Patent ID: 7318226

Claim:
A method in a data processing system for managing software, the method comprising: identifying that a problem has occurred in a program that is in the client computer system; responsive to identifying the problem, initiating, by a user of the client computer system, an agent that executes within the client computer system; associating a problem identifier with the problem; taking diagnostic steps, by the user, to diagnose the problem; automatically recording, by the agent into a script in the client computer system, the diagnostic steps as the diagnostic steps are taken by the user, the user not taking any action to have the diagnostic steps recorded; storing the problem identifier in the script; indicating, by the user to the agent, that the problem has been diagnosed; taking correction steps, by the user, to fix the problem; automatically recording, by the agent into the script, the correction steps as the correction steps are taken by the user, the user not taking any action to have the correction steps recorded; providing, by the user to the agent, an input to indicate whether the correction steps corrected the problem; responsive to the correction steps correcting the problem; automatically sending, by the agent, a solution to a server computer system, the solution including the correction steps and the problem identifier; responsive to the server computer system receiving the solution, searching, by the server computer system, a rules database that is included in the server computer system for a stored solution that includes the problem identifier; in response to locating the stored solution in the rules database in the server computer system, determining whether the stored solution includes stored correction steps that are the same as said correction steps; in response to the stored correction steps being different from the correction steps, identifying differences between the stored correction steps and the correction steps, and notifying a server computer system administrator about the differences; and responsive to the administrator approving an update, updating the stored solution to include said correction steps to form a second stored solution.