Blockchain Notification System for Workflow State Management
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current workflow management systems are inefficient and unreliable, especially with multiple parties involved, as they require significant resources to ensure accurate and timely notifications, leading to errors and reduced efficiency with increasing complexity.
Innovation Solution
A blockchain-based notification system that uses smart contracts to automatically update workflow states and transmit notifications to subscribers, reducing the need for constant information retrieval from the blockchain and enhancing workflow efficiency by centralizing state management and message delivery.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If traditional workflow notification systems are used with multiple parties, then notification delivery can be achieved, but reliability and efficiency deteriorate due to errors and resource consumption
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a blockchain-based intermediary system that acts as a trusted mediator between workflow participants. The blockchain network validates and relays notifications between parties, eliminating the need for direct peer-to-peer notification handling. This intermediary mechanism ensures reliable delivery while reducing errors associated with manual notification management.
Solution Approach 2:
The system enables participants to autonomously manage their own notification subscriptions and state monitoring through smart contracts. Each participant can independently subscribe to workflow states they care about and receive notifications automatically when conditions are met, eliminating the need for centralized notification management and reducing overall system resource consumption.
2Loss of information
If constant information retrieval from blockchain is performed, then up-to-date workflow state information is obtained, but computing power is wasted
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary actions by having participants pre-subscribe to specific workflow states they are interested in monitoring. Smart contracts are configured in advance to automatically detect when these subscribed states are reached and trigger notifications. This eliminates the need for continuous information retrieval, as the system proactively pushes notifications only when relevant state changes occur.
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements a feedback mechanism where participants provide advance information about which workflow states they care about through subscriptions. The blockchain system uses this feedback to selectively monitor and notify only about relevant state changes, rather than continuously pushing all state information to all participants. This feedback-driven approach significantly reduces unnecessary computing power consumption.
3Loss of information
If participants filter irrelevant information manually, then relevant notifications can be identified, but time and resources are consumed
Solution Approach 1:
The smart contract system acts as an intelligent intermediary that automatically filters and delivers only the notifications participants care about. When a workflow state changes, the smart contract checks which participants have subscribed to that specific state and delivers notifications only to them. This automated filtering eliminates the manual effort required for participants to sift through irrelevant information.
Solution Approach 2:
Participants configure their own notification preferences through subscriptions to specific workflow states. The system then automatically manages the filtering and delivery process based on these self-configured preferences. This self-service approach allows participants to receive exactly the information they need without manual intervention, saving both time and resources.
Data Source
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AI summary
Methods, systems, and apparatus, including computer programs encoded on computer storage media, for blockchain-based notification are provided. One of the methods includes: obtaining information in a block of a blockchain to determine a current state of a workflow, wherein a blockchain contract deployed in the blockchain is executable to update the current state among one or more states of the workflow; updating a locally-maintained state machine based on the determined current state; and in response to determining that the updated state machine corresponds to one of the one or more states, transmitting a notification message to one or more subscribers subscribing to the one state.