Patent Application
20070005681
The present application claims priority from Japanese application JP 2005-096699 filed on Mar. 30, 2005, the content of which is hereby incorporated by reference into this application.
The present invention relates to a method and system for supporting business system development, and more particularly to a method and system for configuring a business system by searching examples of pre-registered system configurations, work packages and software components and utilizing the searched examples to configure the business system.
A customer business system is developed by arranging system requirements of each customer. In developing a customer business system, neither the whole system is newly created nor the business system is configured by customizing work packages. The business system is developed on the basis of accumulated other business system configuration examples, while positively utilizing the legacy work system resources presently used by a customer.
As an approach to newly configuring a system by customizing information on design on a reuse assumption, JP-A-2002-358200 discloses a system in which components created on a reuse assumption, such as common basic middlewear and framework of each business, are designed beforehand and the components are properly combined to form software which has a high reuse factor and is easy to be customized.
JP-A-2002-358200 assumes that system components are accumulated and used on the assumption of reuse of each component. There is a system which aims at an individual work system such as a work package and does not aim at a whole business system (a set of work systems) used by a customer. Design works are not made for linking individual systems after configuring the systems. In order to solve this, the following approach is desired. Namely, customer work systems constituting core competence in a legacy customer system are provided with other work systems from a vendor. The customer work systems and other work systems are add-on customized to satisfy the requirements of a new costumer business network and configure work systems realizing core competence. In this manner, the legacy work systems themselves realizing core competence can be reused.
It is desired that not only software and components on the reuse assumption are configured but also system components and work packages not on the reuse assumption are combined. In terms of a customer business system creating software components, reuse is assumed only by components of a small granularity. For development of a business system requested by a customer, it is necessary to combine component groups of a small granularity, configure a plurality of work systems and combine the work systems. Therefore, a load on a system engineer increases, including integrity, verification and design documents of reused software components, design of a business system and the like. Furthermore, the legacy work systems presently used and constituting core competence of customer business are not considered, and reused components are used for new core competence so that a load on a system engineer increases.
An object of the present invention is to provide a business system configuration supporting method and system which applies a legacy business system as customer core competence to a new business system configuration.
In order to achieve the above-described object of the invention, legacy system resources of an order system are analyzed and the analysis information is stored, and system configuration examples already accumulated by an order reception system are stored. According to these information, the structure is adopted searching work systems constituting a business system which satisfies a specification requested by the order system.
An embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. The invention is not limited only to the embodiment.
In order to deal with a change in the state of system configuration, normally operating work systems and legacy customer resources are shifted from design information at the time of system configuration, and do not coincide with the design information generated by collecting work specifications at the start of system configuration. Therefore, in the legacy costumer work system resource management unit 0100, a legacy work system analysis apparatus 0102 analyzes legacy customer resources (programs, execution environments, environment setting information) 0101 operating at a customer to create the specifications of the legacy customer work system. The analyzed results are stored in a legacy work system analysis information storage apparatus 0103 and managed therein.
In the system configuration example management unit 0110, a system configuration example storage information input/output apparatus 0111 inputs/outputs: work system configuration examples or specifications of work packages executed in the past by system configuration vendors and the like; service specifications and configuration examples provided by an outsourcing company called an application service provider; and specifications and configuration examples of work application components used when a work system is configured. The system configuration example input from the system configuration example storage information input/output apparatus 0111 is stored in a system configuration example information storage apparatus 0112. The work system is an information system used by an enterprise to make business, for example, a sales management system.
The target system selection apparatus 0130 collects the legacy customer work system specifications stored in the legacy work system analysis information storage apparatus 0103 and work system configuration examples accumulated by a system configuration vendor and stored in the system configuration example information storage apparatus 0112, and outputs the collected specifications and examples to a target system selection input/output apparatus 0131. The target system selection input/output apparatus 0131 transmits business system information and the like selected by a user to the target system selection apparatus 0130. In accordance with the received information, the target system selection apparatus 0130 creates business system configuration information and stores it in the development target system resource storage unit 0132. The target system selection apparatus 0130 links the legacy work system information, system configuration examples and work systems, respectively selected by a user at the target system selection input/output apparatus 0131, selects a processing method design example for linking a plurality of work systems, and outputs, as design documents 0133, design information for a target development system document creation unit to configure the business system.
The work package supply system 0203 registers business package specifications and goods information in the order system 0202. The order system 0202 refers to the registered specifications and information to select an optimum solution. The service supply system 0204 registers outsourcing service supply contents such as outsourcing services, user scales, fee systems to be supplied by the service supply system 0204, and use example information, in the order system 0202. As the service supply system 0204, an Application Service Provider (ASP) capable of providing application features via a network can be used. The order system 0202 searches the registered services and various information to select an optimum solution. The software component supply system 0205 registers software components and link components (e.g., software for executing file transfer and a component for absorbing a difference between character codes) information for lining systems, in the order system 0202. As the software component supply system 0205, a System Integrator (SI) can be used. The order system 0202 searches the registered components and information to select an optimum solution.
First, detailed description will be made on the process of creating a base solution 0306. The work package supply system 0203 supplies the order reception system 0202 with the work package configuration examples and work package specifications (Step 0307). Next, the service supply system 0204 supplies the order reception system 0202 with the contents of outsourcing services and use examples (Step 0308). Next, the software component supply system 0305 supplies the order reception system 0202 with software component specifications and configuration example information (Step 0309). Lastly, the order reception system 0202 arranges the system configuration examples and each product specification supplied from the work package supply system 0203 and the like in a common arrangement frame (Step 0310).
Next, detailed description will be made on the process of creating the custom solution 0311. The order reception system 0202 creates the custom solution 0311 which is a solution (work system group) optimized for a customer, by customizing the legacy work systems and information supplied from the work package supply system 0203 and the like, in accordance with the system requirements requested by the order system 0201, and supplies an optimum solution to the order system 0201. Namely, a solution is reduced in practice and supplied as resources when the business system is to be configured.
In the process of creating the custom solution 0311, first the order system 0202 receives the legacy work system resources from the order system 0201 (Step 0312). The order reception system 0202 received the legacy work system resources analyzes the resources and presents the analysis results to the order system 0201 (Step 0313). Considering the analysis results, the order system 0201 selects the resources which are left as legacy customer work system resources (Step 0314). More specifically, the order system 0201 selects work logics which become core competence adopted by the new business system, from the legacy work system analysis results supplied from the order reception system 0202.
Next, the order system 0201 explicitly presents the work logics as core competence and supplies the work logics as a requested specification (Step 0315). Namely, the order reception system 0202 receives from the order system 0201 the legacy work system resources selected as core competence, requirements to be newly formed, execution environments, an estimated cost and the like. The order reception system 0202 received the requested specification from the order system 0201 refers to information stored as the general base solution 0306, selects work systems constituted of the legacy work system resources, work packages and the like satisfying the requested specification of the order system 0201, and presents custom business system candidates to the order system 0201 to select the candidate most matching the requested specification (Step 0316). The order reception system 0202 creates several most suitable solutions and presents the solutions to the order system 0201 to urge selection (Step 0317).
The system configuration example input/output apparatus 0111 receives system configuration examples configured in the past by the order reception system 0202 itself and stores the received information in a system configuration example storage apparatus 0410. Similarly, in the work package supply system 0203, a configuration example input/output apparatus 0420 receives work package specifications, and a package specification input/output apparatus 0430 transmits input specifications to the system configuration example storage apparatus 0410 of the order reception system 0202. In the service supply system 0204, a configuration example input/output apparatus 0421 receives service specifications, and a service specification input/output apparatus 0431 transmits input specifications to the system configuration example storage apparatus 0410 of the order reception system 0202. In the software component supply system 0205, a configuration example input/output apparatus 0422 receives software specifications, and a software component specification input/output apparatus 0432 transmits input specifications to the system configuration example storage apparatus 0410 of the order reception system 0202. The system configuration example storage apparatus 0410 of the order reception system 0202 stores the specifications transmitted from the supply systems.
Next, in accordance with such transmitted and stored specifications, the target system selection apparatus 0130 selects new work systems and a link method of linking the work systems, from the information stored in the legacy work system analysis information storage apparatus 0408 and system configuration example storage apparatus 0410 to configure the business system and integrally manage the legacy work system information and system configuration examples by using the work names and function summaries, as shown in
In the display screen (screen displayed on the target system selection input/output apparatus 0131) shown in
The process sequence of such a work system is almost decisive independent from enterprises, and the process sequence of a link between systems is accumulated in the system configuration example storage apparatus 0410 as system configuration examples. Displayed in accordance with the information stored in the system configuration example storage apparatus 0410 are a link source 1002, a link destination 1003, a link method 1004, a link timing 1005, a linked data amount 1006 and a product candidate 1007. The example shown in
In accordance with the example stored in the system configuration example storage apparatus 0410, a product candidate 1007 used by the corresponding link method, data amount, timing and the like is displayed. An operator selects one of selection candidates of the link method matching the requirements of the order system 0201 by using a check box 1008. In accordance with a plurality of work systems selected by using the check box 1001 and the inter-system link method selected by the check box 1008, the order reception system 0102 can output system resources (program, execution environment definition, etc.) stored in the legacy work system analysis information storage apparatus 0408, the requirements of new work systems stored in the system configuration example storage apparatus 0410, and the link method for work systems, as a new customer business system. The selection results shown in
First, the target system selection input/output apparatus 0131 receives an input of the customer requirements of a new business system (Step 1101). Next, in accordance with the requirements input at Step 1101 (specifically, a function name and the like), the target system selection apparatus 0130 searches legacy resources and system configuration examples stored in the table shown in
Next, the target system selection apparatus 0130 extracts and outputs the design information of legacy custom work system resources, system configuration examples, and system execution environments, respectively corresponding to the work systems selected from the example candidates displayed at Step 1104 (Step 1105), and further judges whether the inter-system link is necessary among the selected systems, by referring to the information (design information of work systems and link information) stored in the system configuration storage apparatus 0410 Step 1106). If the inter-system link is necessary, the target system selection apparatus 0130 searches, from the system configuration example storage apparatus 0410, the link sources 1002, link destinations 1003, link methods 1004, timings 1005, data amounts 1006 and product candidates (items shown in
If there is no example matching the requirements as Step 1103 or there is no inter-system link at Step 1106, the process is terminated.
As described above, according to the embodiment, it is possible to configure a business system and realize work systems satisfying the requirements on the side of the order system 0201, by reusing work systems as core competence of the legacy customer work system stored in the legacy work system analysis information storage apparatus 0408 and creating insufficient functions by using system configuration examples stored in the system configuration example storage apparatus 0410. Further, work systems are linked by a link processing method realized by using system link examples managed by the system configuration example storage apparatus 0410. It is therefore possible to integrate individual work systems and configure a business system satisfying the requirements on the side of the order system 0201.
In developing a new business system, the analysis results of the specifications of legacy business systems are stored, and in response to an access from a system engineer to the target system selection apparatus, the specifications and execution environments of the legacy work systems can be selected. For the requirements not satisfied by the legacy work systems, proper examples are searched from the system configuration example storage apparatus storing system configuration examples, and software components and work packages are selected so that work systems can be selected. Accordingly, it is possible for a system engineer to efficiently configure a custom business system integrating respective work systems.
When a system engineer configures a custom business system by linking work systems and selects the business system from the target system selection apparatus, the system engineer refers to system design know-how information and system configuration example information integrating the number of processes and reliability and stored in the system configuration example storage apparatus. It is therefore possible to design the link processing method for work systems of the customer business system, with a smaller number of processes than that of conventional processes.
Documents and performance design of usually executed processes are made by a system engineer in configuring a business system satisfying customer requirements. In this case, the quality can be improved and a design work load can be reduced, by referring to the system configuration examples accumulating system scales and processing design.
As described so far, according to the present invention, a business system can be developed efficiently by positively utilizing legacy customer system resources.
It should be further understood by those skilled in the art that although the foregoing description has been made on embodiments of the invention, the invention is not limited thereto and various changes and modifications may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention and the scope of the appended claims.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2005-096699 | Mar 2005 | JP | national |
