JP2002024498A - System for designing information system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a design system where even a person other than experts can collect the information relating to business situations and also the total time required for designing an information system can be shortened. SOLUTION: This system includes a data storage part 4 and a data processing part 3. The part 4 stores the business type/condition position, a total business flow corresponding to the business type/condition position, the grouping flows obtained by grouping the total business flow into phases according to each job function of work, one or plural types of processing function software groups corresponding to the job functions of grouping flows and plural scale-based hardware corresponding to the processing scales of grouping flows for every grouping flow. The part 3 selects the individual software or the scale-based hardware in accordance with an inputted specific signal of business type and condition and a necessary phase selection signal.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a system for automatically designing an information system.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In order to convert a business of a company into an information system using a computer, the following procedure is required by requesting a system designer. First, an information processing technology expert goes to a company that has been requested to systematize and hears and analyzes the current work. After that, the work of replacing the current work with the information system is performed.

[0003] In a hearing survey that asks for the business content of each company, the type of business process of that company, the processing method,
In addition, the items of the form to be handled are specified one by one. Those who can answer such details are those who are engaged in actual work. Therefore, experts went to each site and conducted interviews. After conducting the above interview, in the system design stage, all the business processes of the company specified in the above interview are replaced with computer processing.

[0004]

The actual business processing varies from company to company, and it is necessary to find out the necessary items when systematizing the system. It is difficult to judge what the necessary items are and to get them out, unless it is an information technology expert, and even if an expert performs it, one interview may overlook the necessary items. Not a few. Therefore, even after actually entering the stage of designing the system, it may be necessary to go to the site and repeat the investigation. In other words, with the current method, interviews took a great deal of time and effort. In addition, the system designer had to bring back and organize a large amount of collected data in the above interview, but it also took time.

[0005] In addition, since most companies often include processing methods unique to the company, it is technically difficult to replace all of these small parts with computer processing, and it is very troublesome. This is the task.
Moreover, since the designed system is for a specific company, it is difficult to utilize the once designed system for the next system design. Therefore, it took time and effort even in the design stage. Therefore, the current
The design of the information system has a problem that it takes much time. In addition, interviews had to be carried out by experts with advanced knowledge of information technology.

[0006] It is an object of the present invention to provide a design system that enables a non-expert to collect information on the business situation of a company and to reduce the time required for the entire information system design work. .

[0007]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a data storage unit and a data processing unit. The data storage unit includes a business type business position, an overall business flow corresponding to the business type business position, The total workflow is divided into phases according to the work functions of the business, one or more types of processing function software groups corresponding to the work functions of the above-mentioned divided flows, and the processing scale of the above-mentioned divided flows. It stores a plurality of scaled hardware corresponding to each other. The above-mentioned processing function software group is a software group corresponding to the work function of each of the above-mentioned divided flows, and is composed of a plurality of individual softwares of different sizes. In addition, the data processing unit selects a corresponding overall business flow in accordance with the input specific signal of the type of business type and, for each phase corresponding to the input required phase selection signal, sets the processing scale to the input processing scale. It is characterized in that individual software and hardware according to scale are selected according to the scale.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, the data storage unit is configured such that, among the processing function software groups corresponding to the respective divided flows in one overall business flow, a predetermined processing function software group stores the business data of the other divided flows. The data processing unit stores the relation with the processing, and when recognizing the relation with another divided flow, the data processing unit selects one piece of software capable of performing the relevant processing.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, the storage unit stores price data of components such as hardware and individual software, and the data processing unit stores, for each system model composed of the selected hardware and individual software. ,
It is characterized in that a price corresponding to the above-mentioned components is added up to create an estimate.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, the data storage unit stores a plurality of business processing methods such as a marketing method and a sales method, and a detailed flow corresponding to the business processing method. It is characterized in that a corresponding detailed flow is selected according to the business processing method, and a part of the entire business flow is replaced with the above detailed flow and output.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, the data storage section stores, for each individual software, management data items which can be managed by the individual software, and the data processing section stores the individual data selected corresponding to the sorting flow. Compare and check the software management data items with the required data items entered, reselect other individual software that supplements the missing data items of the above management data items, and re-select the price data corresponding to the reselected individual software. The feature is that a quote is created based on the

[0012] In a sixth aspect of the present invention, four types of business type positions are determined for each type of business by a combination of a customer type consisting of free customers and fixed customers and a product type consisting of stock products and consignment products. The feature is that it consists of The seventh invention comprises a server having a data storage unit and a data processing unit, and a terminal connected to the server via a communication network such as the Internet, and through this terminal, data such as a business type position is stored. The feature is in the point of input.

[0013]

1 to 8 show an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, the system of this embodiment is:
It comprises a management server 1 and a terminal device 2 connected via the Internet I. The management server 1 includes a data processing unit 3 and a data storage unit 4. The data storage unit 4 includes a user information storage unit 5 and a system model storage unit 6.

The management server 1 is a server managed by a designer who undertakes the design of the information system, and the terminal device 2 is a device provided in the requesting company. However,
The terminal device 2 may be installed anywhere, and there is no need to connect via the Internet. It suffices if necessary data can be input to the management server 1 and data processed by the data processing unit 3 of the management server 1 can be displayed.

Here, the requesting side is referred to as a user. Then, the user information storage unit 5 stores information of the user who is the requesting side. On the other hand, the system model storage unit 6 stores various data for configuring a model of the information system to be designed. That is,
The system model storage unit 6 stores a business flow and software and hardware required for an information system for realizing the business flow in association with each business type business position.

As shown in FIG. 2, the above-mentioned business type positions refer to the following positions classified according to the type of customer and the type of product for each type of business such as service and manufacturing. The types of customers include free customers and fixed customers, and the types of products include commissioned products and inventory products. For example, the position shown in the figure is used when trading to a free customer partner based on stock items, and the position is used when trading is performed using commissioned products for a free customer partner. Such a position ~ can be set in any type of business, but there are some positions that are not realistic depending on the type of business.

The system model storage section 6 stores business flows as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 corresponding to four business type positions for each business type. The business flow in FIG. 3 is a business flow corresponding to the position of the manufacturing industry in FIG. This entire work flow is divided into six phases. This phase is divided according to the work function of the business, and the work in this phase is usually performed by the same department. The flow through the first to sixth phases is the overall business flow of the present invention, and the flow of the portion divided into each phase is the divided flow of the present invention. The overall business flow and the segmented flow are predetermined as an efficient business flow model for the corresponding business type.

The above-mentioned business flow is stored in correspondence with each business type position. For example, FIG. 4 shows a business flow corresponding to a retail business position, that is, a business business position of a combination of inventory goods and free customers in the retail business. This business flow is divided into first to third phases. Although the number of phases is smaller than in the case of the manufacturing industry above, in the case of the retail industry, manufacturing such as the third phase of the manufacturing industry is not necessary, and sales, billing, collection, and settlement are performed almost simultaneously. It is. Processes that are performed almost simultaneously and functions that are difficult to separate in terms of content are summarized in one phase. As described above, the method of dividing the phases is determined according to the type of business.

In FIG. 3 and FIG. 4, the business flow is vertically divided to show portions relating to “company”, “customer”, and “customer”, respectively. “Company” refers to the user himself, and “customer” refers to the customer of the user. “Business partner” is a business partner for the user, for example, a supplier of goods.

Further, the system model storage unit 6 stores software and hardware necessary to make the flow function, corresponding to each of the divided flows. FIG. 5 shows the relationship between the data stored in the system model storage unit 6 as described above. As shown in FIG. 5, there are four positions for each type of business, and each of these positions corresponds to the overall business flow. This overall work flow is associated with a divided flow for each phase.

Further, software for processing this flow and hardware are associated with the divided flow. However, a plurality of processing function software groups A to C are made to correspond as software functions for realizing one divided flow. Each of the processing function software groups A to C has different types of functions. That is, in order to process one phase, individual software is selected from each of the software groups A to C prepared in advance, and they are combined.

As shown in FIG. 5, the individual software is software included in each of the processing function software groups A to C. A plurality of individual software a included in one processing function software group A to C
1, a2, a3,..., B1, b2, b3,.
c1, c2, c3,... have the same kind of function, but have different scales. For example, the processing function software group A includes scale-specific individual software a1 to a4 corresponding to small to large scale. The scale here means a processing scale, and a processing scale related to software is determined by the number of operators.

On the other hand, for each of the divided flows, the necessary hardware is also H1, H2, H3,.
Are stored in the system model storage unit 6. The hardware H1, H2, H3,... Include the type and amount, such as what kind of hardware and how many pieces of hardware are required. .. May include a plurality of types of hardware. However, the type is not a specific model name but a type such as a personal computer or a printer. Here, the scale related to the hardware is the number of operators in that phase. This is because if the number of operators is large, the required number of hardware is also large. However, the processing scale includes the number of hardware and the processing capacity, but if the number is determined, an approximate estimate can be obtained. Therefore, only the number is considered here.

Although not shown in FIG. 5, each segmented flow is associated with a question for specifying a data item to be managed by software corresponding to the segmented flow. It is stored in the system model storage unit 6. Furthermore, some of the work items of the entire work flow have sub-processes set. The sub-process is a specific process for making a work item in the overall business flow concrete, and for performing the work. For example, in sales activities, there are various methods such as using flyers and sending direct mails.
Therefore, the plurality of methods as described above are associated with the work items of the overall work flow, and each method is associated with a detailed flow for performing the method and stored in the system model storage unit 6. .

Next, a method of designing an information system using this system will be described. First, the user starts this system from the terminal device 2 and displays a business type position selection screen shown in FIG. 2 on a display. On this business type position selection screen, the user
Select the type of business to which you belong, and then select the current position or the type of business type that you should aim for in the future. Here, a case where a position in the manufacturing industry is selected will be described. the user,
On the screen shown in FIG. 2, a position in the manufacturing industry is selected. In FIG. 2, the characters are outlined. Then, a business type position selection signal is transmitted to the data processing unit 3 of the management server 1, and the data processing unit 3 selects, from the system model storage unit 6, an overall business flow corresponding to the manufacturing position, indicate. This flow is
It is a business flow shown in FIG.

The overall business flow shown in FIG. 3 is composed of six divided flows divided into the first to sixth phases as described above. Further, among the work items of this overall work flow, those for which sub-processes are set are displayed in such a manner as to make it clear. In FIG. 3, that is the “sales activity” of the first phase. The object 7 of “sales activity” is surrounded by a double line to distinguish it from other objects.

When the user clicks on the "sales activity" object 7, a plurality of marketing methods as "sales activities" as shown in FIG. 6 are displayed.
From these, the user selects the method actually used. For example, as a marketing method,
When is selected, the detailed flow shown in FIG. 7 is displayed. This detailed flow is the “sales activity” of the overall business flow in FIG.
It is a flow that changes to The detailed flow is inserted into the overall business flow shown in FIG. 3 and displayed or printed out. The marketing method corresponds to the business processing method of the present invention. In this example, the case where a sub-process is set for “sales activity” has been described.
The sub-process may be set to any “work item”.

As described above, when the user selects a business type position and, if necessary, a sub-process,
The data processing unit 3 selects software and hardware from the system model storage unit 6 that match the processing scale of the user. Although the data of the processing scale is stored in the user information storage unit 5, the terminal device 2
Therefore, the user may input the information, or the designer may ask the user to input the information. In any case, the processing scale data may be input when the data processing unit 3 selects software and hardware. The selection of software and hardware is performed for each phase.

First, the selection of software will be described. Although FIG. 5 shows only data related to the manufacturing industry position, the classification flow corresponding to the industry type business position is associated with individual software for each size and hardware for each size. I have. Required processing function software groups A to C are associated with the division flow 8 of the first phase. The data processing unit 5 selects one piece of individual software corresponding to the processing scale of the first phase of the user from each of the three processing function software groups A to C. For example, the individual software a2 is selected from the processing function software group A, the individual software b1 is selected from the processing function software group B, and the individual software c2 is selected from the other processing function software C. select.
In FIG. 5, the selected software is circled.

On the other hand, as for the hardware, here, the hardware H2 is selected as the hardware suitable for the scale according to the number of operators. With the above, the first
The phases determine the required software and hardware. Similarly, in the second and subsequent phases, the data processing unit 5 can select software and hardware and combine them to design an information system that matches the user.

However, when the same processing function software group corresponds to a plurality of different phases, in each phase,
Instead of using individually selected software,
The common software is used between the plurality of phases. The case where the same processing function software group corresponds to different phases is as shown in FIG. Although FIG. 8 shows only the first phase and the second phase, the relation between the divided flow of each phase and the corresponding software is shown. Three processing function software groups A to C correspond to the first phase processing function software group, and two processing function software groups B and D as the second phase processing function software group. Is supported.

The individual software selected from the processing function software groups according to the processing scale is indicated by a circle. That is, the individual software that matches the scale of the first phase is a1, b1, c2,
Software that matches the size of the second phase is b
3, d2. However, the processing function software group B corresponds to both the first and second phases. Also in the first phase, the individual software b1 of the processing function software group B is used, and in the second phase, the individual software b3 of the processing function software group B is used. These individual softwares b1 and b3 have the same type of processing function, but have different scales.

Although the first phase and the second phase have different business functions, the fact that the same processing function software group B corresponds to both corresponds to the first phase business processing and the second phase. This means that the relevant business operation is included in the business operation of the phase. This means that the processing function software group B includes processing functions related to both phases. Therefore, when the same processing function software group is related to the divided flows of different phases, the data processing unit 5 selects one piece of individual software that can process the processes of both phases in a related manner. I have to. In the case of FIG. 8, instead of selecting both the individual software b1 and b3, the individual software b4 capable of responding to the sum of the processing scales of both phases is selected.

For example, when the individual software b1 is software for one person and the individual software b3 is software for three persons, two individual software b1
And b3 instead of selecting the individual software b4 for four persons. If the scale of the individual software b4 commonly used in the two phases is made equal to the scale of both phases, the processing of both phases can be performed simultaneously. That is, the first
When one operator is using the individual software b4 in the phase, three operators can simultaneously use the individual software b4 in the second phase. That is, the individual software b4
, The same database can be shared between a plurality of phases.

However, if it is not necessary to be able to use the related individual software in the first phase and the second phase at the same time, the individual software corresponding to the total size of both is selected. You don't have to. The individual software b3 having the larger processing scale may be selected as the common individual software for the first and second phases. In that case, the processes of the first phase and the second phase cannot be performed simultaneously.
However, if you decide to process each phase separately,
Since the individual software b3 satisfies the processing scale of both phases, it functions as a common software individual software.

As described above, the system for designing an information system according to the present invention can design an information system suitable for the work of the user. In addition, when data relating to the user's work is input, the computer automatically designs the system. Since the system is designed by applying the user's work to the created work flow in advance, automatic design becomes possible, compared with the conventional case where systems are designed one by one according to the user's work. And can be designed overwhelmingly in a short time.

If the price data is stored in the system model storage unit 6 in association with the individual software or the hardware of each size, the data processing unit 3 can store the individual software or Once the hardware is selected, price data can also be specified. Therefore,
A quote for the designed system can be created automatically. The above quotes are classified into hardware, software, and other useware, and indicate the respective prices. The above prices are approximate and do not specify the hardware model. However, if you enter the exact model of the hardware and the price of the software, you can create a detailed quotation according to the price. The above-mentioned other useware includes a cost for adjusting the designed information system and a cost for training the operator.

Further, in order for the information system designed by this design system to actually perform the above-mentioned overall business flow, it is necessary to specify data items to be managed by the information system and construct a database. .
Therefore, in this design system, a question for identifying a data item in each phase of the entire business flow is displayed. This question is
It is stored in advance for each software corresponding to each classification flow. For example, in the detailed flow of FIG.
"Estimate" 9 is displayed, but in order to create such an estimate using the above information system, "Estimate"
Items must be specified. Then, when the user clicks on "quote" 9, a screen for asking about the items of the quote is displayed on the screen. The minimum data item such as the management item of the quote is specified.

To this end, standard management data items that will be required are stored in advance for each of the divided flows, and those items are displayed, and the necessity / unnecessity is input. Of the displayed management data items, necessary items are checked, and if there is an item to be added, an input field for inputting is further provided. Of course, the user may input the necessary data items one by one. However, if the items are displayed in advance, it is possible to prevent the user from forgetting to input the necessary items.

In this case, it is sometimes difficult for a layman to check and input data items. In such a case, a person in charge of the design company does not directly input the data items but displays the data together with the user. You can check it while looking at the screen. When the person in charge checks the data items, if the standard items are displayed in advance,
It is less likely that important items are dropped. In other words, it is possible to conduct a hearing survey even without a specialist having advanced knowledge of information technology.

Even if the management data items are not specified, an approximate information system can be designed and its system model can be proposed to the user. However, if the above management data items are specified, it is possible to smoothly move to the step of assembling the actual system. As described above, a system for designing an information system according to the present invention is designed to apply a user's business to an ideal business flow model created in advance. In addition, since efficient business flows are classified according to the type of business, the actual business flow model can be applied. Compared to the case of designing a so-called custom-made system for each user, it has become possible to design in a shorter time. In addition, since the interview items are arranged as question items, the interview survey, which took the longest time in the past, can be performed in a short time, and the subsequent data arrangement can be performed simultaneously with the interview. This is because necessary data can be input to the management server 1 while listening.

The overall business flow is divided into a plurality of phases, and an information system is designed in each of the phases. For this reason, the user can systematize the entire work flow for each phase without systematizing at once. In addition, certain phases
Using the existing system, only the phases before and after that can be newly designed using the design system of the present invention. Even in such a case, if the necessary management data items in each phase are clarified, the existing system and the new system can be easily combined. Then, if a signal indicating which phase is necessary for the user, which is a required phase selection signal of the present invention, is input to the management server 1, the data processing unit 3 performs a system design of only the required phase part based on the signal. It can be performed.

In this embodiment, since the terminal device 2 is connected to the management server 1 via the Internet I and installed on the user side, the user himself stores data relating to himself / herself in the user data storage of the management server 1. It can be input to the unit 5. Designers can also collect the necessary data without having to go to interviews.
In particular, when the person in charge had to go to a hearing survey, it was not possible to deal with a plurality of users at the same time. It is also possible to cope with at the same time. In addition, since the terminal device 2 displays the overall business flow and the detailed business flow, and then displays a question regarding the management data item, the data item that the user must specify depends on which business item I can clearly see if it is related to Therefore, the intention of the question is easily transmitted to the user, and the risk of inputting an incorrect item is reduced.

[0044]

According to the first to seventh aspects of the present invention, when data relating to the current business is input, the information system is automatically designed, so that the time required for designing the information system can be greatly reduced. . In addition, since the business flow and the information system are divided into phases, it is easy to design only necessary parts. According to the second invention,
When there is software that can be commonly used in a plurality of phases, the software can be automatically selected.

According to the third aspect, it is possible to automatically prepare an estimate at the same time as designing the information system. According to the fourth aspect, it is possible to automatically display or print a specific detailed flow for each business processing method. According to the fifth aspect, since the management data items are automatically checked, leakage of necessary data items can be reduced.

According to the sixth aspect, the type of business can be accurately classified. By associating the business flow with this position, it is possible to respond to all types of business types. According to the seventh aspect, the terminal device can be installed in various places. Therefore, the design client can also input data necessary for designing the system. for that reason,
It can respond to multiple requests at the same time, and can reduce the number of interviewers.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an overall view of a system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a business type position selection screen.

FIG. 3 is an overall business flow of the manufacturing industry.

FIG. 4 is an overall business flow of a retail business.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing the relevance of data even stored in the system model storage unit.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a sales tool.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a detailed flow of a sales activity.

FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating a procedure for selecting shared software.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Management server 2 Terminal device 3 Data processing part 4 Data storage part I Internet

Claims (7)

[Claims] 1. A data storage section, comprising: a data processing section, wherein the data storage section converts an entire business flow according to the business type position, an overall business flow corresponding to the business type position, and a work function of the business. And one or more kinds of processing function software groups corresponding to the work functions of each of the above-described divided flows, each of which corresponds to the work function of each of the divided flows, and each of the divided flows. A plurality of scale-specific hardware corresponding to the processing scale of the classification flow, and the data processing unit, in accordance with the input specific signal of the business type,
Designs an information system that selects the corresponding overall business flow and, for each phase corresponding to the input required phase selection signal, selects individual software and hardware for each scale according to the input processing scale System to do. 2. A data storage unit, wherein a predetermined processing function software group among processing function software groups corresponding to respective divided flows in one overall business flow is related to business processing of another divided flow. 2. The information system according to claim 1, wherein the data processing unit selects the software that can perform the related processing when recognizing the relation with another divided flow. System for. 3. The data storage section stores price data of components such as hardware and individual software, and the data processing section stores the configuration data for each system model including the selected hardware and individual software. The system for designing an information system according to claim 1, wherein a quotation is created by accumulating prices corresponding to the elements. 4. The data storage unit stores a plurality of business processing methods such as a marketing method and a sales method and a detailed flow corresponding to the business processing method.
The corresponding detailed flow is selected according to the input business processing method, and a part of the entire business flow is replaced with the detailed flow and output. A system for designing information systems. 5. The data storage unit stores, for each individual software, management data items that can be managed by the individual software, and the data processing unit manages the individual software selected corresponding to the divided flow. The data items are compared with the required data items that have been entered, and the selected data items are re-selected to compensate for the missing data items in the management data items.Estimation is made based on the price data corresponding to the re-selected individual software items. A system for designing an information system according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the system creates a letter. 6. The business type position for each business type comprises four positions determined by a combination of a customer type consisting of a free customer and a fixed customer and a product type consisting of an inventory product and a consignment product. A system for designing an information system according to claim 1. 7. A server having a data storage unit and a data processing unit, and a terminal connected to the server via a communication network such as the Internet, and inputting data such as a business type position via the terminal. Claim 1
7. A system for designing an information system according to any one of the above-mentioned items.