Abstract:
An integrated technology quality model provides a decision-making matrix for managing and combining technology initiatives within a corporate environment. In a refining step, recommendations are made based on simple filters to decommission and/or clean up an existing technology portfolio. In an optimizing step, the data is further analyzed for details to identify applications performing similar activities in a business process. The optimizing step may result in a recommendation to decommission redundant applications. In a transforming step, core applications are enhanced or componentized to address additional needs and requirements. This develops a portfolio which has transformational impact on a business.

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS  
       [0001]     The present application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/682,705, filed Oct. 8, 2003, which is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety. 
     
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0002]     1. Field of the Invention  
         [0003]     This invention generally relates to business practices, and in particular it relates to decision-making processes involving technology requests.  
         [0004]     2. Background Art  
         [0005]     Corporate software initiatives are increasingly important for establishing the efficient operation of corporate departments and standardizing operations among various corporate departments. Typically though, new software is developed or purchased each time there is a request for implementing a technology solution from corporate personnel. This has led corporations to purchase or implement many redundant or incompatible systems with similar functionalities across various internal departments, and sometimes within the same department. This unsophisticated approach for responding to technology requests generally results in undue expenditures for maintaining or accommodating the various systems implemented. Such costs will only increase over time for companies that respond to technology requests in this manner.  
         [0006]     The approach of managing an existing technology portfolio and adding new systems on top of legacy systems may show some savings by fixing the existing processes. However, this approach does not facilitate strategic investments or gain significant process efficiencies. There are hidden costs for such processes, as well as added costs of controlled interfacing.  
         [0007]     The development of a standard procedure for analyzing and overhauling a company&#39;s technology portfolio, on the other hand, can reduce unnecessary expenditures and enable clear technology-enabled business growth. The resulting savings can then be passed on to corporate customers, giving a corporation a potential market advantage. Accordingly, there is a need for a mechanism to evaluate an existing portfolio of applications, recommend options to decommission components, and move from legacy and ad hoc setups to a portfolio of optimized processes and systems at a reasonable cost and with a high return on investment.  
       BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0008]     The invention includes methods for assessing the existing legacy portfolio along with new technical requests before making a decision to invest in a particular solution. The existing portfolio is examined based on various criteria, including, for example and without limitation, the following: usage of an application by a number of existing users; criticality of the application to the business; impact to existing processes of decommissioning an application; availability and maintainability of the source code of the application; availability of documentation for the application; compliance issues; quality issues for existing processes; and quality issues with related applications.  
         [0009]     A three-step approach may be applied to assess the existing portfolio. In a refining step, recommendations are made based on simple filters to decommission relatively low-value applications and/or clean up the existing portfolio. In an optimizing step, the portfolio is further analyzed for details to identify applications performing similar activities in a business process. The optimizing step may result in a recommendation to decommission redundant applications. In a transforming step, new investment opportunities are explored to redirect the investments by enhancing or componentizing existing applications to address additional needs and/or requirements. This develops a portfolio which has transformational impact on a business prospect.  
         [0010]     This three-step approach helps convey a simplified approach to teams working on the existing portfolio, and generates sponsorship in a progressive manner for technology investments. Cost savings from overhauling the company&#39;s portfolio may be tracked, and may be passed on to consumers and the like.  
         [0011]     In certain embodiments, any or all of the processes above may be automated by a system with appropriate solutioning.  
         [0012]     Further embodiments, features, and advantages of the present invention, as well as the structure and operation of the various embodiments of the present invention, are described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS/FIGURES  
       [0013]     The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated herein and form a part of the specification, illustrate the present invention and, together with the description, further serve to explain the principles of the invention and to enable a person skilled in the pertinent art to make and use the invention.  
         [0014]      FIG. 1  is a flowchart depicting an exemplary decision-making process for evaluating internal technology requests.  
         [0015]      FIG. 2  is a flowchart depicting an exemplary process for overhauling an entire technology portfolio.  
         [0016]      FIG. 3  is an exemplary database that may be used to make recommendations regarding each application in the portfolio. 
     
    
       [0017]     The present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. The drawing in which an element first appears is typically indicated by the leftmost digit(s) in the corresponding reference number.  
       DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION  
       [0000]     I. Overview  
         [0018]     While specific configurations and arrangements are discussed, it should be understood that this is done for illustrative purposes only. A person skilled in the pertinent art will recognize that other configurations and arrangements can be used without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. It will be apparent to a person skilled in the pertinent art that this invention can also be employed in a variety of other applications.  
         [0019]     The Integrated Technology Quality Model (ITQM) disclosed herein is a framework that introduces a discipline for responding to technology implementation requests, and by which various requests can be integrated. By implementing this framework, corporations are better able to manage their technology portfolio and supporting architecture end-to-end, leading to cost reductions, reduced system redundancy, increased operation efficiency, and optimization of investment in technology. ITQM also provides a method for evaluating the health of existing technology solutions within a corporate department, or among various departments, by which the technology portfolio of a company may be examined for optimization.  
         [0020]     ITQM is based on the following guiding principles: 
        (1) Refining or streamlining a technology portfolio by enhancing core systems and decommissioning redundant or non-core systems;     (2) Optimizing the technology portfolio by implementing technology-related initiatives to re-engineer internal business processes and/or the infrastructure that supports such processes; and     (3) Transforming the technology portfolio by implementing component-based solutions where possible in order standardize and centralize business processes.        
 
         [0024]     Additionally, the following rationales for responding to technology implementation requests are introduced: 
        (1) There should be no need to create or purchase new software applications if existing applications can be enhanced or componentized to address the request, whereby clear “build” versus “buy” decisions can be made with respect to a request; and     (2) Component-based architecture, that is adaptive in nature, should be developed for each business process or department, whereby the business process architecture and specialized business processes can be developed into general or centralized components.        
 
         [0027]     ITQM thus serves as a universal guideline for managing and optimizing a corporate technology portfolio end-to-end, especially when one or more corporate technology strategies exist and each request is aligned with one or more of the strategies. Such corporate technology strategies may include plans for: software defect reduction, technology investment optimization, and technology integration.  
         [0028]     Secondary corporate strategies, such as those of a department within a corporation or of an individual company within a conglomeration, may also be considered within the ITQM framework. Such secondary strategies may include: technology consumption management, thinning technology portfolios, or implementing more adaptive and flexible architecture.  
         [0029]     By grouping various technology implementation requests based on the strategies with which they are aligned, several requests may be fulfilled simultaneously rather than managing and addressing each request individually. The benefits of this grouping of requests include costs savings and operating efficiencies. Thus, ITQM allows corporations to integrate various requests to ensure that the benefits of implementation are maximized.  
         [0030]     ITQM also allows a corporation to understand the health of its existing applications so that informed decisions can be more readily made about whether to refine, optimize, or transform the technology portfolio in response to a request. For example, ITQM will allow a corporation to identify those existing applications in use which are low-value, inefficient and too expensive to maintain, those which are performing well but contribute little value or efficiency, and those which are strategic but should be transformed.  
         [0031]     By implementing ITQM principles, corporations may achieve reduced redundancy in its technology portfolio, standardization of software architecture, optimization of technology infrastructure, and reduction in the number of non-standard software applications (such as specialized or proprietary databases) in use.  
         [0000]     II. Responding to Specific Technology Implementation Requests  
         [0032]     Referring now to  FIG. 1 , wherein similar components of the present disclosure are referenced in like manner, a particular embodiment of a process  100  for responding to technology implementation requests is disclosed.  
         [0033]     It should be readily appreciated that none, some or all of the steps described below may be performed in any order, or certain steps may be omitted depending on the circumstances of a particular request. The steps described below may also be automatically performed by a computing device having appropriate programming, such as by implementing the steps as a series of algorithms in a programming language (i.e., C++, JAVA or any other appropriate software platform) that are executed by a personal computer, a network server, a group of such computing devices, or the like. Such computing device(s) may access various databases holding appropriate data for calculating the required algorithmic results. It should also be readily apparent that a wide variety of software applications may be employed to accomplish this, and so particular programming and applications will not be described in detail.  
         [0034]     According to the process  100 , at the start of an ITQM assessment a request for technology implementation is received, for example, from corporate personnel (step  102 ). The technology implementation request may include any request, such as to purchase or develop a software application to handle a corporate business process. The business process may be any known corporate process such as tracking payroll, accounts payable, accounts receivable, managing inventory, tracking product shipments, or any of a variety of typical corporate functions.  
         [0035]     Next, the request is examined to determine whether the request corresponds to any existing business strategy (step  104 ), such as the business strategies described in the foregoing. For example, the technology implementation request may be a request to reduce the number of bugs in an accounting application and it may be determined that this request corresponds to a corporate technology strategy of reducing software defects in existing applications. If the request is indeed in conformance with a technology strategy, the process  100  continues to step  106  immediately below. Otherwise, the process  100  continues to step  118 , described later below.  
         [0036]     At step  106 , it is determined whether the request is in conformance with the business strategy. In the example given in the immediately-preceding paragraph, the request may actually be to replace the software with another application, and so this type of request may not conform to the business strategy of reducing software defects within an existing application. Where the request is not in conformance with any business strategy, the process  100  continues to step  108  immediately below. Otherwise the process  100  continues to step  110 , described later below.  
         [0037]     From step  106 , when the request relates to, but is not in conformance with, an existing business strategy, the business strategy may be reassessed (step  108 ) to determine if it should be modified to allow the technology request, after which the process  100  continues to step  122  below.  
         [0038]     From step  106 , when the request instead relates to and is in conformance with a business strategy, various solutions may be identified for responding to the request (step  110 ). The solutions may include available, off-the-shelf software applications, development of a proprietary solution, and the like. Next, a cost of the solution is estimated (step  112 ) and benefits analyses for each possible technical solution. Benefits may include any one or more of: an internal rate of return (IRR), an analysis of financial exposure reduction, and/or reduction or elimination of company risks for the solution. The benefits may be evaluated in any standard and well-known manner.  
         [0039]     From step  112 , the process  100  continues to step  114  where it is determined whether the IRR, and/or one or more of the other analyzed benefits, is greater than a predetermined threshold value. For example, a corporation may determine that no technical solution having an IRR that is less than 18% may be adopted. Other threshold values may readily be used and, based on the manner used for calculating the IRR, the desired value may have to exceed a predetermined value or be less than a predetermined value, as is appropriate to the particular system employed. In the example provided, if the IRR of the solution exceeds the predetermined value of 18%, the process continues to step  126  below. Otherwise, the process continues to step  128 .  
         [0040]     Returning to step  104  above, when the request does not correspond to a business strategy, it is next determined whether a business process corresponding to the technology acquisition request requires streamlining (step  118 ). That is, it is determined whether the request corresponds to enhancing a core technology system or decommissioning a non-core system. If the requests pertains to such streamlining, the process continues to step  120 , immediately below. Otherwise, the process  100  continues to step  122 , described later below  
         [0041]     At step  120 , a redesign of the business process is initiated and the process  100  then ends with respect to the request.  
         [0042]     At step  122 , it is determined whether the request relates to an automation of an existing manual business process, or relates to an internal audit or compliance process, or relates to decommissioning of a core system. If so, the process  100  continues to step  124  immediately below. If not, the process  100  continues to step  128 , described later below.  
         [0043]     At step  124 , it is determined whether the request can be addressed by a temporary or interim solution or whether it is aligned with a secondary technology, such as those described in the foregoing. If so, the process returns to steps  110 - 116  above. Otherwise, the process  100  continues to step  128  below.  
         [0044]     At step  126 , the solution may be accepted for the technology implementation request. In the case where there are multiple solutions having the requisite benefits, e.g., IRR, the solution having the highest IRR may be selected. After step  126 , the process  100  ends with respect to the request.  
         [0045]     At step  128 , the solution is not implemented and the technology implementation request is denied, after which the process  100  ends with respect to the request.  
         [0000]     III. Overhauling a Technology Portfolio  
         [0046]     It should be readily apparent that the process  100  may be continually performed with respect to a continuous or sporadic stream of corporate technology acquisition requests. The process  100  may also be equivalently performed for the technology portfolio as a whole, or to portions thereof, without a specific technology implementation request as described above. In this case, each application in a technology portfolio may be examined via the process  100  to determine the approach to be taken for optimizing the entire technology portfolio. The portfolio may also be examined with the goal of attaining a certain maturity level for software processes. The CAPABILITY MATURITY MODEL FOR SOFTWARE (CMM or SW-CMM) is one existing model developed by the SOFTWARE ENGINEERING INSTITUTE for judging the maturity level of a corporation with respect to existing software processes.  
         [0047]      FIG. 2  illustrates an additional method  200  for overhauling a company&#39;s entire technology portfolio. In step  201 , a given application in the portfolio is selected for examination. In step  202 , the given application is examined according to various criteria. These criteria may include, for example and without limitation: usage of the application by number of existing users; criticality of the application; impact of decommissioning the application on existing processes; availability and maintainability of the application source code; availability of documentation for the application; compliance issues; quality issues for existing processes; and quality issues with related applications. Such criteria may be summarized in a database for the portfolio.  FIG. 3  is an example database listing of applications and the response for each application to the various criteria.  
         [0048]     Step  204  is a refining step. This refining step removes applications that are low value, inefficient, and/or expensive to maintain. In step  204 , the application may be, for example, passed through one or more filters to determine whether the application should be decommissioned or cleaned up. For example, a filter in step  204  may flag applications that have fewer than a given number of users (e.g., less than five users) and whose source code is not current. If an application is flagged in step  204 , method  200  proceeds to step  206 . If an application passes the filter in step  204  without being flagged, method  200  proceeds to step  208 .  
         [0049]     In step  206 , a recommendation is made to decommission or clean up the application when the cost of supporting the application is greater than the cost of removing the application from the portfolio.  
         [0050]     Step  208  is an optimizing step. This optimizing step searches for applications that are performing well but which contribute little value to the portfolio. For example, there may be multiple applications in a portfolio which are used for journal entry. Each of these applications has its own complexity, Thus, in step  208 , the application is examined to determine whether its functionality and performance is similar to another application that may be used in the portfolio. If an application is similar to and does not offer sufficient advantages over another application, the application is determined to be redundant. If the application is determined to be redundant, method  200  proceeds to step  210 . If the application is not determined to be redundant, method  200  proceeds to step  212 .  
         [0051]     In step  210 , a recommendation is made to decommission the redundant application.  
         [0052]     Step  212  is a transforming step. Applications that reach this transforming step are determined to be strategic and of high value, such that they should remain in the technology portfolio. However, the applications may need to be improved to meet company goals, or may need to be consolidated with other applications. Thus, a transformational decision needs to be made regarding these high-value applications. In step  212 , the application is examined to determine whether it can be enhanced or componetized to address additional needs of the company without implementing a new application. This promotes a build versus buy strategy for the portfolio. If the application can be enhanced or componentized, method  200  proceeds to step  213 . If the application cannot be further enhanced or componentized, method  200  proceeds to step  214 .  
         [0053]     In step  213 , an enhancement or componentization is made to the application, resulting in a transformed application. Method  200  then proceeds to step  214 .  
         [0054]     In step  214 , the application or transformed application is implemented in the technology portfolio. Method  200  then proceeds to step  216 .  
         [0055]     It is determined in step  216  whether the portfolio contains other applications which need to be examined. If the portfolio contains other applications, method  200  returns to step  201 . If all applications in the portfolio have already been examined, method  200  proceeds to step  218 . In step  218 , the revised, streamlined portfolio is made available to the company.  
         [0056]     In this manner, ITQM serves as a one-stop shop for managing the business portfolio end-to-end, rather than managing and addressing each request as it comes. It also provides a structure to initiate various technology initiatives that a business may have. Redundancy is reduced, as is the number of non-standard software applications (e.g., customized databases) in use. The platforms being used are also standardized, allowing for increased efficiency and investment optimization, which further leads to a reduction in cost to the business.  
         [0000]     IV. Conclusion  
         [0057]     Using ITQM in any of the various embodiments described above, a corporation may streamline its technology portfolio by enhancing core systems and decommissioning redundant/non-core ones, implement technology related initiatives to re-engineer processes and infrastructure, and/or implement component based solutions to enable various technology strategies for its business operations. ITQM thus has the potential to save large corporations hundreds of thousands to millions of dollars in annual expenditures and has the capability to enable business growth using appropriate technology strategies for business. Such savings may be tracked and reported in any standard manner, and resulting efficiencies may be passed on to consumers and the like.  
         [0058]     While various embodiments of the present invention have been described above, it should be understood that they have been presented by way of example, and not limitation. It will be apparent to persons skilled in the relevant art(s) that various changes in form and detail can be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. Thus, the present invention should not be limited by any of the above described exemplary embodiments, but should be defined only in accordance with the following claims and their equivalents.  
         [0059]     In addition, it should be understood that the figures and screen shots illustrated in the attachments, which highlight the functionality and advantages of the present invention, are presented for example purposes only. The architecture of the present invention is sufficiently flexible and configurable, such that it may be utilized (and navigated) in ways other than that shown in the accompanying figures.  
         [0060]     Further, the purpose of the foregoing Abstract is to enable the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and the public generally, and especially the scientists, engineers and practitioners in the art who are not familiar with patent or legal terms or phraseology, to determine quickly from a cursory inspection the nature and essence of the technical disclosure of the application. The Abstract is not intended to be limiting as to the scope of the present invention in any way.