A method of verifying an update to a computer software application running
on a machine in a network having a plurality of machines, the method
including applying a selected one in a series of a plurality of patches
for an application, determining if the application behaves correctly
after installing the selected one in the series of patches by test
running the application and by determining if a functionality of the
application changes, gathering outputs from the determining, applying
additional ones of the series of the plurality of patches for the
application, rolling back the applied patches after a set of checks has
been made to return said application to an original state, creating a
results file from the gathered outputs, identifying an exact patch level
required to correct a problem with the application, verifying that the
identified exact patch does not cause a compatibility problem, and
analyzing results files from multiple machines to determine possible
patch levels that resolve issues and cause no new problems.