Business rules for configurable metamodels and enterprise impact analysis

• US 8,548,938 B2
• Filed: 03/15/2012
• Issued: 10/01/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 05/25/2001
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Amaru, Ruth M., Fox, Joshua, Halberstadt, Benjamin, Melamed, Boris, Schreiber, Zvi
• Primary Examiner(s): WILSON, KIMBERLY LOVEL
• Application Number:
  US13/421,611
• Publication Number:
  US 20120215592A1
• Time in Patent Office: 565 Days
• Field of Search: 707/600
• US Class Current: 707/603
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/25 Integrating or interfacing systems involving database management systems

Abstract

A metadata management system for importing, integrating and federating metadata, including a configurable metamodel, a metadata repository for storing metadata whose structure reflects the metamodel, at least one external metadata source, which is able to persist metadata in accordance with the structure of a meta-schema, a mapping module for mapping the meta-schema to the metamodel, and a transformation module, operatively coupled to the metadata mapping module, for translating specific metadata from the at least one external metadata source to the metadata repository, for use in import, export or synchronization of metadata between the external metadata source and the metadata repository. A method and a computer-readable storage medium are also described.

Claims

1. A metadata management system for performing impact analysis on an IT system comprising:

a storage having computer readable program code embodied therewith;

a bus connecting the storage to at least one processor; and

at least one processor, wherein the at least one processor executes the computer readable program code to implement;

a configurable metamodel for modeling metadata that describes assets of an enterprise IT system, the metamodel including meta-classes and meta-properties, wherein the meta-classes and the meta-properties are modeled by imposing binary relations and inverse binary relations on the meta-classes and the meta-properties corresponding to a transitive closure of the binary relations and the inverse binary relations;

business rules on said metamodel for indicating that certain meta-properties have impact consequences, wherein the business rules are selected from the group consisting of arithmetic conversion rules, type restrictions on inherited properties, type restrictions on indirect properties, specifying metadata values as being required, specifying valid ranges for metadata values, specifying metadata values as being unique, lookup tables, naming conventions, and assignments of stewardship responsibilities, and combinations thereof; and

an impact analyzer operating on said configurable metamodel for determining which assets of the enterprise IT system are impacted by one or more specified assets, wherein the impact determination of selected from the group consisting of determining which applications and systems will be impacted if a specific server shuts down, determining who needs to be notified if a computer is replaced with a newer model, determining which applications and systems will be impacted if a specific employee is promoted, determining which data sources are fed by data from a specific database, either directly or indirectly, determining which data transformations are impacted if the data type of a specific database column is changed, and combinations thereof.

2. A method for generating metadata comprising:

providing (i) a configurable metamodel for modeling metadata that describes assets of an enterprise IT system, the metamodel including meta-classes and meta-properties, wherein the meta-classes and the meta-properties are modeled by imposing binary relations and inverse binary relations on the meta-classes and the meta-properties corresponding to a transitive closure of the binary relations and the inverse binary relations, and (ii) business rules on said metamodel for indicating that certain meta-properties have impact consequences, wherein the business rules are selected from the group consisting of arithmetic conversion rules, type restrictions on inherited properties, type restrictions on indirect properties, specifying metadata values as being required, specifying valid ranges for metadata values, specifying metadata values as being unique, lookup tables, naming conventions, and assignments of stewardship responsibilities, and combinations thereof; and

determining which assets of the enterprise IT system are impacted by one or more specified assets, wherein the impact determination of selected from the group consisting of determining which applications and systems will be impacted if a specific server shuts down, determining who needs to be notified if a computer is replaced with a newer model, determining which applications and systems will be impacted if a specific employee is promoted, determining which data sources are fed by data from a specific database, either directly or indirectly, determining which data transformations are impacted if the data type of a specific database column is changed, and combinations thereof.

3. The method of claim 2 whereby assets of the enterprise IT system include server computers.

4. The method of claim 2 whereby assets of the enterprise IT system include web sites.

5. The method of claim 2 whereby assets of the enterprise IT system include data sources.

6. The method of claim 2 whereby assets of the enterprise IT system include data transformations.

7. The method of claim 2 whereby assets of the enterprise IT system include software applications.

8. The method of claim 2 whereby the business rules dictate whether impact consequences are transitive and, if so, to what degree.

9. A computer program product for performing impact analysis, the computer program product comprising:

a non-transitory computer readable storage medium having computer readable program code embodied therewith, the computer readable program code comprising;

computer readable program code configured to provide (i) a configurable metamodel for modeling metadata that describes assets of an enterprise IT system, the metamodel including meta-classes and meta-properties, wherein the meta-classes and the meta-properties are modeled by imposing binary relations and inverse binary relations on the meta-classes and the meta-properties corresponding to a transitive closure of the binary relations and the inverse binary relations, and computer readable program code configured to provide (ii) business rules on said metamodel for indicating that certain meta-properties have impact consequences, wherein the business rules are selected from the group consisting of arithmetic conversion rules, type restrictions on inherited properties, type restrictions on indirect properties, specifying metadata values as being required, specifying valid ranges for metadata values, specifying metadata values as being unique, lookup tables, naming conventions, and assignments of stewardship responsibilities, and combinations thereof; and

computer readable program code configured to determine which assets of the enterprise IT system are impacted by one or more specified assets, wherein the impact determination of selected from the group consisting of determining which applications and systems will be impacted if a specific server shuts down, determining who needs to be notified if a computer is replaced with a newer model, determining which applications and systems will be impacted if a specific employee is promoted, determining which data sources are fed by data from a specific database, either directly or indirectly, determining which data transformations are impacted if the data type of a specific database column is changed, and combinations thereof.

10. A metadata management system for performing impact analysis on an IT system comprising:

a storage having computer readable program code embodied therewith;

a bus connecting the storage to at least one processor; and

at least one processor, wherein the at least one processor executes the computer readable program code to implement;

a configurable metamodel for modeling metadata that describes assets of an enterprise IT system, the metamodel including meta-classes and meta-properties, wherein the meta-classes and the meta-properties are modeled by imposing binary relations and inverse binary relations on the meta-classes and the meta-properties corresponding to a transitive closure of the binary relations and the inverse binary relations;

a meta-descriptor for meta-properties to designate that a metaproperty has an impact consequence, wherein the impact consequence of the meta-property is designated by a business rule, the business rule being selected from the group consisting of arithmetic conversion rules, type restrictions on inherited properties, type restrictions on indirect properties, specifying metadata values as being required, specifying valid ranges for metadata values, specifying metadata values as being unique, lookup tables, naming conventions, and assignments of stewardship responsibilities, and combinations thereof; and

an impact analyzer operating on said configurable metamodel for determining which assets of the enterprise IT system are impacted by one or more specified assets, wherein the impact determination of selected from the group consisting of determining which applications and systems will be impacted if a specific server shuts down, determining who needs to be notified if a computer is replaced with a newer model, determining which applications and systems will be impacted if a specific employee is promoted, determining which data sources are fed by data from a specific database, either directly or indirectly, determining which data transformations are impacted if the data type of a specific database column is changed, and combinations thereof.

11. A method for generating metadata comprising:

providing (i) a configurable metamodel for modeling metadata that describes assets of an enterprise IT system, the metamodel including meta-classes and meta-properties, wherein the meta-classes and the meta-properties are modeled by imposing binary relations and inverse binary relations on the meta-classes and the meta-properties corresponding to a transitive closure of the binary relations and the inverse binary relations, and (ii) a meta-descriptor for metaproperties to designate that a meta-property has an impact consequence, wherein the impact consequence of the meta-property is designated by a business rule, the business rule being selected from the group consisting arithmetic conversion rules, type restrictions on inherited properties, type restrictions on indirect properties, specifying metadata values as being required, specifying valid ranges for metadata values, specifying metadata values as being unique, lookup tables, naming conventions, and assignments of stewardship responsibilities, and combinations thereof; and

determining which assets of the enterprise IT system are impacted by one or more specified assets, wherein the impact determination of selected from the group consisting of determining which applications and systems will be impacted if a specific server shuts down, determining who needs to be notified if a computer is replaced with a newer model, determining which applications and systems will be impacted if a specific employee is promoted, determining which data sources are fed by data from a specific database, either directly or indirectly, determining which data transformations are impacted if the data type of a specific database column is changed, and combinations thereof.

12. A computer program product for performing impact analysis, the computer program product comprising:

a non-transitory computer readable storage medium having computer readable program code embodied therewith, the computer readable program code comprising;

computer readable program code configured to provide (i) a configurable metamodel for modeling metadata that describes assets of an enterprise IT system, the metamodel including meta-classes and meta-properties, wherein the meta-classes and the meta-properties are modeled by imposing binary relations and inverse binary relations on the meta-classes and the meta-properties corresponding to a transitive closure of the binary relations and the inverse binary relations, and computer readable program code configured to provide (ii) a meta-descriptor for metaproperties to designate that a meta-property has an impact consequence, wherein the impact consequence of the meta-property is designated by a business rule, the business rule being selected from the group consisting arithmetic conversion rules, type restrictions on inherited properties, type restrictions on indirect properties, specifying metadata values as being required, specifying valid ranges for metadata values, specifying metadata values as being unique, lookup tables, naming conventions, and assignments of stewardship responsibilities, and combinations thereof; and

computer readable program code configured to determine which assets of the enterprise IT system are impacted by one or more specified assets, wherein the impact determination of selected from the group consisting of determining which applications and systems will be impacted if a specific server shuts down, determining who needs to be notified if a computer is replaced with a newer model, determining which applications and systems will be impacted if a specific employee is promoted, determining which data sources are fed by data from a specific database, either directly or indirectly, determining which data transformations are impacted if the data type of a specific database column is changed, and combinations thereof.