Versioned State Machine Task Event Tracing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Managing and tracing state machines becomes complex when the rules governing state transitions change frequently, making it difficult to audit previous transitions due to discrepancies between old and new conditions.
Innovation Solution
A method and system that load a state machine instance with tasks identified by a combination of task identifiers and versions, allowing for the recording of task updates as events with timestamps and agent information, enabling efficient tracing and auditing of both current and previous state machine instances.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If state machine rules are kept static and simple logging is used, then management and tracking is straightforward, but the system cannot adapt to frequent changes in state transition conditions
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the state machine model into distinct versioned components (state definitions, transition rules, conditions) that can be independently modified and tracked. Each change creates a new version while preserving historical versions, allowing the system to adapt to rule changes without losing track of previous states.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary actions by establishing a versioning framework and audit trail mechanism before changes occur. This allows the system to proactively manage future changes by recording the current state configuration, so when changes happen, the audit trail already exists to capture the transition.
2Adaptability or versatility
If state transition conditions are changed to improve adaptability, then the system can respond to new requirements, but tracing and auditing previous transitions becomes difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates copies of the state machine configuration at each version point. When transition conditions change, the system copies the current state definitions, transitions, and conditions into a new version, preserving the original configuration intact. This allows auditing of previous transitions against their original conditions without interference from later changes.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary copying of the state machine model before any modifications. By capturing the current configuration state before changes occur, the system ensures that audit information for previous transitions is preserved in its original context, enabling accurate tracing even as the model evolves.
3Loss of information
If version tracking is implemented to maintain audit trails, then tracing previous transitions is improved, but the complexity of managing state machine instances increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a universal versioning mechanism that handles multiple functions through a single framework. The same version control system manages state definitions, transition rules, conditions, and audit trails uniformly, reducing the need for separate complex management systems for each aspect of the state machine.
Data Source
AI summary
A system and method of state machine management includes loading a state machine. The state machine includes states, transitions between respective pairs of the states, and tasks for each of the state transitions. Each of the tasks represents a precondition before a corresponding state transition may occur and is identified by a task identifier and a version. The method further includes identifying a current state, providing a status of a first task associated with an outgoing state transition from the current state to an agent, receiving an update to the status of the first task, and recording the update to the status of the first task as a first task event. The task is identified by a first task identifier and a first version. The first task event records the first task identifier, the first version, a first time stamp of when the update occurred, and the agent.