Trend Atlas-Tool Refactoring and Durable Functions Integration

Start year: 2025

Summary: The NSW Department of Premier and Cabinet (DPC) has developed and deployed several Python-based automation tools within the Azure environment to support the Trend Atlas platform—an advanced intelligence system designed to track and interpret global trends impacting New South Wales. These tools have proven vital to platform operations, automating the extraction and interpretation of global article data. Currently, all functionality is consolidated into a single Azure Function, where tool activation is manually managed via code comments. While effective in proof-of-concept stages, this architecture limits scalability, maintainability, and runtime configurability. To align with best practices and improve operational efficiency, we propose refactoring the existing toolset into a modular Azure Durable Functions architecture. This approach introduces orchestrator, activity, and client (HTTP-trigger) functions to provide a robust, configurable, and production-ready solution.

Acknowledgement of Country

UTS acknowledges the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation, the Boorooberongal people of the Dharug Nation, the Bidiagal people and the Gamaygal people upon whose ancestral lands our university stands. We would also like to pay respect to the Elders both past and present, acknowledging them as the traditional custodians of knowledge for these lands.