When an up to date state has been achieved for the inputs and outputs of a build process, an asset state indicator is set to indicate that all the inputs and outputs are up to date. Those inputs and outputs are monitored. If a change to any of the inputs and/or outputs is detected, the asset state indicator is updated to indicate that some build execution is needed. When a build request is detected, the current state of the asset state indicator is exposed. An execution sequence for targets of the build process based on dependencies between targets is determined. A starting point for a partial build is determined by determining the earliest-appearing target in the sequence that is affected by the detected changes to the inputs and outputs to the targets of the execution sequence. Executing the build process from this starting point will produce the updated outputs and return the system to the up to date state.