State Machine Implementation and Auditing

Shopify has evolved its approach to state machine implementation and auditing. This includes recognizing state machine patterns in data models (e.g., 'state' or 'status' fields, boolean flags, nullable timestamps), leveraging gems like 'state_machine' for implementation, and tracking transition history. For acyclic state machines, timestamps per state are used. For cyclic machines, a dedicated log table records transitions (timestamp, old state, new state, event). Records are never deleted; instead, an 'error' state is used for accountability and historical analysis. This ensures better bug prevention, clearer API definitions, and valuable insights into user behavior.