Robustness of a Workflow

• US 20080183517A1
• Filed: 01/30/2007
• Published: 07/31/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 01/30/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Hamadi, Youssef, Quimper, Claude-Guy
• Granted Patent: US 8,180,658 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/7
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06 Resources, workflows, human or project management; Enterprise or organisation planning; Enterprise or organisation modelling
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/063 Operations research, analysis or management
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/0631 Resource planning, allocation, distributing or scheduling for enterprises or organisations
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06311 Scheduling, planning or task assignment for a person or group
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06375 Prediction of business process outcome or impact based on a proposed change

Abstract

It is difficult for managers or other operators to decide how best to modify an available pool of resources used for their workflows. Methods for achieving this by improving the robustness of workflows are described. The more robust a workflow, the better its ability to withstand detrimental changes to its associated pool of resources. It is recognized here that the size of the solution space for the problem of allocating resources to tasks in a workflow provides a useful indicator of robustness of a workflow. In general, the greater the size of the solution space the more robust the workflow. A constraint optimization problem is specified for the problem of how best to modify resource characteristics of a pool of resources in order to maximize a size of a solution space. The solution space is that for the problem of allocating resources from the pool to tasks in a workflow.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

accessing information about objectives associated with execution of a workflow comprising a plurality of tasks;

accessing information about a solution space that solution space being for allocation of resources from a resource pool to tasks in the workflow such that specified policy information is optimized;

specifying a constraint optimization problem to find target resource characteristics for resources of the resource pool;

that constraint optimization problem being specified such that the accessed objectives are taken into account and the size of the solution space is optimized;

sending the specified constraint optimization problem to a constraint programming problem solver and receiving a response comprising target resource characteristics for resources of the resource pool; and

storing the target resource characteristics.

2. A method as claimed in claim 1 which further comprises accessing cost information comprising, for each resource in the resource pool, a cost associated with making a specified change to a resource characteristic of that resource.

3. A method as claimed in claim 1 wherein the accessed information about objectives comprises information about a budget for changing resource characteristics of resources in the resource pool.

4. A method as claimed in claim 2 wherein the accessed information about objectives comprises information about a budget for changing resource characteristics of resources in the resource pool.

5. A method as claimed in claim 3 wherein the budget is a training budget for changing skill levels of human resources in the resource pool.

6. A method as claimed in claim 1 wherein the step of accessing information about the solution space is carried out after the associated allocation of resources from a resource pool to tasks in the workflow.

7. A method as claimed in claim 1 wherein the step of specifying the constraint optimization problem comprises specifying at least one constraint on the basis of the structure of the workflow.

8. A method as claimed in claim 1 which is carried out at an analysis tool in communication with a workflow engine having a constraint programming problem solver and wherein the information about the solution space is accessed from the workflow engine and wherein the specified constraint optimization problem is sent to the constraint programming problem solver at the workflow engine.

9. A method as claimed in claim 1 which is carried out at an analysis tool connected to a workflow engine having a constraint programming problem solver and wherein the step of accessing information about the solution space comprises using the workflow engine to allocate resources to tasks of the workflow such that the associated solution space is identified.

10. A method comprising:

accessing information about objectives associated with execution of a workflow comprising a plurality of tasks;

computing information about a constraint programming solution space that solution space being for allocation of resources from a resource pool to tasks in the workflow such that specified policy information is optimized;

specifying a constraint optimization problem to find target resource characteristics for resources of the resource pool;

that constraint optimization problem being specified such that the accessed objectives are taken into account and the size of the solution space is optimized;

using a constraint programming problem solver to find a solution to the specified problem comprising target resource characteristics for resources of the resource pool; and

storing the target resource characteristics.

11. A method as claimed in claim 10 wherein the step of computing information about the constraint programming solution space is carried out after the associated allocation of resources from a resource pool to tasks in the workflow.

12. A method as claimed in claim 10 wherein the step of specifying the constraint optimization problem comprises specifying at least one constraint on the basis of the structure of the workflow.

13. A method as claimed in claim 10 which further comprises accessing cost information comprising, for each resource in the resource pool, a cost associated with making a specified change to a resource characteristic of that resource.

14. A method as claimed in claim 13 wherein the accessed information about objectives comprises information about a budget for changing resource characteristics of resources in the resource pool.

15. A method as claimed in claim 14 wherein the accessed information about objectives comprises information about a budget for changing resource characteristics of resources in the resource pool.

16. A method as claimed in claim 15 wherein the budget is a training budget for changing skill levels of human resources in the resource pool.

17. An analysis tool comprising:

an interface arranged to access information about objectives associated with execution of a workflow comprising a plurality of tasks;

the interface also being arranged to access information about a solution space that solution space being for allocation of resources from a resource pool to tasks in the workflow such that specified policy information is optimized;

a processor arranged to specify a constraint optimization problem to find target resource characteristics for resources of the resource pool;

the processor being arranged to specify the constraint optimization problem such that the accessed objectives are taken into account and the size of the solution space is optimized;

the interface being arranged to send the specified constraint optimization problem to a constraint programming problem solver and receiving a response comprising target resource characteristics for resources of the resource pool; and

a memory arranged to store the target resource characteristics.

18. An analysis tool as claimed in claim 17 further comprising a workflow engine having a constraint programming problem solver.

19. An analysis tool as claimed in claim 18 wherein the interface is arranged to access information about the solution space from the workflow engine and wherein the interface is arranged to send the specified constraint optimization problem to the constraint programming problem solver.

20. An analysis tool as claimed in claim 17 wherein the interface is arranged to be connected to a workflow engine having a constraint programming problem solver.