EMS FAQ Frequently Asked Questions about Exception Management Systems Specific to the Intellectual Property Management Database Environment prepared by PRF Brown Winluck Pty Ltd Information Technology Management & Engineering Services
Web Publication by Mountain Man Graphics, Australia

EMS FAQ

0. Introduction

This list of Frequently Asked Questions (and answers) has been complied in relation to Exception Management Systems as I have engineered and constructed them in a variety of organisational environments.

The following EMS FAQ relates specifically to the Intellectual Property Management environment (ie: Patent & Trade Mark Attorney practice), but may be generalised at some later date to the broader description of EMS software in general.

Comments are welcomed.
Best of wishes,

PRF Brown
Winluck Pty Ltd
Falls Creek, NSW
Australia


1. What is an EMS?

An EMS or Exception Management System is a system whereby an extendable number of specialised data integrity exception checks are routinely made against the intellectual property (IP) management database.

2. What is the object of running an EMS?

An EMS will identify IP cases which have related data elements that do not satisfy basic (internal) rules of IP management, and will highlight such cases by recording the unique internal reference ID, along with the date and time of the failed integrity exception check.

One object of running an EMS is to identify cases which have database problems of varying degrees, so that this data might be corrected, and disappear from subsequent runs of the EMS.

3. Will an EMS identify data entry errors?

If an EMS has been configured to check specific dates which are reliant upon other dates, or fomatting of numbers or names, and an error is made in the data entry of one of these specific dates, or formatting of numbers or names, then the EMS will identify such errors.

4. Will an EMS identify software application errors?

The EMS routinely checks specific critical date relationships and deadlines, and the integrity of any or all business rules established by the IP management software in an independent fashion. Production exceptions which have been identified at some sites have been traced to ad hoc and/or systematic errors in the functionality, operation or administration of the host IP management application.

Others exceptions identified have been traced to a root cause of an operational failure, or an often unnoticed slippage in a usually stable automated task.

5. Is the EMS restricted to internal database fields?

No. The EMS can and has been configured to incorporate external data associated with those properties in the firm’s portfolio which are held at the local (national) government Intellectual Property Office (IPO), provided that in the local country, the IPO will supply this data on request, in some e-format.

This external check is thus in respect of all local patents, trade marks and designs in respect of any international IP Attorney practice. Local and/or International IPO data is imported into the EMS as at the currency date of its publication at that Office.

This data in itself can be used with appropriate qualification of these specific currency dates, for some time alongside the firm’s IP database, in the identification of a number of data integrity exceptions.

6. How does the EMS report problem data?

The EMS will record all instances of failed exception checks on a routine basis. Presentation of this data of course can be adapted according to environmental requirements at the production site (eg: email, intranet, paper reports, etc).

However in this documentation I have used simple screen dumps from the LittleSteps application, which has been configured to examine the data held in the EMS data results:



By selecting the appropriate EMS task for detailed enquiry, an operator will open up a listing of the properties which have this same condition detected in the last EMS run.

In the IP Attorney environment the EMS is usually configured to run on a weekly basis, however this is all site determinable.

7. What is the EMS LittleSteps?

LittleSteps is software product engineered, sold and distributed by Winluck Pty Ltd. Essentially it is a universal data browser, data analysis and data presentation tool in its association with the EMS.

8. Should there be data correction of EMS identified cases?

YES, ASAP. There should be expected in the initial implementation of the EMS that a large number of problem data will rise to the surface for examination and review, and ultimately, correction within the practice’s production IP database.

Although this initial work will appear large, once the data has been corrected as a once-off review, all such cases should automatically disappear off the subsequent run of the EMS.

9. Should exceptions be blindly fixed?

NO. The IT Attorney practice administration needs to know why the exception has appeared, and thus its ultimate cause. A certain class of exception conditions will reveal weaknesses i n the controls or set-ups of the IP application in use.

Once this weakness is identifed and corrected, this class of exceptions will cease to arise. Consequently, the EMS followup must be two-pronged.

One effort needs to be applied to the exception data, while a second more analytical approach needs to applied to determine the cause of subsequent reappearance.

10. Can the EMS examine logged event data?

YES. Below is a presentation of sample case specific event history data presented at Level 3 of this EMS demonstration. This historical (and/or logging) information is that for the case which was selected in the previous screen.

Reference to this resource if available is often useful in further problem resolution



11. Is the EMS an automated system?

YES, of course. Once EMS tasks have been registered and implemented they will continue to be applied to the database on all subsequent regenerations of the EMS. The EMS represents an extendable series of intellectual property environment exception checks.

Long term stability of the data integrity environment can be achieved by exhaustively specifying exception conditions as individual EMS tasks. This practice should be a mandatory followup for all cases found during the course of business to be in an exception state. ie: Are there any more in this state?

12. Is there a preferred EMS databased platform?

YES. As at July 2002, the automated EMS has been successfully evolved for the Microsoft SQLServer RDBMS. Product development will soon move to the Oracle and DB2 (IBM) database products, as outlined elsewhere, in the Software Index. See also further regarding options available for IP Attorney practices who currently use another database application.

13. What EMS tasks relate to external IP Office data?

There are a standard series of data comparison tasks capable of being defined within the EMS that relate the local national (or indeed any international) IPO data to the corresponding records in the application database.

The following set of EMS tasks is an initial sample series prepared for this EMS_FAQ, is an Australian portfolio and is being compared to IP Australia data (Patent Office, Trade Mark Office and Design Office -- all consolidated):



NOTE: The implementation of such EMS tasks is obviously dependent upon whether the government IPO is able to furnish the practice’s portfolios in e-format.

14. Does the EMS log historical information?

YES. The EMS can retain the exception data in order to reveal long term trends in the appearance or disappearance of exception conditions being associated with identified property cases.

Over a period of time dependent upon resources available and the extent of probematic cases, the effective data correction of such cases should result in the dropping of EMS statistics across the board.

15. Is the EMS infallible?

Nothing appears to be infallible. On the other hand, everything today is amenable to automated exception checking. As a result, this grey area between the white and the black needs to be gauged by a measure of the proactive steps taken to ensure an optimum level of data integrity is realised.

These steps can be incrementally taken by an IP Attorney practice. Attending to known exception conditions, and ensuring that they do not exist in an automated fashion is closer to being infallible, than hoping exceptions do not exist.



NOTE: The LittleSteps functionality in its sorting by click on any column in the data set presented by a defined SQL stored procedure, itself modifiable instantaneously without any form of program change.

The ability to sort large datasets brings the obvious problem cases to the top of the list, as is the example above, with excessively futuristic next renewal dates.

16. What should be the expected output of an EMS run?

Nothing. At some stage you will have attended to all defined exception conditions and the EMS will run and it will detect absolutely no cases one week. Unfortunately, a modern database of scale is an evolving thing, and data changes, legislation changes, hardware and software platforms change, and the EMS will remain to detect the re-appearance of exception conditions.

Large scale automation cannot be successfully achieved without first achieving a good handle on the data integrity environment, and the EMS is the tool to do this.

17. How are new exceptions reported to the EMS?

On a day to day basis, it may come to the attention of staff that certain cases are not being reflected accurately within the IP database, and/or that system generated output is incorrect in various ways, etc.

It is vitally important that the occurrence of serious database problems be reported to the IT Section, as an immediate check of the entire database for other cases in the same condition can be effected.

As a necessary followup, the new exception check would then be included as a new EMS task, and would thus be run as a routine ever-present check.

18. How are new exceptions registered within the EMS?

Here is an overview of the process to place a new EMS task within the automated schedule after the implementation is complete.

This process is in most situations handled by the IT section, specifically a database administrator (DBA).

• 1. Registration of the task within the EMS.
• 2. Creation of a corresponding SQL database stored procedure.
• 3. Inclusion of this stored procedure in the EMS Regen (nb: n/a)

Technical documentation is for the administration of the EMS is provided.

19. Is this EMS for all international IP applications?

YES. The EMS can be successfully configured to examine the database of any and/or all 2002 Intellectual Property management applications. These include, but are not restricted to CPI, CPA, InProma, PASS and a number of inhouse packages.

The EMS operates from first principals, and in a completely independent fashion from the host IP management application.

Obviously, the EMS requires adjustment between IP Attorney practices running different software, but this would be part of the implementation of the EMS for that site. Practices can also run the same software but have different control setups, requiring specific EMS tasks to be established according to the database environment.

20. Is the EMS a once-off IP Attorney practice review?

NO. The EMS is an automated queue of identified exception instances evident in the applications database on a weekly (or otherwise specified) schedule. The EMS is an immediate asset to the IP practice in the ledger of database integrity.

As time progresses the value of the EMS is ever increasing without effort, because it is an automated system. On the other hand, when effort is applied to the development of the IP database EMS, its value increases substantially.

21. What tasks preface establishment of an EMS?

The major tasks associated with the proper establishment of an automated EMS within any IP Attorney practice, large or small, irrespective of international location, are the preliminary analyses required to identify practice-specific data relationships.

There are also the three issues of

• 1. the current condition of database integrity,
• 2. the type of IP management software being used (configuration settings, complexity) .
• 3. the corresponding historical issues associated with the database.

22. How long does it take to establish an EMS?

The typical implementation time for a site with a reasonable level of data integrity, with an IP Management application of medium complexity is in the order of a few weeks.

The size of the portfolio is not an issue to the EMS. For practices with less complex data relationships the implementation is correspondingly reduced.

A further few days should then be allowed for three important issues:

• 1. the quality assurance of the automated EMS tasks established.
• 2. Training of key operators in the use of the EMS Data Browser
• 3. Training of IT (DBAs) on how to extend the EMS task series.

23. What are the component costs of an EMS?

There are three components of cost to the implementation of an EMS:
• 1. Preliminary analysis of the IP database and identification of any data integrity issues specific to it. The preparation of scripts by which a site-specific automated EMS will operate. This type of work is typically quoted at rate of $150-$200 per hour.

• 2. Cost of the LittleSteps Browser: LittleSteps, the EMS data browser comes preconfigured to the EMS in accordance to the analysis performed above, and specific to the IP database as established for the practice.

  LittleSteps can also be configured to present an endless range of realtime data from the IP Management database to any and/or all organisational groups or individual operators on the database network.

  The current base cost of the LittleSteps EMS Data Browser is obtainable on the corresponding product information page at this website.

• 3. Reimbursement of any travelling time and costs (from Australia) if a site visit is necessary.

26. What is a ballpark estimate cost for an EMS?

It is a WIN-WIN estimate, and may be calculated from the table below. You will need to make two separate assessments. The first will be to rate the state of your IP database integrity. The second will be to rate the sophistication of your IP Practice management application. This ballpark estimate reflects the number of weeks of analysis required to implement an EMS:

.

Database Integrity		Database schema Sophistication
Rating
                     	Complex	Mid-Range	Simple

Excellent	            2-3	    1-2	        1
Good	                3	    2	        1
Medium                  4	    3	        2
Bad	                    5	    4	        3

TABLE 1: Shows the estimated number of weeks to implement an EMS given that the assessment of the current level of database integrity, and the current sophistication of the database schema is appropriate. (July 2002)

An example costing for a database where the level of integrity is medium and where the database is not complex, yet not simple, would be three weeks at $150.00 per hour, and could thus be in the vicinity of AU$15,000.

Add the base cost of the EMS data browser to arrive at the total estimate (not including GST if this is indeed applicable to your international practice).

This estimate does not include travel time and costs if required, or the small Quality Assurance phase to complete handover of the product to your practice, and is provided in the spirit of ball park estimates.

As indicated in the table, this estimate is a function largely of two parameters. If in the above example, your database was still classified mid-range, but the level of your existent data integrity was rated good, in lieu of medium, then the estimate would reduce to substantially.

Note that this is independent of portfolio size (unless handling and processing times are an issue) and is appropriate in both the generalised aspect of IP EMS tasks (ie: IP deadline dates, IP date relationships, etc) and the specific aspect of site-dependent integrity exception checks (eg: where prior analysis has revealed a weakness in specific areas of the IP database).

The one-off cost of this automated product may in fact represent an exceeding sound investment towards ensuring an optimum level of your practice’s database integrity --- for many financial years.

The estimate is win-win due to the fact that the assessment of the database integrity rating will invariable move towards excellent if, and as soon as, the EMS is harnessed effectively for your practice environment.

27. Will the EMS reduce PI costs?

Perhaps it will not. However Professional Indemnity brokers in the IP Attorney practice field have a high regard for automated intelligent environment specific exception management systems taking a front-of-line control of the simple, and not so simple, known possible IP database exception conditions.

28. Can an EMS be installed remotely?

YES. An EMS can be engineered specific to the IP Attorney practice database environment offsite, using only a copy of the database. This may be sent by laptop or by CD or via a pre-arranged FTP site, and the preliminary analysis performed offsite.

Necessary system documentation and local knowledge, if required, can be exchanged via email. The instal of the EMS and EMS Data Browser can also be effected via remote connectivity at a prearranged time, as can the quality assurance phase and handover.

29. How can a site-specific EMS be installed remotely?

14 years experience in Intellectual Property Management Database application software systems environment in the capacity of a manager and engineer, has provided the necessary resources to enable IP database analyses to be refined to a high degree.

Knowing the technical detail of the IP management environment, an extensive and efficient toolkit of integrity exception testing mechanisms have been developed, as have many specialist automation products.

30. Does an EMS have be automated?

NO. Automation is standard, and recommended, but not mandatory.

IP Attorney practices may choose to provide their database periodically for checking, rather than implementing the automated EMS. All 2002 proprietory database packages are able to be imported directly or indirectly via export tools, into SQLServer. Costings on this option will be supplied on request.

31. Is an EMS appropriate if data integrity is bad?

YES, of course.. An EMS is the only systematic mechanism for approaching large scale data integrity issues, and in fact is mandatory for such an environment. An EMS is also highly desireable in a development environment where new software application releases are being installed.

In this environment it will function as an indicator of increased data integrity issues.

32. Can existing exception reports be part of the EMS?

Very easily ... Those practices which have already pro-actively established some form of exception reporting system are able to register their own site-specific and historically developed checks within the automated EMS after the implementation is delivered.

Conversely, any and/or all such historically developed exception reports can be provided prior to implementation, and established from the outset, within the delivered automated EMS.

In any event, the EMS is designed to be incrementally extendable by the IT Staff at the IP Attorney practice, for such is the requirement of the changing environment.

33. Are any upgrade costs associated with the EMS?

The are NO mandatory upgrade costs ... However new and appropriate IP database integrity exception checks are constantly being created, some of them very valuable. When the EMS is delivered, the IP Attorney practice (or indeed corporate IP Bureau practice) will be supplied with the latest series of their IP-Database-Specific EMS tasks.

At periodic intervals further releases of expanded EMS tasks will be available upon subscription to this service, as will be further analysis tasks, if required.

41. What are the contact details for further info?

E-Mail:	    prfbrown@bigpond.com

POSTAL:		Winluck Pty Ltd
     		Information Technology Managers & Engineers
     		PO Box 194, Huskisson,
     		NSW 2540, Australia


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