Feature centric release manager method and system

• US 7,266,502 B2
• Filed: 03/31/2000
• Issued: 09/04/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 03/31/2000
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Oracle America, Inc. (Oracle Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Siebel Systems Inc. (Oracle Corporation)
• Inventors: Robins, Mark
• Primary Examiner(s): Abdi; Kambiz
• Application Number:
  US09/540,391
• Publication Number:
  US 20020165742A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,713 Days
• Field of Search: 705 1- 10, 705/50, 281/16, 281/31, 700/1, 700/92, 700100-110, 702/187, 702/188
• US Class Current: 705/7.15
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06 Resources, workflows, human or project management; Enterprise or organisation planning; Enterprise or organisation modelling
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/0631 Resource planning, allocation, distributing or scheduling for enterprises or organisations
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/063114 Status monitoring or status determination for a person or group
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/0635 Risk analysis of enterprise or organisation activities
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06375 Prediction of business process outcome or impact based on a proposed change
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06395 Quality analysis or management
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0201 Market modelling; Market analysis; Collecting market data

Abstract

A feature centric method of and system for monitoring the development and release process of a product, monitoring the development and release of a product, where the product is characterized by having a plurality of features is described. The method steps, which the system is configured to carry out, include enumerating features to be included in the product, enumerating tasks, task milestones, and task milestone completions identified to the features; enumerating required task approvals and feature approvals and completed task approvals and feature approvals, and enumerating required associated activities and completed associated activities. The enumeration preferably includes information to show linkages, associations, priorities, milestones, and missed milestones.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

managing a release of a product, comprising

describing the product in terms of a plurality of product features of the product;

entering a description of each of said product features, wherein said description comprises an instantiation of a feature list graphical user interface;

defining a plurality of tasks, wherein each of said tasks is associated with one of said product features, the plurality of tasks being grouped into task types;

linking each of the plurality of tasks with one of the plurality of product features;

entering a task progress development as an instantiation of a task-type graphical user interface, wherein the task-type graphical user interface is selected from a plurality of task-type graphical user interfaces, each corresponding to one of the task types; and

tracking a status of each product feature via the instantiated task-type graphical user interfaces.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

linking all of the graphical user interfaces to one another via the product features.

3. The method of claim 2, further comprising:

storing the feature descriptions, task definitions and task progress developments in a relational database; and

wherein linking comprises;

linking each task definition and related task progress developments to their corresponding one of the product features through the use of relational database keys.

4. A system comprising:

a product release system configured to manage a release of a product, comprising

a product feature list user interface by which a user enters product features of the product to be released;

an engineer task list user interface by which the user enters and tracks information related to tasks being completed to implement the product features entered in the product feature list user interface, wherein the tasks correspond to one of the product features;

a quality assurance user interface by which the user manages and tracks both quality assurance test plans and tests that are executed against the test plans and designed to ensure the functionality of the product features; and

a technical documents list user interface by which the user enters and tracks information related to documents being developed to describe the product features,

wherein all parameters entered by the user into the engineer task list user interface, the quality assurance user interface and the technical documents list user interface are each defined in terms of a particular one of the product features entered into the feature list user interface.

5. The system of claim 4, wherein all parameters entered by the user into the engineer task list user interface, the quality assurance user interface and the technical documents list user interface are each linked to a particular one of the product features entered into the feature list user interface.

6. The system of claim 4, further comprising:

a relational database operable to store data entered into the interfaces, and further operable to filter the data based on the product features.

7. A method comprising:

managing a release of a product, comprising

describing the product in terms of product features of the product;

defining, for each product feature, a plurality of tasks necessary to implement the each product feature;

linking each task with its corresponding product feature; and

entering data associated with a selected one of the plurality of tasks into a graphical user interface associated with the selected task.

8. The method of claim 7, further comprising:

selecting a graphical user interface displaying data associated with a task based on the product feature associated with the task.

9. The method of claim 7, further comprising:

storing the features, tasks and data in a relational database; and

linking the tasks and their associated data with their associated product features by assigning a key to each product feature, task and datum.