Software customization system and method

• US 20020154555A1
• Filed: 03/26/2002
• Published: 10/24/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 03/26/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: BigLever Software, Inc.
• Original Assignee: BigLever Software, Inc.
• Inventors: Jungman, Mark N., Krueger, Charles W.
• Granted Patent: US 7,543,269 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 365/200
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/00 Arrangements for software engineering testing or debugging G06F11/36; administrative, planning or organisation aspects of software project management G06Q10/06
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/61 Installation
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/44547 Fat binaries

Abstract

A system and method for the mass customization of software includes a software production line infrastructure, development environment, and actuator. The infrastructure organizes the software production line using a feature declarations component, a product definitions component, an automatons component, and a partition composition component. The development environment browses, displays, organizes, edits, and maintains the infrastructure. The actuator actuates the software production line to produce custom software products.

Claims

1. A method for managing the variation in the software artifacts that exist in a family of related software products, said method comprising the steps of:

creating a set of abstract dimensions of variation among the individual software products in the family of related software products;

characterizing where each individual software product in the family of related software products is with respect to said set of abstract dimensions of variation;

identifying locales of variation in the software artifacts in the family of related software products;

characterizing how said set of abstract dimensions of variations are used to instantiate said identified various locales of variation to produce the individual software products.

2. The method as defined in claim 1 further including the step of customizing individual software products for all anticipated variations in the functionalities of said family of related software products.

3. The method as defined in claim 1 further including the step of customizing individual software products to respond to unanticipated variations in the functionalities of said family of related software products.

4. The method as defined in claim 1 further including the step of customizing individual software products by extracting, or reverse engineering, in formation from an existing collection of software products.

5. A system for engineering individual software products within a family of related software products, said system comprising:

means for creating a set of abstract dimensions of variation in the family of related software products;

means for characterizing where each individual software product in the family of related software products is with respect to said set of abstract dimension of variations;

means for identifying locales of variation in the software artifacts for the individual software products within the family of related software products;

means for characterizing how said set of abstract dimensions of variations are used to instantiate the said identified locales of variation.

6. A method for mass customization of computer software comprising the steps of:

creating virtual data files and virtual data file directories that are convertible into real data files and real data file directories, said virtual data files and virtual data file directories being capable of converting into real data files and real data file directories in response to predetermined inputs;

incorporating said virtual data files and said virtual data file directories within the software artifacts in a family of related software products;

providing said predetermined inputs to said virtual data files and said virtual data file directories to actuate predetermined responses by said virtual data files and said virtual data file directories;

utilizing said predetermined responses to create a customized software product based on said software artifacts and including real data files and real data file directories.

7. A customized software product made according to the method as defined in claim 6.

8. The method as defined in claim 6 where said virtual data files and said virtual data file directories functionalities are selected from a group including:

generating additional programming language, selecting from an existing collection of said software artifacts, transforming existing programming language from within said software artifacts, and instantiating patterns or frameworks.

9. The method as defined in claim 6 wherein said virtual data files and virtual data file directories are located in said software artifacts where said real data file and said real data file directories are instantiated.

10. The method as defined in claim 6 wherein said predetermined inputs to said virtual data files and said virtual data file directories are defined by a set of parameter values.

11. A system for customization of software comprising:

a mass customization infrastructure;

a mass customization development environment; and

a mass customization actuator.

12. The system as defined in claim 11, wherein said mass customization infrastructure includes a feature declarations component, a product definitions component, an automatons component, and a partition composition component.

13. The system as defined in claim 11, wherein said mass customization development environment includes editors and browsers which display, create, modify, and maintain the software production line.

14. The system as defined in claim 13, wherein said editor in said mass customization development environment displays, creates, modifies, and maintains a collection of feature declarations.

15. The system as defined in claim 13, wherein said editor in said mass customization development environment displays, creates, modifies, and maintains a collection of product definitions.

16. The system as defined in claim 13, wherein said editor in said mass customization development environment displays, creates, modifies, and maintains automatons.

17. The system as defined in claim 13, wherein said editor in said mass customization development environment displays, creates, modifies, and maintains partition compositions.

18. The system as defined in claim 13, wherein said browser in said mass customization development environment displays, creates, modifies, and maintains a collection of mass customization infrastructure and software artifacts.

19. The system as defined in claim 12, wherein said product definitions component of said mass customization infrastructure models the individual software products that can be created from the system for mass customization of software.

20. The system as defined in claim 12, wherein said feature declarations component of said mass customization infrastructure models the dimensions of variation that can be used in the system for mass customization of software.

21. The system as defined in claim 12, wherein said partition composition component of said mass customization infrastructure models the combinations of partition customizations that can be composed in the system for mass customization of software.

22. The system as defined in claim 12, wherein said automatons component of said mass customization infrastructure encapsulates software artifact variants.

23. The system as defined in claim 12, wherein said automatons component of said mass customization infrastructure includes a logic portion which instantiates an individual automaton by actuation with a product definition.

24. The system as defined in claim 11, wherein said mass customization actuator configures an individual software product according to a selected product definition by actuating each automaton in the mass customization production line with said product definition.