Learning Systems Begin with Roles and States

Start with who handles the record

In course review and student applications, roles and states determine what a page should do. A course may pass from an editor to a reviewer before reaching readers. The allowed actions should be clear before the API is designed.

Buttons and endpoints must agree

Hiding irrelevant actions reduces mistakes, but the backend still checks permissions and record state.

Preserve historical context

Cloud Step stores commission information in order snapshots so later configuration changes do not rewrite the basis of an old order. Review results and content revisions raise similar questions.

Background work has states too

Video processing and reporting in Dual Engine use workers. Accepted, completed, failed and retried tasks need distinct feedback. A record has a history as well as fields; making that history explicit helps connect pages and APIs.