JP5142699B2 - Workflow server, control method therefor, and program - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a workflow server configured to be communicable with a project management server and a schedule server management, and in particular, a workflow server capable of executing suitable approval schedule management in cooperation with a project management system, and a control method, program, and It relates to a schedule management system.

  Currently, in various projects, for example, the project body discusses the plan and approves the manager, or the basic design document and the manager approve, and the project proceeds to the next phase only after approval is obtained from these deliberations. Management is performed.

  For example, in Patent Document 1, it is determined whether or not an automatic setting deadline that is an approval grace period stored in the automatic temporary approval deadline setting table has been exceeded since the approval case was circulated to the user. If the approval matter is temporarily approved by the user and the approval matter is finally approved by the user, the automatic temporary approval flag of the corresponding user stored in the automatic approval management table is deleted, and all users to be distributed When the approval case is circulated to the target person, confirm that the provisional approval information of all users to be circulated is not stored in the automatic approval management table and end the workflow. An approval system has been disclosed in which all target persons can reliably approve approval cases while shortening the lead time.

Further, in Patent Document 2, the browsing date and the importance level information are stored when the electronic document is stored, the recording information of the browsing information recording means is referred to according to the browsing date and the importance level information, and an unviewed user's A browsing management device that transmits an e-mail document created by a storage notification means to an address is disclosed.
Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2005-078428 Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 04-332234

  If approved by such a meeting, there will be no problem, but as a result of the review, the documents that need to be approved (for example, planning documents and design documents) will be corrected, and the approver will check the details again. If it is necessary to approve for the first time, if the meeting body is convened again, the meeting cannot be held again immediately, and the date and time for starting the next phase of the project may be delayed.

  Further, according to the prior art described in Patent Document 1, there is a problem that if the temporary approval information remains, the approval is eventually delayed. According to the prior art described in the above-mentioned Patent Document 2, there is a problem that approval is eventually delayed because attention is only urged by e-mail after the expiration date.

  Furthermore, in order to cope with the recent strengthening of internal control and the recording of volume in system development, it has become necessary to achieve both strict adherence to the development schedule and fine-tuned profit and loss management in each phase of the development schedule.

The present invention is by linking the workflow server and the schedule management server and ending approval of each approver in the final approval date of approval workflow, with reference to the free time of the schedule information of the approver, the approval It is an object of the present invention to provide a mechanism that can prevent a delay in an approval schedule of an approval workflow by determining an approval schedule of a user.

The present invention is a workflow server capable of communicating with a schedule management server that stores approver schedule information, approver information for identifying each approver of a plurality of approval steps in the approval workflow, and the approval workflow receiving a final approval date, the total number of each approver said identified as a period of a reception means for storing workflow data in the storage means, to said final approval date including said final approval date and the received approver information depending on, to query and assignment means for assigning different individual schedule for each approver of the approval workflow, the schedule information in the individual schedule for each assigned approver by the assignment unit to the schedule management server and the inquiry means, either before or Kitoi have combined schedule information of said in a separate schedule And characterized in that it comprises, specifying means for specifying a date to approve the individual the approval workflow said with reference to the free time for each approver, for each of the respective approvers within a period of up to the final approval date To do.

The present invention is a method for controlling a workflow server that can communicate with a schedule management server that stores approver schedule information, wherein the accepting means of the workflow server identifies each approver of a plurality of approval steps in an approval workflow. and approver information for, receiving a final approval date of the approval workflow, a reception step of storing in the storage means workflow data including the said received approver information and the final approval date, assigning means of the workflow server The allocation step of assigning different individual schedules for each approver of the approval workflow according to the period until the final approval deadline and the total number of each specified approver, and the inquiry means of the workflow server, Sukeji in individual schedule for each assigned approver by the allocating means And the inquiry process to query the LUMPUR information to the schedule management server, specific means of the workflow server, each in the period from the previous Kitoi have combined the schedule information in the individual schedule was up to the final approval date Referring to idle time for each approver, characterized in that it and a specifying step of specifying the schedule to approve the individual the approval workflow for each of the respective approvers.

The present invention is a program that can be read and executed by a workflow server that can communicate with a schedule management server that stores approver schedule information. The workflow server identifies each approver of a plurality of approval steps in an approval workflow. Acceptor information and a final approval deadline of the approval workflow, accepting means for storing workflow data including the accepted approver information and the final approval deadline in a storage means, and until the final approval deadline depending on the total number of each approver that the duration and the particular, the allocation means for allocating a different individual schedule for each approver approval workflow, the allocation unit by assigned approver each in separate dates Means for inquiring the schedule management server for schedule information of the schedule , Before referring to the free time of each approver in the period from Kitoi have the schedule information in a separate schedule that matches up to the final approval date, the approval workflow of the individual in each of the each approver and specifying means for specifying the dates of approval, it is to function and said Rukoto.

According to the present invention, by linking the workflow server and the schedule management server and ending approval of each approver in the final approval date of approval workflow, with reference to the free time of the schedule information of the approver The approval schedule for each approver can be determined, and the approval schedule delay of the approval workflow can be prevented.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a system configuration of a schedule management system according to an embodiment of the present invention. Note that the configurations of various terminals and servers connected on the communication line 100 in FIG. 1 are merely examples, and it goes without saying that there are various configuration examples depending on applications and purposes.

  For example, the project management server 110 and the workflow server 120 may be accommodated in the same casing and operated under the same operation system (hereinafter abbreviated as OS), or may be operated under different OSs using so-called virtualization software. You may let them. The workflow server 120 and the schedule management server 130 may be accommodated in the same housing and operated under the same operation system (hereinafter abbreviated as OS), or may be operated under different OSs using so-called virtualization software. May be. These three servers may be accommodated in the same housing.

  The project management server 110, the workflow server 120, the schedule management server 130, the drafter terminal 140, the approver terminal A150, the approver terminal A150, the approver terminal B160, the approver terminal C170, and the mail server 180 are mutually connected via the communication line 100. It is configured to be able to communicate.

  The project management server 110 stores in the external memory 211 shown in FIG. 2 an application program for OS other project management (program of the flowchart in FIG. 3) and mail software, the project management DB shown in FIG. 11, and the project plan / results shown in FIG. Remember the table.

  The project management DB includes a project ID, a project name, a scheduled project start date, a scheduled project end date, a project start actual date, a project end actual date, a project total budget, a project planned cost, a project planned personnel cost (a planned personnel cost for a project) Total)), project planning consignment cost, project planning cost (direct cost and material cost), project planning contingency, member file name (name of the file storing the members of the project), and the name and schedule of each phase The date, the actual start date, the scheduled end date, and the actual end date are stored. As the name of the phase, for example, in the development project, the name of the development phase such as requirement definition, design, implementation / unit test, and integration test is used.

  The above member file includes the employee code, role and name of the project manager, the employee code and role and name of the project manager (hereinafter abbreviated as PM), the employee code and role and name of the development leader (s), and project members. The employee code, role, and name of (usually multiple persons) are stored.

  The project plan / result table shown in FIG. 12 is a tabular table with the horizontal axis representing year and month and the vertical axis representing each plan / actual item. The planning phase indicates the schedule of the project phase. For example, 01 (requirement definition) means that the plan starts in October 2007 and ends in November 2007. The transition approval flag is input by the project manager in a timely manner. If the transition approval flag is 1, it means that the transition to the next phase has been approved, and if it is 0, it means that it has not been approved. .

  The development progress plan is the planned value of the progress rate of the corresponding phase at the end of each month, and the requirement definition phase is 60% progressing at the end of October 2007 on the plan. The performance phase means the actual project phase in the current month. In other words, when the plan and the actual result are shifted by one month or more, the planned phase and the actual result phase do not coincide. The development progress record means the actual value of the progress rate of the corresponding phase at the end of each month.

  In addition, the personnel cost plan is the monthly personnel cost (thousand yen, the same applies to each item below), the actual personnel cost is the actual value of each month's personnel cost, and the consignment costs, expenses, and contingency costs are also personnel. Similarly to the cost, the planned cost for each month and the actual value of each cost are shown.

  The workflow management server 120 stores, in the external memory 211 shown in FIG. 2, in addition to the OS, application programs for workflows (programs in the flowcharts in FIGS. 4 to 8) and mail software, the workflow table and workflow template table shown in FIG. A master file (employee master and organization master) and various tables are stored.

  The workflow table has a unique workflow ID, workflow name, workflow status (defined, executing, approved, rejected), workflow drafting department organization code, workflow drafter employee code, workflow drafting date, total number of workflow steps, each step Another step name, responsible employee number, responsible employee role, approval / denial date, approval / denial category, responsible employee comment, next step number at the time of approval, and next step number at the time of denial are stored. Furthermore, an approval history table is also stored in the external memory 211. The approval history table stores the project ID, the phase, and the number of final rejections for each phase.

  In addition to the OS, the schedule management server 130 stores schedule management application programs and mail software, a personal scheduler table shown in FIG. 14, and a facility reservation table shown in FIG.

  The individual scheduler table stores schedule information for each individual. Specifically, the employee code and the date of the schedule, classification (external, internal, vacation), type (conference, work, business trip, holidays, substitute holidays) ), Temporary book (temporary reservation or classification of book reservation), time-start (start time), time-end (end time), contents (specific contents of schedule), place (name of meeting room, etc.), registrant (Employee code of the employee who registered when the person other than the person registered the schedule) is stored.

  The reservation table for facilities stores reservation information for facilities such as conference rooms. Specifically, the names of facilities (for example, the first conference room and the first and second heads of the second conference room as a whole are stored). For example, if the conference room on each floor is a C conference room on the 24th floor, 24C is stored), reservation date, provisional book (provisional reservation or classification of this reservation), time-start (start time) , Time-end (end time), contents (specific contents of schedule), employee code of reservation registrant, number of people scheduled to use, and contact extension number are stored.

  The drafter terminal 140 is a terminal used by project members, and inputs project plan data and performance data, drafts a workflow, and the like. Browser software and mail software (e-mail transmission / reception program) are installed in the drafter terminal 140 and each approver terminal described below. The approver terminal A150 is a terminal used by a project approver (for example, a development leader), and performs settlement of various workflows in the project.

  The approver terminal B160 and the approver terminal C170 are terminals used by other approvers of the project (for example, PM and development managers), and perform settlement of various workflows in the project. The mail server 180 communicates with each user's terminal including project members and mail software installed on each server to send and receive electronic mail.

  Next, the hardware configuration of the workflow management server 120 in FIG. 1 will be described with reference to FIG. The CPU 201 comprehensively controls each device and controller connected to the system bus 204.

  In the ROM 202 or the external memory 211, a BIOS (Basic Input / Output System) or an operating system program (OS), which is a control program for the CPU 201, or a function to be executed by each server or each PC is described later. Various programs to be stored are stored. The RAM 203 functions as a main memory, work area, and the like for the CPU 201. The CPU 201 implements various operations by loading a program necessary for execution of processing into the RAM 203 and executing the program.

  An input controller (input C) 205 controls input from a pointing device such as a keyboard 209 or a mouse (not shown). A video controller (VC) 206 controls display on a display device such as a CRT display (CRT) 210. The display device may be a liquid crystal display as well as a CRT.

  These are used by the administrator as needed. The present invention is not directly related. The memory controller (MC) 207 is a hard disk (HD), floppy (registered trademark) (FD) disk, or PCMCIA that stores a boot program, browser software, various applications, font data, user files, edit files, various data, and the like. Controls access to an external memory 211 such as a CompactFlash (registered trademark) memory connected to the card slot via an adapter.

  A communication I / F controller (communication I / FC) 208 is connected to and communicates with an external device via a network, and executes communication control processing in the network.

  For example, Internet communication using TCP / IP is possible. Note that the CPU 201 enables display on the CRT 210 by executing outline font rasterization processing on a display information area in the RAM 203, for example. In addition, the CPU 201 enables a user instruction with a mouse cursor (not shown) on the CRT 210.

  A workflow program for realizing the present invention is recorded in the external memory 211 and is executed by the CPU 201 by being loaded into the RAM 203 as necessary.

  Furthermore, definition files and various tables used by the program according to the present invention are stored in the external memory 211 (for example, a hard disk device or a silicon disk device using a nonvolatile memory).

  Next, a project management process flowchart will be described with reference to FIG.

  FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a basic processing flow of project management according to the embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 3, the same process is denoted by the same step number, and the description thereof is omitted.

  The basic processing flow in FIG. 3 is executed in the project management server 110 in response to an input from the drafter terminal 140.

  In the drafter terminal 140, a so-called browser program executes various processes related to project management via various operation screens provided from the installation project management server 110. One example will be described below.

  Of course, a client-side application program dedicated to the drafter terminal 140 is installed, and a so-called client-server type is used to exchange various project progress management information with the project management server 110 via an operation screen displayed by the client-side application. It is also possible to configure.

  First, the project progress management terminal 120 transmits project plan information including a project basic DB to the project progress management server 110 via an operation screen provided from the project progress management server 110.

  First, in step S301, the project information is registered in the project management DB. Here, the project name, the planned project start date, the planned project end date, the member file name, the name of each phase, the planned start date, and the planned end date. Register. The project ID is a unique alphanumeric character number assigned by the system. The employee code, role, and e-mail address are registered in the file specified by the member file name.

In step S302, project budget information is input.
Enter the total project budget, project planning cost, project planning personnel cost (total planned personnel cost in the project), project planning consignment cost, project planning cost (direct cost and material cost), and project planning contingency.

  In step S303, the progress plan is input to the project plan / result table. Specifically, the plan values for each item of the planning phase, development progress plan, personnel cost plan, consignment cost plan, expense plan, and contingency plan are entered monthly. The above processing is performed at the start of the project, and steps S302 to S303 need to be input when reviewing the budget and progress, but may be input only once when reviewing the budget and progress is not performed.

  In step S304, each member of the project or the development leader inputs the progress record for inputting the progress record in the project plan / result table. Specifically, the actual value of each item of the actual phase, the development progress result, the labor cost result, the consignment cost result, the cost result, and the contingency result is input for each month. In the example of FIG. 12, results up to January 2008 are input.

  In step S305, it is determined whether the evaluation time has come. Specifically, for example, it is determined whether or not the system date of the project management server has reached a predetermined day for each month (for example, 20 days for the phase end month, 25 days for the phase end month). If the evaluation time has not come, the process returns to step S304. If the evaluation time has come, the process proceeds to step S306.

  In step S306, project evaluation is determined. Specifically, by comparing monthly plans and results in the project plan / actual table, whether the progress is on-schedule, delayed, or advanced, and whether the cost is within the budget If the budget is exceeded, it is determined whether it is within the range of the reserve.

  In the month when the phase shifts, for example, when the phase shifts from 02 (design) to 03 (implementation / unit test) at the end of February 2008 in FIG. 12, the project manager operates the approval information indicating that the meeting has been approved. The migration approval flag for the current month in the project plan / result table of the project management server is read from the approval terminal C 170 to the RAM 203.

  In step S307, it is determined whether the transition approval flag = 1 in the month in which the phase shifts. If the transition approval flag = 1 in the month in which the phase shifts, the process proceeds to step S304, and it is possible to continue to input results including the next phase. If the migration approval flag = 0 (not approved), the process proceeds to step S308.

  In the month in which the phase does not shift, if the budget is exceeded or the progress delay is equal to or less than the predetermined ratio, the process proceeds to step S304, and the result input including the next phase can be continued. If the budget is exceeded or the progress delay exceeds a predetermined ratio in the month in which the phase does not shift, the process proceeds to step S308.

  In step S308, the project management server 110 establishes a session with the workflow server 120, and assigns the project approval deadline (end of month), project number, and project evaluation members (project manager, PM, and development leader employee numbers) to the workflow server. 120, the re-evaluation process in the workflow server 120 is started, and the process waits for the return value of the re-evaluation process to be transmitted from the workflow server 120. When the return value of the reevaluation process is received from the workflow server 120, the process proceeds to step S309.

  In step S309, if the return value of the reevaluation process is 0 (under reevaluation), the process proceeds to step S304 with the migration approval flag = 0 (migration not approved). If the return value of the re-evaluation process is 1 (re-evaluation is OK), the migration approval flag = 1 (migration approved), and the process proceeds to step S304.

  If the return value of the re-evaluation process is 2 (the project continues with re-evaluation NG) or the return value of the re-evaluation process is 3 (the project ends with re-evaluation NG), the process proceeds to step S310. In step S310, it is determined whether to end the project. If the return value of the reevaluation process is 3, the process ends. If the return value of the re-evaluation process is 2, the process returns to step S302, the project budget correction input is performed, and the progress plan correction input (review) is performed in step S303, and the processes in and after step S304 are continued.

  This is the end of the description of the flowchart of FIG. Next, the flowchart of FIG. 4 will be described. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a process flowchart of the re-evaluation process in the workflow server 120 activated in response to the re-evaluation request of the project management server 110 in step S308 of FIG. When the processing in FIG. 4 is completed, the project ID and return value are transmitted from the workflow server 120 to the project management server 110. When the return value = 1, it means re-evaluation OK, when the return value = 0, it means that re-evaluation is being executed, and when the return value = 2 or the return value = 3, it means reevaluation NG.

  The process of FIG. 4 is roughly divided into two. One is the setting of the conference body, and the other is the setting and starting of the workflow. If the meeting body can be set before the approval deadline, the meeting body is set, and the required approver has no common free time before the final deadline, or even if there is a common free time, the common free time is free A meeting body cannot be set if there is no meeting room. If the conference body cannot be set, the workflow is set and the approval procedure by the workflow starts. This conference setting or workflow setting is executed only once at the first execution. These two settings are collectively referred to as a reevaluation setting.

  First, in step S401, it is determined whether re-evaluation has been set (re-evaluation setting flag = on) and whether the approval deadline has passed. If re-evaluation has not been set, the process proceeds to step S402. If the re-evaluation has been set, the approval deadline has not passed, the conference body has not been set, and the final approval of the workflow has not ended, the process ends with return value = 0 (under evaluation).

  If the re-evaluation has been set and the final approval of the workflow has been completed, or if the meeting body has been set and the final approval of the project manager has been completed, the process ends with return value = 1 (re-evaluation OK). .

  Approval stored in the external memory 211 of the workflow server when the re-evaluation is set and the approval deadline has passed and the final approval of the workflow is rejected or the final approval of the project manager of the meeting is rejected If the final rejection count of the relevant phase in the history table (stores the project ID and the phase and the final rejection count for each phase) is less than or equal to a predetermined value (for example, 2 times), return value = 2 (re-evaluation NG) Further, the re-evaluation setting flag = off is changed, the final rejection number of the project in the workflow table is increased by 1, and the process is terminated. If the rejection number exceeds a predetermined value, return value = 3 (re-evaluation NG). The process ends.

  In step S402, it is determined whether or not the conference body can be held by the approval deadline (end of month in this embodiment). Details of the processing will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. In step S403, if it is determined that the conference body setting is possible (the conference body setting availability flag stored in the work area of RAM 203 described later is on), the process proceeds to step S404, and the conference body setting is not possible (conference If it is determined that the body setting availability flag is off), the process proceeds to step S405.

  In step S404, the conference body setting process is performed, and the reevaluation setting process is terminated. Details of the conference body setting process will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. In step S405, the approval workflow is registered when the conference body cannot be set. Details of the approval workflow registration will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

  In step S406, a specific approval schedule for the individual approver in the workflow is determined (individual schedule determination processing). Details of the individual schedule determination processing will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

  In step S407, the approval schedule for each approver determined in step S406 is registered in the personal scheduler table of the schedule management server 130. By registering this schedule, each approver notices this approval schedule when referring to the scheduler, so that forgetting the approval work can be suppressed.

  In step S408, the body text of the e-mail requesting the approval work for each approver with reference to the approval schedule for each approver determined in step S406, the e-mail address and member name in the member file (the member name and the approval work). The request word, the approval schedule, and the description indicating that the approval work has been registered in the scheduler are generated, and the e-mail is transmitted to each approver via the mail server 180.

  In step S409, it is determined whether or not approval is possible by the approval deadline from the determination result of whether or not the conference body is set in step S402 (whether the conference body setting availability flag is on or off) and the determination result of the individual schedule of each approver in step S406. judge. If it is determined that approval is possible by the approval deadline, the process proceeds to step S411. If it is determined that approval is not possible by the approval deadline, the process proceeds to step S410.

  In step S410, the e-mail address and the member name in the member file are referred to, and an e-mail indicating that there is a possibility that the approval may not be completed by the deadline is generated because the approver has no free time. This e-mail is transmitted to the drafter of the workflow via, and the process proceeds to step S411.

  In step S411, the workflow registered in step S405 is started. Specifically, the approval process by the approval screen as shown in FIG. 10 is started, and the reevaluation setting is ended. In FIG. 10, when the approval button 1005 is pressed, the process proceeds to the next step No. at the time of approval of the step in the workflow table shown in FIG. When the other denial button 1006 is pressed, the process proceeds to the next step No. at the time of denial of the step of the workflow table shown in FIG. 13 (this part is not shown). This is the end of the description of FIG.

  Next, the flowchart of FIG. 5 will be described. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a detailed flowchart of the meeting body availability determination (step S402 in FIG. 4) according to the embodiment of the present invention.

  First, in step S501, the conference deadline (the end of the current month) is stored in the work area of the RAM 203, and the conference body setting availability flag is initially set to ON.

  In step S <b> 502, the employee code of each member is read from the member file and stored in the work area of the RAM 203 in order to identify the meeting attendee.

  In step S503, the vacant time of each member is determined with reference to the personal scheduler table of the schedule management server 130, and the vacant time common to each member is stored in the work area of the RAM 203 as a conference date candidate date. Details of the processing in step S503 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

In step S <b> 504, the facility reservation table of the schedule management server 130 is referred to, and a pair of the facility name and the date and time when no reservation is made in the conference room is stored in the work area of the RAM 203.

  In step S505, there is a date that matches the candidate date and time of the conference time stored in the work area of the RAM 203 in step S503 and the date and time that the reservation stored in the work area of the RAM 203 in step S504 does not exist and is one hour or longer. It is determined whether or not it is possible to reserve the time, that is, whether or not the conference can be held. When there are a plurality of dates and times when the conference can be held, the earliest date and time is stored in the work area of the RAM 203 together with the equipment name as the conference date and time.

  In step S506, if the determination in step S505 is that a meeting can be held, the process proceeds to step S507. If the conference can be held, the process proceeds to step S510.

  In step S507, a temporary reservation is registered in the facility reservation table of the schedule server 130 with the facility name and the date and time of the conference. In step S508, the message returned from the schedule server 130 is referred to determine whether or not the temporary reservation has been normally completed. If the temporary reservation has been normally completed, the process proceeds to step S509. If not completed normally, the process proceeds to step S510.

  In step S509, the conference body setting availability flag is turned on and stored in the work area of the RAM 203, and the process ends. In step S510, the conference body setting availability flag is turned off and stored in the work area of the RAM 203, and the process ends. This is the end of the description of FIG.

  Next, the flowchart of FIG. 6 will be described. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a detailed flowchart of conference body setting (step S403 in FIG. 4) according to the embodiment of the present invention.

  First, in step S601, the temporary reservation of S507 in FIG. 5 is changed to the actual reservation in the equipment reservation table of the schedule management server 130. In step S602, the member code is referenced to read out the employee code of the project member. The personal scheduler table is referred to and the conference schedule is registered at the date and time of the conference. In the personal scheduler table, unlike the facility reservation table, the same or partly overlapping schedules are possible.

  By registering this schedule, each member will notice that this meeting will be held when referring to the scheduler, so he will not forget to join, and if it overlaps with other schedules, adjust other schedules in advance (shift to another date and time) Is also possible).

  In step S603, referring to the email address and member name in the member file, the body text of the email requesting each member to attend the meeting (the member name, the wording for requesting approval work, the meeting date and time, and the approval to the scheduler) And the electronic mail is sent to each approver via the mail server 180. This is the end of the description of FIG.

  Next, FIGS. 7 and 9 will be described. FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating a detailed flowchart of approval workflow registration (step S405 in FIG. 4) according to the embodiment of this invention.

  First, in step S701, whether the current workflow ("implementation / unit test migration approval workflow" in the development phase transition approval workflow in the development project) is already registered as a template is stored in the external memory 211 of the workflow server 120. A determination is made based on whether the template names match or do not match with reference to the existing workflow template table.

  If it is determined that the template has been registered, the process proceeds to step S704. If it is determined that the template has not been registered, the process proceeds to step S702.

  In step S702, bibliographic information (workflow name, total number of steps, presence / absence of attached document, number of attached documents (eg, three), default reference path of attached document) is input on a screen (not shown), When the “” button is pressed, the process advances to step S703.

  In step S703, workflow step information (step name 902, person-in-charge attribute 903, and attached document) is input or selected on the screen shown in FIG. It is also possible to register a new workflow name by changing the step name and the person-in-charge attribute by referring to an existing template by pressing the reference button 901.

  Registration of an attached document is performed by displaying a document by pressing a document reference button 906 (not shown), selecting a document, and pressing an “OK” button (not shown), and this operation is performed in the work area of the RAM 203. The document name (attached document ID) is stored. In the screen of FIG. 9, it is possible to select and input the important step 902 (whether or not to select it is optional), and in the step selected as the important step, the number of days to be approved is increased from the total number of days (the number of days until the end of the month). Allocate (detailed in FIG. 8).

  This is to select an approval key person step and request an approval again to meet the final deadline even if a rebate occurs. In other words, the approval step of the approver who has the highest risk of return is selected as an important step. The designation of each step selected in step S703 is temporarily stored in the work area of the RAM 203.

  In step S704, when a template is selected or registered, the bibliographic information of the workflow is generated from the employee code of the drafter and the employee code of the approver of the member file corresponding to the selected template. In step S705, the employee number of the approver at each step of generating step information is stored in the work area of the RAM 203. In step S706, the generated workflow information is displayed on the screen.

  In step S707, it is determined whether or not the step addition button is pressed on the screen of FIG. 9. If the step addition button is pressed, the process proceeds to step S708, and if not, the process proceeds to step S709.

  In step S708, when a new step addition position (target step and designation before and after the step), a step name and a person-in-charge attribute are designated on the screen (not shown), and the OK button is pressed, the process proceeds to step S709. Proceed. If the registration button 907 is pressed in step S709, the process proceeds to step S710. In step S710, each piece of workflow information stored in the work area of the RAM 203 is registered in the workflow table, and the process ends.

  If the registration button has not been pressed in step S709, the process returns to step S706. This is the end of the description of FIG.

  Next, FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a detailed flowchart of individual schedule determination (step S406 in FIG. 4 and step S503 in FIG. 5) according to the embodiment of the present invention.

  In FIG. 8, first, initial processing is performed in step S801.

  Specifically, the error flag is turned off, and the employee code of each approver of the workflow is sorted in the order of approval from the last approver to the first approver in reverse order, and from the re-evaluation request to the final deadline (in this example, The average number of approval days is calculated by dividing the number of days until the end of the current month by the number of approvers. (1) If the average number of approval days is 3 days or more, 3 days for the approver of the critical step and 2 for the other approvers Allocate days, and the rest are reserved days.

  (2) If the average number of approval days is 2 days or more and less than 3 days, 2.5 days are assigned to the approver of the important step, 1.5 days are assigned to the other approvers, and the remaining days are reserved days.

  (3) If the average number of approval days is 1 day or more and less than 2 days, 1.5 days are assigned to the approver of the critical step and 1 day is assigned to the other approvers. If becomes negative, reduce the number of days of important step approver so that the negative disappears.

  In step S802, it is determined whether approval dates for all approvers have been set. When set, when all approvers have been set, when the conference body setting availability flag is on, all free times common to all free times of each approver are selected, and the work area of the RAM 203 is selected. And the process is terminated as a process OK. If the conference body setting availability flag is off, the process ends. On the other hand, if the approval schedule for all approvers has not been set, the process advances to step S803.

  In step S803, the free time within the number of days allocated by each approver is referenced from the personal scheduler table. Free time means a time zone where no schedule is entered within the working hours. For example, in FIG. 14, when working hours are from 9:00 to 17:00, the free time of the employee of employee number 071234 on February 18, 2008 Is from 10:00 to 11:00, from 14:00 to 15:00, and from 16:00 to 17:00. If there is a free time, the work area of the RAM 203 with a set of employee code, free date, free time (From to To) and group (A or B is stored later but blank is stored first). To remember.

  In step S804, it is determined whether there is a free time for the approver. If there is no vacancy, the process proceeds to step S805, and the number of days is reallocated in step S805. The reallocation is performed as follows.

  I) If the approver that has been set with reference to the work area of the RAM 203 has a plurality of free times, the approval schedule determined in step S812 is changed to increase the number of days allocated to the current approver.

II) Refer to the work area of the RAM 203, and if the approver who has already set does not have a plurality of vacant times (there is only vacant) and the allocation cannot be changed in consideration of the approval order, the preliminary date is eliminated and the process starts again from step S803. ,
III) Allocate important steps to the approver by reducing the number of days by 0.5 days to the approver who has no vacancy.

  In step S806, if reallocation is not possible even if the above I) to III) are executed, the error flag is turned on (approval schedule determination NG: return value 0), and the process is terminated. If the reallocation is successful, the process returns to step S803.

  If the approver has free time in step S804, the process proceeds to step S807. In step S807, referring to the work area of the RAM 203, free time (employee code, free date, free time (From to To) and One group) is read, and the process proceeds to step S808.

  In step S808, the personal scheduler table is referred again, and whether or not the schedule before and after the free time read out in step S807 is out is determined that the category of at least one of the schedules before and after the personal scheduler table is “External”. Judgment by whether or not.

  If at least one schedule category is “outside”, the process advances to step S809. If both of the schedule categories are “in-house”, the process proceeds to step S810.

  In step S809, the work area of the RAM 203 is referred to, and “B” (assignment of B is classified into a group having a lower priority for approval schedule) is stored in the free time group field, and the process is performed in step S811. Proceed to

  In step S810, the work area of the RAM 203 is referred to, “A” is stored in the group column of the free time, and the process proceeds to step S811. In step S811, it is determined whether all idle times have been classified. If all idle times have been classified, the process proceeds to step S812. If it is not classified for all the free times, the process returns to step S807.

  In step 812, an approval schedule is determined. In this approval schedule determination, the process is divided into two depending on whether the conference body setting availability flag in FIG. 5 is on (initial setting in step S501) or the conference body setting availability flag is off (step S510). When the conference body setting availability flag is on, this corresponds to the individual schedule determination process in step S503 of FIG. In this case, specifically, all the free times that coincide with the free time of a certain approver are selected, stored in another array in the work area of the RAM 203, and the process returns to step S802.

  On the other hand, when the conference body setting availability flag is OFF, this corresponds to the process of determining the individual schedule for each approver in step S406 of FIG. In this case, specifically, one free time that is the free time of the group A corresponding to the assigned approval period and has the earliest date and time is determined as the approval schedule. Here, when there is only a vacant time of the group B, the personal scheduler table is referred again, and both schedules before and after the vacant time are referred again, and if there is a schedule that does not go out of the preceding and following schedules, the schedule that is not going out is set. Set an approval schedule for adjacent time zones.

  For example, if the time required for approval is 30 minutes, the free time is from 15:00 to 16:00, the schedule from 13:00 to 15:00 on the same day is outside the company, and the schedule from 16:00 to 17:00 is approved in-house The schedule is set to be adjacent to the internal schedule from 15:30 to 16:00 on the same day.

  By doing so, it is possible to suppress omission of approval work when the schedule outside the company is shifted. When one approval schedule is determined, it is stored in another arrangement in the work area of the RAM 203, and the process returns to step S802 for processing of the next approver.

  In step S802, when all the approvers have been set, or when the conference body setting availability flag is on, all free times common to all free times of each approver are selected, and another arrangement of work areas in the RAM 203 is selected. And the process is terminated as approval date determination OK (error flag = off, return value = 1). If the conference body setting availability flag is off, the approval schedule determination is OK as a return value (error flag = off, return value = 1), and the process is terminated. This is the end of the description of FIG.

  Although the embodiments have been described in detail above, the present invention can take an embodiment as, for example, a system, an apparatus, a method, a program, or a storage medium, and specifically includes a plurality of devices. The present invention may be applied to a system that is configured, or may be applied to an apparatus that includes a single device.

  The object of the present invention is achieved by executing the following processing. That is, a storage medium recording software program codes for realizing the functions of the above-described embodiments is supplied to a system or apparatus, and a computer (or CPU, MPU, etc.) of the system or apparatus is stored in the storage medium. This is a process of reading the program code. In this case, the program code itself read from the storage medium realizes the functions of the above-described embodiments, and the program code and the storage medium storing the program code constitute the present invention. .

  Moreover, the following can be used as a storage medium for supplying the program code. For example, floppy (registered trademark) disk, hard disk, magneto-optical disk, CD-ROM, CD-R, CD-RW, DVD-ROM, DVD-RAM, DVD-RW, DVD + RW, magnetic tape, nonvolatile memory card, ROM or the like. Alternatively, the program code may be downloaded via a network.

  The present invention also includes the case where the functions of the above-described embodiments are realized by executing the program code read by the computer. In addition, the OS (operating system) running on the computer performs part or all of the actual processing based on the instructions of the program code, and the functions of the above-described embodiments are realized by the processing. This is also included.

  Furthermore, the present invention includes a case where the functions of the above-described embodiments are realized by the following processing. That is, the program code read from the storage medium is written in a memory provided in a function expansion board inserted into the computer or a function expansion unit connected to the computer. Thereafter, a case where the CPU or the like provided in the function expansion board or function expansion unit performs part or all of the actual processing based on the instruction of the program code is also included in the present application.

It is a figure which shows the structure of the schedule management system of embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the hardware constitutions of each server of embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the process flowchart of the project management process performed in the project management server of embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the process flowchart of the re-evaluation process (process in the workflow server started in response to the request | requirement of step S308 of FIG. 3) of embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the detailed flowchart of meeting body availability determination (step S402 of FIG. 4) of embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the detailed flowchart of the meeting body setting (step S403 of FIG. 4) of embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the detailed flowchart of approval workflow registration (step S405 of FIG. 4) of embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the detailed flowchart of the individual schedule determination (step S406 of FIG. 4, and step S503 of FIG. 5) of embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of the workflow definition screen (step S405 of FIG. 4, and step S703 of FIG. 7) of embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of the workflow approval screen (step S411 of FIG. 4) of embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of the data item name of the project management DB of embodiment of this invention, an item content, and a data example. It is a figure which shows an example of the data item and data example of the project plan and results table of embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of the data item name of the workflow table of embodiment of this invention, an item content, and a data example. It is a figure which shows an example of the data item and data example of a personal scheduler table of embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of the data item and data example of the equipment reservation table of embodiment of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

100 communication line 110 project management server 120 workflow server 130 schedule management server 140 drafter terminal 150 approver terminal A
160 Approver terminal B
170 Approver terminal C
180 mail server 201 CPU
202 ROM
203 RAM
204 System Bus 205 Input Controller 206 Video Controller 207 Memory Controller 208 Communication I / F Controller 209 Keyboard 210 CRT Display 211 External Memory

Claims (10)

A workflow server capable of communicating with a schedule management server that stores approver schedule information,
Approver information for specifying each approver of a plurality of approval steps in the approval workflow and the final approval deadline of the approval workflow are accepted, and workflow data including the accepted approver information and the final approval deadline is stored. Receiving means for storing in the means;
Assigning means for assigning different individual schedules for each approver of the approval workflow according to the period until the final approval deadline and the total number of each specified approver;
And the inquiry means to query the schedule information in the individual schedule for each assigned approver by the allocation means to the schedule management server,
Referring to the free time of each approver in the period from the schedule information in a separate schedule that was before Kitoi had together until the final approval date, approved the individual of the approval workflow for each of the each approver A specific means of identifying the schedule to
A workflow server comprising: The reception unit further includes a selection means for selecting a desired approvers from among the approver of the plurality of authorization step,
When said selecting means selects a desired approvers, the number of days of the respective dates of the assignment means Seung which said selected 認者, than the number of days of the respective dates of approvers not the selected The workflow server according to claim 1 , wherein a larger number is assigned. The specifying means, the workflow server according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in the Turkey to identify the date of the approval based on whether the road before and after there is the referenced empty-out time. Any of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that before Kitoku further comprising an approval date registration means for registering the schedule management server dates to approve identified as the schedule information of the corresponding approver by the constant unit The workflow server according to item 1 . The workflow server is further communicable with a project management server,
Receiving means for receiving approval request information including the approver information and the final approval deadline from a project management server;
Said accepting means, the workflow server according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that from the project management server accepts said authorization date and the approver information. The workflow server according to claim 5 , wherein the reception unit further includes a determination unit that determines whether or not a meeting body can be held by the final approval deadline according to the received approval request information. . The schedule management server
It further comprises storage means for storing conference room availability information,
The workflow server
The determination means further includes reference means for referring from the schedule management server to the schedule information of the approver specified by the approver information included in the approval request information and vacancy information of the conference room.
The workflow server according to claim 6 , wherein the determination unit determines whether or not a meeting body can be held based on schedule information of the approver and vacancy information of the conference room. The said determination means is further provided with the 2nd specific means to identify the installation which hold | maintains the said meeting body using the said reference information of the said approver's schedule and the vacancy information of the said meeting room. 8. The workflow server according to 7 . A method for controlling a workflow server that can communicate with a schedule management server that stores schedule information of an approver,
The accepting means of the workflow server accepts approver information for identifying each approver of a plurality of approval steps in the approval workflow and the final approval deadline of the approval workflow , and the accepted approver information and the final approval A reception step of storing workflow data including a deadline in a storage means;
An assigning step in which the assigning means of the workflow server assigns different individual schedules for each approver of the approval workflow according to the period until the final approval deadline and the total number of the specified approvers;
An inquiry step inquiring means of the workflow server, querying the scheduling information in a separate schedule for each assigned approver by the assignment unit to the schedule management server,
The workflow server of the specific means, before Kitoi have combined the referring to the free time of each approver in the period from the schedule information up to the final approval date in the individual dates, each of the each approver A specific process for identifying a schedule for approving the individual approval workflow ,
A control method comprising: A program that can be read and executed by a workflow server that can communicate with a schedule management server that stores approver schedule information,
The workflow server
Approver information for specifying each approver of a plurality of approval steps in the approval workflow and the final approval deadline of the approval workflow are accepted, and workflow data including the accepted approver information and the final approval deadline is stored. Receiving means for storing in the means;
Assigning means for assigning different individual schedules for each approver of the approval workflow according to the period until the final approval deadline and the total number of each specified approver;
And the inquiry means to query the schedule information in the individual schedule for each assigned approver by the allocation means to the schedule management server,
It is referring to the free time of each approver in the period from the schedule information in a separate schedule that was before Kitoi had together until the final approval date, approved the individual of the approval workflow for each of the each approver A specific means of identifying the schedule to
Program to make it function.

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