Patent ID: 8121874

Claim:
A method comprising: displaying, through a display adapter by a processor, a pictorial representation of an existing system including a plurality of components; identifying, from the plurality of components, a first component group containing additional components and a second component group containing optional components, the additional components being required for an implementation of a system, the optional components being optional for the implementation of the system; compiling, by the processor, an ordered listing of the additional components for implementation into the existing system, the ordered listing providing an order that is required for installing the plurality of components; determining, by the processor, a first set of the additional components for implementation in a first implementation phase; determining, by the processor, a second set of the additional components for implementation in a second implementation phase, the first set being implemented before the second set can be implemented; modifying, through the display adapter by the processor, the pictorial representation of the existing system to show a pictorial representation of the first set being indicia coded to indicate that they are to be delivered in the first implementation phase; modifying, through the display adapter by the processor, the pictorial representation of the existing system to show a pictorial representation of the second set being indicia coded in a manner different from the indicia coding of the first set to indicate that the second set of components is to be delivered in the second implementation phase; and indicia coding a component in the plurality of components to indicate a redundancy in the plurality of components, the redundancy indicating more than one vendor is providing said component.