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IBM Assigned Patent for Provisioning of Software Components via Workflow Management Systems

Strategic Insights

— 2 min read

IBM has been assigned a patent developed by Frank Leymann and Dieter Roller for a system that uses workflow management to provision software components. The patent enables the installation of software components on a target computer system by determining the dependency graph of the components, generating a process model executable by a Workflow Management System (WFMS), and inserting the model into the WFMS. This process ensures that the sequence of activities in the WFMS process model does not violate the dependencies of the software components. The patent application was filed on April 17, 2008, and the full-text can be found at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office website.

Key Takeaways:

  • The patented system uses a product dependency graph to determine additional software components required by the to-be-installed software component.
  • The system generates a WFMS process model that comprises a directed graph of activities, each associated with a software component.
  • The WFMS process model is generated in a way that ensures the sequence of activities does not violate the dependencies of the software components.
  • The system inserts the WFMS process model into the WFMS as the provisioning process.
  • Frank Leymann and Dieter Roller developed the system.
  • The patent's abstract was published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
  • The patent application was filed on April 17, 2008.
  • The patent number is 7,904,416.
  • The full-text of the patent can be found at http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO2&Sect2=HITOFF&u=%2Fnetahtml%2FPTO%2Fsearch-adv.htm&r=95&f=G&l=50&d=PTXT&s1=20110308.PD.&s2=%28NY.ASST.%29&co1=AND&p=2&OS=ISD/03/08/2011+AND+AS/NY&RS=ISD/03/08/2011+AND+AS/NY

Statistics:

  • The patent was filed on April 17, 2008.
  • The patent number is 7,904,416.
  • The patent's abstract was published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
  • The system uses a product dependency graph to determine additional software components required by the to-be-installed software component.
  • 100% of the patent's process is executable by a Workflow Management System (WFMS).

Sources:

  • U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (U.S. Patent 7,904,416)
  • http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO2&Sect2=HITOFF&u=%2Fnetahtml%2FPTO%2Fsearch-adv.htm&r=95&f=G&l=50&d=PTXT&s1=20110308.PD.&s2=%28NY.ASST.%29&co1=AND&p=2&OS=ISD/03/08/2011+AND+AS/NY&RS=ISD/03/08/2011+AND+AS/NY

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