Patent ID: 8006245

Claim:
One or more computer storage media having computer-useable instructions embodied thereon for performing a state management and workflow control method for managing business transactions conducted between multiple users and an application over a computer network, the instructions comprising: a set of user action permission rules defining at least one user prerequisite state required in order to perform an action requested by a user, the user having at least one user initial state when the user requests the action, wherein the user is a customer having an account tracked using the state management and workflow control method, and wherein the action requested by the user is performed if the at least one user initial state satisfies the at least one user prerequisite state; at least one status reason stored in association with the at least one user initial state, wherein the at least one status reason is a reason why the user has the at least one user initial state; and a set of user state changing rules defining how to update the at least one user initial state in response to performance of the action requested by the user, wherein the state to which the user is updated depends on the performed action, the at least one user initial state, and the at least one stored status reason, wherein consideration of the at least one stored status reason allows performance of different actions requested by the user to result in the same updated state for different reasons, and wherein both the set of user action permission rules and the set of user state changing rules are separated from the application to facilitate rule addition and removal.