Method and apparatus for component plan analysis under uncertainty

US7877281B1 · kind B1 · utility

Assignee

• Microsoft Corporation · US

Inventors

• Pascal BENSOUSSAN · Stanford, US
• Paul Dagum · Los Altos Hills, US
• Adam Galper · San Francisco, US
• Michael Goldbach · Albany, US
• Balazs Kralik · Berkeley, US
• Vivek Prabhakar Vaidya · Bengaluru, IN

Key dates

• Filing date: Apr 2, 2008
• Grant date: Jan 25, 2011
• Expiry date: Aug 21, 2028

Classification

• Technology area (CPC G): Physics
• CPC primary: G06Q10/0637
• WIPO field: IT methods for management
• WIPO sector: Electrical engineering

Abstract

A representative implementation of a method begins when a planner captures assumptions about products and components in an entity called a “scenario.” A scenario is the parameterization of all the demand, financial, and operational information for a portfolio of products and components across a set of time buckets (planning periods). The planner then specifies a component plan to be analyzed, which identifies the quantities of each resource that will be used or procured during each planning period. A request for analysis includes one or more analysis parameters that will be used in order to evaluate the performance and the risks associated with the component plan and scenario. The request for analysis is submitted to an analysis engine for calculation of risk indicators. The analytical engine calculates all the performance indicators and returns the results. The results are then typically stored in a database or other persistent storage system.