance for the enterprise might have a different definition or understanding of “loss” compared to those persons in the actuarial group. Such a difference may be directed solely to timing issues. By additional example, determining the zip code of a facility may similarly cause confusion. As a result, current attempts at industry data governance have gone awry.

“Therefore, there is a need for a process to facilitate trusted sources of information in an enterprise.”

In addition to the background information obtained for this patent, NewsRx journalists also obtained the inventors’ summary information for this patent: “The present system and method is directed to a process to facilitate trusted sources of information in an enterprise. The present system and method positions data governance to move away from the element level and focus on the data asset (i.e. repository, interface, subject) level. When data persons are having any issue with their data asset, whether it is a conflicting data asset, interface issues, competing data asset, new data asset build, data subject issue, or the like, a certifier may operate to assess the asset based on our well defined metrics, determine the health through the data asset scoring process, recommend asset services, and provide those services to the data owner who is ultimately responsible for implementing them to improve the data and the data processes.”

The claims supplied by the inventors are:

“1. A method for producers and consumers of data within a point of use data governance system, the method comprising: identifying a data asset stored in a repository, the data asset being a collection of data elements used for business decision making; providing, by a producer, a function of the identified data asset across an interface; challenging, by at least one consumer, a fit for use of the identified data asset in the point of use data governance system, the challenge of the fit for use of the identified data asset including at least one issue with the use of the identified data asset within the point of use data governance system; identifying facts that govern the at least one issue including the fit for use of the identified data asset via the providing and challenging; resolving the at least one issue of the data asset across the interface based on the identified facts by updating the data asset and fit for use; and updating the data asset in the repository based on the resolving.

“2. The method of claim 1 wherein the producers and consumers are connected across an input-output (IO) device.

“3. The method of claim 1, further comprising creating, by a producer, at least one data asset stored in a repository for use by at least one consumer.

“4. The method of claim 1 wherein the challenging comprises categorizing and aligning data assets, in a processor, for the producer and the at least one consumer as the data asset is transmitted across an IO device as the data asset is in use.

“5. The method of claim 1 wherein creating facts comprises resolving disputes on the data asset, via a processor, across an IO device, a dispute occurring when an authoritative source of the data asset is unknown or where two or more data assets for the same purpose exist.

“6. The method of claim 1, further comprising providing the data asset to future consumers based on right fit as defined by accuracy for the function.

“7. The method of claim 1 wherein the data asset is categorized at a subject level.

“8. The method of claim 1 wherein creating facts includes resolving any issue using resolution rules.

“9. The method of claim 1 wherein the data asset is a certified data asset.

“10. The method of claim 1 wherein the data asset is a new data asset categorized according to a set of system rules.

“11. The method of claim 1, further comprising assessing, by a certifier, the asset based on defined metrics.

“12. The method of claim 1 wherein a health status of the data asset is determined through a data asset scoring process.

“13. A non-transient computer readable medium including hardware design code stored thereon which when executed by a processor cause a system to perform a method for producers and consumers of data within a point of use data governance system, said method comprising: identifying a data asset stored in a repository, the data asset being a collection of data elements used for business decision making; providing, by a producer, a function of the identified data asset across an interface; challenging, by at least one consumer, a fit for use of the identified data asset in the point of use data governance system, the challenge of the fit for use of the identified data asset including at least one issue with the use of the identified data asset within the point of use data governance system; identifying facts that govern the at least one issue including the fit for use of the identified data asset via the providing and challenging; resolving the at least one issue of the data asset across the interface based on the identified facts by updating the data asset and fit for use; and updating the data asset in the repository based on the resolving.

“14. The computer readable medium of claim 13 wherein the producers and consumers are connected across an input-output (IO) device.

“15. The computer readable medium of claim 13, further comprising creating, by a producer, at least one data asset stored in a repository for use by at least one consumer.

“16. The computer readable medium of claim 13 wherein the challenging comprises categorizing and aligning data assets, in a processor, for the producer and the at least one consumer as the data asset is transmitted across an IO device as the data asset is in use.

“17. The computer readable medium of claim 13 wherein creating facts comprises resolving disputes on the data asset, via the processor, across an IO device, a dispute occurring when an authoritative source of the data asset is unknown or where two or more data assets for the same purpose exist.

“18. The computer readable medium of claim 13, further comprising providing the data asset to future consumers based on right fit as defined by accuracy for the function.

“19. The computer readable medium of claim 13, further comprising assessing, by a certifier, the asset based on defined metrics.

“20. The computer readable medium of claim 13 wherein a health status of the data asset is determined through a data asset scoring process.”

URL and more information on this patent, see: Mackenthun, Scott Mitchell. Interface for point of use data governance. U.S. Patent Number 11734255, filed November 2, 2020, and published online on August 22, 2023. Patent URL (for desktop use only): https://ppubs.uspto.gov/pubwebapp/external.html?q=(11734255)&db=USPAT&type=ids

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