METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR ANALYZING CAPABILITIES OF AN ENTITY

• US 20090177665A1
• Filed: 01/04/2008
• Published: 07/09/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 01/04/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: AirBNB Incorporated
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Jones, Lauretta, Oppenheim, Daniel, Dill, Robert D., Callery, Matthew J.
• Granted Patent: US 8,396,869 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/10 Office automation; Time management

Abstract

A method and system for analyzing capabilities of an entity includes inputting data regarding an entity'"'"'s capabilities, and using a capability model to detect a capability pattern among the capabilities and generate an action plan based on the capability pattern.

Claims

1. A method of analyzing capabilities of an entity, comprising:

inputting data regarding an entity'"'"'s capabilities; and

using a capability model to detect a capability pattern among said capabilities and generate an action plan based on said capability pattern.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein said capability pattern is associated with a plurality of said capabilities.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein said capability model groups said capabilities into plural functional areas which include a nonexclusive grouping of said capabilities, and plural domains which include an exclusive grouping of said capabilities.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein said plural functional areas include nested hierarchies of functional areas.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein said capability pattern includes a plurality of capability patterns.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein said capability pattern includes:

a rule which indicates how to detect when said capability pattern exists.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the rule of said capability pattern is expressed in terms of a value of a single capability, in terms of an existence of a capability pattern, or in terms of an existence of a capability pattern and an absence of a capability pattern.

8. The method of claim 6, wherein the rule of said capability pattern is expressed in terms of a relationship between values of said capabilities, a relationship between a value of a capability and an existence of a capability pattern, or a relationship between a value of a capability and an absence of a capability pattern.

9. The method of claim 6, wherein said capability pattern further includes:

a symptom which describes an expected behavior resulting from said capability pattern.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein said capability pattern further includes:

a prescription which describes a suggested action to overcome said symptom.

11. The method of claim 5, further comprising:

identifying a combination of capability patterns in said plurality of a capability patterns; and

associating with said combination a symptom that is typical of said combination.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein said capability model comprises an action plan generator for generating said action plan, and said action plan is for resolving said symptom and includes:

a description of said symptom; and

an ordered set of said functional areas to be addressed for resolving said symptom.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein an order of said ordered set of functional areas is based on a dependency between said functional areas.

14. The method of claim 12, further comprising:

using a result of applying said action plan to said capability model to generate a new action plan.

15. The method of claim 12, wherein said symptom includes a plurality of symptoms.

16. The method of claim 15, further comprising:

selecting a symptom from said plurality of symptoms; and

prioritizing said plurality of symptoms.

17. The method of claim 12, wherein said symptom is associated with a combination of capability patterns having a high correlation with known effects.

18. The method of claim 1, wherein said capability model assigns plural levels to a capability, assigns a numerical value to said plural levels, and associates a description with said numerical value.

19. A system for analyzing capabilities, comprising:

an input device for inputting data regarding an entity'"'"'s capabilities; and

a capability model for detecting a capability pattern among said capabilities and generating an action plan based on said capability pattern.

20. A programmable storage medium tangibly embodying a program of machine-readable instructions executable by a digital processing apparatus to perform a method of analyzing capabilities of an entity, said method comprising:

inputting data regarding an entity'"'"'s capabilities; and

using a capability model to detect a capability pattern among said capabilities and generate an action plan based on said capability pattern.