WORKFLOW ORCHESTRATION USING A UNIVERSAL STATE MANAGER

Number: 20250103990
Published: 2025-03-27
Filed: 2023-09-27
Assignee: DISNEY ENTERPRISES, INC.
Inventors: LEWIS; Nicholas Jordan et al.
CPC: G06Q10/063114; G06Q10/0633; G06Q10/063112; G06Q10/06332; G06Q10/103
Verdict: Set aside business workflow orchestration, IT/ops
Source: Google Patents · FreePatentsOnline

Abstract

The present invention sets forth a technique for performing workflow orchestration in disparate computer systems and software applications using a universal state manager. This technique includes generating a unique job identifier for a requested automation workflow. The technique also includes retrieving a workflow template specifying phases and tasks associated with the requested automation workflow. The technique further includes associating one or more reference IDs generated by one or more system components to the unique job identifier, wherein each of the one or more system components performs at least a subset of tasks specified in the one or more phases. The technique further includes aggregating status reports generated by the one or more system components, correlating each status report with a corresponding reference ID associated with the system component that generated the status report, and generating a status of the requested automation workflow based on the status reports.

Background

BACKGROUND Field of the Various Embodiments

Embodiments of the present disclosure relate generally to Information Technology (IT) automation and, more specifically, to techniques for automatically orchestrating workflows in disparate computer systems and software applications. Description of the Related Art

Computer-implemented workflows including many different operations or actions are often broken up into a number of discrete tasks. These tasks require network or computer resources, which may be logically or physically co-located or may be separated. Further, each individual task may invoke one or more downstream software applications, with each software application potentially being provided by a different software vendor and operating disparately from other software applications. In some cases, task execution may require dependencies between software applications. For example, the output of one task may serve as the input for one or more additional tasks, or one task may need to achieve a particular status before a different task may begin or continue its operation. In short, managing computer-implemented workflows may require coordinating the execution of a number of downstream software applications from multiple vendors on a variety of disparate computing and network resources.

This wide variety of disparate downstream software applications hinders existing techniques for managing computer-implemented workflows. Each downstream software application

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method for performing workflow orchestration, the computer-implemented method comprising: generating a unique job identifier associated with a requested automation workflow; retrieving a workflow template associated with the requested automation workflow, the workflow template comprising one or more phases, each phase specifying one or more tasks; associating one or more reference IDs generated by one or more system components to the unique job identifier, wherein each of the one or more system components performs at least a subset of tasks specified in the one or more phases; aggregating status reports generated by the one or more system components; correlating each status report with a corresponding reference ID associated with the system component that generated the status report; and generating a status of the requested automation workflow based on the status reports. || 10. One or more non-transitory computer-readable media storing instructions that, when executed by one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform the steps of: generating a unique job identifier associated with a requested automation workflow; retrieving a workflow template associated with the requested automation workflow, the workflow template comprising one or more phases, each phase specifying one or more tasks; associating one or more reference IDs generated by one or more system components to the unique job identifier, wherein each of the one or more system components performs at least a subset of tasks specified in the one or more phases; aggregating status reports generated by the one or more system components; correlating each status report with a corresponding reference ID associated with the system component that generated the status report; and generating a status of the requested automation workflow based on the status reports. || 19. A computer-implemented method for performing workflow orchestration, the computer-implemented method comprising: generating a unique job identifier associated with a requested automation workflow; retrieving a workflow template associated with the requested automation workflow, the workflow template comprising one or more phases, each phase specifying one or more tasks; assigning, via a plugin associated with an external computing system, one or more tasks to one or more external system components located in the external computing system; associating one or more reference IDs generated by one or more external system components to the unique job identifier, wherein each of the one or more external system components performs at least a subset of tasks specified in the one or more phases; receiving, via the plugin, status reports generated by the one or more external system components; correlating each status report with a corresponding reference ID associated with the external system component that generated the status report; and generating a status of the requested automation workflow based on the status reports.