Workflow decision management with intermediate message validation

• US 20070101007A1
• Filed: 11/01/2005
• Published: 05/03/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 11/01/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: X Corp. (f/k/a Twitter, Inc.) (X Holdings Corp.)
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Brown, William, Reddington, Francis, Muirhead, Richard
• Granted Patent: US 7,657,636 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/228
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/56 Provisioning of proxy services store-and-forward switching systems in data switching networks H04L12/54
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/564 Enhancement of application control based on intercepted application data

Abstract

Methods, systems, and computer program products are provided for workflow decision management. Embodiments include maintaining a device state history; identifying a device usage pattern in dependence upon the device state history; identifying a workflow scenario in dependence upon the device usage pattern; identifying a workflow in dependence upon the workflow scenario; executing the workflow including: sending, to an intermediate message validation service, a message to be forwarded to a device to administer at least one value of an attribute of the device; determining, by the intermediate message validation service, that the message is valid; and forwarding, by the intermediate message validation service, the valid message to the device.

Claims

1. A method for workflow decision management, the method comprising:

maintaining a device state history;

identifying a device usage pattern in dependence upon the device state history;

identifying a workflow scenario in dependence upon the device usage pattern;

identifying a workflow in dependence upon the workflow scenario;

executing the workflow including;

sending, to an intermediate message validation service, a message to be forwarded to a device to administer at least one value of an attribute of the device;

determining, by the intermediate message validation service, that the message is valid; and

forwarding, by the intermediate message validation service, the valid message to the device.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein determining, by the intermediate message validation service, that the message is valid further comprises:

determining differences between the structure of a packet of the message and a predefined proper packet structure;

determining that differences between the structure of the packet of the message and the predefined proper packet structure do not exceed a threshold similarity requirement.

3. The method of claim 2 wherein determining differences between the structure of a packet of the message and a predefined proper packet structure further comprises counting the differences between the structure of a packet of the message and a predefined proper packet structure.

4. The method of claim 2 wherein determining differences between the structure of a packet of the message and a predefined proper packet structure further comprises identifying a qualitative difference between the structure of a packet of the message and a predefined proper packet structure.

5. The method of claim 2 wherein the predefined proper packet structure further comprises a predefined proper packets structure for the device.

6. The method of claim 2 wherein the predefined proper packet structure further comprises a predefined proper packets structure for a network of the device.

7. A system for workflow decision management, the system comprising:

a computer processor;

a computer memory operatively coupled to the computer processor, the computer memory having disposed within it computer program instructions capable of;

maintaining a device state history;

identifying a device usage pattern in dependence upon the device state history;

identifying a workflow scenario in dependence upon the device usage pattern;

identifying a workflow in dependence upon the workflow scenario;

executing the workflow including;

sending, to an intermediate message validation service, a message to be forwarded to a device to administer at least one value of an attribute of the device;

determining, by the intermediate message validation service, that the message is valid; and

forwarding, by the intermediate message validation service, the valid message to the device.

8. The system of claim 7 wherein the computer memory also has disposed within it computer program instructions capable of:

determining differences between the structure of a packet of the message and a predefined proper packet structure;

determining that differences between the structure of the packet of the message and the predefined proper packet structure do not exceed a threshold similarity requirement.

9. The system of claim 8 wherein the computer memory also has disposed within it computer program instructions capable of counting the differences between the structure of a packet of the message and a predefined proper packet structure.

10. The system of claim 8 wherein the computer memory also has disposed within it computer program instructions capable of identifying a qualitative difference between the structure of a packet of the message and a predefined proper packet structure.

11. The system of claim 8 wherein the predefined proper packet structure further comprises a predefined proper packets structure for the device.

12. The system of claim 8 wherein the predefined proper packet structure further comprises a predefined proper packets structure for a network of the device.

13. A computer program product for workflow decision management, the computer program product disposed upon a signal bearing medium, the computer program product comprising:

computer program instructions for maintaining a device state history;

computer program instructions for identifying a device usage pattern in dependence upon the device state history;

computer program instructions for identifying a workflow scenario in dependence upon the device usage pattern;

computer program instructions for identifying a workflow in dependence upon the workflow scenario;

computer program instructions for executing the workflow including;

computer program instructions for sending, to an intermediate message validation service, a message to be forwarded to a device to administer at least one value of an attribute of the device;

computer program instructions for determining that the message is valid; and

computer program instructions for forwarding the valid message to the device.

14. The computer program product of claim 13 wherein computer program instructions for determining that the message is valid further comprise:

computer program instructions for determining differences between the structure of a packet of the message and a predefined proper packet structure;

computer program instructions for determining that differences between the structure of the packet of the message and the predefined proper packet structure do not exceed a threshold similarity requirement.

15. The computer program product of claim 14 wherein computer program instructions for determining differences between the structure of a packet of the message and a predefined proper packet structure further comprise computer program instructions for counting the differences between the structure of a packet of the message and a predefined proper packet structure.

16. The computer program product of claim 14 wherein computer program instructions for determining differences between the structure of a packet of the message and a predefined proper packet structure further comprise computer program instructions for identifying a qualitative difference between the structure of a packet of the message and a predefined proper packet structure.

17. The computer program product of claim 14 wherein the predefined proper packet structure further comprises a predefined proper packets structure for the device.

18. The computer program product of claim 14 wherein the predefined proper packet structure further comprises a predefined proper packets structure for a network of the device.

19. The computer program product of claim 13 wherein the signal bearing medium further comprises a recording medium.

20. The computer program product of claim 13 wherein the signal bearing medium further comprises a transmission medium.