An automated system of record creates and administers a sponsored community for participants. Participants use an automated negotiations engine for iterative, multivariate negotiations that stores each set of terms at each iteration to form a system of record. The automated negotiations engine can also be used to propose and negotiate specifications, prototypes and implementations of other systems. An active contract feature informs the results of such negotiations, by incorporating predefined templates to track activity related to the concluded negotiation. The system implements a higher level of security by validating activities against the originally negotiated terms. A contract authority assigns a unique identifier to each transaction to track activities against the transaction for analysis and reporting. A multiple repository enables users to maintain the non-repudiation data for transactions in which they participate at user designated locations. Participants can also use process mining to measure the effectiveness of processes.