Patent ID: 8650539

Claim:
A method for mapping a structure of a complex software product, comprising: implementing a plurality of functionalities in the complex software product, each functionality being formed by interaction of a plurality of executable program components associated with each functionality, the program components including one of a plurality of version levels; generating an at least three-dimensional system matrix, the system matrix having at least three axes representing at least a functionality variable, a program component variable, and a version level variable, at least one item of information from a further variable being stored for each of the plurality of program components in the version level variable, the further variable including each of, frequency of error in the program component from a particular version level, reference to a specification for the program component from a particular version level, the specification specifying requirements for the plurality of program components to meet, reference to test schedules for the development of new program components from a particular version level, and reference to documentation for the program component from a particular version level; mapping an association between the program components at their respective version level and the functionalities in the system matrix; using the system matrix to ascertain an existing customer configuration for the complex software product, the customer configuration being the complex software product usable by a customer; and transmitting the system matrix of the existing customer configuration to an external evaluation unit, where the transmitted system matrix is used to construct a test customer configuration identical to the existing customer configuration.