System and method for the development and deployment of service elements

• US 7,788,122 B2
• Filed: 10/05/2007
• Issued: 08/31/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 04/12/2002
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Greenstein, Paul G.
• Primary Examiner(s): Jarrett; Scott L
• Application Number:
  US11/867,904
• Publication Number:
  US 20080027780A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,061 Days
• Field of Search: 705/8
• US Class Current: 705/7.26
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/0631 Resource planning, allocation, distributing or scheduling for enterprises or organisations
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06316 Sequencing of tasks or work
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/10 Office automation; Time management
• CPC Class Codes: Y02P 90/02 Total factory control, e.g. smart factories, flexible manufacturing systems [FMS] or integrated manufacturing systems [IMS]

Abstract

A service element is defined and represented by a data structure. It includes one or more components and/or one or more other service elements. A service element providing a complete function is a service offering. Management of service elements and/or service offerings is facilitated by a Service Development Tool. In different aspects, the management includes various tasks associated with creating, modifying and deleting service elements, establishing relationships, error checking and optimization. In a further aspect, service elements are packaged and distributed to enable customers to deliver the service elements. Additionally, the hosting of software packages is facilitated.

Claims

1. An automated method of optimizing management of service elements, said method comprising:

automatically searching, by a processor, through data structures representing other service elements to locate commonality in design with a service element to be developed, the commonality in design comprising one or more customization tasks to be performed on a referenced service element or integration tasks to be performed on at least two referenced service elements, the referenced service element or the at least two referenced service elements being referenced in at least one composition item of at least one other service element of the other service elements and in at least one composition item of the service element to be developed, each service element being a discrete entity for which a customer may be billed or which represents an in-house or outsourced service, and each service element being represented by a data structure comprising a set of information to manage the service element, the data structure including at least one composition item, integration properties and a customization specification, the integration properties characterizing an ability of the service element to integrate with one of more service elements;

subsequent to the searching, creating another service element that includes only the located commonality in design with the service element to be developed, the another service element comprising a consolidation of the common one or more customization or integration tasks;

referencing the another service element in a composition item of the data structure representing the service element to be developed, wherein the another service element provides at least part of a design specification usable in constructing the service element to be developed by a service provider;

for the service element under development, generating a development plan therefor, wherein the development plan includes a design of the service element, and a customization specification, and during development plan generation for the service element of the multiple service elements;

employing the data structure representations of the service element and another service element of the multiple service elements in consolidating at least a portion of the customization or integration tasks of the development plans of the service element and the another service element which are duplicative;

saving the development plan for the service element in the data structure representation of the service element;

generating a deployment plan for the service element using the development plan, wherein the deployment plan is a series of tasks which direct, in part, customization or integration of entities within the service element pursuant to the development plan;

saving the deployment plan for the service element in the data structure representation of the service element; and

constructing and deploying the service element by a service provider based on the generated development and deployment plans.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the consolidating is performed for the at least two service elements using a service development tool during development plan generation for the service element.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the automatically searching is performed for the service element to be developed using a service development tool during development plan generation for the service element.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the data structure representing the service element to be developed comprises multiple additional properties, the multiple additional properties comprising multiple composition items and a cost case, the cost case including an indication of quantity of the multiple composition items of the service element and cost to the service provider of the multiple composition items, one composition item of the multiple composition items comprising a reference to another service element.

5. A computer system for optimizing management of service elements, said computer system comprising:

a memory; and

a processor in communications with the memory, wherein the computer system is configured to perform;

automatically searching through data structures representing other service elements to locate commonality in design with a service element to be developed, the commonality in design comprising one or more customization tasks to be performed on a referenced service element or integration tasks to be performed on at least two referenced service elements, the referenced service element or the at least two referenced service elements being referenced in at least one composition item of at least one other service element of the other service elements and in at least one compilation item of the service element to be developed, each service element being a discrete entity for which a customer may be billed or which represents an in-house or outsourced service, and each service element being represented by a data structure comprising a set of information to manage the service element, the data structure including at least one composition item, integration properties and a customization specification, the integration properties characterizing an ability of the service element to integrate with one or more service elements;

subsequent to the searching, creating another service element that includes only the located commonality in design with the service element to be developed, the another service element comprising a consolidation of the common one or more customization or integration tasks;

referencing the another service element in a composition item of the data structure representing the service element to be developed, wherein the another service element provides at least part of a design specification usable in constructing the service element to be developed by a service provider;

for the service element under development, means for generating a development plan therefor, wherein the development plan includes a design of the service element, and during development plan generation for the service element of the multiple service elements;

employing the data structure representations of the service element and another service element of the multiple service elements in consolidating at least a portion of the customization or integration tasks of the development plans of the service element and the another service element which are duplicative;

saving the development plan for the service element in the data structure representation of the service element;

generating a deployment plan for the service element using the development plan, wherein the deployment plan is a series of tasks which direct, in part, customization or integration of entities within the service element pursuant to the development plan;

saving the deployment plan for the service element in the data structure representation of the service element; and

constructing and deploying the service element by a service provider based on the generated development and deployment plans.

6. The computer system of claim 5, wherein the consolidating is included within a service development tool.

7. The computer system of claim 5, wherein the automatically searching is included within a service development tool.

8. The computer system of claim 5, wherein the data structure representing the service element to be developed comprises multiple additional properties, the multiple additional properties comprising multiple composition items and a cost case, the cost case including an indication of quantity of the multiple composition items of the service element and cost to the service provider of the multiple composition items, one composition item of the multiple composition items comprising a reference to the another service element.

9. At least one program storage device readable by a computer tangibly embodying at least one program of instructions executable by the machine to perform, when executing, a method of optimizing management of service elements, said method comprising:

automatically searching through data structures representing service elements to locate commonality in design with a service element to be developed, the commonality in design comprising one or more customization tasks to be performed on a referenced service element or integration tasks to be performed on at least two referenced service elements, the referenced service element or the at least two referenced service elements being referenced in at least one composition item of at least one other service element of the other service elements and in at least one compilation item of the service element to be developed, each service element being a discrete entity for which a customer may be billed or which represents an in-house or outsourced service, and each service element being represented by a data structure comprising a set of information to manage the service element, the data structure including at least one composition item, integration properties and a customization specification, the integration properties characterizing an ability of the service element to integrate with one or more service elements;

subsequent to the searching, creating another service element that includes only the located commonality in design with the service element to be developed, the another service element comprising a consolidation of the common one or more customization or integration tasks;

referencing the another service element in a composition item of the data structure representing the service element to be developed, wherein the another service element provides at least part of a design specification usable in constructing the service element to be developed by a service provider;

for the service element under development, generating a development plan therefor, wherein the development plan includes a design of the service element, and a customization specification, and during development plan generation for the service element of the multiple service elements;

employing the data structure representations of the service element and another service element of the multiple service elements in consolidating at least a portion of the customization or integration tasks of the development plans of the service element and the another service element which are duplicative;

saving the development plan for the service element in the data structure representation of the service element;

generating a deployment plan for the service element using the development plan, wherein the deployment plan is a series of tasks which direct, in part, customization or integration of entities within the service element pursuant to the development plan;

saving the deployment plan for the service element in the data structure representation of the service element; and

constructing and deploying the service element by a service provider based on the generated development and deployment plans.

10. The at least one program storage device of claim 9, wherein the data structure representing the service element to be developed comprises multiple additional properties, the multiple additional properties comprising multiple composition items and a cost case, the cost case including an indication of quantity of the multiple composition items of the service element and cost to the service provider of the multiple composition items, one composition item of the multiple composition items comprising a reference to the another service element.