Activity Fragment Reuse for Software Process Configuration
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Solution Overview
Problem
Software application development is complex due to the repetitive generation of source code, particularly in systems like enterprise content management and enterprise resource planning, where common elements are often implemented separately in multiple activities, leading to inefficiencies and increased development time.
Innovation Solution
The use of activity fragments allows for the reuse of common software instructions across multiple activities within a process, enabling application designers to create and deploy processes more efficiently by segmenting tasks into activities and using pre-defined templates and fragments, which can be inserted or linked into activities, reducing repetitive coding.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If common elements are implemented separately in multiple activities, then each activity can be developed independently, but development time increases and code repetition occurs
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments software instructions into reusable activity fragments that can be independently developed and then inserted into multiple activities. This segmentation allows common elements to be created once and reused across multiple activities, reducing development time while eliminating code repetition through modular design.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements copying by creating activity fragments that can be inserted into multiple activities. Instead of rewriting common code in each activity, the system copies the functionality through fragment insertion, allowing single-source development with multi-point deployment, thus reducing development time and eliminating redundant code.
2Productivity
If activity fragments are used to reuse common elements, then development efficiency improves, but system complexity increases due to fragment management
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces an activity fragment as an intermediary between the developer and the final process implementation. This intermediary layer allows developers to work with high-level reusable components rather than managing low-level code directly, simplifying the development process while maintaining the ability to reuse common elements across multiple activities.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates universal activity fragments that can serve multiple functions across different activities and processes. A single activity fragment can be inserted into multiple different contexts, allowing one component to fulfill various roles, thereby improving development efficiency without proportionally increasing management complexity.
3Ease of repair
If common elements are implemented separately in each activity, then maintenance is straightforward, but updates must be applied to multiple locations
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges common elements into a single activity fragment that can be inserted into multiple activities. This consolidation means that maintenance and updates are performed in one location (the fragment definition) rather than multiple locations, eliminating the need to propagate changes across multiple copies while maintaining simplicity through the fragment's modular structure.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent performs preliminary action by pre-defining common elements as activity fragments with standardized interfaces and structures. This preliminary setup establishes a single source of truth for common functionality, so that future maintenance and updates automatically apply to all activities using the fragment, eliminating the need for manual propagation to multiple locations.
Data Source
AI summary
A method for creating processes in a software application. The method includes obtaining an activity fragment. The activity fragment includes an activity fragment name and an activity fragment configuration. The method further includes obtaining a process specification specifying an activity, and obtaining activity configuration instructions. The activity configuration instructions specify inclusion of the activity fragment in the activity. The method also includes building, based on the process specification, a process. Building the process includes associating the activity fragment with the activity.