Lifecycle Blueprint Segmentation for IT Application Modification
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing IT automation systems face challenges in implementing modifications outside the scope of deployment, as conventional automation engines lack the necessary expertise to handle such changes, leading to limitations in design flexibility and management capabilities.
Innovation Solution
The introduction of lifecycle blueprints that contain expertise for the entire lifecycle of an IT application, including deployment, management, and destruction, allows for the creation of new blueprints with desired configurations within their scope of deployment, enabling modifications through idempotent methods and automation engines that can transfer control between blueprints for out-of-scope modifications.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If conventional automation engines are used for IT application deployment, then deployment automation is achieved, but design flexibility and management capabilities for out-of-scope modifications are limited
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the automation system into two independent parts: a conventional automation engine for deployment automation and lifecycle blueprints for expertise containment. Each lifecycle blueprint is an independent unit that can be selected or created separately, allowing flexible combinations without increasing the core automation engine's complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces lifecycle blueprints as intermediary objects between the user and the automation engine. These blueprints encapsulate expertise for deployment, management, and destruction operations, acting as mediators that translate user requirements into automation engine actions without requiring the engine itself to be complex.
2Adaptability or versatility
If expertise is added to a complex automation engine to handle out-of-scope modifications, then modification capabilities are improved, but the effort and cost increase considerably
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses lifecycle blueprints as reusable templates that can be copied and selected for different applications. Instead of adding expertise directly to the automation engine, expertise is packaged in blueprint templates that can be instantiated multiple times, reducing the effort to add and manage expertise.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent segments expertise into separate lifecycle blueprint units rather than integrating it into the automation engine. Each blueprint is an independent unit that can be created, selected, and managed separately, making it easier to add and modify expertise without affecting the core engine.
3Adaptability or versatility
If a new lifecycle blueprint is created for out-of-scope modifications, then desired configurations are achieved, but the process requires selecting or creating new blueprints
Solution Approach 1:
The patent makes lifecycle blueprints multi-functional by enabling them to serve multiple purposes: deployment, management, and destruction operations. A single blueprint can be used for different phases of the IT application lifecycle, and the same blueprint can be applied to different applications, simplifying operations.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent performs preliminary action by pre-creating and pre-configuring lifecycle blueprints with desired expertise and configurations before they are needed. This allows users to simply select from pre-prepared options rather than configuring everything from scratch, making operations easier while maintaining flexibility.
Data Source
AI summary
An information-technology (IT) blueprint is an executable document that, when executed, can be used to create an IT application such as an e-commerce site. An IT lifecycle blueprint can further be used to manage (e.g., modify) and, ultimately, destroy such an IT application. To this end, an IT lifecycle blueprint can include idempotent methods that achieve the same result whether starting from a blank (real or virtual) infrastructure or from a previously populated infrastructure. To effect a modification that is not within the scope of the blueprint that created the IT application, a new lifecycle blueprint can be created, if necessary, and executed to effect the modification. In a sense, the new lifecycle blueprint replaces the old lifecycle blueprint as a manager tool for the IT application.