Method and system for impact analysis using a data model
View Patent ↗Systems and methods for determining the impact of an asset on an enterprise architecture using a data model are disclosed. These systems and methods may determine the impact of a particular asset on the enterprise architecture represented by the data model, where determination of the impact of any particular asset takes into account not only assets that depend directly on that particular asset, but assets that depend indirectly on that asset as well. Using the data model of the enterprise architecture, dependency chains for one or more components of the data model can be discovered and a dependency map created. Using impact ratings associated with relationships between components in the dependency chains of a particular component, the impact of that particular component both on another individual component, and aggregately on an environment, can be determined. These systems and methods may also allow the determination of the risk of a particular component.
1. A computerized method for determining an impact between two or more assets, comprising:
providing a system comprising:
a modeling computer comprising a computer-readable memory and a modeling module, wherein assets in an environment are represented by components in a data model in the modeling module, wherein each component in the data model is an instantiation of a component type stored in a reference model in the computer-readable memory, wherein associations between assets are represented by relationships in the data model in the modeling module, wherein each relationship is an instantiation of a relationship type stored in the reference model computer-readable memory ( 70 ) ( 53 ); and
an impact analyzing computer comprising a computer-readable memory and an impact analyzing module;
determining a beginning component in the data model for which an impact is to be determined;
identifying the component type in the reference model corresponding to the beginning component;
determining a target component type, wherein the target component type and the beginning component type are linked by one or more relationship types ( 74 );
traversing, using a graph traversal algorithm, the set of component types and relationship types stored in the reference model to identify all target component types and intervening target component types that have either a direct relationship or an indirect relationship with the beginning component type;
for each set of target component types and intervening target component types that has either a direct relationship or an indirect relationship with the beginning component type, analyzing the set of instantiated components and relationships in the data model to identify all chains of components containing the beginning component, the components of the target type, and any intervening components; and
generating a dependency map having a set of dependency chains, wherein each dependency chain identifies the beginning component, all components of the target component type, and all intervening components of a component type that are linked to the beginning component.
2. The method of claim 1 , wherein one or more relationships are directional relationships.
3. The method of claim 2 , wherein identifying all chains of components that are linked between the beginning component to components of the target type comprises identifying component types that depend on the beginning component type.
4. The method of claim 2 , wherein identifying all chains of components that are linked between the beginning component to components of the target type comprises identifying component types that depend from the beginning component type.
5. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
traversing, by the impact analyzing computer, the set of component types and relationship types to determine a target component type, wherein the target component type and the beginning component type are linked by one or more relationships.
6. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
receiving, by the impact analyzing computer, a target component type from a user, wherein the system is configured to determine all dependency chains between the starting component and components based on the target component type.
7. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
calculating a first impact rating for each dependency chain in the set of dependency chains; and
calculating a second impact rating of the starting component based on the first impact rating for each dependency chain in the set of dependency chains.
8. The method of claim 7 , wherein if the dependency map includes two dependency chains having the same starting component and target component, selecting the lower of the first impact rating and the second impact rating as the impact rating of the dependency chain.
9. The method of claim 8 , wherein executing the graph traversal algorithm may perform a first loop to determine the first level dependency chains except for originating first level dependencies and terminal first level dependencies and a second loop for determining the originating first level dependencies and terminal first level dependencies.
10. The method of claim 8 , wherein calculating the impact rating for a dependency chain comprises:
determining an impact rating associated with each relationship in the set of relationships; and
selecting the lowest impact rating of the impact ratings of in the set of relationships.
11. The method of claim 8 , wherein calculating the impact rating for a dependency chain comprises:
averaging the impact ratings of each of the relationships in the set of relationships.
12. A system for determining the impact of a first asset on a second asset, comprising:
a modeling computer comprising a first processor, a memory and computer-readable medium having code stored thereon for determining the impact of a first asset on a second asset, wherein the code is embodied within the computer readable medium, the code comprising instructions translatable for:
creating a reference model, wherein the reference model is composed of a logically structured taxonomy of component types, relationship types, cardinality constraints on relationships and property types;
creating a data model of an arbitrarily complex environment, wherein a component represents a logical or physical entity in the computing environment and wherein a relationship is a representation of a dependency between two or more components;
determining a beginning component in the data model for which an impact is to be determined;
identifying the component type in the reference model corresponding to the beginning component;
determining a target component type, wherein the target component type and the beginning component type are linked by one or more relationship types ( 74 );
traversing, using a graph traversal algorithm, the set of component types and relationship types stored in the reference model to identify all target component types and intervening target component types that have either a direct relationship or an indirect relationship with the beginning component type;
for each set of target component types and intervening target component types that has either a direct relationship or an indirect relationship with the beginning component type, analyzing the set of instantiated components and relationships in the data model to identify all chains of components containing the beginning component, the components of the target type, and any intervening components; and
generating a dependency map having a set of dependency chains, wherein each dependency chain identifies the beginning component, all components of the target component type, and all intervening components of a component type that are linked to the beginning component.
13. The computer readable storage medium of claim 12 , wherein one or more relationships are directional relationships.
14. The computer readable medium of claim 13 , wherein identifying all chains of components that are linked between the beginning component to components of the target type comprises identifying component types that depend on the beginning component type.
15. The computer readable medium of claim 13 , wherein calculating the first impact rating for a dependency chain comprises:
identifying all chains of components that are linked between the beginning component to components of the target type comprises identifying component types that depend from the beginning component type.
16. The computer readable medium of claim 12 , further comprising:
traversing, by the impact analyzing computer, the set of component types and relationship types to determine a target component type, wherein the target component type and the beginning component type are linked by one or more relationships.
17. The computer readable medium of claim 16 , further comprising:
receiving, by the impact analyzing computer, a target component type from a user, wherein the system is configured to determine all dependency chains between the starting component and components based on the target component type.
18. A computer readable medium having code for determining the overall impact of an asset, wherein the code is embodied within computer readable medium, the code comprising instructions translatable for:
creating a reference model, wherein the reference model is composed of a logically structured taxonomy of component types, relationship types, cardinality constraints on relationships and property types;
creating a data model of an arbitrarily complex environment, wherein a component represents a logical or physical entity in the computing environment and wherein a relationship is a representation of a dependency between two or more components;
determining a beginning in the data model for which an impact is to be determined;
identifying the component type in the reference model corresponding to the beginning component;
determining a target component type, wherein the target component type and the beginning component type are linked by one or more relationship types ( 74 ):
traversing, using a graph traversal algorithm, the set of component types and relationship types stored in the reference model to identify all target component types and intervening target component types that have either a direct relationship or an indirect relationship with the beginning component type;
for each set of target component types and intervening target component types that has either a direct relationship or an indirect relationship with the beginning component type, analyzing the set of instantiated components and relationships in the data model to identify all chains of components containing the beginning component, the components of the target type, and any intervening components; and
generating a dependency map having a set of dependency chains, wherein each dependency chain identifies the beginning component, all components of the target component type, and all intervening components of a component type that are linked to the beginning component.
19. The computer readable medium of claim 18 , wherein one or more relationships are directional relationships.
20. The computer readable medium of claim 19 , wherein creating a reference model and creating a data model comprises:
defining a plurality of types of data structures in the reference model, wherein each of the data structures comprises one or more fields or properties associated with the data structure, wherein all data structures of the same type contain the same properties;
instantiating a component for each asset in the environment, wherein each component has a set of fields which contain information relating to the asset associated with the component, wherein the set of fields comprises:
a set of property fields containing information about the attributes or characteristics of the component; and
a field that contains a link to its component type in the reference model;
assigning values to the properties in the instantiated component based on the attributes of the asset which the component was instantiated to represent;
instantiating a relationship for representing an association or a dependency between two or more components, wherein each relationship comprises;
a field that is a foreign key to its relationship type; and
a set of property fields containing information about one or more of the attributes of the relationship, wherein instantiating a relationship comprises assigning values to the properties in the component based on the attributes of the asset which the component was instantiated to represent; and
storing the components in the data model, wherein property definitions of each component are linked to a type of component, wherein changes made to the type of component are automatically associated with all components of that type of component without changing the schema to reflect a corresponding change in the arbitrarily complex environment, wherein the schema is implemented in a database.