Server Mediator for User Lifecycle Event Automation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current software applications lack a uniform method to handle user lifecycle events across various third-party applications, leading to manual, time-consuming, and error-prone administrative tasks, which can result in security risks due to delayed changes in user access rights.
Innovation Solution
A computer-implemented method involving a server that stores lifecycle code modules for third-party applications, identifies user lifecycle events, maps these events to specific API functions, and calls corresponding code modules to update user data across multiple applications, thereby standardizing user lifecycle management.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If administrators manually make changes to user accounts in each third-party application, then changes can be made with full control and visibility, but the process becomes time-consuming and requires more administrator effort
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a server as an intermediary between administrators and multiple third-party applications. The server receives user lifecycle events, determines the appropriate actions, and automatically propagates changes to all relevant applications. This mediator approach eliminates the need for administrators to manually update each application while maintaining reliable and accurate user lifecycle management across the entire ecosystem.
Solution Approach 2:
The system enables self-service automation where the server autonomously handles the propagation of user lifecycle events to third-party applications without requiring administrator intervention for each individual update. The server independently determines which applications need updates and executes the changes automatically, freeing administrators from repetitive manual tasks while ensuring consistent and timely updates across all applications.
2Ease of operation
If administrators manually update user accounts in each application, then specific changes can be controlled, but errors may occur due to forgotten or delayed changes
Solution Approach 1:
The server acts as a centralized intermediary that receives user lifecycle events and automatically propagates appropriate changes to all relevant third-party applications. This ensures that user access rights remain consistent across all applications by eliminating manual update processes that are prone to human error, forgetfulness, or delays. The intermediary approach maintains operational simplicity while significantly improving reliability and consistency.
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements a feedback mechanism where the server continuously monitors user lifecycle events and automatically triggers appropriate updates across all connected applications. This closed-loop approach ensures that any change in user status (such as termination, transfer, or role change) is immediately reflected across all applications, maintaining consistency and preventing security risks associated with outdated access rights.
3Adaptability or versatility
If a standardized interface is implemented across all third-party applications, then uniform handling of user lifecycle events is achieved, but applications must adapt to the standard interface
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a universal server interface that can handle user lifecycle events across multiple different third-party applications through a single standardized connection point. The server is designed to work with various applications (Salesforce, Workday, Slack, etc.) without requiring each application to implement complex custom integration logic. This universal approach simplifies the system architecture while maintaining the ability to adapt to different application-specific requirements through configurable parameters and metadata.
Solution Approach 2:
The server serves as an intermediary layer that abstracts the complexity of integrating with multiple different third-party applications. Instead of requiring each application to directly implement complex integration logic, the server handles the translation and adaptation between the standardized interface and application-specific requirements. This mediator approach reduces device complexity while maintaining high adaptability to handle diverse user lifecycle events across different applications.
Data Source
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AI summary
Users of organizations use many different third-party applications. The organizations use the services of a server to manage and interact with the third-party applications. In particular, the server provides a user lifecycle API that defines a set of user lifecycle events corresponding to changes of the users with respect to their organizations and/or the third-party applications that they use within the organizations. The server further has access to lifecycle code modules corresponding to the different third-party applications and defining how those third-party applications will respond to the user lifecycle events. When a user lifecycle event occurs for a particular user of a particular organization, the server determines the third-party applications to which the organization has given the user access uses the appropriate functionality of the lifecycle code modules of the corresponding third-party applications to implement the appropriate user changes for those applications.