Deliverable Status Monitoring System

Abstract

The system evaluates the status of deliverables and provides users with information about that status, ensuring that users can easily and reliably review the deliverables. [Solution] The deliverable status monitoring system comprises a deliverable storage server 30 that stores deliverables created in the development process, and a deliverable status monitoring server 10 that monitors the status of deliverables stored in the deliverable storage server 30. The deliverable status monitoring server 10 comprises a deliverable monitoring unit 102 that acquires deliverables from the deliverable storage server 30, a deliverable status determination unit 104 that determines the status of entries in predetermined entry items of the acquired deliverables and creates a monitoring result information file 122, a rating value calculation unit 106 that calculates a rating value for the deliverables based on the monitoring result information file 122, and a rating value output unit that outputs the calculated rating value.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to an end product status monitoring system for monitoring the status of end products, and particularly to an end product status monitoring system for monitoring the status of end products such as programs created in the software development process.

Background Art

[0002] Conventionally, in the software development process such as programs, in order to ensure the quality of products, an evaluation is made as to whether the developed software meets the required specifications. This evaluation is based on the presence or absence of end products, their description status, and further their review / approval status.

[0003] Regarding the management of end products in such a software development process, for example, Patent Document 1 discloses a project management system that determines delays in progress and deterioration in quality based on a project management table created by collecting information on the progress and quality of end products, and supports the creation of the causes and countermeasures.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0004]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0005] In the technology disclosed in Patent Document 1, project management charts are created by collecting information on the progress and quality of deliverables, but no consideration is given to how to verify the quality of the deliverables themselves. Traditionally, deliverable management has been carried out by project leaders and configuration managers who check the status of deliverables, such as whether they exist, how they are described, and their review / approval status. However, if there are errors or omissions in these checks, the condition of the deliverables deteriorates. Furthermore, even if a check has been performed, the condition of the deliverables can deteriorate due to errors in descriptions resulting from updates to the content of the deliverables, resulting in a lower evaluation result.

[0006] In view of the above-mentioned problems, the object of the present invention is to evaluate the state of deliverables created in the software development process and provide users with information regarding that state, thereby enabling users to review deliverables reliably and easily. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] In one preferred embodiment, the deliverable status monitoring system according to the present invention comprises: a deliverable storage unit for storing deliverables created in the development process; a deliverable monitoring unit for acquiring deliverables stored in the deliverable storage unit; a deliverable status determination unit for determining the state of description in predetermined description items of a deliverable based on item information that is set in advance regarding the conditions required for predetermined description items of the deliverable, and creating monitoring result information regarding the state of description in the description items; a rating value calculation unit for evaluating the creation state of the deliverable based on the monitoring result information and rating information set in advance according to the state of description in the description items, and calculating a rating value for the deliverable; and a rating value output unit for outputting the calculated rating value. [Effects of the Invention]

[0008] According to the present invention, the state of the deliverable can be evaluated, and information regarding that state can be provided to the user, thereby ensuring that the user can review the deliverable reliably and easily. Other problems and novel features of the present invention will become apparent from the description and drawings herein. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0009] [Figure 1] This is a simplified configuration diagram showing the configuration of one embodiment of the deliverable status monitoring system. [Figure 2] This is a schematic block diagram showing the logical configuration of the deliverable status monitoring server. [Figure 3] This is a data structure diagram showing an example of item information. [Figure 4] This is a data structure diagram showing an example of rating information. [Figure 5] This is a data structure diagram showing an example of monitoring result information. [Figure 6] This flowchart outlines the process for evaluating the condition of deliverables. [Figure 7] This flowchart shows the process for determining the creation status of deliverables. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0010] Hereinafter, representative embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. The embodiments and drawings described below are illustrative examples for illustrating the present invention, and have been omitted or simplified as appropriate for clarity of explanation. Furthermore, please note that in order to facilitate understanding of the invention, the position, size, shape, and extent of each component shown in the drawings may not necessarily represent them precisely. In each drawing, parts having the same configuration and / or function are denoted by the same reference numeral. In addition, in the following description, unless particularly necessary, redundant explanations of parts having the same function and / or configuration will be omitted.

[0011] Figure 1 is a simplified configuration diagram showing the configuration of one embodiment of a deliverable status monitoring system to which the present invention is applied.

[0012] The deliverable status monitoring system in this embodiment includes a deliverable status monitoring server 10, a user terminal 20, a deliverable storage server 30, and a network 40 that enables communication between the deliverable status monitoring server 10, the user terminal 20, and the deliverable storage server 30.

[0013] The deliverable status monitoring server 10 monitors the status of deliverables created during the development process and evaluates their status. Here, deliverables are not limited to software such as program source code created during the development process, but may also include written documents such as development plans, software requirements specifications, and design documents.

[0014] The user terminal 20 is a terminal device operated by a user involved in software development, and may be a computer such as a general-purpose personal computer. The user can use the user terminal to create deliverables. The user terminal 20 may also be configured to access the deliverable status monitoring server 10 and obtain information such as the status and evaluation of deliverables being monitored by the deliverable status monitoring server 10.

[0015] The deliverable storage server 30 provides the function of storing the created deliverables in a storage device. A storage device 32 for storing the deliverables 200 is connected to the deliverable storage server 30. The deliverable storage server 30 may be implemented using a computer such as a PC or server. The storage device 32 may be a storage device equipped with a non-volatile storage medium such as a hard disk drive or flash memory. The deliverables 200 created using the user terminal 20 are sent to the deliverable storage server 30 via the network 40, for example, and stored in the storage device 32 by the deliverable storage server 332 for accumulation and preservation.

[0016] The network 40 is a so-called local area network (LAN), which transmits information such as deliverables, other files, and data among the deliverable status monitoring server 10, the user terminal 20, and the deliverable storage server 30. In addition, various other servers (not shown) that provide a development environment used to create deliverables using the user terminal 20, for example, may be connected to the network 40.

[0017] In this embodiment, the deliverable status monitoring server 10 and the deliverable storage server 30 are each configured using an independent computer. However, the functions provided by the deliverable status monitoring server 10 and the functions provided by the deliverable storage server 30 may be implemented on a single computer. In this case, the deliverable status monitoring server 10 and the deliverable storage server 30 may be configured, for example, as a deliverable monitoring unit and a deliverable storage unit. Also, although the user terminal 20 is connected to the deliverable status monitoring server 10 and the deliverable storage server 30 via a LAN, these may be connected via a wide area network such as the Internet, for example.

[0018] FIG. 2 is a schematic block diagram showing the logical configuration of the deliverable status monitoring server 10. As shown in the figure, the deliverable status monitoring server 10 includes a deliverable monitoring unit 102, a deliverable status determination unit 104, an evaluation value calculation unit 106, and an evaluation value output unit 108.

[0019] The work product monitoring unit 102 monitors the storage status of the work product 200 in the work product storage server 30 via the network 40. If the work product 200 is stored in the work product storage server 30, it is configured to acquire the work product 200 from the work product storage server 30 in order to determine the status. The work product status determination unit 104 analyzes the work product 200 acquired by the work product monitoring unit 102, obtains the status of the created work product, and obtains the monitoring result information. The evaluation value calculation unit 106 calculates an evaluation value for the work product based on the status of the work product acquired by the work product monitoring unit 102. The evaluation value output unit 108 displays the information of the evaluation value calculated by the evaluation value calculation unit 106 on a display device (not shown) connected to the work product status monitoring server 10, or displays it on the display device provided in the user terminal 20 in response to a request from the user terminal 20 via the network 40.

[0020] A storage device 12 is connected to the work product status monitoring server 10, and the monitoring result information regarding the status of the work product acquired by the work product status determination unit 104 is stored in the storage device 12 as a monitoring result information file 122. In the storage device 12, an item information file 124 in which item information regarding items for which the status is determined regarding the work product whose status is determined by the work product status determination unit 104 is set, and an evaluation information file 126 in which evaluation information used when calculating an evaluation value regarding the monitoring result in the evaluation value calculation unit 106 is set are stored in advance.

[0021] FIG. 3 is a data structure diagram showing an example of the content of the item information file 124 in the present embodiment. In the item information file 124, for each work product, item information regarding each description item to be monitored is set. The item information may include, for example, the location of the description item in the work product, and information regarding conditions required for the description item, such as a format and constraint information.

[0022] In the work product name column 1240, for example, the file name of each work product 200 is set.

[0023] The item field 1241 contains the items that should be monitored for the status of the deliverable 200, which is set in the deliverable name field 1240. In Figure 3, for example, in deliverable 200 where the deliverable name field 1240 is "Deliverable 1.xlsx", the items to be monitored are "Review Date", "Reviewer", "Approval Date", and "Approver".

[0024] The location field 1242 contains information to identify the location of the item specified in the item field 1241 within the deliverable 200. For example, if the deliverable 200 is created as a spreadsheet, the location of the cell (row, column) on the spreadsheet where the item is listed can be used to identify the location. If the deliverable 200 is created as a document file, information such as the page and row where the item is listed can be used.

[0025] The format field 1243 sets the format of the information to be entered in the corresponding item. For example, for items where dates are entered as information, such as the review date or approval date, information indicating that the format is "date" is set. For items where the names of relevant parties, such as reviewers or approvers, are entered, information indicating that the format is "name" is set. In addition, for items where text-based information such as comments or explanations should be entered, information indicating that the format is "text" is set.

[0026] The constraint information field 1244 is used to set information about conditions that the corresponding entry item must meet. For example, if the format is "Date," information will be set indicating whether the date entered is within a specified period, before or after a specified date. Also, for example, if the review of the deliverable must be conducted before approval, the constraint information field 1244 of a row where the entry item field 1241 is "Approval Date" will be set to indicate that the date entered in the location specified in the entry location field 1242 must be a date after the date entered in the location specified in the entry location field 1242 of a row where the entry item field 1241 is "Review Date."

[0027] Furthermore, for example, if the format is "Name," such as for reviewers or approvers, information that identifies the names to be entered, such as the names of the persons who should be reviewers or approvers, may be set. Constraint information does not need to be set directly in the item information file 124. For example, information such as reviewers and approvers may be prepared in a separate file, and a link to that file may be set in the constraint information field 1244.

[0028] The items to be entered in the entry item field 1241 are not limited to the items described above; any entry item included in the deliverable 200 may be set as the item to be monitored. The format field 1243 and the constraint information field 1244 may be set as appropriate to match the monitoring items set as the item to be monitored. In addition to the entry location, format, and constraint information, any other information may be set in the item information.

[0029] Figure 4 is a data structure diagram showing an example of the contents of the evaluation information file 126 in this embodiment. The evaluation information file 126 includes, for each deliverable created, the description items to be evaluated, the score assigned to those description items, and auxiliary information related to those items.

[0030] The Deliverable Name field 1260 and the Item Field field 1261 are set to the file name of Deliverable 200 and the items to be monitored within Deliverable 200, similar to the Deliverable Name field 1240 and Item Field field 1241 in Item Information File 124.

[0031] The score column 1262 is set with points according to the status of the listed item. For example, the score column 1262 is set with points that are awarded when the content of the listed item satisfies the conditions set in the item information file 124. Depending on the content, the score set in the score column 1262 may be set to award different points depending on whether all the conditions set in the item information file 124 are met or only some of them are met.

[0032] In the supplementary information field 1263, for example, if the calculated rating value needs to be adjusted depending on the status of the entries for the listed items, the content of that adjustment is set as supplementary information. In Figure 4, as an example, information is set indicating that if the result for the "Approver" entry of a deliverable named "Deliverable1.xlsx" is "0", meaning that the condition set in the item information file 124 is not met, the overall rating value will be halved. Any information that should be considered when making an evaluation may be set as supplementary information.

[0033] Figure 5 is a data structure diagram showing an example of the contents of the monitoring result information file 122 in this embodiment. The monitoring result information file 122 registers, for each deliverable, the results of monitoring the status of the items to be monitored in that deliverable, and, if necessary, the information contained in those items.

[0034] In this embodiment, for example, the result column 1221 records the result of monitoring the status of the item related to the review date. In this embodiment, "1" is recorded if the condition set in the item information file 124 is met, and "0" is recorded if it is not met. The review date column 1222 records the information described in the item related to the review date.

[0035] In the result fields 1223, 1225, 1227, and 1229, the results of monitoring the status of the corresponding items are recorded, similar to the result field 1221. In addition, the examiner field 1224, the approval date field 1226, and the approver field 1228 register the information described in the items related to the examiner, approval date, and approver, respectively. In this embodiment, the recording of information described in the comment field 1230 is omitted, but if necessary, the information described in the comment field of the deliverable 200 may be registered. By recording the relevant information in the monitoring result information file 122, the user can check the contents of the deliverable 200 simply by checking the monitoring result information file 122.

[0036] Figure 6 is a flowchart illustrating the overview of the deliverable status evaluation process performed by the deliverable status monitoring server 10. The deliverable status evaluation process may be configured to be performed automatically, for example, at regular intervals or according to a pre-set schedule, or as needed in response to user requests. Alternatively, it may be configured to be performed triggered by events such as the saving of a new deliverable 200 to the deliverable storage server 30 or the updating of an already saved deliverable 200.

[0037] First, the deliverable status monitoring server 10 accesses the deliverable storage server 30 via the deliverable monitoring unit 102 to check if the deliverable 200 to be monitored is stored in the deliverable status monitoring server 10. If it is stored, it checks if there is a deliverable 200 whose status should be evaluated. The deliverables 200 whose status should be evaluated include deliverables newly stored in the deliverable storage server 30, as well as deliverables that have been updated since the last status evaluation process. If there are no deliverables 200 whose status should be evaluated, the deliverable status monitoring server 10 terminates the current process (step S100).

[0038] If there is an deliverable 200 to be evaluated, the deliverable monitoring unit 102 retrieves the deliverable 200 from the deliverable storage server 30. If the retrieved deliverable 200 is a newly saved deliverable, the file name of the deliverable is registered in the deliverable name field 1220 of the monitoring result information file 122 (step S102).

[0039] The deliverable status monitoring server 10 then uses the deliverable status determination unit 104 to evaluate the status of the deliverable 200 acquired by the deliverable monitoring unit 102. First, the deliverable status determination unit 104 reads item information related to the deliverable 200 acquired by the deliverable monitoring unit 102 from the item information file 124 (step S104). Then, based on the read item information, it determines the creation status of the deliverable, and the result of the determination is recorded in the monitoring result information file 122. The specific process for determining the creation status of the deliverable will be described later (step S106).

[0040] Once the determination of the creation status of the deliverables 200 obtained in step S102 is complete, the deliverable status monitoring server 10 checks if there are any deliverables 200 whose creation status has not yet been determined. If there are any deliverables 200 whose creation status has not yet been determined, the deliverable status monitoring server 10 returns to the process in step S102, obtains the corresponding deliverables 200, and performs the creation status determination (step S108).

[0041] In step S108, once it is confirmed that the creation status has been determined for all deliverables whose status is to be evaluated, the rating value calculation unit 106 calculates a rating value for the status of the deliverables based on the monitoring result information file 122. At this time, the rating value calculation unit 106 processes by referring to the rating information set in the rating information file 126. Specifically, for deliverables registered in the deliverable name column 1220 of the monitoring result information file 122, the results of status monitoring for each item of each deliverable are obtained, and a score is assigned according to the status monitoring result by referring to the score of the corresponding item in the rating information file 126. The scores assigned to each item are totaled, and an adjustment is made according to the auxiliary information in the rating information file 126 to obtain a rating value (step S110).

[0042] The evaluation value calculated by the evaluation value calculation unit 106 is displayed by the evaluation value output unit on the display device of the deliverable status monitoring server 10, or on the display device of the user terminal 20 if requested by the user terminal 20 (step S112).

[0043] Figure 7 is a flowchart showing the flow of the process for determining the creation status of the deliverables.

[0044] The deliverable status determination unit 104 obtains item information relating to the item to be monitored from the item information of the deliverable 200 that is the subject of the determination process, and obtains the information of the writing location set in the writing location field 1242 of that item information (S200).

[0045] The deliverable status determination unit 104 determines whether there is information at the acquired location of the deliverable 200 and whether it is text information (step S202). If there is information at the acquired location and it is text information, that text information is acquired (step S204).

[0046] Next, the deliverable status determination unit 104 checks whether the format of the acquired text information matches the format set in the item information format field 1243. Specifically, if, for example, "Date" is set in the format field 1243, the deliverable status determination unit 104 checks whether the acquired text information contains numbers and is in a format such as "YYYY / MM / DD" (where Y, M, and D are numbers). Also, if "Name" is set in the format field 1243, it checks whether the acquired text information is character information (step S206).

[0047] The deliverable status determination unit 104 determines, based on the results of the check in step S206, whether the format of the text information matches the format set in the format field 1243 (step S208).

[0048] If the format of the text information matches the format set in the format field 1243, the deliverable status determination unit 104 further checks whether the text information satisfies the constraint conditions set in the constraint information field 1244 of the item information. Specifically, if the text information is a "date," it is checked whether the date falls within the date range set in the constraint information, for example, on or before today ("≦TODAY"), or if the item is an "approval date," on or after the review date ("≧Review Date"). By checking whether the date conditions are met in this way, it is possible to confirm whether the date indicated in the text information is valid.

[0049] Furthermore, if the text information is a "name," and a specific name is registered as the name to be entered in the constraint information field 1244, it is checked whether the name represented in the text information is included among them. In this way, when the text information represents a "name," by checking whether that name has been registered in advance, it becomes possible to, for example, verify whether the person whose name is represented in the text information has legitimate authority (step S210).

[0050] The deliverable status determination unit 104 determines, based on the results of the verification in step S206, whether or not the content of the text information satisfies the constraint conditions set in the constraint information field 1244 (step S212).

[0051] If the content of the text information satisfies the constraints, the deliverable status determination unit 104 records the content of the acquired text information in the corresponding entry field of the monitoring result information file 122. Note that recording of text information in the entry field may be omitted if user confirmation of the content of the text information is not particularly necessary (step S214).

[0052] The deliverable status determination unit 104 then records "1" in the corresponding result column of the monitoring result information file 122 as the result of status monitoring, indicating that the conditions set for the content described are met (step S216).

[0053] On the other hand, if in step S202 there is no information in the item to be described, or if there is information but it is not text information, and if in steps S208 and S212 it is determined that any of the conditions for setting text information are not met, the deliverable status determination unit 104 records "0" in the corresponding result column of the monitoring result information file 122 as the result of status monitoring, indicating that the conditions for setting the content are not met (step S218).

[0054] Finally, the deliverable status determination unit 104 checks if there are any other description items whose status has not been determined. If there are any other description items whose status has not been determined, it returns to the process in step S200 and repeats the process described above. Once the status determination has been completed for all description items that are being monitored, the deliverable status determination unit 104 terminates the process (step 220).

[0055] According to this embodiment, the deliverables created during the software development process are monitored, and the status of their entries is provided as a monitoring result information file. Furthermore, the deliverables are evaluated based on the status of each entry, and the results are provided to the user. This allows the user to understand the creation status of the deliverables, such as whether or not they exist and the status of their entries, making it easier and more reliable for the user to review the deliverables.

[0056] In this embodiment, by making the items to be monitored, for example, items related to the review and approval of deliverables in the development process, it becomes possible to check the status of those items and monitor the review and approval status, such as whether or not the deliverables have been reviewed and approved. Furthermore, as mentioned above, by registering conditions in the constraint information, such as the approval date being after the review date, or the name of the person authorized to review and approve, it becomes possible to monitor whether the review and approval process is being carried out properly.

[0057] Although the present invention has been described above using representative embodiments as examples, the present invention is not limited thereto and can be implemented in various ways without departing from the spirit of the invention as described in the claims. Furthermore, the embodiments described above are explained in detail for the purpose of clearly illustrating the present invention and are not necessarily limited to those having all the configurations described. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0058] 10…Deliverable status monitoring server, 12, 32…Storage device, 20…User terminal, 30…Deliverable storage server, 40…Network, 102…Deliverable monitoring unit, 104…Deliverable status determination unit, 106…Rating value calculation unit, 108…Rating value output unit, 122…Monitoring result information file, 124…Item information file, 126…Rating information file, 200…Deliverable

Claims

1. A deliverable storage unit for storing deliverables created during the development process, A deliverable monitoring unit that acquires the deliverables stored in the deliverable storage unit, A deliverable status determination unit determines the state of the inscription of the predetermined inscription items of the deliverable based on pre-set item information that contains information regarding the conditions required for the predetermined inscription items of the deliverable, and creates monitoring result information regarding the state of the inscription of the inscription items. A rating value calculation unit evaluates the creation status of the deliverable based on the monitoring result information and the status of the entries in the described items, and calculates a rating value for the deliverable. A rating value output unit that outputs the calculated rating value, A deliverable status monitoring system equipped with the following features.

2. The item information includes information regarding the location of the predetermined item within the deliverable, the deliverable state determination unit obtains text information from the deliverable based on the information regarding the location, and determines the state of the predetermined item based on the text information, the deliverable state monitoring system according to claim 1.

3. The deliverable state monitoring system according to claim 2, wherein the item information includes constraint information that the text information must satisfy, and the deliverable state determination unit is configured to confirm whether the text information satisfies the constraint information.

4. The deliverable status monitoring system according to claim 3, wherein the predetermined items to be described are items relating to the review and approval of the deliverables in the development process.

5. The deliverable status monitoring system according to claim 4, wherein the predetermined description items include description items relating to dates, and the constraint information set in correspondence with the description items relating to dates includes information relating to a range of dates that the date indicated by the text information should satisfy.

6. The deliverable status monitoring system according to claim 5, wherein the constraint information includes information relating to the sequence of dates between the constraint information and the dates represented by the text information of other date-related description items included in the predetermined description item.

7. The deliverable status monitoring system according to claim 4, wherein the predetermined description items include description items relating to a name, and the constraint information set in correspondence with the description items relating to a name includes name information to be indicated by the text information.

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