Automated service solution delivery

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9665656-B2
Application number	US-201113212993-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Aug 18, 2011
Priority date	Aug 18, 2011
Publication date	May 30, 2017
Grant date	May 30, 2017

Abstract

A group of software update uniform resource locators (URLs) that each reference software support information related to one of a group of initial logical components of a deployed software package are hosted at a software update server. The group of initial logical components represent problem reporting domains of the deployed software package. A request, initiated by a selection at a computing device of one of the software update URLs, for the software support information referenced by the selected software update URL for the one of the group of initial logical components of the software package is detected. The software support information referenced by the selected software update URL for the one of the group of initial logical components is downloaded.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A method, comprising:
by a software update server:
partitioning different logically-related functional aspects of a software package into different product support problem reporting areas that are independent of software partitioning within the software package;
creating, for each product support problem reporting area, software support information related to the logically-related functional aspects of the software package partitioned into the respective product support problem reporting area;
hosting, for each product support problem reporting area, a different problem reporting web-based domain, with each problem reporting web-based domain accessed by one of a plurality of software update uniform resource locators (URLs), where each software update URL provides access to the software support information created for the respective product support problem reporting area;
linking, within the software package, each software update URL to an error condition associated with the respective logically-related functional aspects of the software package to provide automated access to the respective software update URLs responsive to detected errors in the execution of the software package;
tracking a frequency and quantity of requests to retrieve the software support information of each product support problem reporting area based upon detected selections of individual ones of the plurality of software update URLs; and
adjusting, during deployment of the software package, the partitioning of the product support problem reporting areas and the software update URL error condition linkages within the software package based, at least in part, upon the tracked frequency and quantity of requests.

2. The method of claim 1 , where the software update server hosting, for each product support problem reporting area, the different problem reporting web-based domain comprises the software update server:
identifying an initial plurality of problem reporting web-based domains associated with the partitioned product support problem reporting areas of the software package;
creating the plurality of software update URLs; and
creating, for each software update URL, web content that comprises the software support information created for the respective product support problem reporting area.

3. The method of claim 1 , further comprising the software update server:
retrieving at least one predefined notification condition associated with a product support problem reporting area of the software package that specifies at least one notification criterion associated with repartitioning of the product support problem reporting area;
determining that the retrieved at least one predefined notification condition has been met by one of the tracked frequency and the tracked quantity of requests to retrieve the software support information of the product support problem reporting area based upon the detected selections of the software update URL that accesses the software support information; and
generating a notification indicating the at least one predefined notification condition has been met; and
where adjusting, during the deployment of the software package, the partitioning of the product support problem reporting areas and the software update URL error condition linkages within the software package based, at least in part, upon the tracked frequency and quantity of requests comprises the software update server:
receiving an instruction to repartition the product support problem reporting areas into a new set of product support problem reporting areas, and responsive to the instruction:
(i) repartitioning the product support problem reporting areas into the new set of product support problem reporting areas; and
(ii) changing the software update URL error condition linkages within the software package based upon the repartitioning of the product support problem reporting areas into the new set of product support problem reporting areas.

4. The method of claim 1 , where a scope of the product support problem reporting areas and the software support information accessed by the plurality of software update URLs is dynamically modifiable and adaptive to problem identification as part of automated service solution delivery during deployment of the software package, and further comprising the software update server one of:
changing a product support problem reporting scope of at least one of the product support problem reporting areas; and
changing the logically-related functional aspects of at least one of the product support problem reporting areas.

5. The method of claim 1 , further comprising the software update server:
identifying a new logically-related functional aspect of the software package;
creating a new product support problem reporting area associated with the new logically-related functional aspect of the software package;
creating new software support information related to the new logically-related functional aspect of the new product support problem reporting area;
creating a new problem reporting web-based domain, accessed by a new software update URL, that provides access to the new software support information created for the new product support problem reporting area; and
linking, within the software package, the new software update URL to a new error condition associated with the new logically-related functional aspect of the software package to provide automated access to the new software update URL responsive to a detected error in the execution of the software package associated with the new error condition.

6. The method of claim 1 , further comprising the software update server:
identifying a new subset of the logically-related functional aspects of the software package associated with at least two of the product support problem reporting areas;
identifying software update URLs associated with the new subset of the at least two product support problem reporting areas;
creating a new software update URL to host support information associated with the new subset of the logically-related functional aspects of the software package;
linking, during the deployment of the software package and within the software package, the new software update URL to an error condition associated with the new subset of the logically-related functional aspects of the software package to provide automated access to the new software update URL responsive to detected errors in the execution of the software package associated with the new subset of the logically-related functional aspects of the software package; and
linking software update URL requests associated with the at least two product support problem reporting areas to the new software update URL.

7. The method of claim 1 , where the software support information accessed by the software update URLs comprises, for each product support problem reporting area, a combination of a documentation link, a reference to a blog post, a configuration option, and a usage suggestion associated with the respective logically-related functional aspect of the software package.

8. A system, comprising:
a communication interface; and
a processor programmed to:
partition different logically-related functional aspects of a software package into different product support problem reporting areas that are independent of software partitioning within the software package;
create, for each product support problem reporting area, software support information related to the logically-related functional aspects of the software package partitioned into the respective product support problem reporting area;
host, for each product support problem reporting area, a different problem reporting web-based domain,

Assignees

• Lui King Shing Kelvin
• Nigul Leho
• IBM

Inventors

• Lui King Shing Kelvin
• Nigul Leho

Classifications

• G06F16/958 Primary

  Organisation or management of web site content, e.g. publishing, maintaining pages or automatic linking · CPC title

• G06F8/65 Primary

  Updates (security arrangements therefor G06F21/57) · CPC title

• G06F17/3089 Primary

  Physics · mapped topic