Utility functions, prices, and negotiation

Wilkes, John

HP Development Company

关键词: utility theory;    price functions;    risk;    negotiation;    penalties;    SLAs;   

RP-ID  :  HPL-2008-81

学科分类：计算机科学（综合）

美国|英语

来源: HP Labs

【 摘 要 】

This paper provides an introduction to the use of utility theory with service level agreements between a computer-based service provider and a client. It argues that a consistent approach to utility, together with a flexible notion of pricing, can go a long way to clarifying some of the hidden assumptions that pervade many existing contracts and decisions around them. The goal is to enhance understanding of a surprisingly tricky area, identify a few consequences for services providers and their clients, suggest a set of terminology that reduces ambiguities, and make some suggestions for future work.