Administering devices in dependence upon user metric vectors

• US 8,145,743 B2
• Filed: 04/17/2003
• Issued: 03/27/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 04/17/2003
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Eisenhauer, Daniel Gene, Schumacher, Daniel Mark, Watson, Thomas James, Bodin, William Kress, Burkhart, Michael John
• Primary Examiner(s): TODD, GREGORY G
• Application Number:
  US10/418,689
• Publication Number:
  US 20040210626A1
• Time in Patent Office: 3,267 Days
• Field of Search: 709201-203, 709223-225, 709/217, 702/127, 702/193, 702/188, 340/5.2, 340/5.52, 340/5.8, 340/5.82, 600/300
• US Class Current: 709/224
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/5067 Customer-centric QoS measurements
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/16 Threshold monitoring
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/40 Network security protocols

Abstract

Methods, systems, and products are disclosed for administering devices that include creating a user metric vector including a plurality of disparate user metrics, creating a user metric space including a plurality of metric ranges, determining whether the user metric vector is outside the user metric space, identifying an action in dependence upon the user metric vector if the user metric vector is outside a user metric space, and executing the action.

Claims

1. A method for administering devices, the method comprising:

creating, by a processor, a user metric vector comprising a plurality of disparate user metrics, including receiving a plurality of disparate user metrics having a plurality of metric values and a plurality of disparate metric IDs and associating the plurality of disparate user metrics with the user metric vector, wherein each user metric represents an indication of a user'"'"'s physical condition, wherein the user is a person;

creating a user metric space comprising a plurality of metric ranges, including identifying a plurality of metric ranges for a plurality of disparate metrics and associating the plurality of disparate metric ranges with the user metric space, wherein the user metric space is defined for a specific user among multiple users and wherein the user metric space is unique relative to others of the multiple of users;

determining whether the user metric vector is outside the user metric space, wherein the user metric vector is determined to be outside the user metric space in response to multiple of the metric values being outside their corresponding metric ranges defined in the user metric space;

if the user metric vector is outside a user metric space, identifying an action in dependence upon the user metric vector, including retrieving an action ID from an action list, wherein the action administers a device to alter the user'"'"'s physical condition;

executing the action, including identifying a device class representing the device and identifying a communication class for the device, wherein the user metric space is associated with a first environment and wherein executing the action is performed in response to a determination that the specific user is within the first environment

creating a different user metric space that is associated with a second environment for the specific user, the different user metric space comprising a plurality of different metric ranges, including identifying the plurality of different metric ranges for the plurality of disparate metrics and associating the plurality of different disparate metric ranges with the different user metric space;

responsive to determining the specific user is within the second environment, determining whether the user metric vector is outside the different user metric space;

if the user metric vector is outside the different user metric space, identifying a different action in dependence upon the user metric vector and upon the second environment, including retrieving an action ID from an action list, wherein the different action administers a device to alter the user'"'"'s physical condition; and

executing the different action, including identifying a device class representing the device and identifying a communication class for the device.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein determining whether the user metric vector is outside a user metric space comprises comparing the metric values of the user metric vector with the metric ranges of the metric space.

3. The method of claim 2 wherein comparing the metric values of the user metric vector with the metric ranges of the metric space comprises measuring a degree to which a value of the user metric is outside a metric range.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the user metric vector is determined to be outside the user metric space in response to all of the metric values being outside their corresponding metric ranges defined in the user metric space.

5. A system for administering devices, the system comprising:

a processor;

an application operable on the processor, the application configured to;

create a user metric vector comprising a plurality of disparate user metrics, including receive a plurality of disparate user metrics having a plurality of metric values and a plurality of disparate metric IDs and associate the plurality of disparate user metrics with the user metric vector, wherein each user metric represents an indication of a user'"'"'s physical condition, wherein the user is a person;

create a user metric space comprising a plurality of metric ranges, including identifying a plurality of metric ranges for a plurality of disparate metrics and associating the plurality of disparate metric ranges with the user metric space, wherein the user metric space is defined for a specific user among multiple users and wherein the user metric space is unique relative to others of the multiple of users;

determine whether the user metric vector is outside the user metric space, wherein the user metric vector is determined to be outside the user metric space in response to multiple of the metric values being outside their corresponding metric ranges defined in the user metric space;

responsive to the user metric vector being is outside a user metric space, identify an action in dependence upon the user metric vector, including retrieve an action ID from an action list, wherein the action administers a device to alter the user'"'"'s physical condition; and

execute the action, including identifying a device class representing the device and identifying a communication class for the device, wherein the user metric space is associated with a first environment and wherein executing the action is performed in response to a determination that the specific user is within the first environment

create a different user metric space that is associated with a second environment for the specific user, the different user metric space comprising a plurality of different metric ranges, including identifying the plurality of different metric ranges for the plurality of disparate metrics and associating the plurality of different disparate metric ranges with the different user metric space;

responsive to determination the specific user is within the second environment, determine whether the user metric vector is outside the different user metric space;

if the user metric vector is outside the different user metric space, identify a different action in dependence upon the user metric vector and upon the second environment, including retrieving an action ID from an action list, wherein the different action administers a device to alter the user'"'"'s physical condition; and

execute the different action, including identifying a device class representing the device and identifying a communication class for the device.

6. The system of claim 5 wherein the determine of whether the user metric vector is outside a user metric space comprises a compare of the metric values of the user metric vector with the metric ranges of the metric space.

7. The system of claim 6 wherein the compare of the metric values of the user metric vector with the metric ranges of the metric space comprises a measure of a degree to which a value of the user metric is outside a metric range.

8. The system of claim 5, wherein the user metric vector is determined to be outside the user metric space in response to all of the metric values being outside their corresponding metric ranges defined in the user metric space.

9. A computer storage device for administering devices, the computer storage device comprising:

a computer readable storage device having computer usable program code embodied therewith, the computer usable program code comprising a computer usable program code configured to;

create a user metric vector comprising a plurality of disparate user metrics, including computer usable program code configured to receive a plurality of disparate user metrics having a plurality of metric values and a plurality of disparate metric IDs and to associate the plurality of disparate user metrics with the user metric vector, wherein each user metric represents an indication of a user'"'"'s physical condition, wherein the user is a person;

create a user metric space comprising a plurality of metric ranges, including computer usable program code configured to identify a plurality of metric ranges for a plurality of disparate metrics and means for associating the plurality of disparate metric ranges with the user metric space, wherein the user metric space is defined for a specific user among multiple users and wherein the user metric space is unique relative to others of the multiple of users;

determine whether the user metric vector is outside the user metric space, wherein the user metric vector is determined to be outside the user metric space in response to multiple of the metric values being outside their corresponding metric ranges defined in the user metric space;

responsive to if the user metric vector being is outside a user metric space, identify an action in dependence upon the user metric vector, including computer usable program code configured to retrieve retrieving an action ID from an action list, wherein the action administers a device to alter the user'"'"'s physical condition; and

execute the action, including computer usable program code configured to identify a device class representing the device and means for identifying a communication class for the device, wherein the user metric space is associated with a first environment and wherein executing the action is performed in response to a determination that the specific user is within the first environment;

create a different user metric space that is associated with a second environment for the specific user, the different user metric space comprising a plurality of different metric ranges, including identifying the plurality of different metric ranges for the plurality of disparate metrics and associating the plurality of different disparate metric ranges with the different user metric space;

responsive to determination the specific user is within the second environment, determine whether the user metric vector is outside the different user metric space;

if the user metric vector is outside the different user metric space, identify a different action in dependence upon the user metric vector and upon the second environment, including retrieving an action ID from an action list, wherein the different action administers a device to alter the user'"'"'s physical condition; and

execute the different action, including identifying a device class representing the device and identifying a communication class for the device.

10. The computer storage device of claim 9 wherein computer usable program code configured to determine whether the user metric vector is outside a user metric space comprises computer usable program code configured to compare the metric values of the user metric vector with the metric ranges of the metric space.

11. The computer storage device of claim 10 wherein computer usable program code configured to compare the metric values of the user metric vector with the metric ranges of the metric space comprises computer usable program code configured to measure a degree to which a value of the user metric is outside a metric range.

12. The computer storage device of claim 9, wherein the user metric vector is determined to be outside the user metric space in response to all of the metric values being outside their corresponding metric ranges defined in the user metric space.