Software Diagnostics Institute

The system of diagnostic analysis patterns from Software Diagnostic Institute was created for humans and may appear too complicated for machines, although AI, machine learning, and data processing techniques may be used in individual computer-assisted pattern implementations. Fortunately, in theory, deep learning allows functional processing units of arbitrary complexity, and we can reuse its metaphors to propose a similar architecture but where all neurons in a layer perform different complex functions and use the same complex input. The output includes unmodified input plus the result of each neuron computation (enrichment). Some neurons may not produce any output given the set of data.

Concrete analysis patterns as techniques (algorithms) to uncover diagnostic indicators can be represented as generalized complex data processing “neurons” interconnected like artificial neural networks. Input data is a software execution artifact (or a set of them) such as a software trace and log, network trace, or memory snapshot. Each analysis pattern (AP) accesses the whole artifact data (no input neurons encoding data vector elements). Each AP processing enriches input data by adding another derivative artifact, artifact transformation, and the list of found diagnostic indicators (signs). Each AP from the next iteration processes the updated input data. Stateful AP may also store some other information for the next iterations (with or without data enrichment), and stateless AP may serve the role of pure transformation functions (operators). In summary, AP layers are identical but are fed with enriched artifacts for each iteration (backpropagation metaphor).

Links between AP from consecutive layers correspond to analysis and problem pattern sequences (schemas) known in advance (they may be the same between each consecutive pair of layers) and may also be built dynamically during iterations if correlations are discovered. Such links may also correspond to interfaces between AP components that query information from the previous iteration or ask for analysis services. The analysis report generator (“output neuron”) may use the link “weight” matrix of discovered AP dependencies for further insight. Flagged AP “neurons” in the diagram below represent found diagnostic indicators and concrete problem patterns to be used either in subsequent iterations or during analysis report generation. We call this method and its corresponding architecture Analysis Pattern Network (APN).

AP may be implemented using machine learning (ML), rule-based (RB), human-based (HB), and transformation-based (TB) techniques.

Different iterations may strategically use different implementation techniques based on pattern interconnections and enriched artifacts; for example, an AP during the first iteration used artifact transformation, during the second iteration used rule-based machine learning algorithm, and the third iteration required human introspection.

APN is an architectural pattern itself and is now added to our catalog of software diagnostics architecture patterns.