Optimizing Data Lifecycle Management in North-South

Introduction

In the North-South project, we manage complex policy data that evolves over time. As policies reach their conclusion, managing the lifecycle of that data becomes critical to maintaining application performance and data integrity. Recently, we focused on refining our update logic to ensure that stale or orphaned records are handled gracefully.

The Problem: Ghost Records

Previously, when a policy was marked as 'culminated' (completed), the system often left behind residual data. These 'ghost records' cluttered our database and occasionally caused discrepancies in reporting. Much like an old storage unit where you keep paying for items you no longer use, our database was holding onto orphaned relations that served no further purpose once a policy reached its end.

The Solution: Repository Pattern Cleanup

To address this, we implemented a cleaner update method within our repository layer. By centralizing the cleanup logic, we ensure that every time an update operation is triggered for a policy, the system verifies and prunes any unnecessary related records.

Here is how we structured the repository logic in TypeScript:

async updatePolicyStatus(id: string, status: string): Promise<void> {
  const policy = await this.repository.findOne(id);
  
  if (status === 'culminated') {
    // Remove orphaned relations during cleanup
    await this.relationRepository.deleteMany({ policyId: id });
  }
  
  await this.repository.update(id, { status });
}

This method encapsulates the deletion logic, ensuring that 'culminated' policies leave no footprint behind. The repository pattern allowed us to inject this cleanup step without polluting our domain models or business logic services.

Results and Testing

By ensuring the repository handles this cleanup, we have observed a significant reduction in data drift. To verify this behavior, we added regression tests using Cypress to ensure that after a policy transition, the expected relations are successfully removed:

it('should clear relations when policy is culminated', () => {
  cy.get('.policy-status-select').select('culminated');
  cy.get('.save-btn').click();
  cy.get('.relation-list').should('not.exist');
});

Key Takeaways

1. Encapsulate Cleanup: Put data lifecycle management in your repository or service layer rather than spreading it across controllers.
2. Verify with Automation: Use Cypress to ensure that UI actions properly trigger backend cleanup processes.
3. Think about Disposal: Always consider the 'end-of-life' for your data entities to keep your application lean.

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