Patent ID: 8051029

Claim:
A method comprising: maintaining a knowledgebase having a set of existing product classes into which defined product descriptions are classified, said existing product classes each comprising existing class conditions, said existing class conditions comprising templates for creating, from said product descriptions, workflows of processes required to produce a product instance; receiving, as input, a new product class, said new product class being different from said existing product classes and having new product class conditions; mapping a representation of said new product class conditions to be semantically consistent with a representation of said existing class conditions; evaluating said new product class to produce user feedback, said evaluating comprising: identifying ones of said existing product classes that overlap said new product class, identifying said new product class conditions that are inconsistent with any of said existing class conditions within an associated existing product class, identifying mutually exclusive conditions within said new product class conditions, validating said new product class conditions with respect to capabilities of products, services and devices that will be used to physically produce said new product class, and identifying whether said new product class is valid and free of errors; outputting said user feedback; and incorporating said new product class into said knowledgebase as one of said existing product classes only if said new product class is valid and free of errors.