IP Library Granted Patent US 7,383,240
Granted Patent B2
US 7,383,240 · App. 10/308,333 · Granted Jun 3, 2008

Operationalizing a goal

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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 7,383,240
App. No.
10/308,333
Granted
Jun 3, 2008
Kind
B2
Abstract

Operationalizing a goal includes receiving the goal and execution rules associated with the goal, where one or more execution rules correspond to an execution system operable to initiate execution of the execution rules. The goal is represented in a representation language that includes a set of operations. An operation of the set of operations is applied to the goal to partition the goal into subgoals. For each subgoal, an operation of the set of operations is applied to the subgoal to derive and configure one or more execution rules associated with the subgoal. The goals, the applied operations, the subgoals, and the execution rules are recorded as operationalized knowledge to operationalize the goal.

Claims (118)

1. A method for operationalizing a goal, comprising:

receiving the goal and a plurality of execution rules associated with the goal, each execution rule corresponding to an execution system for initiating execution of the execution rule;

representing the goal in a representation language comprising a set of operations;

applying an operation of the set of operations to the goal to partition the goal into a plurality of subgoals;

responsive to a determination that a foreign goal exists, introducing the foreign goal as a subgoal, the foreign goal being independent of application of an operation of the set of operations to the goal;

for each subgoal, applying an operation of the set of operations to the subgoal to derive and configure an execution rule associated with the subgoal;

recording the goals, the applied operations, the subgoals, and the execution rules as operationalized knowledge to operationalize the goal:

receiving a goal modification associated with the goal: and

propagating the goal modification from the goal to the subgoals according to the operationalized knowledge to determine a subgoal modification associated with a specific subgoal.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein:

representing the goal in the representation language comprises assigning a value to a goal parameter associated with the goal;

applying an operation of the set of operations to the goal to partition the goal into the subgoals comprises, for each subgoal, determining a value for a subgoal parameter associated with the subgoal in accordance with the operation and the value of the goal parameter; and

applying an operation of the set of operations to the subgoal to configure an execution rule associated with the subgoal comprises, for each execution rule, determining a value for an execution rule parameter associated with the execution rule in accordance with the operation and the value of the subgoal parameter.

3. The method of claim 1 , further comprising notifying each execution system of the configured execution rule associated with the execution system.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein applying an operation of the set of operations to the goal to partition the goal into the subgoals comprises:

identifying an operation previously applied to the goal; and

applying to the goal the operation previously applied to the goal.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein applying an operation of the set of operations to the goal to partition the goal into the subgoals comprises:

identifying an operation that optimizes the goal; and

applying the operation that optimizes the goal to the goal.

6. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

propagating the subgoal modification from the specific subgoal to its associated execution rule according to the operationalized knowledge to determine an execution rule modification associated with the execution rule.

7. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

propagating the subgoal modification from the specific subgoal to its associated execution rule according to the operationalized knowledge to determine an execution rule modification associated with the execution rule; and

notifying the execution system associated with the execution rule of the execution rule modification.

8. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

receiving performance data corresponding to an execution rule; and

determining performance data corresponding to a subgoal associated with the execution rule according to the operationalized knowledge.

9. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

receiving performance data corresponding to an execution rule;

determining performance data corresponding to a subgoal associated with the execution rule according to the operationalized knowledge; and

determining performance data corresponding to the goal according to the operationalized knowledge.

10. A system for operationalizing a goal, comprising:

a database operable to store the goal and a plurality of execution rules associated with the goal, each execution rule corresponding to an execution system for initiating execution of the execution rule; and

a server system coupled to the database and operable to:

represent the goal in a representation language comprising a set of operations;

apply an operation of the set of operations to the goal to partition the goal into a plurality of subgoals;

responsive to a determination that a foreign goal exists, introduce the foreign goal as a subgoal, the foreign goal being independent of application of an operation of the set of operations to the goal;

for each subgoal, apply an operation of the set of operations to the subgoal to derive and configure an execution rule associated with the subgoal; and

record the goals, the applied operations, the subgoals, and the execution rules as operationalized knowledge to operationalize the goal;

receive a goal modification associated with the goal; and

propagate the goal modification from the goal to the subgoals according to the operationalized knowledge to determine a subgoal modification associated with a specific subgoal.

11. The system of claim 10 , wherein the server system is operable to:

represent the goal in the representation language by assigning a value to a goal parameter associated with the goal;

apply an operation of the set of operations to the goal to partition the goal into the subgoals by, for each subgoal, determining a value for a subgoal parameter 20 associated with the subgoal in accordance with the operation and the value of the goal parameter; and

apply an operation of the set of operations to the subgoal to configure an execution rule associated with the subgoal by, for each execution rule, determining a value for an execution rule parameter associated with the execution rule in accordance with the operation and the value of the subgoal parameter.

12. The system of claim 10 , wherein the server system is operable to notify each execution system of the configured execution rule associated with the execution system.

13. The system of claim 10 , wherein the server system is operable to apply an operation of the set of operations to the goal to partition the goal into the subgoals by:

identifying an operation previously applied to the goal; and

applying to the goal the operation previously applied to the goal.

14. The system of claim 10 , wherein the server system is operable to apply an operation of the set of operations to the goal to partition the goal into the subgoals by:

identifying an operation that optimizes the goal; and

applying the operation that optimizes the goal to the goal.

15. The system of claim 10 , wherein the server system is operable to:

propagate the subgoal modification from the specific subgoal to its associated execution rule according to the operationalized knowledge to determine an execution rule modification associated with the execution rule.

16. The system of claim 10 , wherein the server system is operable to:

propagate the subgoal modification from the specific subgoal to its associated execution rule according to the operationalized knowledge to determine an execution rule modification associated with the execution rule; and

notify the execution system associated with the execution rule of the execution rule modification.

17. The system of claim 10 , wherein the server system is operable to:

receive performance data corresponding to an execution rule; and

determine performance data corresponding to a subgoal associated with the execution rule according to the operationalized knowledge.

18. The system of claim 10 , wherein the server system is operable to:

receive performance data corresponding to an execution rule;

determine performance data corresponding to a subgoal associated with the execution rule according to the operationalized knowledge; and

determine performance data corresponding to the goal according to the operationalized knowledge.

19. Software for operationalizing a goal, the software embodied in a computer-readable medium and, when executed on a computer system comprising one or more processing units and one or more memory units, operable to:

receive the goal and a plurality of execution rules associated with the goal, each execution rule corresponding to an execution system for initiating execution of the execution rule;

represent the goal in a representation language comprising a set of operations;

apply an operation of the set of operations to the goal to partition the goal into a plurality of subgoals;

responsive to a determination that a foreign goal exists, introduce the foreign goal as a subgoal, the foreign goal being independent of application of an operation of the set of operations to the goal;

for each subgoal, apply an operation of the set of operations to the subgoal to derive and configure an execution rule associated with the subgoal; and

record the goals, the applied operations, the subgoals, and the execution rules as operationalized knowledge to operationalize the goal:

receive a goal modification associated with the goal: and

propagate the goal modification from the goal to the subgoals according to the operationalized knowledge to determine a subgoal modification associated with a specific subgoal.

20. The software of claim 19 , operable to:

represent the goal in the representation language by assigning a value to a goal parameter associated with the goal;

apply an operation of the set of operations to the goal to partition the goal into the subgoals by, for each subgoal, determining a value for a subgoal parameter associated with the subgoal in accordance with the operation and the value of the goal parameter; and

apply an operation of the set of operations to the subgoal to configure an execution rule associated with the subgoal by, for each execution rule, determining a value for an execution rule parameter associated with the execution rule in accordance with the operation and the value of the subgoal parameter.

21. The software of claim 19 , operable to notify each execution system of the configured execution rule associated with the execution system.

22. The software of claim 19 , operable to apply an operation of the set of operations to the goal to partition the goal into the subgoals by:

identifying an operation previously applied to the goal; and

applying to the goal the operation previously applied to the goal.

23. The software of claim 19 , operable to apply an operation of the set of operations to the goal to partition the goal into the subgoals by:

identifying an operation that optimizes the goal; and

applying the operation that optimizes the goal to the goal.

24. The software of claim 19 , operable to:

propagate the subgoal modification from the specific subgoal to its associated execution rule according to the operationalized knowledge to determine an execution rule modification associated with the execution rule.

25. The software of claim 19 , operable to:

propagate the subgoal modification from the specific subgoal to its associated execution rule according to the operationalized knowledge to determine an execution rule modification associated with the execution rule; and

notify the execution system associated with the execution rule of the execution rule modification.

26. The software of claim 19 , operable to:

receive performance data corresponding to an execution rule; and

determine performance data corresponding to a subgoal associated with the execution rule according to the operationalized knowledge.

27. The software of claim 19 , operable to:

receive performance data corresponding to an execution rule;

determine performance data corresponding to a subgoal associated with the execution rule according to the operationalized knowledge; and

determine performance data corresponding to the goal according to the operationalized knowledge.

28. A system for generating an optimized supplier allocation plan, comprising:

means for receiving a goal and a plurality of execution rules associated with the goal, each execution rule corresponding to an execution system for initiating execution of the execution rule;

means for representing the goal in a representation language comprising a set of operations;

means for applying an operation of the set of operations to the goal to partition the goal into a plurality of subgoals;

responsive to a determination that a foreign goal exists, means for introducing the foreign goal as a subgoal, the foreign goal being independent of application of an operation of the set of operations to the goal;

for each subgoal, means for applying an operation of the set of operations to the subgoal to derive and configure an execution rule associated with the subgoal;

means for recording the goals, the applied operations, the subgoals, and the execution rules as operationalized knowledge to operationalize the goal:

means for receiving a goal modification associated with the goal: and

means for propagating the goal modification from the goal to the subgoals according to the operationalized knowledge to determine a subgoal modification associated with a specific subgoal.

29. A method for generating an optimized supplier allocation plan, comprising:

receiving a goal and a plurality of execution rules associated with the goal, each execution rule corresponding to an execution system for initiating execution of the execution rule;

representing the goal in a representation language comprising a set of operations by assigning a value to a goal parameter associated with the goal;

identifying an operation of the set of operations that optimizes the goal;

applying the operation that optimizes the goal to the goal to partition the goal into a plurality of subgoals by, for each subgoal, determining a value for a subgoal parameter associated with the subgoal in accordance with the operation and the value of the goal parameter;

introducing a foreign goal as a subgoal, the foreign goal being independent of application of an operation of the set of operations to the goal;

for each subgoal, applying an operation of the set of operations to the subgoal to derive and configure an execution rule associated with the subgoal by, for each execution rule, determining a value for an execution rule parameter associated with the execution rule in accordance with the operation and the value of the subgoal parameter;

recording the goals, the applied operations, the subgoals, and the execution rules as operationalized knowledge to operationalize the goal, and notifying each execution system of the configured execution rule associated with the execution system;

receiving a goal modification associated with the goal, and propagating the goal modification from the goal to the subgoals according to the operationalized knowledge to determine a subgoal modification associated with a specific subgoal;

propagating the subgoal modification from the specific subgoal to its associated execution rule according to the operationalized knowledge to determine an execution rule modification associated with the execution rule;

notifying the execution system associated with the execution rule of the execution rule modification; and

receiving performance data corresponding to an execution rule, and determining performance data corresponding to a subgoal associated with the execution rule according to the operationalized knowledge, and determining performance data corresponding to the goal according to the operationalized knowledge.

Assignments (17)
RELEASE OF SECURITY INTEREST IN PATENTS PREVIOUSLY RECORDED AT REEL/FRAME (053383/0117) Recorded Nov 3, 2021
From: U.S. BANK NATIONAL ASSOCIATION, AS COLLATERAL AGENT
To: BLUE YONDER GROUP, INC.
Reel/Frame 058794/0776 →
RELEASE OF SECURITY INTEREST Recorded Sep 16, 2021
From: JPMORGAN CHASE BANK, N.A.
To: BLUE YONDER GROUP, INC.; BLUE YONDER, INC.; JDA SOFTWARE SERVICES, INC.; I2 TECHNOLOGIES INTERNATIONAL SERVICES, LLC; MANUGISTICS SERVICES, INC.; MANUGISTICS HOLDINGS DELAWARE II, INC.; REDPRAIRIE COLLABORATIVE FLOWCASTING GROUP, LLC; JDA SOFTWARE RUSSIA HOLDINGS, INC.; REDPRAIRIE SERVICES CORPORATION; BY BOND FINANCE, INC.; BY NETHERLANDS HOLDING, INC.; BY BENELUX HOLDING, INC.
Reel/Frame 057724/0593 →
CORRECTIVE ASSIGNMENT TO CORRECT THE REEL 026468 FRAME NUMBER FROM 0199 TO 0119 PREVIOUSLY RECORDED ON REEL 055136 FRAME 0623. ASSIGNOR(S) HEREBY CONFIRMS THE CORRECTION ASSIGNMENT. Recorded Apr 19, 2021
From: I2 TECHNOLOGIES US, INC.
To: JDA TECHNOLOGIES US, INC.
Reel/Frame 056813/0110 →
CORRECTIVE ASSIGNMENT TO CORRECT THE NAME OF THE CONVEYING AND RECEIVING PARTIES TO INCLUDE A PERIOD AFTER THE TERM INC PREVIOUSLY RECORDED AT REEL: 026740 FRAME: 0676. ASSIGNOR(S) HEREBY CONFIRMS THE ASSIGNMENT. Recorded Feb 8, 2021
From: JDA TECHNOLOGIES US, INC.
To: JDA SOFTWARE GROUP, INC.
Reel/Frame 055257/0747 →
CORRECTIVE ASSIGNMENT TO CORRECT THE NAME OF THE CONVEYING AND RECEIVING PARTIES TO INCLUDE A PERIOD AFTER THE TERM INC PREVIOUSLY RECORDED ON REEL 026468 FRAME 0199. ASSIGNOR(S) HEREBY CONFIRMS THE CHANGE OF NAME FROM I2 TECHNOLOGIES US, INC. TO JDA TECHNOLOGIES US, INC.. Recorded Dec 12, 2020
From: I2 TECHNOLOGIES US, INC.
To: JDA TECHNOLOGIES US, INC.
Reel/Frame 055136/0623 →
SECURITY AGREEMENT Recorded Aug 3, 2020
From: BLUE YONDER GROUP, INC.
To: U.S. BANK NATIONAL ASSOCIATION
Reel/Frame 053383/0117 →
CHANGE OF NAME Recorded Apr 14, 2020
From: JDA SOFTWARE GROUP, INC.
To: BLUE YONDER GROUP, INC.
Reel/Frame 052392/0604 →
SECURITY AGREEMENT Recorded Oct 12, 2016
From: RP CROWN PARENT, LLC; RP CROWN HOLDING LLC; JDA SOFTWARE GROUP, INC.
To: JPMORGAN CHASE BANK, N.A., AS COLLATERAL AGENT
Reel/Frame 040326/0449 →
RELEASE OF SECURITY INTEREST IN PATENTS AT REEL/FRAME NO. 29556/0697 Recorded Oct 12, 2016
From: CREDIT SUISSE AG, CAYMAN ISLANDS BRANCH
To: JDA SOFTWARE GROUP, INC.
Reel/Frame 040337/0053 →
RELEASE OF SECURITY INTEREST IN PATENTS AT REEL/FRAME NO. 29556/0809 Recorded Oct 12, 2016
From: CREDIT SUISSE AG, CAYMAN ISLANDS BRANCH
To: JDA SOFTWARE GROUP, INC.
Reel/Frame 040337/0356 →
FIRST LIEN PATENT SECURITY AGREEMENT Recorded Jan 2, 2013
From: JDA SOFTWARE GROUP, INC.
To: CREDIT SUISSE AG, CAYMAN ISLANDS BRANCH
Reel/Frame 029556/0697 →
FIRST LIEN PATENT SECURITY AGREEMENT Recorded Jan 2, 2013
From: JDA SOFTWARE GROUP, INC.
To: CREDIT SUISSE AG, CAYMAN ISLANDS BRANCH
Reel/Frame 029556/0809 →
RELEASE OF SECURITY INTEREST IN PATENT COLLATERAL Recorded Dec 21, 2012
From: WELLS FARGO CAPITAL FINANCE, LLC
To: JDA TECHNOLOGIES US, INC.
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ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Aug 12, 2011
From: JDA TECHNOLOGIES US, INC.
To: JDA SOFTWARE GROUP, INC.
Reel/Frame 026740/0676 →
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Jun 21, 2011
From: I2 TECHNOLOGIES US, INC
To: JDA TECHNOLOGIES US, INC
Reel/Frame 026468/0119 →
PATENT SECURITY AGREEMENT Recorded Apr 4, 2011
From: JDA TECHNOLOGIES US, INC.
To: WELLS FARGO CAPITAL FINANCE, LLC, AS AGENT
Reel/Frame 026072/0353 →
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Dec 2, 2002
From: MITAL, VIJAY; KUMAR, SANJAY; THOMAS, STANTON L.; BOWERS, WILLIAM L.
To: I2 TECHNOLOGIES US, INC.
Reel/Frame 013544/0589 →