Patent ID: 6895382
Filing Date: 2005-05-17
Classification: G06Q

Abstract:
1. A method for transferring a software application producing activity from a first physical location to a second physical location, wherein the software application producing activity includes developing or changing a software application and the software application operates on a certain platform, such a platform including a computer system and an operating system, wherein the changing includes enhancing an existing software application in order to maintain the software application or migrating an existing software application from a first platform to the certain platform, the method comprising the steps of: assessing suitability of outsourcing, including selecting among N locations, including at least an on-site location, a location local to the on-site location and a location remote from the on-site location, wherein it is determined whether the software application producing activity should be carried out at the first physical location or at the second physical location, and whether the second physical location should be the location local to the on-site location or the location remote from the on-site location; planning a process for the transferring of the software application producing activity including the steps of: transferring the software application producing activity from the first physical location to the second physical location if the assessing indicates outsourcing is suitable, wherein the transferring of the software application producing activity is performed after the step of planning the process for the transferring of the software application producing activity; producing a newly developed or changed software application, wherein the software application operates on a certain platform, such a platform including a computer system and an operating system, wherein the producing of the changed software application includes enhancing an existing software application in order to maintain the software application or migrating an existing software application from a first platform to the certain platform; monitoring progress of the transferring step compared to the planned transferring process; and evaluating the newly developed or changed software application; wherein the assessing of suitability of outsourcing includes: establishing for each of M selection parameters, a minimum score limit and a maximum score limit for each respective one of the N locations, thereby yielding N×M selection parameter minimum score limits and N×M selection parameter maximum score limits; establishing a weighting factor for each of the M selection parameters; assigning each of the M selection parameters a score within the established limits for each respective one of the N locations, thereby yielding N×M selection parameter scores; calculating N normalized scores for the respective N locations, including: wherein the selecting among the N locations is responsive to the N normalized scores for the respective N locations, wherein the establishing of the minimum and maximum score limits and the weighting factors includes establishing the limits and the weighting factors such that a maximum possible normalized score for one of the N locations may exceed a minimum possible normalized score for another one of the N locations, and wherein if the normalized score for a first one of the locations does exceed the minimum possible score for a second one of the locations then this indicates part of the software application producing activity should be carried out at the first one of the locations and part of the software application producing activity should be carried out at the second one of the locations.