Title: Governing the contract lifecycle: a framework for sequential configuration of loosely-coupled systems

Authors: Harumi Kuno, Kei Yuasa, Kannan Govindarajan, Kevin Smathers, Bernard Burg, Paul Carau, Kevin Wilkinson

Addresses: Hewlett-Packard Laboratories, 1501 Page Mill Road, Palo Alto, CA 94304, USA. ' Hewlett-Packard Laboratories, 1501 Page Mill Road, Palo Alto, CA 94304, USA. ' Hewlett-Packard Laboratories, 1501 Page Mill Road, Palo Alto, CA 94304, USA. ' Hewlett-Packard Laboratories, 1501 Page Mill Road, Palo Alto, CA 94304, USA. ' Hewlett-Packard Laboratories, 1501 Page Mill Road, Palo Alto, CA 94304, USA. ' HP Technology Solutions Group, 3404 E Harmony Rd., Fort Collins, CO 80528-9599, USA. ' Hewlett-Packard Laboratories, 1501 Page Mill Road, Palo Alto, CA 94304, USA

Abstract: Sequential configuration is a fundamental pattern that occurs when integrating systems that span domains and levels of abstraction. This task requires the integration of heterogeneous autonomous information systems, processes, and applications. We propose an extensible system for correlating sequential configurations across loosely-coupled systems. Our framework defines fundamental abstractions and interfaces that enable the implementation of domain-specific models. We build upon our framework to provide a suite of tools to support applications that manage the configuration lifecycle. Our implemented prototype application integrates the processes, tools, and data involved in the first two stages of the IT outsourced services contract lifecycle.

Keywords: outsourcing; service provisioning; enterprise systems; contract lifecycle; sequential configuration; loosely-coupled systems; information technology; IT services; abstractions; interfaces; domain-specific models.

DOI: 10.1504/IJCSE.2007.015742

International Journal of Computational Science and Engineering, 2007 Vol.3 No.2, pp.124 - 133

Published online: 11 Nov 2007 *

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