Package review process workflow

• US 8,434,053 B2
• Filed: 11/26/2008
• Issued: 04/30/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 11/26/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Red Hat, Inc. (International Business Machines Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Red Hat, Inc. (International Business Machines Corporation)
• Inventors: Palmieri, John
• Primary Examiner(s): Puente, Emerson
• Assistant Examiner(s): SWIFT, CHARLES M
• Application Number:
  US12/324,756
• Publication Number:
  US 20100131961A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,616 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 717/101
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/61 Installation
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06 Resources, workflows, human or project management; Enterprise or organisation planning; Enterprise or organisation modelling
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/101 Collaborative creation, e.g. joint development of products or services
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/103 Workflow collaboration or project management

Abstract

A workflow module automates and monitors a package review process. A package review module receives a package created by a contributor to be reviewed for compliance with a set of guidelines. The workflow module initiates, monitors, and manages a plurality of package review tasks to be performed on the package. A user interface module provides user interface for creating a package and a user interface for reviewing a package. The workflow module automates review tasks, interfaces with external servers performing review tasks, gathers review task results, determines whether to send a notification regarding the status of a review task, sends notifications regarding the status of a review task and stores successfully review packages in a repository.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method comprising:

receiving a package manager file and a specification file from a software contributor user;

facilitating, by a computer system, a plurality of manual review tasks on the package manager file and the specification file in response to completing a plurality of automated review tasks on the package manager file and the specification file to determine whether the package manager file and the specification file comply with a set of package review guidelines, wherein facilitating comprises providing a user interface displaying the set of package review guidelines and at least one of the package manager file or the specification file to a package reviewer user;

receiving a waiver submitted by the software contributor in response to an error from performing at least one of the plurality of automated review tasks or the plurality of manual review tasks;

determining whether the waiver is overridden by the package reviewer user; and

storing the package manager file and the specification file in a queue if the waiver is overridden by the package reviewer user and storing the package manager file and the specification file in a repository if the waiver is not overridden by the package reviewer user.

2. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein a portion of the plurality of automated review tasks is performed by an external server.

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

determining whether performing the plurality of automated review tasks is complete; and

sending a notification to the package reviewer user that the package manager file and the specification file are ready for the plurality of manual review tasks in response to determining that performing the plurality of automated review tasks is complete.

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

creating a plurality of work units, wherein each of the plurality of work units corresponds to a task described in the set of package review guidelines; and

creating a package review workflow using the plurality of work units, wherein the package review workflow describes the plurality of automated review tasks and the plurality of manual review tasks to perform on the package manager file and the specification file.

5. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein receiving the waiver comprises:

determining there is the error in results of at least one of the plurality of automated review tasks or the plurality of manual review tasks; and

notifying the software contributor user of the error.

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

notifying at least one of the software contributor user or the package reviewer user of a status of the package manager file and the specification file under review.

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

providing a basic specification file and instructions for creating the package manager file.

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

assigning permissions to the package manager file and the specification file stored in the repository.

9. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium, including instructions that, when executed by a processing device cause the processing device to perform a set of operations comprising:

receiving a package manager file and a specification file from a software contributor user;

facilitating, by the processing device computer system, a plurality of manual review tasks on the package manager file and the specification file in response to completing a plurality of automated review tasks on the package manager file and the specification file to determine whether the package manager file and the specification file comply with a set of package review guidelines, wherein facilitating comprises providing a user interface displaying the set of package review guidelines and at least one of the package manager file or the specification file being reviewed to a package reviewer user;

receiving a waiver submitted by the software contributor in response to an error from performing at least one of the plurality of automated review tasks or the plurality of manual review tasks;

determining whether the waiver is overridden by the package reviewer user; and

storing the package manager file and the specification file in a queue if the waiver is overridden by the package reviewer user and storing the package manager file and the specification file in a repository if the waiver is not overridden by the package reviewer user.

10. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 9, wherein a portion of the plurality of automated review tasks is performed by an external server.

11. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 9, further comprising:

determining whether performing the plurality of automated review tasks is complete; and

sending a notification to the package reviewer user that the package manager file and the specification file are ready for the plurality of manual review tasks in response to determining that performing the plurality of automated review tasks is complete.

12. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 9, further comprising:

creating a plurality of work units, wherein each of the plurality of work units corresponds to a task described in the set of package review guidelines; and

creating a package review workflow using the plurality of work units, wherein the package review workflow describes the plurality of automated review tasks and the plurality of manual review tasks to perform on the package manager file and the specification file.

13. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 9, wherein receiving the waiver comprises:

determining there is the error in results of at least one of the plurality of automated review tasks or the plurality of manual review tasks; and

notifying the software contributor user of the error.

14. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 9, further comprising:

notifying at least one of the software contributor user or the package reviewer user of a status of the package manager file and the specification file under review.

15. A system comprising:

a memory;

a processing device coupled to the memory configured to

receive a package manager file and a specification file from a software contributor user;

provide a user interface to facilitate a plurality of manual review tasks on the package manager file and the specification file in response to completing a plurality of automated review tasks on the package manager file and the specification file to determine whether the package manager file and the specification file comply with a set of package review guidelines, wherein the user interface displays the set of package review guidelines and at least one of the package manager file or the specification file being reviewed to a package reviewer user;

receive a waiver submitted by the software contributor in response to an error from performing at least one of the plurality of automated review tasks or the plurality of manual review tasks;

determine whether the waiver is overridden by the package reviewer user; and

a data store coupled to the processing device to store the package manager file and the specification file in a queue if the waiver is overridden by the package reviewer user and to store the package manager file and the specification file in a repository if the waiver is not overridden by the package reviewer user.

16. The system of claim 15, wherein the processing device is further to:

create a plurality of work units, wherein each of the plurality of work units corresponds to a task described in the set of package review guidelines, and

create a package review workflow using the plurality of work units, wherein the package review workflow describes the plurality of automated review tasks and the plurality of manual review tasks to perform on the package manager file and the specification file.

17. The system of claim 15, wherein a portion of the plurality of automated review tasks is performed by an external server.

18. The system of claim 15, wherein the processing device is further to:

determine whether performing the plurality of automated review tasks is complete; and

notify the package reviewer user that the package manager file and the specification file are ready for the plurality of manual review tasks in response to determining that performing the plurality of automated review tasks is complete.

19. The system of claim 15, wherein receiving the waiver comprises:

determining there is the error in results of at least one of the plurality of automated review tasks or the plurality of manual review tasks; and

notifying the software contributor user of the error.

20. The system of claim 15, wherein the processing device is further to:

provide a basic specification file and instructions for creating the package manager file.