JP2008065784A - Workflow management system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a workflow management system capable of separately managing or presenting information related to a project and general information, by defining a project to which a system user and a task belong. <P>SOLUTION: The workflow management system, which dynamically constitutes a workflow model when executing a workflow, comprises a means for searching for a task, an attached document, and attached information by using access history information to a task performed to an object user by an arbitrary user including the object user, the attached document, and the attached information and a means for presenting the search result to the object user. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a workflow management system that enables timely information distribution using member information.

  A conventional workflow management system has to determine a workflow model before executing a workflow. However, it is difficult to formulate a prior workflow model in fields where the prior information is not completely complete, such as research and development and some service operations. Therefore, a method called a constructive workflow has been developed that can dynamically construct a model during workflow execution (for example, Japanese Patent Application Nos. 2005-47792 and 2005-154261).

  The applicant has not been able to find published prior art documents related to the present invention by the time of filing. Therefore, prior art document information is not disclosed.

  Basically, the constructive workflow technology as described above realizes dynamic definition of a workflow by enabling a combination of predetermined workflow components (typical partial workflow).

  In addition, the present inventors have already proposed a method for automatically presenting related information to a task instance as a technique for timely information distribution that collects and presents information necessary for dynamic definition of a workflow (for example, (Japanese Patent Application No. 2006-3500).

  However, information retrieved from an information repository that collects general information is usually diverse and large. In other words, there is a lack of a method for selecting information required by the user from an information repository with high accuracy.

  The present invention has been proposed in view of the above-described conventional problems, and the object of the present invention is to define a project to which a system user and a task belong, thereby separating information related to the project from general information. It is to provide a workflow management system that can be managed and presented.

  In order to solve the above-mentioned problem, in the present invention, as described in claim 1, a workflow management system that dynamically configures a workflow model when executing a workflow, Means for searching for tasks, attached documents and attached information using history information on access to tasks, attached documents and attached information performed by any user including the target user, and the search result for the target user. The gist of the present invention is a workflow management system comprising means for presenting and presenting.

  Further, as described in claim 2, in the workflow management system according to claim 1, an arbitrary user history used for searching for a task, an attached document, and attached information to be presented to the target user. Of the information, the search can be performed using only the history information of a specific user.

  Further, as described in claim 3, in the workflow management system according to any one of claims 1 and 2, an arbitrary user associated with the selected task currently selected by the target user is selected. The accessed task, attached document, and attached information can be presented together with the selected task.

  Further, as described in claim 4, in the workflow management system according to any one of claims 1 to 3, an arbitrary user related to the selected task currently selected by the target user is selected. Tasks, attached documents and attached information accessed in a specific time range can be presented.

  Further, as described in claim 5, in the workflow management system according to any one of claims 1 to 4, based on information on the project to which the selected task currently selected by the target user belongs, Tasks, attached documents, and attached information accessed by any user belonging to the project can be presented.

  Further, as described in claim 6, in the workflow management system according to any one of claims 1 to 5, an arbitrary user task, attached document, and attached information to be presented to the target user. Among them, only those related to the target user can be presented.

  Further, as described in claims 7 to 12, it can be configured as an information presentation method in a workflow management system.

  In the workflow management system of the present invention, by defining the project to which the system user and the task belong, the information related to the project and the general information can be managed and presented separately, and the user has a large amount of general information. It is possible to access particularly important information in a timely manner in distinction from information.

  Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described.

<System configuration>
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration example of a workflow management system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

  In FIG. 1, a workflow management system includes a GUI control unit 2 that provides a GUI (Graphical User Interface) for access from a browser 11 of a client 1 such as a PC (Personal Computer) operated by a user U who uses the system. , A workflow engine 3 that dynamically generates and executes a workflow model by reusing from an existing task model and / or task instance, a database 4 that holds information necessary for processing, and a CMS (Contents Management System) such as Wiki And a collaborative document creation system 5.

  The database 4 includes a related information DB 41 that stores related information that is referred to when executing the workflow, a task model DB 42 that stores a task model abstracted in advance by an administrator, etc., and a task that stores past task instances. It includes an instance DB 43, a work record DB 44 for storing work records of workflows, an organization information DB 45 for storing information on user groups to which the user belongs, and a user DB 46 for storing user information.

  The GUI control unit 2 includes a rendering engine 21 for drawing a display screen and an input / output control unit 22 for exchanging information with the user U.

  The workflow engine 3 refers to the search engine 31 that performs various searches on the database 4, the task control unit 32 that controls tasks constituting the workflow, and the database 4, and the operations of the user U and the workflow management system And a workflow recording unit 36 that performs workflow work recording on the work recording DB 44.

  The task control unit 32 estimates the current task of the user U based on information in the task creation unit 33 that creates the task, the task execution unit 34 that executes the created task, and the work record DB 44, and related information. And a guessing engine 35 for searching the database 4.

  As an outline of the workflow control operation, the user U operates the workflow engine 3 through the input / output control unit 22 of the GUI control unit 2 to create and execute a workflow, create a workflow model, related information, register a document, and Work such as linking with workflow instances and workflow models.

  When creating a workflow, the search engine 31 of the workflow engine 3 performs various searches on the database 4.

  The task control unit 32 of the workflow engine 3 uses the task model DB 42 and the task instance DB 43 to control a task based on an instruction from the user U and the like. The task creation unit 33 of the task control unit 32 performs tasks such as task creation and information linking based on information in the database 4 in accordance with an instruction from the user U. The task execution unit 34 uses the information in the task instance DB 43 in accordance with an instruction from the user U, and updates actual task information (task execution is update of task information as viewed from the system side). The estimation engine 35 estimates the current task of the user U based on the information in the work record DB 44 and searches the database 4 for related information.

  The workflow recording unit 36 monitors the operation of the user U and the workflow management system, and stores the workflow work record in the work record DB 44.

  FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an implementation example of a workflow management system, where “Web Server” and “J2EE Web Application” correspond to the GUI control unit 2 and “HTML-based Collaborative Documenting System” corresponds to the collaborative document creation system 5 And constitutes a front end. That is, a Web server and an HTML-based collaborative document creation system are provided so that the user U can access the system using a Web browser (browser 11). In this implementation, since it is assumed that the user U accesses the system using a Web browser, it is necessary to manage access to files on the network. Here, this function is realized by using a file management system on a network such as NetDrive.

  “Workflow Management System” and “Search Engine” correspond to the workflow engine 3 and constitute a backend. Since the basic functions of the workflow management are the same as those of the conventional system, a general workflow management system engine can be used in the system according to the present invention. A search engine based on a general query can also be used as a search engine for searching for tasks and related information.

  “MySQL”, “RDF Repositories”, “Doc.Index”, and “WebDAVrepos.” Correspond to the database 4 and constitute a data layer. Task information and related information are managed as an RDF repository, and related information and the like are managed by a document repository and an index server. The former corresponds to the task model DB 42 and the task instance DB 43 in FIG. 1, and the latter corresponds to the related information DB 41. User information and organization information are also realized by the RDF repository. These correspond to the organization information DB 45 in FIG.

  FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of the structure of a workflow. In FIG. 3, the workflow that is the root task is composed of an arbitrary number of tasks. Each task can further comprise an arbitrary number of subtasks. In other words, a workflow can have a plurality of tasks, and a task can have a plurality of subtasks, and their order relationship (indicated by a line with an arrow in the figure) is the same as that of a general workflow management system. . Each task and subtask can have related information and related documents.

  FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of the data structure of the task instance DB 43. “Task name” “task ID” “executor ID” “project ID” “user and time” “execution date” “end date” “use time” This includes items such as “information necessary for execution”, “information created by execution”, “information about subtasks”, “constraint conditions”, and “detailed information about tasks”. In this embodiment, the project ID is used to identify the project to which the task belongs. In addition, in order to hold the use history by the user, the user ID and access date and time of the user who accessed this task are managed as a set ("User and time" column in the data structure). Using this information, the system searches for information related to the user's task and presents it to the user.

  FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of the data structure of the user access history in the work record DB 44. “User ID” “Number of entries” “Data URI and access time 1” “Data URI and access time 2” “Data URI and access time” 3 ”... Includes items such as“ data URI and access time 221 ”. In this data structure, the history is managed for each user ID, the total number of accesses is used as the number of entries, and the URI and time of the accessed data are managed as the data URI and access time. When the user newly accesses data, the number of entries is updated, and a new “data URI and access time” is added.

  FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of the data structure of user group information in the organization information DB 45. “Group ID” “Group name” “Parent group ID” “Child group ID” “Number of entries” “User ID 1” “User ID 2” Items such as “user ID 3” to “user ID 8” are included. In addition to the group ID and group name, the user group data also manages parent group and child group information. Both of these identify a group using a group ID. The user group can represent a group on a specific organization, or can represent a smaller and fluid group such as a project unit.

  FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of the data structure of an access list that holds search results, and includes items such as “access list ID”, “user ID”, “data URI and time”, and the like.

  FIG. 8 is a diagram showing examples of related information item items such as “detailed information”, “attached document”, “inherited document”, “related document”, “related category”, “related process”, “similar task”, “project member information”, and the like. Consists of items.

<Overview of operation>
The present invention relates to a workflow management system capable of dynamically changing / updating a task constituting a workflow at the time of executing the workflow. Information related to the task constituting the workflow is transmitted to the user before the task is executed. By presenting, it assists the smooth execution of the task.

Here, the information necessary for task execution is the following two.
(1) Information on subtasks constituting the task (process information: what subtasks the task can be decomposed in, and in what order each subtask is executed)
(2) Information necessary for executing the task (domain information: for example, existing related documents, standards, task input / output information such as examples of previous similar tasks, and general information related to the task)
A characteristic part of the present invention is that information necessary for task execution is automatically presented by the system at the time of task execution. Differentiating from general information, search for information related to the user in particular. Also, in workflow management systems, managers and other managerial users can often be given authority to view the tasks of subordinate members, but if they can only view the tasks of other users, they can be used for project management and other purposes. Not enough to do. Therefore, in the system according to the present invention, the presentation information can be narrowed down by the member tasks associated with the project.

  FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a flow of retrieval and presentation of related information. The system automatically uses project information of a user task (here, User Task A), a task instance DB, a task model DB, and related information. DB, related document DB, etc. are searched. In order to realize this method, each task instance, task model, related document, and related information needs to hold a corresponding project ID.

  In addition to searching related information DB and related document DB directly, information related to task instance or task model found by task instance and task model search is searched from document DB or related information DB, and the information Can be presented as information related to the user task (User Task A). In this case, by presenting the name of the task to which the information is linked to the user at the same time, the user can estimate the content to some extent without reusing the contents of the related document and related information when actually reusing the information. Can do.

  Furthermore, in the system according to the present invention, it is possible to present information closely related to the user's task by using member information related to the project as a search query.

  The system according to the present invention first identifies the user ID of the current user (assuming this as user A). Since the system according to the present invention confirms the user ID on the login screen or the like at the time of use, the system can identify the user based on this information.

  Using this user ID information as a query, the system searches the organization information DB 45 for a group to which the user belongs. When a group to which a user belongs is found in this search, the user IDs of all users belonging to the group are stored as a list. If not found, the list is kept null.

  Next, the system searches the work record DB 44 using the user IDs in the list as a query (if the user ID list is null, the search is not performed), and the search result is paired with the ID in the access list. (FIG. 7).

  The system presents the access list to the user. By specifying a specific user, the user can further narrow down the data in the access list and display only desired data. By specifying a specific date and time range, the user can further narrow down the data in the access list and display only the desired data.

  Furthermore, the system can narrow down the access list information based on the task information currently selected or displayed by the user. That is, the task ID of the task currently selected by the user or the task being displayed (acquisition of task ID list) is acquired, and the project or organization to which each task belongs is identified (the organization information DB 45 using the task ID as a query). The user group ID list is acquired by performing a search), the work record DB 44 is searched using the contents of the user group ID list as a query, and the result is output as an access list.

<Detailed operation>
FIG. 10 is a sequence diagram showing a processing example of a task and information item search using user information.

  In FIG. 10, when the user U inputs a task name and details to the browser 11 (step S101), the browser 11 transmits this to the GUI control unit 2 (step S102), and the GUI control unit 2 transmits this to the workflow engine 3. (Step S103), the workflow engine 3 transmits this to the search engine 31 (step S104).

  The search engine 31 generates a query (step S105), throws the query to the user DB 46 (step S106), and acquires a user list (step S107).

  Next, the search engine 31 designates the user name from the user list, searches the task instance DB 43 (step S108), and acquires the corresponding task list (step S109).

  Next, the search engine 31 specifies the user name and searches the related information DB 41 (step S110), and acquires the corresponding information item list (step S111).

  Then, the search engine 31 passes a list of tasks and information items to the workflow engine 3 (step S112), the workflow engine 3 passes this to the GUI control unit 2 (step S113), and the GUI control unit 2 displays the information presentation HTML page. Is passed to the browser 11 (step S114).

  FIG. 11 is a sequence diagram showing an example of a search process using an access history for a specific task designated by the user.

  In FIG. 11, when the user U designates a task to the browser 11 (step S121), the browser 11 transmits the task ID to the GUI control unit 2 (step S122), and the GUI control unit 2 transmits this to the workflow engine 3 (step S122). In step S123, the workflow engine 3 searches the work record DB 44 for a work record based on the task ID (step S124), and acquires a corresponding user list (step S125).

  Next, the processing enters a loop process, and the workflow engine 3 designates a user ID to the search engine 31 (step S126). The search engine 31 designates the user ID and searches the user DB 46 (step S127). A user list is acquired (step S128).

  Next, the search engine 31 specifies the user name and searches the task instance DB 43 (step S129), and acquires the corresponding task list (step S130).

  Next, the search engine 31 specifies the user name and searches the related information DB 41 (step S131), and acquires the corresponding information item list (step S132). The above processing is looped for each user ID.

  The search engine 31 passes a list of tasks and information items to the workflow engine 3 (step S133), the workflow engine 3 passes this to the GUI control unit 2 (step S134), and the GUI control unit 2 displays the information presentation HTML page. Is passed to the browser 11 (step S135).

  FIG. 12 is a sequence diagram illustrating an example of a search process using information about a specific user among users who have accessed a specific task.

  In FIG. 12, when the user U designates a task to the browser 11 (step S141), the browser 11 transmits the task ID to the GUI control unit 2 (step S142), and the GUI control unit 2 transmits this to the workflow engine 3 (step S142). In step S143, the work flow engine 3 searches the work record DB 44 for a work record based on the task ID (step S144), and acquires a corresponding user list (step S145).

  The workflow engine 3 passes the user list to the GUI control unit 2 (step S146), and the GUI control unit 2 passes the information presentation HTML page to the browser 11 (step S147).

  In response to this, when the user U designates a user (step S148), the browser 11 passes the user ID to the GUI control unit 2 (step S149), and the GUI control unit 2 passes this to the workflow engine 3 (step S150). The workflow engine 3 passes this to the search engine 31 (step S151), and the search engine 31 searches the user DB 46 by designating the user ID (step S152), and acquires the corresponding user list (step S153).

  Next, the search engine 31 searches the task instance DB 43 by specifying the user name (step S154), and acquires the corresponding task list (step S155).

  Next, the search engine 31 designates the user name and searches the related information DB 41 (step S156), and acquires the corresponding information item list (step S157).

  Then, the search engine 31 passes a list of tasks and information items to the workflow engine 3 (step S158), the workflow engine 3 passes this to the GUI control unit 2 (step S159), and the GUI control unit 2 displays the information presentation HTML page. Is passed to the browser 11 (step S160).

  FIG. 13 is a sequence diagram illustrating an example of a search process using information on a project to which a task belongs.

  In FIG. 13, when the user U designates a task to the browser 11 (step S161), the browser 11 transmits the task ID to the GUI control unit 2 (step S162), and the GUI control unit 2 transmits this to the workflow engine 3 (step S162). In step S163, the workflow engine 3 searches the organization information DB 45 for organization information by task ID (step S164), and acquires a corresponding user list (step S165).

  Next, a loop process is started, and the workflow engine 3 designates a user ID to the search engine 31 (step S166), the search engine 31 designates the user ID and searches the user DB 46 (step S167), and searches for the corresponding user list. Obtain (step S168).

  Next, the search engine 31 specifies the user name and searches the task instance DB 43 (step S169), and acquires the corresponding task list (step S170).

  Next, the search engine 31 specifies the user name and searches the related information DB 41 (step S171), and acquires the corresponding information item list (step S172). The above processing is looped for each user ID.

  The search engine 31 passes the list of tasks and information items to the workflow engine 3 (step S173), the workflow engine 3 passes this to the GUI control unit 2 (step S174), and the GUI control unit 2 displays the information presentation HTML page. Is passed to the browser 11 (step S175).

  FIG. 14 is a sequence diagram illustrating an example of a search process that presents only information related to a user who specifies a task.

  In FIG. 14, when a user U (User A) gives user authentication information to the browser 11 (step S181), the browser 11 transmits this to the GUI control unit 2 (step S182), and the GUI control unit 2 sends it to the organization information DB 45. User authentication information is given to perform user authentication (step S183), and user authentication is obtained (step S184). Then, the GUI control unit 2 passes the information presentation HTML page to the browser 11 (step S185).

  In response to this, when the user U designates a task to the browser 11 (step S186), the browser 11 transmits the task ID to the GUI control unit 2 (step S187), and the GUI control unit 2 transmits this to the workflow engine 3 (step S186). In step S188, the workflow engine 3 searches the organization information DB 45 for organization information based on the task ID (step S189), and acquires the corresponding user list and user A authentication information (steps S190 and S191).

  Next, the processing enters a loop process, and the workflow engine 3 designates a user ID to the search engine 31 (step S192), the search engine 31 designates the user ID and searches the user DB 46 (step S193), and searches the corresponding user list. Obtain (step S194).

  Next, the search engine 31 specifies the user name and searches the task instance DB 43 (step S195), and acquires the corresponding task list (step S196).

  Next, the search engine 31 designates the user name and searches the related information DB 41 (step S197), and acquires the corresponding information item list (step S198). The above processing is looped for each user ID.

  Then, the search engine 31 passes a list of tasks and information items to the workflow engine 3 (step S199), the workflow engine 3 passes this to the GUI control unit 2 (step S200), and the GUI control unit 2 displays the information presentation HTML page. Is passed to the browser 11 (step S201).

  15 to 17 are diagrams showing examples of information presentation screens.

  FIG. 15 shows a state in which the workflow model is displayed in the left pane 101 and the related information of the selected task is displayed in the right pane 102. In this state, the number of usable information items for each item is already displayed in the right pane 102. Thereby, the user can overview how much information is available, and can save time and effort to develop when the information item is “0”.

  FIG. 16 shows a state where “project member information” 103 is clicked in FIG. 15, and a list of members belonging to the project is displayed.

  FIG. 17 shows a pop-up window displayed when “Member 1” 104 is clicked in FIG. A list of task instances 105, task models 106, and related information / related documents 107 accessed by the member during a specific period is displayed. By clicking each element in the list, you can see the actual task instance, task model, related information, etc. In addition, by clicking on the “reuse” column 108, different operations are performed on the task currently selected by the user. That is, in the case of a task, it is reused as a subtask, in the case of a task model, a subtask is generated using the selected task model, and in the case of related information and related documents, as related information or related documents. It will be attached.

<Summary>
In the workflow management system of the present invention, by defining the project to which the system user and the task belong, the information related to the project and the general information can be managed and presented separately, and the user has a large amount of general information. It is possible to access particularly important information in a timely manner in distinction from information.

  The present invention has been described above by the preferred embodiments of the present invention. While the invention has been described with reference to specific embodiments, various modifications and changes may be made to the embodiments without departing from the broad spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the claims. Obviously you can. In other words, the present invention should not be construed as being limited by the details of the specific examples and the accompanying drawings.

It is a figure which shows the structural example of the workflow management system concerning one Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the example of mounting of a workflow management system. It is a figure which shows the structural example of a workflow. It is a figure which shows the data structure example of task instance DB. It is a figure which shows the example of a data structure of the user access history in work record DB. It is a figure which shows the example of a data structure of the user group information in organization information DB. It is a figure which shows the example of a data structure of the access list holding the result of a search. It is a figure which shows the example of a related information item item. It is a figure which shows the flow of search and presentation of related information. It is a sequence figure showing an example of processing of search of a task and information item using user information. It is a sequence diagram which shows the example of a search process using the access history with respect to the specific task designated by the user. It is a sequence diagram which shows the example of a search process using the information regarding a specific user. It is a sequence diagram which shows the example of a search process using the information of the project to which a task belongs. It is a sequence diagram which shows the process example of the search which presents only the information relevant to the user who designated the task. FIG. 6 is a diagram (part 1) illustrating an example of an information presentation screen. It is FIG. (2) which shows the example of a screen of information presentation. FIG. 11 is a third diagram illustrating an exemplary information presentation screen;

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Client 11 Browser 2 GUI control part 21 Rendering engine 22 Input / output control part 3 Workflow engine 31 Search engine 32 Task control part 33 Task creation part 34 Task execution part 35 Inference engine 36 Workflow recording part 4 Database 41 Related information DB
42 Task model DB
43 Task instance DB
44 Work DB
45 organization information DB
46 User DB
5 Collaborative document creation system U user

Claims (12)

A workflow management system that dynamically configures a workflow model during workflow execution,
Means for searching for a task, attached document, and attached information using a history information of access to the task, attached document, and attached information performed by any user including the target user with respect to a certain target user;
A workflow management system comprising means for presenting the search result to the target user. The workflow management system according to claim 1,
A workflow characterized by performing a search using only the history information of a specific user among the history information of an arbitrary user used for searching for tasks, attached documents and attached information to be presented to the target user. Management system. In the workflow management system according to claim 1 or 2,
A workflow management system, wherein a task accessed by an arbitrary user, an attached document, and attached information related to a selected task currently selected by the target user are presented together with the selected task. In the workflow management system according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
A workflow management system characterized by presenting a task, an attached document, and attached information related to a selected task currently selected by the target user, accessed by an arbitrary user within a specific time range. In the workflow management system according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
A workflow management system that presents a task accessed by any user belonging to the project, an attached document, and attached information based on information about the project to which the selected task currently selected by the target user belongs. In the workflow management system according to any one of claims 1 to 5,
A workflow management system that presents only tasks related to the target user among tasks, attached documents, and attached information of an arbitrary user to be presented to the target user. An information presentation method in a workflow management system that dynamically configures a workflow model during workflow execution,
Searching for a task, an attached document and attached information using a history information of access to the task, attached document and attached information performed by any user including the target user for a certain target user;
And a step of presenting the search result to the target user. The information presentation method according to claim 7,
Information for performing a search using only history information of a specific user among history information of an arbitrary user used for searching for tasks, attached documents and attached information to be presented to the target user. Presentation method. In the information presentation method as described in any one of Claim 7 or 8,
An information presentation method comprising presenting a task accessed by an arbitrary user, an attached document, and attached information related to a selected task currently selected by the target user together with the selected task. In the information presentation method as described in any one of Claims 7 thru | or 9,
An information presentation method comprising presenting a task, an attached document, and attached information that are related to a selected task that is currently selected by the target user and that an arbitrary user accesses a certain time range. In the information presentation method according to any one of claims 7 to 10,
A method for presenting information, comprising presenting a task accessed by an arbitrary user belonging to the project, an attached document, and attached information based on information about the project to which the selected task currently selected by the target user belongs. In the information presentation method according to any one of claims 7 to 11,
A method for presenting information, characterized by presenting only those related to the target user among tasks, attached documents, and attached information of an arbitrary user presented to the target user.

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