Dynamic Workflow Configuration in Mobile Apps
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Solution Overview
Problem
Mobile applications for mobile environments typically offer limited user configurability once downloaded, restricting users' ability to customize workflows and the 'look and feel' without re-compiling the application.
Innovation Solution
A user-configurable mobile environment that allows dynamic configuration of workflows and application canvases using configuration templates, enabling users to define module arrangements, system and module-specific variables, and metadata without the need for re-compilation, and supports offline execution.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If a mobile application is downloaded with fixed functionality, then the application structure is simple and reliable, but the user's ability to customize workflows and interfaces is limited
Solution Approach 1:
The application is divided into fixed core functionality (downloaded once) and configurable workflow components (defined by users via templates). This segmentation allows users to customize workflows without modifying the core application structure, resolving the contradiction between adaptability and structural simplicity.
Solution Approach 2:
Configuration templates are prepared in advance with predefined module structures and relationships. Users can customize workflows by selecting and arranging pre-defined modules rather than creating everything from scratch, enabling adaptability while maintaining structured organization.
2Ease of operation
If users can dynamically configure workflows without re-compilation, then user flexibility improves, but the application complexity and maintenance difficulty increase
Solution Approach 1:
Configuration templates serve as reusable copies of workflow structures. Once a workflow configuration is created, it can be copied and modified for different scenarios without recreating the entire workflow, reducing configuration complexity while maintaining flexibility.
Solution Approach 2:
The application transitions from static pre-defined workflows to dynamic user-configurable workflows. Users can modify workflow arrangements, add/remove modules, and customize interfaces in real-time based on needs, with changes taking effect immediately without re-compilation.
3Manufacturing precision
If configuration templates include detailed module arrangements and metadata, then workflow precision improves, but the time required to configure and maintain workflows increases
Solution Approach 1:
Template structures, module definitions, and metadata schemas are prepared in advance during application development. Users only need to fill in specific parameters and select modules rather than defining entire workflow structures, reducing configuration time while maintaining precision.
Solution Approach 2:
The system automatically generates workflow configurations from user selections and template definitions, reducing manual configuration effort. The application handles metadata generation, validation, and workflow assembly automatically based on user inputs.
Data Source
AI summary
Embodiments are directed to a mobile application that enables a completely and dynamically configurable workflow. Once installed on a mobile computer, the application is completely configurable without re-compiling the application. A user may configure the “look & feel,” as well as the workflow of a particular instance of the application, via configuration templates. Once the application is downloaded and installed in an executable form, the user may configure and/or reconfigure the workflow and the “look and feel” of the application without a re-compiling operation and/or generating new machine-code to enable the configuration. To configure and/or reconfigure the application, the user need only to edit and/or receive additional configuration templates. The execution of the configured workflow is not dependent upon the mobile computer being in communication with another network computer. The mobile application may be a native application. Accordingly, the completely customizable mobile application may be executed in an “offline” mode.