Using the services of the system logger, logging provides a means of backing out the changes to resources. The undo log contains images of changed records as they existed prior to being changed. When forward recoverability is requested, records are also written to a forward recovery log, which contains copies of records after they were changed. In the event that a unit of work fails, a secondary system log is used. The failed unit of work is moved from the primary log to the secondary log, pending resolution of the failure by the user.