JP2000215242A - Work process management device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a work process management device usable in a dynamic environment where large scale and many activity elements appear and disappears in dispersed environments and capable of widely dealing with exceptional situations. SOLUTION: Action information storing parts 61, 81 correlate unit action information expressing the steps of work processes with action procedure definition information expressing the definition of work processes and manage them by action summarization information to be systematized in accordance with the inclusion relation of action contents. When execution requests are sent from respective client devices 11, 12, action execution receiving parts 41, 71 receive the requests and respectively send action execution commands to action execution control parts 42, 72. The control parts 42, 72 respectively select action information suited to the action contents of the action execution commands by action information selection parts 52, 53. Out of the selected action information, action procedure definition information allows action procedure execution control parts 43, 73 to execute the action procedure and action execution parts 51, 74 to execute unit action information. The lower action information of the action summarization information is substitutable and automatically switchable.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a network information system in which computer systems such as a plurality of server devices and a plurality of client devices are connected via a network. The present invention relates to a work process management device that performs workflow management using activity and work process information that is managed in a typical manner.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A conventional workflow management system includes:
A series of work flows in one work is clearly defined in advance in the form of a work process definition. When a job is executed, assignment of a job and delivery of an electronic document can be automatically performed according to the work process definition.

However, in the course of actual work, unexpected situations frequently occur, such as inadequate documents and absence of a person in charge. In a conventional workflow management system, in order to deal with such unexpected situations that occur during the course of work, it is necessary to include those unexpected situations in the work process definition in advance. For this reason, it is difficult to cope with a situation that cannot be predicted in advance, and there is a problem in operational flexibility such that a definition cannot be changed during operation of a job.

In order to cope with such a problem, the work process definition is not completely defined in advance, but is partially undefined. There is a technology for giving flexibility in operation by adopting the technology. For example, L.Nastansky, W.Hi
lpert, “The GroupFlow System: A Scalable Approach
to Workflow Management between Cooperation and Au
The system described in “Tomation”, University of Paderborn, 1994.2, is based on a semi-structured work process definition. (2) A part of the work procedure can be assigned to a plurality of users and a person in charge can be selected at the time of execution. (3) For a part of the work procedure, The feature is that it can be partially modified according to exceptional circumstances, and each step of the work procedure is grouped together and summarized as one more abstract step. It also has the ability to

The system described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 9-237292 does not define each procedure of work with the same level of detail, but develops abstract steps in a stepwise manner. And can be defined in advance. Similarly, in the system described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 9-245092, partially defined workflows are grouped into groups, and workflows can be defined between the groups. In both documents, when a work process is executed, definitions that have not yet been executed by the work process can be modified.

In the systems described in JP-A-10-111888 and JP-A-10-177608, a main work process definition between departments is provided.
It has a plurality of sub workflows that can be switched within a department. By switching between sub workflows within the department at the time of execution depending on the nature of the business, it is possible to cope with various businesses.

JP-A-8-221475, JP-A-8-221475
The system described in JP-A-22476 discloses a workflow defined for each department, which is made available to other departments by publishing the workflow as a “public flow”.

[0008] In the system described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 8-161393, the work is advanced by distributing the contents of the work to the computer performing the work. In this system, the work process can be changed even during execution of the work process by changing and redistributing the work content.

Further, in the system described in US Pat. No. 5,212,771, a modeling for defining a work process by decomposing it into sub-processes in stages based on a language defining the process. A means for checking the validity of the means and the defined process is provided.
These means can be used to define hierarchical work processes in a predetermined manner.

[0010] In the above-mentioned conventional technology, the definition is more flexible by introducing a hierarchy definition and a grouping definition for a work process definition which had to be previously defined with the same level of detail. Can be done. In addition, the effect of changing the definition during execution of a work process can be localized to a hierarchy or a group. Therefore, as each step constituting the work process, an abstract form such as a hierarchy or a group can be used. As a result, if the function of each step can be achieved during the execution of the work process, it is possible to perform the work while changing the inside of each step or selecting a candidate during the execution of the work process. Was.

In these prior arts, the definer of the work process manually makes local changes or automatically switches the sub-workflow only within a predefined range such as within a department. . Therefore, in the conventional system, there are a plurality of management units, and it is not possible to operate over different management units. This means that, in the prior art, when looking at the entire system, the possibility of internal change of each step and selection of candidates cannot be fully utilized even if they exist in different departments, for example. I have. Also, the greater the size of the system, the greater the loss of utilization of such potentially available work processes.

For example, in the above-mentioned JP-A-8-221475 and JP-A-8-221476, a mechanism for making a work process in a department available from outside the department in the form of “public flow” is introduced. We provide technology that allows mutual operation between multiple management units. However, it is not possible to grasp which work process exists in which department, and if the scale of the system increases, the potentially available work process cannot be fully utilized.

[0013]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and a large-scale and large number of activities have appeared and disappeared by uniformly managing work process information throughout the system. Available in a dynamic environment,
It is still another object of the present invention to provide a work process management device capable of coping with exceptional situations at the time of execution by fully utilizing the diversity of work process information provided by such an environment. .

[0014]

According to a first configuration of the present invention, a work process management device configured on a network information system in which a plurality of server devices and client devices are connected to a network stores information on activities. It has at least one of activity information storage means, activity execution receiving means related to activity execution control, activity execution control means, and activity execution means.

The activity information storage means includes activity information corresponding to a specific activity and representing activity content and activity control information;
The activity information and the activity aggregate information themselves are related and managed by the activity aggregate information that organizes according to the inclusion relation of the activity contents. Further, the association is performed based on the logical location information of the activity information called a locator, and can be managed in a distributed manner via a network.

A user requesting execution of an activity inputs an activity execution request to the activity execution receiving means through the client device. The activity execution receiving means generates an activity execution command corresponding to the request, and passes this to the activity execution control means. The activity execution control means selects the activity information according to the inclusion relation of the activity aggregate information, includes the selected activity information as an execution target in the activity execution command, and passes it to the activity execution means.
The activity execution means controls the progress of the activity according to the activity control information included in the activity information included in the activity execution command, and executes a new activity accompanying the progress of the activity. A command is generated and the activity execution command is input to the activity execution control means. By these means, the activities can be carried out on a global scale managed by the system.

In a second configuration of the present invention, in a work process management device configured on a network information system in which a plurality of server devices and client devices are connected via a network, activity information storage means for storing information regarding activities. , An activity execution receiving unit, an activity execution control unit, an activity execution unit, and an activity procedure execution control unit related to the execution control of the activity.

The activity information storage means organizes the unit activity information representing the steps of the work process and the activity procedure definition information representing the work process definition in accordance with the inclusive relation of the activity contents. Manage by associating with the aggregated information. Further, the association is made by the logical location information of the activity information called a locator, so that it can be managed in a distributed manner via a network.

A user who requests execution of an activity inputs an activity execution request to the activity execution receiving means through the client device. The activity execution receiving means generates an activity execution command corresponding to the request, and passes this to the activity execution control means. The activity execution control means selects unit activity information or activity procedure definition information according to the inclusion relationship of the activity aggregate information,
The information is included in the activity execution command as an execution target, and is passed to the activity execution means and the activity procedure execution control means, respectively.
The activity executing means establishes a connection between a user requesting the execution of the activity and a user or a device in charge of performing the activity to cause the activity to be performed. The activity procedure execution control means executes the work process definition. If the step of the work process is unit activity information, the activity execution means causes the activity execution means to perform the activity. If the step of the work process is the activity procedure definition information or the activity aggregation information, it is processed again by the activity procedure execution control means or the activity execution means, respectively. By these means, a work process involving dynamic rearrangement of work processes at the time of execution can be executed on a global scale managed by the system.

According to the present invention, as described above, information on work processes can be managed in a distributed manner, so that it can be applied to a large-scale system. further,
It is based on a form in which information on the distributed and managed work processes is hierarchically organized and managed according to the inclusion relation of the contents of the activities.

In the hierarchy management in the conventional system, the hierarchy management is performed only in accordance with a fixed development relationship defined in advance by the work process definer. However, the present invention provides the function itself provided by each step of the work process. Based on this, the system automatically performs hierarchical management. With this configuration, there is only one global management unit managed by the system, so it is difficult to interoperate between local management units such as the range and department managed by the definer of the work process as in the conventional system. The problem that there is is solved. In addition, even if there is a single logically large management unit, it can be physically managed on a network in a decentralized manner. The configuration can be made so as not to cause a problem that the load is concentrated or a large amount of storage area is used.

When the work process is executed, the system performs a recursive descending search of the work process managed hierarchically, and performs the execution management of the dynamic work flow in which the work flow and each step thereof are selected at the time of execution. This allows the work process to be modified not only at the local management unit, such as the scope or department managed by the definer of the work process as in the conventional system, but also within the global scope of the entire system. Enables run-time modification.

According to the structure of the present invention, the activity execution control means further checks success or failure of the activity execution status notified from the activity execution means, and automatically selects an alternative activity when failure occurs to maintain the execution of the work process. can do. At this time, in the event of a failure, the execution of the activity is automatically retried after a while, so that a long-term work process can be executed.

[0024] Further, the activity information selecting means for selecting the activity information distributed and managed as described above within the respective areas of responsibility is arranged, and the activity information is selected when the activity execution control means selects the activity information. It can be configured to use selection means. As a result, the activity information selection process can be performed in close proximity to the activity information storage means, the process can be further decentralized, and the processing speed can be improved by effective use of the network.

Further, an activity information updating means and an activity information organizing means are added, and the unit activity information or the activity aggregate information or the activity procedure definition information stored in the activity information storage means are added, deleted and changed. Reconfiguration of links between activity information can be performed. As a result, it is possible to register a new work process or step, modify or cancel an existing work process or step, and change a hierarchically organized structure.

Further, an activity information clustering means and an activity aggregate information generating means are added, existing activity information is collected, similarity by clustering is detected, and new activity aggregate information is obtained based on the clustering result. Can be automatically generated and registered. As a result, a new hierarchy for each existing activity information is obtained, and the degree of freedom in executing the work process can be improved.

Further, a co-occurrence activity detecting means and an activity procedure definition information generating means are added to collect an activity execution command generated by a user's request, and to determine the co-occurrence activity content by the activity content included therein. Then, based on this information, new activity procedure definition information can be generated and registered. As a result, potential needs among activity users who wish to perform different activities as a set can be extracted in the form of activity procedure definition information and made reusable.

Further, the activity information storage means can further store activity information and cooperation information indicating permission / non-permission conditions between the activity information. As a result, when the work process is executed, the steps automatically selected can be restricted, and only the regular cooperation for which the delivery of the business is promised can be used.

Further, the activity information storage means can further store disclosure information indicating permission / non-permission conditions for disclosure of activity information. As a result, the execution status can be partially undisclosed to the user who has requested the execution of the work process, and when linking the work process across different companies or different departments, Businesses that you want to keep secret inside a company or department can be concealed.

[0030]

FIG. 1 is a system configuration diagram including a first embodiment of a work process management apparatus according to the present invention. In the figure, 1 is a network, 11 and 12 are client devices, 21 to 28 are server devices, 31 to 40 are communication units, 41 and 71 are activity execution receiving units, 42 and 72 are activity execution control units, 43 and 73 are Activity procedure execution control unit, 51, 7
4 is an activity execution unit, 52 and 53 are activity information selection units, 61 and
81 is an activity information storage unit, 62 and 82 are activity information update units,
63 and 83 are activity information organizing units. In the system configuration shown in FIG. 1, in a network information system having a plurality of server devices and client devices,
An example is shown in which the components of the work process management device of the present invention are distributed over a plurality of server devices and configured as a distributed processing system.

In the system shown in FIG. 1, a plurality of server devices 21 to 28,... And client devices 11, 12,. Server device 2
1 is a device that performs some kind of activity. The server devices 22 to 28 are devices in which the components in the first embodiment of the work process management device of the present invention are distributed. Each of the client devices 11, 12,... And each of the server devices 21 to 28,.
, And can perform a cooperative operation through the network 1 using the communication units 31 to 40,. In particular, in this example, the components in the first embodiment of the work process management device of the present invention arranged in each of the server devices 22 to 28 also cooperate via the network 1 by the communication units 34 to 40. It has a configuration. Of course, the configuration may be such that the components in the first embodiment of the work process management device of the present invention are centrally arranged in a single server device and cooperate without using the communication units 34 to 40. . Further, when distributing the components in the first embodiment of the work process management device of the present invention, which component is distributed to which server device, the number of each component, and the like are arbitrary. Furthermore, the devices connected to the network 1 also
The configuration is not limited to the configuration shown in FIG. 1, and more network devices may be connected.

The server devices 25 and 28 have communication units 37 and 40, respectively, and have activity information storage units 61 and
81, activity information updating units 62 and 82, activity information organizing unit 6
3,83. The activity information storage units 61 and 81
The unit activity information indicating the step of the work process and the activity procedure definition information indicating the work process definition are related and managed by the activity aggregate information that organizes according to the inclusion relation of the activity contents. In the following description, the unit activity information, the activity procedure definition information, and the activity aggregation information may be collectively referred to as activity information. Each information will be described later. The activity information updating units 62 and 82 store the activity information in accordance with the requests sent from the client devices 11 and 12, respectively.
Addition, deletion and change on 1,81. Further, the activity information organizing units 63 and 83 provide all the activity information storage units 61 and 81 when the activity information updating units 62 and 82 add, delete or change the activity information in the activity information storage units 61 and 81. Any unit activity information and activity procedure definition information stored in the at least one activity aggregate information is specified by the locator, and the activity content descriptor included in any activity aggregate information is also included in the activity aggregate information. The locator between the pieces of activity aggregate information is reconfigured so as to represent the activity content including the activity content indicated by the activity content descriptor included in the activity information indicated by the included locator. In this specification, a case where a certain activity content includes another activity content includes a case where both are the same.

The server 22 together with the communication unit 34
It has an activity execution reception unit 41, an activity execution control unit 42, and an activity procedure execution control unit 43. Similarly, the server device 27
Has an activity execution unit 74 as well as a communication unit 39, an activity execution reception unit 71, an activity execution control unit 72, and an activity procedure execution control unit 73. Activity execution reception part 4
1, 71 receive an execution request for an activity transmitted from the client device 11 or 12 via the communication units 34 and 39, generate an activity execution command corresponding to the execution request,
It is input to the activity execution control units 42 and 72. The activity execution control units 42 and 72 receive the activity execution command, select activity information such as unit activity information or activity procedure definition information according to the inclusion relationship of the organized activity aggregate information, and execute the selected activity information in the activity execution command. To be included in the execution target. When selecting the activity information, the activity information selection units 52 and 53 can be used. Then, if the selected activity information is unit activity information, the activity execution command is passed to the activity execution unit 51 or the activity execution unit 74. If the selected activity information is the activity procedure definition information, the activity execution command is passed to the activity procedure execution controllers 43 and 73. The activity procedure execution control units 43 and 73
If the step of the work process is unit activity information, it causes the activity execution units 51 and 74 to carry out activities, and if the step is the activity procedure definition information or activity aggregation information, the activity procedure execution control units 43 and 73 or the activity execution control respectively. The processing is performed by the units 42 and 72 to execute the work process definition.
The activity execution unit 74 receives the activity execution command, establishes a connection between a user who requests execution of the activity and a user or a device in charge of performing the activity, and causes the activity to be performed.

The server device 23 has an activity execution unit 51 together with the communication unit 35. The activity execution unit 51 receives an activity execution command sent from another server device via the network 1 and performs the same operation as that of the activity execution unit 74 described above.

The server devices 24 and 26 include communication units 36 and 3
8 and activity information selection units 52 and 53.
The activity information selection units 52 and 53 include, for example, the activity execution control unit 4
2, 72 or an activity information selection command sent from another activity information selection unit or the like, and in the activity information storage unit in the responsible area, unit activity information or activity procedure according to the inclusion relation of organized activity integrated information. Select activity information such as definition information and return the selected activity information. When the activity information is selected, if the unit activity information, the activity aggregate information, or the activity procedure definition information stored in the activity information storage unit out of the responsibility is included, the corresponding activity information storage is regarded as the responsibility. The activity information selection command is passed to the activity information selection unit to be activated. The activity information selection units 52 and 53 cooperate in this way to select activity information.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of an example of the data structure of the unit activity information, the activity aggregation information, and the activity procedure definition information in the work process management device of the present invention. 101-107
Is unit activity information, 111 to 116 are activity aggregate information, 12
Reference numeral 1 122 denotes activity procedure definition information. Each activity information (unit activity information, activity aggregation information, activity procedure definition information) has an "activity content descriptor" and a link to other activity information by a "locator". The link by “locator” included in each activity information shown in FIG. 2 is a logical link indicating other activity information. Any link may be used as long as it can indicate each activity information on the network. For example, a combination of a host name where each piece of activity information is located and a path name indicating the location of a resource on the host can be used. Examples of such links include, for example, the World Wide Web
There are URLs used in b).

The “activity content descriptor” of each activity information is
This is a description indicating the content of an activity represented by each activity information, and any machine-processable activity description language can be used. An example of such an activity description language is PIF developed by MIT, for example.

Each of the activity integrated information 111 to 116 organizes the unit activity information and the activity procedure definition information according to the inclusion relation of the activity contents to form a hierarchical structure. For example, the activity aggregated information 111 has activity aggregated information 113, 114, 115, and the like indicated by a locator as a lower hierarchy, and includes higher-level activity contents in which these activity aggregated information 113, 114, 115 are put together. I have. Similarly, the activity aggregate information 113 has unit activity information 101 and 102 indicated by locators, activity aggregate information 116, activity procedure definition information 121, and the like as lower layers.

As described above, each of the activity aggregation information 111 to 116
Indicates the inclusion relationship between the activity contents of the unit activity information and the activity procedure definition information. Therefore, each activity aggregation information 11
In the activity content descriptors 1 to 116, the activity content including the activity content (represented by the activity content descriptor) of other activity information to which the activity aggregate information is linked by the locator is described. . For example, activity aggregation information 113
In the activity content descriptor, unit activity information 101, unit activity information 102, activity procedure definition information 121, activity aggregate information 1
Activity contents including 16 activity contents are described.

Each of the unit activity information 101 to 107 has one link by a locator, and this link indicates either a client device or a server device on the network 1. In the client device indicated by this link, there is a worker who carries out the activity represented by the activity content descriptor of the corresponding unit activity information, and this worker receives work and performs work in accordance with the operation described later. become. When the link indicates the server device, there is no worker, and the server device automatically performs some work.

Each of the activity procedure definition information 121 and 122 has an activity procedure descriptor in addition to an activity content descriptor and a logical link specified by the locator. The activity procedure descriptor includes a work process definition between other activity information that is logically linked.

FIG. 3 and FIG. 4 are explanatory diagrams of an example of the hierarchical structure of the activity aggregate information in the work process management device of the present invention and the arrangement thereof in the server device. Each activity information (unit activity information, activity aggregation information, activity procedure definition information) may be dispersedly arranged in a plurality of activity information storage units on the network 1. FIGS. 3 and 4 show examples of the arrangement of each piece of activity information when there are three activity information storage units. Here, an example of a physical arrangement of each activity information and a logical link form when the server device (A), the server device (B), and the server device (C) each have an activity information storage unit. Is shown.
As shown in FIG. 3, a specific hierarchy may be assigned to a specific server device by associating the hierarchical structure of the logical link of each activity information with the physical arrangement. Alternatively, as shown in FIG. 4, the hierarchical structure of the logical links and the physical arrangement may be treated completely independently.

Next, an example of the operation of the work process management apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention will be described. In the following description, it is assumed that the activity information has already been registered in the activity information storage units 61 and 81.

The activity execution receiving sections 41 and 71 are
4 and 39, a request for executing a work process by a user who wants to use the work process is received from the client device 11 or the client device 12. The request includes an activity content descriptor describing the activity requested by the user. The activity execution accepting units 41 and 71 use the activity content descriptor included in the execution request and the activity execution command issuer locator indicating the client device.
An activity execution command is generated and input to the activity execution controllers 42 and 72. FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram of an example of a data structure of an activity execution command in the work process management device of the present invention.
As shown in FIG. 5, the activity execution command includes a command issuer locator and execution activity information. The command issuer locator is a logical link indicating the issuer that issues this activity execution command, and is the same information as the locator in the activity information shown in FIG. The execution activity information includes the content to be executed, and may include, for example, an activity content descriptor describing an activity desired by the user, unit activity information including the activity content descriptor, activity procedure definition information, and the like.

When the activity execution command is input, the activity execution control units 42 and 72 select the activity information selection units 52 and 5 based on the activity content descriptor included in the input activity execution command.
Use 3 to select appropriate activities. Further, the unit activity information or the activity procedure definition information to be executed is specifically selected by following the locator and descending the link between the activity information until reaching the unit activity information or the activity procedure definition information.

FIG. 6 is a PAD diagram showing an outline of an example of the operation of the activity execution control unit in the first embodiment of the work process management device of the present invention. In S201, the list F of the abnormally terminated activity information is left empty. S20
In step 2, an activity execution instruction is received and stored in a variable r. In S203, the activity information having the activity content descriptor suitable for the activity content descriptor in the activity execution command stored in the variable r is selected, and the selected activity information is stored in the variable a. The activity information may be selected by the activity execution control unit, or in a large-scale system, for example, by using the activity selection units 52 and 53.

In S204, all unit activity information and activity procedure definition information that can be reached by following the link by the locator are acquired from the activity information selected in S203, and stored in the list T. In S205, the activity execution processing in S206 to S215 is performed on the unit activity information and the activity procedure definition information stored in the list T. If there is no reachable unit activity information or activity procedure definition information, the process advances to step S216 to notify the command issuing source indicated by the command issuing source locator of the activity execution command stored in the variable r of abnormal termination. .

In S206, one unit activity information or one activity procedure definition information is selected from the list T and stored in the variable a '. The selection of the unit activity information or the activity procedure definition information determines the unit activity information or the activity procedure definition information to be selected according to, for example, a dialogue with the user or the priority order predetermined by the activity execution control units 42 and 72. FIG.
FIG. 3 is a conceptual diagram of an example of a method of selecting unit activity information or activity procedure definition information through dialogue with a user. Now, assume that an activity execution command corresponding to the activity aggregate information A indicated by the thick arrow is received, and by following the link by the locator from the activity aggregate information A, the hatched activity unit information B and F and the activity procedure It is assumed that the definition information C and E have been obtained. At this time, the acquired activity unit information B,
The contents of F and the activity procedure definition information C and E are displayed on the user interface. The client device to be displayed can be known by the command issuer locator in the activity execution command stored in the variable r. The user who requests the work can select the activity information for actually requesting the work through this user interface screen.

FIG. 8 is a conceptual diagram showing an example of a method of selecting unit activity information or activity procedure definition information in a priority order determined by the activity execution control unit. As in FIG. 7, it is assumed that an activity execution command corresponding to the activity aggregate information A indicated by a thick arrow has been received, and the activity unit information B, hatched by tracing the link by the locator from the activity aggregate information A,
It is assumed that F and activity procedure definition information C and E have been obtained. Here, a priority is set for each activity unit information and activity procedure definition information for each user who requests work. The priority may be set from various types of information such as, for example, usage results and importance. The activity execution control units 42 and 72
By referring to the priorities of the acquired activity unit information B and F and the activity procedure definition information C and E, the highest priority can be automatically selected.

As described above, when one unit activity information or one activity procedure definition information is selected, in S207 of FIG. 6, the unit activity information or the activity procedure definition information selected in S206 and stored in the variable a 'is deleted. , Is set as the execution activity information of the activity execution command (variable r) received in S202. This activity execution command is stored in a variable r '.

In S208, it is determined whether the unit activity information is stored in the variable a 'or the activity procedure definition information is stored. If the unit activity information is stored in the variable a ', in step S209, the variable r'
Is transferred to the activity executing unit 51 and the activity executing unit 74. When the activity procedure definition information is stored in the variable a ′, the activity execution command stored in the variable r ′ is passed to the activity procedure execution control unit 43 and the activity procedure execution control unit 73 in S210. . When these activity execution commands are transferred, information indicating that the activity execution command is from the activity execution control unit performing this process is also passed.

The activity execution unit 51 or the activity execution unit 74 that has received the activity execution command in S209, or
An execution result is received from the activity procedure execution control unit 43 or the activity procedure execution control unit 73 that has received the activity execution command in 210. In step S211, it is determined whether or not the processing has been completed normally with reference to the received execution result. In the case of normal termination, in S212, normal termination is notified to the issuer of the activity execution command indicated by the command issuer locator in the activity execution command stored in the variable r. Then, the process of the activity execution control ends.

If the received execution result is abnormal termination, in step S213, the abnormally terminated unit activity information or activity procedure definition information stored in the variable a 'is
The information is added to the list F of the abnormally terminated activity information. And S
At 214, all unit activity information and activity procedure definition information that can be reached by following the link by the locator from the activity information (variable a) selected at S203 are reconstructed as in S204, and the list T is reconstructed. From the list T, the contents of the list F of the abnormally terminated activity information are removed. If the list T is not empty, the process returns to S206 to select other activity information that has not been abnormally terminated, passes an activity execution command to the activity information, and attempts to switch the activity information.

When all the switching candidates are gone,
That is, when no other activity information that does not end abnormally remains in the list T, in step S216, the activity execution instruction issuance source indicated by the instruction issuer locator in the activity execution instruction stored in the variable r. Notify abnormal termination.

The activity execution unit and the activity procedure execution control unit may be in the same device as the device having the activity execution control unit, or may be in separate devices via the communication unit.
The example shown in FIG. 1 shows an example in which the activity execution unit 51 is in a device different from the device in which the activity execution control units 42 and 72 exist, and the other devices are in the same device.

When performing the activity, the client device used by the user who wants to use the work process and the client device used by the user who provides the activity, or
It is only communication with a server device that provides automatic activities. As in the configuration described above, separating the activity execution unit from the activity execution control unit or the activity procedure execution control unit in a separate device,
This is effective in dispersing the concentration of the load on the network 1.

As described above, the activity execution control units 42 and 7
The activity execution unit 51 or the activity execution unit 74 that has received the activity execution command from the client device 2 transmits the information of the client device indicated by the command issuer locator in the activity execution command and the server device indicated by the locator in the unit activity information. Alternatively, a communication connection is established between the two devices using the information of the client device. As a result, the user who has requested the execution of the work process and the automatic processing of the server device indicated by the unit activity information or the worker of the client device are connected by communication to request a work and receive the result. Will be able to The result of this activity is notified to the issuer of the activity execution command.

FIG. 9 is a conceptual diagram showing an example of execution of an activity. In this example, a part of the configuration shown in FIG. 1 and a part of an example of the structure of the activity information are shown. As a specific example, it is assumed that the work requesting user issues an activity execution command from the client device 11 (). The activity execution command is received by, for example, the activity execution receiving unit 41 existing in the server device 22, and the activity execution control unit 42 performs the activity execution control as shown in FIG. 6. For example, when the execution activity content requested by the work request user corresponds to the activity aggregate information A, the activity unit information B, hatched,
It is assumed that F and the activity procedure definition information C and E are acquired, and the activity unit information B is selected from the obtained information (). As described above, this selection is made by the work request user by the client device 1.
1 or may be selected by the activity execution control unit 42 according to the priority order. Here, it is assumed that the locator of the activity unit information B indicates the client device 12.

The activity item control unit 42 transfers an activity execution command using the selected activity unit information B as execution activity information to the activity execution unit. Here, the activity execution control unit 42 has passed an activity execution command including the activity unit information B as execution activity information to the activity execution unit 51 ().

The activity execution unit 51 establishes a communication connection between the client device 11 indicated by the command issuer locator in the passed activity execution command and the client device 12 indicated by the locator of the unit activity information B. Establish(,
). As a result, the work requesting user who has requested the execution of the work process and the user in charge of the work of the client device 12 indicated by the unit activity information B are connected by communication, and activities such as requesting work and receiving the result are performed. Execute(). The result of this activity (normal termination or abnormal termination) is transmitted to the activity execution control unit 4 which is the source of the activity execution command.
2 is notified.

The activity procedure execution controllers 43 and 73 are a plurality of activity information linked in accordance with a work process, and can be executed by a normal work process execution engine. FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram of an example of a work process expression based on activity procedure definition information. As shown in FIG. 10, the activity procedure definition information has a work process definition as a work procedure description in which activity information linked by a locator is set as each step of a work process. By this work process definition, each activity information can be executed sequentially. For example, in the example shown in FIG. 10, the activity procedure definition information C is linked to the activity unit information U, X and the activity aggregate information V, W by a locator. In the work procedure description, after executing the activity content of the activity unit information U, the activity content of the activity aggregate information V and the activity aggregate information W is executed, and after these, the activity content of the activity unit information X is executed. A work process definition is described, and each activity is executed according to the work process definition. The execution result of this work process is notified to the issuer of the activity execution command.

As the activity procedure definition information, in each step, unit activity information can be executed, or other activity procedure definition information can be executed as a subprocess.
The activity procedure definition information can take activity aggregate information in addition to the unit activity information and the activity procedure definition information. For example, in the example shown in FIG. 10, the activity contents of the activity aggregate information V and W are each one step. When the execution reaches the activity aggregation information, the activity procedure execution control unit sets the activity aggregation information as execution activity information, and indicates the activity procedure execution control unit in which the command issuer locator is performing this processing.
A new activity execution command is generated, and the activity execution control unit 42 is generated again.
Alternatively, a process to be passed to the activity execution control unit 72 is performed. By this processing, the steps defined in the form of the activity aggregation information are recursively refined into specific activities. Also, at the time of abnormal termination, this recursive processing is backtracked.
Through these processes, execution can be performed while dynamically switching steps and work processes.

For example, in the example shown in FIG. 10, in the step of executing the activity content of the activity aggregate information V, the activity content of the activity procedure definition information V1 or the activity content of the activity unit information V2 is detailed at the time of execution. In the step of executing the activity content of the activity aggregation information W, the activity unit information W1
Or the activity content of the activity unit information W2. When the activity summary information V is detailed to the activity procedure definition information V1, since the activity procedure definition information V1 includes the work process definition again, the step of executing the activity content of the activity summary information V is the activity procedure definition V1. The process of the work process definition included in the information V1 is dynamically generated and executed as a new work process.

If the work process defined by the activity procedure definition information V1 ends abnormally during execution, the activity unit information V2 is selected and executed as alternative activity information. If the execution of the activity unit information V2 also terminates abnormally, the activity procedure definition information C terminates abnormally and the activity aggregate information A
Execution is attempted for other activity information below.

By such dynamic execution control, activities that can be actually used during execution of the work process are selected and used. As a result, each process often ends normally, and the tolerance to failure can be improved. In addition, as the scale of the system increases, that is, as the number of activity information stored in the activity information storage unit increases, the number of candidates for the switchable activity information increases, so that the tolerance to failure also improves. If the execution of certain activity information fails due to abnormal termination, for example, a retry may be performed after a predetermined time has elapsed. In this case, it is preferable to switch to alternative activity information after a predetermined number of retries.

Next, the operation of selecting the activity information in the activity information selecting sections 52 and 53 will be described. The activity information selection units 52 and 53 perform, for example, the processing shown in FIG.
It can be used when selecting activity information in 203. When using the activity information selection units 52 and 53,
The activity execution control units 42 and 72 pass an activity information selection command including an activity content descriptor and a command issuer locator to the activity information selection unit 52 or the activity information selection unit 53. Upon receiving the activity information selection command, the activity information selection units 52 and 53 receive the unit activity information or the activity aggregate information or the activity procedure holding the activity content descriptor suitable for the activity content descriptor included in the activity information selection command. The definition information is selected by following a logical link between the activity aggregate information stored in the activity information storage units 61 and 81, and the obtained activity information is returned to the command source. The process of following the logical link may be performed by a single activity information selecting unit, or a plurality of activity information selecting units may operate in a cooperative manner.
Here, it is assumed that the activity information selection units 52 and 53 operate cooperatively. For example, in the example illustrated in FIG. 1, the activity information selecting unit 52 sets the activity information storage unit 61 to the assigned range, and the activity information selecting unit 53 sets the activity information storage unit 81 to the assigned range. When the activity information selecting sections 52, 53 follow a logical link in the course of the process, if they exceed the assigned range, the process is transmitted to another activity information selecting section 53, 52 in charge of the destination. . The activity information selection units 52 and 53 and the activity information storage units 61 and 81, which are in charge of the activity information selection units 52 and 53, are separated via the network 1.
6 to 38 and 40.

FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of the data structure of the activity information selection command in the work process management device of the present invention. As described above, the activity information selection command has at least the activity content descriptor in which the activity content of the activity information to be selected is described, and the command issuer locator that has issued the activity information selection command. At the same time, it is possible to include gaze activity information in which activity information serving as selection candidates is stored, and reaching activity information indicating activity information that has already been examined. Eventually, an activity information selection command is returned to the activity execution control units 42 and 72, and the gaze activity information therein becomes the activity information to be selected. In addition, the activity information to be selected that conforms to the activity information selection command is, in the activity information having the activity content descriptor indicating the activity content including the activity content indicated by the activity content descriptor of the activity information selection command, Assume that the link is the closest to the end of the link between the activity aggregation information.

FIG. 12 is a PAD diagram showing an example of the operation of the activity information selecting section in the first embodiment of the work process management device of the present invention. In S221, each of the activity information selection units 52 and 53 receives the activity information selection command, and stores the received activity information selection command in a variable r.
In S222, it is determined whether or not the watching activity information in the received activity information selection command is empty. For example, when the activity information selection command is received from the activity execution control units 42 and 72, the gaze activity information is empty. In that case, initialization for search is performed in S223. In this example, the starting point of the selection process of the activity information is the route of all the activity information, and the selection process is started from the activity information selection unit having the activity information storage unit that holds the activity information corresponding to this route as the responsible area. I do. Therefore, in S223, the activity information corresponding to the route is set in the gaze activity information in the activity information selection command stored in the variable r. Further, in S224, a reference (link) to the activity information selection unit whose responsibility is the activity information storage unit including the activity information corresponding to the route is stored in the variable f. In S225, for the link stored in the variable f, that is, for the activity information selecting section whose activity information storage section includes the activity information corresponding to the route, the activity information selecting section stored in the variable r is selected. The command is transmitted, and the process ends. The subsequent processing is performed by the activity information selection unit that has received the activity information selection command. The activity information selection unit that receives the activity information selection command may be the same as the transmission source.

If the gaze activity information in the received activity information selection command is not empty, a search for lower-level activity information is performed by the following processing. In S226, the variable r
Gazing activity information is extracted from the received activity information selection command stored in the storage device and stored in a variable t. In S227, it is determined whether or not the extracted gaze activity information (variable t) exists in the assigned range. If not, in S228, a reference is made to the activity information selection unit that sets the gaze activity information stored in the variable t as the responsible range (link).
Is stored in a variable f. Then, in S229, the variable f
, Ie, gaze activity information (variable t)
Is transmitted to the activity information selecting unit having the range of, and the process is terminated.

If the gaze activity information (variable t) of the received activity information selection command is within the responsible range, S230
, Whether the activity content described in the activity content descriptor of the gaze activity information (variable t) is included in the activity content described in the activity content descriptor of the activity information selection command (variable r) Is determined. As described above, since the search is started from the route of the activity information, the state in which the activity content of the watching activity information includes the activity content of the activity information selection command continues. As will be described in detail below, the details of the activities become narrower in order, and the activities of the gaze activity information are eventually included in the activities of the activity information selection command. Since the gaze activity information at this time has reached a state in which the activity content is narrower than the activity content of the activity information selection command, further refinement needs to be discontinued. The activity information to be selected is the activity information in the hierarchy one level higher than the activity information that is the gaze activity information at this time, and the activity information is determined by the process of S235 to be described later to the arrival activity of the activity information selection command. Stored at the end of the information. In this case, in S231, the activity information selection command stored in the variable r is sent to the command issuer (activity execution control unit) indicated by the command issuer locator in the activity information selection command stored in the variable r. Send and end the process.

If the activity content of the gaze activity information (variable t) is not included in the activity content of the activity information selection command (variable r), further lower-level activity information is searched. S232
In the above, the activity information linked by the locator of the activity information (gaze activity information) stored in the variable t is described in the activity content descriptor of the activity information selection command stored in the variable r. Retrieve all activity information that has the activity content descriptor of the activity content that includes the activity content. Then, the extracted activity information is stored in the list T.

In S233, it is determined whether or not the list T is empty. An empty list T indicates that the end of the structure of the activity information has been reached. Or, when the activity content of the activity information selection command includes the activity content of all lower-level activity information, in this case, the activity content of the activity information selection command includes the activity content of the watching activity information And basically S231 in S230.
Is being processed. If the list T is empty, S23
In 4, send the activity information selection command stored in the variable r to the command issuer (activity execution control unit) indicated by the command issuer locator in the activity information selection command stored in the variable r. The process ends.

If the list T is not empty, it indicates that there is activity information to be selected in activity information lower than this activity information. In S235, the activity information (gaze activity information) stored in the variable t is added to the end of the attained activity information of the activity information selection command stored in the variable r.
Then, in S236, as many as the number of elements of the list T,
The activity information selection command after the arrival activity information is added is duplicated, and each element of the list T is set as the gaze activity information of each duplicated activity information selection command to generate a new activity information selection command. The activity information selection command thus generated is input again to the activity information selection unit, and the process of the activity information selection unit is performed recursively.

The activity information selecting unit that has received the newly generated activity information selection command performs the above-described processing, and determines the gaze activity information in the activity information selection command and the lower level activity information. Will be done. Of course, for the activity information out of the assigned range, the processing is requested to the activity information selecting unit in charge of the activity information. In this way, the hierarchically structured activity information can be searched by distributed processing, and the activity information to be selected having the description of the activity content descriptor suitable for the designated activity content can be returned.

It should be noted that the processing shown in FIG. 12 is performed when activity information matching the activity information selection command is found (S23).
1) Or, if the link is not found even after tracing to the end (S234), the process is terminated by notifying the issuer of the activity information selection command of the result. As a result of this processing, when the activity information selection command is returned to the request issuer,
If the activity content held by the fixation activity information is included in the activity content (represented by the activity content descriptor) of the activity information selection command, the activity information at the end of the reached activity information is selected. Information. If not, the selection has failed.

The activity execution control units 42 and 72 perform the processing shown in FIG. 6 using the activity information selected by the activity information selection processing in the activity information selection units 52 and 53 in this manner.

In the above description of the operation, the operation in a state where the activity information is stored in the activity information storage units 61 and 81 is shown. The activity information stored in the activity information storage units 61 and 81 can be added, deleted, or changed, and the work process can be arbitrarily added, deleted, or changed by adding, deleting, or changing the activity information at any time. It is possible to change. Hereinafter, addition, deletion, and change processing of a work process will be described.

FIG. 13 is a PAD diagram showing an example of the operation of the activity information updating unit in the first embodiment of the work process management device of the present invention. Activity information update section 6
2 and 82 communicate with the client device 11 or 12 via the communication units 37 and 40. In S241, the activity information is received and stored in the variable r. In S242, the operation on the activity information is received and the variable is received. o. In S243, the received operation (variable o)
Is determined, and if the activity information is to be added, the activity information stored in the variable r is stored in the activity information storage unit in S244. If the received operation is to delete the activity information, the activity information stored in the variable r is deleted from the activity information storage unit in S245. The process of adding and deleting such activity information is performed on the activity information storage unit in the server device provided with the activity information update unit or the corresponding activity information storage unit in another server device, and the update is performed. Processing is reflected.

Then, the activity information update units 62 and 82 reflect the update of the activity information in the activity information storage units 61 and 81, and then, in S 246, add the variable r to the activity information organization units 63 and 83. The stored activity information and the operation stored in the variable o are transmitted.

When the activity information updating units 62 and 82 update the activity information, the activity information organizing units 63 and 83 reestablish links relating to the updated activity information. By this processing, appropriate reorganization for the updated activity information is performed.

FIG. 14 is a PAD diagram showing an example of the operation of the activity information organizing section in the first embodiment of the work process management device of the present invention. First, S251 and S
At 252, activity information and an operation on the activity information are accepted. Then, if the operation for the activity information is additional, in S254, all the activity information having the activity content suitable for the activity content of the received activity information is selected, and the selected activity information is stored in the list U. The activity information selection units 52 and 53 can be used for selecting the activity information.

Then, the processing of S256 to S258 is performed on each activity information stored in the list U. First S2
At 56, it is determined whether there is a link destination of the selected activity information, and if there is a link destination, the locator of the selected activity information is added to the activity information locator stored in the variable r in S257. Further, the locator of the selected activity information is changed to indicate the activity information stored in the variable r. As a result, additional activity information can be inserted according to the inclusion relationship of the activity content.

If the operation for the activity information is to delete, in S 259, all the activity information linked to the received activity information is selected, and the selected activity information is stored in the list U. Then, the processing of S261 to S263 is performed on each activity information stored in the list U. First, in S261, it is determined whether or not there is activity information linked by the locator of the activity information stored in the variable r. If there is linked activity information, in step S262, the locator of the selected activity information is changed to the locator of the activity information stored in the variable r, and the activity information stored in the variable r is changed. Change it so that it does not become a link destination.

When there is no activity information linked by the locator of the activity information stored in the variable r, in step S263, the locator of the selected activity information is deleted and stored in the variable r. Change the activity information so that it does not become a link.

FIG. 15 is an explanatory diagram of a specific example of the organizing process when adding the activity aggregation information. Now, FIG.
It is assumed that the activity information is organized according to the content of the activity as shown in FIG. The activity content of each activity information is defined as activity content 1 to activity content 6. Here, a case is considered in which the activity aggregation information C having the activity content 7 is added.
The inclusion relation of the activity contents is such that the activity content 7 includes the activity content 5 and 6, and the activity content 1 includes the activity content 7.

First, the activity aggregation information A having the activity content descriptor representing the activity content 1 including the activity information 7 represented by the activity content descriptor of the activity aggregation information C to be added is selected. At this time, a link to the unit activity information B and the unit activity information C linked by the locator of the activity aggregate information A is added as a locator of the activity aggregate information C to be added. Further, among the locators of the activity aggregate information A, the links to the unit activity information B and the unit activity information C are changed to the link to the activity aggregate information C to be added. by this,
It is organized as shown in FIG.

FIG. 16 is an explanatory diagram of a specific example of the organizing process when adding unit activity information. Now, FIG.
It is assumed that the activity information is organized according to the content of the activity as shown in FIG. The activity content of each activity information is defined as activity content 1 to activity content 6. Here, a case is considered where unit activity information C having activity content 7 is added.
It is assumed that the activity content is included such that the activity content 7 is included in the activity content 3.

First, activity aggregate information C having an activity content descriptor representing the activity content 3 including the activity information 7 represented by the activity content descriptor of the unit activity information C to be added is selected. Then, a link indicating the unit activity information C to be added is added to the locator of the activity aggregate information C. In the case of the unit activity information, the activity information is not linked to the lower level, so that the process ends only by adding the link to the unit activity information C to the activity aggregate information C. Thus, the organization is performed as shown in FIG. The same applies to the case of adding the activity procedure definition information.

FIG. 17 is an explanatory diagram of a specific example of the organization processing when deleting the activity aggregation information. Now, FIG.
It is assumed that the activity information is organized according to the content of the activity as shown in FIG. Here, the case where the activity aggregate information C is deleted will be considered. First, the activity aggregate information C to be deleted
Select the activity information linked to. In this example, the activity aggregate information A is linked to the activity aggregate information C. In this case, the locator indicating the link of the activity aggregate information A to the activity aggregate information C is changed to the locator indicating the link to the unit activity information B and the unit activity information C to which the activity aggregate information C is linked. As a result, the link from the activity aggregate information A to the activity aggregate information C is deleted, the unit activity information B and the unit activity information C are linked directly from the activity aggregate information A, and are organized as shown in FIG. You.

FIG. 18 is an explanatory diagram of a specific example of the organization processing when deleting unit activity information. Now, FIG.
It is assumed that the activity information is organized according to the content of the activity as shown in FIG. Here, a case where the unit activity information C is deleted will be considered. First, the unit activity information C to be deleted
Select the activity information linked to. In this example, the activity aggregate information C is linked to the unit activity information C. In this case, since the unit activity information C does not have a link destination, it is only necessary to simply delete the link of the activity aggregate information C to the unit activity information C. Thereby, organization is performed as shown in FIG.

The activity information change process can be performed by combining the activity information addition process and the deletion process described above.

FIG. 19 is a system configuration diagram including a second embodiment of the work process management apparatus of the present invention. In the figure, the same parts as those in FIG. 29 and 30 are server devices, 91 and 94 are communication units,
92 is an activity information clustering unit, 93 is an activity aggregate information generation unit, 95 is a co-occurrence activity detection unit, and 96 is an activity procedure definition information generation unit. The server device 29 includes an activity information clustering unit 92 and an activity aggregate information generation unit 93, and further performs a cooperative operation with another client device or server device via the communication unit 91. The server device 30 includes a co-occurrence activity detection unit 95 and an activity procedure definition information generation unit 96, and further performs a cooperative operation with another client device or server device via the communication unit 94.

The activity information clustering section 92 periodically refers to the activity information storage sections 61 and 81 on the network 1 and collects the activity information stored therein. For collection, an arbitrary method such as a method of following a logical link between activity information, a method of simply acquiring the activity information stored in each activity information storage unit 61, 81 from the activity information storage unit 61, 81, or the like is used. Applicable. Then, the activity information clustering unit 92 clusters each activity information based on the similarity of the activity content descriptors of each of the collected activity information, and sends the result to the activity aggregate information generation unit 93.
Various evaluation criteria for similarity for clustering may be set. For example, a particular activity may be focused on and divided into those that include it and those that do not, or some typical activities may be set and the activity information contained therein may be collected. Further, although only one activity information clustering unit 92 is shown in FIG. 19, a plurality of activity information clustering units are provided, and different similarity evaluation criteria are set for each of the activity information clustering units. Clustering can also be performed to give processing diversity.

[0094] The activity aggregate information generating unit 93, for each of the clusters passed from the activity information clustering unit 92, generates an activity content descriptor including the activity content descriptor held by the activity information included in the cluster. Generates activity aggregation information. The generated activity aggregate information is stored in, for example, the activity information updating units 62 and 82 (and the activity information organizing unit 6).
3, 83).

FIG. 20 is a conceptual diagram showing an example of the process of generating and adding the activity aggregate information. Now, FIG.
It is assumed that the activity information is organized according to the content of the activity as shown in FIG. The activity content of each activity information is defined as activity content 2 to activity content 7. Assume that, by the clustering process in the activity information clustering unit 92, for example, the activity aggregated information B and the activity aggregated information C surrounded by a broken line are classified into one cluster. Activity aggregation information generator 9
3 receives the result of the clustering, and generates the activity aggregate information A having the activity content descriptor of the activity content 1 including the activity content 2 and 3 of the activity content descriptor of the activity aggregate information B and the activity aggregate information C. I do.

Then, the activity information updating units 62 and 8 described above
2 and the processing of the activity information organizing units 63 and 83,
By performing the process of adding the activity aggregated information A generated by the activity aggregated information generator 93, organized activity information as shown in FIG. 20B is obtained.

In this way, the work process management device can autonomously generate and add activity aggregation information. As a result, new indexing can be continuously added to the existing activity information, and the user of the activity and the provider of the activity increase the degree of freedom in selecting the activity and improve the convenience. be able to.

The co-occurrence activity detection unit 95 collects the activity execution commands sent from each of the activity execution reception units 41 and 71, and determines the co-occurrence relation of the activity content descriptor which frequently appears simultaneously in the activity execution commands. Is detected. Then, the set of detected activity content descriptors is stored in the activity procedure definition information generating unit 9.
Send to 6. The co-occurrence activity detection unit 95 is used for each activity execution reception unit 4
In order to collect the activity execution instructions sent from the first and the first activities 71, for example, the activity execution receiving units 41 and 71 send the generated activity execution instructions to the activity execution controllers 42 and 72, respectively.
The co-occurrence activity detection unit 95 is provided via the communication units 34, 39, 94.
You should also send it to

FIG. 21 is a conceptual diagram of an example of an operation of detecting a co-occurrence activity in the co-occurrence activity detection section. In the example illustrated in FIG. 21, one activity execution command is issued from the activity execution reception unit 41.
Also, an example is shown in which two activity execution commands are collected from the activity execution reception unit 71. When examining the activity content descriptors of these collected activity execution commands, activity content indicating continuous activities U, V, and W are described. The co-occurrence activity detection unit 95 detects the activity contents U, V, and W as having a co-occurrence relationship, and sends a set of activity descriptors to the activity procedure definition information generation unit 96.

The activity procedure definition information generation unit 96 determines the set of activity content descriptors passed from the co-occurrence activity detection unit 95 as follows.
Eliminate the constraints of each activity content descriptor, etc., and find an appropriate activity procedure descriptor. Further, an activity content descriptor summarizing each activity content descriptor is generated. Then, activity procedure definition information is generated based on the generated activity procedure descriptor and activity content descriptor. The generated activity procedure definition information is
For example, registration may be performed using the activity information updating units 62 and 82 (and the activity information organizing units 63 and 83).

FIG. 22 is a conceptual diagram showing an example of the operation of generating the activity procedure definition information in the activity procedure definition information generating section.
Here, as an example, the activity unit information U, the activity aggregate information V, and the activity aggregate information W enclosed by the broken lines are generated by the co-occurrence activity detector 95.
Is detected as having a co-occurrence relationship. The activity procedure definition information generation unit 96 determines the activity procedure of the co-occurrence activity unit information U, the activity summary information V, and the activity summary information W (for example, U → V as shown in a balloon in FIG. 22).
(> W order) is generated. Further, an activity content descriptor (activity content 3) including these activity content is generated. Further, a locator indicating links to the activity unit information U, the activity summary information V, and the activity summary information W is generated, and the activity procedure definition information C is generated. This activity procedure definition information C may be sent to the activity information updating unit 62 or 82 to request addition. In this example, the activity procedure definition information C is added below the activity aggregate information A.

In this way, co-occurrence activity information is extracted from the executed activity content, new activity procedure definition information is generated and registered automatically. As a result, for example, even in the case of different types of activities, the activities performed in the set can be automatically made reusable, and the convenience for the user can be improved.

Next, a third embodiment of the work process management apparatus of the present invention will be described. The system configuration including the third embodiment is the same as the first and second embodiments shown in FIGS. 1 and 19 described above. However,
The difference lies in that the activity information storage units 61 and 81 store disclosure information and cooperation information. In addition, each activity execution control unit 42,
In 72, processing for these pieces of information is added.

FIG. 23 is an explanatory diagram of an example of the data structure of the coordination information in the third embodiment of the work process management device of the present invention. The link information indicates activity information and permission / non-permission conditions between the activity information. for that reason,
This link information is used by being added to each activity information.
Each record in the data structure of the link information shown in FIG. 23 is composed of “contracted activity information” and “routing conditions”. "Activity information contracted"
Is information indicating whether a contract has been made in advance to deliver a job as a pre-process or post-process of the activity information to which the link information is added. The “routing condition” specifies various conditions for delivering a job, and when the condition is satisfied, the activity information is a selection candidate. These conditions include, besides the work itself,
For example, conditions relating to the user who issued the job can be specified. For example, it is also possible to control such that only a job issued by a close user on the network 1 is selected as a candidate.

FIG. 24 is an explanatory diagram of an example of a restriction on dynamic selection based on cooperation information. In the drawing, activity information in a contract relationship is shown as a list as the cooperation information. Now, consider the case where the work process defined in the activity procedure definition information C is executed. In the activity procedure descriptor of the activity procedure definition information C, as shown in the balloon, after executing the unit activity information U, the activity aggregate information V and the activity aggregate information W are executed, and thereafter, the unit activity information X is executed. The steps to perform each activity are described in this order.

After the unit activity information U is executed, the operation proceeds to the execution of the activity aggregate information V. The activity aggregate information V is linked to the activity procedure definition information V1 and the unit activity information V2, and executes one of them. At this time, the activity unit information U
, The activity procedure definition information V1 is registered, but not registered in the unit activity information V2. Also,
The activity procedure definition information V1 is registered in the link information of the unit activity information X, which is a subsequent process, but the unit activity information V2 is not registered. In the link information of the activity procedure definition information V1, unit activity information U and unit activity information X of the previous process are registered. Therefore, the unit activity information V2 is not selected, and only the activity procedure definition information V1 is selected and executed. When the activity fails in the activity procedure definition information V1, the unit activity information V2 does not become a substitute activity, and the activity of the activity aggregate information V fails.

In the activity aggregate information W, there are unit activity information W1 and W2 below it. These unit activity information W1, W
2 are registered in the link information of the unit activity information U which is the previous process and the link information of the unit activity information X which is the subsequent process. The unit activity information U and the unit activity information X are also registered in the link information of the unit activity information W1 and W2. Therefore, one of the unit activity information W1 and W2 is selected and executed, and the other is executed when one fails as an alternative activity.

In the unit activity information X, of the activity procedure definition information V1 and the unit activity information V2 existing below the activity integrated information V of the previous process, the activity procedure definition information V1 is registered. Therefore, the activity is performed in response to the activity result in the activity procedure definition information V1, but the unit activity information V2
Will not accept the results of the activities. The unit activity information W1 and the unit activity information W2, which are present at the lower level of the activity aggregation information W of the other previous process, are both registered in the coordination information. The activity of the unit activity information X can be performed.

FIG. 25 is an explanatory diagram of an example of the data structure of the disclosure information in the third embodiment of the work process management device of the present invention. The disclosure information is information indicating permission / non-permission of disclosure of the activity information to the user. This disclosure information is also used by being added to each activity information similarly to the above-mentioned cooperation information. Each record in the data structure of the disclosure information shown in FIG. 25 is made up of disclosure permission conditions. The disclosure permission condition can specify a condition of a user who issues a job, a condition of a department in which the job is performed, and the like. For example, only when the disclosure permission condition is satisfied, the content of the activity information, for example, the activity procedure detailed by the activity procedure definition information is disclosed to the user who issued the job. This makes it possible to respond to a request to conceal a workflow as know-how when performing work of a user outside a department or outside the company.

FIG. 26 is an explanatory diagram of a specific example of display restriction by disclosure information. In this example, the disclosure information is added to the activity procedure definition information C. The disclosure information includes disclosure permission conditions for permitting users in departments A, B, and C to perform disclosure. In this case, when the user of the department A refers to the activity procedure definition information C, the work process described in the activity procedure descriptor can be displayed. However, even if the user of the department X refers to the activity procedure definition information C, the work process described in the activity procedure descriptor is not displayed. In this way, the details of the content can be kept secret from users who are not permitted by the disclosure information. Here, a user whose disclosure is permitted is registered in the disclosure information, but a user whose disclosure is not permitted may be registered.

[0111]

As is apparent from the above description, according to the present invention, work process information can be distributed and managed in a distributed environment, and large-scale and many activities appear.
It can be used in a dynamic environment that disappears. Also,
In the distributed management of the work process information, the activity information is organized and managed according to the inclusion relation of the activity contents, so that the management and the use become easy even in a large scale. Furthermore, since activities are performed by searching for activity information organized in this way, alternative activities can be easily performed, and it is possible to deal with unintended failures and changes in work processes in advance. As well as
Can flexibly respond to various work processes. According to the present invention, there are other various effects as described above.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a system configuration diagram including a first embodiment of a work process management device of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of an example of a data structure of unit activity information, activity aggregation information, and activity procedure definition information in the work process management device of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram of an example of a hierarchical structure of activity integrated information in a work process management device of the present invention and an arrangement of the activity aggregated information in a server device.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of another example of the hierarchical structure of the activity aggregation information and the arrangement in the server device in the work process management device of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram of an example of a data structure of an activity execution command in the work process management device of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a PAD diagram showing an outline of an example of an operation of an activity execution control unit in the first embodiment of the work process management device of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a conceptual diagram illustrating an example of a method of selecting unit activity information or activity procedure definition information through dialogue with a user.

FIG. 8 is a conceptual diagram illustrating an example of a method of selecting unit activity information or activity procedure definition information in a priority order determined by an activity execution control unit.

FIG. 9 is a conceptual diagram illustrating an example of execution of an activity.

FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram of an example of a work process expression based on activity procedure definition information.

FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram of an example of a data structure of an activity information selection command in the work process management device of the present invention.

FIG. 12 is a PAD diagram showing an example of an operation of an activity information selecting unit in the work process management device according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 13 is a PAD diagram showing an example of an operation of the activity information updating unit in the first embodiment of the work process management device of the present invention.

FIG. 14 is a PAD diagram showing an example of the operation of the activity information organizing unit in the first embodiment of the work process management device of the present invention.

FIG. 15 is an explanatory diagram of a specific example of an organization process when adding activity aggregation information.

FIG. 16 is an explanatory diagram of a specific example of an organizing process when adding unit activity information.

FIG. 17 is an explanatory diagram of a specific example of an organization process when deleting the activity aggregation information.

FIG. 18 is an explanatory diagram of a specific example of an organizing process when deleting unit activity information.

FIG. 19 is a system configuration diagram including a second embodiment of the work process management device of the present invention.

FIG. 20 is a conceptual diagram illustrating an example of generation and addition processing of activity aggregation information.

FIG. 21 is a conceptual diagram illustrating an example of an operation of detecting a co-occurrence activity in a co-occurrence activity detection unit.

FIG. 22 is a conceptual diagram illustrating an example of an operation of generating activity procedure definition information in an activity procedure definition information generating unit.

FIG. 23 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of a data structure of cooperation information according to the third embodiment of the work process management device of the present invention.

FIG. 24 is an explanatory diagram of an example of a restriction on dynamic selection by cooperation information.

FIG. 25 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of a data structure of disclosure information according to the third embodiment of the work process management device of the present invention.

FIG. 26 is an explanatory diagram of a specific example of display restriction based on disclosure information.

[Explanation of symbols]

1: Network, 11, 12: Client device, 2
1 to 30: server device, 31 to 40: communication unit, 41, 7
1 ... activity execution reception unit, 42, 72 ... activity execution control unit, 4
3, 73 ... activity procedure execution control unit, 51, 74 ... activity execution unit, 52, 53 ... activity information selection unit, 61, 81 ... activity information storage unit, 62, 82 ... activity information update unit, 63, 83 ...
Activity information organizing unit, 91, 94: communication unit, 92: activity information clustering unit, 93: activity aggregated information generation unit, 95
... Co-occurrence activity detection unit, 96 ... Activity procedure definition information generation unit.

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (72) Inventor Katsunori Horii 430 Sakai Nakaicho, Ashigara-gun, Kanagawa Green Tech Nakai Fuji Xerox Co., Ltd. F-term (reference) 5B049 AA06 CC21 EE05 EE36 EE57 GG04 GG07 5B089 GA11 JA11 JA16 JB10 KA04 KB14 KC21 KC60

Claims (12)

[Claims] An activity information storage unit, an activity execution receiving unit, an activity execution control unit, and a work process management device configured on a network information system in which a plurality of server devices and client devices are connected via a network. One or more activity execution means, wherein the activity information storage means manages the activity information including the activity content and the activity control information by associating the activity information with activity aggregate information that organizes the activity information according to the inclusion relationship of the activity content. Wherein the activity execution receiving means receives an activity execution request from the client device, generates an activity execution command corresponding to the execution request, and inputs the activity execution command to the activity execution control means. Receives the activity execution command and selects the activity information in accordance with the inclusion relationship of the organized activity aggregated information. Including the selected activity information as an execution target in an activity execution command and passing the activity execution command to the activity execution means, the activity execution means receives the activity execution command and is included in the activity execution command The progress of the activity is controlled in accordance with the activity control information included in the activity information, and a new activity execution command accompanying the progress of the activity is generated, and the activity execution command is transmitted to the activity execution control. A work process management device for inputting to a means. 2. A work process management device constructed on a network information system in which a plurality of server devices and a plurality of client devices are connected by a network, an activity information storage unit, an activity execution receiving unit, and an activity execution control unit. And one or more activity execution means, wherein the activity information storage means stores activity information and activity aggregation information, and the activity information is transmitted to the client device or the server device on the network by one or more of: Locator and
The locator includes an activity content descriptor indicating the content of an activity provided by the client device or the server device and activity control information related to control of the activity, and the activity aggregate information includes the activity information and the activity. One or more locators to the aggregated information, and the contents of the activities including all the contents of the activities represented by the activity information indicated by each of the locators or the activity content descriptors included in the activity aggregated information, respectively. The activity execution receiving means receives the activity content descriptor indicating the content of the activity requested to be executed by communicating with the client device, and designates the activity content descriptor and the client device. An activity execution command including an activity execution command issuer locator to be executed and input to the activity execution control means. Accepts the activities execution command,
The activity information having the activity content descriptor matching the activity content descriptor included in the activity execution command is selected by tracing the locator included in the activity aggregate information stored in the activity information storage means, and the selected activity is selected. The information is added to the activity execution command as execution activity information and is input to the activity execution means. The activity execution means receives the activity execution command and executes the activity In accordance with the activity control information included in the activity execution information included in the activity execution command, the progress of the activity with the client device indicated by the activity execution command issuing locator included in the activity execution command is controlled, and a new activity accompanying the progress of the activity is performed. A work process management device, which generates an execution command and inputs the activity execution command to the activity execution control means. 3. A work process management device configured on a network information system in which a plurality of server devices and client devices are connected by a network, wherein an activity information storage unit, an activity execution reception unit, an activity execution control unit, The apparatus includes at least one activity execution means and one or more activity procedure execution control means, and the activity information storage means stores unit activity information representing a step of a work process and activity procedure definition information representing a work process definition in accordance with the inclusion relationship of the activity content. The activity execution accepting means receives an activity execution request from the client device, generates an activity execution command corresponding to the execution request, and performs the activity execution control. The activity execution control means receives the activity execution command and organizes the activity execution command. Selecting the unit activity information or the activity procedure definition information in accordance with the inclusion relation of the selected activity aggregate information and including the selected unit activity information or the activity procedure definition information as an execution target in the activity execution command; Or to the activity procedure execution control means, wherein the activity execution means establishes a connection between a user receiving the activity execution instruction and requesting the execution of the activity and a user or device in charge of performing the activity. The activity procedure execution control means, if the step of the work process is unit activity information, causes the activity execution means to perform the activity; and the activity procedure definition information or the activity aggregation information If any, the process is again executed by the activity procedure execution control means or the activity execution control means, and the work process definition is executed. Work process management apparatus, characterized in that the shall. 4. A work process management device constructed on a network information system in which a plurality of server devices and a plurality of client devices are connected by a network, an activity information storage unit, an activity execution receiving unit, and an activity execution control unit. , An activity execution means, and at least one activity procedure execution control means, wherein the activity information storage means stores unit activity information, activity aggregation information, and activity procedure definition information, and the unit activity information is stored on the network. A locator to the client device or the server device, and an activity content descriptor indicating the content of the activity provided by the device specified by the locator, wherein the activity aggregated information is the unit activity information or the activity aggregated information. Alternatively, one or more locators for any activity information of the activity procedure definition information and instructions of each of the locators The activity information includes an activity content descriptor indicating the content of the activity that includes all the activity content represented by the activity content descriptor included in the activity information, and the activity procedure definition information includes the unit activity information or the unit activity information. One or more locators to activity information, either activity aggregate information or the activity procedure definition information, an activity procedure descriptor defining a series of procedures spanning the activity information indicated by each of the locators; An activity content descriptor representing the content of the activity by the procedure descriptor, wherein the activity execution receiving means receives an activity content descriptor representing the content of the activity requested to be executed from the client device, An activity execution command including a descriptor and an activity execution command issuer locator indicating the client device is generated and input to the activity execution control means. The activity execution control means receives the activity execution command, and stores the unit activity information or the activity procedure definition information having an activity content descriptor matching the activity content descriptor included in the activity execution command, in the activity information storage. Selecting by tracing the locator included in the activity aggregate information stored in the means, adding the selected unit activity information or the activity procedure definition information as execution activity information to the activity execution command, and Is selected, the activity execution command is input to the activity execution means, and if the activity procedure definition information is selected, the activity execution command is input to the activity procedure execution control means. The activity execution means receives the activity execution command, and designates a server device or a client device specified by unit activity information included as execution activity information in the activity execution command. Client device and a client device instructed by the activity execution command issuer locator included in the activity execution command establishes a communication connection to enable the execution of the activity, the activity procedure execution control means, Receiving the activity execution instruction and acquiring the activity information indicated by the locator included in the activity procedure definition information according to the activity procedure descriptor included in the activity procedure definition information included as the execution activity information in the activity execution instruction. If the activity information is unit activity information or activity procedure definition information, a new activity execution command including the activity execution command issuer locator included in the activity execution command and including the activity information as the execution activity information is included. Generated and input the new activity execution command to the activity execution means or the activity procedure execution means, respectively. If the information is information, a new activity execution command including the activity content descriptor included in the activity aggregation information and further including an activity execution command issuer locator included in the activity execution command is generated to generate the new activity execution command. Is input to the activity execution control means. 5. The activity control means or the activity procedure execution control which receives an activity execution result notification including an activity execution result notification including success / failure information of an execution result of an activity corresponding to the input activity execution instruction. Means, the activity execution control means, when detecting the failure of the activity by the activity execution result notification, the activity information as an alternative to the execution activity information included in the activity execution command corresponding to the activity. The selected activity information is retried as the relevant activity information, and if the alternative activity information cannot be selected, the activity execution receiving means or activity procedure execution control means that has entered the activity execution command is executed. An activity execution result notification including failure information is notified, and the activity procedure execution control means, when detecting a failure of the activity by the activity execution result notification, For an activity execution command including a corresponding activity procedure descriptor, an activity execution result notification including activity failure information is notified to an activity execution reception unit or an activity procedure execution control unit that has input the activity execution command. The work process management device according to claim 3 or 4. 6. The activity execution control unit according to claim 5, wherein, when a failure of the activity is detected by the activity execution result notification, the activity is retried after a predetermined time has elapsed. Work process management equipment. 7. The apparatus further comprises one or more activity information selecting means.
The activity execution control means, when selecting unit activity information or activity procedure definition information including an activity content descriptor that matches the activity content descriptor included in the input activity execution command,
Generate an activity information selection command including an activity information selection command issuing locator instructing the activity execution control means and an activity content descriptor included in the input activity execution command, and input the generated activity information selection command to the activity information selection means. Performing a process using the activity information returned by the activity information selecting unit. The activity information selecting unit accepts the input of the activity information selecting command, and performs only the activity aggregation information on the activity information storage unit in the responsible area. The locator traces the locator included in the activity aggregate information, and the locator indicates any one of the unit activity information or the activity aggregate information or the activity procedure definition information stored in the activity information storage means outside the scope of responsibility. If the activity information selection command is input to the activity information selection means having the corresponding activity information storage If any of the unit activity information, the activity aggregate information, or the activity procedure definition information including the activity content descriptor that matches the activity content descriptor included in the activity information selection command is found, 4. The method according to claim 3, wherein the activity information found by the locator of the activity information selection command issued by the activity information selection command included in the activity information selection command is returned.
The work process management device according to claim 6. 8. An activity information storage unit adds unit activity information, activity aggregate information, or activity procedure definition information according to a request sent from the client device.
Activity information updating means for deleting and changing, and all the activity information storing means when the activity information updating means adds, deletes or changes unit activity information, activity aggregate information or activity procedure definition information on the activity information storing means. All unit activity information and activity procedure definition information stored in the locator are specified by at least one or more activity summary information, and the activity content descriptor included in any activity summary information is also included in the activity summary information. An activity information organization that reconstructs the locator between activity aggregated information to represent the activity content that includes the activity content indicated by the activity content descriptor included in the activity information indicated by the included locator. 8. The work process management device according to claim 3, wherein the work process management device includes one or more conversion means. 9. Activity information clustering means for collecting the activity information stored in one or more activity information storage means and performing clustering based on the similarity of the activity contents held by the activity information; The activity information clustering unit generates new activity aggregate information for each cluster and registers the activity aggregate information by the activity information update unit.
9. The work process management device according to claim 8, wherein the work process management device is provided with the above. 10. Activity information updating means for adding, deleting, or changing unit activity information, activity aggregate information, or activity procedure definition information on the activity information storage means in accordance with a request sent from the client device; Updating means for adding activity information on the activity information storage means;
When the unit is deleted or changed, any unit activity information and activity procedure definition information stored in all the activity information storage means are instructed by the locator from at least one or more activity aggregate information, and are included in any activity aggregate information. The activity content descriptor included in the activity locator included in the activity summary information also indicates the activity content that includes the activity content indicated by the activity content descriptor included in the activity information specified by the locator. Activity information organizing means for reconfiguring a locator between the aggregated information, co-occurrence activity detecting means for collecting activity execution commands output by the activity execution receiving means and detecting activity contents which appear frequently at the same time; 1 that has a frequently occurring activity content that is detected simultaneously by the activity detection means
The above activity information is selected by the activity information selecting means, and activity procedure definition information including a locator indicating each of the activity information, an activity procedure descriptor and an activity content descriptor is newly generated, and the activity information updating means generates the activity procedure definition information. 8. The work process management device according to claim 7, further comprising one or more activity procedure definition information generating means for registering the activity procedure definition information. 11. The activity information storage means may further store activity information including the unit activity information, the activity aggregate information, or the activity procedure definition information, and link information indicating permission or non-permission conditions between the activity information. And storing the activity execution control means, when obtaining the unit activity information or the activity procedure definition information, selecting only the unit activity information or the activity procedure definition information for which the cooperable condition is satisfied by referring to the linkage information. The work process management device according to any one of claims 3 to 10, wherein: 12. The activity information storage means further stores disclosure information indicating a permission or non-permission condition of disclosure of activity information including the unit activity information, the activity aggregation information, or the activity procedure definition information, 4. The activity execution control unit according to claim 3, wherein the activity information indicated by the locator included in the activity information is disclosed with reference to the disclosure information for the activity information for which a disclosure permission condition is satisfied. 12. The work process management device according to any one of items 11 to 11.