SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR FACILITATING ELECTRONIC TRANSACTIONS IN A FACILITIES MANAGEMENT COMPUTING ENVIRONMENT

1 . A method for interactively identifying a replacement part from a list of parts by prompting a user to define product attributes, the method comprising:

displaying a first data set comprising the list of parts;

prompting the user to select a first attribute value;

applying the selected first attribute value to the first data set;

displaying a second data set comprising a subset of the first data set;

prompting the user to select a second attribute value;

applying the selected second attribute value to the second data set;

displaying a final data set comprising a subset of the second data set; and

prompting the user to select a unique replacement part from the final data set.

2 . The method of claim 1 , wherein displaying comprises presenting a graphical user interface on a mobile computing device.

3 . The method of claim 2 , wherein the mobile computing device comprises a tablet computer.

4 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the first data set comprises a list of parts corresponding to one of the following product categories: heating ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC); plumbing; electrical; flooring; lighting; brewing; coffee; and upholstery.

5 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the first data set comprises a list of medium temperature HVAC compressors.

6 . The method of claim 5 , wherein the first and second attributes comprise one of: temperature; tonnage; seal type; motor type; phase; and OEM/generic.

7 . The method of claim 5 , wherein one of the first and second attributes comprises tonnage, and the corresponding tonnage attribute values include: 0.33; 0.25; 0.5; 1; 1.5; and 5.

8 . The method of claim 7 , wherein one of the first and second attributes comprises seal type, and the corresponding seal type attribute values include: hermetic; and non-hermetic.

9 . The method of claim 1 , wherein applying comprises applying an attribute value as an argument to a data set to thereby generate a data subset which includes only those entries in the original data set having the applied attribute value.

10 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

prompting the user to select and additional attribute value; and

applying the selected additional attribute value to the then current data set.

11 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the final data set comprises a number of data entries in the range of two to twenty.

12 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the final data set comprises a number of data entries in the range of three to five.

13 . A method for facilitating electronic transactions in a facilities management computing environment including a facilities manager (FM) node, a contractor headquarters (HQ) node, a mobile computing node, a customer site node, a customer HQ node, and a network having a processor, the method comprising the steps of:

transmitting, via the network, a service request (SR) alert from the customer site node to the FM node;

dispatching, via the network, the mobile computing node to a job site associated with the customer site node to perform a repair task;

generating an electronic work ticket identifying a component part replaced at the job site during the repair task;

transmitting, via the network, the electronic work ticket from the mobile computing node to the contractor HQ node;

converting the electronic work ticket to an electronic invoice; and

transmitting, via the network, the electronic invoice from the contractor HQ node to the FM node for payment;

wherein identifying the component part comprises displaying a list of parts at the mobile computing node, repeatedly applying an attribute value to successive subsets of the list of parts, and prompting a technician to select a unique entry from a final data set displayed on the mobile computing node.

14 . The method of claim 13 , wherein the mobile computing node comprises a tablet computer.

15 . The method of claim 13 , wherein repeatedly applying an attribute value comprises prompting the user to select a first attribute value from a menu of attribute values.

16 . The method of claim 13 , wherein repeatedly applying comprises applying an attribute value as an argument to a data set to thereby generate a data subset which includes only those entries in the original data set having the applied attribute value.

17 . The method of claim 13 , wherein the list of parts comprises one of the following product categories: heating ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC); plumbing; electrical; flooring; lighting; brewing; coffee; and upholstery.

18 . The method of claim 13 , wherein the list of parts comprises a list of medium temperature HVAC compressors, and the attribute comprises one of: temperature; tonnage; seal type; motor type; phase; and OEM/generic.

19 . The method of claim 13 , wherein the final data set comprises a number of data entries in the range of three to five.

20 . A computer application embodied in a non-transitory medium for operation by a one or more computer processors for performing the steps of:

displaying a first data set on a mobile computing device, the first data set comprising the list of parts;

prompting a user of the mobile computing device to select a first attribute value from a first list of attribute values;

applying the selected first attribute value to the first data set;

generating a second data set comprising a subset of the first data set;

displaying the second data set on the mobile computing device;

prompting the user to select a second attribute value from a second list of attribute values;

applying the selected second attribute value to the second data set;

generating a final data set comprising a subset of the second data set;

displaying the final data set on the mobile computing device; and

prompting the user to select a unique entry from the final data set.