Persist return progress and next-step dispatch atomically
Inspection completion commits but the shipping step is never scheduled after a process crash.
- Focused work estimate
- 4h + prerequisites
- Priority in the scenario
- Medium
- Engineering practice
- Transactional outbox · Workflow durability
Estimated field mix
- Distributed systems50%
- Database engineering30%
- Backend20%
Field percentages are editorial estimates of the ticket's engineering focus. They total 100%; they are not measured time, proficiency scores, or ownership evidence.
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Project context
A fictional equipment-rental service approves returns through several provider calls. Partial failures leave labels issued without inspections or refunds reported before provider confirmation.
Setup prerequisites
- Create synthetic return records and fake inspection, shipping and refund adapters.
- Use integer money values and no real payments or messages.
Preceding work
Complete these dependencies, or supply their agreed outputs before taking this ticket.
Acceptance criteria
- Commit the observed step fact and outbox dispatch together.
- Derive next-step identity from the durable workflow generation.
- Make repeated step completion a no-op or explicit conflict.
Implementation constraints
- Keep remote provider calls outside database transactions.
Verification to include
- Crash after inspection fact commit and recover label dispatch.
- Repeat the same completion and create no duplicate next step.
Deliverables
- Workflow/outbox transaction and crash probe
Rollout and recovery
Canary synthetic returns; pause advancement if durable dispatch cannot be recorded.
Value of the work
For the engineer: Practice durable workflow state, compensation and uncertain outcomes.
For the team: Review recoverable business operations without assuming distributed transactions.
Evidence boundaries
Outcome Evidence: Tests, patches, and runbooks are requested deliverables. They become Outcome Evidence only through a qualified Mission and immutable Evidence IDs.
Ownership Evidence: Independent adaptation must be observed under a declared verification policy and cite immutable Evidence IDs. Completing a planning ticket establishes no Ownership Evidence.