Framework to populate and maintain a service oriented architecture industry model repository

• US 8,566,358 B2
• Filed: 12/17/2009
• Issued: 10/22/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 12/17/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Lane, Eoin, Selvage, Mei Yang, Mourad, Magda Mahmoud, Pendergrass, Harry T.
• Primary Examiner(s): THAI, HANH B
• Application Number:
  US12/640,749
• Publication Number:
  US 20110153292A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,405 Days
• Field of Search: 707/809, 707/769, 707802-804
• US Class Current: 707/792
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06 Resources, workflows, human or project management; Enterprise or organisation planning; Enterprise or organisation modelling

Abstract

A method for building a service oriented architecture industry model repository comprising: creating a meta-meta-meta model with a topic map based index; pre-populating the meta-meta-meta model with a topic map based index using the data from the physical asset repository and known relationships between topics, associations, and occurrences in topic maps within the meta model service; pre-populating an information model repository common meta-meta model comprising reusing a taxonomy specific to an industry vertical as a common ontology for the topic map based index; pre-populating the at least one topic map meta model with data specific to a particular topic or industry vertical from the physical asset repository; and pre-populating models of the at least one topic map meta model with data specific to a particular topic or industry vertical from the physical asset repository.

Claims

1. A method for generating topic maps for a business, the method comprising the steps of:

storing in a database, at a first layer of abstraction, a plurality of model assets for a business conducting commerce in an industry, wherein the plurality of model assets are specific to the business and specify infrastructure computing resources and related design and documentation files;

storing in a database one or more industry models for the industry, wherein each of the industry models are independent of the business, wherein each of the industry models defines relationships among assets commonly utilized in the industry; and

one or more computing devices automatically generating a plurality of topic maps for the business, each of the topic maps representing information utilizing topics, associations, and occurrences, wherein said topics, associations, and occurrences together define characteristics and relationships existing among the model assets based at least in part on the relationships defined in the industry model and based at least in part on the stored model assets of the business.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of:

one or more processors automatically populating data of the automatically generated topic maps utilizing information parsed from applicable ones of the plurality of model assets and from the industry model.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the automatically generated and populated topic maps are stored in a second layer of abstraction utilized for semantically searching the model assets.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein indexes to the topic map are stored in a third layer of abstraction, wherein the third layer of abstraction comprises a set of industry independent application services developed for a computing framework, the computing framework having at least three layers of abstraction, which comprise the first layer, the second layer, and the third layer.

5. The method of claim 2, wherein the first layer of abstraction is a model level, and the second layer of abstraction is a meta model level.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein said topic maps and the topics, associations, and occurrences of each topic map conform to an International Organization for Standardization (ISO) standard for topic maps.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein each of the topics of the generated topic maps represent a symbol used within a topic map to represent one, and only one, subject, in order to allow statements to be made about the subject, wherein each subject for the business is for one of said model assets, wherein each of the occurrences of the generated topic maps represent a relationship between a subject and an information resource, and wherein each of the associations of the generated topic maps represent a relationship between one or more of the subjects.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the database storing the one or more industry models is compliant with an Industry Models Multi Model Mapper (MMM), wherein compliance with the MMM is based on a most recent version of the MMM as existing on a filing date of this application.

9. A computer system for generating topic maps for a business comprising:

at least one CPU and at least one computer readable storage media

program instructions for storing in a database, at a first layer of abstraction, a plurality of model assets for a business conducting commerce in an industry, wherein the plurality of model assets are specific to the business and specify infrastructure computing resources and related design and documentation files;

program instructions for storing in a database one or more industry models for the industry, wherein each of the industry models are independent of the business, wherein each of the industry models defines relationships among assets commonly utilized in the industry;

program instructions for automatically generating a plurality of topic maps for the business, each of the topic maps representing information utilizing topics, associations, and occurrences, wherein said topics, associations, and occurrences together define characteristics and relationships existing among the model assets based at least in part on the relationships defined in the industry model and based at least in part on the stored model assets of the business;

wherein the program instructions are stored on the at least one computer readable storage media for execution by the at least one CPU.

10. The system of claim 9, further comprising:

program instructions for automatically populating data of the automatically generated topic maps utilizing information parsed from applicable ones of the plurality of model assets and from the industry model.

11. The system of claim 10, wherein the automatically generated and populated topic maps are stored in a second layer of abstraction utilized for semantically searching the model assets.

12. The system of claim 10, wherein indexes to the topic map are stored in a third layer of abstraction, wherein the third layer of abstraction comprises a set of industry independent application services developed for a computing framework, the computing framework having at least three layers of abstraction, which comprise the first layer, the second layer, and the third layer.

13. The system of claim 10, wherein the first layer of abstraction is a model level, and the second layer of abstraction is a meta model level.

14. The system of claim 9, wherein said topic maps and the topics, associations, and occurrences of each topic map conform to an International Organization for Standardization (ISO) standard for topic maps.

15. A computer program product for generating topic maps for a business, the computer program product comprising:

a tangible computer readable storage device;

program instructions for storing in a database, at a first layer of abstraction, a plurality of model assets for a business conducting commerce in an industry, wherein the plurality of model assets are specific to the business and specify infrastructure computing resources and related design and documentation files;

program instructions for storing in a database one or more industry models for the industry, wherein each of the industry models are independent of the business, wherein each of the industry models defines relationships among assets commonly utilized in the industry;

program instructions for automatically generating a plurality of topic maps for the business, each of the topic maps representing information utilizing topics, associations, and occurrences, wherein said topics, associations, and occurrences together define characteristics and relationships existing among the model assets based at least in part on the relationships defined in the industry model and based at least in part on the stored model assets of the business;

wherein the program instructions are stored on the tangible computer readable storage device.

16. The computer program product of claim 15, further comprising:

program instructions for automatically populating data of the automatically generated topic maps utilizing information parsed from applicable ones of the plurality of model assets and from the industry model.

17. The computer program product of claim 16, wherein the automatically generated and populated topic maps are stored in a second layer of abstraction utilized for semantically searching the model assets.

18. The computer program product of claim 16, wherein indexes to the topic map are stored in a third layer of abstraction, wherein the third layer of abstraction comprises a set of industry independent application services developed for a computing framework, the computing framework having at least three layers of abstraction, which comprise the first layer, the second layer, and the third layer.

19. The computer program product of claim 16, wherein the first layer of abstraction is a model level, and the second layer of abstraction is a meta model level.

20. The computer program product of claim 15, said topic maps and the topics, associations, and occurrences of each topic map conform to an International Organization for Standardization (ISO) standard for topic maps.