WO2022001355A1

WO2022001355A1 - Workflow arrangement method and device

Info

Publication number: WO2022001355A1
Application number: PCT/CN2021/091741
Authority: WO
Inventors: 任东升; 曹大为
Original assignee: 华为技术有限公司
Priority date: 2020-06-28
Filing date: 2021-04-30
Publication date: 2022-01-06
Also published as: CN113850558A

Abstract

A workflow arrangement method and device. Said method comprises: in response to a first request triggered by a user, generating a first private copy on the basis of a workflow model of the first request, and in response to a first adjustment operation performed on the first private copy by the user, obtaining a second private copy; and in response to a first instruction triggered on the second private copy by the user, generating a workflow instance, the workflow instance being the same as the second private copy, wherein workflow nodes in the workflow model are specifically used for executing a start operation upon detecting that the state of an upper-level node satisfies an execution condition of the start operation. In the method, a workflow model and workflow nodes are loosely coupled, the workflow nodes are stateless nodes, and workflow instances have one-to-one corresponding private copies; therefore, in the operation process of a workflow instance, the workflow instance can still be modified, thereby enhancing the flexibility of the flow arrangement method and satisfying the flow arrangement requirements of complicated projects.

Description

A method and device for arranging workflow

technical field

The present application relates to the field of computer technologies, and in particular, to a method and apparatus for arranging a workflow.

Background technique

With the rapid development of Internet mobile office, more and more enterprises have begun to introduce workflows in office work to collaborate with enterprises to improve their work efficiency and collaboration capabilities. A workflow is a series of interconnected, automated business activities or tasks. Specifically, the workflow is based on office automation, through the enterprise-defined process transition to realize automatic process flow, business application approval, timely information communication, etc., ultimately to improve work level and work efficiency.

The traditional workflow engine is suitable for generating a single fixed business process. However, in the face of the high complexity and flexibility of the business process, the involved business processes may be executed in inconsistent order or constantly change according to complex conditions, the traditional workflow engine cannot. satisfy.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present application provides a workflow arrangement method and device, which are used to enhance the flexibility of workflow arrangement and meet the usage requirements of complex business scenarios.

In a first aspect, the present application provides a workflow model, which is used to define workflow nodes; wherein, each workflow node is used to describe a link of a business process, and the workflow nodes include: rules, used to define The operation to be executed in the link, and the execution conditions of the operation to be executed; wherein, the operation to be executed includes the start operation, and the workflow node is specifically used to execute the operation after monitoring that the state of the upper-level node meets the execution condition of the start operation. Start the operation.

In the above design, the startup of the workflow node is controlled by itself, that is, when the startup condition is detected, the startup operation can be performed, and the upper-level node does not need to trigger the startup of the lower-level node. Therefore, the life cycle of the workflow node can be managed by itself. The workflow model composed of this type of workflow nodes has higher flexibility and can be applied to complex and flexible application scenarios.

In a second aspect, the present application provides a method for arranging a workflow. The method can be implemented by a terminal device or by components of the terminal device, such as processing devices, circuits, chips and other components in the terminal device.

The method further includes: receiving a first request from a user; in response to the first request, generating a first private copy based on the workflow model requested by the first request, where the first private copy is the same as the workflow model; The first adjustment operation of the copy obtains a second private copy; in response to the first instruction triggered by the user on the second private copy, a workflow instance is generated, and the workflow instance and the second private copy are in one-to-one correspondence; wherein, the workflow model, Used to define workflow nodes, each workflow node is used to describe a link of the business process, and the workflow nodes include: rules, used to define the operations to be executed included in the link, and the execution conditions of the operations to be executed; wherein, The operation to be executed includes a start operation, and the workflow node is specifically configured to execute the start operation after monitoring that the state of the upper-level node satisfies the execution condition of the start operation.

In the above design, the workflow model and the workflow nodes are loosely coupled, and the life cycle of the workflow node is managed by itself, without relying on other nodes to trigger and start, and the workflow instance has a one-to-one corresponding private copy, therefore, in the workflow During the running of the instance, the workflow instance can still be modified, which enhances the flexibility of the process choreography method and can meet the process choreography requirements of complex projects.

In a possible implementation method, during the running process of the workflow instance, the third private copy is obtained in response to the user's second adjustment operation on the second private copy; in response to the second instruction triggered by the user on the third private copy , the workflow instance is adjusted so that the workflow instance is consistent with the third private copy.

In the above design, workflow instances have a one-to-one correspondence with private copies. By modifying the private copies, the private copies in the running process can be adjusted, which is a one-to-one adjustment method and will not affect the workflow instances generated by the same workflow model. , which can realize the flexible adjustment of the workflow instance during the running process of the workflow instance.

In a third aspect, embodiments of the present application provide a terminal device, including a processor and a memory, wherein the memory is used to store one or more computer programs; when the one or more computer programs stored in the memory are executed by the processor, the The terminal device can implement any one of the possible design methods of the above two aspects.

In a fourth aspect, a terminal device is also provided, including: modules/units for performing any possible design method of the second aspect or the second aspect; these modules/units may be implemented by hardware, or by The hardware executes the corresponding software implementation.

A fifth aspect further provides a chip, the chip is coupled to the memory in the terminal device described in the first aspect, so that the chip invokes the program instructions stored in the memory when running, so as to realize the above-mentioned second methods provided.

In a sixth aspect, a computer-readable storage medium is also provided, the computer-readable storage medium includes a computer program, and when the computer program runs on a terminal device, the terminal device is caused to execute the method provided in the second aspect.

In a seventh aspect, there is also provided a computer program product, comprising instructions, which, when executed on a computer, cause the computer to perform the method provided in the second aspect above.

For the beneficial effects of the third aspect to the seventh aspect, please refer to the beneficial effects of the technical solutions proposed in the second aspect, and will not be repeated here.

Description of drawings

1 is a schematic diagram of a workflow provided by an embodiment of the present application;

2 is a schematic diagram of a traditional workflow model;

3 is a schematic diagram of a workflow node module library provided by an embodiment of the present application;

4 is a schematic diagram of a workflow model provided by an embodiment of the present application;

5 is a schematic diagram of another workflow model provided by an embodiment of the present application;

6 is a schematic flowchart corresponding to a method for arranging a workflow according to an embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram of a workflow arrangement according to an embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram of an adjustment process of a workflow instance provided by an embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram of a process for generating a workflow instance provided by an embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 10 is a schematic process diagram of a workflow instance in an adjustment operation process provided by an embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 11 is a possible exemplary block diagram of a terminal device involved in an embodiment of the application;

FIG. 12 is a schematic diagram of a terminal device according to an embodiment of the present application.

detailed description

In order to make the objectives, technical solutions and advantages of the present application clearer, the present application will be further described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. The specific operation methods in the method embodiments may also be applied to the apparatus embodiments or the system embodiments.

The workflow provided by the embodiments of the present application can be applied to various application scenarios such as engineering project management, enterprise business process management, and e-commerce process management.

Hereinafter, some terms in the embodiments of the present application will be explained, so as to facilitate the understanding of those skilled in the art.

1. The "workflow" involved in the embodiments of this application refers to the computerization or automation of business processes.

Specifically, the workflow is an abstract and general description of the business rules between the workflow and its various operation steps. In other words, workflow is to use computers to automatically transfer documents, information or tasks among multiple participants according to certain predetermined rules in order to achieve a certain business goal.

For example, in the offline process, many companies use the method of manual transmission of paper forms, and approval and signature at the first level, for example, leave requests, reimbursement forms, etc., the work efficiency is very low. With the workflow method, the user only needs to fill in the relevant form on the computer. After the filling is completed, the form will be automatically circulated according to the pre-defined process, and the next-level approver will receive the relevant attachments and can, as needed, Perform modification, tracking, management, query, statistics, printing, etc., after the online processing is completed, it will automatically flow to the next process, which greatly improves the efficiency.

2. The "workflow modeling" involved in the embodiment of the present application refers to the logic and rules that organize the various links in the workflow together before and after, and expresses and calculates it with an appropriate model in the computer. The model is for the workflow model.

Specifically, the workflow model includes at least one workflow node, and each workflow node is used to describe a link of the business process.

For example, for enterprise management, business processes can be divided into "leave application" process, "reimbursement application" process, etc. The workflow nodes included in the workflow model corresponding to each business process can be, the approval of the application at all levels For example, the workflow model corresponding to the reimbursement application is the reimbursement application (including filling in the reimbursement form), the approval of the department leader, the approval of the company manager, the financial review, and the loan.

For another example, for engineering projects, it may include project establishment, design, procurement, construction, commissioning and acceptance. See Figure 1, which is a schematic diagram of the workflow model established for the engineering project. The workflow model can include: project initiation node, design node, procurement node, construction node, commissioning node and acceptance node.

The workflow model can also be used to define the relationship between the nodes. Exemplarily, the relationship between the nodes is represented by a directed edge. For example, in the workflow model shown in Figure 1, the project establishment node is the upper-level node of the design node. , correspondingly, the design node is the subordinate node of the project establishment node; the design node is the superior node of the procurement node, correspondingly, the procurement node is the subordinate node of the design node, and so on.

In this embodiment of the present application, an upper-level node may also be referred to as a parent node, or simply referred to as a parent node, and a lower-level node may be referred to as a child node. In different scenarios, the relationship between nodes may have different expressions, which are not limited in this embodiment of the present application.

It should be understood that the workflow model shown in FIG. 1 is only an example, and the workflow model may include more or less workflow nodes, and the number of parent nodes and child nodes may be one or more. This is not specifically limited in the application examples. It should be noted that the workflow node and the node in the embodiments of the present application are the same concept, and the two can be replaced with each other.

3. Workflow engine, mainly used for organizational business process management. Specifically, based on the workflow engine, automated workflow rules can be customized according to the business needs of the organization. Documents, information or tasks are run in accordance with the established business rules, and collaborative work among organizational members can be achieved to achieve business goals.

At present, the widely used workflow engine is Activiti, the core of which is the process engine of BPMN (a set of graphical representations used to describe various business processes in detail with business process models). Specifically, the workflow engine can be used for model management, such as creating and editing workflow models, and can also be used for generating workflow instances (which will be described below).

4. Workflow instance, an instance generated by the workflow engine based on the workflow model and specific business information.

Exemplarily, a workflow engine can be used to generate a workflow instance. For example, a workflow model named "leave application" is created on the workflow engine, and the user calls the workflow model of the leave application and fills in the specific leave application. After entering the type, date of leave and the reason for the leave, click the "OK" button to initiate the leave application workflow. The workflow of the leave request triggered by the user is a workflow instance.

Referring to Fig. 2, it is a schematic diagram of a traditional workflow for applying for leave. As shown in Fig. 2, the traditional workflow must contain a clear "start" node and an "end" node. The workflow starts from the start node and follows the workflow The workflow nodes defined by the model are executed in sequence. After the upper-level node is completed, the lower-level node is designated to start until the end node. It can be seen that the traditional workflow is suitable for a single fixed business process. However, the current business process is becoming more and more complex and more flexible. For example, during the implementation of some projects, it may be necessary to add nodes, reduce nodes, or adjust the relationship between nodes. The flow model and workflow nodes are tightly coupled, and the workflow instance cannot be modified during the running process of the workflow instance. Therefore, the traditional workflow cannot support complex and flexible business scenarios.

In view of this, embodiments of the present application provide a workflow model and a workflow arranging method based on the workflow model. Among them, the workflow model is composed of stateless workflow nodes. The workflow node can monitor the state of the upper-level node, and execute the startup operation after monitoring that the state of the upper-level node satisfies the preset startup condition, that is, the workflow node The life cycle of the workflow can be managed by itself and not controlled by other nodes. The workflow model and the workflow nodes are loosely coupled. Therefore, during the running process of the workflow instance, the workflow instance can still be adjusted according to the requirements to meet the complex and flexible requirements. the needs of the business scenario.

The stateless nodes are described in detail as follows:

Compared with traditional nodes, the stateless nodes of the embodiments of the present application have the characteristics of independence and atomicity, and there is a peer-to-peer relationship between nodes. The node can perform the startup operation according to the state of the upper node.

In order to realize the above functions, the embodiment of the present application configures a rule for a stateless node, and the rule is used to define the operation to be executed contained in the node, and the execution conditions of the operation to be executed. For example, the operation to be executed contained in the node includes starting Operation, exemplarily, the execution condition of the startup operation is that the status of one or more upper-level nodes of the workflow node is a completed state, and the node of the present application has the function of monitoring the status of the upper-level node, and when the one or more upper-level nodes are monitored. After the states of multiple upper-level nodes meet the execution conditions of the startup operation, the startup operation is performed, instead of the lower-level node being specified and started by the upper-level node, so that the operation of the node (for example, the startup operation) is determined by its own rules and can be managed by itself. Its own life cycle will not affect other workflow nodes. Therefore, even in the running process of the workflow instance, the workflow nodes included in the workflow instance can be adjusted, which increases the flexibility of the workflow. It can be applied to more and more complex application scenarios.

Exemplarily, based on the features of the above-mentioned workflow nodes, the embodiments of the present application can modularize the workflow nodes. Referring to FIG. 3 , a workflow node module library is provided in the embodiments of the present application. The workflow node module library includes: One or more predefined workflow nodes. The node names shown in FIG. 3 are for illustration only, and do not limit the relationship between nodes. For example, node 4 may be an upper-level node of node 1, and node 2 may be a lower-level node of node 5. Not listed here.

When building a workflow model, users can select the required workflow nodes from the workflow node module library, and connect the selected workflow nodes together through directed edges. That is, different workflow models can be constructed based on the same workflow node module library, and the different workflow models can contain different workflow nodes, or include the same workflow nodes but with different relationships between nodes, so as to satisfy the The needs of different business processes.

To sum up, the workflow model of the embodiments of the present application can be applied to the following application scenarios:

Application Scenario 1: Workflow with multiple start nodes and/or end nodes;

The workflow nodes in the embodiments of the present application can all be used as start nodes or end nodes, that is, the workflow model in the embodiments of the present application can have multiple start nodes and/or multiple end nodes, see FIG. 4 , which is the present invention A schematic diagram of a workflow model provided by the embodiment. As shown in Figure 4, the workflow model includes 3 start nodes, namely: node 1, node 2 and node 4, the 3 start nodes respectively monitor the status of their own superior nodes to meet the preset start After the condition, execute the start action. The workflow model may further include a plurality of end nodes, namely: node 11 and node 12. When both the node 11 and the node 12 are in the completed state, the workflow ends.

In addition, the workflow model supports the convergence and intersection of workflow nodes. Therefore, the workflow model provided by the embodiments of the present application can be applied to very complex projects.

Application Scenario 2: Workflow with isolated nodes;

An orphan node, that is, no directed edges point to this node, and no directed edges point to other nodes. Referring to FIG. 5 , it is a schematic diagram of another workflow model provided by an embodiment of the present application. In the workflow model shown in FIG. 5, node 16 is an isolated node.

It should be understood that the workflow model in this embodiment of the present application may only include one workflow node, which is an isolated node, or include multiple workflow nodes, and the multiple workflow nodes include an isolated node. The embodiment does not specifically limit this.

Application Scenario 3: Business processes that need to be adjusted during operation;

For a more complex business process, during the running process, with the adjustment of factors such as technological reform, organizational change or business adjustment, the workflow instance may also need to be modified.

The features included in the workflow model and some application scenarios that may be applicable based on the features are described above. Of course, the above application scenarios are only examples, and the application scenarios of the embodiments of the present application are not limited thereto.

Through the above design, the workflow model and the workflow nodes are loosely coupled, and the workflow nodes are stateless nodes, so any number of nodes can be used as start nodes, and any number of nodes can be used as end nodes. Therefore, the workflow instance can still be modified during the running process of the workflow instance.

Next, the method of adjusting the workflow instance during the running process will be introduced in detail.

In the first implementable manner, the workflow instance can be modified by modifying the workflow model, so that the workflow instance in the running process is consistent with the modified workflow model.

For the adjustment operation of the workflow model, reference may be made to the related description below, which will not be repeated here.

As mentioned above, multiple workflow instances can be generated based on the same workflow model. Therefore, if the workflow model is modified, a possible situation is that all workflow instances generated based on the workflow model are updated accordingly.

The second implementable way is to generate an exclusive private copy for each workflow instance, and update the workflow instance by adjusting the private copy.

Exemplarily, the adjustment operation on the private copy may include, but is not limited to:

1) Increase or decrease workflow nodes;

The user can select a workflow node from the workflow node module library and add it to the workflow model. It should be understood that the workflow node may be an existing node in the workflow model, or it may not be an existing node in the workflow model. node. As an implementation manner, if the workflow node to be added is existing in the workflow model, the same node can be obtained by duplicating the node in the workflow model. Likewise, you can delete workflow nodes in the workflow model.

2) Adjust the relationship between workflow nodes;

Exemplarily, the relationship between the workflow nodes is established or modified by adding, deleting, or adjusting the direction of the directed edge.

The above is only an example, if the representation of the workflow model is different, it may have different adjustment operations, which is not limited in this embodiment of the present application.

In the above design, since the private copies of each workflow instance are independent of each other, they will not interfere with other workflow instances, and the flexibility is higher.

Next, the application of the private copy is introduced in detail. Referring to FIG. 6, a workflow arranging method provided by an embodiment of the present application is a schematic flowchart corresponding to the workflow arranging method. The method can be executed by a terminal device, for example, Devices such as mobile phones, computers, and ipads can also be realized by components of terminal devices, such as processing devices, circuits, chips, and other components in the terminal devices. The workflow model involved in the method can be the workflow model introduced above, and the method includes:

Step 601: Receive a first request from a user.

The first request here may be a request for a user to apply for creating a workflow instance; for example, the first request may be triggered by the user based on the requested workflow model. For example, the workflow model includes a leave application model and a reimbursement application model. If the user selects the request application model, the first request may be triggered by the user confirming the selection of the request application model. Correspondingly, the first request request is the leave application model. .

Step 602: In response to the first request, generate a first private copy based on the workflow model requested by the first request, wherein the generated private copy is the same as the requested workflow model;

Specifically, the private copy can be understood as being obtained by duplicating the workflow model. As shown in Figure 7(a), it is a schematic diagram of the workflow model, and Figure 7(b) is the private copy generated based on the workflow model. Schematic.

Among them, the private copy can have the same configuration or properties as the workflow model, for example: editable, have the same workflow node module library, etc.

Step 603: Obtain a second private copy in response to the user's first adjustment operation on the first private copy;

The first adjustment operation on the private copy has been described above, and will not be repeated here. Illustratively, see FIG. 7( c ), which is a schematic diagram of the second private copy.

Step 604: In response to the first instruction triggered by the user on the second private copy, generate a workflow instance corresponding to the second private copy, wherein the workflow instance is consistent with the second private copy.

Exemplarily, the first instruction may be a confirmation instruction triggered by the user. For example, after the user adjusts the private copy to the target private copy, the user clicks the confirm button to trigger the first instruction.

Referring to FIG. 7(d), it is a schematic diagram of a workflow instance generated in response to the first instruction. The workflow instance is the same as the second private copy, which means that the workflow node included in the second private copy and the relationship between the workflow nodes are the same. It should be understood that the workflow instance is generated based on the actual information of the business process filled in by the user. Therefore, the workflow instance is different from the private copy in that the workflow instance contains the relevant information entered by the user when applying for the establishment of the workflow instance and Information that may be received during subsequent workflow instances running.

For the workflow instance generated based on the above manner, the features of the workflow nodes included in the workflow instance have been described above, and will not be repeated here. Next, for the workflow instance shown in FIG. 7(d), the running process of the workflow instance is introduced.

As shown in Figure 7(d), the workflow instance includes workflow nodes named 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 12, and 14. For the convenience of description, the workflow named xx will be described below. Node, referred to as node xx for short, where node 4, node 5 and node 6 have no superior node, node 4 is the superior node of node 7, node 4 and node 5 are the superior node of node 8, node 5 is the superior node of node 9 ,And so on.

Exemplarily, the workflow node also includes states, for example, the status to be started, the running status, and the completion status (or pass status), and the operations to be executed included in the workflow node include: start operation, end operation, The operation can drive the state change. For example, when the workflow node is in the waiting state, when it is detected that the start condition is met, the start operation is executed, and the state of the workflow node is changed to the running state; when the end condition is met, the work The flow node ends the task, and the state is changed to the completed state.

It should be understood that if the startup condition is that the status of one or more upper-level nodes of the workflow node is the completed state, when the workflow node has no upper-level node, the workflow node defaults to the upper-level node as the completed state.

Assume that the startup condition of each workflow node is that all upper-level nodes are in the completed state. For the workflow example shown in Figure 7(d), node 4, node 5 and node 6 all meet the startup condition, that is, they can all execute startup Action, that is, the workflow instance contains multiple "start" nodes. For the workflow example shown in Fig. 7(d), when node 7 detects that node 4 is in the completed state, node 7 performs the startup operation; when node 8 detects that node 4 and node 5 are in the completed state, node 8 performs the startup operation, When the node 9 detects that the node 5 is in the completed state, the node 9 performs the startup operation, and so on.

Suppose again that the startup condition of each workflow node is that at least one superior node is in the completed state, then for the workflow instance shown in Figure 7(d), the startup operation is performed when node 7 monitors that node 4 is in the completed state; 8. The startup operation is performed when the node 4 or the node 5 is detected to be in the completed state; the startup operation is performed when the node 9 detects that the node 5 is in the completed state, and so on.

The node in this embodiment of the present application may have one process, or may be a node integrated by multiple processes. For example, assuming that node 4 is a procurement node, node 4 itself may also include purchase order reporting and department leader approval. , approval by company leaders and other processes, which are not limited in the embodiments of the present application.

Next, we will introduce the process of adjusting the workflow instance by modifying the private copy during the running process of the workflow instance.

Referring to FIG. 8( a ), it is a schematic diagram of a state of the workflow instance in the running process provided by the embodiment of the present application, wherein, node 4 to node 10 are all in a completed state, node 12 is in a running state, and node 14 is in a waiting state state.

During the running process of the workflow instance, when a second adjustment operation of the second private copy corresponding to the workflow instance by the user is received, a third private copy is obtained in response to the second adjustment operation. For the second adjustment operation, reference may be made to the specific description of the first adjustment operation, which will not be repeated here.

When receiving a second instruction triggered by the user on the third private copy, the workflow instance is adjusted in response to the second instruction. The second instruction here may refer to the description of the first instruction, and may be a determination instruction triggered by the user on the third private copy, which is used to instruct the workflow instance to be adjusted based on the third private copy, so that the adjusted workflow instance Same as the third private copy. Likewise, the similarity refers to the workflow nodes included in the workflow instance and the relationship between the workflow nodes, which are the same as the third private copy.

For example, suppose the second adjustment operation is: adding node 11 and node 13, and setting node 4 and node 9 as the upper-level nodes of node 11, node 12 as the upper-level node of node 13, and adding node 11 and node 13 as The parent node of node 14. Referring to FIG. 8(b), it is a schematic diagram of a third private copy obtained based on the above-mentioned second adjustment operation. Referring to FIG. 8(c), it is a schematic diagram of the workflow instance obtained after the workflow instance is adjusted based on the third private copy. Schematic diagram, as shown in Figure 8(c), assuming that node 12 is still in the running state, since node 12 is the upper-level node of node 13, therefore, the startup condition of node 13 is not satisfied, node 13 is in the state to be started, and node 14 is also in pending state.

It should be noted that: (1) The private copy and the workflow instance in the embodiment of the present application may be in one-to-one correspondence, that is, one workflow instance has one private copy. Therefore, modifying the private copy of a workflow instance will not affect other workflow instances generated based on the same workflow model. (2) Modifying the workflow instance during the running process will not affect the workflow node that has been started, that is, the workflow node whose state is the completed state or the running state. For example, in the workflow example shown in Figure 8(c), if the upper-level node 2 is added to the node 4, since the node 4 is in the completed state, even if the node 2 is in the running state, the state of the node 4 will not be affected. .

In the traditional workflow node, the startup of the subordinate node is triggered by the designation of the superior node. If a subordinate node of the node is added when a node is in the completed state, the added subordinate node will not be able to start, so the traditional workflow cannot be started. This type of adjustment is satisfied. However, since the workflow node in the embodiment of the present application can perform the startup operation according to the startup condition set by itself, the workflow instance can be adjusted during the running process of the workflow instance, and the adjustment method is more flexible, convenient and practical.

Next, in conjunction with specific embodiments, the above process of establishing a workflow model and a complete method for arranging a workflow based on the workflow model will be described in detail.

Step 1: pre-arrange a workflow node module library of business processes, and build a workflow module based on the workflow node module library.

Taking the cloud delivery business as an example, see Figure 9(a), which is an example of the workflow node module library (hereinafter referred to as the module library) of the cloud delivery project. As shown in Figure 9(a), the module library contains names of Workflow nodes corresponding to equipment procurement, HLD design and other links. These workflow nodes are configured with rules. Specifically, the rules include the execution conditions of the start operation. For the convenience of description, the execution conditions of the start operation are referred to as start conditions in the following. Optionally, the workflow nodes in the module library may contain the same start condition, or may contain different start conditions, for example, the start condition of equipment purchase is that all upper-level nodes are in the completed state, and the start condition of HLD design is at least one upper-level. The node is in the completed state.

Exemplarily, the starting condition may be configured when arranging the module library, or may be configured during use, for example, when building a workflow model, configuring or modifying the rules of some or all of the workflow nodes; During the running process of the flow instance, configure or modify the rules of some or all of the workflow nodes. This embodiment of the present application does not limit this.

Exemplarily, the way of selecting the workflow node may be dragging and dropping the selected workflow node from the workflow node module library to the editing area of the workflow model. The workflow nodes in the workflow node module library may be added repeatedly, that is, the same workflow model may contain multiple identical workflow nodes, which is not limited in this embodiment of the present application.

Referring to Fig. 9(b), it is an example of the workflow model of the cloud delivery business constructed. As shown in Fig. 9(b), in this workflow model, ASP procurement is an isolated node, and HLD is designed as an upper-level node for equipment procurement. , the equipment procurement is the upper-level node designed by LLD, the LLD is designed as the upper-level node for equipment racking, power-down test and BMC change, the power-down test is the upper-level node for service change, the service change is the upper-level node for soft-tuning debugging, and the soft-tuning debugging is The upper-level node for the online dimension transfer and asset transfer. That is, the workflow model contains 2 "end" nodes.

Step b: Receive a first request for establishing a project triggered by the user, and generate a private copy based on the workflow model requested by the first request.

For engineering projects, the user here can be the manager of the project, such as the project manager, etc. Assuming that the project to be created by the user is the "AZ1 expansion project", after receiving the user based on the data shown in Figure 9(b) The "workflow model of cloud delivery service" triggers the first request for establishing an AZ1 expansion project, and receives and responds to the first request to generate a private copy of the AZ1 expansion project. Referring to Fig. 9(c), it is a schematic diagram of the generated private copy of the AZ1 capacity expansion project. Combined with Fig. 9(c) and Fig. 9(b), the generated private copy is the same as the workflow model.

In an implementable manner, the user can directly create a workflow instance based on the private copy shown in Fig. 9(c), and the generated workflow instance is the same as the private copy shown in Fig. 9(c).

In another implementable manner, the user can edit the private copy according to the actual project process. It should be understood that the private copy can have the same configuration and function as the workflow model. Add nodes (such as device delisting nodes) to the private copy, delete nodes of the private copy (such as BMC changes), and supplement or modify the relationship between nodes in the private copy through directed edges. See Figure 9(d) for an example of a private copy of the adjusted AZ1 scaling project.

Step c: In response to the first instruction triggered by the user based on the third private copy, a workflow instance is generated.

Referring to Fig. 9(e), it is a workflow example generated based on the private copy shown in Fig. 9(d), wherein the HLD design node and the ASP purchase node are in the running state, and other nodes are in the pending state.

Step d: During the running process of the workflow instance, in response to the user's adjustment operation on the second private copy of the workflow instance, a third private copy is obtained, and in response to the second instruction for triggering the third private copy, the The workflow instance is adjusted so that the adjusted workflow instance is identical to the third private copy.

Optionally, during the operation of the project, the workflow instance may also need to be modified due to technological reforms, organizational changes, or business adjustments. For example, it is necessary to add asset clearing nodes and hardware patrols in the AZ1 expansion project. Check node. Illustratively, a user can modify the workflow instance by modifying the private copy.

Referring to Fig. 10(a), it is a schematic diagram of the private copy of the AZ1 capacity expansion project, and Fig. 10(b) is a state schematic diagram of a workflow instance of the AZ1 capacity expansion project during the running process.

Referring to Figure 10(c), it is a schematic diagram of a private copy after adding an asset clearing node and a hardware inspection node to the private copy shown in Figure 10(a). Exemplarily, after the user adjustment is completed, click OK The second command is triggered by pressing the button, and after receiving the second command triggered by the user on the third private copy, the workflow instance is adjusted. See Figure 10(d), which is after adjusting the workflow instance in the running process. state diagram.

Based on the above embodiments and the same concept, FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram of a terminal device provided by an embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG. 11 , the terminal device 1100 may be a chip or a circuit, such as a chip or circuit that can be provided in an electronic device.

As shown in FIG. 11 , the terminal device 1100 may include a receiving unit 1103 and a processing unit 1102 . The terminal device 1100 may further include a storage unit 1101 for storing program codes and/or data of the apparatus 1100 .

In one embodiment, the receiving unit 1103 is configured to receive the first request of the user;

The processing unit 1102 is configured to, in response to the first request, generate a first private copy based on the workflow model requested by the first request, where the first private copy is the same as the workflow model; in response to the user The first adjustment operation on the first private copy obtains a second private copy; in response to the first instruction triggered by the user on the second private copy, a workflow instance is generated, and the workflow instance and the The second private copies are in one-to-one correspondence; wherein the workflow model is used to define workflow nodes, each of the workflow nodes is used to describe a link of the business process, and the workflow nodes include: rules for Define the to-be-executed operations included in the link, and the execution conditions of the to-be-executed operations; wherein, the to-be-executed operations include startup operations, and the workflow node is specifically used to monitor the state of the upper-level node After the execution condition of the startup operation is satisfied, the startup operation is performed.

In an optional design, the processing unit 1102 is specifically configured to: during the running process of the workflow instance, in response to the user's second adjustment operation on the second private copy, obtain a third private copy; In response to a second instruction triggered by the user on the third private copy, the workflow instance is adjusted so that the workflow instance is consistent with the third private copy.

Referring to FIG. 12 , which is a schematic diagram of a control apparatus provided in an embodiment of the present application, the apparatus 1200 may be a host, a master control device, or a slave device in the foregoing embodiment. The apparatus 1200 includes: a processor 1202, a communication interface 1203, and may further include a memory 1201 or be in a coupled relationship with the memory 1201. Optionally, the apparatus 1200 may further include a communication line 1204 . Wherein, the communication interface 1203, the processor 1202 and the memory 1201 can be connected to each other through a communication line 1204; the communication line 1204 can be a peripheral component interconnect (PCI for short) bus or an extended industry standard architecture (extended industry standard architecture). , referred to as EISA) bus and so on. The communication line 1204 can be divided into an address bus, a data bus, a control bus, and the like. For ease of representation, only one thick line is shown in FIG. 12, but it does not mean that there is only one bus or one type of bus.

The processor 1202 may be a CPU, a microprocessor, an ASIC, or one or more integrated circuits for controlling the execution of the programs of the present application. The function of the processor 1202 may be the same as that of the processing unit described in FIG. 11 .

A communication interface 1203, using any device such as a transceiver, is used to communicate with other devices or communication networks, such as Ethernet, radio access network (RAN), wireless local area networks (WLAN), Wired access network, etc. The function of the communication interface 1203 may be the same as that of the receiving unit described in FIG. 11 .

The memory 1201 can be a ROM or other types of static storage devices that can store static information and instructions, a RAM or other types of dynamic storage devices that can store information and instructions, or an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (electrically erasable programmable read-only memory). read-only memory, EEPROM), compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM) or other optical disc storage, optical disc storage (including compact disc, laser disc, optical disc, digital versatile disc, Blu-ray disc, etc.), magnetic disk A storage medium or other magnetic storage device, or any other medium that can be used to carry or store desired program code in the form of instructions or data structures and that can be accessed by a computer, without limitation. The memory may exist independently and be connected to the processor through communication line 1204 . The memory can also be integrated with the processor.

The memory 1201 is used for storing computer-executed instructions for executing the solution of the present application, and the execution is controlled by the processor 1202 . The processor 1202 is configured to execute the computer-executed instructions stored in the memory 1201, so as to implement the methods provided by the foregoing embodiments of the present application. The memory 1201 may function the same as the storage unit described in FIG. 11 .

Optionally, the computer-executed instructions in the embodiment of the present application may also be referred to as application code, which is not specifically limited in the embodiment of the present application.

Embodiments of the present application further provide a computer storage medium, where computer instructions are stored in the computer storage medium, and when the computer instructions are executed on a terminal device, the terminal device executes the above-mentioned relevant method steps to implement the methods in the above-mentioned embodiments.

Embodiments of the present application further provide a computer program product, which, when the computer program product runs on a computer, causes the computer to execute the above-mentioned relevant steps, so as to implement the methods in the above-mentioned embodiments.

In addition, the embodiments of the present application also provide an apparatus, which may specifically be a chip, a component or a module, and the apparatus may include a connected processor and a memory; wherein, the memory is used for storing computer execution instructions, and when the apparatus is running, The processor can execute the computer-executed instructions stored in the memory, so that the chip executes the methods in the foregoing method embodiments.

The terminal equipment, computer storage medium, computer program product or chip provided in the embodiments of the present application are all used to execute the corresponding methods provided above. Therefore, for the beneficial effects that can be achieved, reference may be made to the corresponding methods provided above. The beneficial effects of the method are not repeated here.

From the description of the above embodiments, those skilled in the art can understand that for the convenience and brevity of the description, only the division of the above functional modules is used as an example for illustration. In practical applications, the above functions can be allocated by different The function module is completed, that is, the internal structure of the device is divided into different function modules, so as to complete all or part of the functions described above.

Those of ordinary skill in the art can understand that the first, second, and other numeral numbers involved in the present application are only for the convenience of description, and are not used to limit the scope of the embodiments of the present application, but also represent the sequence. "And/or", which describes the association relationship of the associated objects, means that there can be three kinds of relationships, for example, A and/or B, which can mean that A exists alone, A and B exist at the same time, and B exists alone. The character "/" generally indicates that the associated objects are an "or" relationship. "At least one" means one or more. At least two means two or more. "At least one", "any one", or similar expressions, refer to any combination of these items, including any combination of single item(s) or plural item(s). For example, at least one item (single, species) of a, b, or c can represent: a, b, c, ab, ac, bc, or abc, where a, b, c can be single or multiple. "Plurality" means two or more, and other quantifiers are similar. Furthermore, occurrences of the singular forms "a", "an" and "the" do not mean "one or only one" unless the context clearly dictates otherwise, but rather "one or more" in one". For example, "a device" means to one or more such devices.

In the above-mentioned embodiments, it may be implemented in whole or in part by software, hardware, firmware or any combination thereof. When implemented in software, it can be implemented in whole or in part in the form of a computer program product. The computer program product includes one or more computer instructions. When the computer program instructions are loaded and executed on a computer, all or part of the processes or functions described in the embodiments of the present application are generated. The computer may be a general purpose computer, special purpose computer, computer network, or other programmable device. The computer instructions may be stored in or transmitted from one computer readable storage medium to another computer readable storage medium, for example, the computer instructions may be downloaded from a website site, computer, server or data center Transmission to another website site, computer, server, or data center is by wire (eg, coaxial cable, fiber optic, digital subscriber line (DSL)) or wireless (eg, infrared, wireless, microwave, etc.). The computer-readable storage medium may be any available medium that a computer can access, or a data storage device such as a server, a data center, or the like that includes an integration of one or more available media. The usable media may be magnetic media (eg, floppy disks, hard disks, magnetic tapes), optical media (eg, DVD), or semiconductor media (eg, Solid State Disk (SSD)), and the like.

The various illustrative logic units and circuits described in the embodiments of this application may be implemented by general purpose processors, digital signal processors, application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) or other programmable logic devices, Discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination of the above are designed to implement or operate the described functions. A general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor, or alternatively, the general-purpose processor may be any conventional processor, controller, microcontroller, or state machine. A processor may also be implemented by a combination of computing devices, such as a digital signal processor and a microprocessor, multiple microprocessors, one or more microprocessors in combination with a digital signal processor core, or any other similar configuration. accomplish.

The steps of the method or algorithm described in the embodiments of this application may be directly embedded in hardware, a software unit executed by a processor, or a combination of the two. A software unit may be stored in RAM memory, flash memory, ROM memory, EPROM memory, EEPROM memory, registers, hard disk, removable disk, CD-ROM, or any other form of storage medium known in the art. Illustratively, a storage medium may be coupled to the processor such that the processor may read information from, and store information in, the storage medium. Optionally, the storage medium can also be integrated into the processor. The processor and storage medium may be provided in the ASIC.

These computer program instructions can also be loaded on a computer or other programmable data processing device to cause a series of operational steps to be performed on the computer or other programmable device to produce a computer-implemented process such that The instructions provide steps for implementing the functions specified in the flow or blocks of the flowcharts and/or the block or blocks of the block diagrams.

Although the application has been described in conjunction with specific features and embodiments thereof, it will be apparent that various modifications and combinations can be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the application. Accordingly, this specification and drawings are merely exemplary illustrations of the application as defined by the appended claims, and are deemed to cover any and all modifications, variations, combinations or equivalents within the scope of this application. Obviously, those skilled in the art can make various changes and modifications to the present application without departing from the scope of the present application. Thus, if these modifications and variations of the present application fall within the scope of the claims of the present application and their equivalents, the present application is also intended to include these modifications and variations.

Claims

A workflow model, characterized in that,

the workflow model, for defining workflow nodes;

Wherein, each of the workflow nodes is used to describe a link of the business process, and the workflow nodes include: rules, which are used to define the operations to be executed included in the link, and the execution conditions of the operations to be executed. ;

The to-be-executed operation includes an activation operation, and the workflow node is specifically configured to execute the activation operation after monitoring that the state of the upper-level node satisfies the execution condition of the activation operation.
A work flow orchestration method, characterized in that the method further comprises:

Receive the user's first request;

In response to the first request, generating a first private copy based on the workflow model requested by the first request, the first private copy being the same as the workflow model;

obtaining a second private copy in response to the user's first adjustment operation on the first private copy;

In response to the first instruction triggered by the user on the second private copy, a workflow instance is generated, and the workflow instance is in one-to-one correspondence with the second private copy;

Wherein, the workflow model is used to define workflow nodes, each of which is used to describe a link of a business process, and the workflow node includes: rules, used to define the to-be-executed items included in the link The operation to be executed, and the execution condition of the operation to be executed; wherein, the operation to be executed includes a start operation, and the workflow node is specifically configured to meet the execution condition of the start operation after monitoring the state of the upper-level node After that, the startup operation is performed.
The method of claim 2, further comprising:

During the running process of the workflow instance, in response to the user's second adjustment operation on the second private copy, a third private copy is obtained;

In response to a second instruction triggered by the user on the third private copy, the workflow instance is adjusted so that the workflow instance is consistent with the third private copy.
A process orchestration device, characterized in that it includes:

a receiving unit, configured to receive the first request of the user;

a processing unit, configured to, in response to the first request, generate a first private copy based on the workflow model requested by the first request, where the first private copy is the same as the workflow model; The first adjustment operation of the first private copy obtains a second private copy; in response to the first instruction triggered by the user on the second private copy, a workflow instance is generated, and the workflow instance and the first private copy are generated. One-to-one correspondence between two private copies;

Wherein, the workflow model is used to define workflow nodes, each of which is used to describe a link of a business process, and the workflow node includes: rules, used to define the to-be-executed items included in the link The operation to be executed, and the execution condition of the operation to be executed; wherein, the operation to be executed includes a start operation, and the workflow node is specifically configured to meet the execution condition of the start operation after monitoring the state of the upper-level node After that, the startup operation is performed.
The apparatus of claim 4, wherein the processing unit is specifically configured to:

During the running process of the workflow instance, in response to the user's second adjustment operation on the second private copy, a third private copy is obtained; in response to a second instruction triggered by the user on the third private copy, The workflow instance is adjusted so that the workflow instance is consistent with the third private copy.
A process orchestration device, characterized in that it includes a processor, a communication interface, and a memory;

the memory for storing computer program code;

the communication interface, for receiving the first request of the user;

The processor is configured to, in response to the first request, generate a first private copy based on the workflow model requested by the first request, where the first private copy is the same as the workflow model; in response to the The user's first adjustment operation on the first private copy obtains a second private copy; in response to the first instruction triggered by the user on the second private copy, a workflow instance is generated, and the workflow instance is associated with the second private copy. The second private copy is in one-to-one correspondence;

Wherein, the workflow model is used to define workflow nodes, each of which is used to describe a link of a business process, and the workflow node includes: rules, used to define the to-be-executed items included in the link The operation to be executed, and the execution condition of the operation to be executed; wherein, the operation to be executed includes a start operation, and the workflow node is specifically configured to meet the execution condition of the start operation after monitoring the state of the upper-level node After that, the startup operation is performed.
The apparatus of claim 6, wherein the processing unit is specifically configured to:

During the running process of the workflow instance, in response to the user's second adjustment operation on the second private copy, a third private copy is obtained; in response to a second instruction triggered by the user on the third private copy, The workflow instance is adjusted so that the workflow instance is consistent with the third private copy.
A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that, the computer-readable storage medium comprises a computer program, when the computer program is executed on a process choreography device, the process choreography device is made to perform any one of claims 2-3. a described method.