Process tracking and defect detection

• US 10,380,518 B2
• Filed: 09/30/2014
• Issued: 08/13/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 09/30/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Maximus Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Maximus Incorporated
• Inventors: Riefel, Randall
• Primary Examiner(s): Amoroso, Anthony J
• Application Number:
  US14/502,783
• Publication Number:
  US 20150095072A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,778 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/0766 Error or fault reporting or storing
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/079 Root cause analysis, i.e. error or fault diagnosis in a hardware test environment G06F11/22; in a software test environment G06F11/36
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/3006 where the computing system is distributed, e.g. networked systems, clusters, multiprocessor systems multiprogramming arrangements G06F9/46; allocation of resources G06F9/50
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/3466 Performance evaluation by tracing or monitoring
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/063114 Status monitoring or status determination for a person or group
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/0635 Risk analysis of enterprise or organisation activities
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06393 Score-carding, benchmarking or key performance indicator [KPI] analysis
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/08 Insurance

Abstract

A system monitors request processing operations and flags process defects (for example, a request that has become orphaned, stuck, or vanished from a processing queue.). The system uses knowledge of how a business process is expected to behave to how it is actually behaving to detect exception instances. The system can detect individual process instances behaving unexpectedly as well as patterns across instance sets. In some cases, the system maintains one set of information (for example, in a database) for requests that have been input to the system, and a second set of information for requests then being processed. The system may compare the two sets of information and identify differences between the sets of information.

Claims

1. A method of identifying defects in request processing operations, comprising:

generating, by a process tracking system implemented on one or more computer systems, a request-made set of information comprising information about requests that have been made to a system;

monitoring, by the process tracking system, request processing operations in the system, wherein monitoring request processing operations comprises;

generating an active-processing set of information, wherein the active-processing set of information comprises information on requests then being processed; and

comparing, for at least one request made to the system, the active processing set of information with the request-made set of information;

identifying, by the process tracking system, based on the comparison between the active-processing set of information and the request-made set of information, one or more process defects in the request processing operations, wherein the process defect comprises a request that has become orphaned or stuck; and

flagging at least one request associated with at least one of the identified defects.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the process defect comprises a request that has vanished from a processing queue.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising determining, for at least one of the process defects, the nature of the process defect.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising determining, for at least one of the process defects, the reason for a stall or non-conformance in the request.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising reporting at least one of the process defects to a user.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising implementing, in response to identification of a process defect, corrective action for at least one of the processing defects.

7. A system, comprising:

one or more computer systems configured to implement a process tracking system, wherein the process tracking system is configured to;

generate a request-made set of information comprising information about requests that have been made to a system;

monitor request processing operations in the system, wherein monitoring request processing operations comprises;

generating an active-processing set of information, wherein the active-processing set of information comprises information on requests then being processed; and

comparing, for at least one request made to the system, the active processing set of information with the request-made set of information;

identify, based on the comparison between the active-processing set of information and the request-made set of information, one or more process defects in the request processing operations;

determining, for at least one of the process defects, the nature of the process defect, wherein the process defect comprises a request that has become orphaned or stuck; and

flag at least one request associated with at least one of the identified defects.