Method and system for automatically generating forecasts

1. A method in a computer system, comprising:

defining a forecast snapshot, wherein

the defining comprises:

receiving an interval, wherein

the interval specifies a frequency at which forecast snapshots are generated,

receiving a specified day within the interval, wherein the forecast snapshot is generated on the specified day, and

receiving specified roles of participants in a reporting hierarchy of the participants, wherein

the forecast snapshot comprises information regarding a member of an organization, and

the information indicates the member is assigned one of the specified roles in the reporting hierarchy;

causing a processor of the computer system to determine if a valid reporting hierarchy has been defined;

causing the processor to generate an indication of validity, in response to a determination that the valid reporting hierarchy has been defined;

in response to the indication of validity, causing the processor to automatically generate

the forecast snapshot, wherein

the forecast snapshot is based on opportunity information of the participants, and

the forecast snapshot comprises the opportunity information; and

causing the processor to automatically send an alert notifying the participants of the generation of the forecast snapshot.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein a participant of the participants updates the forecast snapshot in response to the alert.

3. The method of claim, 1 wherein

the reporting hierarchy comprises more than one level, and

the validating comprises:

detecting whether a participant of the participants is included at more than one level of the reporting hierarchy, and

detecting whether there exists only one root in the reporting hierarchy.

4. The method of claim 3 , further comprising:

if the reporting hierarchy is invalid:

notifying a user, and

correcting the reporting hierarchy.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the generating further comprises:

for each participant of the participants, retrieving opportunity information; and

generating a forecast summary in accordance with the reporting hierarchy, wherein

the forecast summary is based on the opportunity information retrieved for the each participant of the participants.

6. The method of claim 5 , wherein the forecast snapshot further comprises:

the forecast summary, wherein

the forecast summary comprises one or more data fields based on processing of the opportunity information, and

the processing of the opportunity information comprises:

generating a forecasted revenue by summing revenue of at least one opportunity, and

generating an expected revenue based on an adjustment of the forecasted revenue by probabilities of an opportunity;

a best case based on a prediction of the forecasted revenue; and

an audit trail of edits to the forecast summary.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the forecast snapshot is associated with a forecast period.

8. The method of claim 7 , further comprising: receiving an indication of the forecast period.

9. The method of claim 1 , wherein the forecast snapshot is automatically generated based on the specified day and the interval.

10. A computer system comprising a processor and a memory, wherein the memory stores program instructions executable by the processor to:

define a forecast snapshot, wherein

the definition of the forecast snapshot comprises:

receiving a schedule, wherein

the schedule specifies a frequency at which forecast snapshots are created, and

receiving an indication of participants, wherein the forecast snapshot comprises information regarding the participants;

cause the processor to determine if a valid reporting hierarchy of the participants has been defined;

cause the processor to generate an indication of validity, in response to a determination that the valid reporting hierarchy of the participants has been defined;

in response to the indication of validity, automatically generate the forecast snapshot, wherein

the forecast snapshot is based on opportunity information of the participants, and

the forecast snapshot comprises the opportunity information; and

automatically send an alert to the participants indicating the forecast snapshot has been created.

11. The computer system of claim 10 , wherein

the schedule is based on a user-defined interval, and

a participant of the participants updates forecast information in response to the alert.

12. The computer system of claim 10 , wherein the computer system is further configured to

perform validation during the defining of the forecast snapshot.

13. The computer system of claim 12 , further comprising:

a notification component configured to notify a user, if the reporting hierarchy is invalid; and

a correction component configured to facilitate correcting the reporting hierarchy, if the reporting hierarchy is invalid.

14. The computer system of claim 10 wherein the computer system is further configured to:

for each participant of the participants, retrieve opportunity information; and

generate a forecast summary in accordance with the reporting hierarchy, wherein

the forecast summary is based on the opportunity information retrieved for the each participant of the participants.

15. The computer system of claim 14 , wherein the forecast snapshot further comprises:

the forecast summary, wherein

the forecast summary comprises one or more data fields based on processing of the opportunity information, and

the processing of the opportunity information comprises:

generating a forecasted revenue by summing revenue of at least one opportunity, and

generating an expected revenue based on an adjustment of the forecasted revenue by probabilities of an opportunity;

a best case based on a prediction of the forecasted revenue; and

an audit trail of edits to the forecast summary.

16. The computer system of claim 10 , wherein participants are indicated by their roles.

17. A computer-readable storage medium comprising instructions executable to implement a method, the method comprising:

receiving a schedule for generating forecast snapshots;

receiving an indication of participants to be included in the forecast snapshots;

determining if a valid reporting hierarchy of the participants has been defined;

generating an indication of validity, in response to a determination that the valid reporting hierarchy of the participants has been defined;

in response to the indication of validity, automatically generating a forecast snapshot based on opportunity information of the participants, wherein

the forecast snapshot comprises the opportunity information, and

the forecast snapshot is generated in accordance with the schedule; and

automatically sending an alert notifying the participants of the generation of the forecast snapshot.

18. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 17 , wherein the schedule is based on an interval.

19. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 18 , wherein the schedule specifies a day within the interval.

20. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 17 , wherein the participants are indicated by their roles within an organization.

21. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 17 , wherein

the reporting hierarchy comprises more than one level, and

the validating comprises:

detecting whether a participant of the participants is included at more than one level of the reporting hierarchy, and

detecting whether there exists only one root in the reporting hierarchy.

22. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 21 , further comprising:

notifying a user, if the reporting hierarchy is invalid; and

correcting the reporting hierarchy, if the reporting hierarchy is invalid.

23. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 17 , wherein the automatically generating the forecast snapshot comprises:

for each participant of the participants, retrieving opportunity information, and

generating a forecast summary in accordance with the reporting hierarchy, wherein

the forecast summary is based on the opportunity information retrieved for the each participant of the participants.

24. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 23 , wherein the forecast snapshot further comprises:

the forecast summary, wherein

the forecast summary comprises one or more data fields based on processing of the opportunity information, and

the processing of the opportunity information comprises:

generating a forecasted revenue by summing revenue of at least one opportunity, and

generating an expected revenue based on an adjustment of the forecasted revenue by probabilities of an opportunity;

a best case based on a prediction of the forecasted revenue; and

an audit trail of edits to the forecast summary.