Patent Application
20100250296
The present invention generally describes methods, systems and devices for calibrating and customizing an estimation model as a function of a service-oriented architecture.
Service-Oriented Architecture (SOA) is a business-centric information technology (IT) architectural approach that supports integrating linked and repeatable business tasks or services. Generally, undertaking an SOA project in a business environment requires an initial estimate of the costs involved. However, current estimation techniques are inadequate for estimating the effort that is required for defining a SOA solution, a service design, and a service implementation and further fail to address SOA solutions or services-based estimations.
Methods are provided for calibrating and customizing an estimation model as a function of a service-oriented architecture environment. A programmable calibration engine device configured by a logic component generates a service-oriented architecture solution effort estimate as a function of a business available resource input and a required business functionality input. Some methods also include managing a calibration constraint, a policy, an end-user access control, an output scope and an output format and providing a programmable effort estimation engine, providing a set of a predefined constraint, a boundary value and historical calibration data to the effort estimation engine, and generating a service-oriented architecture solution effort estimate as a function of the provided set, the policy and an input of a solution parameter within the scope of a service-oriented architecture transformation.
Service methods are also provided comprising deploying programmable devices or logic components or applications for calibrating and customizing an estimation model as a function of a service-oriented architecture environment according to the method steps described above, for example by a service provider who offers to implement, deploy, and/or perform functions for others. Still further, articles of manufacture comprising a computer usable medium having a computer readable program in said medium are provided. Such program code comprises instructions which, when executed on a computer system, cause the computer system to perform one or more method and/or process elements described above for calibrating and customizing an estimation model as a function of a service-oriented architecture environment. Moreover, systems, articles and programmable devices are also provided, configured for performing one or more method and/or process elements of the current invention for calibrating and customizing an estimation model as a function of a service-oriented architecture environment, for example as described above.
These and other features of the methods, systems and devices according to the present application will be more readily understood from the following detailed description of the various aspects of the embodiments taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:
The drawings are not necessarily to scale. The drawings are merely schematic representations, not intended to portray specific parameters of the invention. The drawings are intended to depict only typical embodiments of the invention, and therefore should not be considered as limiting the scope of the invention. In the drawings, like numbering represents like elements.
For convenience the Detailed Description of the Invention has the following sections:
I. General Description; and
II. Computerized Implementation.
Examples of SOA aspects and governance processes according to the present invention may be found in the following commonly-owned and co-pending U.S. patent applications or issued U.S. patents, the disclosures of which are expressly incorporated herein by reference: “Identifying a Service Oriented Architecture Shared Services Project”, attorney docket no. END920080252US1, filed on (to be provided), and assigned application serial no. (to be provided); “Evaluating a Service Oriented Architecture Shared Services Project”, attorney docket no. END920080288US1, filed on (to be provided), and assigned application serial no. (to be provided); “Service Oriented Architecture Shared Service Inception”, attorney docket no. END920080289US1, filed on (to be provided), and assigned application serial no. (to be provided); “Service Oriented Architecture Shared Services Elaboration”, attorney docket no. END920080290US1, filed on (to be provided), and assigned application serial no. (to be provided); “Service Oriented Architecture Shared Services Construction”, attorney docket no. END920080291US1, filed on (to be provided), and assigned application serial no. (to be provided); “Transitioning to Management of a Service Oriented Architecture Shared Service”, attorney docket no. END920080292US1, filed on (to be provided), and assigned application serial no. (to be provided); “Service Oriented Architecture Shared Service Management”, attorney docket no. END920080293US1, filed on (to be provided), and assigned application serial no. (to be provided); “Service Oriented Architecture Shared Service Escalation”, attorney docket no. END920080294US1, filed on (to be provided), and was assigned application serial no. (to be provided); “SOA Policy Versioning”, attorney docket no. END920080316US1-IEN106616, filed on (to be provided), and assigned application serial no. (to be provided); “FRAMEWORK FOR VARIATION ORIENTED ANALYSIS FOR SERVICE-ORIENTED ARCHITECTURE”, attorney docket no. END920080317US1-IEN106617, filed on (to be provided), and assigned application serial no. (to be provided); “TECHNICAL FEASIBILITY EXPLORATION FOR SERVICE-ORIENTED ARCHITECTURE ENVIRONMENTS”, attorney docket no. END920080318US1-IEN106618, filed on (to be provided), and assigned application serial no. (to be provided); “SOA Lifecycle Governance and Management”, attorney docket no. END920080319US1-IEN106619, filed on (to be provided), and assigned application serial no. (to be provided); “ENABLING SOA GOVERNANCE USING A SERVICE LIFECYCLE APPROACH”, attorney docket no. END920080320US1-IEN106620, filed on (to be provided), and assigned application serial no. (to be provided); “SERVICE PORTFOLIO APPROACH FOR SOA GOVERNANCE”, attorney docket no. END920080386US1-IEN106642, filed on (to be provided), and assigned application serial no. (to be provided); “SERVICE EVOLUTION APPROACH IN SOA”, attorney docket no. END920080387US1-IEN106643, filed on (to be provided), and assigned application serial no. (to be provided); “CAPABILITY AND MATURITY-BASED SOA GOVERNANCE”, attorney docket no. END920080388US1-IEN106644, filed on (to be provided), and assigned application serial no. (to be provided); “PRIORITIZATION ENABLEMENT FOR SOA GOVERNANCE”, attorney docket no. END920080389US1-IEN106645, filed on (to be provided), and assigned application serial no. (to be provided); and “SOA POLICY ENGINE FRAMEWORK”, attorney docket no. END920080390US1-IEN106646, filed on (to be provided), and assigned application serial no. (to be provided).
As SOA projects are increasingly considered and deployed, it has become evident that current, prior art estimation techniques are inadequate for estimating the effort that is required for defining SOA solutions, service design, and service implementation. More particularly, current estimation tools and techniques do not address SOA solutions, services based estimations, or include mechanisms for calibrating estimations. The present invention provides a framework for the design and realization of a calibration framework for effort estimation of software solution definition, design and implementation projects, one adaptable to implementing methods and tools for estimating complex projects and more specifically SOA transformation, definition, design and implementation projects.
A policy and rules engine 112 leverages preset policies and rules available in an associated calibration policies and rules repository 114 and delivers the same to the calibration engine 104 on demand. The repository 114 preset policies and rules include details like a probable number of services for a given set of business processes, a probable number of resources for a given budget range, a probable duration required to deliver a range of services, etc. In one aspect including the policy and rules engine 112 as an integral module provide a rules-driven approach to estimation.
An administration console 116 enables setup and management of calibration constraints, defines and manage policies (e.g. through a policy authoring agent), defines and manages end-user access control, and/or defines and manages output scope and formats.
An interactive user interface module 118 may also be provided. In some embodiments the interface module 118 is realized by a set of dials, knobs, manually manipulated forms and other user interface components which enable an end-user to setup or input the parameters of a solution within the scope of an SOA transformation.
The calibration engine 104 generates an overall effort required for a given solution definition, design and implementation as a set of outputs 106 (e.g. screen displays on graphic display components of a audio/visual or computerized/programmable device, printed hard copy reports generated by a printing device, etc.). In some examples, outputs may comprise work-in-progress and final estimates, and the format and details of a given output 106 may be based on user provided and configurable parameters.
Illustrative but not exhaustive examples of parameters provided through the administration console 116 include calibration rules and policies; access policies; historical values; calibration constraints; and pre-configured output categories parameters (e.g. roles, effort, durations, etc.) used by the effort estimation engine 122 to format outputs 106.
SOA calibration frameworks and designs according to the present invention provide estimation models by which enterprises may calibrate and customize estimation models to suit a particular SOA environment. For example, the calibration engine model 104 is configured to take into consideration numerous factors that are not used in the prior art, thereby delivering more precise and accurate effort estimates and for a SOA project. Increasing estimate precision and accuracy translates to fewer troubled projects and a higher confidence in attaining committed delivery dates. In one aspect, the calibration engine model 104 may be considered an adaptive learning estimation model.
One intent of calibration frameworks according to the present invention is to provide an interactive environment for SOA effort estimation wherein end-users may vary a number of related inputs that influence the overall effort required for an SOA transformation initiative, further visualizing outputs 106 in near real-time. Illustrative but not exhaustive examples of related inputs include a like number of business processes, a number of business use cases, a number of cross-business entities, an available budget, an expected duration, an organizational skill, etc. Thus, tools, processes and methods implemented based on a framework according to the present invention enable end-users to effectively plan the scope of the SOA transformation initiative based on available resources and required business functionality.
Calibration frameworks according to the present invention may also be leveraged to implement other calibration-based SOA effort estimation tools or to enhance existing estimation tools to extend their capabilities to deliver SOA effort estimation capabilities. In addition, calibration frameworks may also be leveraged to develop methods and processes for effort estimation according to the present invention.
The present calibration engine attributes and implemented tools may be used in a number of flexible ways. End-users may set-up some input attributes as constants and vary others, thereby providing a range of inputs to the engine at 102. Users may thus view an overall effort estimate output at 106 for a given set of input values and attributes at 102. Moreover, variations of these different inputs at 102 may result in a number of alternative estimate outputs at 106 which enabling business executives, program managers, and other end-users to plan for a plurality or range of possible output effort estimates at 106, for example determining a scope of estimated results useful for planning for a SOA transformation initiative.
In contrast to the prior art, the present invention leverages calibration techniques for effort estimation; provides mechanisms for varying input parameters to model efforts required for SOA transformation initiatives or for other types of software engineering and development efforts; includes capabilities to configure and preset boundary values for effort estimation; leverages a policy and rules engine for effort estimation; and enables modeling of effort under varying conditions to determine scope in a interactive fashion.
A power source 205 is configured to provide operative power to the device 200; examples include battery units 205 and power inputs configured to receive alternating or direct current electrical power, and other appropriate power units 205 will be apparent to one skilled in the art. A communication port or network link/node means (“com port”) 207 is also provided and configured to enable data and other communications as may be appropriate, for example as discussed above.
Referring now to
As shown, the computer system 304 includes a central processing unit (CPU) 312, a memory 316, a bus 320, and input/output (I/O) interfaces 324. Further, the computer system 304 is shown in communication with external I/O devices/resources 328 and storage media and systems 332 (e.g. a calibration information repository 110 or a calibration policies and rules repository 114 described above). In general, the processing unit 312 executes computer program code, such as the code to implement various components of the process and systems, and devices as illustrated in
While executing computer program code, the processing unit 312 can read and/or write data to/from the memory 316, the storage system 332, and/or the I/O interfaces 324. The bus 320 provides a communication link between each of the components in computer system 304. The external devices 328 can comprise any devices (e.g., keyboards, pointing devices, displays, etc.) that enable a user to interact with computer system 304 and/or any devices (e.g., network card, modem, etc.) that enable computer system 304 to communicate with one or more other computing devices.
The computer infrastructure 308 is only illustrative of various types of computer infrastructures for implementing the invention. For example, in one embodiment, computer infrastructure 308 comprises two or more computing devices (e.g., a server cluster) that communicate over a network to perform the various process steps of the invention. Moreover, computer system 304 is only representative of various possible computer systems that can include numerous combinations of hardware.
To this extent, in other embodiments, the computer system 304 can comprise any specific purpose-computing article of manufacture comprising hardware and/or computer program code for performing specific functions, any computing article of manufacture that comprises a combination of specific purpose and general-purpose hardware/software, or the like. In each case, the program code and hardware can be created using standard programming and engineering techniques, respectively. Moreover, the processing unit 312 may comprise a single processing unit, or be distributed across one or more processing units in one or more locations, e.g., on a client and server. Similarly, the memory 316 and/or the storage system 332 can comprise any combination of various types of data storage and/or transmission media that reside at one or more physical locations.
Further, I/O interfaces 324 can comprise any system for exchanging information with one or more of the external device 328. Still further, it is understood that one or more additional components (e.g., system software, math co-processing unit, etc.) not shown in
The storage system 332 can be any type of system (e.g., a database) capable of providing storage for information under the present invention. To this extent, the storage system 332 could include one or more storage devices, such as a magnetic disk drive or an optical disk drive. In another embodiment, the storage system 332 includes data distributed across, for example, a local area network (LAN), wide area network (WAN) or a storage area network (SAN) (not shown). In addition, although not shown, additional components, such as cache memory, communication systems, system software, etc., may be incorporated into computer system 304.
While shown and described herein as a method and a system, it is understood that the invention further provides various alternative embodiments. For example, in one embodiment, the invention provides a computer-readable/useable medium that includes computer program code to enable a computer infrastructure to implement methods, systems and devices according to the present application, for example as illustrated in
It is understood that the terms computer-readable medium or computer useable medium comprise one or more of any type of physical embodiment of the program code. In particular, the computer-readable/useable medium can comprise program code embodied on one or more portable storage articles of manufacture (e.g., a compact disc, a magnetic disk, a tape, etc.), on one or more data storage portions of a computing device, such as the memory 316 and/or the storage system 332 (e.g., a fixed disk, a read-only memory, a random access memory, a cache memory, etc.), and/or as a data signal (e.g., a propagated signal) traveling over a network (e.g., during a wired/wireless electronic distribution of the program code).
Still yet, computer infrastructure 308 is intended to demonstrate that some or all of the components of implementation according to the present application could be deployed, managed, serviced, etc. by a service provider who offers to implement, deploy, and/or perform the functions of the present invention for others, for example by licensing methods and browser or application server technology to an internet service provider (ISP) or a cellular telephone provider. In one embodiment, the invention may comprise a business method that performs the process steps of the invention on a subscription, advertising, and/or fee basis. Thus, a service provider can create, maintain, support, etc., a computer infrastructure, such as the computer infrastructure 308 that performs the process steps of the present application for one or more customers, and in return the service provider can receive payment from the customer(s) under a subscription and/or fee agreement and/or the service provider can receive payment from the sale of advertising content to one or more third parties.
In still another embodiment, the invention provides a computer-implemented method for enabling the processes, methods and devices according to the present application. In this case, a computer infrastructure, such as computer infrastructure 308, can be provided and one or more systems for performing the process steps of the invention can be obtained (e.g., created, purchased, used, modified, etc.) and deployed to the computer infrastructure. To this extent, the deployment of a system can comprise one or more of: (1) installing program code on a computing device, such as computer system 304, from a computer-readable medium; (2) adding one or more computing devices to the computer infrastructure; and (3) incorporating and/or modifying one or more existing systems of the computer infrastructure to enable the computer infrastructure to perform the process steps of the invention.
As used herein, it is understood that the terms “program code” and “computer program code” are synonymous and mean any expression, in any language, code or notation, of a set of instructions intended to cause a computing device having an information processing capability to perform a particular function either directly or after either or both of the following: (a) conversion to another language, code or notation; and/or (b) reproduction in a different material form. To this extent, program code can be embodied as one or more of: an application/software program, component software/a library of functions, an operating system, a basic I/O system/driver for a particular computing and/or I/O device, and the like.
Certain examples and elements described in the present specification, including in the claims and as illustrated in the Figures, may be distinguished or otherwise identified from others by unique adjectives (e.g. a “first” element distinguished from another “second” or “third” of a plurality of elements, a “primary” distinguished from a “secondary,” an “another”, etc.) Such identifying adjectives are generally used to reduce confusion or uncertainty, and are not to be construed to limit the claims to any specific illustrated element or embodiment, or to imply any precedence, ordering or ranking of any claim elements, limitations or process steps.
The foregoing description of various aspects of the invention has been presented for purposes of illustration and description. It is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise form disclosed, and obviously, many modifications and variations are possible. Such modifications and variations that may be apparent to a person skilled in the art are intended to be included within the scope of the invention as defined by the accompanying claims.
