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Date: May 1, 2026 Appendix C. Future-State Workflow Tables Table C-1. Future-state SI-assisted workflow
| Workflow |
| Step No. |
| Step Name |
| Primary Actor |
| Systems / Tools |
| Key Inputs |
| Core Action |
| Key Output |
| Main Burden / Risk |
| Future-State SI-Assisted Workflow |
| 1 |
| Ingest case file |
| SI system with examiner oversight |
| PE2E-DAV, SLIC, sequence listing |
| Claims, specification, sequence listing, annotations |
| Read and structure the relevant application content |
| Structured case summary |
| Must accurately process both structured and unstructured content |
| Future-State SI-Assisted Workflow |
| 2 |
| Extract search-relevant features |
| SI system with examiner oversight |
| SI analysis layer |
| SEQ ID NOs, fragments, identity ranges, variants, fusions, wildcards |
| Identify the sequence-related claim features that affect search scope |
| Search-feature inventory |
| Must preserve examiner review and control |
| Future-State SI-Assisted Workflow |
| 3 |
| Generate candidate search strategy |
| SI system with examiner oversight |
| SI analysis layer, ABSS workflow logic |
| Search-feature inventory, known tool capabilities |
| Recommend search type, query groupings, parameters, and databases |
| Proposed search plan |
| Recommendations must be explainable and auditable |
| Future-State SI-Assisted Workflow |
| 4 |
| Examiner review of strategy |
| Examiner |
| SI user interface |
| Proposed search plan |
| Accept, reject, or revise the SI recommendations |
| Finalized search plan |
| Examiner remains responsible for search sufficiency |
| Future-State SI-Assisted Workflow |
| 5 |
| Prepare search submission |
| SI system and examiner |
| ABSS, STIC request workflow |
| Finalized search plan |
| Convert the approved plan into ABSS or STIC-ready instructions |
| Search-ready submission package |
| Must fit existing USPTO workflows |
| Future-State SI-Assisted Workflow |
| 6 |
| Execute search |
| Examiner or STIC-EIC 1600 |
| ABSS, STIC request workflow |
| Search-ready submission package |
| Run the search or submit the customized request |
| Search submitted |
| SI should support, not autonomously decide, examination actions |
| Future-State SI-Assisted Workflow |
| 7 |
| Ingest result files |
| SI system with examiner oversight |
| PE2E-DAV, GenBase UI |
| ABSS result files |
| Parse and organize results across queries and databases |
| Structured result set |
| Must handle large and heterogeneous output files |
| Future-State SI-Assisted Workflow |
| 8 |
| Triage and prioritize results |
| SI system with examiner oversight |
| SI result-analysis layer |
| Structured result set, claim features |
| Rank, cluster, and summarize likely relevant hits and references |
| Prioritized examiner-facing result set |
| Must avoid hiding potentially material references |
| Future-State SI-Assisted Workflow |
| 9 |
| Explain recommendations |
| SI system |
| SI user interface |
| Ranked results, supporting evidence |
| Provide reasons why particular hits or references were prioritized |
| Explainable recommendation summary |
| Explainability is essential for trust and adoption |
| Future-State SI-Assisted Workflow |
| 10 |
| Examiner review of prioritized references |
| Examiner |
| SI user interface, PE2E-DAV, GenBase UI |
| Prioritized result set, explanations |
| Confirm, revise, or reject SI-prioritized references |
| Examiner-approved prior art set |
| Examiner judgment remains controlling |
| Future-State SI-Assisted Workflow |
| 11 |
| Support documentation |
| SI system and examiner |
| Examination record tools |
| Final search plan, approved references |
| Draft concise search summaries and workflow notes for examiner revision |
| Draft documentation support |
| Output must remain editable and reviewable by the examiner |
