Patent Abstract:
A computer-based method for capturing project design decisions includes: providing a main page and at least one secondary page; receiving information from users and placing it on the secondary page; forming a secondary page summary text portion on one of the secondary pages in response to a tag command received from an authorized user; and linking the secondary page summary text portion to a summary text portion on the main page.

Full Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0001]    The subject matter disclosed herein relates to product design and, in particular, to capturing decisions made during project design. 
         [0002]    Many projects require multiple working groups working in multiple stages to achieve a desired result. Typically, at least some planning is performed before the project is begun to define and coordinate the different stages and assign responsibility for them to certain individuals. 
         [0003]    One paradigm for project development is the so-called “waterfall model.” The waterfall model is a rigidly structured, sequential project development process that flows from one phase to another. In the waterfall process, the project does not move from a current phase to the next phase until the current phase is completed. In this manner, progress is seen as flowing steadily downwards (like a waterfall) through the phases of the development. The waterfall model was originally used for manufacturing projects and was an early model used in the development of software where it experienced varying degrees of success. In the waterfall model a single document typically defines and tracks design decisions that are made during the planning phase. Such a document typically cannot easily accommodate design decision changes. 
         [0004]    Another development process that may be employed in project development is the “agile” development model. In the case of a software project, such a model is commonly referred to as “agile software development.” Agile software development may generally be defined as including iterative and incremental software development stages, where the requirements and solutions for each stage evolve through collaboration between self-organizing, cross-functional teams. 
         [0005]    In the agile development process architecture and design of software is evolutionary. Consequently there is less emphasis of the production of large, very detailed architecture/design documents up-front as in traditional waterfall development processes. Instead design happens just-in-time and utilizes more flexible technologies to capture the essence of the design. 
         [0006]    A common technology is a wiki, which is a web-enabled service that allows users to input information into one location that is visible to other users. However, while using a wiki to capture design decisions is very flexible and corresponds well to the agile software design principles, it does not provide a structure for capturing key information that may be needed at later times. For example, some types of decisions, such as using .NET rather than Java for enterprise integration, frame the approach to implementing solutions technically. These types of decisions and the reasoning behind them need to be very clearly visible to developers for the lifetime of the product. But when they are captured in a wiki they may not have this visibility. 
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
       [0007]    According to one aspect of the invention, a system for capturing project design decisions that includes a computing system and logic executing on the computing system is disclosed. The logic implements a method that includes: maintaining a main page and at least one secondary page; allowing users of the computing system to provide information to the at least one secondary page; forming a secondary page summary text portion on one of the secondary pages; and linking the secondary page summary text portion to a summary text portion on the main page, wherein authorization to cause the linking is limited to a subset of the users. 
         [0008]    According to another aspect of the invention, a computer-based method for capturing project design decisions is disclosed. The method of this aspect includes: providing a main page and at least one secondary page; receiving information from users and placing it on the secondary page; forming a secondary page summary text portion on one of the secondary pages in response to a tag command received from an authorized user; and linking the secondary page summary text portion to a summary text portion on the main page. 
         [0009]    According to another aspect of the invention, a computer program product for capturing project design decisions is disclosed. The computer program product of this aspect includes a computer-readable storage medium having instructions embodied thereon, which when executed by a computer cause the computer to implement a method that includes: providing a main page and at least one secondary page; receiving information from users and placing it on the secondary page; forming a secondary page summary text portion on one of the secondary pages in response to a tag command received from an authorized user; and linking the secondary page summary text portion to a summary text portion on the main page. 
         [0010]    These and other advantages and features will become more apparent from the following description taken in conjunction with the drawings. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING 
         [0011]    The subject matter, which is regarded as the invention, is particularly pointed out and distinctly claimed in the claims at the conclusion of the specification. The foregoing and other features, and advantages of the invention are apparent from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which: 
           [0012]      FIG. 1  illustrates several web pages that form a system according to one embodiment of the present invention; 
           [0013]      FIG. 2  shows an example user screen illustrating an operation according to one embodiment; and 
           [0014]      FIG. 3  shows an example of a computing system on which embodiments of the present invention may be implemented. 
       
    
    
       [0015]    The detailed description explains embodiments of the invention, together with advantages and features, by way of example with reference to the drawings. 
       DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
       [0016]    As described above, when design decisions are captured in a wiki, the reasons for these decisions and, indeed, the decisions themselves may be lost or difficult to find. Accordingly, in one embodiment, a technical effect of the invention disclosed herein includes providing a structure for recording design decisions in a wiki page and a toolset for easily “tagging” and “promoting” the information related to the design decisions to a main page that is not subject to change or modification most of the users of the wild page. 
         [0017]      FIG. 1  illustrates several web pages that form a system  100  according to one embodiment of the present invention. It shall be understood that the system  100  may be so-called “wiki system,” or simply a “wiki” herein. The system  100  can be powered by any type of wild software currently known or later developed and allows, at least in a limited sense, any user who has access to the system  100  to post information to the system. The system  100  can be implemented on one or more computing devices such as the computing system shown, for example, in  FIG. 3 . Of course, the computing system of  FIG. 3  can also be referred to as a server in some embodiments. 
         [0018]    In one embodiment, the system  100  includes a main page  102 . The main page  102  can include, for example, one or more different summary sections  104  in one embodiment. In one embodiment, the summary sections  104  include a design principle, a design decision or a system quality. Of course, the summary sections  104  could include other information. In one embodiment, the information in the summary sections  104  is information that is usually contained in architecture specification documents. However, in one embodiment and in contrast to a typical design specification document, on the main page  102  the summary sections  104  do not include accompanying detail about the decision or how those decisions were reached. As such, in one embodiment the main page  102  can serve as the initial point of contact for those users who wish to understand what design principles, decisions, etc. are for a particular product. In one embodiment only one or a limited number of users are allowed to change or otherwise manipulate the main page  102 . 
         [0019]    In one embodiment, one or more of the summary sections  104  include a summary text portion  106 . The summary text portion  106  can include, in one embodiment, a brief summary of the particular design principle or other information in the summary section  104 . One or more of the summary text portions  106  can be linked by hyperlinks  107  to one or more different, secondary pages  108 ,  110 . The ability to add the hyperlinks  107  from the main page  102  to another page can be limited to one or a limited number user in one embodiment. 
         [0020]    In one embodiment, any user of the system  100  can post information to the secondary pages  108 ,  110 . Of course, access can be limited to specific users in one embodiment. The number of secondary pages  108 ,  110  is not limited and can vary from one to any value. In one embodiment, each secondary page  108 ,  110  is devoted to a different topic. For example, secondary page  108  can be devoted to design principles and secondary page  110  can be devoted to system qualities. 
         [0021]    In one embodiment, the secondary pages  108 ,  110  include one more secondary page summary text portions  112 . In one embodiment, the summary text portion  106  and the secondary page summary text portions  112  are linked to one another and include the same text. Control of the linking of the summary text portion  106  and the secondary page summary text portions  112  is described in greater detail below. 
         [0022]    As illustrated, the summary text portions  106  are linked to secondary page summary text portions  112  on different secondary pages  108 ,  110 . It shall be understood that that multiple summary text portions  106  on the main page  102  can be linked to multiple secondary page summary text portions  112  on only one of the secondary pages  108 ,  110 . 
         [0023]    In one embodiment, the secondary page summary text portions  112  divide the secondary pages  106 ,  108  into categories according to project and can be accessed and added to by any user of the system  100 . The secondary pages  106  also include one or more explanation sections  114 . The explanation sections  114  can include, for example, diagrams, text, or any other type of information that can record or explain design decisions. In one embodiment, the explanation sections  114  are related to the secondary page summary text portion  112  immediately preceding it. 
         [0024]    As in any wiki system, the secondary pages  108 ,  110  by their very nature evolve over time, as the design of the project is refined. In one embodiment, at key points in time a version of the secondary pages  108 ,  110  can be considered “definitive.” At these key time, an authorized individual (e.g., software architects or technical leads) can “tag” that version of the secondary pages  108 ,  110  such that the a particular summary text portion  106  is linked by hyperlinks  107  to the particular version of the secondary pages. In this scenario, an observer of the main page  102  would see the summary text portion  106 , click on the link and go to that version of the secondary pages  108 ,  110  in the region where the linked secondary page summary text portion  112  is located. 
         [0025]      FIG. 2  shows an example user screen  200  illustrating an operation according to one embodiment. In this example, the user screen  200  includes the main page  102  and secondary page  110 . As described above, the main page  200  includes one or more of the summary sections  104  that include summary text portions  106 . As illustrated, the secondary page  110  includes explanation sections  114 . In one embodiment, the user screen  200  also includes a tag selector  202 . It shall be understood that the tag selector  200  could be a button icon on the screen  200 , a button on a keyboard or be selectable in other manners. 
         [0026]    In operation, a user can select one or more explanation sections  114 . In one embodiment, the user then activates the tag selector  200  causing a dialog that categorizes the type of information that is being referred to. For example, in this example, the user has selected the illustrated explanation sections  114 . The user then “tags” the section by activating the tag selector  202 . This causes a new summary section  104  (shown in dashes) to be created and it is linked to the secondary page summary text portion  112  shown (also shown in dashes). 
         [0027]    In an alternative embodiment, the secondary page summary text portion  112  may already exist. In such an embodiment, the user selects the secondary page summary text portion  112  and the new summary section  104  is linked to it. In this embodiment, the contents of the secondary page summary text portion  112  may be replicated in the summary text portion  106 . 
         [0028]    In one embodiment, after the tag selector  202  is activated, the user selects from a configurable selection of types for the summary section. Choices can include, for example, Design Principle, Design Decision, System Quality, or the like. In one embodiment one or more of these choices may raise a sub-types selection screen. For example, selection of System Quality may raise a sub-type selection screen where a user can select one or more of Performance, Scalability, Modularity, or the like. In one embodiment, the selected types are included in and describe the summary section  104  to which they relate. 
         [0029]    According to one embodiment the end result is that the secondary page summary text portion  112  and the hyperlink  107  thereto allows for the information on the on the secondary page  110  to be captured, in a summary form, on the main page  102 . Thus, those who are interested can use the main page  102  to see the current state of development with respect to the design as well as going back to previous and in-progress versions of the design if necessary. As a technical effect, embodiments of the present invention reduce the need to continually maintain and update large, unwieldy documents that have traditionally been used in waterfall development. Furthermore, embodiments of the present invention have the technical effect of allowing a design team to use more free-form technology (in this case, a wiki) to describe and evolve the design of a project while still maintaining an identifiable current design and relevant design decisions. 
         [0030]      FIG. 3  shows an example of a computing system on which embodiments of the present invention may be implemented. As discussed above, the computing system of  FIG. 3  can be server that users access from other computing systems. In this embodiment, the system  100  has one or more central processing units (processors)  301   a ,  301   b ,  301   c , etc. (collectively or generically referred to as processor(s)  101 ). In one embodiment, each processor  301  may include a reduced instruction set computer (RISC) microprocessor. Processors  301  are coupled to system memory  314  and various other components via a system bus  313 . Read only memory (ROM)  302  is coupled to the system bus  313  and may include a basic input/output system (BIOS), which controls certain basic functions of system  300 . 
         [0031]      FIG. 3  further depicts an input/output (I/O) adapter  307  and a network adapter  306  coupled to the system bus  313 . I/O adapter  307  may be a small computer system interface (SCSI) adapter that communicates with a hard disk  303  and/or tape storage drive  305  or any other similar component. I/O adapter  307 , hard disk  303 , and tape storage device  305  are collectively referred to herein as mass storage  304 . A network adapter  306  interconnects bus  313  with an outside network  316  enabling data processing system  300  to communicate with other such systems. A screen (e.g., a display monitor)  315  is connected to system bus  313  by display adaptor  312 , which may include a graphics adapter to improve the performance of graphics intensive applications and a video controller. In one embodiment, adapters  307 ,  306 , and  312  may be connected to one or more I/O busses that are connected to system bus  313  via an intermediate bus bridge (not shown). Suitable I/O buses for connecting peripheral devices such as hard disk controllers, network adapters, and graphics adapters typically include common protocols, such as the Peripheral Components Interface (PCI). Additional input/output devices are shown as connected to system bus  313  via user interface adapter  308  and display adapter  312 . A keyboard  309 , mouse  310 , and speaker  311  all interconnected to bus  313  via user interface adapter  308 , which may include, for example, an I/O chip integrating multiple device adapters into a single integrated circuit. 
         [0032]    Thus, as configured in  FIG. 3 , the system  300  includes processing means in the form of processors  301 , storage means including system memory  314  and mass storage  304 , input means such as keyboard  309  and mouse  310 , and output means including speaker  311  and display  315 . In one embodiment, a portion of system memory  314  and mass storage  304  collectively store an operating to coordinate the functions of the various components shown in  FIG. 1 . 
         [0033]    It will be appreciated that the system  300  can be any suitable computer or computing platform, and may include a terminal, wireless device, information appliance, device, workstation, mini-computer, mainframe computer, personal digital assistant (PDA) or other computing device. It shall be understood that the system  300  may include multiple computing devices linked together by a communication network. For example, there may exist a client-server relationship between two systems and processing may be split between the two. 
         [0034]    The system  100  also includes a network interface  106  for communicating over a network  116 . The network  116  can be a local-area network (LAN), a metro-area network (MAN), or wide-area network (WAN), such as the Internet or World Wide Web. Users of the system  300  can connect to the network through any suitable network interface  316  connection, such as standard telephone lines, digital subscriber line, LAN or WAN links (e.g., T1, T3), broadband connections (Frame Relay, ATM), and wireless connections (e.g., 802.11(a), 802.11(b), 802.11(g)). 
         [0035]    As disclosed herein, the system  300  includes machine-readable instructions stored on machine readable media (for example, the hard disk  304 ) for capture and interactive display of information shown on the screen  315  of a user. As discussed herein, the instructions are referred to as “software”  320 . The software  320  may be produced using software development tools as are known in the art. The software  120  may include various tools and features for providing user interaction capabilities as are known in the art. 
         [0036]    While the invention has been described in detail in connection with only a limited number of embodiments, it should be readily understood that the invention is not limited to such disclosed embodiments. Rather, the invention can be modified to incorporate any number of variations, alterations, substitutions or equivalent arrangements not heretofore described, but which are commensurate with the spirit and scope of the invention. Additionally, while various embodiments of the invention have been described, it is to be understood that aspects of the invention may include only some of the described embodiments. Accordingly, the invention is not to be seen as limited by the foregoing description, but is only limited by the scope of the appended claims.

Technology Classification (CPC): 6