Patent ID: 8032620

Claim:
A method for managing a network of computer devices comprising the steps of: a. receiving a plurality of status messages from the network, wherein a status message includes a key performance indicator, wherein the key performance indicator is a variable, numerical value that correlates to a parameter of the network state, wherein said numerical value is descriptive of the network state; b. forming a current incident state when a status message indicates a problem with the network, wherein the current incident state contains a key management indicator that is a plurality of key performance indicators arranged according to a syntax; c. accessing an incident report from a library of previous incident reports, wherein an incident report stores information associated with an incident of the network, and wherein the information includes a key management indicator and a network action associated with the incident of the network, wherein said incident report further comprises automatically observed human initiated network action associated with the incident; d. calculating a similarity value based on a comparison of a key management indicator from the incident report from the library of previous incident reports to the key management indicator of the current incident state; e. identifying a similar incident report when the similarity value satisfies a similarity threshold requirement; f. selecting a network action from the similar incident report, wherein said network action is provided to an Automation Engine for automatic execution; g. executing the selected network action; h. compiling information of the current incident state and information of the selected network action into a current incident report; i. storing the current incident report in the library of previous incident reports; wherein step (d) calculating a similarity value and step (e) identifying a similar incident report comprise traversing a decision tree; testing key performance indicators of the current incident state at decision nodes of the decision tree; and identifying an incident report from the library of previous incident reports that satisfies a set degree of matching compared in execution of the decision tree, wherein said set degree of matching is variable; wherein step (d) includes comparing the key performance indicators of two key management indicators with a Boolean operator.