Monitoring and maintaining balance of factory quality attributes within a software factory environment

• US 9,189,757 B2
• Filed: 08/23/2007
• Issued: 11/17/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 08/23/2007
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Kyndryl Incorporated
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Finlayson, Ronald D., Mitsumori, Naomi M., Reddington, Francis X.
• Primary Examiner(s): Zhen, Wei
• Assistant Examiner(s): BROPHY, MATTHEW J
• Application Number:
  US11/844,031
• Publication Number:
  US 20090055795A1
• Time in Patent Office: 3,008 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06 Resources, workflows, human or project management; Enterprise or organisation planning; Enterprise or organisation modelling

Abstract

A System to Maintain Balance of Factory Quality Attributes with Software Factory Operating Environment provides the means to determine if a deliverable will meet the needs of a client'"'"'s project. The process includes the identification and measurement of different parameters of a software factory, including specified architectural features, and compares these parameters with the factory'"'"'s strategic artifacts and client'"'"'s critical project needs to qualify attributes within the software factory environment. This process provides a means to monitor and maintain an optimal balance of desirable quality attributes. Thus, quality attributes are analyzed before design time and before delivery of a software product, such that an analysis can be performed before any considerable amount of time and efforts have been spent on a project.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method for monitoring and maintaining a balance of factory quality attributes when developing a deliverable software in a software factory, the computer-implemented method comprising:

receiving, from a client computer associated with a client, a request for a deliverable software based on a project proposal, wherein the deliverable software is to enable execution of a project associated with the project proposal;

a balance evaluation engine in the software factory establishing a business baseline for the project proposal, the business baseline having a plurality of requirements associated with one or more business drivers of the project proposal, wherein the software factory comprises;

a software factory governance section that evaluates the project proposal for acceptance by the software factory;

a design center composed of a requirements analysis team and an architecture team, wherein the design center sections the project proposal into major functional areas that are to be handled by the requirements analysis team and the architecture team, and wherein the design center creates work packets, which include pre-stored, reusable, self-contained, discrete units of software code; and

an assembly line that receives and executes the work packets to create the deliverable software;

optimizing the deliverable software based on the business baseline, wherein the optimizing the deliverable software further comprises;

evaluating, by the balance evaluation engine, one or more architectural qualities of the project proposal to determine a purpose and one or more content requirements of the project proposal;

determining how the purpose and the one or more content requirements are relevant to the one or more business drivers for implementing the deliverable software in order to select a plurality of hardware and software needed in the deliverable software to make the project work; and

in response to selecting the plurality of hardware and software, assembling one or more artifacts into the deliverable software;

wherein at least one of the one or more business drivers identified by the client is a goal to improve a return on equity, and the optimizing the deliverable software further comprises;

optimizing processing of one or more incoming transactions;

performing a root cause analysis to determine a context for the return on equity business driver;

evaluating a time taken to build the deliverable software;

evaluating an relevance of the deliverable software to meet the business baseline for the project proposal;

evaluating an efficiency of the software factory to build the deliverable software for optimization of return on equity; and

determining whether the software factory took too long to build the deliverable software for optimization of return on equity;

recursively performing the functions of (a) establishing a business baseline and (b) optimizing the deliverable software to modify the project proposal until an optimized design is created for the deliverable software that meets the plurality of requirements of the business baseline; and

delivering the deliverable software to the client computer.

2. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising:

in response to evaluating, by the balance evaluation engine, the one or more architectural qualities, creating the one or more artifacts based on the one or more architectural qualities;

receiving a work packet in the software factory;

receiving a description of software needs from the client computer;

inducting the project proposal into the software factory, wherein the inducting the project proposal initially evaluates the project proposal'"'"'s compatibility against a capacity of the software factory;

parsing the project proposal into major functional areas;

retrieving work packets appropriate for the project proposal;

assembling the work packets into the deliverable software; and

testing the deliverable software.

3. The computer-implemented method of claim 2, wherein:

the assembly line further comprises

a published set of services and a published set of requirements, wherein the published set of services and the published set of requirements for the assembly line are published to the design center, and wherein the published set of services describes assembly services for assembling work packets that are offered by the assembly line, and wherein the published set of requirements describes a required execution environment used by work packets provided by the design center for assembly in the assembly line; and

a software that automatically recognizes a project type for the project proposal, and wherein the assembly line assembles the work packets into the deliverable software in accordance with the recognized project type; and

the work packets include governance procedures, standards, reused assets, work packet instructions, integration strategy, schedules, exit criteria and artifact checklist templates for Input/Output routines.

4. The computer-implemented method of claim 2, wherein the assembly line conducts an integration test, a system test, a system integration test and a performance test of the deliverable software, wherein the integration test tests the deliverable software for compatibility with the client computer, wherein the system test checks the client computer to ensure that the client computer is operating properly, wherein the system integration test tests for bugs that may arise when the deliverable software is integrated into the client computer, and wherein the performance test tests the deliverable software for defects during execution on the client computer.

13. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein establishing the business baseline further comprises:

evaluating the one or more business drivers, wherein the one or more business drivers are identified by the client for the project proposal, and wherein the one or more business drivers describe quality objectives for implementing the deliverable software and executing the project proposal;

evaluating activities needed to satisfy a goal of the project proposal, wherein the business baseline is based on a balance of planned performance, efficiency and dependability of the deliverable software; and

determining a relevance of the project proposal to the one or more business drivers.

14. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the optimizing the deliverable software further comprises:

determining a percentage of composition of artifacts within the deliverable software that are aligned with the generated business baseline, wherein artifacts aligned with the business baseline contain content that, when executed, perform a function relevant to one or more business drivers identified by the client for the project proposal; and

measuring an efficiency of the deliverable software in meeting the business baseline;

wherein the evaluating, by the balance evaluation engine, of the one or more architectural qualities of the project proposal is performed by a combination of each of;

one or more software factory operations, a client business governance board, a governance board of the software factory, and a design center.

15. The computer-implemented method of claim 3, wherein the work packets include one or more called metrics for the work packet, wherein the metrics include:

one or more governance metrics;

one or more factory metrics that describe capabilities of the software factory; and

one or more system metrics that describe capabilities of the client computer.

5. A system comprising:

a processor;

a data bus coupled to the processor;

a memory coupled to the data bus; and

a computer-usable storage device embodying computer program code, the computer program code comprising instructions executable by the processor and configured to;

receive, from a client computer associated with a client, a request for a deliverable software based on a project proposal, wherein the deliverable software is to enable execution of a project associated with the project proposal;

establish, by a balance evaluation engine in a software factory, a business baseline for the project proposal, the business baseline having a plurality of requirements associated with one or more business drivers of the project proposal;

optimize the deliverable software based on the business baseline, wherein the optimize the deliverable software further comprises additional processes that;

evaluate, by the balance evaluation engine, one or more architectural qualities of the project proposal to determine a purpose and one or more content requirements of the project proposal, wherein the software factory comprises;

a software factory governance section that evaluates the project proposal for acceptance by the software factory;

a design center composed of a requirements analysis team and an architecture team, wherein the design center sections the project proposal into major functional areas that are to be handled by the requirements analysis team and the architecture team, and wherein the design center creates work packets, which include pre-stored, reusable, self-contained, discrete units of software code; and

an assembly line that receives and executes the work packets to create the deliverable software;

determine how the purpose and the one or more content requirements are relevant to the one or more business drivers for implementing the deliverable software in order to select a plurality of hardware and software needed in the deliverable software to make the project work; and

in response to selecting the plurality of hardware and software, assemble one or more artifacts into the deliverable software;

wherein at least one of the one or more business drivers identified by the client is a goal to improve a return on equity, and the optimizing the deliverable software further comprises;

optimizing processing of one or more incoming transactions;

performing a root cause analysis to determine a context for the return on equity business driver;

evaluating a time taken to build the deliverable software;

evaluating an relevance of the deliverable software to meet the business baseline for the project proposal;

evaluating an efficiency of the software factory to build the deliverable software for optimization of return on equity; and

determining whether the software factory took too long to build the deliverable software for optimization of return on equity;

recursively perform the functions of (a) establish a business baseline and (b) optimize the deliverable software to modify the project proposal until an optimized design is created for the deliverable software that meets the plurality of requirements of the business baseline; and

deliver the deliverable software to the client computer.

6. The system of claim 5, wherein the instructions further comprise executable instructions to:

in response to evaluating, by the balance evaluation engine, the one or more architectural qualities, create the one or more artifacts based on the one or more architectural qualities;

receive a work packet in the software factory;

receive a description of software needs from the client computer;

induct the project proposal into the software factory, wherein the inducting the project proposal initially evaluates the project proposal'"'"'s compatibility against a capacity of the software factory;

parse the project proposal into major functional areas;

retrieve work packets appropriate for the project proposal;

assemble the work packets into the deliverable software; and

test the deliverable software;

wherein the work packets include one or more called metrics for the work packet, wherein the metrics include;

one or more governance metrics;

one or more factory metrics that describe capabilities of the software factory; and

one or more system metrics that describe capabilities of the client computer.

7. The system of claim 6, wherein:

the design center further comprises;

a requirements analysis team, wherein the requirements analysis team is responsible for determining system requirements for executing the deliverable software on the client computer; and

an architectural team, wherein the architectural team models the project proposal in accordance with client constraints, and wherein the architectural team bundles the client constraints together with the work packets for execution in the assembly line, wherein the work packets include governance procedures, standards, reused assets, work packet instructions, integration strategy, schedules, exit criteria and artifact checklist templates for Input/Output routines; and

the assembly line includes software that automatically recognizes a project type for the project proposal, and wherein the assembly line assembles the work packets into the deliverable software in accordance with the recognized project type.

8. The system of claim 6, wherein the assembly line conducts an integration test, a system test, a system integration test and a performance test of the deliverable software, wherein the integration test tests the deliverable software for compatibility with the client computer, wherein the system test checks the client computer to ensure that the client computer is operating properly, wherein the system integration test tests for bugs that may arise when the deliverable software is integrated into the client computer, and wherein the performance test tests the deliverable software for defects during execution on the client computer.

16. The system of claim 5, wherein:

the instructions for establishing the business baseline further comprise executable instructions to;

evaluate the one or more business drivers, wherein the one or more business drivers are identified by the client for the project proposal, and wherein the one or more business drivers describe quality objectives for implementing the deliverable software and executing the project proposal;

evaluate activities needed to satisfy a goal of the project proposal, wherein the business baseline is based on a balance of planned performance, efficiency and dependability of the deliverable software; and

determine a relevance of the project proposal to the one or more business drivers; and

the instructions for optimizing the deliverable software further comprise executable instructions to;

determine a percentage of composition of artifacts within the deliverable software that are aligned with the generated business baseline, wherein artifacts aligned with the business baseline contain content that, when executed, perform a function relevant to one or more business drivers identified by the client for the project proposal; and

measure an efficiency of the deliverable software in meeting the business baseline;

wherein the evaluating, by the balance evaluation engine, of the one or more architectural qualities of the project proposal is performed by a combination of each of;

one or more software factory operations, a client business governance board, a governance board of the software factory, and a design center.

9. A computer-readable storage device encoded with a computer program, the computer program comprising computer executable instructions configured for:

receiving, from a client computer associated with a client, a request for a deliverable software based on a project proposal, wherein the deliverable software is to enable execution of a project associated with the project proposal;

a balance evaluation engine in the software factory establishing a business baseline for the project proposal, the business baseline having a plurality of requirements associated with one or more business drivers of the project proposal, wherein the software factory comprises;

a software factory governance section that evaluates the project proposal for acceptance by the software factory;

a design center composed of a requirements analysis team and an architecture team, wherein the design center sections the project proposal into major functional areas that are to be handled by the requirements analysis team and the architecture team, and wherein the design center creates work packets, which include pre-stored, reusable, self-contained, discrete units of software code; and

an assembly line that receives and executes the work packets to create the deliverable software;

evaluating one or more business drivers identified by the client for the project, wherein the one or more quality objectives describe quality objectives for implementing the deliverable software and executing the project;

evaluating activities needed to satisfy a goal of the project, wherein the business baseline is based on a balance of planned performance, efficiency and dependability of the deliverable software; and

determining a relevance of the project proposal to the one or more business drivers;

optimizing the deliverable software based on the business baseline, wherein the optimizing the deliverable software further comprises;

evaluating, by the balance evaluation engine, one or more architectural qualities of the project proposal to determine a purpose and one or more content requirements of the project proposal;

determining how the purpose and the one or more content requirements are relevant to the one or more business drivers for implementing the deliverable software in order to select a plurality of hardware and software needed in the deliverable software to make the project work; and

in response to selecting the plurality of hardware and software, assembling one or more artifacts into the deliverable software;

wherein at least one of the one or more business drivers identified by the client is a goal to improve a return on equity, and the optimizing the deliverable software further comprises;

optimizing processing of one or more incoming transactions;

performing a root cause analysis to determine a context for the return on equity business driver;

evaluating a time taken to build the deliverable software;

evaluating an relevance of the deliverable software to meet the business baseline for the project proposal;

evaluating an efficiency of the software factory to build the deliverable software for optimization of return on equity; and

determining whether the software factory took too long to build the deliverable software for optimization of return on equity;

recursively performing the functions of (a) establishing a business baseline and (b) optimizing the deliverable software to modify the project proposal until an optimized design is created for the deliverable software that meets the plurality of requirements of the business baseline; and

delivering the deliverable software to the client computer.

10. The computer-readable storage device of claim 9, wherein the computer executable instructions further comprise executable instructions for:

in response to evaluating, by the balance evaluation engine, the one or more architectural qualities, creating the one or more artifacts based on the one or more architectural qualities;

receiving a work packet in the software factory;

receiving a description of software needs from the client computer;

inducting the project proposal into the software factory, wherein the inducting the project proposal initially evaluates the project proposal'"'"'s compatibility against a capacity of the software factory;

parsing the project proposal into major functional areas;

retrieving work packets appropriate for the project proposal;

assembling the work packets into the deliverable software; and

testing the deliverable software;

wherein the work packets include one or more called metrics for the work packet, wherein the metrics include;

one or more governance metrics;

one or more factory metrics that describe capabilities of the software factory; and

one or more system metrics that describe capabilities of the client computer.

11. The computer-readable storage device of claim 10, wherein:

the design center further comprises;

a requirements analysis team, wherein the requirements analysis team is responsible for determining system requirements for executing the deliverable software on the client computer; and

an architectural team, wherein the architectural team models the project proposal in accordance with client constraints, and wherein the architectural team bundles the client constraints together with the work packets for execution in the assembly line, wherein the work packets include governance procedures, standards, reused assets, work packet instructions, integration strategy, schedules, exit criteria and artifact checklist templates for Input/Output routines; and

the assembly line includes software that automatically recognizes a project type for the project proposal, and wherein the assembly line assembles the work packets into the deliverable software in accordance with the recognized project type.

12. The computer-readable storage device of claim 10, wherein:

the assembly line conducts an integration test, a system test, a system integration test and a performance test of the deliverable software, wherein the integration test tests the deliverable software for compatibility with the client computer, wherein the system test checks the client computer to ensure that the client computer is operating properly, wherein the system integration test tests for bugs that may arise when the deliverable software is integrated into the client computer, and wherein the performance test tests the deliverable software for defects during execution on the client computer; and

wherein the computer-readable storage device is a component of a remote server, wherein the computer executable instructions are deployable to a supervisory computer from a remote server, and wherein the computer executable instructions are capable of being provided by a service provider to the client computer on an on-demand basis.

17. The computer-readable storage device of claim 9, wherein:

the computer executable instructions for establishing the business baseline further comprises executable instructions for;

evaluating the one or more business drivers, wherein the one or more business drivers are identified by the client for the project proposal, and wherein the one or more business drivers describe quality objectives for implementing the deliverable software and executing the project proposal;

evaluating activities needed to satisfy a goal of the project proposal, wherein the business baseline is based on a balance of planned performance, efficiency and dependability of the deliverable software; and

determining a relevance of the project proposal to the one or more business drivers; and

the computer executable instructions for optimizing the deliverable software further comprises executable instructions for;

determining a percentage of composition of artifacts within the deliverable software that are aligned with the generated business baseline, wherein artifacts aligned with the business baseline contain content that, when executed, perform a function relevant to one or more business drivers identified by the client for the project proposal; and

measuring an efficiency of the deliverable software in meeting the business baseline;

wherein the evaluating, by the balance evaluation engine, of the one or more architectural qualities of the project proposal is performed by a combination of each of;

one or more software factory operations, a client business governance board, a governance board of the software factory, and a design center.