ALM Process Convention Agent for Automated Artifact Compliance
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Software development organizations face challenges in maintaining the integrity of process conventions within application lifecycle management (ALM) frameworks, as existing systems often require manual intervention to ensure compliance with multiple conventions across disparate ALM applications.
Innovation Solution
A method utilizing a process convention agent that scans a unified data store in real-time to identify non-compliant ALM artifacts, determines if script code is available to update them, and automatically executes the script to align with process conventions, or prompts experts for corrections through a user interface when necessary.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If manual intervention is used to ensure compliance with process conventions across multiple ALM applications, then compliance accuracy is improved, but productivity deteriorates due to increased manual effort
Solution Approach 1:
The system enables self-service automation where the process convention agent autonomously identifies non-compliant artifacts, executes appropriate script code to correct them, and only involves human experts when automated correction is not possible. This resolves the contradiction by maintaining high compliance accuracy through automated self-correction while preserving productivity by eliminating manual intervention for routine compliance tasks.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces manual mechanical processes (human review and correction of compliance issues) with an automated computational system consisting of the process convention agent, unified data store, and script code execution mechanism. This substitution maintains compliance accuracy through systematic automated checking while dramatically improving productivity by eliminating time-consuming manual operations.
2Productivity
If automated updates are executed to maintain process conventions, then productivity is improved, but device complexity worsens due to the need for script code management and automated correction mechanisms
Solution Approach 1:
The system segments the compliance maintenance function into distinct modular components: the process convention agent for identification, the unified data store for artifact management, script code repositories for correction logic, and expert intervention interfaces for edge cases. This segmentation improves productivity through automated operations while managing complexity by organizing the system into independent, maintainable modules with clear interfaces.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces intermediary elements including the unified data store that mediates between multiple ALM applications and the process convention agent, and script code that acts as an intermediary between automated correction needs and actual artifact updates. These intermediaries improve productivity by enabling automated workflows while managing system complexity by providing standardized interfaces and abstraction layers.
3Reliability
If all necessary information is required upfront from users, then data completeness is improved, but ease of operation deteriorates due to increased user burden
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary automated actions by proactively identifying non-compliant artifacts and automatically executing correction script code before human intervention is needed. This maintains data completeness through systematic automated compliance checking and correction while improving ease of operation by eliminating the burden of manual data gathering and correction from users.
Solution Approach 2:
The process convention agent implements continuous feedback by monitoring ALM artifacts for compliance violations, automatically correcting them through script execution, and only presenting issues to experts when automated correction is not possible. This feedback mechanism ensures data completeness through ongoing automated verification while dramatically improving ease of operation by removing manual compliance checking and correction tasks from users.
Data Source
AI summary
At least one ALM artifact, indexed by a unified data store, that does not comply with at least one process convention can be identified. Responsive to identifying the ALM artifact, indexed by the unified data store, that does not comply with the process convention, a determination can be made by a process convention agent executed by a processor as to whether script code is available to update the ALM artifact to comply with the process convention. Responsive to the process convention agent determining that script code is available to update the ALM artifact to comply with the process convention, the process convention agent can automatically execute the script code to update the ALM artifact to comply with the process convention.