Procedurella

Procedurella is a theoretical framework for organizing procedural knowledge by decomposing complex tasks into modular units called procedurella units. Each unit encapsulates a discrete operation, its required inputs, outputs, preconditions, and a defined interface to other units. The aim is to enable reuse and flexible reassembly of procedures across contexts.

Units are linked into workflows through directed graphs or declarative rules, allowing multiple assembly configurations. Interfaces specify data types, execution semantics, and potential side effects; units can be parameterized to adapt to different environments while preserving contract stability.

Key design goals include modularity, reusability, composability, traceability, and clear provenance. Procedurella emphasizes explicit contracts between units, versioning, testability of individual units, and observable inter-unit interactions to facilitate auditing and maintenance.

The concept overlaps with workflow management, procedural programming, and domain-specific languages, but it foregrounds micro-unit granularity and portable interfaces that cross domains.

Applications span software engineering for pipeline design and automation, education for structured stepwise tutoring, and operations research for modeling standard operating procedures.

Example: a data-processing task is represented as units fetch, validate, transform, and store; each unit defines its inputs and outputs and sequencing rules, enabling alternative configurations or substitution of units without altering the overall objective.

Limitations include the overhead of defining and maintaining interfaces, the need for governance to prevent fragmentation, and potential performance costs from indirection.

See also: modularity, workflow management, microservices, domain-specific languages.