Abstract: A computer implemented method, system, and/or computer program product optimize a shared service delivery system. A model of an existing shared service delivery system is created. Capacity of the existing shared service delivery system is defined according to required resources for existing projects, new projects, and proposed projects. Existing cells of practitioners in the existing shared service delivery system are identified, and any gaps or gluts of capacity in the existing cells of practitioners are identified according to a general predetermined resource requirement for the shared service delivery system.

Abstract: A computer implemented method, system, and/or computer program product modifies a master template for an executable document. A version architecture comprises a master template for a master document, a new variation document that describes what changes are to be made to the master template for a specific context, and a resulting modified template based on the master template and rule-based instructions found in the new variation document. A processor defines an executable master document from the master template that, when executed, produces a final product. Specific rules set out conditions for modifying the master template for the specific context. These specific rules are used to define a new variation document, which is applied against the master template to generate a context-specific modified template. The context-specific modified template is then used to generate a context-specific executable document that, when executed, generates a final context-specific product.

Abstract: A computer implemented method, system, and/or computer program product generate an optimal training policy and an optimal promotion policy to accommodate an upcoming project. Required new job positions are identified for an upcoming project. A skillset matrix, which describes a current skill level of each worker in a work unit, and a promotion matrix, which describes historical evaluations of how well each worker achieved predefined goals of past projects, are generated. The skillset matrix is utilized to create an optimal training policy that identifies which workers are in need of additional training in order to qualify for one or more of the identified new job positions, and the promotion matrix is utilized create an optimal promotion policy that identifies which workers will be candidates for being promoted into one or more of the identified said new job positions.

Abstract: A computer implemented method, system and/or computer program product optimizes a service delivery system. A processor receives a first set of inputs that describes a current state of a service delivery system and a second set of inputs that describes a cost overhead for the service delivery system. The processor then optimizes the service delivery system in order to derive an optimized service delivery system.

Abstract: A computer implemented method, system, and/or computer program product facilitate optimal collaboration between cells from different service centers for delivering a service to a customer. A cost of collaboration between two cells in different service centers is defined. Each of the two cells is a group of resources capable of executing a same task, and the cost is a 3-Tuple that consists of a monetary cost, a makespan cost, and a skill misalignment cost associated with the collaboration. After establishing acceptable cost ranges for the 3-Tuple based on constraints defined by an enterprise policy, a processor creates multiple collaboration matrices based on different permutations of the 3-Tuple. Once an optimal collaboration function derived from the multiple collaboration matrices is identified, the task is assigned to two optimal cells identified in the optimal collaboration function.

Abstract: A method for obtaining mask and source patterns for printing integrated circuit patterns includes providing initial representations of a plurality of mask and source patterns. The method identifies long-range and short-range factors in the representations of the plurality of mask and source patterns, and provides a plurality of clips including a specified number of mask patterns. Short-range factors having overlapping ranges for each of the clips are specified. The method includes determining an initial processing priority for the plurality of clips, and determining a patterning relationship between integrated circuit patterns and the mask and source patterns. A primary objective is determined which expresses the printability of the integrated circuit patterns in terms of the patterning relationship.

Abstract: The present invention provides a lithographic difficulty metric that is a function of an energy ratio factor that includes a ratio of hard-to-print energy to easy-to-print energy of the diffraction orders along an angular coordinate ?i of spatial frequency space, an energy entropy factor comprising energy entropy of said diffraction orders along said angular coordinate ?i, a phase entropy factor comprising phase entropy of said diffraction orders along said angular coordinate ?i, and a total energy entropy factor comprising total energy entropy of said diffraction orders. The hard-to-print energy includes energy of the diffraction orders at values of the normalized radial coordinates r of spatial frequency space in a neighborhood of r=0 and in a neighborhood of r=1, and the easy-to-print energy includes energy of the diffraction orders located at intermediate values of normalized radial coordinates r between the neighborhood of r=0 and the neighborhood of r=1.

Abstract: A method, system, and/or computer program product predicts trouble during a transition phase of a current project. Past operational data and past trouble data for past healthy projects and past troubled projects before transition phases is collected. A trouble correlation between the past operational data and the past trouble data is then determined. A set of key metrics that describes a current health of a current project before transitioning from a current phase to a future phase is defined, and values of the set of key metrics for the current project are identified. Identified values of the set of key metrics for the current project are compared to the past operational data for past healthy and troubled projects in order to generate a pattern comparison. This pattern comparison, along with the trouble correlation, is used to generate a predicted quality of transition for the current project.

Abstract: Techniques for determining maturity of a delivery process in an information technology maintenance project are provided. The techniques include collecting information during a delivery process, wherein the information comprises operational data, aggregating the collected information for each delivery dimension into one or more aggregate delivery measures, wherein the one or more aggregate delivery measures comprise one or more delivery dimensions, comparing the one or more delivery dimensions against a threshold to determine a level of maturity for each delivery dimension, and determining an overall level of maturity of the delivery process by combining the level of maturity for each delivery dimension.

Abstract: Techniques for estimating future health of a project are provided. The techniques include defining a set of financial health metrics that represent a proximity of a current state of a project to that of a goal project, defining a parametric evolution model comprising parameters, wherein the parametric evolution model governs a relationship between current data of the set of financial health metrics and current project health in relation to past data of the set of financial health metrics, determining a value of each of the parameters of the parametric evolution model using an optimization problem, and using the value of each of the parameters of the parametric evolution model and the current data of the set of financial health metrics and current project health in relation to past data of the set of financial health metrics to estimate the future health of the project.

Abstract: A computer implemented method, system, and/or computer program product predicts the profitability of a current project. Historical data from the current project represents profit data points at predetermined intervals of time during the current project. If a linear regression model of the historical data does not adequately describe the historical data, then a polynomial regression model to describe the historical data is generated. If the polynomial model does not adequately describe the historical data, then another project that is similar to the current project is located. This other project has its own set of historical data. If the historical data from the other project fits the polynomial regression model created from the historical data of the current project, then the polynomial regression model is trusted to accurately predict the profitability of the current project, even though the current project's historical data did not adequately fit the polynomial regression model.

Abstract: A simplified version of a multiexpose mask optimization problem is solved in order to find a compressed space in which to search for the solution to the full problem formulation. The simplification is to reduce the full problem to an unconstrained formulation. The full problem of minimizing dark region intensity while maintaining intensity above threshold at each bright point can be converted to the unconstrained problem of minimizing average dark region intensity per unit of average intensity in the bright regions. The extrema solutions to the simplified problem can be obtained for each source. This set of extrema solutions is then assessed to determine which features are predominantly printed by which source. A minimal set of extrema solutions serves as a space of reduced dimensionality within which to maximize the primary objective under constraints. The space typically has reduced dimensionality through selection of highest quality extrema solutions.

Abstract: Each work item from a group of work items is categorized as either complex or intense, and a unique work requirement statement is derived for each work item based on whether it is complex or intense. A unique resource value statement is assigned to different human resources. Past performances of the human resources are analyzed against completed work items in order to adjust the unique resource value statement, thus creating updated human resource value statements. An optimized work requirement statement is created by recalculating the unique work requirement statement for each work item based on the updated human resource value statements. A schedule for automated allocation of human resources to functional areas of an enterprise activity environment and scheduling of work items to the functional areas is formulated based on the optimized requirement statement for each work item in the group of work items.

Abstract: A computer implemented method, system and/or computer program product schedule execution of work requests through work plan prioritization. One or more work packets are mapped to and assigned to each work request from a group of work requests. A complexity level is derived for and assigned to each work packet, and priority levels of various work requests are determined for each entity from a group of entities. A global priority for the group of work requests is then determined. The global priority and the complexity levels combine to create a priority function, which is used to schedule execution of the work requests.

Abstract: A computer implemented method, system and/or computer program product automatically allocate resources to functional areas of an enterprise activity environment. A skill level of a resource is determined for multiple functional areas. A unique ramp-up index is associated with each of the multiple functional areas. An affinity index is associated with each of the multiple functional areas, wherein the affinity index is based on a level of productivity drop of other resources in a specific functional area if the resource is assigned to another functional area. Expected resource and skill level requirements of a project are identified, and a cohesion index is defined. The cohesion index measures the disruption that may result from adding the resource to or removing the resource from a functional area.

Abstract: A method for illuminating a mask with a source to project a desired image pattern through a lithographic system onto a photoactive material including: defining a representation of the mask; obtaining a fractional resist shot noise (FRSN) parameter; determining a first relationship between a first set of optical intensity values and an edge roughness metric based on the FRSN parameter; determining a second relationship between a second set of optical intensity values and a lithographic performance metric; imposing a set of metric constraints based on one of the first and second relationships; setting up an objective function of optimization based on the remaining of the two relationships; determining optimum constrained values of the representation of the mask based on the set of metric constraints and the objective function; and outputting these values.

Abstract: A method for obtaining mask and source patterns for printing integrated circuit patterns includes providing initial representations of a plurality of mask and source patterns. The method identifies long-range and short-range factors in the representations of the plurality of mask and source patterns, and provides a plurality of clips including a specified number of mask patterns. Short-range factors having overlapping ranges for each of the clips are specified. The method includes determining an initial processing priority for the plurality of clips, and determining a patterning relationship between integrated circuit patterns and the mask and source patterns. A primary objective is determined which expresses the printability of the integrated circuit patterns in terms of the patterning relationship.

Abstract: The present invention provides a lithographic difficulty metric that is a function of an energy ratio factor that includes a ratio of hard-to-print energy to easy-to-print energy of the diffraction orders along an angular coordinate ?i spatial frequency space, an energy entropy factor comprising energy entropy of said diffraction orders along said angular coordinate ?i, a phase entropy factor comprising phase entropy of said diffraction orders along said angular coordinate ?i, and a total energy entropy factor comprising total energy entropy of said diffraction orders. The hard-to-print energy includes energy of the diffraction orders at values of the normalized radial coordinates r of spatial frequency space in a neighborhood of r=0 and in a neighborhood of r=1, and the easy-to-print energy includes energy of the diffraction orders located at intermediate values of normalized radial coordinates r between the neighborhood of r=0 and the neighborhood of r=1.

Abstract: Programmable illuminators in exposure tools are employed to increase the degree of freedom in tool matching. A tool matching methodology is provided that utilizes the fine adjustment of the individual source pixel intensity based on a linear programming (LP) problem subjected to user-specific constraints to minimize the difference of the lithographic wafer data between two tools. The lithographic data can be critical dimension differences from multiple targets and multiple process conditions. This LP problem can be modified to include a binary variable for matching sources using multi-scan exposure. The method can be applied to scenarios that the reference tool is a physical tool or a virtual ideal tool. In addition, this method can match different lithography systems, each including a tool and a mask.

Abstract: A computer implemented method, system, and/or computer program product collaboratively reallocate resources across business modules. A collaboration vector, which describes primary and second abilities for each of multiple resources, is defined. A decision matrix is created from multiple collaboration vectors, and a pipeline for transferring the multiple resources among multiple business modules is defined based on the decision matrix. A recurring time interval to measure an effectiveness of the multiple business modules is defined, and the multiple resources are reallocated according to a measured effectiveness of the multiple business modules. The collaborative matrix is optimized to reflect reallocation of the multiple resources.