System and method for detecting errors in electronic document workflow

Abstract

A system and method for detecting errors in a document transfer scheme. A user submits an electronic document transfer scheme to the document processing device including document handling instructions. The electronic document transfer scheme is then received by the document processing device and parsed, via the controller, to extract data representative of the destination designated by the scheme. Preferably, the destination data contained in the scheme provides the document processing device with a location to which a copy of an electronic document is to be sent. The source/destination information is then input as an arc on a graph, so as to generate a representation of the workflow associated with the document transfer scheme. A determination is then made, from the graph, whether the submitted electronic document transfer scheme represents at least one cycle on the graph. When it is determined, from an algorithmic query of the graph, that an infinite document transfer scheme exists, a notification is sent to the user submitting the most recent document transfer scheme.