Dynamic Feature Provisioning for Licensed Software Sessions
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing software delivery systems often provide features to client devices regardless of user privileges, licensing, and compatibility, leading to inefficiencies, complexity, and potential security risks, as well as requiring manual updates and supporting multiple incompatible versions.
Innovation Solution
A server system dynamically provides software application features based on user privileges, licensing, and compatibility, ensuring only entitled and compatible features are delivered to client computers, with the ability to update and manage feature versions remotely.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If all software features are provided to client devices regardless of user privileges, then feature availability is maximized, but system complexity and security risks increase
Solution Approach 1:
The software feature set is segmented into multiple subsets based on user privileges, licensing, and compatibility. The server divides features into different categories (e.g., premium features, basic features, incompatible features) and delivers only the appropriate subset to each client device, reducing system complexity while maintaining adaptability.
Solution Approach 2:
The server performs preliminary assessment of user privileges, licensing status, and device compatibility before feature delivery. By evaluating these factors in advance and pre-filtering the feature set, the system avoids delivering incompatible or unauthorized features, thereby reducing complexity and security risks while maintaining high feature availability.
2Quantity of substance
If all software features are delivered to client devices, then feature completeness is improved, but load time and processing overhead increase
Solution Approach 1:
The server extracts and delivers only the necessary subset of features required for each user based on their privileges and device compatibility. By removing unnecessary features from the delivery set, the system maintains feature completeness for authorized users while significantly reducing download size and load time.
Solution Approach 2:
The system applies partial action by delivering exactly the right amount of features needed - no more, no less. Instead of delivering the complete feature set to all users, the server provides a tailored partial set that matches each user's entitlement and device capabilities, optimizing load time while maintaining functional completeness.
3Ease of manufacture
If manual updates are required for software features, then version control is simplified, but user productivity and system efficiency decrease
Solution Approach 1:
The system implements self-service automated updates where the server automatically detects, downloads, and installs feature updates on client devices without requiring manual user intervention. The server manages version control and automatically synchronizes clients with the latest authorized features, maintaining simple version control while significantly improving user productivity.
Solution Approach 2:
The system establishes a feedback loop where client devices report their current feature versions and compatibility status to the server, which then automatically provides appropriate updates. This automated feedback mechanism ensures timely updates without manual intervention, balancing version control simplicity with high user productivity.
4Stability of the object's composition
If multiple versions of software features are supported simultaneously, then backward compatibility is maintained, but device complexity and maintenance burden increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system dynamically adapts the feature set delivered to each client based on their specific version and compatibility requirements. Rather than statically supporting multiple versions simultaneously, the server dynamically evaluates client capabilities and delivers the appropriate version subset, maintaining backward compatibility while minimizing maintenance complexity through on-demand version provisioning.
Data Source
AI summary
Examples provide a server system for dynamic provision of elements features of a software application. The server includes an electronic processor configured to receive, from a client computer, session identifier and access information of a client software session running on the client computer and determine a set of session identity factors at least including licenses, user privileges, compatibilities, and application feature availabilities associated with the client software session. The electronic processor determines, from a set of application features, a first subset of application features to which the client software session is entitled based on an intersection of availability, compatibility, user privilege, and licensing of each respective application feature. The electronic processor delivers the first subset of application features to the client software session, causing each of the first subset of application features to load and render on a user interface of the client computer.