Managing entity organizational chart

Abstract

Displaying organizational information of an entity includes storing data representing nodes associated with members of the entity in a database accessible by members of the entity. Data representing connections between the nodes that represent hierarchical relationships between the members is stored. An organizational chart comprising the nodes and connections is displayed on a presentation surface associated with a particular member of the entity. Input to create new nodes and connections is received from the particular member of the entity. When the new nodes are associated with a group that is associated with the particular member, the displayed nodes and connections are updated in response to the received input.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method of displaying organizational information of an entity, comprising:
 storing data representing nodes associated with members of the entity in a database accessible by members of the entity;   storing data representing connections between the nodes that represent hierarchical relationships between the members;   displaying on a presentation surface associated with a particular member of the entity an organizational chart comprising the nodes and connections;   receiving input from the particular member of the entity to create new nodes and connections; and   when the new nodes are associated with a group that is associated with the particular member, updating the displayed nodes and connections in response to the received input.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the displaying on a presentation surface further includes:
 displaying a portion of the organizational chart in an interface area associated with the particular member of the entity;   displaying controls that allow a user to navigate the organizational chart;   allowing scrolling of the organizational chart within the interface area such that other portions of the organizational chart are displayed; and   allowing adjustment of a zoom level of the interface such that the portion of the organizational chart displayed is changed.   
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 retrieving, from a second database, additional information associated with the nodes; and   overlaying the additional information on the nodes that are displayed.   
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 receiving a search query including a search term;   searching the metadata associated with the nodes for the search term;   locating a matching node that includes metadata matching the search term; and   displaying only the matching nodes and nodes that are necessary to display the connections between the matching nodes.   
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the group that is associated with the particular member is a group located beneath the particular member in the hierarchical relationship. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the group that is associated with the particular member is a group located beneath another member that has delegated permission to create the new nodes to the particular member. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the nodes represent individual employees and the connections represent supervisor-supervisee relationships between the individual employees. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the nodes represent positions within the entity and the connections represent organizational relationships between the positions. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 receiving input from the particular member of the entity to edit a selected node; and   when the selected node is associated with a group that is associated with the particular member, updating the selected node in response to the received input.   
     
     
         10 . A computer-readable medium having computer-executable instructions for displaying organizational information of an entity, the instructions comprising:
 storing member data representing members of the entity in a database accessible by members of the entity;   storing hierarchical data representing hierarchical relationships between the members of the entity;   displaying on a user interface associated with a particular member of the entity an organizational chart comprising nodes that represent the member data and connections between the nodes that represent the hierarchical data;   receiving at the user interface a command from the particular member to add an additional member to the member data and additional hierarchical relationship information to the hierarchical data; and   adding the additional member to the member data and the additional hierarchical relationship information to the hierarchical data when the particular member is associated with the additional member.   
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 10 , further comprising:
 receiving a command to adjust a zoom level at which the organizational chart is displayed on the user interface; and   adjusting the zoom level in response to the received command to adjust the zoom level such that a portion of the organizational chart is displayed on the user interface while another portion of the organizational chart is not displayed on the user interface.   
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 11 , further comprising:
 receiving a command to scroll the organizational chart; and   scrolling the organizational chart within the interface area in response to the received command to scroll such that the another portion of the organizational chart is displayed in response to the received command to scroll.   
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 10 , further comprising:
 retrieving from a second database additional information associated with the members; and   displaying on the user interface the additional information proximal to the nodes associated with the members associated with the additional information.   
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 10 , further comprising:
 receiving a search query;   locating matching members that include metadata matching the search query; and   indicating on the user interface the matching members.   
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 14 , wherein the indicating on the user interface the matching members includes displaying only nodes associated with the matching members and nodes that are necessary to display the connections between the nodes associated with the matching members. 
     
     
         16 . A system for displaying organizational information of an entity, comprising:
 a processor and a computer-readable medium;   an operating environment stored on the computer-readable medium and executed on the processor;   an organizational database storing in a database accessible by members of the entity member data representing members of the entity, hierarchical data representing hierarchical relationships between the members of the entity, and metadata associated with the members; and   a user interface coupled to the organizational database to display a hierarchical organizational chart representing the members of the entity arranged in response to the hierarchical data, and receive input to add members to the organizational database in response to a hierarchal relation of the added members.   
     
     
         17 . The system of  claim 16 , further comprising:
 zoom controls to adjust a zoom level at which the organizational chart is displayed on the user interface such that when the zoom level is increased a portion of the organizational chart is displayed on the user interface while another portion of the organizational chart is not displayed on the user interface; and   scroll controls to scroll the organizational chart such that the another portion of the organizational chart is displayed in response to a received command to scroll.   
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 16 , further comprising:
 a second database including additional information associated with the members;   custom code describing a relationship between the additional information and the members; and   a mashing module displaying on the user interface the additional information overlaid on nodes in response to the relationship.   
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 16 , further comprising a document manager configured to grant a user access to files in response to hierarchical data associated with the user. 
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 16 , further comprising:
 search controls that allow a user to search the organizational chart;   a search engine coupled to the search controls receiving a search query including a search term and searching the organizational database for members matching the search term; and   a display calculator determining the manner the members that match the search term are displayed.