Software Product Specification via Module Composition Analysis
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing software management systems face challenges in accurately specifying and displaying products installed on image forming devices, particularly when multiple products share modules or have dependencies, leading to potential operational issues and user confusion.
Innovation Solution
The system includes a product information acquisition unit, a product composition element acquisition unit, a specification unit, and a controller that utilize product composition information and module information to specify products installed on devices and control their display, managing dependencies such as independent, inclusion, common component use, and exact match cases to prevent operational conflicts.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If multiple products share modules or have dependencies, then the system can provide more versatile product composition, but it becomes difficult to accurately specify and display the correct products installed on devices
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the product information into distinct components: product composition information (stored in the storage unit) and module installation information (acquired from the device). By separating these data elements and processing them through the specification unit, the system can accurately match installed modules to specific products even when multiple products share modules, thus resolving the contradiction between versatility and specification accuracy.
2Adaptability or versatility
If the system displays all products that may be installed on a device, then users have more product options, but it causes user confusion and operational issues
Solution Approach 1:
The specification unit acts as a feedback mechanism that takes module installation information from the device and product composition information from storage, then determines and outputs only the products that are actually installed. This feedback loop prevents display of irrelevant product options, thereby maintaining user clarity while still providing access to all potentially installable products through the product information acquisition unit.
3Reliability
If the system manages dependencies between products with shared modules, then operational conflicts are prevented, but the system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The specification unit serves as an intermediary between the raw module installation information and the final product display. It processes the module information against the product composition database, resolves dependencies, and determines which products should be displayed. This intermediary approach prevents operational conflicts by ensuring accurate product-specification matching while keeping the overall system structure manageable through modular design.
Data Source
AI summary
An information processing device includes a product information acquisition unit that acquires information indicative of a correlation between a product and one or plural product composition elements composing the product, for each product being software; a product composition element acquisition unit that acquires information indicative of one or plural product composition elements installed in a device, from the device; a specification unit that specifies a product installed in the device on the basis of the information indicative of the one or plural product composition elements acquired by the product composition element acquisition unit and the correlation; and a controller that causes a display to display the product specified by the specification unit.