Virtual Worker Queue for Legacy System Integration
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Solution Overview
Problem
Traditional enterprise system planning and rollout processes are inefficient and costly due to the need for extensive testing and quality assurance, and the use of operational staff to bridge gaps between incompatible software applications, leading to inefficiency, inaccuracy, and potential malicious interference.
Innovation Solution
A system utilizing virtual machines as a digital workforce to automate processes by interacting with software applications, optimizing the distribution of work items through a work queue management system that dynamically allocates resources and virtual machines to execute processes efficiently.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If operational staff are used to bridge gaps between incompatible software applications, then the system can handle processes between legacy systems, but the process becomes slow and expensive
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements automated self-service through virtual workers that independently interact with multiple software applications. The system automatically extracts data from source systems, transforms it according to defined rules, and loads it into target systems without human intervention. This eliminates the need for operational staff to manually bridge incompatible systems while maintaining the ability to handle diverse legacy applications.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the mechanical manual process of operational staff with an automated computational system. Virtual workers use software interfaces to interact with incompatible applications, automatically performing data extraction, transformation, and loading operations. This substitution of mechanical human labor with automated software agents dramatically increases process speed while maintaining adaptability to legacy systems.
2Adaptability or versatility
If operational staff are used to bridge gaps between incompatible software applications, then the system can handle processes between legacy systems, but errors occur due to human input mistakes
Solution Approach 1:
The automated system performs data extraction, transformation, and loading operations independently without human intervention. The virtual workers follow predefined rules and protocols to interact with incompatible systems, ensuring consistent and accurate data handling. This eliminates human input mistakes while maintaining the flexibility to work with diverse legacy applications.
Solution Approach 2:
The system incorporates feedback mechanisms where the automated process monitors and validates data at each stage of extraction, transformation, and loading. Error checking and validation rules are embedded in the automation workflow, allowing the system to detect and correct issues automatically, thereby improving data accuracy compared to manual operations.
3Reliability
If traditional enterprise system planning and rollout are used to integrate new systems, then comprehensive testing and quality assurance can be performed, but the implementation takes many years and is very costly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements preliminary action by pre-configuring virtual workers with the necessary skills and instructions to interact with specific software applications. The automation workflows are designed in advance with embedded validation rules and error handling mechanisms, allowing rapid deployment without extensive testing cycles. This preliminary preparation enables quick implementation while maintaining system quality.
Solution Approach 2:
The system employs dynamic automation workflows that can be quickly adjusted and deployed. Virtual workers can be created, modified, and activated rapidly based on changing business requirements. The modular nature of the automation allows for iterative implementation where quality can be ensured through targeted testing of individual workflows rather than comprehensive system-wide testing, significantly reducing implementation time.
4Reliability
If specialized programming skills are required to design and configure new systems, then the systems can be properly developed, but the development process takes longer due to limited skilled personnel
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a universal platform for process automation that can handle multiple software applications and scenarios through a common set of virtual workers. The system provides pre-built templates and standardized interaction patterns that work across different legacy systems, eliminating the need for specialized programming for each specific integration scenario. This universality allows business users to configure automations without deep technical expertise while maintaining development quality.
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses copying by replicating successful automation patterns and virtual worker configurations across different applications and scenarios. Once a virtual worker is successfully configured to interact with one software application, the same template can be copied and adapted for other systems, dramatically reducing development time. This copying approach maintains quality through proven patterns while accelerating deployment speed.
Data Source
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AI summary
The present invention relates to a system for automating processes, and in particular to a system for optimising the distribution of work items among available processing resources within such a system. The system includes an active queue controller, executed on an application server, that manages the creation and deletion of virtual machines on available resources while querying a data store for work items and instructions for executing that automated processes.