JP2001034687A - Workflow processing method and its implementation system, and recording emdium where processing program thereof is recorded - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To make efficiently executable the workflow process development and maintenance of documents by allowing inputted items to be transmitted to respective nodes according to definition information of in-department processes and starting an application corresponding to a selected item. SOLUTION: When a workflow is started at a workflow client 102, a workflow server 101 obtains information on a process corresponding to a document from a document definition table 800 and makes a choice from a process definition CFB 103 to input an item. When a document is circulated, the workflow server 101 selects a branch destination to which the document is circulated according to importance information on the document by referring to an importance table 700. Further, when operation is performed at each node, the workflow server 101 performs a distributing process part 113 at the time of item selection and the distributing process part 113 obtains information on an application corresponding to the item by referring to the document definition table 800 and obtains the application from an application storage DB 104, thereby executing the application.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a workflow processing system for managing workflows and circulating cases in a workflow system, and more particularly to a workflow management system suitable for managing and maintaining a plurality of different cases and circulating workflow cases using the same. The present invention relates to a technology that is effective when applied to a workflow processing system that performs the following.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A workflow system is one of information processing systems for improving the efficiency of document circulation in an office. Here, the workflow system is, for example, Nikkei Computer No. 5.2, 1994 (Nikkei BP) pp. As described in 57 to 60, in a task in which a plurality of people work together while exchanging documents and information, the documents and information are digitized and circulated on a network to increase work efficiency. It is a system aimed at.

A workflow system can circulate documents and information via a terminal (workflow client) by registering the order of business and rules in advance on a computer (workflow server). This order of work and rules are called a process. Each operation in the process is called a node.

In the prior art, when a process is registered, all the definition information of each different process is separately stored in a DB for storing the process definition in the workflow server. Since the circulation order and rules are different for each document, a process is created only for the type of document.

When circulating documents in a workflow, the documents are circulated in order from the first circulator in the definition. One example of a circular is called a case. If it is desired to change the circulation destination node under certain conditions during circulation, information for branching is set in the matter being circulated, and the workflow server refers to this information every time branching to make a transition to the corresponding node.
This information is called a case attribute. In the case attribute, in addition to information for branching, input data of a document to be circulated can be set.

When a case is processed by each node of the workflow, an application corresponding to each task or document is executed. This application is registered in the DB that stores the application on the server or the client, and the application information to be executed for each process and each node is set when the process is created. The corresponding application is acquired from the DB and executed. If there is a change in the circulation order of documents due to a revision of business rules, personnel changes, or the like, the changed process on the workflow server is separately changed and re-registered.

[0007]

However, such a conventional method has the following problems. The application process of the general affairs and accounting department is a task that can be expected to be more efficient through the circulation of documents and workflow. However, there are usually hundreds of such documents. In the case where all of these processes are implemented as workflows, it is necessary to develop several hundred types of processes to be registered on the workflow server, and the number of processes is enormous.

Further, the number of maintenance steps when the circulation route of the document is changed becomes enormous. For example, it is assumed that the accounting department used to consist of one person in charge, one chief, and one section manager, and the work circulated to the accounting department was processed by a combination of these three people (withdrawal processing → charge → chief → Section chief, travel expense settlement responsible → chief, bank account change request, etc. only). It is assumed that the section manager has been transferred to another department due to a personnel change, and the chief has become the section manager (one person in charge and one section manager). Then, for all the tasks that were circulated in the accounting department in the past, it is necessary to extract the tasks involving the chief without omission, redesign the processes excluding the chief, and update the process definition information on the workflow server There is. If such process changes occur frequently, the number of process maintenance steps becomes enormous.

In order to solve such a problem, a method of integrating the circulation routes of a plurality of documents and reducing the number of processes for registering them in the workflow server can be considered. However, the order in which documents are circulated varies from one document to another, and even if the processes for a plurality of documents are simply integrated, the maintainability deteriorates and management becomes difficult. Also, when integrated into one process, applications executed in the process are set for each node, so that a plurality of documents cannot share the same node and execute different processes.

An object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned problem and to provide a technique capable of efficiently developing and maintaining a workflow process for a large number of documents.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a technique capable of changing the processing executed in a workflow for each of a plurality of documents sharing one process or node.

[0012]

According to the present invention, in a workflow processing method for inputting and transiting cases in a workflow system, the order of operations and circulation of cases is shared and used by a plurality of cases.

The present invention achieves the above object by integrating processes by focusing on organizations involved in business. In other words, when focusing on the circulation route of the document that is the case, instead of the conventional "individual", instead of focusing on "division (department, section, etc.)",
The process for documents circulating the same department is similar. For example, if (example) withdrawal processing: [applicant → accounting staff → accounting manager → accounting section manager], the circulation order for each department is [application department → accounting department], and the circulation order within the accounting department is [Person in charge → chief → section manager]. Also, assuming that the travel expense settlement business is [applicant → accounting person → accounting chief], the circulation order for each department is “application department → accounting department”, and the circulation order within the accounting department is “person in charge → chief”. is there. Therefore,
The order of circulation of these tasks in each department is the same.

Hereinafter, the circulation order of each department is referred to as an inter-department process, and the circulation order within each department is referred to as an intra-department process (of the corresponding department). All processes can be represented by a combination of inter-departmental and intra-departmental processes.

Since a department to be involved in a document is determined according to its processing purpose, the process between departments is common to a plurality of documents. On the other hand, there are various processes in the department, such as "processes that can be processed only by the person in charge" and "processes that need to be approved by the section manager because of budget" according to the importance of documents.

Therefore, the processes in the department define all possible circulation routes to be selectable, select the circulation destination according to the attributes of the documents during operation, and execute the application corresponding to each document. .

The processes in the department differ according to the importance of the work, such as those that only need to be in charge according to documents, those that circulate to the chief, and those that circulate to the section chief. Therefore, by setting the importance indicating the strictness of circulation as an attribute of the document, and referring to this information at the time of conditional branching to select a circulation route, a circulation order according to the document can be realized.

In addition, a table indicating the corresponding application information is prepared for each document. At the time of matter processing in each node, a distribution processing unit for executing an application corresponding to the document with reference to this information is prepared. In the process of registering on the server, by defining the above-mentioned distribution processing unit to be started as an application to be executed on each node, even if the process is shared by a plurality of documents, it is possible to respond to each document during matter processing. Can run applications.

As described above, according to the present invention, the circulation route of documents is divided into an inter-department process and an intra-department process.
Within the department, a general-purpose process that can select various circulation routes is defined, and this is defined by combining it along the inter-departmental process. As a result, the process can be shared by a plurality of documents, and the number of steps required for workflow development and maintenance can be reduced.

Further, by selecting a circulation route within a department according to the importance of each document, a circulation route suitable for each document can be realized even if processes are shared. Furthermore, a distribution processing unit is designated as an application to be executed in each node, and a table showing correspondence between documents and applications is prepared. The distribution processing unit refers to this table to execute an application corresponding to each case. Even if the processes are shared, it is possible to realize the case processing suitable for each document.

As described above, according to the workflow processing system of the present invention, a process is shared by a plurality of items.
It is possible to efficiently develop and maintain workflow processes for a large number of cases.

[0022]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A workflow processing system according to an embodiment in which workflow management and document circulation in a workflow system are applied to three operations of withdrawal processing, travel expense settlement, and bank account change application will be described below.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of a workflow processing system according to the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 1, the workflow server 101 according to the present embodiment includes a process definition processing unit 110, an inter-department transition processing unit 111,
12 and a distribution processing unit 113.

The process definition processing section 110 defines an inter-departmental process indicating the order of circulation of each section, a general-purpose process within the section indicating the order of circulation within the section, and an application to be started in the section at the time of matter processing. It is a processing unit.

The inter-department transition processing unit 111 is a processing unit that transits an item to each department in accordance with the inter-department process definition information indicating the circulation order of each department. Item processing unit 112
Transitions the matter to each node in the department according to the definition information of the department process that indicates the circulation order in the department, and launches the application corresponding to the matter for the matter selected from the input cases. This is a processing unit that performs case processing. The distribution processing unit 113 is a processing unit that starts an application corresponding to the case in the department in which the case has been entered.

The workflow server 101 includes a process definition processing unit 110, an inter-department transition processing unit 111, and a case processing unit 1.
12 and a program for functioning as the distribution processing unit 113 are recorded on a recording medium such as a CD-ROM, stored on a magnetic disk or the like, and then loaded into a memory and executed. The recording medium for recording the program may be a recording medium other than the CD-ROM.

In FIG. 1, the workflow server 101
And each workflow client 102 is generally connected via a network. Workflow server 101
Stores the registration information of each workflow in the process definition DB 10
3 and the applications used in each process are stored in the application storage DB 104.

When the workflow is started by the workflow client 102, the workflow server 101 acquires information on the process corresponding to the document from the document definition table 800, selects the process information from the process definition DB 103, and submits a case. At the time of document circulation, the workflow server 10
1 selects a branch destination to be circulated from the importance information of the document with reference to the importance table 700. Further, at the time of executing a task in each node, the workflow server 101 executes the distribution processing unit 113 at the time of selecting a case, and the distribution processing unit 113 refers to the document definition table 800 to acquire information on an application corresponding to the case. The application is acquired from the storage DB 104 and executed.

Here, the definition of the workflow (process) of the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 2, 3, 4 and 5, taking as an example a withdrawal process, a travel expense settlement and a bank account change request.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of a conventional workflow (process) of three tasks of withdrawal processing, travel expense settlement, and bank account change request. In the withdrawal processing process 210, the client first fills in documents for requesting withdrawal (application 21
1). Here, the application section 241 indicates a person in charge of processing and a section to which the person in charge belongs. The information on this section may be separately managed by the workflow server as organization information.

The filled-in slip is transferred to the accounting section, and is checked by an accountant (incomplete entry check 212).
For the documents that have not been found as a result of the check, the chief accounting officer performs a more detailed examination of the application contents (contents examination 2
13). In addition, the accounting manager approves the application (Approval 21
4), the work is completed. Since the withdrawal business is a business related to the use of the company's money, it is necessary for three people to carefully examine the usage, amount, etc. Each business unit from the application 211 to the approval 214 is hereinafter referred to as a node.

In the travel expense settlement process 220, the client first fills in a document for requesting a settlement (application 221).
The filled-in slip is transferred to the accounting section, and is checked by an accountant (incomplete entry check 222). The chief of accounting approves the application contents for the documents that have no defect as a result of the check (approval 223), and the work is completed. Since travel information is managed in advance at each workplace, such as information on travel destinations, it is sufficient to approve the decision up to the chief of accounting.

In the bank account change request process 230, the requester first fills in documents for requesting an account change (application 231). The filled-in slip is transferred to the accounting section, checked by the accounting person in charge, and if there is no defect, it is approved on the spot, and the operation is completed (approval 232). The bank account change request has no particular content to be examined, and is merely a task of changing the transfer destination to the account for which the application was made, and can be performed only by the accountant.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing an example of the definition of an inter-department process of travel expense settlement according to this embodiment. When the withdrawal processing process 210 is grouped, for example, by the involved departments, a flow chart of FIG. 3 is obtained. That is, processing 5 in the application section
01 and processing 502 in the accounting department. The processes grouped by the involved departments are hereinafter referred to as inter-departmental processes. The process 502 in the accounting section includes checking of a person in charge of accounting, examination of the chief of accounting, and approval of the accounting section manager. Such a process in a specific department is hereinafter referred to as a departmental process.

Similarly, when the travel expense settlement process 220 and the bank account change request process 230 are grouped by the involved departments,
FIG. 3 is a flowchart of the same. That is, the inter-department processes of these three operations are the same. However, the processes within the accounting department are different for each business. This is because the importance of documents regarding how strictly the examination is performed in each business is different.

FIG. 4 is a flow chart showing a definition example of a process in the accounting department according to the present embodiment. If the above three types of intra-department processes are defined by one process, it is as shown in FIG. That is, the process 601 of the accountant, the process 602 of the chief accountant, and the process 603 of the accounting manager
And a conditional branch 611 as to whether or not to perform the processing of the accounting chief,
This is a conditional branch 612 as to whether or not to perform the processing of the accounting section manager.

In the dispensing process 210, the conditional branch 61
In step 1, select "Execute accounting manager" and select conditional branch 6
In step 12, "Perform the processing of the accounting section manager" is selected. In the travel expense settlement process 220, "perform accounting chief processing" is selected in the conditional branch 611, and "do not perform accounting section manager processing" is selected in the conditional branch 612. In the bank account change request process 230, "do not perform the next process" is selected for both the conditional branches 611 and 612. By performing the above conditional branching for each document, three processes can share a departmental process. The intra-departmental process that can be commonly used by a plurality of tasks is hereinafter referred to as an intra-departmental general process.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a definition example of the sharing process according to this embodiment. FIG. 5 is a flow chart in which the intra-department general-purpose processes are put together in correspondence with each of the inter-department processes. That is, the application processing 301 of the applicant,
There are a process 302 for the accountant, a process 303 for the chief of accounting, a process 304 for the chief of accounting, a conditional branch 311 as to whether or not to perform the process as the chief of accounting, and a conditional branch 312 as to whether or not to perform the process for the chief of accounting. By adopting the process of FIG. 5 as the process of registering in the workflow server, the definition of the workflow (process) can be shared between a plurality of documents having the same inter-departmental process.

Next, various tables held in the workflow server will be described with reference to FIGS.

FIG. 6 shows an importance table 700 according to this embodiment.
FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration. FIG. 6 shows an importance table 700 for storing the circulation importance of each document. 6, an importance table 700 includes a document ID 701 for uniquely identifying each document, and a circulation importance 710 for each document.
Consists of The circulation importance 710 includes the accounting importance 711 in the accounting department and the personnel importance 71 in the personnel department.
2. The importance of the document is stored in correspondence with each department, such as the importance of general affairs 713 in the general affairs department. The importance level is, for example, "1" for tasks that do not require processing by the chief of accounting or the section manager, "2" for tasks that require processing by the section chief but do not require processing by the section manager, and processing by the section chief is also required. A task that also needs to be set as “4”. The degree of importance of a section in which the document is not involved at all is set to “0”.

For example, since the importance of the travel expense settlement is “2”, “2” is set as the accounting importance 711 of the row of the document ID 701 “0001” of the travel expense settlement, and the personnel importance 712 other than the accounting department is set. “0” is set for the general affairs importance 713 and the like.

FIG. 7 shows a document definition table 80 according to this embodiment.
FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of a zero. FIG. 7 shows a document definition table 800 that stores a process and an application name corresponding to each document. In FIG. 7, a document definition table 800 includes a document ID 8 for uniquely identifying each document.
01, a document name 802 indicating the name of the document, a process name 803 indicating a process of inputting the document, and an application name 804 corresponding to the document. By referencing the process name 803 when submitting the matter to the workflow,
The process to be input by the workflow server is selected, and at the time of matter processing in each node, the distribution processing unit 113 determines the corresponding application name 8 from the document ID in the matter attribute.
04 and executed.

Next, the operation according to the present embodiment shown in FIG. 1 will be described with reference to the flowcharts shown in FIGS.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure at the time of defining a workflow according to the present embodiment. The developer inputs process information of a document to be defined from the terminal (step 401). The workflow server 101 groups persons in charge of processing of each node for each department (step 40).
2). If the same department is continuous at consecutive nodes, the nodes are combined (step 403). The workflow server 101 searches the created inter-department process to determine whether the same inter-department process has already been registered in the workflow server (step 404).

If not registered, the developer defines an intra-section general-purpose process for each section included in the inter-section process (step 405). The department general-purpose process is defined, for example, as shown in FIG. In the department general-purpose process, when there is no chief, or when the deputy director is included, the positions existing in the department are arranged according to the organizational structure of the company, and whether the next process is performed between each node is determined. Create by setting a conditional branch.

As a branch condition of the conditional branch node, a branch corresponding to all combinations of whether or not to pass each position is prepared. For example, in the case of the flow chart of FIG. 4, a total of four ways are prepared, ie, whether to pass through the accounting manager (two ways) and whether to pass through the accounting section manager (two ways). Here, whether or not to pass through the accountant (two cases) may be added, and a total of seven cases (there is no case where all persons are not passed) may be prepared. Generally, when there are n positions, (2 n -1) branches are set.

The workflow server 101 creates the process of the document as shown in the flow diagram of FIG. 5 by connecting the general-purpose processes in the department defined by the developer corresponding to each department of the inter-departmental process. Step 406).
Further, the workflow server 101 sets “distribution processing unit” as an application to be started on each node (step 407). That is, when the matter is executed in each node of the process, first, the distribution processing unit 113 is activated. The distribution processing unit 113 starts an application corresponding to each document according to the procedure shown in the flowchart of FIG. Thus, even if one process is shared by a plurality of documents, each node can execute an application corresponding to each document.

The developer registers the completed process in the process definition DB 103 of the workflow server 101 (Step 408).

Next, the developer adds a record of the document to the document definition table 800. Workflow server 1
01 assigns a document ID 801 at the time of adding a record so that there is no duplication. The developer inputs the document name, the process name registered in step 408, and the application name corresponding to the document in the record (step 409). By storing the entity of this application in the application storage DB 104 on the workflow server 101, the distribution processing unit 113 can retrieve and execute the application during operation.

Further, the developer adds the document ID 70 assigned at the time of creating the document definition table 800 to the importance table 700.
1 and the circulation importance 710 of each section are input in correspondence with the branch condition of the intra-section general-purpose process created in step 405 (step 410). For example, in the case of the travel expense settlement process, the condition branch in which the accounting manager performs the processing and the accounting section manager does not perform the processing in the flowchart of FIG.
“2” is set as the accounting importance 711 of the document ID “0001” corresponding to the travel expense settlement process. In addition, since other departments such as the personnel department and the general affairs department do not pass, “0” indicating that the job does not pass is set to the personnel importance 712 and the general affair importance 713 corresponding to these departments.

On the other hand, if the same inter-departmental process has already been registered in the workflow server in step 404, the registered process is shared and used. In this case, the information of the document is registered in the document definition table 800 and set so as to use the process (step 409).
It is only necessary to set the importance according to the in-department process of the document in the importance table 700 (step 410).

FIG. 9 and FIG. 10 are flowcharts showing an embodiment of a processing procedure at the time of workflow operation in the present embodiment. Hereinafter, a process of actually flowing a matter (document) on the workflow defined as in FIGS. 5, 6, and 7 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 9, taking a travel expense settlement process as an example.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing the procedure for submitting a case according to the present embodiment. First, the user creates (inputs a screen) a document to be settled from the workflow client 102 (step 901). Usually, the document creation application is prepared in the workflow server 101 or the workflow client 102 in correspondence with the document. The developer sets a document ID corresponding to the document definition table 800 in this application. After the input is completed, the user instructs a case input by a case input button or the like (step 902).

The workflow server 101 sends a document ID (“000 for travel expense settlement”) from the document creation application.
1)) and referring to the document definition table 800,
Acquire the process name "Accounting application process" to be submitted. Further, the importance of the document is acquired with reference to the importance table 700 (step 903).

The workflow server 101 has a document ID
Then, the data input to the screen and the importance are set in the case attribute (step 904), and the case is input to the acquired process (step 905).

FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing the processing procedure of the case processing of this embodiment. The processing procedure at the time of operation of the case entered in the procedure of FIG. 9 will be described based on the flowchart of FIG.

First, the user (accountant) selects a case to be processed from the cases delivered to him (step 1).
001). The workflow server 101 executes an application “distribution processing unit” to be executed by the accountant processing node based on the process definition information (step 10).
02).

The distribution processing unit 113 acquires the document ID “0001” from the case attribute (step 1003), acquires the corresponding application name “ryohi.html” by referring to the document definition table 800, and starts the application. (Step 1004).

The user performs a case process corresponding to the case according to the application (step 1005), and instructs a case transition by a case transition button or the like (step 1).
006). The workflow server 101 transitions the matter to the next node according to the process definition information (step 1007).

At this time, the workflow server 101 checks whether or not the transition destination node is a branch node (step 1008). If the node is a branch node, the workflow server 101 determines the branch destination by referring to the importance on the matter attribute (step 100).
9). In the case of travel expense settlement, since the accounting importance level is “2”, a transition is made to the accounting supervisor processing node. Similarly, the branch node after the accounting chief processing skips the accounting section manager processing node and ends.

On the other hand, if the transition destination node is not a branch node in step 1008, the transition is made as it is, and the process returns to step 1001 to perform a normal process.

In the above embodiment, step 100
9, the importance is stored in the matter attribute, but the workflow server is set to the importance table 7 each time the branch node is reached.
The branch destination may be selected with reference to 00. In this case, by changing the importance table 700 after the case is input, it is possible to reflect the change in the circulation route to the case being executed.

Further, in the definition of the general-purpose process in the department, a circulation route to be checked by two persons in charge as importance, a route to be circulated to the person in charge after the section manager processing, etc.
By defining all possible circulation routes as department general processes, a process that can be used more generally can be created. These can also be realized by first designing the inter-departmental processes of all the current operations, and then defining the intra-department general-purpose processes so as to include all the circulation routes being implemented for each department.

As described above, according to the workflow processing system of the present embodiment, the process is shared by a plurality of items, so that the workflow process development and maintenance of a large number of items can be efficiently performed.

Further, according to the workflow processing system of the present embodiment, in the department in which the case is entered, the application is distributed to the application corresponding to the case and the application is started. Can be changed for each case.

[0066]

According to the present invention, since a process is shared by a plurality of items, it is possible to efficiently develop and maintain a workflow process for a large number of items.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of a workflow processing system according to an embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of a conventional workflow (process) of three tasks of withdrawal processing, travel expense settlement, and bank account change request.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating a definition example of an inter-department process of travel expense settlement according to the embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating a definition example of a process in a department of the accounting department according to the embodiment;

FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating a definition example of a sharing process according to the embodiment;

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of an importance table 700 according to the present embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of a document definition table 800 according to the present embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating a processing procedure when a workflow is defined according to the present embodiment.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure for submitting a case according to the embodiment;

FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating a procedure of a case process according to the embodiment;

[Explanation of symbols]

101: Workflow server, 102: Workflow client, 103: Process definition DB, 104: Application storage DB, 700: Importance table, 80
0: Document definition table, 110: Process definition processing unit
111: inter-department transition processing unit, 112: case processing unit, 11
3 ... Distribution processing unit, 210 ... Payout processing process, 211
… Application, 212… Check for incomplete entry, 213… Content examination, 214… Approval, 220… Travel expense settlement process 221
… Application, 222… complete entry check, 223… approval, 2
30: Bank account change request process, 231: Application, 232
... approval, 241 ... application department, 501 and 502 ... processing,
601 to 603 processing, 611 and 612 conditional branching,
301 ... application processing, 302 ... processing, 303 ... processing, 30
4 processing, 311 conditional branch, 312 conditional branch, 70
1: Document ID, 710: Importance, 711: Accounting importance, 712: Personnel importance, 713: General affairs importance, 801
... Document ID, 802 ... Document name, 803 ... Process name, 8
04 ... Application name.

Continued on the front page (72) Inventor Takashi Kobayashi 890 Kashimada, Saiwai-ku, Kawasaki-shi, Kanagawa Pref.Hitachi, Ltd.System Development Division, Hitachi, Ltd. Within the Development Division (72) Inventor Tomokazu Igata 890 Kashimada, Saiwai-ku, Kawasaki City, Kanagawa Prefecture F-term (Reference) 5B049 AA06 CC21 CC31 CC36 EE05 FF09

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A workflow processing method for inputting and transiting a matter in a workflow system, comprising: a step of transiting an inputted matter to each department according to definition information of an inter-department process indicating a circulation order of each department; It has a step of transiting to each node according to the definition information of the intra-department process indicating the circulation order, and a step of activating an application corresponding to the matter selected from among the inputted matters and processing the matter. A workflow processing method characterized in that: 2. The workflow processing method according to claim 1, further comprising a step of activating an application corresponding to the case in the department in which the case is entered. 3. The method according to claim 1, further comprising the step of determining a branch destination according to the importance of the case when the transition destination node is a branch node. Workflow processing method. 4. In a workflow processing system for inputting and transitioning a matter in a workflow system, an inter-department transition processing unit for transitioning a matter to each department according to definition information of an inter-department process indicating a circulation order of each department;
According to the definition information of the department process indicating the circulation order within the department, the matter is transitioned to each node in the department, and for the matter selected from the entered matters, the application corresponding to the matter is started and the matter is processed. A workflow processing system comprising: 5. A computer-readable recording medium in which a program for causing a computer to function as a workflow processing system for inputting and transitioning a matter in a workflow system is defined on a computer-readable recording medium. An inter-department transition processing unit that transitions the matter to each department according to
According to the definition information of the department process indicating the circulation order within the department, the matter is transitioned to each node in the department, and for the matter selected from the entered matters, the application corresponding to the matter is started and the matter is processed. A recording medium characterized by recording a program for causing a computer to function as a case processing unit for performing the following.