Information processing device and information processing method

Abstract

We provide a dependency visualization device that can understand software dependencies. [Solution] The information processing device is connected to a database that stores use case information and is capable of performing a process to visualize information on software dependencies, wherein the use case information includes a question asked by a user to obtain information on software dependencies, information of the user who asked the question, and information on software dependencies that is the answer to the question, and the information processing device monitors the input of the question from the user, and when it detects the input of a question, it accesses the database to search for use case information that includes the same or similar question as the input question, generates and outputs display information for displaying the answer included in the searched use case information.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to dependency analysis technology for software development and distribution in the manufacturing industry. [Background Art]

[0002] As a technology related to vehicle software development, Patent Document 1 can be cited. Patent Document 1 discloses managing information managed by an equipment supplier side and information managed by a vehicle provider side. [Prior Art Literature] [Patent Literature]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2021-196933 [Summary of the Invention] [Problem to be Solved by the Invention]

[0004] In the distribution work of new software or updated versions of software already on the market, it is necessary to grasp dependencies between software, dependencies between software and laws and regulations, or dependencies between software and systems. In many manufacturing companies, the departments that manage laws and regulations, systems, and software are different, and the actual situation is that the person in charge of the above work grasps dependencies by making inquiries to each specialized department each time. Therefore, a large amount of man-hours are required just for grasping dependencies. It is expected that the types and number of software will become enormous in the future, and further activation of software development and distribution will be required. To address this, it is necessary to drastically reduce the man-hours required for visualizing dependencies and shorten the lead time for software development and distribution. At the same time, it is also necessary to address the performance risk caused by many users simultaneously performing searches targeting a vast amount of business knowledge. [Means for Solving the Problem]

[0005] A representative example of the invention disclosed in this application is as follows: an information processing device comprising a processor, a storage device connected to the processor, and a network interface connected to the processor, which is accessiblely connected to a database storing use case information and capable of performing a process to visualize information on software dependencies, wherein the use case information includes a question asked by a user to obtain information on software dependencies, information of the user who asked the question, and information on software dependencies that is an answer to the question, and the information processing device monitors the input of the question from a first user, and when it detects the input of the question, it accesses the database to search for use case information that includes the same or similar question as the one entered, and generates and outputs display information for displaying the answer included in the searched use case information. [Effects of the Invention]

[0006] This dramatically reduces the effort required to visualize dependencies, thereby shortening the lead time for software development and distribution. Furthermore, it suppresses performance degradation of the dependency visualization system, maintaining the ability to perform necessary searches instantly when needed. Other challenges, configurations, and effects will be clarified in the following description of the implementation example. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0007] [Figure 1] This figure shows an example of the configuration of the dependency visualization device in Example 1. [Figure 2] This flowchart illustrates an example of the process performed by the dependency visualization device of Example 1. [Figure 3] This flowchart illustrates an example of the FAQ presentation process performed by the dependency visualization device of Example 1. [Figure 4] This figure shows an example of a question input screen presented by the dependency visualization device of Example 1. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0008] The embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. However, the present invention is not to be construed as being limited to the embodiments described below. It will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art that the specific configuration can be modified without departing from the spirit or intent of the present invention.

[0009] In the configuration of the invention described below, identical or similar components or functions are denoted by the same reference numerals, and redundant descriptions are omitted.

[0010] The designations "First," "Second," "Third," etc., used in this specification are for the purpose of identifying constituent elements and do not necessarily limit their number or order.

[0011] The positions, sizes, shapes, and ranges of each component shown in the drawings, etc., may not represent the actual positions, sizes, shapes, and ranges, etc., in order to facilitate understanding of the invention. Therefore, the present invention is not limited to the positions, sizes, shapes, and ranges, etc., disclosed in the drawings, etc. [Examples]

[0012] Figure 1 shows an example of the configuration of the dependency visualization device in Example 1.

[0013] The dependency visualization device 10 is accessible to the business system 11, which holds various information for generating the business knowledge DB 107. The dependency visualization device 10 is also accessible to the client terminal operated by the user, and is accessible to the system that provides AI services via the network.

[0014] Furthermore, the communication in the embodiment may utilize a fifth-generation mobile phone system (5G). Communication includes, for example, receiving and / or outputting data, and transitioning from one flowchart flow to another.

[0015] The dependency visualization device 10 of Example 1 uses the business knowledge DB 107 to detect multiple software programs that have dependencies on each other when software is updated, and also extracts dependencies between the software programs. For example, when updating software due to a specific legal revision, the dependency visualization device 10 detects information on additions or revisions to the legal regulations from publicly available information, detects systems related to those legal regulations (e.g., conflicting systems), extracts software related to the detected systems, and then detects software that has a calling relationship with the software to be updated.

[0016] In this embodiment, we will explain using the case of handling software for embedded systems, such as those found in automobiles, as an example.

[0017] Business System 11 consists of existing systems owned by automotive OEMs, etc. Business System 11 includes, for example, a regulatory affairs management system, a vehicle configuration management system, a design information management system, and a manufacturing information management system. The regulatory affairs management system registers national regulatory information for automobiles, UN regulatory information, etc., and is used for searching and referencing. The vehicle configuration management system manages the linkage between specifications, parts, software, and regulatory information at various units such as automobile model, type, VIN (Vehicle Identification Number). The design information management system manages design-related information such as design documents, CAD information, software repositories, and performance evaluation test results. The manufacturing information management system manages manufacturing-related information such as manufacturing schedule information, parts procurement information, and inventory management information used in manufacturing.

[0018] The dependency visualization device 10 comprises, as a functional configuration, a dependency resolution unit 100, a linkage unit 101, an input unit 102, an output unit 103, a communication unit 104, an FAQ presentation unit 105, and a knowledge database generation unit 106. The dependency visualization device 10 also maintains a business knowledge database 107, a user management database 108, and a use case management database 109.

[0019] The functions of the dependency visualization apparatus 10 may be implemented, for example, by a CPU reading a program stored in a ROM into a RAM and executing the program, may be implemented by hardware such as a dedicated circuit, or may be implemented by a combination of software and hardware. The functions of the dependency visualization apparatus 10 may be a VM (Virtual Machine) operating on a computer, may be a container operating on an OS (Operating System), or may be an application operating on an OS. Note that one function of the dependency visualization apparatus 10 may be divided into a plurality of functions, or a plurality of functions may be integrated into one function. Further, a part of the functions of the dependency visualization apparatus 10 may be provided as a separate function or may be included in another function. Further, a part of the functions of the dependency visualization apparatus 10 may be implemented by another computer capable of communicating with the dependency visualization apparatus 10. Further, each component of the hardware of the dependency visualization apparatus 10 may be singular or plural.

[0020] The input unit 102 receives user information. The output unit 103 outputs various types of information received from the dependency resolution unit 100 or the FAQ presentation unit 105 to a user. The communication unit 104 communicates with various services and systems on the Internet.

[0021] The knowledge DB generation unit 106 receives a user's instruction via the input unit 102, extracts texts, drawings, tables, and the like from each system constituting the business system 11, generates explanatory texts for the extracted figures and tables using a generative AI service, converts information of the target document into text, generates structured information therefrom, and stores the structured information in the business knowledge DB 107.

[0022] In the business knowledge DB 107, necessary knowledge common to a plurality of business departments (inter-department shared knowledge), unique knowledge managed by each department (department-specific knowledge), and the like are registered. More specifically, documents describing laws and regulations, documents describing system and software specifications, bill of materials for products including hardware and software, and the like are registered.

[0023] The dependency resolution unit 100 resolves software dependencies while interacting with the user using the business knowledge DB 107. Specifically, it resolves software dependencies using the following procedure.

[0024] (Procedure 1) The dependency resolution unit 100 uses the input unit 102 and output unit 103 to collect information on what kind of regional laws and regulations the user wants to ask about. The dependency resolution unit 100 uses the collected information on laws and regulations, such as the name of the law or the name of the target region, and prompts from a prompt collection DB (not shown) that stores templates of question sentences (prompts) that users use when making a search, to have the generation AI service execute a task to search for information on laws and regulations via the communication unit 104, and obtains the result of the task execution.

[0025] (Step 2) The dependency resolution unit 100 uses the acquired legal information, the information about the software to be updated acquired from the user, the interdepartmental common question prompts in the prompt collection DB, and the interdepartmental shared knowledge stored in the business knowledge DB 107 to have the generated AI service, via the communication unit 104, execute a task to search for information about vehicles and systems related to the software to be updated, and obtains the result of the task execution.

[0026] (Step 3) The dependency resolution unit 100 uses the acquired legal information, the information about the software to be updated acquired from the user, the acquired vehicle and system information, the prompts for individual departmental questions in the prompt collection DB, and the departmental-specific knowledge in the business knowledge DB 107 to have the generated AI service, via the communication unit 104, execute a task to search for information about parts and software that have dependencies on the software to be updated, and obtains the execution result of the task.

[0027] (Step 4) The dependency resolution unit 100 generates information necessary for visualization from the acquired information on software dependencies. In the following description, the generated information will be referred to as visualization information.

[0028] Furthermore, a possible method for collecting information from various sources in the business knowledge database 107 is to use vector search technology.

[0029] The FAQ display unit 105 identifies and presents available FAQs (questions and answers) to the user based on the user's question, and displays the questions and answers in real time in response to the user's actions.

[0030] The linking unit 101 links the dependency resolution unit 100 and the FAQ presentation unit 105.

[0031] The user management database 108 stores information about users who use the dependency visualization device 10. The user management database 108 stores user information including username, user affiliation, and login password. Note that user information may also include other item values ​​not mentioned above.

[0032] Use case management DB109 stores use case information, including the question text, answer, search date and time, the affiliation of the user who asked the question, and usage frequency. Note that use case information may also include field values ​​other than those mentioned above.

[0033] Figure 2 is a flowchart illustrating an example of the process performed by the dependency visualization device 10 of Example 1. Figure 4 is a diagram showing an example of the question input screen 400 presented by the dependency visualization device 10 of Example 1.

[0034] The input unit 102 of the dependency visualization device 10, upon receiving access from a user, displays a login screen and accepts login information (S101). The user enters login information on the login screen. The linkage unit 101 executes the login process using the login information and the user management DB 108.

[0035] Next, the input unit 102 of the dependency visualization device 10 displays the question input screen 400, and the linkage unit 101 instructs the FAQ presentation unit 105 to start the FAQ presentation process (S102). Details of the FAQ presentation process will be described later.

[0036] Now, let's explain the question input screen 400. The question input screen 400 includes the chat field 401 and the FAQ display field 402.

[0037] The chat field 401 is a field for interaction between the dependency visualization device 10 and the user. The input unit 102 displays text prompting the user to enter a question in the chat field 401 of the question input screen 400. The chat field 401 includes an input field 410 and a button 411. The input field 410 is a field for entering a question about the dependency to be searched. The button 411 is a button for instructing the execution of the visualization process.

[0038] The linking unit 101 monitors input to the input field 410, and when it detects input to the input field 410, it outputs the question entered in the input field 410 to the FAQ display unit 105. The linking unit 101 continues to monitor input to the input field 410 until it receives an operation of button 411 or a command to end the search.

[0039] FAQ display area 402 is a field that displays the question and answer searched by the FAQ presentation process described later. In Figure 4, two question and answer sets are displayed. The first question and answer set displayed is the one most recently searched by a user in the same organization. The second question and answer set displayed is the one that is most frequently used.

[0040] In the FAQ display area 402, the question and answer are displayed in real time through the FAQ presentation process. The user refers to the question and answer displayed in the FAQ display area 402 and determines whether the desired answer has been obtained. If the user determines that the desired answer has been obtained, the user ends the search without performing the dependency resolution process. If the desired answer is not obtained, the user continues to enter the question.

[0041] The dependency visualization device 10 of Example 1 can instantly present answers to past questions, allowing users to immediately obtain useful answers. Furthermore, if useful information is obtained from the information displayed by the FAQ presentation unit 105, there is no need to perform visualization processing, thus reducing the load on the dependency visualization device 10.

[0042] This concludes the explanation of the question input screen 400. Let's return to the explanation of Figure 2.

[0043] The linkage unit 101 waits for input of either an instruction to execute the visualization process or an instruction to end the search. When an instruction is received from the user, the linkage unit 101 determines whether the received instruction is an instruction to execute the visualization process (S103).

[0044] If the received instruction is an instruction to execute a visualization process, the cooperation unit 101 instructs the dependency resolution unit 100 to execute the visualization process (S104).

[0045] When the linking unit 101 receives visualization information from the dependency resolution unit 100, it displays the visualization information via the output unit 103 (S105). The visualization information is displayed in the chat field 401.

[0046] The linking unit 101 outputs the question text and visualization information to the FAQ display unit 105 when it receives an instruction to execute the visualization process (S106), then resumes monitoring the input to the input field 410, and returns to S103.

[0047] If the received instruction is an instruction to end the search, the linkage unit 101 terminates the series of processes.

[0048] Figure 3 is a flowchart illustrating an example of the FAQ presentation process performed by the dependency visualization device 10 of Example 1.

[0049] The FAQ display unit 105 monitors input from the linkage unit 101.

[0050] When input is received from the linking unit 101, the FAQ presentation unit 105 determines whether the received input consists only of a question (S201).

[0051] If only a question is received, the FAQ search unit 112 searches the use case management DB 109 for use case information corresponding to the same or similar question entered by the user (S202).

[0052] For example, the FAQ search unit 112 extracts keywords from the input question and searches for question sentences containing the same keywords. It also calculates the similarity of each question sentence using the vector representation of the input question sentence and the vector representation of the question sentences included in each use case information, and identifies use case information that contains question sentences with a similarity greater than a threshold. Alternatively, the generation AI service may be made to perform the search for use case information. In this case, it is preferable to include the vector representation of the question sentences in the use case information.

[0053] Furthermore, the use case information may be filtered by performing the following processes. By filtering, useful information can be displayed preferentially. In addition, the display order may be changed based on frequency of use and similarity.

[0054] (Method 1) The FAQ search unit 112 refers to the user management DB 108 based on the login information and obtains the user's affiliation. From the retrieved use case information, the FAQ search unit 112 searches for use case information where the affiliation is the same and the search date and time is the most recent from the current search date and time.

[0055] (Method 2) The FAQ search unit 112 extracts use case information from the retrieved use case information that has a usage frequency greater than a threshold.

[0056] The FAQ search unit 112 outputs the question and answer contained in the searched use case information via the output unit 103 (S203), and then continues to monitor the input from the linkage unit 101. The question and answer are output to the output unit 103 by the linkage unit 101. The output unit 103 displays the question and answer in the FAQ display field 402 of the question input screen 400.

[0057] When the question text and visualization information are received, the use case information storage unit 111 updates the use case management DB 109 (S204), and then continues to monitor input from the linkage unit 101. Specifically, the following processes are executed.

[0058] (S204-1) The use case information storage unit 111 refers to the use case management DB 109 to determine whether or not use case information containing a question identical or similar to the received question is registered. The method for searching for use case information is the same as the method described in S202.

[0059] (S204-2) If use case information containing the same or similar question as the received question is registered, the use case information storage unit 111 updates the usage frequency of the use case information and terminates processing.

[0060] (S204-3) If no use case information containing the same or similar question as the received question is registered, the use case information storage unit 111 generates use case information including visualization information as an answer and registers it in the use case management DB 109. The search date and time for the use case information is set to the date and time when the instruction to execute the visualization process was received, and the usage frequency is set to an initial value of 1.

[0061] In addition, questions from users can be accepted on topics other than business knowledge, and in such cases, answers will be obtained by coordinating with internet services via the communications unit 104.

[0062] It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above, and various modifications are included. Furthermore, for example, the embodiments described above are detailed explanations of the configuration in order to clearly illustrate the present invention, and are not necessarily limited to those having all the configurations described. In addition, some of the configurations in each embodiment can be added to, deleted from, or replaced with other configurations.

[0063] Furthermore, each of the above-mentioned configurations, functions, processing units, processing means, etc., may be implemented in hardware, either partially or entirely, by designing them as integrated circuits, for example. The present invention can also be implemented by software program code that realizes the functions of the embodiment. In this case, a storage medium on which the program code is recorded is provided to a computer, and the processor of that computer reads the program code stored in the storage medium. In this case, the program code read from the storage medium itself realizes the functions of the embodiment described above, and the program code itself and the storage medium on which it is stored constitute the present invention. Examples of storage media used to supply such program code include flexible disks, CD-ROMs, DVD-ROMs, hard disks, SSDs (Solid State Drives), optical disks, magneto-optical disks, CD-Rs, magnetic tapes, non-volatile memory cards, ROMs, and the like.

[0064] Furthermore, the program code that implements the functions described in this embodiment can be implemented in a wide range of programming or scripting languages, such as assembler, C / C++, Perl, Shell, PHP, Python, and Java (registered trademark).

[0065] Furthermore, the program code for the software that implements the functions of the embodiment may be distributed via a network and stored in a storage means such as a computer's hard disk or memory, or in a storage medium such as a CD-RW or CD-R, and the computer's processor may read and execute the program code stored in the storage means or storage medium.

[0066] In the above-described embodiment, the control lines and information lines shown are those deemed necessary for explanation and do not necessarily represent all control lines and information lines in the actual product. All components may be interconnected. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0067] 10 Dependency Visualization Device 11 Business Systems 100 Dependency Resolution Unit 101 Liaison Department 102 Input section 103 Output section 104 Communications Department 105 FAQ presentation section 106 Knowledge DB generation part 107 Business knowledge DB 108 User Management DB 109 Use Case Management Database 111 Use Case Information Storage Unit 112 FAQ Search Section 400 Question Input Screen

Claims

1. An information processing device, The system comprises a processor, a storage device connected to the processor, and a network interface connected to the processor. Connect to a database that stores use case information and gain access to it. It is possible to perform a process that visualizes information about software dependencies, The use case information includes a question asked by the user to obtain information about software dependencies, information about the user who asked the question, and the information about software dependencies that is the answer to the question. The aforementioned information processing device is Monitor the input of the aforementioned question from the first user, When the input of the aforementioned question is detected, the database is accessed to search for the use case information that includes the same or similar question as the one entered. An information processing device characterized by generating and outputting display information for displaying the answers included in the searched use case information.

2. An information processing apparatus according to claim 1, The user information mentioned above includes the user's affiliation, The aforementioned use case information includes information on how often the aforementioned question was asked, The information processing device is characterized by searching for use case information that includes questions identical or similar to the received question and made by a user belonging to the same organization as the first user, or use case information that includes questions identical or similar to the received question and whose frequency is greater than a threshold.

3. An information processing apparatus according to claim 1, An information processing device characterized in that the dependencies relating to the aforementioned software are dependencies between the software targeted in the aforementioned question and other software.

4. In the information processing apparatus according to claim 1, The information processing device is characterized in that the dependency relationship with respect to the software is a dependency relationship between the software and the law.

5. An information processing method performed by an information processing device, The aforementioned information processing device is The system comprises a processor, a storage device connected to the processor, and a network interface connected to the processor. Connect to a database that stores use case information and gain access to it. It is possible to perform a process that visualizes information about software dependencies, The use case information includes a question asked by the user to obtain information about software dependencies, information about the user who asked the question, and the information about software dependencies that is the answer to the question. The aforementioned information processing method is The information processing device performs the step of monitoring the input of the question from the first user, When the information processing device detects the input of the question, it accesses the database and searches for use case information that includes the same or similar question as the input question. An information processing method characterized by comprising the step of the information processing device generating and outputting display information for displaying the answers included in the retrieved use case information.

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