JPH11175639A - Work flow system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To automatically prepare a flow related with a new work by providing a flow defining part for monitoring the transmission of a folder from the terminal of each person in charge to the terminal of the next person in change, and defining a new flow for the new work. SOLUTION: Each person a1 , a2 ,... executes the work point assigned to the person itself of a new work, and transmits a folder being the result to a terminal 12 of the next person in charge judged by the person itself. A flow defining part 19 in a work flow server 13 recognizes a folder fetched in a transmitting and receiving part 16 as a part of a new flow for transferring the folder from one person in charge (terminal 12) to the next person in charge (terminal 12), and newly registers or additionally registers the part of the fetched flow. When the processing of the final work point is ended by the final person in charge, and this work is completed, a completed flow for a work inputted from the start to the end is registered in a flow definition table 29.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a workflow system for managing a work flow using a computer system, and more particularly, to a workflow system that allows a person in charge to freely define a flow.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a company or government office, in order to efficiently execute a generated job, each job is divided into a plurality of unit jobs common to each job, and each unit job is divided into the unit jobs. They are assigned to specific staff members who specialize to improve the efficiency of work as a whole.

The same can be said for various jobs using a computer. Then, each work is divided into a plurality of unit works called work points, and a person registered in the work point is provided with a work, such as a document, a drawing, a program, etc., called a folder created in the previous stage. A system for managing a work flow for transferring a container or transferring a folder created by this work point to the next work point is called a workflow system.

[0004] A workflow system having such a function is constituted by, for example, a kind of LAN (local area network) or a client server system as shown in FIG.

[0005] A plurality of terminals 2 and 1 capable of executing various processing tasks such as a work station with respect to a transmission line 1.
Workflow servers 3 are connected. Each terminal 2
Are dedicated personnel (users) a ₁ , a ₂ , a ₃ ,
a _4, a _5, ... to operate.

[0009] In the workflow server 3, as shown in FIG. 9, each flow 5 defined in advance for each task to be executed is stored and held in a flow definition table. As shown, each flow 5 includes each work point 4 (WP) in the case where the relevant work is divided into a plurality of work points.
And execution order of 1~WP3), the person in charge a _1, a _2, a ₃ to perform each work point 4 are registered.

[0007] When the work to be executed is input, the workflow server 3 calls a flow 5 corresponding to the work, and according to the flow 5, each person in charge a ₁ , a
₂ and a ₃ are managed so that each work point 4 is executed in turn.

[0008] Specifically, the workflow server 3 transmits the terminal 2 of the _first work point 4 (WP1, person in charge a ₁ ).
(Responsible person a ₁ ) is started. Work Point 4 (WP
1, when the person in charge a ₁ ) completes the process, the folder containing the product created in this work point 4 (WP 1, person in charge a ₁ ) is stored in the next work point 4 (WP
2, the person in charge a ₂₎ by transferring to the terminal 2 of the (personnel a _2), the work point 4 (WP2, representative a ₂₎ to start. Further, work point 4 (WP2, person in charge a
When the process for the product in ₂₎ is completed, a folder for the next work point 4 (WP3 of this product, personnel a ₃₎ of the terminal 2 (representative a ₃₎ to thereby transfer the next work point 4 (WP3 , The person in charge a ₃ ) is started.

Here, the operation of transferring a folder to the work point 4 is to move the folder to a receiving tray (a personally determined folder receiving directory) of the terminal 2 of the person in charge assigned to the work point 4. Means that. In this way, the workflow server 3 manages the execution of each work point 4 constituting the flow 5.

[0010]

However, the workflow system shown in FIG. 8 still has the following problems to be solved. That is, a flow 5 shown in FIG. 9 consisting of a plurality of work points 4 defined for each work and persons a ₁ , a ₂ ,... And is registered in the flow definition table in the workflow server 3.

When the work to be executed is input, for example, the workflow server 3 confirms that the flow 5 corresponding to the work is registered in its own flow definition table. A flow is called up, and in accordance with the flow, the input work is executed by each person assigned to each work point 4.

However, whenever the type of work to be input is increased or the work procedure is changed, the administrator of the workflow system creates a flow 5 corresponding to the work and additionally registers it in the flow definition table. Need to
In addition, it is necessary to modify the already registered flow 5.

As described above, the maintenance and management of each flow 5 registered in the flow definition table in the workflow server 3 requires a great deal of labor and time. Further, the administrator of the workflow system needs to grasp the contents of all newly generated jobs, which places a great burden on the administrator of the workflow system.

Therefore, when it is necessary to carry out a new job urgently, a plurality of persons in charge consult with each other to determine an outline of the work, and the head person in charge of the work is responsible for his / her own work. And put the work in a folder and send it to the next person's terminal as an e-mail. After receiving the folder, the next person in charge performs his / her own job on the product and sends it to the next person in charge.

However, in the technique in which each person executes a task assigned to him / her by such an e-mail method, the division of the executed work, the execution order of the divided unit work, and each person in charge Is not recorded at all, and when a similar job is input, each person in charge has to carry out the same consultation again from the division and division of the work to the determination of the execution order, which is very complicated.

The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and a flow relating to a new job can be automatically defined by monitoring a folder arbitrarily executed between persons in charge. Since then, automatically created flows can be used for the same job, reducing the burden on the system administrator, improving the flexibility of input work for the entire system, and improving the processing efficiency of the entire system. The purpose is to provide a work flow system that can do it.

[0017]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention divides a work into a plurality of work points,
The execution order of each of the divided work points and the person in charge of each work point are defined as a flow, the artifacts in each work point are put in a folder, and this folder is assigned to the person in charge of each work point according to the defined flow. In a workflow system that performs work by sequentially moving to the terminal, when a new work occurs, each person's terminal processes the deliverables in the folder sent to it and determines Means to send a folder to the terminal of the person in charge, and a flow definition that monitors the transmission of the folder from the terminal of each person to the terminal of the next person and defines a new flow for the relevant job And a part.

In the workflow system configured as described above, when a new job occurs, each person in charge corresponds to a work point for this job and the person assigned to each work point is defined as a flow. Perform the part of the job assigned to you and send the folder of the deliverable to the next person determined by you. Finally, the person who receives this folder completes this work.

The transmission of the folder from the terminal of each person in charge to the terminal of the next person in charge is monitored, and a new flow for the job is automatically defined. Therefore, for the same job from the next time, the job may be executed using the newly defined flow.

As described above, a flow for a newly generated job is automatically defined from the history of folder transmission / reception performed between the persons in charge. There is no need to create a separate flow manually.

In another invention, in addition to the workflow system of the above invention, a flow classification means for classifying each flow defined by the flow definition unit into a plurality of types,
For each of the plurality of flow types classified by the flow classification means, there is provided a flow use restriction means for restricting a person who can use the flow of the corresponding type.

That is, when a new job occurs,
The history of folder transmission / reception performed between persons in charge is not always an efficient regular flow that can withstand reuse. Flows that are interrupted on the way or flows that have been left unfinished and have been executed again by the same person should not be reused. Also, there is no need to disclose the flow for a special job to all the persons in charge.

Therefore, according to the present invention, each flow defined by the flow definition unit is classified into a plurality of types, and a person who can use a flow of the corresponding type is limited according to the type of the flow. .

[0024]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS One embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of a workflow system according to the embodiment. This workflow system is configured by a kind of LAN (local area network) or a client server system as shown in the figure.

A plurality of terminals 12 capable of executing various processing tasks such as workstations and one workflow server 13 are connected to the transmission path 11. Each terminal 2 has a dedicated person (user) a ₁ , a ₂ ,
a ₃ , a ₄ ,... operate.

Each person in charge a ₁ , a ₂ , a ₃ , a ₄ ,.
When a new job is input from the outside, the job is first divided into a plurality of work points, and the first designated person executes the work for the first work point on his / her own terminal 12 and stores the work product in a folder. And sends it to the terminal 12 of the next person in charge determined by itself via the transmission line 11. In this case, the folder is added with an ID indicating a person in charge of the transmission destination and a person in charge of the transmission source indicating the self. Each folder is assigned a serial number that increases each time the folder is transmitted. Further, the folder is assigned a folder ID corresponding to the job ID.

Thus, each person in charge a ₁ , a ₂ , a ₃ ,
a ₄ ,... execute the work point assigned to the self of the work concerned and transmit the folder of the result to the terminal 12 of the next person in charge determined by the self. Finally, the person who receives this folder completes this work.

As shown in the figure, the workflow server 13 has a person-in-charge management section 14, a person-in-charge selecting section 15, a transmitting / receiving section 16, a flow ID adding section 17, a free path recording section 18,
Flow periodic unit 19, flow management unit 20, flow reading unit 2
1, and a control unit 22 for controlling each unit are provided.
The free path recording unit 18 has a folder information memory 23.
Buffer 25 consisting of a folder memory 24
Is connected to the flow management unit 20, and a type table 28 including a category condition table 26 and a category table 27 is connected.

Next, the configuration and operation of each unit constituting the workflow server 13 will be described in order. The staff management section 14 is provided with a staff table 14a shown in FIG. In the person in charge table 14a, each person in charge of the department in which this workflow system is installed, a ₁ , a
_{2, a 3, a 4,} a 5, ... in each, and the relevant person in charge of the ID (identifier), and the tray for the relevant person in charge receives a folder, the person in charge name, and the like are registered. In some cases, a password is registered. The person-in-charge management unit 14 includes the control unit 2
On the basis of the command from the second person, maintenance is performed to newly register a person in charge in the person in charge table 14a, change the registered information, or cancel the registered information.

The clerk selection unit 15 reads information in the clerk table 14a in response to an inquiry from each terminal 12 to the outside and returns it to the terminal 12 of the inquiry source. The transmission / reception unit 16 monitors the transmission path 11 and takes in the folder to which the ID of the person in charge of the transmission source and the ID of the person in charge of the transmission destination are transmitted. The person in charge selecting section 15
And the flow read from the flow reading unit 21 to the terminal 12 of the read source or the request source via the transmission line 11.

The flow ID adding unit 17 detects the serial number of the folder to which the ID of the person in charge of the transmission source and the ID of the person in charge of the destination captured by the transmitting and receiving unit 16 are added, and this additional number is set to the first. In this case, this folder is recognized as a part of a new flow for transferring the folder from one person in charge (terminal 12) to the next person in charge (terminal 12), and a flow ID (identifier) is assigned.

As shown in FIG. 3B, in the folder information memory 23 of the folder buffer 25, the name and ID of the folder corresponding to the currently executed work, and the work point (person in charge) ) Is stored, and the job title is stored.
In the folder memory 24, a folder ID and the latest product stored in the folder are stored.

The free path recording unit 18 stores the ID of the person in charge of the transmission source and the I
The folder with D is temporarily stored in the folder buffer 25. If the information of the folder with the same ID has already been stored, the information is updated to the latest information with the information of the folder which is taken in this time.

In the flow definition section 19, a plurality of flow definition tables 29 corresponding to each task to be executed shown in FIG. Each flow definition table 2
9, a work point staff table 29a and a work point order relation table 29b are formed.

As shown in FIGS. 7A and 7B, the work point staff table 29a additionally registers each work point of the job currently being executed and the staff assigned to the work point. You. As shown in FIGS. 7A and 7B, the execution order of each work point of the currently executed work is additionally registered in the work point order relation table 29b. Therefore, before starting a new job, the work-point staff table 29a and the work-point sequence relation table 29b have the contents shown in FIG.
As shown in (a), nothing is stored.

The flow definition unit 19 stores the folder in which the ID of the person in charge of the transmission source and the ID of the person in charge of the destination captured by the transmission / reception unit 16 are added from one person in charge (terminal 12) to the next person in charge (terminal 12). Recognizing that the flow is a part of a new flow for transferring a folder to the terminal 12), assigning a flow name and a flow ID to the flow definition table 29, and adding the flow name and flow ID to the work flow person table 29a and the work flow order table 29 Newly register or additionally register a part of the fetched flow.

When the completion information (END) is written into the work point order table 29b of the flow definition table 29 as shown in FIG. Upon completion, it is determined that a series of flows for this job has been completed, and the completed flow defined in the flow definition table 29 is sent to the flow management unit 20.

The category table 28 includes a category (type) condition table 26 shown in FIG. 4A and a category (type) table 27 shown in FIG. 4A.
The category (type) condition table 26 stores the conditions (contents) of each category when each flow defined by the flow definition unit 19 is classified into, for example, four categories (types). Specifically, when each work is divided into a plurality of work points, the work points are distinguished by which person in charge a ₁ , a ₂ , a ₃ , a ₄ , a ₅ ,.

FIG. 5 shows specific conditions in further detail. For example, if the person in charge of this department is the person in charge a ₁ , the person in charge of this person a ₁ is the last completed person, the category (type) is 1, and if the person in charge of this department is person in charge a ₅ , when's a ₅ is the last of the complete person is a category (type) 4.

The case where the executor of the first work point is the person in charge a ₂ is category (type) 2, and among the plurality of work points, the work point in which the person in charge a ₂ and the person in charge a ₃ are adjacent to each other. Category (type) 3 to execute
It is.

In the category table 27, for each category (type) set in the category (type) condition table 26, the flow corresponding to the category (type) is assigned to all persons a ₁ , a ₂ , Information indicating whether or not the information is disclosed to a ₃ , a ₄ , a ₅ ,... is stored.

For example, flows corresponding to categories (types) 1 to 3 are disclosed as regular flows, and flows corresponding to category (type) 4 are difficult to recognize as regular flows, so that all persons a ₁ to a ₁ It is not exposed to ₅ and is only available to specific personnel or system administrators.

The flow management unit 20 determines which category (type) each flow sequentially created by the flow definition unit 19 corresponds to by referring to the type table 28, and determines the flow and the flow name in FIG. In the flow table 30 shown in FIG.

Therefore, in the flow table 30, the category (classification) to which the corresponding flow belongs is registered for all newly created flows registered in the flow definition unit 29 of the flow definition unit 19. Have been.

The flow calling unit 21 is connected to each of the external terminals 12.
When a call request for a registered flow specifying a flow name is input from the (person in charge) via the transmission / reception unit 16, the category (type) of the flow is read from the flow table 30 of the flow management unit 20, and the type table 28 Confirm that the relevant category (type) is to be disclosed from. After that, the flow calling unit 21 calls the target flow from the flow definition table 29 of the corresponding flow name of the flow definition unit 19, and transmits the transmission requesting terminal 1 via the transmission / reception unit 16.
2 (the person in charge).

Upon receiving an input operation from the administrator of the workflow system, the control unit 22 issues an instruction to newly register a person in charge in the person in charge table 14a, an instruction to change the set contents of the type table 28, and a flow definition table 29. Is sent to the corresponding processing unit.

In the workflow system having such a configuration, when a new job occurs, the operation of each unit of the workflow server 13 in a case where each person in charge directly executes this job instead of the administrator of the workflow system. This will be described with reference to FIGS.

First, before starting a new job, nothing is registered in the new flow definition table 29 as shown in FIG. Further, nothing is stored in the folder buffer 25 as shown in FIG.

Then, as described above, each person in charge a ₁ ,
_{a 2, a 3, a 4} , a 5, ... is when a new job is input from the outside, this work plurality of work points WP1, W
Divided into P2 and WP3, leading work point WP1
The person in charge a ₁ executes a task for the first work point WP 1 on his / her terminal 12, puts the result in a folder, and determines the next person in charge a ₂ through the transmission line 11. To the terminal 12. In this case, the folder is added with an ID indicating a person in charge of the transmission destination and a person in charge of the transmission source indicating the self.

Then, the first folder is fetched by the transmission / reception unit 16, and the flow ID setting unit 17 sets the flow name: A and the flow ID: A. Then, the folder captured by the free path recording unit 18 is temporarily stored in the folder buffer 25 as shown in FIG. As a result, in the folder information memory 23, the folder name: A, the folder I
D; A, current position: a work point WP1 is set. In the folder memory 24, a folder name:
A, folder ID; A, the current product file is stored.

Then, the flow definition unit 19 initially registers a part of the fetched flow in the new flow definition table 29. As a result, as shown in FIG. 7A, the flow name: A and the flow ID: A are set in the new flow definition table 29, and the first work point WP1 and the person in charge are set in the work point person in charge table 29a. a ₁ is set. Further, START (start) → WPI is set in the work point order relation table 29b.

[0052] put it in the second person in charge a ₂ is the second of the running process with respect to the workpiece point WP2 artifacts folder, the self is transmitted to the terminal 12 of the third person in charge a ₃ to determine, this Since the flow name and the flow ID for the job have already been registered, the flow of the current part with respect to the entire flow is additionally registered in each of the tables 29a and 29b of the flow definition table 29. Further, the storage content of the folder buffer 25 is updated with the information of the current folder.

Then, the last person in charge a ₃ finishes processing the last work pointer WP _{3 of} the work inputted this time,
When this work is completed, the folder created with the end information (END) is sent to the transmission line 12.

Then, as shown in FIG. 7B, the folder buffer 25 stores the final folder information.
Further, in the flow definition table 29, as shown in FIG. 7A, completed flows for the work input from START (start) to END (end) are registered.

Then, the newly defined flows are classified into respective categories (types) by the flow management unit 20. In this embodiment, a newly defined flow is classified into category (type) 3. Therefore, this newly defined flow can be reused by all persons in charge as a normal flow.

In the workflow system configured as described above, when a new job occurs, each person in charge a executes the part of the work assigned to himself, and the next person in charge judges himself / herself. Send the artifact folder. Then, when the person in charge who last received this folder completes this work, the flow is automatically registered in the flow registration table 29 in which the flow is created.

Therefore, when a new job occurs, there is no need for the administrator of this workflow system to manually define the flow for the job and register it in the flow definition table 29.

[0058]

As described above, in the workflow system of the present invention, the transmission and reception of a folder arbitrarily executed between the persons in charge is monitored, and the flow relating to a new job is automatically defined.

Therefore, it is not necessary for the system administrator to separately define and register the flow by manual operation, and the burden on the administrator can be reduced. Further, after that, the flow automatically created earlier can be used for the same work, so that the flexibility of the whole system for the input work can be improved, and the processing efficiency of the whole system can be improved.

Each flow defined by the flow definition unit is classified into a plurality of categories (types) and registered, and a person who can use each flow is restricted according to the category (type). . Therefore, for example, the reliability of the entire system can be guaranteed by limiting the reuse of a flow that is not created correctly or a special flow.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a workflow system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing registered contents of a person in charge table formed in a workflow server of the workflow system.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the contents stored in a flow definition table and a folder buffer formed in the workflow server.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing registered contents of a type table formed in the workflow server.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing specific contents of each condition registered in the same type table.

FIG. 6 is a view showing registered contents of a flow table formed in the workflow server.

FIG. 7 is a view showing the storage contents of a flow definition table and a folder buffer formed in the workflow server.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a general workflow system.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an example of a flow.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11 ... Transmission line 12 ... Terminal 13 ... Workflow server 14 ... Person in charge management unit 16 ... Transmission / reception unit 17 ... Flow ID addition unit 18 ... Free path recording unit 19 ... Flow definition unit 20 ... Flow management unit 21 ... Flow calling unit 22 ... Control unit 23 Folder information memory 24 Folder memory 26 Category condition table 27 Category table 28 Type table 29 Flow definition table 30 Flow table

Claims (2)

[Claims] Claims 1. A work is divided into a plurality of work points,
The execution order of each of the divided work points and the person in charge of each work point are defined as a flow, the product at each work point is put in a folder, and this folder is assigned to each work point according to the defined flow. In a workflow system that performs the work by sequentially moving the work to the terminal of the person, when a new work occurs, the terminal of each person in charge processes the deliverables of the folder sent to him and executes the work. Determine the means to send the folder to the terminal of the next person in charge, and monitor the transmission of the folder from the terminal of each person to the terminal of the next person, and define a new flow for the relevant job. A workflow system with a flow definition unit. 2. A flow classification unit for classifying each flow defined by the flow definition unit into a plurality of types, and a flow of a corresponding type can be used for each of the plurality of flow types classified by the flow classification unit. 2. The workflow system according to claim 1, further comprising a flow use restricting means for restricting a person in charge.