Patent Document ID: 8677340
Application ID: 12652306
Patent Flag: 1

Claim One:
1. A computer-implemented method of planning and optimizing information technology (IT) infrastructure transformations, the computer implemented method comprising: creating a predictive effort estimation model for transforming an existing IT infrastructure into a transformed IT infrastructure, wherein transforming the existing IT infrastructure comprises replacing legacy applications; emulating an introduction of a new application into the existing IT infrastructure through a use of a decision tree for transformation path determination to create a transformation path emulation; emulating a use of a software factory for introducing the new application into the existing IT infrastructure to create a software factory use emulation for creating the transformed IT infrastructure; accurizing the predictive effort estimation model with results from the transformation path emulation and the software factory use emulation to create an accurized transformed IT infrastructure model; determining, by one or more processors, a Prediction of Effort (POE) for optimizing the existing IT infrastructure based on a formula: 
 (POE)=Σ( Cl ×KLOC)+( Cs ×System Interfaces)+( Cc ×COTS)+( Co ×OS Gap Factor)+( Cn ×Nodes)+ K ,where: Cl=a first weighting value for a first parameter, wherein the first parameter is Kilo-Lines Of Code (KLOC), wherein KLOC describes a quantity of lines of code used in applications in the existing IT infrastructure; Cs=a second weighting value for a second parameter, wherein the second parameter is System Interfaces, wherein the System Interfaces describe a quantity of system interfaces that are required between legacy software in the existing IT infrastructure and other software modules in the existing IT infrastructure; Cc=a third weighting value for a third parameter, wherein the third parameter is Commercial Off The Shelf (COTS), wherein COTS describes a quantity of COTS packages to be used to create the physical transformed IT infrastructure; Co=a fourth weighting value for a fourth parameter, wherein the fourth parameter is an Operating System (OS) Gap Factor, wherein the OS Gap Factor describes a level of difference between a legacy OS used in the existing IT infrastructure and a new OS used in the physical transformed IT infrastructure; Cn=fifth weighting value for a fifth parameter, wherein the fifth parameter is Nodes, wherein Nodes describes a quantity of object class nodes used in legacy software used in the existing IT infrastructure and the new application used in the physical transformed IT infrastructure; and K=a normalizer value that represents an initially predicted fixed cost component of any software transformation process that is similar to transforming the existing IT infrastructure into the physical transformed IT infrastructure; and wherein each of the first, second, third, fourth, and fifth weighting values represents a relative importance of the respective first, second, third, fourth, and fifth parameters when transforming the existing IT infrastructure into the physical transformed IT infrastructure; and deploying a physical transformed IT infrastructure using the accurized transformed IT infrastructure model to physically transform the existing IT infrastructure.