Patent ID: 7617118

Claim:
A system of facilitating error checking of service elements, said system comprising: a service element to be checked, the service element facilitating providing an information technology service offering, and wherein the service element is a discrete non-executable entity for which a customer is to be billed and which represents a service; and means for automatically checking the service element for one or more errors, the means for automatically checking including: means for verifying service element content, including checking service element referential integrity; means for verifying service element relationships; means for determining whether design of the service element is based on a design template, and if so, for performing service element standardization verification, including verifying presence of composition components, and means for determining whether the service element design template permits augmentation, and if not, for determining whether any illegal additions exist, and if so, for signaling an error; and means for automatically checking validity of one or more business aspects of the service element, wherein the means for automatically checking validity comprises means for performing service element business rules verification, the service element business rules verification including: means for determining whether an availability date from a service element development plan for the service element exceeds a specified target availability date, and if so, for signaling an error, means for determining service element costs from a service element cost case property and verifying that the service element cost is within a target maximum cost point, and if not, for signaling an error, and means for verifying gross profit margin attainment, and if not attainable, for signaling an error.