Determining a quantity of lost units resulting from a downtime of a software application or other computer-implemented system

• US 20040163007A1
• Filed: 02/19/2003
• Published: 08/19/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 02/19/2003
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Electronic Data Systems Corporation (Perspecta, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Electronic Data Systems Corporation (Perspecta, Inc.)
• Inventors: Mirkhani, Kazem, Coleman, Sunny F.
• Application Number:
  US10/369,796
• Publication Number:
  US 20040163007A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 714/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/008 Reliability or availability analysis
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/3423 where the assessed time is active or idle time

Abstract

In one embodiment, a system for determining a quantity of lost units resulting from an identified downtime of a computer-implemented system includes one or more software components collectively operable to access user quantity information for each of one or more time intervals and access downtime quantity information for the identified downtime. The user quantity information indicates a number of users associated with the computer-implemented system for a time interval, and the downtime quantity information includes a start time and an end time of the identified downtime. The software components calculate the quantity of lost units by: (1) according to the start time and end time, determining one or more particular time intervals associated with the identified downtime; (2) for each particular time interval, determining the number of users impacted; (3) for each particular time interval, determining the quantity of lost units for the particular time interval according to the number of users impacted; and (4) summing the quantity of lost units for each particular time interval over all one or more particular time intervals to determine the quantity of lost units resulting from the identified downtime.

Claims

1. A system for determining a quantity of lost units resulting from an identified downtime of a computer-implemented system, the system comprising one or more software components collectively operable to:

access user quantity information for each of one or more time intervals, the user quantity information for a time interval indicating a number of users associated with the computer-implemented system for the time interval;

access downtime quantity information for the identified downtime in which the computer-implemented system is unavailable, the downtime quantity information comprising a start time and an end time of the identified downtime; and

according to the user quantity information and downtime quantity information, calculate the quantity of lost units resulting from the identified downtime by;

according to the start time and end time of the identified downtime, determining one or more particular time intervals associated with the identified downtime in which the computer-implemented system is unavailable;

for each particular time interval, determining the number of users impacted by the identified downtime according to the accessed user quantity information for the particular time interval;

for each particular time interval, determining the quantity of lost units for the particular time interval according to the number of users impacted for the particular time interval; and

summing the quantity of lost units for each particular time interval over all one or more particular time intervals to determine the quantity of lost units resulting from the identified downtime.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the computer-implemented system comprises a software application and the identified downtime comprises an identified downtime of the software application.

3. The system of claim 2, wherein the identified application downtime comprises one of:

a period of time during which the software application is not working properly;

a period of time during which a computer system supporting the software application is not working properly; and

a period of time during which a communication link by which users access the software application is not working properly.

4. The system of claim 1, further comprising determining the quantity of lost units resulting from identified downtimes across an organization by:

determining for each of a plurality of computer-implemented systems the quantity of lost units resulting from one or more identified downtimes of the computer-implemented system; and

summing the determined quantities of lost units.

5. The system of claim 1, further operable to generate a lost units report comprising a graph comprising:

on a horizontal axis, one or more identified downtimes;

on a vertical axis, the quantity of lost units determined for each identified downtime on the horizontal axis; and

a line extending from the vertical axis across the graph indicating a statistical quality level of the determined quantities of lost units.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the accessed user quantity information for a time interval indicates a number of users determined to be actually using the computer-implemented system during the time interval.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein the number of users associated with the computer-implemented system for a time interval is based on a historical statistical sampling of the number of users of the computer-implemented system, the statistical sampling being periodically updated and stored in a database.

8. The system of claim 1, further comprising determining the quantity of lost units for a particular time interval by:

determining a percentage of the particular time interval in which the computer-implemented system is unavailable; and

multiplying the determined percentage by the number of users impacted for the particular time interval to calculate the quantity of lost units for the particular time interval.

9. The system of claim 1, wherein:

the users comprise human users; and

the lost units comprise lost hours.

10. The system of claim 1, wherein the one or more software components are collectively operable to automatically, without human intervention:

access the user quantity information for each of the time intervals;

access the downtime quantity information for the identified downtime; and

according to the user quantity information and downtime quantity information, calculate the quantity of lost units resulting from the identified downtime.

11. The system of claim 1, comprising:

a monitoring module in communication with the computer-implemented system, the monitoring module operable to access the user quantity information for each of the time intervals and access the downtime quantity information for the identified downtime; and

a lost units processing module in communication with the monitoring module, the lost units processing module operable to, according to the user quantity information and downtime quantity information, calculate the quantity of lost units resulting from the identified downtime.

12. The system of claim 1, wherein the one or more software components are further collectively operable to apply a statistical procedure to assess performance based on the quantity of lost units.

13. A method for determining a quantity of lost units resulting from an identified downtime of a computer-implemented system, comprising:

accessing user quantity information for each of one or more time intervals, the user quantity information for a time interval indicating a number of users associated with the computer-implemented system for the time interval;

accessing downtime quantity information for the identified downtime in which the computer-implemented system is unavailable, the downtime quantity information comprising a start time and an end time of the identified downtime; and

according to the user quantity information and downtime quantity information, calculating the quantity of lost units resulting from the identified downtime by;

according to the start time and end time of the identified downtime, determining one or more particular time intervals associated with the identified downtime in which the computer-implemented system is unavailable;

for each particular time interval, determining the number of users impacted by the identified downtime according to the accessed user quantity information for the particular time interval;

for each particular time interval, determining the quantity of lost units for the particular time interval according to the number of users impacted for the particular time interval; and

summing the quantity of lost units for each particular time interval over all one or more particular time intervals to determine the quantity of lost units resulting from the identified downtime.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the computer-implemented system comprises a software application and the identified downtime comprises an identified downtime of the software application.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the identified application downtime comprises one of:

a period of time during which the software application is not working properly;

a period of time during which a computer system supporting the software application is not working properly; and

a period of time during which a communication link by which users access the software application is not working properly.

16. The method of claim 13, further comprising determining the quantity of lost units resulting from identified downtimes across an organization by:

determining for each of a plurality of computer-implemented systems the quantity of lost units resulting from one or more identified downtimes of the computer-implemented system; and

summing the determined quantities of lost units.

17. The method of claim 13, further comprising generating a lost units report comprising a graph comprising:

on a horizontal axis, one or more identified downtimes;

on a vertical axis, the quantity of lost units determined for each identified downtime on the horizontal axis; and

a line extending from the vertical axis across the graph indicating a statistical quality level of the determined quantities of lost units.

18. The method of claim 13, wherein the accessed user quantity information for a time interval indicates a number of users determined to be actually using the computer-implemented system during the time interval.

19. The method of claim 13, wherein the number of users associated with the computer-implemented system for a time interval is based on a historical statistical sampling of the number of users of the computer-implemented system, the statistical sampling being periodically updated and stored in a database.

20. The method of claim 13, further comprising determining the quantity of lost units for a particular time interval by:

determining a percentage of the particular time interval in which the computer-implemented system is unavailable; and

multiplying the determined percentage by the number of users impacted for the particular time interval to calculate the quantity of lost units for the particular time interval.

21. The method of claim 13, wherein:

the users comprise human users; and

the lost units comprise lost hours.

22. The method of claim 13, comprising automatically, without human intervention:

accessing the user quantity information for each of the time intervals;

accessing the downtime quantity information for the identified downtime; and

according to the user quantity information and downtime quantity information, calculating the quantity of lost units resulting from the identified downtime.

23. The method of claim 13, comprising:

accessing the user quantity information for each of the time intervals and accessing the downtime quantity information for the identified downtime using a monitoring module in communication with the computer-implemented system; and

according to the user quantity information and downtime quantity information, calculating the quantity of lost units resulting from the identified downtime using a lost units processing module in communication with the monitoring module.

24. The method of claim 13, further comprising applying a statistical procedure to assess performance based on the quantity of lost units.

25. Software for determining a quantity of lost units resulting from an identified downtime of a computer-implemented system, the software being embodied in computer readable media and when executed operable to:

access user quantity information for each of one or more time intervals, the user quantity information for a time interval indicating a number of users associated with the computer-implemented system for the time interval;

access downtime quantity information for the identified downtime in which the computer-implemented system is unavailable, the downtime quantity information comprising a start time and an end time of the identified downtime; and

according to the user quantity information and downtime quantity information, calculate the quantity of lost units resulting from the identified downtime by;

according to the start time and end time of the identified downtime, determining one or more particular time intervals associated with the identified downtime in which the computer-implemented system is unavailable;

for each particular time interval, determining the number of users impacted by the identified downtime according to the accessed user quantity information for the particular time interval;

for each particular time interval, determining the quantity of lost units for the particular time interval according to the number of users impacted for the particular time interval; and

summing the quantity of lost units for each particular time interval over all one or more particular time intervals to determine the quantity of lost units resulting from the identified downtime.

26. The software of claim 25, wherein the computer-implemented system comprises a software application and the identified downtime comprises an identified downtime of the software application.

27. The software of claim 26, wherein the identified application downtime comprises one of:

a period of time during which the software application is not working properly;

a period of time during which a computer system supporting the software application is not working properly; and

a period of time during which a communication link by which users access the software application is not working properly.

28. The software of claim 25, further operable to determine the quantity of lost units resulting from identified downtimes across an organization by:

determining for each of a plurality of computer-implemented systems the quantity of lost units resulting from one or more identified downtimes of the computer-implemented system; and

summing the determined quantities of lost units.

29. The software of claim 25, further operable to generate a lost units report comprising a graph comprising:

on a horizontal axis, one or more identified downtimes;

on a vertical axis, the quantity of lost units determined for each identified downtime on the horizontal axis; and

a line extending from the vertical axis across the graph indicating a statistical quality level of the determined quantities of lost units.

30. The software of claim 25, wherein the accessed user quantity information for a time interval indicates a number of users determined to be actually using the computer-implemented system during the time interval.

31. The software of claim 25, wherein the number of users associated with the computer-implemented system for a time interval is based on a historical statistical sampling of the number of users of the computer-implemented system, the statistical sampling being periodically updated and stored in a database.

32. The software of claim 25, further operable to determine the quantity of lost units for a particular time interval by:

determining a percentage of the particular time interval in which the computer-implemented system is unavailable; and

multiplying the determined percentage by the number of users impacted for the particular time interval to calculate the quantity of lost units for the particular time interval.

33. The software of claim 25, wherein:

the users comprise human users; and

the lost units comprise lost hours.

34. The software of claim 25, further operable to automatically, without human intervention:

access the user quantity information for each of the time intervals;

access the downtime quantity information for the identified downtime; and

according to the user quantity information and downtime quantity information, calculate the quantity of lost units resulting from the identified downtime.

35. The software of claim 25, operable to:

access the user quantity information for each of the time intervals and access the downtime quantity information for the identified downtime using a monitoring module in communication with the computer-implemented system; and

according to the user quantity information and downtime quantity information, calculate the quantity of lost units resulting from the identified downtime using a lost units processing module in communication with the monitoring module.

36. The software of claim 25, further operable to apply a statistical procedure to assess performance based on the quantity of lost units.

37. A system for determining a quantity of lost units resulting from an identified downtime of a computer-implemented system, comprising:

means for accessing user quantity information for each of one or more time intervals, the user quantity information for a time interval indicating a number of users associated with the computer-implemented system for the time interval;

means for accessing downtime quantity information for the identified downtime in which the computer-implemented system is unavailable, the downtime quantity information comprising a start time and an end time of the identified downtime; and

means for, according to the user quantity information and downtime quantity information, calculating the quantity of lost units resulting from the identified downtime by;

according to the start time and end time of the identified downtime, determining one or more particular time intervals associated with the identified downtime in which the computer-implemented system is unavailable;

for each particular time interval, determining the number of users impacted by the identified downtime according to the accessed user quantity information for the particular time interval;

for each particular time interval, determining the quantity of lost units for the particular time interval according to the number of users impacted for the particular time interval; and

summing the quantity of lost units for each particular time interval over all one or more particular time intervals to determine the quantity of lost units resulting from the identified downtime.

38. A system for determining a quantity of lost units resulting from an identified downtime of a computer-implemented system, the system comprising one or more software components collectively operable to:

automatically and without human intervention, access user quantity information for each of one or more time intervals, the user quantity information for a time interval indicating a number of users associated with the computer-implemented system for the time interval;

automatically and without human intervention, access downtime quantity information for the identified downtime in which the computer-implemented system is unavailable, the downtime quantity information comprising a start time and an end time of the identified downtime; and

according to the user quantity information and downtime quantity information, automatically and without human intervention, calculate the quantity of lost units resulting from the identified downtime by;

according to the start time and end time of the identified downtime, determining one or more particular time intervals associated with the identified downtime in which the computer-implemented system is unavailable;

for each particular time interval, determining the number of users impacted by the identified downtime according to the accessed user quantity information for the particular time interval;

for each particular time interval, determining the quantity of lost units for the particular time interval according to the number of users impacted for the particular time interval by;

determining a percentage of the particular time interval in which the computer-implemented system is unavailable; and

multiplying the determined percentage by the number of users impacted for the particular time interval to calculate the quantity of lost units for the particular time interval; and

summing the quantity of lost units for each particular time interval over all one or more particular time intervals to determine the quantity of lost units resulting from the identified downtime.