MAINTENANCE ASSESSMENT MANAGEMENT

• US 20100023933A1
• Filed: 07/22/2008
• Published: 01/28/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 07/22/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Spencer, William E., Bryant, Barbara J., Fagen, Nicole M.
• Granted Patent: US 8,291,382 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 717/168
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/60 Software deployment
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06 Resources, workflows, human or project management; Enterprise or organisation planning; Enterprise or organisation modelling

Abstract

A computer-implemented method, system, and computer program product for assessing environment specific maintenance actions are provided. The method includes identifying a maintenance update for a specific environment including one or more computer systems, where the maintenance update addresses one or more known problems. The method also includes applying factors to determine an assessment index for the one or more known problems as a function of the specific environment. The assessment index indicates a level of installation criticality relative to the specific environment. The method further includes outputting an installation recommendation for the identified maintenance update in response to determining the assessment index.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method for assessing environment specific maintenance actions, comprising:

identifying a maintenance update for a specific environment including one or more computer systems, wherein the maintenance update addresses a known problem;

applying factors to determine an assessment index for the known problem as a function of the specific environment, wherein the assessment index indicates a level of installation criticality relative to the specific environment; and

outputting an installation recommendation for the identified maintenance update in response to determining the assessment index.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the factors include a level of importance as a function of one or more defect attributes associated with the known problem, a level of exposure to the known problem in the specific environment, and policies of the specific environment.

3. The method of claim 2 wherein the one or more defect attributes include a classification and a symptom of the known problem.

4. The method of claim 2 wherein the level of exposure is determined by comparing problem triggers to the specific environment and further determined by pervasiveness of the known problem.

5. The method of claim 2 wherein the policies include an acceptable age of the maintenance update and specific components or functions with a higher degree of sensitivity.

6. The method of claim 2 further comprising:

establishing a weighting value for each of the factors; and

applying the weighting value to each of the factors to determine the assessment index.

7. The method of claim 1 further comprising storing user decisions regarding installation of the maintenance update.

8. A system for maintenance assessment management, comprising:

a service inventory identifying a specific environment of the system; and

a maintenance assessment tool (MAT) executing on a user system, wherein the MAT performs a method comprising;

identifying a maintenance update for the specific environment, wherein the maintenance update addresses a known problem;

applying factors to determine an assessment index for the known problem as a function of the specific environment, wherein the assessment index indicates a level of installation criticality relative to the specific environment; and

outputting an installation recommendation for the identified maintenance update in response to determining the assessment index.

9. The system of claim 8 wherein the factors include a level of importance as a function of one or more defect attributes associated with the known problem, a level of exposure to the known problem in the specific environment, and policies of the specific environment.

10. The system of claim 9 wherein the one or more defect attributes include a classification and a symptom of the known problem.

11. The system of claim 9 wherein the level of exposure is determined by comparing problem triggers to the specific environment and further determined by pervasiveness of the known problem.

12. The system of claim 9 wherein the policies include an acceptable age of the maintenance update and specific components or functions with a higher degree of sensitivity.

13. The system of claim 9 wherein the method performed by the MAT further comprises:

establishing a weighting value for each of the factors; and

applying the weighting value to each of the factors to determine the assessment index.

14. The system of claim 8 wherein the method performed by the MAT further comprises:

storing user decisions regarding installation of the maintenance update.

15. A computer program product for assessing environment specific maintenance actions, the computer program product comprising:

a storage medium readable by a processing circuit and storing instructions for execution by the processing circuit for implementing a method, the method comprising;

identifying a maintenance update for a specific environment including one or more computer systems, wherein the maintenance update addresses a known problem;

applying factors to determine an assessment index for the known problem as a function of the specific environment, wherein the assessment index indicates a level of installation criticality relative to the specific environment; and

outputting an installation recommendation for the identified maintenance update in response to determining the assessment index.

16. The computer program product of claim 15 wherein the factors include a level of importance as a function of one or more defect attributes associated with the known problem, a level of exposure to the known problem in the specific environment, and policies of the specific environment.

17. The computer program product of claim 16 wherein the one or more defect attributes include a classification and a symptom of the known problem.

18. The computer program product of claim 16 wherein the level of exposure is determined by comparing problem triggers to the specific environment and further determined by pervasiveness of the known problem.

19. The computer program product of claim 16 wherein the policies include an acceptable age of the maintenance update and specific components or functions with a higher degree of sensitivity.

20. The computer program product of claim 15 further comprising:

establishing a weighting value for each of the factors;

applying the weighting value to each of the factors to determine the assessment index; and

storing user decisions regarding installation of the maintenance update.