What Can Be Verified?
W3Patterns verifies the business workflows that keep an organization operating and the dependencies those workflows rely on. The goal is not to replace infrastructure observability. The goal is to determine whether critical business capabilities are functioning as expected.
A framework for verifying what the business depends on.
W3Patterns is a business reliability verification framework, not simply a web monitoring tool. It verifies business workflows and the dependencies that support them to determine whether an organization can successfully perform its critical business capabilities.
A workflow represents a business capability. Dependencies represent the systems, services, and resources required to deliver that capability.
Workflows and dependencies may be verified using the most appropriate technology for the task, including HTTP, TCP, DNS, SQL, SSH, Playwright, file system checks, SMTP, APIs, or other verification methods. The choice of verifier is an implementation detail; what matters is whether the workflow or dependency is functioning as expected from a business perspective.
Every verifier reports the same four things.
Regardless of how a workflow or dependency is checked, the result is presented consistently throughout the Business Reliability System.
Business workflows and the dependencies behind them.
The same methodology applies whether the business capability happens in a browser, through an API, in a database, on a server, or during a scheduled process.
| Business capability | Supporting dependencies | Possible verification methods |
|---|---|---|
| Customer Login | Website, identity provider, database | Playwright, HTTP, SQL |
| Search Product Catalog | Website, search API, product database | Playwright, HTTP, SQL |
| Display Product Images | Website, image metadata, cloud object storage | Playwright, HTTP, API |
| Process Payment | Checkout application, payment gateway, order database | Playwright, HTTP, API, SQL |
| Send Invoice Email | Invoice service, SMTP provider, template store | SMTP, HTTP, SQL |
| Process Payroll | Payroll service, database, export file, delivery destination | SQL, SSH, file checks, SFTP |
| Import Inventory | Inbound file, import directory, inventory database | SSH, file checks, SQL |
| Generate Monthly Report | Database, report engine, output location | SQL, HTTP, file checks |
| Complete Nightly Backup | Backup service, storage destination, completion artifact | SSH, API, file checks |
| Submit Insurance Claim | Customer portal, claims API, database, document storage | Playwright, HTTP, API, SQL |
| Run Daily Reconciliation | Source systems, reconciliation job, result file, database | SSH, SQL, file checks, API |
| Publish Scheduled Content | CMS, publishing API, web server, CDN | API, HTTP, DNS, Playwright |
W3Patterns verifies business reliability—not deep infrastructure diagnostics.
W3Patterns stops at the business boundary. It verifies business capabilities and the health of their supporting dependencies. Deep infrastructure diagnostics remain the responsibility of the customer's existing observability platform.
The distinction is not determined by the technology used. The distinction is determined by the question being asked.
“Why is CPU steal time increasing?” is an infrastructure observability question.
One workflow can deliver immediate value.
You do not need to model every process on day one. Most customers begin with one critical workflow and the dependencies that support it.
Once the Business Reliability System is in place, additional workflows and dependencies can be added using the same methodology and verifier contract.
A typical first implementation
- Identify one critical business workflow
- Identify its supporting dependencies
- Choose the appropriate verifier for each check
- Report status, duration, reason, and timestamp
- Present the result in the Business Reliability System
We'll help identify the first workflow worth verifying.
If you're unsure where to start, that's normal. W3Patterns will help identify the workflow that provides the greatest business value, map its dependencies, and prepare a written proposal before work begins.