System and method for scoring development concepts

• US 7,546,285 B1
• Filed: 09/24/2004
• Issued: 06/09/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 09/24/2004
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Sprint Communications Company LP (Deutsche Telekom AG)
• Original Assignee: Sprint Communications Company LP (Deutsche Telekom AG)
• Inventors: Baker, Larry E. Jr.
• Primary Examiner(s): Ali; Mohammad
• Assistant Examiner(s): Alvesteffer; Jason L
• Application Number:
  US10/950,002
• Time in Patent Office: 1,719 Days
• Field of Search: 707/103.R, 707/104.1, 707/103.Z, 707/102, 707/103.Y, 705/7, 705/10
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/00 Administration; Management

Abstract

A system for scoring a concept is provided. The system includes a data store, a graphical user interface, and a scoring component. The data store maintains values for categories, sub-area weighting factors, and area weighting factors. The graphical user interface allows a user to score a concept based on a plurality of categories of the concept. At least some of the categories are associated with one of a plurality of sub-areas, and at least one of the sub-areas is associated with one of a plurality of areas. The scoring component is operable based on the categories selected by the user to calculate a concept score using the values for the categories selected by the user. The scoring component also calculates the concept score using the sub-area weighting factors to weight the associated sub-areas, and also uses the area weighting factors to weight the associated areas.

Claims

1. A computer implemented method of evaluating a strategic change in a business, comprising:

displaying, via a computer display, a scoring screen for evaluating a concept for one of funding and selection by the business, the scoring screen including a plurality of areas, each area including at least one sub-area, and each sub-area including a plurality of categories, wherein each of the plurality of categories includes one of numeric categories and non-numeric categories;

storing values in a data store of a plurality of category values and a plurality of coefficients based on a first strategic initiative of the business, wherein the plurality of coefficients include a plurality of sub-area coefficients each associated with one of the plurality of sub-areas and a plurality of area coefficients each associated with one of the plurality of areas;

receiving selections, via the scoring screen displayed on the computer display, of a plurality of the categories, one of the categories from each of the plurality of sub-areas, wherein the selected plurality of the categories evaluate the concept for one of funding and selection by the business associating each of the plurality of selected categories with a corresponding one of the plurality of category values;

reading the coefficients and the associated category values from the data store;

calculating, via a scoring component computer program embodied on a computer readable storage medium and executed by a processor, a concept score of the concept by calculating a plurality of area values defined as the sum of the products of each of the associated category values of the plurality of selected categories by the associated sub-area coefficient and further by summing the products of each of the plurality of area values multiplied by the associated area coefficient;

storing the calculated concept score;

storing at least one of at least one category value and at least one coefficient associated with a second strategic initiative of the business;

changing at least one of at least one of the plurality of coefficients and at least one of the category values corresponding with the plurality of selected categories to at least one of the at least one category value and the at least one coefficient associated with the second strategic initiative of the business;

automatically recalculating, via the scoring component, the stored concept score of the concept using the plurality of selected categories that evaluate the concept and at least one of the at least one changed coefficient and the at least one changed category value according to the second strategic initiative; and

evaluating the strategic change in the business using the recalculated concept score according to the second strategic initiative.

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

storing at least one of at least one category value and at least one coefficient associated with a third strategic initiative of the business;

changing at least one of at least one of the plurality of coefficients and at least one of the category values corresponding with the plurality of selected categories to at least one of the at least one category value and the at least one coefficient associated with the third strategic initiative of the business;

automatically recalculating the concept score based on the plurality of selected categories that evaluate the concept and at least one of the at least one changed category value and the at least one changed coefficient according to the third strategic initiative of the business; and

evaluating the strategic change in the business using the concept score, the recalculated concept score according to the second strategic initiative, and the recalculated concept score according to the third strategic initiative.

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

storing at least one of at least one of a plurality of category values and at least one of a plurality of coefficients for each of a plurality of strategic initiatives of the business;

changing at least one of at least one of the plurality of the coefficients and at least one of the category values corresponding with the plurality of selected categories to at least one of at least one of the plurality of category values and at least one of the plurality of coefficients for each of the plurality of strategic initiatives of the business;

automatically recalculating the concept score for each of the plurality of strategic initiatives based on the plurality of selected categories that evaluate the concept and each of at least one of the at least one of the plurality of changed category values and the at least one of the plurality of changed coefficients; and

evaluating the strategic change in the business using the recalculated concept score according to each of the plurality of strategic initiatives.

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

selecting a plurality of the categories, one of the categories from each of the plurality of sub-areas, for each of a plurality of concepts;

calculating a first set of concept scores for the plurality of concepts using the plurality of coefficients and the plurality of category values;

calculating a second set of concept scores by recalculating the set of concept scores for the plurality of concepts using at least one of the at least one changed coefficient and the at least one chance category value;

evaluating the strategic change in the business using the first set of concept scores and the second set of concept scores.

5. The computer implemented method of claim 1, wherein each sub-area includes a maximum number of categories for the plurality of categories.

6. The computer implemented method of claim 1, wherein a first and second of the plurality of sub-area coefficients have an associated first and second value, the first value greater than the second value to weight the first sub-area more than the second sub-area.

7. The computer implemented method of claim 1, wherein at least one of the values is a negative value.

8. The computer implemented method of claim 1, wherein values of desirable ones of the plurality of sub-areas are provided to promote a more favorable concept score when desirable ones of the plurality of categories are selected.

9. The computer implemented method of claim 1, wherein values of undesirable ones of the plurality of sub-areas are provided to promote a more negative concept score when undesirable ones of the plurality of categories are selected.

10. The computer implemented method of claim 1, wherein values of cost sub-areas of the plurality of sub-areas are provided to promote a more favorable concept score when lower cost categories of the plurality of categories are selected.

11. The computer implemented method of claim 1, wherein values of revenue sub-areas of the plurality of sub-areas are provided to promote a more favorable concept score when higher revenue categories of the plurality of categories are selected.

12. A system for evaluating a strategic change in a business, comprising:

at least one processor;

a graphical user interface that displays a scoring screen for evaluating a concept for one of funding and selection by the business, the scoring screen including a plurality of areas, each area including at least one sub-area, and each sub-area including a plurality of categories, wherein each of the plurality of categories include one of numeric categories and non-numeric categories;

a data store stored on a computer readable medium, when executed by the at least one processor, that stores values for a plurality of category values and a plurality of coefficients based on a first strategic initiative of the business and stores at least one of at least one category value and at least one coefficient associated with a second strategic initiative of the business, wherein the plurality of coefficients include a plurality of sub-area coefficients each associated with one of the plurality of sub-areas and a plurality of area coefficients each associated with one of the plurality of areas;

an association component stored on a computer readable medium, that when executed by the at least one processor, is responsive to selections in the graphical user interface of a plurality of the categories including a selection for one of the categories from each of the plurality of sub-areas, wherein the association component associates each of the plurality of selected categories with a corresponding one of the plurality of category values; and

a concept scoring component stored on a computer readable medium, when executed by the at least one processor, that reads the plurality of coefficients and the associated category values from the data store and calculates a concept score of the concept by calculating a plurality of area values defined as the sum of the products of each of the category values of the plurality of selected categories by the associated sub-area coefficient and further by summing the products of each of the plurality of area values multiplied by the associated area coefficient,

wherein the concept score is stored in the data store along with at least one other concept score calculated using the graphical user interface, the data store, the association component, and the concept scoring component,

wherein upon at least one of at least one of the plurality of coefficients and at least one of the category values corresponding with the plurality of categories being changed to at least one of the at least one category value and the at least one coefficient associated with the second strategic initiative of the business, the concept scoring component automatically recalculates the concept scores stored in the data store using the plurality of selected categories and at least one of the at least one changed coefficient and the at least one changed category value according to the second strategic initiative,

wherein the recalculated concept score enables evaluating the strategic change in the business according to the second strategic initiative.

13. The system of claim 12, wherein at least one of the values is a negative value.

14. The system of claim 12, wherein each sub-area includes a maximum number of categories for the plurality of categories.

15. The system of claim 12, further comprising:

a concept evaluation system that further analyzes the concept.

16. The system of claim 15, wherein the concept evaluation system lists concepts according to the concept scores stored in the database, the concept evaluation system further analyzes the concepts based on concept score and another criterion.

17. The system of claim 12, wherein the areas include at least one of a financial area, a strategy area, an architecture area, and a marketing area.

18. The system of claim 12, wherein the values of desirable ones of the plurality of areas, sub-areas, and categories are provided to promote a more favorable concept score when desirable ones of the plurality of categories are selected and values of undesirable ones of the plurality of areas, sub-areas, and categories are provided to promote a more negative concept score when undesirable ones of the plurality of categories are selected.

19. A computer implemented method of evaluating a concept for one of funding and selection by a business, comprising:

displaying, via a computer display, a scoring screen for evaluating the concept for one of funding and selection by the business, the scoring screen including a plurality of areas, each area including at least one sub-area, and each sub-area including a plurality of categories, wherein each of the plurality of categories include one of numeric categories and non-numeric categories;

storing values in a data store of a plurality of category values and a plurality of coefficients based on a first strategic initiative of the business, wherein the plurality of coefficients include a plurality of sub-area coefficients each associated with one of the plurality of sub-areas and a plurality of area coefficients each associated with one of the plurality of areas;

receiving selections, via the scoring screen displayed on the computer display, of a plurality of the categories, one of the categories from each of the plurality of sub-areas, wherein the selected plurality of the categories evaluate the concept for one of funding and selection by the business;

associating each of the plurality of selected categories with a corresponding one of the plurality of category values;

reading the coefficients and the associated category values from the data store;

calculating, via a scoring component computer program embodied on a computer readable storage medium and executed by a processor, a first concept score of the concept by calculating a plurality of area values defined as the sum of the products of each of the associated category values of the plurality of selected categories by the associated sub-area coefficient and further by summing the products of each of the plurality of area values multiplied by the associated area coefficient;

storing the first concept score;

storing at least one of at least one category value and at least one coefficient associated with a second strategic initiative of the business;

changing at least one of at least one of the plurality of coefficients and at least one of the category values corresponding with the plurality of selected categories to at least one of the at least one category value and the at least one coefficient associated with the second strategic initiative of the business;

calculating, via the scoring component, a second concept score of the concept using the plurality of selected categories that evaluate the concept and at least one of the at least one changed coefficient and the at least one changed category value according to the second strategic initiative; and

evaluating the concept for one of funding and selection by the business using the first concept score and the second concept score.

20. The computer implemented method of claim 19, wherein evaluating the concept is based on evaluating an average of the first concept score and the second concept score.

21. The computer implemented method of claim 19, further comprising:

storing at least one of at least one category value and at least one coefficient associated with a third strategic initiative of the business;

changing at least one of at least one of the plurality of coefficients and at least one of the category values corresponding with the plurality of selected categories to at least one of the at least one category value and the at least one coefficient associated with the third strategic initiative of the business;

calculating a third concept score of the concept using the plurality of selected categories that evaluate the concept and at least one of the at least one changed coefficient and the at least one changed category value according to the third strategic initiative of the business; and

evaluating the concept using the first concept score, the second concept score, and the third concept score.

22. The computer implemented method of claim 19, further comprising:

storing at least one of at least one of a plurality of category values and at least one of a plurality of coefficients for each of a plurality of strategic initiatives of the business;

changing at least one of at least one of the plurality of the coefficients and at least one of the category values corresponding with the plurality of selected categories to at least one of the at least one of the plurality of category values and the at least one of the plurality of the coefficients for each of the plurality of strategic initiatives of the business;

calculating a plurality of concept scores, one for each of the plurality of strategic initiatives using the plurality of selected categories that evaluate the concept and each of at least one of the at least one of the plurality of changed coefficients and the at least one of the plurality of changed category values according to the associated one of the plurality of strategic initiatives of the business; and

evaluating the concept using the plurality of concept scores.

23. The computer implemented method of claim 19, wherein at least one of the values is a negative value.

24. The computer implemented method of claim 19, wherein each sub-area includes a maximum number of categories for the plurality of categories.

25. The computer implemented method of claim 19, wherein the areas include at least one of a financial area, a strategy area, an architecture area, and a marketing area.

26. The computer implemented method of claim 19, wherein the values of desirable ones of the plurality of areas, sub-areas, and categories are provided to promote a more favorable concept score when desirable ones of the plurality of categories are selected and values of undesirable ones of the plurality of areas, sub-areas, and categories are provided to promote a more negative concept score when undesirable ones of the plurality of categories are selected.

27. A system for evaluating a concept for one of funding and selection by a business, comprising:

at least one processor;

a graphical user interface that displays a scoring screen for evaluating the concept for one of funding and selection by the business, the scoring screen including a plurality of areas, each area including at least one sub-area, and each sub-area including a plurality of categories, wherein each of the plurality of categories include one of numeric categories and non-numeric categories;

a data store stored on a computer readable medium, when executed by the at least one processor, that stores values for a plurality of category values and a plurality of coefficients based on a plurality of strategic initiatives of the business, and wherein the plurality of coefficients include a plurality of sub-area coefficients each associated with one of the plurality of sub-areas and a plurality of area coefficients each associated with one of the plurality of areas;

an association component stored on a computer readable medium, that when executed by the at least one processor, is responsive to selections in the graphical user interface of a plurality of the categories including a selection for one of the categories from each of the plurality of sub-areas, wherein the association component associates each of the plurality of selected categories with a corresponding one of the plurality of category values for one of the plurality of strategic initiatives of the business; and

a concept scoring component stored on a computer readable medium, when executed by the at least one processor, that reads the plurality of coefficients and the associated category values for the one of the plurality of strategic initiatives of the business from the data store and calculates a concept score of the concept by calculating a plurality of area values defined as the sum of the products of each of the associated category values of the plurality of selected categories by the associated sub-area coefficient for the one of the plurality of strategic initiatives of the business and further by summing the products of each of the plurality of area values multiplied by the associated area coefficient for the one of the plurality of strategic initiatives of the business,

wherein the concept scoring component calculates a plurality of concept scores for the concept, each of the plurality of concept scores calculated based on the plurality of selected categories and a change in at least one of at least one of the plurality of coefficients and at least one of the category values corresponding with the plurality of selected categories with the change being made in accordance with each of the plurality of strategic initiatives of the business,

wherein the plurality of concept scores are stored in the data store, and

wherein the concept is evaluated based on the plurality of concept scores.

28. The system of claim 27, wherein at least one of the values is a negative value.

29. The system of claim 27, wherein each sub-area includes a maximum number of categories for the plurality of categories.

30. The system of claim 27, wherein the areas include at least one of a financial area, a strategy area, an architecture area, and a marketing area.

31. The system of claim 27, wherein the values of desirable ones of the plurality of areas, sub-areas, and categories are provided to promote a more favorable concept score when desirable ones of the plurality of categories are selected and values of undesirable ones of the plurality of areas, sub-areas, and categories are provided to promote a more negative concept score when undesirable ones of the plurality of categories are selected.