Process Step Rearrangement for Shared Resource Contention
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Process modeling often results in resource contentions and race conditions due to conflicting accesses to shared resources, particularly in complex processes with simultaneous accesses from multiple steps, leading to performance issues like delayed lock acquisition and repetitive transaction rollbacks.
Innovation Solution
A computer-implemented method and system that identify and rearrange process steps accessing shared resources at the same time, creating a new process model where at least one process step is moved to access the shared resource at a different time, either by changing the order or moving it outside parallel branches, using a dependency graph to identify conflicting accesses and resolve them.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If process steps are executed in parallel to improve productivity, then processing speed increases, but resource contentions and race conditions occur causing performance degradation
Solution Approach 1:
The patent dynamically adjusts the execution order of process steps based on resource contention detection. The system analyzes the process model to identify parallel steps accessing shared resources, then dynamically reorders them to sequential execution when contention is detected, while maintaining parallel execution when no contention exists. This dynamic adaptation resolves the contradiction between productivity and reliability.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces an intermediary analysis mechanism that examines the process model to detect resource contentions before execution. This intermediary layer identifies shared resources accessed by multiple parallel steps and mediates their execution order, preventing race conditions while preserving maximum parallelism. The intermediary acts as a coordinator between parallel process steps and shared resources.
2Loss of time
If process steps access shared resources simultaneously to reduce wait time, then processing efficiency improves, but lock acquisition delays and transaction rollbacks increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent performs preliminary analysis of the process model to identify potential resource contentions before execution begins. By pre-analyzing the process steps and their resource accesses, the system can proactively reorder steps to avoid contentions, eliminating the need for runtime locking and transaction rollback mechanisms. This preliminary action prevents wait times and processing inefficiencies before they occur.
Data Source
AI summary
A computer-implemented method for managing access to a shared resource of a process may include identifying a plurality of process steps, each process step of the plurality of process steps, when executed, accessing the shared resource at a same time. The method may also include rearranging at least one of the process steps of the plurality of process steps to access the shared resource at a different time.