Patent ID: 7216343

Claim:
A method in a data processing system for updating a software component that is included in a data processing system, the method comprising the computer implemented steps of: determining whether to update the software component; responsive to a determination to update the software component, updating the software component to form an updated software component; tracking information, by a primary update management component, related to particular implementations; establishing a testing policy that specifies ones of a plurality of tests based on information related to a particular implementation; identifying a particular implementation used in the update of the software component; selecting ones of the plurality of tests that are specified for the particular implementation to form selected tests; automatically performing the selected tests on the updated software component; establishing an error procedure policy that specifies at least one of a plurality of error procedures based on a type of error; responsive to the updated software component failing one of the selected tests, determining a type of error that occurred; selecting one of the plurality of error procedures that is specified for the type of error that occurred; utilizing said selected one of the plurality of error procedures to determine whether a corrective action should be performed; in response to determining that no corrective action should be performed, leaving the updated software component unchanged; and, in response to determining that a corrective action should be performed, performing a corrective action according to the selected one of the plurality of error procedures.