Dynamic Routing and Load Balancing Packet Distribution with a Software Factory

• US 20090043631A1
• Filed: 08/07/2007
• Published: 02/12/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 08/07/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Reddington, Francis X., Finlayson, Ronald D., Mitsumori, Naomi M.
• Granted Patent: US 8,141,030 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/9
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06 Resources, workflows, human or project management; Enterprise or organisation planning; Enterprise or organisation modelling
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/063118 Staff planning in a project environment
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06312 Adjustment or analysis of established resource schedule, e.g. resource or task levelling, or dynamic rescheduling
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06313 Resource planning in a project environment
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06314 Calendaring for a resource
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06315 Needs-based resource requirements planning or analysis
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/0637 Strategic management or analysis, e.g. setting a goal or target of an organisation; Planning actions based on goals; Analysis or evaluation of effectiveness of goals
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06395 Quality analysis or management
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/1097 Task assignment

Abstract

A system decision engine enables a software factory to effectively handle intelligent load balancing and distribution to workers on a software assembly line through the use of pre-configured rules. The pre-configured rules are based on a projected availability of workers based on past traffic analysis of work packets being sent to particular workers on the software assembly line.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method for dynamically routing and load balancing packet distribution within a software factory, the computer-implemented method comprising:

receiving, at a software factory, a work packet in a software factory, wherein the software factory comprises;

a software factory governance section that evaluates the project proposal for acceptance by the software factory,

a design center composed of a requirements analysis team and an architecture team, wherein the design center sections the project proposal into major functional areas that are to be handled by the requirements analysis team and the architecture team, and wherein the design center creates work packets, and

an assembly line that receives and executes the work packets to create a deliverable software;

updating, by an assembly line worker on the assembly line, an availability status of the assembly line worker;

notifying a project manager of any change in availability status of the assembly line worker;

configuring, by the project manager, a plurality of routes in the software factory that a particular work packet can take to reach the assembly line;

describing the plurality of routes to a dynamic router;

sending, by the design center, the work packet to the dynamic router via a workflow message;

determining, by the dynamic router, a worker availability status of all workers on the assembly line according to an availability of each worker and a depth of a wait queue of work packets destined for said each worker;

determining, by the dynamic router, a consumption rate pattern for each queue used by workers having capabilities for similar work on the assembly line, wherein the determining of the consumption rate pattern evaluates workload characterization analysis collected from past traffic analysis, availability of workers on the assembly line, and time estimates for time required to complete work assignments already committed to each worker on the assembly line;

routing, by the dynamic router, the work packet to the assembly line according to worker capacity to accept new work; and

pulling the work packet off a work queue by an available worker selected by the dynamic router and the project manager.

2. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving a description of software needs from a customer;

creating, in the software factory, a project proposal that meets performance criteria found in the description of software needs;

inducting the project proposal into the software factory, wherein inducting the project proposal initially evaluates the project proposal'"'"'s compatibility with a capacity of the software factory;

parsing the project proposal into major functional areas;

retrieving work packets that are appropriate for the project proposal, wherein the work packets include pre-stored, reusable, self-contained, discrete units of software code;

assembling the work packets into a deliverable software;

testing the deliverable software; and

delivering the deliverable software to the customer.

3. The computer-implemented method of claim 2, wherein the assembly line further comprises:

a published set of services and a published set of requirements for the assembly line, wherein the published set of services and the published set of requirements for the assembly line are published to the design center, and wherein the published set of services describes what assembly services for assembling work packets are offered by the assembly line, and wherein the published set of requirements describes what execution environment must be used by work packets that are provided by the design center for assembly in the assembly line.

4. The computer-implemented method of claim 3, wherein the work packets include governance procedures, standards, reused assets, work packet instructions, integration strategy, schedules, exit criteria and artifact checklist templates for Input/Output routines.

5. The computer-implemented method of claim 2, wherein the assembly line includes software that automatically recognizes a project type for the project proposal, and wherein the assembly line assembles the work packets into the deliverable software in accordance with the project type that is recognized by the assembly line.

6. The computer-implemented method of claim 2, wherein the assembly line conducts an integration test, a system test, a system integration test and a performance test of the deliverable software, wherein the integration test tests the deliverable software for compatibility with the client'"'"'s system, the system test checks the client'"'"'s system to ensure that the client'"'"'s system is operating properly, the system integration test tests for bugs that may arise when the deliverable software is integrated into the client'"'"'s system, and the performance test tests the deliverable software for defects as it is executing in the client'"'"'s system.

7. A system comprising:

a processor;

a data bus coupled to the processor;

a memory coupled to the data bus; and

a computer-usable medium embodying computer program code, the computer program code comprising instructions executable by the processor and configured for dynamically routing and load balancing packet distribution within a software factory by performing the steps of;

receiving, at a software factory, a work packet in a software factory, wherein the software factory comprises;

a software factory governance section that evaluates the project proposal for acceptance by the software factory,

a design center composed of a requirements analysis team and an architecture team, wherein the design center sections the project proposal into major functional areas that are to be handled by the requirements analysis team and the architecture team, and wherein the design center creates work packets, and

an assembly line that receives and executes the work packets to create a deliverable software;

updating, by an assembly line worker on the assembly line, an availability status of the assembly line worker;

notifying a project manager of any change in availability status of the assembly line worker;

configuring, by the project manager, a plurality of routes in the software factory that a particular work packet can take to reach the assembly line;

describing the plurality of routes to a dynamic router;

sending, by the design center, the work packet to the dynamic router via a workflow message;

determining, by the dynamic router, a worker availability status of all workers on the assembly line according to an availability of each worker and a depth of a wait queue of work packets destined for said each worker;

determining, by the dynamic router, a consumption rate pattern for each queue used by workers having capabilities for similar work on the assembly line, wherein the determining of the consumption rate pattern evaluates workload characterization analysis collected from past traffic analysis, availability of workers on the assembly line, and time estimates for time required to complete work assignments already committed to each worker on the assembly line;

routing, by the dynamic router, the work packet to the assembly line according to worker capacity to accept new work; and

pulling the work packet off a work queue by an available worker selected by the dynamic router and the project manager.

8. The system of claim 7, wherein the instructions further comprise executable instructions for:

receiving a description of software needs from a customer;

creating, in the software factory, a project proposal that meets performance criteria found in the description of software needs;

inducting the project proposal into the software factory, wherein inducting the project proposal. initially evaluates the project proposal'"'"'s compatibility with a capacity of the software factory;

parsing the project proposal into major functional areas;

retrieving work packets that are appropriate for the project proposal, wherein the work packets include pre-stored, reusable, self-contained, discrete units of software code;

assembling the work packets into a deliverable software;

testing the deliverable software; and

delivering the deliverable software to the customer.

9. The system of claim 8, wherein the design center further comprises:

a requirements analysis team, wherein the requirements analysis team is responsible for determining system requirements for executing the deliverable software on the customer'"'"'s system; and

an architectural team, wherein the architectural team models the project proposal in accordance with customer constraints, and wherein the architectural team bundles the customer constraints together with the work packets for execution in the assembly line.

10. The system of claim 9, wherein the work packets include governance procedures, standards, reused assets, work packet instructions, integration strategy, schedules, exit criteria and artifact checklist templates for Input/Output routines.

11. The system of claim 8, wherein the assembly line includes software that automatically recognizes a project type for the project proposal, and wherein the assembly line assembles the work packets into the deliverable software in accordance with the project type that is recognized by the assembly line.

12. The system of claim 8, wherein the assembly line conducts an integration test, a system test, a system integration test and a performance test of the deliverable software, wherein the integration test tests the deliverable software for compatibility with the client'"'"'s system, the system test checks the client'"'"'s system to ensure that the client'"'"'s system is operating properly, the system integration test tests for bugs that may arise when the deliverable software is integrated into the client'"'"'s system, and the performance test tests the deliverable software for defects as it is executing in the client'"'"'s system.

13. A computer-readable medium encoded with a computer program, the computer program comprising computer executable instructions configured for:

receiving, at a software factory, a work packet in a software factory, wherein the software factory comprises;

a software factory governance section that evaluates the project proposal for acceptance by the software factory,

a design center composed of a requirements analysis team and an architecture team, wherein the design center sections the project proposal into major functional areas that are to be handled by the requirements analysis team and the architecture team, and wherein the design center creates work packets, and

an assembly line that receives and executes the work packets to create a deliverable software;

updating, by an assembly line worker on the assembly line, an availability status of the assembly line worker;

notifying a project manager of any change in availability status of the assembly line worker;

configuring, by the project manager, a plurality of routes in the software factory that a particular work packet can take to reach the assembly line;

describing the plurality of routes to a dynamic router;

sending, by the design center, the work packet to the dynamic router via a workflow message;

determining, by the dynamic router, a worker availability status of all workers on the assembly line according to an availability of each worker and a depth of a wait queue of work packets destined for said each worker;

determining, by the dynamic router, a consumption rate pattern for each queue used by workers having capabilities for similar work on the assembly line, wherein the determining of the consumption rate pattern evaluates workload characterization analysis collected from past traffic analysis, availability of workers on the assembly line, and time estimates for time required to complete work assignments already committed to each worker on the assembly line;

routing, by the dynamic router, the work packet to the assembly line according to worker capacity to accept new work; and

pulling the work packet off a work queue by an available worker selected by the dynamic router and the project manager.

14. The computer-readable medium of claim 13, wherein the computer executable instructions further comprise executable instructions for:

receiving a description of software needs from a customer;

creating, in the software factory, a project proposal that meets performance criteria found in the description of software needs;

inducting the project proposal into the software factory, wherein inducting the project proposal initially evaluates the project proposal'"'"'s compatibility with a capacity of the software factory;

parsing the project proposal into major functional areas;

retrieving work packets that are appropriate for the project proposal, wherein the work packets include pre-stored, reusable, self-contained, discrete units of software code;

assembling the work packets into a deliverable software;

testing the deliverable software; and

delivering the deliverable software to the customer.

15. The computer-readable medium of claim 14, wherein the design center further comprises:

a requirements analysis team, wherein the requirements analysis team is responsible for determining system requirements for executing the deliverable software on the customer'"'"'s system; and

an architectural team, wherein the architectural team models the project proposal in accordance with customer constraints, and wherein the architectural team bundles the customer constraints together with the work packets for execution in the assembly line.

16. The computer-readable medium of claim 15, wherein the work packets include governance procedures, standards, reused assets, work packet instructions, integration strategy, schedules, exit criteria and artifact checklist templates for Input/Output routines.

17. The computer-readable medium of claim 14, wherein the assembly line includes software that automatically recognizes a project type for the project proposal, and wherein the assembly line assembles the work packets into the deliverable software in accordance with the project type that is recognized by the assembly line.

18. The computer-readable medium of claim 14, wherein the assembly line conducts an integration test, a system test, a system integration test and a performance test of the deliverable software, wherein the integration test tests the deliverable software for compatibility with the client'"'"'s system, the system test checks the client'"'"'s system to ensure that the client'"'"'s system is operating properly, the system integration test tests for bugs that may arise when the deliverable software is integrated into the client'"'"'s system, and the performance test tests the deliverable software for defects as it is executing in the client'"'"'s system.

19. The computer-readable medium of claim 13, wherein the computer-usable medium is a component of a remote server, and wherein the computer executable instructions are deployable to a supervisory computer from the remote server.

20. The computer-readable medium of claim 13, wherein the computer executable instructions are capable of being provided by a service provider to a customer on an on-demand basis.