US 10,402,757 B1Granted

System and method for outsourcing projects

AssigneeDevFactory FZ-LLC

InventorsHemant Shah, Joseph A. Liemandt

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Abstract

A method, system, apparatus, and computer program product for efficiently outsourcing projects, such as software development projects, are presented. A business entity may precisely and succinctly define one or more requests for proposals (RFPs) using predefined service identifiers which specify discrete, short-term projects (e.g., 4 weeks or less) with fixed inputs and outputs and objective evaluation metrics which allow for each project to be evaluated using, for example, automated evaluation software tools. By posting RFPs on a web site, the business entity solicits bids from third party vendors to perform the project identified in the RFP. Since individual projects are identified with objective inputs, outputs, and evaluation metrics, vendors can bid on the project with minimal evaluation and speculation regarding the appropriate bidding price for the project. When a bid is accepted or awarded to a vendor, a contract for the project can be easily prepared using the identifying information for the winning bid, such as the timeline, price, and the specific service identified with the project. Such short timeline projects allow the projects to be concisely described, results returned quickly, shortened evaluation duration, and payment within a normal monthly cycle.

Claims20

Dependent claims

A computer-based method for configuring a computer system to utilize a digital data structure to implement a structured request for proposal to efficiently process software improvement projects for a first entity including efficiently generating requests for proposals and simplifying submission and automatic evaluation of the software improvement projects, the method comprising:

performing by a computer system programmed with code stored in a memory and executable by a processor of the computer system to transform the computer system into a machine for:
creating a digital data structure to implement a structured request for proposal to solicit bids from one or more vendor entities to perform a discrete software improvement project identified in the request for proposal, wherein the digital data structure includes fields to register a predefined service identifier which specifies the software improvement project to improve execution of software, fixed inputs and outputs, and predefined objective evaluation metrics, and the fields together with populated data allow an automated evaluation software tool to objectively evaluate the software improvement project;
distributing, to one or more computer systems in a network of computer systems, the digital data structure representing the structured request for proposal;
receiving and storing in electronic memory for access by the processor one or more bids from the one or more computer systems in the network of computer systems;
processing rules to automatically evaluate the software improvement project as represented in the digital data structure after submission in accordance with at least a subset of the objective evaluation metrics that coordinate with the digital data structure fields to determine if the software improvement project complies with the objective evaluation metrics and to identify a software improvement project that is determined to comply with the objective evaluation metrics;
and
transmitting selection of the software project that complies the objective evaluation metrics to cause the software project to be performed and modify the software and improve execution performance of the software.

4 more elements

A non-transitory, computer readable medium comprising code stored therein for configuring a computer system to utilize a digital data structure to implement a structured request for proposal to efficiently process software improvement projects for a first entity including efficiently generating requests for proposals and simplifying submission and automatic evaluation of the software improvement projects, wherein the code is executable by one or more first data processors to transform a computer system into a machine to:

create a digital data structure to implement a structured request for proposal to solicit bids from one or more vendor entities to perform a discrete software improvement project identified in the request for proposal, wherein the digital data structure includes fields to register a predefined service identifier which specifies the software improvement project to improve execution of software, fixed inputs and outputs, and predefined objective evaluation metrics, and the fields together with populated data allow an automated evaluation software tool to objectively evaluate the software improvement project;
distribute, to one or more computer systems in a network of computer systems, the digital data structure representing the structured request for proposal;
receive one or more bids from the one or more computer systems in the network of computer systems;
display bids and at least any associated bidding price submitted in response to the request for proposal document;
process rules to automatically evaluate the software improvement project as represented in the digital data structure after submission in accordance with at least a subset of the objective evaluation metrics that coordinate with the digital data structure fields to determine if the software improvement project complies with the objective evaluation metrics and to identify a software improvement project that is determined to comply with the objective evaluation metrics;
and
transmit selection of the software improvement project that complies the objective evaluation metrics to cause the software improvement project to be performed and modify the software and improve execution performance of the software.

4 more elements

A computer-based method for outsourcing software improvement projects, comprising:

performing by a computer system programmed with code stored in a memory and executable by a processor of the computer system to configuring the computer system to utilize a digital data structure to implement a structured request for proposal to efficiently process the software improvement projects for a first entity including efficiently generating requests for proposals and simplifying submission and automatic evaluation of the software improvement projects and transform the computer system into a machine for:
qualifying one or more specialist vendor entities in a specified service area;
creating a digital data structure to implement a structured request for proposal to solicit bids from one or more vendor entities to perform a discrete software improvement project identified in the request for proposal, wherein the digital data structure includes fields to register a predefined service identifier which specifies the software improvement project to improve execution of software, fixed inputs and outputs, and predefined objective evaluation metrics, and the fields together with populated data allow an automated evaluation software tool to objectively evaluate the software improvement project;
distributing, to one or more computer systems in a network of computer systems, the digital data structure representing the structured request for proposal;
receiving one or more bids from the one or more computer systems in the network of computer systems in response to the request for proposal;
displaying the one or more bids on a selection screen;
allowing a user of the computer system to award the software improvement project to a first vendor entity based on one or more acceptance criteria;
processing rules to automatically evaluate the software improvement project as represented in the digital data structure after submission in accordance with at least a subset of the objective evaluation metrics that coordinate with the digital data structure fields to determine if the software improvement project complies with the objective evaluation metrics and to identify a software improvement project that is determined to comply with the objective evaluation metrics;
and
transmitting selection of the software improvement project that complies the objective evaluation metrics to cause the software improvement project to be performed and modify the software and improve execution performance of the software.

7 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Facts

Application: 12/049,816Filed 17 Mar 2008 · us provisional application
Priority: 16 Mar 2007
Granted: 3 Sep 2019
Term ends: Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification8 codes

G06Q 10/063
Resources, workflows, human or project management; Enterprise or organisation planning; Enterprise or organisation modelling: operations research,…
G06F 8/70
Arrangements for software engineering: software maintenance or management
G06F 11/3616
Analysis of software for verifying properties of programs: using software metrics
G06F 11/3676
Test management: for coverage analysis