Host Platform Workflow Intermediary for Error Resolution
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Solution Overview
Problem
Software developers face challenges in efficiently integrating and reusing workflows due to integration issues, which can lead to errors and increased development time, and there is a need for better interoperability and data security across multiple software tools.
Innovation Solution
A host platform ecosystem that enables seamless integration and data handling through APIs, data schemas, and custom objects, allowing third-party developers to create modular applications that work together while ensuring data security and user experience.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If developers reuse existing workflows to reduce development time, then productivity increases, but integration errors and system reliability deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces an intermediary system that sits between workflow execution and external systems. This intermediary monitors workflow steps, detects failures, and applies failure policies to resolve issues automatically. The intermediary acts as a buffer that prevents integration errors from propagating, thus maintaining reliability while allowing workflow reuse for productivity gains.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements failure policies that are configured in advance before workflow execution. These policies include retry mechanisms, timeout settings, and fallback procedures that are prepared beforehand to cushion against potential failures. By pre-configuring these protective measures, the system maintains reliability even when reusing workflows across different contexts.
2Adaptability or versatility
If developers modify existing workflows to fit new requirements, then adaptability improves, but integration complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments workflows into discrete, manageable steps that can be independently configured and modified. Each workflow step is a separate unit that can be customized without affecting the entire workflow. This segmentation allows developers to adapt specific portions of workflows to new requirements while maintaining the overall structure, thereby improving adaptability without proportionally increasing integration complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent enables local customization of workflow steps through failure policies and configuration parameters that apply specifically to individual steps or contexts. Instead of requiring global modifications to entire workflows, developers can apply local quality changes to specific steps where needed. This allows adaptive customization while minimizing the complexity spread across the entire system.
3Adaptability or versatility
If multiple components interface to perform tasks in workflows, then functionality increases, but error detection difficulty worsens
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements comprehensive feedback mechanisms that monitor each workflow step execution and provide detailed status information. When errors occur, the feedback system traces the error back to the specific step and component that caused it, making error detection straightforward despite the presence of multiple interfacing components. The feedback includes error messages, stack traces, and contextual information that pinpoint the exact location of failures.
Data Source
AI summary
In some embodiments, a computer system receives a user interface corresponding to an event-based workflow, generates event data based on a user input to the user interface, and provides the event data to the host platform system causing the host platform system to attempt to execute a first step corresponding to one or more events of the event-based workflow, wherein a failure to execute the step is resolved in at least one of a first manner or a second manner, the first manner corresponds to a first set of one or more execution criteria associated with the step, and the second manner corresponds to a second set of one or more execution criteria associated with the step. In response to providing the event data, the computer system receives a result corresponding to the attempted execution of the step and updates the user interface based on the result.