Customer impact predictive model and combinatorial analysis

• US 8,832,657 B1
• Filed: 01/12/2009
• Issued: 09/09/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 01/12/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Bank of America Corp.
• Original Assignee: Bank of America Corp.
• Inventors: Cowan, John Lawton, Nemecek, Rachel
• Primary Examiner(s): Chen, Xi D
• Application Number:
  US12/352,029
• Time in Patent Office: 2,066 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 717/124
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/3608 using formal methods, e.g. model checking, abstract interpretation theorem proving G06N5/013
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06 Resources, workflows, human or project management; Enterprise or organisation planning; Enterprise or organisation modelling
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/0635 Risk analysis of enterprise or organisation activities

Abstract

Systems and methods for objective Deployment Failure risk assessments are provided, which may include fault trees. Systems and methods for the analysis of fault trees are provided as well. The risk assessments system may involve the development of a fault tree, assigning initial values and weights to the events within that fault tree, and the subsequent revision of those values and weights in an iterative fashion, including comparison to historical data. The systems for analysis may involve the assignment of well-ordered values to some events in a fault tree, and then the combination those values through the application of specialized, defined gates. The system may further involve the revision of specific gates by comparison to historical or empirical data.

Claims

1. A method of selecting an outcome corresponding to the presentation of two or more qualitative inputs, said inputs being members of one or more well-ordered sets, the method comprising:

storing in computer readable memory one or more tables correlating combinations of inputs to outcomes;

electronically receiving at least two of the inputs, wherein the presentation of the inputs is accomplished through a fault tree analytical model (“

FTAM”

), wherein the inputs comprise at least one root cause of a fault, wherein the root cause is a high level of design complexity; and

retrieving from computer readable memory the outcome that corresponds to the at least two inputs, wherein said outcome is obtained through the application of at least one pre-defined result table specifying the possible inputs and at least one necessary outcome, wherein the outcome selected comprises a gate modification of the at least one pre-defined result table, and wherein the gate modification reflects the results of data mining on historical data relating, at least in part, to the one root cause of the fault.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein at least one of the inputs is a member of a set with two members and at least one of the inputs is a member of a set with three members.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein the tables stored conform to five-value logic.

4. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

comparing the outcome to historical or empirical data; and

modifying the one or more tables in conformity with the comparison.

5. An article of manufacture comprising a non-transitory computer usable medium having computer readable program code embodied therein for selecting an outcome in response to a plurality of inputs, the computer readable program code in said article of manufacture comprising:

computer readable program code, when being executed, causing a computer to receive a presentation of one or more members of one or more well-ordered sets of qualitative inputs, wherein the presentation of the inputs is accomplished through a fault tree analytical model (“

FTAM”

), wherein the qualitative inputs comprise at least one root cause of a fault, wherein the root cause is a high level of design complexity; and

computer readable program code, when being executed, causing a computer to select an outcome corresponding to the presentation of the one or more members of the one or more well-ordered sets of qualitative inputs, said outcome which is obtained through the application of at least one pre-defined result table specifying the possible inputs and at least one necessary outcome, wherein the outcome selected comprises a gate modification of the at least one pre-defined result table, and wherein the gate modification reflects the results of data mining on historical data relating, at least in part, to the one root cause of the fault.

6. The article of claim 5 wherein the computer readable program code, when being executed, causing a computer to select an outcome is accomplished through the application of five-value logic.

7. The article of claim 5 wherein there are two sets of qualitative inputs.

8. The article of claim 7 wherein one of the two sets has 3 members and the other has 2 members.

9. A non-transitory computer usable medium having computer readable program code embodied therein, said computer readable program code adapted to be executed to implement a method for electronically evaluating at least two input values, the method comprising:

storing in computer readable memory one or more tables correlating combinations of inputs to outcomes;

electronically receiving at least two of inputs, wherein a presentation of the inputs for the receiving is accomplished through a fault tree analytical model (“

FTAM”

), wherein the inputs comprise at least one root cause of a fault, wherein the root cause is a high level of design complexity; and

retrieving from computer readable memory the outcome that corresponds to the at least two inputs, wherein said outcome is obtained through the application of at least one pre-defined result table specifying the possible inputs and at least one necessary outcome, wherein the outcome selected comprises a gate modification of the at least one pre-defined result table, and wherein the gate modification reflects the results of data mining on historical data relating, at least in part, to the one root cause of the fault.

10. The medium of claim 9 wherein, in the method, at least one of the inputs is a member of a set with two members and at least one of the inputs is a member of a set with three members.

11. The medium of claim 9 wherein, in the method, the tables stored conform to five-value logic.

12. The medium of claim 9 wherein the method further comprises:

comparing the outcome to historical or empirical data; and

modifying the one or more tables in conformity with the comparison.

13. A qualitative outcome selection platform comprising:

an input module configured to receive at least two qualitative inputs, said inputs being members of one or more well-ordered sets, wherein a presentation of the inputs for the receiving is accomplished through a fault tree analytical model (“

FTAM”

), wherein the inputs comprise at least one root cause of a fault, wherein the root cause is a high level of design complexity;

a processor configured to execute at least one evaluation process that includes comparing the inputs to defined input combinations, wherein said evaluation process is accomplished through the application of at least one pre-defined result table specifying the possible inputs and at least one necessary outcome, wherein the outcome selected comprises a gate modification of the at least one pre-defined result table, wherein the gate modification reflects the results of data mining on historical data relating, at least in part, to the one root cause of the fault, and retrieving the outcome defined as correlative to the appropriate combination; and

an output module configured to output the correlative outcome.

14. The platform of claim 13 wherein at least one of the inputs is a member of a set with two members and at least one of the inputs is a member of a set with three members.

15. The platform of claim 13 wherein the defined input combinations and correlative outcomes conform to five value logic.

16. The platform of claim 13, wherein the processor is further configured to:

compare the outcome to historical or empirical data; and

modify the defined input combinations and correlative outcomes to conform with the results of the comparison.