SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR THE DEVELOPMENT AND DEPLOYMENT OF SERVICE ELEMENTS
First Claim
1. An automated method of optimizing management of service elements, said method comprising:
- automatically searching through data structures representing service elements to locate commonality in design with a service element to be developed, each service element being a discrete entity for which a customer may be billed or which represents an in-house or outsourced service, and each service element being represented by a data structure comprising a set of information to manage the service element, the data structure including integration properties and a customization specification, the commonality including one or more customization or integration tasks;
creating another service element that includes the commonality;
referencing the another service element in a composition item of the data structure representing the service element to be developed, wherein the another service element is a non-executable entity providing at least part of a design specification usable in constructing the service element to be developed by a service provider;
for the service element under development, generating a development plan therefor, wherein the development plan includes a design of the service element, and a customization specification, and during development plan generation for the service element of the multiple service elements;
employing the data structure representations of the service element and another service element of the multiple service elements in consolidating at least a portion of the customization or integration tasks of the development plans of the service element and the another service element which are duplicative;
saving the development plan for the service element in the data structure representation of the service element;
generating a deployment plan for the service element using the development plan, wherein the deployment plan is a series of tasks which direct, in part, customization or integration of entities within the service element pursuant to the development plan;
saving the deployment plan for the service element in the data structure representation of the service element; and
constructing and deploying the service element by a service provider based on the generated development and deployment plans.
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Abstract
A service element is defined and represented by a data structure. It includes one or more components and/or one or more other service elements. A service element providing a complete function is a service offering. Management of service elements and/or service offerings is facilitated by a Service Development Tool. In different aspects, the management includes various tasks associated with creating, modifying and deleting service elements, establishing relationships, error checking and optimization. In a further aspect, service elements are packaged and distributed to enable customers to deliver the service elements. Additionally, the hosting of software packages is facilitated.
63 Citations
10 Claims
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1. An automated method of optimizing management of service elements, said method comprising:
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automatically searching through data structures representing service elements to locate commonality in design with a service element to be developed, each service element being a discrete entity for which a customer may be billed or which represents an in-house or outsourced service, and each service element being represented by a data structure comprising a set of information to manage the service element, the data structure including integration properties and a customization specification, the commonality including one or more customization or integration tasks;
creating another service element that includes the commonality;
referencing the another service element in a composition item of the data structure representing the service element to be developed, wherein the another service element is a non-executable entity providing at least part of a design specification usable in constructing the service element to be developed by a service provider;
for the service element under development, generating a development plan therefor, wherein the development plan includes a design of the service element, and a customization specification, and during development plan generation for the service element of the multiple service elements;
employing the data structure representations of the service element and another service element of the multiple service elements in consolidating at least a portion of the customization or integration tasks of the development plans of the service element and the another service element which are duplicative;
saving the development plan for the service element in the data structure representation of the service element;
generating a deployment plan for the service element using the development plan, wherein the deployment plan is a series of tasks which direct, in part, customization or integration of entities within the service element pursuant to the development plan;
saving the deployment plan for the service element in the data structure representation of the service element; and
constructing and deploying the service element by a service provider based on the generated development and deployment plans. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4)
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5. A system of optimizing management of service elements, said system comprising:
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means for automatically searching through data structures representing service elements to locate commonality in design with a service element to be developed, each service element being a discrete entity for which a customer may be billed or which represents an in-house or outsourced service, and each service element being represented by a data structure comprising a set of information to manage the service element, the data structure including integration properties and a customization specification, the commonality including one or more customization or integration tasks;
means for creating another service element that includes the commonality;
means for referencing the another service element in a composition item of the data structure representing the service element to be developed, wherein the another service element is a non-executable entity providing at least part of a design specification usable in constructing the service element to be developed by a service provider;
for the service element under development, means for generating a development plan therefor, wherein the development plan includes a design of the service element, and during development plan generation for the service element of the multiple service elements;
means for employing the data structure representations of the service element and another service element of the multiple service elements in consolidating at least a portion of the customization or integration tasks of the development plans of the service element and the another service element which are duplicative;
means for saving the development plan for the service element in the data structure representation of the service element;
means for generating a deployment plan for the service element using the development plan, wherein the deployment plan is a series of tasks which direct, in part, customization or integration of entities within the service element pursuant to the development plan;
means for saving the deployment plan for the service element in the data structure representation of the service element; and
means for constructing and deploying the service element by a service provider based on the generated development and deployment plans. - View Dependent Claims (6, 7, 8)
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9. At least one program storage device readable by a machine tangibly embodying at least one program of instructions executable by the machine to perform a method of optimizing management of service elements, said method comprising:
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automatically searching through data structures representing service elements to locate commonality in design with a service element to be developed, each service element being a discrete entity for which a customer may be billed or which represents an in-house or outsourced service, and each service element being represented by a data structure comprising a set of information to manage the service element, the data structure including integration properties and a customization specification, the commonality including one or more customization or integration tasks;
creating another service element that includes the commonality;
referencing the another service element in a composition item of the data structure representing the service element to be developed, wherein the another service element is a non-executable entity providing at least part of a design specification usable in constructing the service element to be developed by a service provider;
for the service element under development, generating a development plan therefor, wherein the development plan includes a design of the service element, and a customization specification, and during development plan generation for the service element of the multiple service elements;
employing the data structure representations of the service element and another service element of the multiple service elements in consolidating at least a portion of the customization or integration tasks of the development plans of the service element and the another service element which are duplicative;
saving the development plan for the service element in the data structure representation of the service element;
generating a deployment plan for the service element using the development plan, wherein the deployment plan is a series of tasks which direct, in part, customization or integration of entities within the service element pursuant to the development plan;
saving the deployment plan for the service element in the data structure representation of the service element; and
constructing and deploying the service element by a service provider based on the generated development and deployment plans. - View Dependent Claims (10)
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Specification