Workflow Replication System for Software Error Diagnosis
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional error reporting in software applications is limited, failing to provide sufficient context and supporting information to accurately identify and resolve execution errors, especially in complex modern software applications used in various conditions.
Innovation Solution
A user workflow replication system that captures user interactions and context data, including method calls, configuration settings, and accessed data, to replicate execution errors in a simulation environment, allowing for detailed analysis and identification of error causes, and uses customer usage data to inform updates to the software application.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Device complexity
If limited error reports are provided to software producer, then the system complexity is reduced, but the measurement precision of error diagnosis deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the error reporting process into multiple components: error event capture, workflow context collection, application state data gathering, and structured report generation. This segmentation allows comprehensive error diagnosis while maintaining manageable system complexity through modular architecture.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements preliminary action by proactively collecting and storing workflow context, application state, and configuration data before errors occur. This pre-collected information is readily available when errors happen, eliminating the need for complex real-time data gathering and improving diagnosis precision without increasing system complexity.
2Measurement precision
If comprehensive error context data is collected, then the measurement precision of error analysis is improved, but the loss of information transmission increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent transforms unstructured error context data into structured parameters with defined schemas. By converting workflow steps, application states, and error conditions into standardized parameters, the system achieves precise error analysis while enabling efficient information transmission through compact, structured data formats.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates simplified copies of the actual error context by generating representative workflow models and application state snapshots. These copies capture essential diagnostic information without transmitting the complete raw data set, reducing information transmission loss while maintaining analysis precision.
3Reliability
If detailed workflow data is captured and transmitted, then the reliability of error reproduction is improved, but the loss of time for data collection increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements preliminary action by continuously collecting and storing workflow context, application state, and configuration data in the foreground before errors occur. This pre-collected data is immediately available for error reproduction, achieving high reliability without adding time loss during error events.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent enables self-service by automatically capturing and transmitting error context data without requiring user intervention. The system autonomously gathers workflow information, application state, and error details, eliminating time loss associated with manual data collection while ensuring complete information for reliable error reproduction.
Data Source
AI summary
Examples of workflow replication and execution error analysis are provided herein. Data describing how a user interacts with a software application and describing the context within which the user is working is recorded and provided to a user workflow replication system when an execution error occurs. A simulation of the execution error can be performed by replicating a configuration of the software application and/or the computer system that executed the software application and then performing functions specified in the provided data. The results of the simulation of the execution error can then be analyzed according to a number of scenarios.