WO2010080367A2

WO2010080367A2 - Method and system for recommending policies

Info

Publication number: WO2010080367A2
Application number: PCT/US2009/067918
Authority: WO
Inventors: S. Ananth; R. Ramki
Original assignee: Motorola, Inc.
Priority date: 2008-12-18
Filing date: 2009-12-14
Publication date: 2010-07-15
Also published as: WO2010080367A3

Abstract

The present invention provides a method and system for recommending policies to a user. The method includes receiving (202) a policy specified by the user. The policy specified by the user corresponds to a set including an event, a condition, and an action (E-C-A). Further, the method includes determining (204) one or more alternate polices corresponding to the set including the E-C-A. The one or more alternate policies are determined on the basis of a set of predefined rules. Furthermore, the method includes recommending (206) the identified one or more alternate polices to the user.

Description

METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR RECOMMENDING POLICIES

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

[0001] The present invention relates, in general, to the field of policies or rules specified by a user. More specifically, the present invention relates to a method and system for recommending policies to a user.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0002] Today, there are an increasing number of applications for users (people) that facilitate the interaction of people with other people and people with systems. Applications facilitating the interaction of people with other people provide various functionalities such as sending or receiving email, Instant Messaging (IM), multimedia telephony, etc. Similarly, applications facilitating the interaction of people with systems also provide various functionalities, such as recording a programme on television, playing music and recording video, etc. An enhanced experience can be provided by these applications if these applications allow the users to personalize the applications, to address the personalized requirements of the users. The personalized requirement of a user may include, say, the user wanting calls from a certain caller to be forwarded to voice mail.

[0003] One of the ways that these applications provide personalization for the users is by allowing the users to specify policies that state the personalized behavior expected. The policies are specified by users to fulfill their specific requirements or preferences. For example, a user can define a policy in an application providing the functionality of sending or receiving emails such that all the emails from a particular person, for example, Tom, are moved to the 'Deleted Items' folder. In this case, whenever an email is received from Tom, it is automatically moved to the 'Deleted Items' folder. Various other policies can also be defined by the user, for example, SMS sending or receiving policies, call forwarding policies, recording television programme, etc. 4] Typically, users defining a policy in an application are not aware of the various other policy options that they may use to meet their requirements more efficiently. Referring to the example above, consider that the user does not want to receive any emails from Tom. As already mentioned, the user can define a policy in the email application, such that all the emails received from Tom are deleted. However, there may be another policy, which the user may be unaware of, such that whenever Tom sends an email to the user, a predefined message is sent to Tom, for example, 'The intended email recipient does not want to receive emails from you'. Since the user may be unaware of such a policy, he/she may continue using the policy mentioned earlier, without realizing that some other policy may fulfill his/her requirements in a better manner. Similarly, the user can define a policy such that a particular reality programme, say 'XYZ', on 'ABC channel is recorded. In this case, whenever, 'XYZ' is telecasted on 'ABC channel, it is automatically recorded. However, the user may be unaware of another policy that may fulfill his/her requirements in a better manner. For example, the user may intend to record all the reality programmes telecasted on 'ABC channel. In this case, the user might be unaware of the fact that such a policy may also be defined, which would record all the reality programmes on 'ABC. [0005] In light of the foregoing, there is a need for a method and system for helping users in specifying a policy that aptly meets their requirements. The method and system should be able to recommend one or more policies to the users that can meet their requirements.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

[0006] The accompanying figures, where like reference numerals refer to identical or functionally similar elements throughout the separate views, and which, together with the detailed description below, are incorporated in and form part of the specification, serve to further illustrate various embodiments and explain various principles and advantages, all in accordance with the present invention.

[0007] FIG. 1 illustrates a user accessing a data processing unit (DPU), in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention; [0008] FIG. 2 is flow diagram illustrating a method for recommending policies, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention; [0009] FIG. 3 is a flow diagram illustrating a method for recommending policies, in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention; [0010] FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating a system for recommending policies, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention; [0011] FIG. 5 is an exemplary depiction of policy recommendations to a user, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention; [0012] FIG. 6 is an exemplary depiction of policy recommendations to a user, in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention; [0013] FIG. 7 is an exemplary depiction of policy recommendations to a user, in accordance with yet another embodiment of the present invention; and

[0014] FIG. 8 is an exemplary depiction of policy recommendations to a user, in accordance with yet another embodiment of the present invention.

[0015] Skilled artisans will appreciate that elements in the figures are illustrated for simplicity and clarity and have not necessarily been drawn to scale. For example, the dimensions of some of the elements in the figures may be exaggerated, relative to other elements, to help in improving an understanding of the embodiments of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0016] For one embodiment, a method for recommending policies is provided. The method includes receiving a policy specified by a user. The policy specified by the user corresponds to a set including an event, a condition, and an action (E-C-A). Further, the method includes determining one or more alternate polices corresponding to the set including the E-C-A. Furthermore, the method includes recommending the one or more alternate polices to the user.

[0017] For another embodiment, a system for recommending policies is provided. The system includes a receiver and a processor. The receiver is configured to receive a policy specified by the user. The policy corresponds to a set including an event, a condition and an action (E-C-A). Further, the processor is configured to determine one or more alternate policies corresponding to the set including the E-C-A. The processor is also configured to recommend the one or more alternate policies to the user. [0018] For yet another embodiment, a computer program product for use with a computer is provided. The computer program product includes a computer usable medium having a computer readable program code embodied for recommending policies. The computer program code includes a program instruction means for receiving a policy specified by a user. The policy corresponds to a set comprising an event, a condition, and an action (E-C-A). Further, the computer program code includes a program instruction means for determining one or more alternate policies corresponding to the set comprising the E-C-A. Furthermore, the computer program code includes a program instruction means for recommending the one or more alternate policies to the user.

[0019] Before describing in detail the method and system for recommending policies, in accordance with various embodiments of the present invention, it should be observed that the present invention resides primarily in combinations of method steps related to a method for recommending policies. Accordingly, the system components and method steps have been represented, where appropriate, by conventional symbols in the drawings, showing only those specific details that are pertinent for an understanding of the present invention, so as not to obscure the disclosure with details that will be readily apparent to those with ordinary skill in the art, having the benefit of the description herein.

[0020] In this document, the terms 'comprises,' 'comprising,' or any other variation thereof, are intended to cover a non-exclusive inclusion, such that a process, method, article or apparatus that comprises a list of elements does not include only those elements but may include other elements that are not expressly listed or inherent in such a process, method, article or apparatus. An element proceeded by 'comprises... a' does not, without more constraints, preclude the existence of additional identical elements in the process, method, article or apparatus that comprises the element. The term "another," as used in this document, is defined as at least a second or more. The terms "includes" and/or "having", as used herein, are defined as comprising. The term "another," as used in this document, is defined as at least a second or more. 1] FIG. 1 illustrates a user 102 accessing a data processing unit (DPU) 104, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. Examples of the DPU 104 can be, but are not limited to, a computer, a laptop, a mobile phone and a personal digital assistant (PDA), telecommunication medium, television set, etc. For one embodiment of the invention, the user 102 accessing the DPU 104 is connected to a network and is using one or more applications for interacting with other users in the network. The applications facilitating the interaction of user 102 with other users in the network provide various functionalities, for example, sending or receiving emails, Instant Messaging (IM), etc. Examples of the network include, but are not limited to, a Local Area Network (LAN), a Wide Area Network (WAN), a satellite network, a wireless network, a wired line network, a mobile network, a wired phone network, a digital television network and other similar networks. For another embodiment of the invention, the user 102 can use the applications for interaction with systems. The applications facilitating the interaction of the user 102 with systems provide various functionalities, for example, recording a programme on television, playing music and recording video, etc. The applications used by the user 102 can also offer more than one functionality, such as sending or receiving electronic mail (email), Instant Messaging (IM) and calling, embedded into a single application. In other words, multiple functionalities such as sending or receiving email, Instant Messaging (IM), and calling can be provided by a single application, used by the user 102.

[0022] In accordance with one embodiment of the invention, a single application can also offer the functionalities of both, for interaction of one user with other users in the network and interaction between the user and a system.

[0023] Continuing with the embodiment of the invention mentioned above, in which the user 102 is interacting with other users in the network by using the one or more applications, to facilitate the interaction by using the applications, one or more policies can be defined in the applications to fulfill requirements of the user 102. The policies can be related to call forwarding, Short Message Service (SMS) sending or receiving, programme recording, etc. A typical example of a policy can be, 'Forward all the calls received from a particular person, X, on a telephone number YYYYYY to a telephone number ZZZZZZ'. The user 102 can define this policy through his/her communicating device, for example, computer.

[0024] Typically, the policy specified by the user 102 corresponds to a set of an event, a condition and an action (E-C-A). For example, the user 102 may specify a policy 'If a call is received from Tom, then forward it to voicemail'. The event associated with the policy is 'receiving a call', and the condition associated with the policy is 'If the call is from Tom', and the associated action is 'forward the call to voicemail'. For one embodiment of the invention, a complete policy specified by the user 102 must include an event, a condition and an action. The description for the rest of the figures describes the process of recommending one or more alternate policies to the user 102, when he/she specifies the set of E-C-A. [0025] FIG. 2 is flow diagram illustrating a method for recommending policies, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. To describe the method for recommending policies, references will be made to FIG. 1, although, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the method can be applicable to any other embodiment of the present invention.

[0026] At step 202, the method for recommending policies is initiated. At step 204, a policy specified by the user 102 is received. The policy specified by the user 102 corresponds to a set including an event, a condition and an action (E-C-A). Typically, the policy specified by the user 102 is in a user readable format. For example, the user 102 can specify a policy such as 'If a call from Tom is received, send an SMS to him saying, "I am busy'", or 'If the program on the television is Friends, then record the program.'

[0027] At step 206, one or more alternate policies are determined corresponding to the set of E-C-A. Typically, the alternate policies are determined in a machine readable format. Firstly, to determine the alternate policies in the machine readable format, the policy specified by the user 102 is converted into the machine readable format and then analyzed to determine one or more alternate policies. A predefined set of rules are followed to determine the alternate policies after the analysis of the user defined policy. The process of converting the user defined policy into the machine readable format, analyzing the converted policy and the predefined rules have been explained in detail in conjunction with FIG. 3.

[0028] At step 208, the one or more alternate policies are recommended to the user 102. The policies are recommended in the user readable format. To clearly explain the process, consider that the user 102 specifies a policy, 'If a call is received from Tom, send an SMS to him saying, "I am busy'". The policies recommended to the user 102 can be, for example, 'If a call is received from an unimportant person, send an SMS to him/her saying, "I am busy'". In this case, the user 102 may have to specify the names or contact details of the people that he/she considers unimportant. Another example of recommended policy can be, 'Whenever an IM is received from Tom, send a message to him saying, "I am busy'".

[0029] For one embodiment of the invention, the recommended policies are presented to the user 102 as a list of policies. The user 102 may select one or more policies, if he/she thinks that the recommended policy meets his/her requirements in a better manner. At step 210, the method for recommending policies is terminated.

[0030] FIG. 3 is a flow diagram illustrating a method for recommending policies, in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention. To describe the method illustrated in FIG. 3, references will be made to FIGs. 1 and 2, although, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the method can be applicable to any other embodiment of the present invention.

[0031] At step 302, the method for recommending policies is initiated. At step 304, a policy specified by the user 102 is received. For one embodiment of the invention, the specified policy has a set including an event, a condition and an action. For example, the policy specified by the user 102 can be 'If Cathy calls, then send an SMS to my mobile saying, "Cathy called'". In this case, the event is receiving a call, the condition is 'if the call is from Cathy', and the action is the sending of the SMS. As already mentioned in FIG. 2, the user 102 specifies the policy in a user readable format. For example, the user 102 can specify the policy in simple English language or any other language, if the application on which the policy is being specified supports multiple languages.

[0032] At step 306, the policy specified by the user 102 is analyzed. For one embodiment of the invention, the policy is analyzed on the basis of the semantics of the event, condition or action, or the relationship between the event, the condition and the action. For example, the policy may be analyzed on the basis of the semantics of the event, the condition and the action; the relationship between the event and the condition, the condition and the action and the event and the action; or the relationship between the event, the condition and the action.

[0033] The policy specified by the user 102 can be analyzed to determine the event, condition and action separately, and to determine the dependence of each on the other. For example, if the user 102 specifies the policy 'If Cathy calls, then send an SMS to her saying, "I am busy'", then the policy can be analyzed to determine the event from the specified policy, i.e., receiving a call, or to determine the condition, 'If the call is from Cathy', or the action, 'send an SMS to her saying, "I am busy'". Similarly, the policy may be analyzed to determine the relation between the event, condition or action. For example, the event and the condition are related to each other such that the event is 'receiving a call' and condition is 'if the call is from Cathy'.

[0034] At step 308, the analyzed policy is converted from the user readable format into a first predefined format. The first predefined format can be, for example, machine readable format. The policy is converted into the machine readable format, based on the analysis of the user specified policy. For example, if the user specified policy reads "If a call arrives and caller is of category 'unimportant person', then forward the call to 'voicemail@office.com'", the corresponding machine readable format is as stated below:

<?xml version=" 1.0"?> <rdf:RDF xmlns:pl="http://www.owl-ontologies. com/Ontology 1159519977. owl#" xmlns:rdf="http://www.w3.org/1999/02/22-rdf-syntax-ns#" xmlns:xsd="http://www. w3.org/200 l/XMLSchema#" xmlns="http ://www.owl-ontologies. com/Ontology 1159856098. owl#" xmlns:rdfs="http://www. w3.org/2000/01/rdf-schematf" xmlns:owl="http://www.w3.org/2002/07/owl#" xml:base="http ://www.owl-ontologies. com/Ontology 1159856098. owl"> <owl:Ontology rdf:about="">

<owl:imports rdf:resource="http://www.owl-ontologies. com/Ontology 1159519977. owl"/> </owl:Ontology> <pl:ForwardCallAction rdf:ID="forwardtomyvoicemail">

<p 1 : forwardNumber rdf:datatype="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string">voicemail@office.com</pl:forwardNumber> </pl :ForwardCallAction> <pl:CallerTypeBasedCondition rdf:ID="CallfromUnimportantPerson">

<pl:hasCallerCatBasedConditionName rdf:datatype="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#stπng">unimportant person</p 1 :hasCallerCatB asedConditionName>

</pl:CallerTypeBasedCondition> <pl:UserDefinedPohcy rdf:ID="CallerTypeBasedPolicy">

5] Those ordinarily skilled in art can appreciate that the machine readable format mentioned above and the symbols used for the format are exemplary in nature and are used to facilitate the description of the present figure. The machine readable format and the symbols may change, depending upon the specific embodiment including the applications used by the user 102 for interaction purposes and machine on which the policy is specified. [0036] At step 310, one or more alternate policies are identified on the basis of a set of predefined rules. The alternate policies are identified in the same format in which the user specified policy is converted to, i.e., the first predefined format. In the present case, the first predefined format is the machine readable format.

[0037] The predefined rules for identifying the one or more alternate policies can be rules based on which a number of events, conditions and actions are identified for the user specified event, condition and action. For example, if the user specifies the policy 'If a mail from Tom is received, move the mail to the junk folder', a number of events, conditions and actions can be identified for the specified event 'receiving a mail', condition 'mail from Tom' and the action 'move to the junk folder'. In this example, a rule may be such that for a user specified event of 'receiving a mail', the identified events may be 'receiving a call' or 'receiving an SMS '. Similarly, there can be rules for identifying various conditions and actions for the user specified events, conditions and actions. For one embodiment of the invention, the identified events may not only be determined on the basis of the user specified event, but the user specified condition or action as well. For example, a rule may be such that for the user specified action of call forwarding, an event may be identified which corresponds to receiving a call.

[0038] When a number of events, conditions and actions are identified for the user specified event, condition and action, a number of permutations and combinations are performed to identify the one or more alternate policies. For example, if the user 102 specifies a policy including an event, El; a condition, Cl; and an action, Al (El-Cl-Al), the identified events, conditions and actions can be E2, E3, E4, C2, C3, C4 and A2, A3, A4. When these events, conditions and actions are identified, they are combined together to form one or more alternate policies. For example, the one or more alternate policies can be E1-C2-A3, E2-C1-A4, E2-C2-A2, etc. Those ordinarily skilled in the art can appreciate that the identified one or more alternate policies can have the same event, condition or action as the user specified policy, but the one or more identified policies can never be exactly the same as the user specified policy.

[0039] For one embodiment of the invention, there can be a rule such that a certain identified event and a condition can never be together. For example, there can be a rule such that El and C3 can never be together. In such a case, no policy can be identified which has El and C3 together. Similarly, there can be a rule such that E3 and C3 are always together. In such a case, whenever a policy includes E3, C3 is also included in that, and vice versa.

[0040] Those ordinarily skilled in the art can appreciate that the rules mentioned above are exemplary in nature and are used to facilitate the description of the present figure. There are various other types of rules, based on which the one or more recommended policies are identified.

[0041] At step 312, the identified one or more alternate policies are converted into a second predefined format. For one embodiment, the second predefined format is the user readable format. In this case, the alternate policies are converted to the user readable format to make the policies readable for the user 102.

[0042] At step 314, the one or more alternate policies are displayed to the user 102 in the second predefined format. Thereafter, the user 102 may or may not select one or more of the displayed policies, based on his/her preferences or requirements. [0043] For one embodiment of the invention, the user specified policy and the one or more alternate policies that are displayed to the user 102 are stored in a memory. Although the step of storing the policy is not depicted in FIG. 3, the user specified policy and the alternate policies can be stored for later retrieval or analysis purposes. At step 316, the method for recommending policies is terminated.

[0044] FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating components of a policy recommendation system 402, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. To describe FIG. 4, reference will be made to FIGs. 1, 2 and 3, although it is understood that the policy recommendation system 402 can be used in any other suitable environment.

[0045] The policy recommendation system 402 includes a receiver 404, a processor 406, and a memory 408. The processor 406 also includes an analyzer 410, a converter 412, an identifier 414, and a format converter 416. The receiver 404 receives the policy specified by the user 102. The policy is specified by the user 102 in a user readable format, for example, in simple English language. As already explained in conjunction with previous figures, the policy specified by the user 102 includes an event, a condition and an action. An example of the policy specified by the user 102 can be, 'If Bob calls, then send an SMS to him saying, "I am out of town'". In this case, 'receiving the call' is the event, 'call from Bob' is the condition and 'send an SMS to Bob' is the action.

[0046] After the policy is received by the receiver 404, the analyzer 410 analyzes the received policy. In other words, the analyzer 410 is configured to analyze the policy specified by the user. As already explained in conjunction with FIG. 3, the analysis of the policy specified by the user 102 is based on the semantics of the event, the condition and the action; the relationship between the event and the condition, the condition and the action, and the event and the action; and the relationship between the event, the condition and the action.

[0047] After the analyzer 410 analyzes the user defined policy, the converter 412 converts the analyzed policy from the user readable format into a first predefined format, for example, the machine readable format. In other words, the converter 412 is configured to convert the analyzed policy into the machine readable format. Once the policy is converted into machine readable format, the one or more alternate policies are identified by the identifier 414. As already stated, the identifier 414 is included in the processor 406. So, in other words, the processor 406 determines the one or more alternate policies by using the identifier 414. The one or more alternate policies are identified in the machine readable format, based on a set of predefined rules. The entire process of identifying one or more alternate policies, based on a set of predefined rules, has been explained in conjunction with FIG. 3.

[0048] When the identifier 414 identifies the one or more alternate policies in the machine readable format, the format converter 416 converts the policies into a second predefined format, for example, the user readable format. Finally, the processor 406 recommends the identified policies to the user 102 by displaying the policy to the user 102 in the user readable format.

[0049] As mentioned earlier, the policy recommendation system 402 also includes the memory 408 which stores the user specified policy and the one or more alternate policies displayed to the user 102. [0050] FIG. 5 is an exemplary depiction of policy recommendations to a user, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. One or more users can specify a policy using the policy recommendation system 402. For example, in the figure, the user 102 specifies the policy, 'If call is from an unimportant person, then forward the call to my voicemail'. Thereafter, the user 102 may click on the button, 'Recommend Policy', if he/she is interested in other policies related to the one specified by him/her.

[0051] The policy recommendation system 402 recommends other policies to the user 102 based on the policy specified or added by him/her. For example, two policies are shown by the policy recommendation system 402 to the user 102. These are 'if a call arrives from category unimportant person, then send SMS to my mobile with the message "A call has been forwarded to voicemail" and forward the call to my voicemail' and 'IfIM arrives and the sender is from category unimportant person, then auto respond with "I will IM you later'".

Further, the user 102 can select one or more policies recommended by the policy recommendation system 402.

[0052] FIG. 6 is an exemplary depiction of policy recommendations to a user, in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention. In this figure, the user 102 specifies a policy, 'If Bob calls, then forward the call to my mobile. Thereafter, the user 102 may click on the button, 'Recommend Policy', if he/she is interested in other policies related to the one specified by him/her. Further, the policy recommendation system 402 recommends other policies based on the policy specified by the user 102. For example, two policies are shown to the user 102 by the policy recommendation system 402. These are 'If call arrives and the caller is of category professional, then forward the call to my mobile' and 'If call arrives and the caller is not of the category professional, then forward the call to my voicemail'. Thereafter, the user 102 can select one of the policies recommended by the policy recommendation system 402.

[0053] FIG. 7 is an exemplary depiction of policy recommendations to a user, in accordance with yet another embodiment of the present invention. In this figure, the user 102 specifies a policy, 'Record programme on "ABCD Channel" at 9:00 PM'. Thereafter, the user 102 may click on the button, 'Recommend Policy', if he/she is interested in other policies related to the one specified by him/her. Further, the policy recommendation system 402 recommends other policies based on the policy specified by the user 102. For example, one policy is shown to the user 102 by the policy recommendation system 402. The policy is 'Record "Lets Have Fun". Thereafter, the user 102 can select the policy recommended by the policy recommendation system 402.

[0054] FIG. 8 is an exemplary depiction of policy recommendations to a user, in accordance with yet another embodiment of the present invention. In this figure, the user 102 specifies a policy, 'If programme is "Funny Show For Your Eyes Only", then record it'. Thereafter, the user 102 may click on the button, 'Recommend Policy', if he/she is interested in other policies related to the one specified by him/her. Further, the policy recommendation system 402 recommends other policies based on the policy specified by the user 102. For example, one policy is shown to the user 102 by the policy recommendation system 402. The policy is 'If program is of type "Comedy", then record the program. Thereafter, the user 102 can select the policy recommended by the policy recommendation system 402.

[0055] Various embodiments, as described above, provide a method and system for recommending policies. The present invention helps a user in specifying the policy that completely meets his/her requirements. The present invention recommends policies to the user on the basis of the policy specified by the user. By the use of the present invention, the user may be able to determine other policies which are related to the one specified by the user, but the user was not aware of them.

[0056] It will be appreciated that the embodiments of the invention described herein may comprise one or more conventional processors and unique stored program instructions that control the one or more processors to implement, in conjunction with certain non-processor circuits, some, most, or all of the functions of the embodiments of the invention described herein. The non-processor circuits may include, but are not limited to, a radio receiver, a radio transmitter, signal drivers, clock circuits, power source circuits, and user input devices. As such, these functions may be interpreted as steps of a method for responding to an emergency situation from a communication device. Alternatively, some or all functions could be implemented by a state machine that has no stored program instructions, or in one or more application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), in which each function or various combinations of some of the functions are implemented as custom logic. A combination of these approaches can also be used. Therefore, methods and means for these functions have been described herein. In situations for which functions of the embodiments of the invention can be implemented using a processor and stored program instructions, it will be appreciated that one of the means for implementing such functions is the media that stores the program instructions, be it magnetic storage or a signal conveying a file. Further, it is expected that a person of ordinary skill, notwithstanding possibly significant effort and many design choices motivated by, for example, available time, current technology, and economic considerations, when guided by the concepts and principles disclosed herein, will be readily capable of generating such stored program instructions and ICs with minimal experimentation.

[0057] In the foregoing specification, the invention and its benefits and advantages have been described with reference to specific embodiments. However, persons with ordinary skill in the art would appreciate that various modifications and changes can be made, without departing from the scope of the present invention, as set forth in the claims below. Accordingly, the specification and the figures are to be regarded in an illustrative rather than a restrictive sense, and all such modifications are intended to be included within the scope of the present invention. The benefits, advantages, solutions to problems, and any element(s) that may cause any benefit, advantage or solution to occur or become more pronounced are not to be construed as critical, required or essential features or elements of any or all the claims. The invention is defined solely by the appended claims, including any amendments made during the pendency of this application, and all equivalents of those claims, as issued.

[0058] The Abstract of the Disclosure is provided to comply with 37 C.F.R. §1.72(b), requiring an abstract that will enable the reader to quickly ascertain the nature of the technical disclosure. It is submitted with the understanding that it will not be used to interpret or limit the scope or meaning of the claims. In addition, in the foregoing Detailed Description, it can be seen that various features are grouped together in a single embodiment for the purpose of streamlining the disclosure. This method of disclosure is not to be interpreted as reflecting an intention that the claimed embodiments require more features than are expressly recited in each claim. Rather, as the following claims reflect, inventive subject matter lies in less than all features of a single disclosed embodiment. Therefore, the following claims are hereby incorporated into the Detailed Description, with each claim standing on its own as a separately claimed subject matter.

Claims

WHAT IS CLAIMED IS:

1. A method for recommending policies, the method comprising: a. receiving a policy specified by a user, wherein the policy corresponds to a set comprising an event, a condition and an action (E-C-A); b. determining one or more alternate policies corresponding to the set comprising the E-C-A; and c. recommending the one or more alternate policies to the user.

2. The method as recited in claim 1 further comprising analyzing the policy specified by the user.

3. The method as recited in claim 2, wherein the policy specified by the user is analyzed based on at least one of a semantics of the event, a semantics of the condition, a semantics of the action, a relationship between the event and the condition, a relationship between the condition and the action, a relationship between the event and the action and a relationship between the event, the condition and the action.

4. The method as recited in claim 2 further comprising converting the policy specified by the user into a first predefined format based on the analysis of the policy.

5. The method as recited in claim 4, wherein the first predefined format is a machine readable format.

6. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein determining the one or more alternate policies comprises identifying the one or more alternate policies in a first predefined format based on a set of predefined rules.

7. The method as recited in claim 6, wherein the first predefined format is a machine readable format.

8. The method as recited in claim 6 further comprising converting the identified one or more alternate policies in the first predefined format into a second predefined format.

9. The method as recited in claim 8, wherein the second predefined format is a user readable format.

10. A computer program product for use with a computer, the computer program product comprising a computer usable medium having a computer readable program code embodied therein for recommending policies, the computer program code comprising: a. a program instruction means for receiving a policy specified by a user, wherein the policy corresponds to a set comprising an event, a condition, and an action (E-C-A); b. a program instruction means for determining one or more alternate policies corresponding to the set comprising the E-C-A; and c. a program instruction means for recommending the one or more alternate policies to the user.