Automated Dependency Mapping for Enterprise IT Quality Control

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Solution Overview

Problem

Legacy business applications pose challenges in maintaining, modifying, or enhancing due to a lack of understanding about their dependencies with other applications, leading to difficulties in analyzing programming changes, assessing risks, and performing regression testing in complex enterprise IT environments.

Innovation Solution

Automated cross-application dependency mapping using code parsing techniques to identify dependencies between legacy and modern applications, providing interactive visualization and generating impact reports to facilitate quality control and end-to-end quality assurance.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Measurement precision

If manual cross-tier analysis is performed to identify dependencies among applications, then accuracy of dependency identification can be maintained, but time consumption and labor costs increase significantly

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveaccuracy of dependency identificationVSAvoidtime consumption for analysis

Core Design Contradiction:

Measurement precisionVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The patent replaces manual mechanical analysis with automated code parsing technology. The system uses computer algorithms to automatically parse application source code, database schemas, and configuration files to identify cross-tier dependencies, substituting human analysts with automated computational processes that can process large codebases rapidly and accurately without manual intervention

Inventive Principle:

Principle #28Mechanics substitution (Replace mechanical system)

Solution Approach 2:

The patent introduces an intermediary automated analysis platform that sits between the complex enterprise IT environment and the users needing dependency information. This intermediary system performs the tedious code parsing and dependency identification work, transforming raw code and configuration data into structured dependency maps that users can consume without having to perform manual analysis themselves

Inventive Principle:

Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

2Productivity

If automated code parsing is used to generate cross-dependency maps, then time consumption is reduced significantly, but complexity of the system increases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvespeed of dependency map generationVSAvoidsystem complexity for automated parsing

Core Design Contradiction:

ProductivityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent segments the complex automated analysis system into distinct modular components: code parsing modules for different programming languages, database schema analysis modules, configuration file parsing modules, and dependency graph generation modules. Each module handles a specific aspect of the analysis independently, making the overall complex system manageable through division of labor among specialized components

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The patent creates a universal automated analysis platform that can handle multiple programming languages, database types, and configuration formats through a common architecture. The system uses language-agnostic intermediate representations and standardized data structures to process diverse enterprise IT environments, allowing the complex parsing infrastructure to serve multiple purposes across different technology stacks

Inventive Principle:

Principle #6Universality (Multi-functionality)

3Reliability

If comprehensive dependency analysis is performed across legacy and modern applications, then quality control coverage is improved, but resource requirements and cost increase

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvequality control coverageVSAvoidcomputational resources required

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSQuantity of substance

Solution Approach 1:

The patent implements partial analysis by allowing users to specify scopes and filters for the dependency analysis. Instead of analyzing every line of code in the entire enterprise IT environment, the system can focus on specific applications, modules, or change impact areas. This partial action approach provides sufficient quality control coverage for the specific analysis goal without consuming computational resources proportional to the entire codebase

Inventive Principle:

Principle #16Partial or excessive action

Solution Approach 2:

The patent performs preliminary indexing and static analysis of application code, databases, and configurations to build reusable dependency graphs and metadata. This preliminary action creates a cached representation of the system architecture that can be queried rapidly for specific dependency questions without re-parsing the entire codebase each time, reducing the computational resources needed for repeated quality control analyses

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

Data Source

PatentUS11625317B2Systems and methods for quality control of an enterprise IT environment

Publication Date: 2023.04.11 GALAXE SOLUTIONS INC

AI summary

A system for auditing an enterprise IT environment includes a multi-tier hierarchy generator configured to generate a multi-tier hierarchy, between and within each tier, maps the IT environment across a plurality of software applications of different types via which the IT environment is implemented. The system includes a test generation engine configured to generate test cases based on intake data about the IT environment. The system includes an auditing unit configured to test the IT environment based on the test cases and the multi-tier hierarchy.