Evaluation of a process metric

• US 8,126,753 B2
• Filed: 08/06/2007
• Issued: 02/28/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 08/06/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: ServiceNow Incorporated
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Anerousis, Nikolaos, Bose, Abhijit, Grabarnik, Genady, Saha, Debanjan, Shwartz, Larisa, Tao, Shu
• Primary Examiner(s): Jeanty, Romain
• Application Number:
  US11/834,328
• Publication Number:
  US 20090043619A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,667 Days
• Field of Search: 705/7.11
• US Class Current: 705/7.11
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/04 Forecasting or optimisation specially adapted for administrative or management purposes, e.g. linear programming or "cutting stock problem" market predictions or forecasting for commercial activities G06Q30/0202
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06 Resources, workflows, human or project management; Enterprise or organisation planning; Enterprise or organisation modelling
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/063 Operations research, analysis or management
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06395 Quality analysis or management

Abstract

An exemplary method of responding to a request for a value of at least one metric associated with at least one process includes a step of determining whether responding to the request requires updating the value of the at least one metric. When responding to the request does not require updating the value of the at least one metric, a response is determined based at least in part on at least one stored value of the at least one metric. When responding to the request does require updating the value of the at least one metric, the value of the at least one metric is updated and a response is determined based at least in part on the at least one updated value of the at least one metric. Updating the value of the at least one metric, at least when responding to the request requires updating the value of the at least one metric, includes steps of determining at least one new value of the at least one metric based at least in part on at least one stored value of the at least one metric and storing the at least one new value of the at least one metric. The method also includes a step of responding to the request with the determined response.

Claims

1. A method of responding to a request for a value of at least one metric associated with at least one process, the method comprising the steps of:

determining whether responding to the request requires updating the value of the at least one metric;

when responding to the request does not require updating the value of the at least one metric, determining a response based at least in part on at least one stored value of the at least one metric;

when responding to the request does require updating the value of the at least one metric, updating the value of the at least one metric and determining a response based at least in part on the at least one updated value of the at least one metric; and

responding to the request with the determined response;

wherein updating the value of the at least one metric, at least when responding to the request requires updating the value of the at least one metric, comprises the steps of;

determining the at least one updated value of the at least one metric based at least in part on the at least one stored value of the at least one metric; and

storing the at least one updated value of the at least one metric; and

wherein the steps are performed by a processor.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one metric comprises a recursively updatable function.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one metric is based at least in part on data related to the at least one process.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the step of updating the value of the at least one metric comprises retrieving data related to the at least one process and wherein the at least one updated value of the at least one metric is determined based at least in part on the retrieved data.

5. The method of claim 3, further comprising the step of:

determining, based at least in part on the determined response, whether the at least one process satisfies at least one constraint.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the at least one constraint comprises at least one of a lean process constraint and a six sigma process constraint.

7. The method of claim 3, further comprising the step of:

updating the value of the at least one metric responsive to new data related to the at least one process.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of determining whether responding to the request requires updating the value of the at least one metric comprises the step of determining whether the request is for a current value of the at least one metric or for a previous value of the at least one metric.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein:

when the request is for a current value of the at least one metric, responding to the request does require updating the value of the at least one metric; and

when the request is for a previous value of the at least one metric, responding to the request does not require updating the value of the at least one metric.

10. A system for responding to a request for a value of at least one metric associated with at least one process, the system comprising:

at least one storage module operative to store at least one value of the at least one metric;

a first module operative;

(i) to determine whether updating the value of the at least one metric is required;

(ii) when updating the value of the at least one metric is not required to respond to the request, to determine a response to the request based at least in part on at least one stored value of the at least one metric; and

(iii) when updating the value of the at least one metric is required to respond to the request, to determine a response to the request based at least in part on at least one updated value of the at least one metric; and

a second module operative to, at least in response to a determination by the first module that an update is required, update the value of the at least one metric, wherein updating the value of the at least one metric comprises the steps of;

(i) determining the at least one updated value of the at least one metric based at least in part on the at least one stored value of the at least one metric; and

(ii) storing the at least one updated value of the at least one metric;

wherein at least the first and second modules are implemented by a processor.

11. The system of claim 10, wherein the at least one metric comprises a recursively updatable function.

12. The system of claim 10, wherein the at least one metric is based at least in part on data related to the at least one process.

13. The system of claim 12, wherein the step of updating the value of the at least one metric comprises retrieving data related to the at least one process and wherein the at least one updated value of the at least one metric is determined based at least in part on the retrieved data.

14. The system of claim 12, further comprising a third module operative to determine, based at least in part on the determined response, whether the at least one process satisfies at least one constraint.

15. The system of claim 14, wherein the at least one constraint comprises at least one of a lean process constraint and a six sigma process constraint.

16. The system of claim 14, wherein the first module is further operative to determine that updating the value of the at least one metric is required on a periodic basis.

17. The system of claim 14, wherein the first module is further operative to update the value of the at least one metric responsive to new data related to the at least one process.

18. An article of manufacture for responding to a request for a value of at least one metric associated with at least one process, the article comprising a machine-readable storage medium containing one or more software programs that, when executed, perform the steps of:

determining whether responding to the request requires updating the value of the at least one metric;

when responding to the request does not require updating the value of the at least one metric, determining a response based at least in part on at least one stored value of the at least one metric;

when responding to the request does require updating the value of the at least one metric,

updating the value of the at least one metric and determining a response based at least in part on the at least one updated value of the at least one metric; and

responding to the request with the determined response;

wherein updating the value of the at least one metric, at least when responding to the request requires updating the value of the at least one metric, comprises the steps of;

determining the at least one updated value of the at least one metric based at least in part on the at least one stored value of the at least one metric; and

storing the at least one updated value of the at least one metric.

19. The article of claim 18, wherein the at least one metric comprises a recursively updatable function.

20. The article of claim 18, wherein the at least one metric is based at least in part on data related to at least one process.

21. The article of claim 20, wherein the step of updating the value of the at least one metric comprises retrieving data related to the at least one process and wherein the at least one updated value of the at least one metric is determined based at least in part on the retrieved data.

22. The article of claim 21, wherein the one or more software programs further perform the step of:

determining, based at least in part on the determined response, whether the at least one process satisfies at least one constraint.

23. The article of claim 22, wherein the at least one constraint comprises at least one of a lean process constraint and a six sigma process constraint.

24. The article of claim 18, wherein the one or more software programs further perform the step of:

updating the value of the at least one metric responsive to new data related to the at least one process.