Methods and tools for creating and evaluating system blueprints

• US 9,569,737 B2
• Filed: 08/13/2007
• Issued: 02/14/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 08/16/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Aware Software Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Aware Software Incorporated
• Inventors: Simons, Suzanne Barber, Graser, Thomas Jeffrey
• Primary Examiner(s): Jeanty, Romain
• Application Number:
  US11/891,813
• Publication Number:
  US 20080046299A1
• Time in Patent Office: 3,473 Days
• Field of Search: 705/7.11
• 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
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06313 Resource planning in a project environment
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06315 Needs-based resource requirements planning or analysis
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/0639 Performance analysis of employees; Performance analysis of enterprise or organisation operations

Abstract

Method and tools for creating and evaluating a set of system blueprints pertaining to the delivery of a system or a project. Each blueprint is an architecture design/specification that enables analysis of each blueprint, families of blueprints and relationships between blueprint layers. A user can create various system blueprints based on data from existing databases containing requirements, solutions, and deployments of a system or project. After creating each blueprint, users may view the blueprint to visually detect problems and further revise the blueprint. In addition, for each type of blueprint, the user can evaluate the blueprint against various metrics and criteria related to requirements, solutions, and deployments and view the evaluation results.

Claims

1. A computer system comprising:

a blueprint analyzer implemented on one or more computer systems, wherein the blueprint analyzer comprises a requirement portfolio server and a blueprint manager component, wherein the blueprint analyzer is configured to;

obtain a first database having requirements, solutions, and deployments, wherein (i) at least one of the requirements comprises functional requirements, data requirements, and event requirements;

(ii) at least one of the solutions comprises installation requirements; and

(iii) at least one of the deployments comprises sites, milestones, platforms, and infrastructure resources for the deployment;

wherein the requirement portfolio server is configured to retrieve requirements, solutions, and deployments from the portfolio database;

wherein the blueprint manager component is configured to;

create a business blueprint by selecting one or more requirements from the portfolio database and one or more dependencies associated with at least one of the selected requirements from the portfolio database;

create one or more solution blueprints by selecting one or more solutions from the portfolio database to satisfy at least a portion of the selected requirements of the business blueprint and mapping the selected solutions to requirements in the business blueprint, wherein the one or more solutions selected for the solution blueprints comprise at least one solution comprising a set of installation requirements;

create one or more deployment blueprints by selecting one or more deployments from the portfolio database to deploy the selected solutions in the at least one of the solution blueprints, wherein at least one of the deployment blueprints comprise one or more deployment sites, one or more deployment platforms, one or more installation resources, and one or more deployment milestones, wherein at least one of the deployment milestones comprises a date or time when at least one platform will be available in at least one deployment site;

store the business blueprint, the one or more solutions blueprints, and the one or more deployment blueprints in a blueprint database; and

wherein the blueprint analyzer is configured to;

display the business blueprint, at least one of the solution blueprints, and the at least one of the deployment blueprints in a graphical format,

wherein the system further comprises an evaluation engine configured to perform dynamic evaluations that include the evaluation engine performing simulations according to scenario specifications, wherein the dynamic evaluations assess or predict execution properties of a prescribed system, wherein the simulations include varying at least one of frequency, function execution characteristics, and available component resources.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the blueprint analyzer further comprises an evaluation engine configured to implement:

evaluating by an evaluation engine, the business blueprint, the one or more solution blueprints, and the one or more deployment blueprints against one or more metrics or criteria.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the blueprint analyzer is configured to implement:

editing and correcting at least one of the business blueprint, one or more of the solution blueprints, and one or more of the deployment blueprints.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein selecting of one or more solutions to satisfy at least a portion of the requirements of the business blueprint is performed automatically by the blueprint manager component by matching the selected requirements against the solutions to determine a best fit for the project or a specific milestone.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein selecting one or more deployments to deploy the selected solutions is performed automatically by the blueprint manager component by matching the solutions to deployments to determine a best fit for the project or a milestone.

6. A computer system comprising:

a requirements database containing one or more requirements comprising functions, data, and events related to the project or a milestone,

wherein functions are grouped into business blueprint components;

a solutions database containing one or more solutions, wherein the one or more of the solutions are (i) mapped to the functions in the requirements database and (ii) have one or more installation requirements;

a deployments database containing one or more deployments, wherein deployments are mapped to the functions in the requirements database and wherein deployments comprise deployment platforms having infrastructure resources;

a graphical user interface coupled to the databases for creating multiple blueprints, wherein blueprints comprise plans, designs, or specifications for evaluating dependencies among requirements, solutions or deployments of the project,

a blueprint analyzer implemented on one or more computer systems, wherein the blueprint analyzer comprises a requirement portfolio server and a blueprint manager component,

wherein the requirement portfolio server is configured to retrieve requirements, solutions, and deployments from the portfolio database;

wherein the blueprint manager component is configured to;

create a business blueprint by selecting one or more requirements from the requirements database, organizing the requirements into business blueprint components, and display graphically one or more dependencies of the functions and business blueprint components;

create one or more solution blueprints by selecting one or more solutions from the solutions database to satisfy at least a portion of the selected requirements of the business blueprint, mapping the selected solutions to requirements in the business blueprint, and displaying graphically whether the selected solutions satisfy the functions of the selected requirements, wherein the one or more solutions selected for the solution blueprints comprise at least one solution comprising a set of installation requirements;

create one or more deployment blueprints by selecting one or more deployments from the deployments database to deploy the selected solutions in the at least one of the solution blueprints, wherein at least one of the deployment blueprints comprises one or more deployment platforms and one or more infrastructure resources associated with at least one of the deployment platforms,

wherein the blueprint analyzer is configured to;

display graphically whether the infrastructure resources in the selected deployment platforms for at least one of the deployment blueprints have the functionality to fully deploy the installation requirements of the selected solutions for at least one of the solution blueprints; and

a blueprint database operable to store at least one of the blueprints,

wherein the system further comprises an evaluation engine configured to perform dynamic evaluations that include the evaluation engine performing simulations according to scenario specifications, wherein the dynamic evaluations assess or predict execution properties of a prescribed system, wherein the simulations include varying at least one of frequency, function execution characteristics, and available component resources.

7. The system of claim 6, wherein the blueprint analyzer further comprises an evaluation engine configured to implement:

evaluating, by an evaluation engine, at least one of the blueprints against a set of metrics or criteria.

8. The system of claim 6, wherein the blueprint analyzer is configured to implement:

editing at least one of the blueprints.

9. The system of claim 6, wherein the graphical display of whether the infrastructure resources in the selected deployment platforms for the deployment blueprints have the functionality to fully deploy the installation requirements of the selected solutions comprises two or more views, which at least two of the views are at a different levels of detail from one another, wherein at least one of the views is a high-level view, wherein at least one other of the views is at a more detailed level than the high-level view.

10. The system of claim 6, wherein the blueprint analyzer is configured to graphically display whether the requirements and components in the selected solution blueprints have the functionality to implement the requirements and components in the business blueprint, wherein the graphical display of whether the requirements and components in the selected solution blueprints have the functionality to implement the requirements and components in the business blueprint comprises two or more views, which at least two of the views are at a different levels of detail from one another, wherein at least one of the views is a high-level view, wherein at least one other of the views is at a more detailed level than the high-level view.

11. The system of claim 6, wherein the blueprint analyzer is configured to graphically display whether the selected functional requirements, data requirements, and event requirements in the business blueprint are complete, wherein the graphical display of whether the selected functional, functional requirements, data requirements, and event requirements the business blueprint are complete comprises two or more views, which at least two of the views are at a different levels of detail from one another, wherein at least one of the views is a high-level view, wherein at least one other of the views is at a more detailed level than the high-level view.

12. The system of claim 6, wherein creating the one or more deployment blueprints comprises allocating one or more solutions to one or more platforms using a heuristic that matches the infrastructure of solutions in a given solution blueprint to infrastructure available at an associated deployment and captured in a deployment blueprint.

13. The system of claim 6, wherein creating the one or more solution blueprints comprises selecting, by the blueprint manager component, one or more solutions for one or more business blueprint components using a heuristic that matches the functionality and inputs/outputs of solutions in a given solution blueprint to requirements and components in a business blueprint.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein, for at least one of the solution blueprints, at least one solution is automatically selected by the blueprint manager component based on a heuristic that satisfies the at least some of the same requirements as the business blueprint.

15. The system of claim 6, wherein creating the one or more deployment blueprints comprises allocating, by the blueprint manager component, one or more solutions to one or more platforms using a heuristic that matches required operating systems or minimizes the number of required connections between computers.

16. The system of claim 6, wherein creating the one or more deployment blueprints comprises, creating, for a first one of the solution blueprints, two or more different deployment blueprints, wherein each of at least two of the deployment blueprints for the first one of the solution blueprints is based on a different deployment site, wherein the blueprint analyzer is configured to implement selecting at least one of the deployment blueprints for the first one of the solution blueprints.

17. A computer-implemented method comprising:

a) creating, by a blueprint manager component of a blueprint analyzer implemented on one or more computer systems, a business blueprint by selecting one or more requirements pertaining to the project and one or more dependencies associated with at least one of the selected requirements from the portfolio database;

b) creating, by the blueprint manager component, one or more solution blueprints by selecting one or more solutions to satisfy at least a portion of the requirements selected in the business blueprint and mapping the selected solutions to requirements in the business blueprint, wherein the one or more solutions selected for the solution blueprints comprise at least one solution comprising a set of installation requirements;

c) for at least a first one of the solution blueprints, creating, by the blueprint manager component, one or more deployment blueprints by selecting one or more deployments for deploying the solutions selected in the solution blueprint, wherein each of at least one of the deployment blueprints comprises a deployment site, a deployment platform, and one or more installation resources;

d) displaying, by the blueprint analyzer, the business blueprint, the one or more solution blueprints, and the one or more deployment blueprints in a graphical format;

and e) evaluating, by an evaluation engine of the business analyzer, the business blueprint, the one or more solution blueprints, and the one or more deployment blueprints by selecting metrics and criteria to analyze at least one of the blueprints,

wherein evaluating the blueprints comprises assessing or comparing, by the evaluation engine of the business analyzer, the first one of the solution blueprints associated with the one or more deployment blueprints with or to at least one other solution blueprint to determine a best fit or better fit solution blueprint for the business blueprint,

wherein evaluating at least one of the blueprints comprises performing, by an evaluation engine, dynamic evaluations that include the evaluation engine performing simulations according to scenario specifications, wherein the dynamic evaluations assess or predict execution properties of a prescribed system, wherein the simulations include varying at least one of frequency, function execution characteristics, and available component resources,

wherein the dynamic evaluations by the evaluation engine comprise a performance evaluation of the business blueprint, wherein the dynamic evaluation comprises a simulation in which at least one scenario is executed at selected frequencies, and wherein the computer system determines one or more latency and utilization statistics for the business blueprint for one or more scenarios, functions, or components.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein the metrics and criteria to be selected are related to solutions.

19. The method of claim 17, wherein the metrics and criteria to be selected are related to deployments.

20. The method of claim 17, wherein the best fit or better fit solution blueprint is determined based at least partially on (i) the extent to which one or more solutions associated with the solution blueprints satisfy the requirements of the business blueprint;

and (ii) the extent to which the inputs and outputs of solution components associated with the solution blueprints match the input and outputs of the business blueprint.

21. The method of claim 17, wherein the assessment or comparison of the solution blueprints comprises a static evaluation by an evaluation engine, wherein the static evaluation comprises a functional compliance evaluation of at least one of the solution blueprints, wherein the functional compliance evaluation comprises determining, by the evaluation engine, for at least two of the solution blueprints, the number of required functions in the business blueprint that are supported by the solution.

22. The method of claim 17, wherein the assessment or comparison of the solution blueprints comprises a dynamic evaluation by the evaluation engine, wherein the dynamic evaluation comprises a performance evaluation of at least one of the solution blueprints, wherein the dynamic evaluation comprises performing, by the evaluation engine, a simulation in which at least one scenario is executed at selected frequencies, and wherein one or more latency and utilization statistics are determined for the solution blueprint for one or more scenarios, functions, or components.

23. A computer system, comprising:

a requirements database containing one or more requirements, wherein at least one of the requirements has dependencies with one or more other requirements;

a solutions database containing one or more solutions,

wherein the one or more solutions are mapped to the one or more requirements of the requirements database, and

wherein the one or more solutions have installation requirements related to the installation of the solution;

a deployments database containing one or more deployments,

wherein the one or more deployments are mapped to requirements in the requirements database, and

wherein deployments comprise deployment platforms having infrastructure resources;

a graphical user interface coupled to the deployment database, the solutions database and the deployments database;

a blueprint analyzer implemented on one or more computer systems, wherein the blueprint analyzer comprises a blueprint manager component, wherein the blueprint manager component is configured to;

create a business blueprint by selecting one or more requirements from the requirements database and cause the mapping of at least one dependency of the requirements;

create one or more solutions blueprints by selecting one or more solutions from the solutions database to satisfy at least a portion of the selected requirements of the business blueprint and cause the mapping of the selected solutions to the requirements based on whether the solutions satisfy the requirements, wherein the one or more solutions selected for the solution blueprints comprise at least one solution comprising a set of installation requirements; and

for at least a first one of the solution blueprints, create one or more deployment blueprints by selecting one or more deployments from the deployments database to deploy the selected solutions in at least one of the solution blueprints and cause the mapping of the selected deployments to the solutions based on whether the deployments can deploy the solutions, wherein each of at least one of the deployment blueprints comprises a deployment site, a deployment platform, and one or more installation resources;

wherein the blueprint analyzer is configured to;

graphically display one or more evaluations of one or more of the blueprints, wherein the graphical display comprises at least two views of at least one evaluation of at least one of the blueprints, which at least two of the views are at a different levels of detail from one another,

wherein the system further comprises an evaluation engine configured to perform dynamic evaluations that include the evaluation engine performing simulations according to scenario specifications, wherein the dynamic evaluations assess or predict execution properties of a prescribed system, wherein the simulations include varying at least one of frequency, function execution characteristics, and available component resources.

24. The system of claim 23, wherein at least one of the views is a high-level view, wherein at least one other of the views is at a more detailed level than the high-level view.

25. The system of claim 24, wherein at least one of the high-level views of the one of more evaluations comprises a pie chart.

26. The system of claim 23, wherein at least one of the views of the one or more evaluations comprises a box-and-line node-edge drawing.