Patent ID: 7747736

Claim:
A computer implemented method in a data processing system for distributing rules and policies in a jurisdictional hierarchy, the computer implemented method comprising: creating a rule or policy at a level in a jurisdictional hierarchy, wherein the jurisdictional hierarchy comprises a plurality of administrative authority levels within an organization, wherein the jurisdictional hierarchy is implemented within a service delivery environment; nominating the rule or policy for inclusion in a next higher level in the jurisdictional hierarchy, wherein a rule or policy nomination includes information indicating a relative worth of the rule or policy, wherein the relative worth information includes at least one of a subjective ranking of the rule or policy, a number of administrators currently using the rule or policy, an enterprise-wide adoption rate of rules or policies previously created or nominated by administrators handling the policy until that point, a risk assessment of implementing or not implementing the rule or policy, or a number of outstanding trouble tickets handled by implementing the rule or policy; evaluating, by a processing unit of the data processing system, the rule or policy at the next higher level according to processes and bylaws of the next higher level's jurisdiction: responsive to an approval of the next higher level to include the rule or policy in a jurisdiction of the next higher level, providing, by the processing unit, the rule or policy to all users under the jurisdiction; and repeating the nominating, evaluating, and providing steps for each higher level in the jurisdictional hierarchy.