Patent ID: 7373361

Claim:
In a system that includes a central server and a plurality of remote devices, wherein the remote devices communicate with the central server in order to provide event tracking information relevant to a plurality of different business processes associated with a plurality of different business entities to the central server, wherein each of the business processes is conducted by one or more persons associated with a service provider that performs services for the plurality of different business entities, wherein said persons perform at least first and second different roles in the business process, wherein said first and second roles each control an operation of one or more of (i) one or more persons and (ii) one or more devices on the network, a method for varying a configuration of at least one of the remote devices, comprising: (a) downloading software comprising a state machine interpreter onto the remote device; (b) downloading a first state table to the remote device and applying the first state table to the state machine interpreter in order to configure the remote device to operate in accordance with the first role in the business process; (c) while the remote device is configured to operate in accordance with the first role: (i) capturing field data with the remote device; (ii) processing, with the state machine interpreter and in accordance with the first state table, the field data to generate the event tracking information associated with the business process; and (iii) transmitting the event tracking information from the remote device to the central server in accordance with output from step (c)(ii); (d) downloading a second state table to the remote device and after step (c), applying the second state table to the state machine interpreter previously downloaded in step (a) in order to reconfigure the remote device to operate in accordance with the second role in the business process, wherein the remote device is reconfigured from the first role to the second role without changing the state machine interpreter on the remote device; (e) while the remote device is configured to operate in accordance with the second role: (i) capturing the field data with the at least one remote device; (ii) processing, with the state machine interpreter and in accordance with the second state table, the field data to generate the event tracking information; and (iii) transmitting the event tracking information associated with the business process from the remote device to the central server in accordance with output from step (e)(ii); (f) at the central server, associating the event tracking information transmitted in steps (c)(iii) and (e)(iii) with an indication that the event tracking information is associated with one of the business entities; and (g) processing the event tracking information in accordance with the indication.