Method for the Automatic Generation of Workflow Models, in Particular for Interventions in a Telecommunication Network

• US 20090182856A1
• Filed: 12/28/2005
• Published: 07/16/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 12/28/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Telecom Italia S.p.A.
• Original Assignee: Telecom Italia S.p.A.
• Inventors: Gotta, Danilo, Long, Daniela, Valente, Giulio, Cavallanti, Giovanni, Porta, Marisa
• Granted Patent: US 7,809,822 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/223
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/046 comprising network management agents or mobile agents therefor
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/08 Configuration management of networks or network elements address allocation H04L61/50

Abstract

A system for automatic generation of workflow models related to interventions performed on equipment included in a communication network having associated resource proxy agents each providing a representation of the status of corresponding network equipment according to a given data model. The system includes a set of recorder agents, and the resource proxy agents are configured to send to the recorder agents information signals representative of events in the status of the corresponding network equipment triggered by manual activities or commands, such as, commands input by operators and performed on the network equipment. The system is configured to analyze the information signals sent to the respective recorder agents to produce therefrom workflow models of the manual activities or commands performed on the network equipment.

Claims

1-26. -26. (canceled)

27. A method for the automatic generation of workflow models related to interventions on network equipment in a communication network, wherein said network equipment has associated resource proxy agents responsible for managing said equipment, comprising the steps of:

providing at least a recording unit;

causing said resource proxy agents to send to said at least a recording unit, information signals representative of commands sent to the network equipment and events generated by interventions performed on said network equipment; and

analyzing said information signals sent to said at least a recording unit to produce therefrom workflow models of said interventions performed on said network equipment.

28. The method of claim 27, comprising the step of storing in said resource proxy agents, status information of the corresponding network equipment.

29. The method of claim 27, comprising the step of storing in said resource proxy agents, mapping information between said at least a recording unit and corresponding network equipment involved with said interventions.

30. The method of claim 27 comprising the step of storing said information signals in said at least a recording unit.

31. The method of claim 27 comprising the step of storing said information signals in said resource proxy agent.

32. The method of claim 27 comprising the step of creating a database recording the interventions performed on said network equipment.

33. The method of claim 27 comprising the steps of:

recording by said resource proxy agents, during an intervention performed on network equipment, information as to;

i) the commands performed on the corresponding network equipment during said intervention; and

ii) any events triggered on the corresponding network equipment during said intervention; and

communicating from said resource proxy agents to said at least a recording unit, said information on commands and events recorded during said intervention.

34. The method of claim 27 comprising the step of equipping at least one of said at least a recording unit with camera means to visually record interventions performed by an operator on said network equipment.

35. The method of claim 33, comprising the steps of:

storing said information on commands and events recorded during said intervention as respective logs; and

generating from said respective logs sets of XML logs describing a sequence of manual activities and commands.

36. The method of claim 35, further comprising the step of:

generating from said sets of XML logs a workflow model describing a type of intervention that can be performed on network equipment.

37. The method of claim 36, wherein generating from said sets of XML logs a workflow model, comprises the step of subjecting said sets of XML logs to workflow mining processing.

38. The method of claim 35 comprising the step of scanning said respective logs for approximately matching said respective logs with at least one regular expression describing at least one manual activity or command to be performed on said network equipment.

39. The method of claim 38, wherein said respective logs comprise a sequence of events and approximately matching comprises locating recurrences of said regular expressions in said sequence of events with a maximum number of matching errors, said matching errors corresponding to insertions deriving from the superposition of groups of events related to different commands or manual activities.

40. The method of claim 39, wherein approximately matching further comprises removing, each time the recurrence of one of said regular expressions is located in said sequence of events, the group of events defined by the regular expression located, while leaving in said sequence of events, those events corresponding to errors.

41. The method of claim 38, wherein said step of scanning said respective logs comprises the preliminary steps of:

associating with each type of manual activity or command a regular expression describing the possible sequences of events that said manual activity or command is able to produce on said network equipment; and

associating timestamps with the commands and events in said respective logs.

42. The method of claim 41, wherein said step of scanning said respective logs comprises the step of applying at least one rule selected from:

a sequence of events in said respective logs is ascribable to a given manual activity or command if the regular expression describing said manual activity or command corresponds to said sequence but for a given number of insertions therein; and

an event having a timestamp earlier than a given command has no timestamp compatibility with said given command and is not ascribable to said given command.

43. The method of claim 42, comprising the step of defining said timestamp compatibility on the basis of the following criteria:

a sequence of events in said respective logs whose first event has a timestamp separated from a given command beyond a given maximum delay has no timestamp compatibility with said given command and is not ascribable to said given command; and

the difference between the timestamps of the pair comprised of the first and the last event of a sequence of events in said respective logs matched by a given regular expression must be lower than a maximum extension value.

44. The method of claim 42, wherein, in the case of plural sequences of events in said respective logs being adapted to be described by a regular expression, comprising the step of selecting the sequence satisfying one of the following criteria:

the sequence selected minimizes the number of matching errors; and

in the presence of the same number of matching errors, the sequence selected provides the more extended matching.

45. The method of claim 42, comprising the step of translating said sequences of events into corresponding symbols associated with regular expressions by considering at most said given number of insertions.

46. The method of claim 27, wherein the step of approximately matching said respective logs with at least one regular expression comprises processing in parallel a plurality of regular expressions.

47. The method of claim 27, comprising the step of including in at least one of said workflow models a manual activity or command that does not trigger any events in one said network equipment.

48. The method of claim 27, comprising the steps of:

defining rules, such as a pair (X, Y), where X is a manual activity or command that triggers events in said network equipment, and Y is an arbitrarily complex workflow sub-model, possibly comprising only one manual activity/command; and

replacing occurrences of said manual activity or command X present in at least one of said workflow models with said workflow sub-model Y.

49. The method of claim 27, comprising the step of configuring a graphic user interface with features selected from:

displaying the set of commands and manual operations available for defining a sub-model;

displaying sub-models that are used in the said substitution procedure; and

relating manual activity or commands with a possible corresponding sub-model.

50. The method of claim 27, comprising the step of providing a graphic user interface to support validation and modification of the workflow models and the step of configuring said graphic user interface with features selected from:

displaying video images recorded during one said intervention;

displaying commands observed and events triggered on network equipment during one said intervention;

displaying a workflow model related to a type of intervention, said workflow model being suitable to be modified and accepted by an expert user;

synchronizing video sequences with corresponding sequences of events related to a specific intervention and triggered on network equipment;

relating events triggered on network equipment with the corresponding manual activities and commands of the workflow models.

51. A system for automatic generation of workflow models related to interventions on network equipment in a communication network, wherein said network equipment has associated resource proxy agents responsible for managing said equipment, comprising a set of at least a recording unit and said resource proxy agents being configured to send to said at least a recording unit, information signals representative of commands sent to the network equipment and events generated by interventions performed on said network equipment, the system being configured to analyze said information signals sent to said at least a recording unit to produce therefrom workflow models of said interventions performed on said network equipment according to the method of claim 27.

52. A computer program product, loadable into the memory of at least one computer and comprising software code portions capable of performing the method of claim 27.