JP2002099688A - Workflow management system and in-use item moving method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an in-use item moving method of a workflow management system which can move an item used by some business process definition to another business process definition and continuously use it. SOLUTION: By the in-use item moving method of the workflow management system which moves the item used by the workflow management system according to specific business process definition data to other business process definition data and continuously use them, differences between the business process definition data before and after the movement are judged, items which need to be used continuously for the business process definition after the movement are extracted from items in use with the business process definition data before the movement, and only the items are used as items of the business process definition data after the movement.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a workflow management system which manages each business by defining a series of business flows in advance as a business process definition in chronological order. The present invention relates to a workflow management system that can be dynamically transferred as a matter of another business process definition.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A workflow management system defines the flow of each business consisting of a series of business processes as a business process definition in a time series in advance, and inputs a specific business case to the business process definition. Is a business management system that enables a series of business to be performed according to the business process definition. In actual work, each case data is generated according to the business process definition data (flow of each business) created in advance, and the generated case data becomes the entity of each business process that is actually processed.

[0003] By the way, when there is an organization change or the like for a case that is being operated according to a certain business process definition,
In response to this, it may be necessary to change the business flow in the business process definition, or it may be necessary to change the work procedure in the business. In this case, if the matter is completed in a short period of time, after completing all the currently operating matters according to the business process definition before the change, change the new business process definition and add the new matter to the changed business process definition. By submitting, after that, the project can be operated according to the changed business process definition, but it takes a long period of several months to several years, for example, from the discovery of invention in technology development to the application for patent In some cases, it may be necessary to change the business process definition during the period of matter operation, or may want to operate according to another business process definition.

[0004]

In the conventional workflow management system, all the information of the matter including the business results of the business process definition before the migration is migrated to the business process definition after the migration. Is slow, takes a long time to complete the transition,
There is a problem that the business performance of the business process definition before the migration cannot be evaluated, and that the business process definition before the migration cannot be returned.

[0005] In addition, it is necessary for the operator to judge whether each of the cases to be continued and operated in another business process definition is valid by one operator. However, there is a problem that the reliability may be reduced.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to manage cases operated based on business process definition data in the state of business results. It is to provide a workflow management system to operate. It is another object of the present invention to provide a workflow management system that can transfer a matter operated according to a certain business process definition to another business process definition and can operate continuously.

[0007]

In order to achieve the above object, in a workflow management system according to the present invention, a business process definition data storage means (business process definition data storage means) for storing business process definition data defining a series of business flows. 104); a case data storage means (105) for storing case data for managing the results of cases for operating each business in accordance with the business process definition data; and a case data storage unit (105) for managing the business process definition data and Business process definition control means (109) for extracting the information of the business process, and the case control means (106) for generating matter data in accordance with the business process definition data and managing the flow of each business in the generated matter data in the state of actual business results. ) And each business in the business process definition data Characterized in that it comprises a program activation unit (107) to start the program.

Further, in the workflow management system according to the present invention, a business process definition operating means (103) for changing, adding and deleting information of business process definition data, and an operation for generating and changing matter data are provided. And a case operation operation means (102) to be performed.

In this case, in the workflow management system according to the present invention, the business process definition data storage means includes a business process definition management table, and manages each information of the business process definition data including the business program of each business. It is characterized by.

In the workflow management system according to the present invention, the case data storage means includes a case management table for registering and managing case data generated corresponding to the case operated according to the business process definition data with a case identification code. And a business performance management table that manages the status of the performance of each business in the business case data by the business case identification code, wherein the business case control unit specifies the business case by the business case identification code, Judgment of the performance of the running business, based on the status of the executed or unexecuted business,
It is characterized in that a matter based on one business process definition data is migrated to a matter based on another business process definition data.

Further, in the workflow management system according to the present invention, the case control means includes a judgment means (502, 503, 505, 506) for judging a difference between business process definitions before and after the case is transferred. Extraction means (504, 507) for extracting the matter that needs to be continued and operated in the migrated business process definition from the matter in operation in the business process definition, and only the extracted matter as the matter in the migrated business process definition It is characterized by comprising a case transition means (FIG. 11) for operation.

In the workflow management system according to the present invention, an operation case migration method of a workflow management system for migrating a case operated based on predetermined business process definition data to another business process definition data and continuously operating the case is provided. , Judge the difference between the business process definition data before and after the matter is migrated, and extract the matter that needs to be continued and operated in the business process definition after the migration from the matter in operation in the business process definition data before the migration,
It is characterized in that only the matter is operated as the matter of the business process definition data after migration.

In the workflow management system according to the present invention having the above-described features, the case to be operated based on the business process definition data is managed and operated in the state of the performance of the business. When migrating to process definition data, the performance of the business before migration can be left as the performance of business process definition data before migration, and the performance after migration should be recorded as the performance of business process definition data after migration Can be. The performance of the business is the performance of the business of the business process definition data actually performed, and the performance of the business can be evaluated and returned.

Further, in the workflow management system, it is possible to judge the difference between the business process definition data before and after the migration of the matter and to extract the matter which needs to be migrated from the matter in the business process definition data before the migration. Business process definition data is a data flow definition of each business in time series. Before and after migration, from the end of the business process definition data to the start,
It is possible to extract a matter that includes a running business result of a business with a different business definition, and operate only that matter as a matter in the business process definition data after continuation.

[0015] As described above, the migration of a running project in the workflow management system is performed by extracting the project to be migrated from the difference between the business process definitions before and after the migration, and according to the status of the business results, By keeping track of the work of the matter, the operational efficiency of the matter migration and the reliability of the matter can be improved. In addition, the speed of project transfer will be increased.

[0016]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a system configuration of a workflow management system according to one embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 1, 101 is a workflow management system control unit, 102 is a case operation operation unit, 103
Is a business process definition operation unit, 104 is a business process definition data storage unit, 105 is a case data storage unit, 1
06 is a case control unit, 107 is a program start unit, 108
Is a request receiving unit, 109 is a business process definition control unit,
Reference numeral 110 denotes a definition operation unit, 111 denotes a case operation unit, 112 denotes a request issuing unit, and 113 denotes a request issuing unit. 114 is an input / output device unit, 115 is a case management table, 116 is a business performance management table, and 117 is a business process definition management table.

The workflow management system control unit 101
As shown in FIG. 1, the system includes system elements of a case control unit 106, a program activation unit 107, a request reception unit 108, and a business process definition control unit 109.

In the workflow management system control unit 101, the request receiving unit 108 receives a request for operation of a case issued from the case operation unit 102 and an operation request for the business process definition issued from the business process definition operation unit 103.

The business process definition control unit 109 receives the operation request for the business process definition received via the request receiving unit 108 and the business process definition data storage unit 104 in response to the business process definition data reference request received from the matter control unit 106. Refer to and update the business process definition data information stored in.

The matter control unit 106 obtains the corresponding business process definition data from the business process definition data storage unit 104 via the business process definition control unit 109 in response to the operation request for the case received via the request receiving unit 108. Then, for the business program of the business (business definition) defined in the acquired business process definition data, the start instruction of the business program is instructed to the program starting unit 107. Then, according to the execution result of the started business program, the case data storage unit 1
Update with reference to the data of 05. Note that, as described above, the program activation unit 107 performs a process of activating the business program of the business of the specified case according to the instruction of the case control unit 106.

The case operation unit 102 includes the case operation unit 11
1 and a system element of the request issuing unit 112. Operations such as starting a matter, deleting a matter, and migrating a matter are performed by the matter operation operation unit 102. Therefore, when the case operation unit 111 of the system element instructs the request issuing unit 112 to operate the case received from the input / output device unit 114, the request issuing unit 112 instructs the workflow management system control unit 101 to Request operation of Item.

The business process definition operation unit 103
Is composed of system elements of the definition operation unit 110 and the request issuing unit 113. Business process definition operation unit 1
With 03, operations such as registration of a business process definition, deletion of a business process definition, and change of a business process definition are performed. Therefore, when the definition operation unit 110 of the system element instructs the request issuing unit 113 to operate the business process definition received from the input / output device unit 114, the request issuing unit 113 sends a request to the workflow management system control unit 101. On the other hand, request the operation of business process definition.

Business process definition data storage unit 104
Are data including information such as the status of the business process definition and the business program of each business content (business definition) constituting the business process definition data. The business process definition data storage unit 104 configures a business process definition management table 117 and stores and manages data of these information as a database.

The data stored in the case data storage unit 105 is data of management information such as the state of a case and the actual state of each business. In the case data storage unit 105, as shown in FIGS. 9 and 10, which will be described later, a case management table 115 and a business performance management table 116 are configured to store and manage data of these information.

FIG. 2 is a timing chart for explaining the flow of the business process definition registration process. The registration process of the business process definition will be described with reference to FIG. When the operator performs a key operation using, for example, a keyboard of the input / output device unit 114 and issues a registration instruction of the business process definition (step 201), the definition operation unit 110 of the business process definition operation unit 103 receives the registration instruction. Then, it issues a business process definition registration request to the request issuing unit 113. In response, the request issuing unit 113 issues a business process definition registration request to the request receiving unit 108 of the workflow management system control unit 101.

The request receiving unit 108 receives the registration request and instructs the business process definition control unit 109 to register a business process definition. The business process definition control unit 109 stores the received business process definition in the business process definition data storage unit 1.
After confirming whether the data is stored in the business process definition data storage unit 104, the information of the business process definition data is registered (step 202).

When the information of the business process definition data is registered in the business process definition data storage unit 104, the business process definition control unit 109 notifies the request receiving unit 108 that the business process definition data has been registered. The request receiving unit 108 transmits the request issuing unit 1
13 is notified that the business process definition has been registered as instructed. Further, the request issuing unit 113 notifies the definition operating unit 110 that the requested business process definition has been registered. Then, the completion of the registration of the business process definition is notified to the operator through the display or the like of the input / output device unit 114.

FIG. 3 is a timing chart showing the flow of a case transition process during case operation. With reference to FIG. 3, a description will be given of how the business process of the case is performed and the contents of the case transition. When the operator operates the input / output device unit 114 to select the business process definition of the matter to be started and instructs to start the matter (step 301), the matter operation unit 111 receives the instruction to start the matter, The request issuing unit 112 is instructed to issue a case start request. The request issuing unit 112 issues to the request receiving unit 108 a case start request of the business process definition selected by the operator. Next, the request receiving unit 108 instructs the case control unit 106 to start the case of the selected business process definition. The matter control unit 106 requests the business process definition control unit 109 to refer to the selected business process definition data (step 302).

The business process definition control unit 109 extracts the information of the requested business process definition data from the business process definition data storage unit 104, and transmits the extracted information of the business process definition data to the case control unit 106.

After performing the process of generating a case, the case control unit 106 instructs the program starting unit 107 to start a business program in the business process definition data according to the information of the acquired business process definition data. Then, a process of creating performance data for managing the execution state of the job stored in the case data storage unit 105 is performed. The created performance data is stored in the case data storage unit 104.
Is registered and managed in the business performance management table.

In response to the instruction to start the business program, the program starting unit 107 performs processing for starting the specified business program (step 303). Then, when the process by the started business program is completed, the case control unit 106 updates the case data in the case data storage unit 105 to change the status of the result data of the business to “executed” (step 304). ). After that, the matter control unit 106 starts a corresponding business program for each business definition in the business process definition data until the processing of the case based on the business process definition data is completed (step 303). To the case data update process (step 304) are repeated. The contents of the matter transition are described in the matter control unit 106,
The information is transmitted to the operator via the display of the input / output device unit 114 via the request receiving unit 108, the request issuing unit 112, and the case operation unit 111.

In the workflow management system, a case ID is assigned to each case as identification information of each case, and each case data is managed. Case ID
Is assigned when generating the case data.

FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining the relationship between the business process definition data and the case data. The relationship between the business process definition data and matter data exemplified here is
This is a relationship between the business process definition data 401 of the business process definition A and the case data 402 thereof. Business process definition data 40 of business process definition A
1, the business process definition control unit 109 performs an operation, and for the case data 402 of the case operated according to the business process definition data 401 of the business process definition A, the case control unit 106 performs the operation. Do. The system element that gives an instruction to the case control unit 106 is the case operation unit 102, and the case operation unit 102 receives an instruction from the operator and inputs / outputs the instruction from the input / output device unit 114.
Accept through.

When the business process definition A is composed of, for example, two businesses (A business and B business), the business process definition data 401
3, business definition of A business 404, B business 405, and end unit 406. The start unit 403 is definition data (business definition) indicating the start position of the business process definition data 401. The A business 404 is a business definition of a business to be executed next to the start unit 403, and performs processing for executing the business program A. A business B 405 is a business definition of a business to be executed next to the business A 404, and performs processing for executing the business program B. The end unit 406 is a business definition to be executed next to the B business 405, and is definition data indicating the end position of the business process definition data 401.

The corresponding item data 402 of the item operated in accordance with the business process definition data 401 of the business process definition A is obtained from the start data 407, the result 408 of the business A, the result 409 of the business B 409, and the end 410. Be composed. The case data 402 indicates the result (execution result) of the result of the generation of the case and the execution of the business according to each business definition constituting the business process definition data 401 of the business process definition A. The start 407 is the result of performing the case generation processing, and the start unit 403
Is the actual data. The result 408 of the A business is the A business 4
04 is the result data of executing the business program A of No. 04.
The performance B of the business B is performance data of executing the business program B of the business B 405. The end 410 is the result of the result of the case completion processing, and is the result data of the end unit 406.

The business process definition control unit 109, which controls data management for the business process definition data 401 of the business process definition A, registers a business process definition, deletes a business process definition, changes a business process definition, and updates a business process definition. Perform operations on business process definition data by request such as reference.

The case control unit 106, which controls the case data 402, controls the case in response to a request for a case operation such as start of a case, deletion of a case, and transfer of a case. That is, the case control unit 106, based on the case operation instruction input by the operator through the input / output device unit 114,
The case start request for the business process definition data 401 of the business process definition A is sent to the case operation
2 and the business process definition control unit 10
9 is requested to refer to the business process definition data 401 of the business process definition A, for example. The business process definition control unit 109 reads the business process definition A from the business process definition data storage unit 104.
The information of the business process definition data 401 is provided to the case control unit 106. According to the definition of the business process definition data 401 of the acquired business process definition A, the case control unit 106 starts the case of the start unit 403, executes the business program A of the business A 404, executes the business program B of the business B 405, The end unit 406 performs each process of terminating the case, and, in the order of execution, records the result data of the start 407, the result 408 of the business A, the result 409 of the business B, and the end 410 in the business process definition of the business process definition A. Item data 40 of the item operated according to the data
2 is registered as work performance data.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing the flow of the process for extracting a transfer case. In this migration matter extraction process,
When migrating an active matter according to one business process definition data as a matter of another business process definition data, start the comparison of the business definition from the end part of the business process definition data before and after the migration, and end the part Search for the business definition with the shortest difference from, and extract cases that do not have business results (actual data) of the business definition with the difference.

Referring to FIG. 5, when the process is started, first, in step 501, a search is started from the end part before and after the migration for each business definition constituting the business process definition data. That is, based on the comparison between the end part of the business process definition data before the matter transfer and the end part of the business process definition data after the matter transfer, the comparison of each business definition is started and the search is performed. Step 5
In step 02, the definition before the current comparison start position in the business process definition data before and after the case transition is read, and in the next step 503, it is determined whether the business definition contents are the same. As a result, if the business definition contents are different, it is determined that the business definition in the business process definition data before the migration is a definition having a difference, and the process proceeds to step 504 to transit to the processing of the business definition. Matter (Matter that exists up to the actual data of the business definition)
Is extracted and the process ends.

On the other hand, if it is determined in step 503 that the business definition contents are the same, in step 505, it is determined whether or not the data is the start part of the business process definition data before migration. That is, it is determined whether or not the type of the compared task definition is the start part. If the result of this determination is that it is not the start part, the process returns to step 502 and continues to step 5 until it becomes the start part of the business process definition data before migration.
02, step 503 and step 505 are repeated,
A business definition having a difference between them is searched (step 50).
3).

When the search is made up to the start of the business process definition data before the migration, the process proceeds to step 506,
Further, it is determined whether or not the current search position of the migrated business process definition data is not the start part and there is an unsearched definition in the migrated business process definition data. If the result of this determination is that there is an unsearched definition, the process proceeds to step 507, where the start part in the business process definition data before migration is determined to be a business definition having a difference, and only the cases with actual data of the start are extracted. To end. If it is determined in step 506 that there is no unsearched definition in the business process definition data after the migration, the process proceeds to step 508, where the business definitions of the business process definition data before and after the migration are determined to be the same, and the The process is terminated without extracting.

Next, the transfer process of an item will be described based on a specific example. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a specific example of the business process definition data of the case transfer destination. The business process definition data 601 of the business process definition B is
02, A business 603, C business 604, D business 605, B
Each job definition includes a job 606 and an end unit 607. The start unit 602 is definition data (business definition) indicating the start position of the business process definition data 601 of the business process definition B. The A business 603 includes the start unit 60
This is a business definition to be executed after the second, and performs processing for executing the business program A. The C business 604 is a business definition to be executed next to the A business 603, and performs processing for executing the business program C. The D business 605 is a business definition to be executed next to the C business 604, and performs processing for executing the business program D. The B business 606 is a business definition to be executed next to the D business 605, and performs processing for executing the business program B. The end unit 607 is a business definition to be executed after the B business 606, and is definition data indicating the end position of the business process definition data 601 of the business process definition B.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a specific example of the case data operated according to the business process definition data 401 of the business process definition A before the case transition.
The case of the specific example stored in the case data storage unit 105 is, for example, the case data 7 whose case ID is “001”.
02, the case data 703 whose case ID is “002”,
Case data 704 with case ID “003”, case I
This indicates that there are four case data of case data 705 in which D is “004”.

Here, the case data 702 whose case ID is “001” indicates that the case has been started, and the business process definition data 401 of the business process definition A.
Has the actual result data 706 of the start part. Case ID is "00"
The case data 703 of “2” is a state in which the A business 404 has been started after the start of the case, and the result data 707 and the result data 708 of the start part of the business process definition data 401 of the business process definition A are Have.
Also, the case data 704 whose case ID is “003”
Is the state in which the start of the matter, the A business and the B business have been started, and the actual data 709 of the start part of the business process definition data 401 of the business process definition A, the actual data 710 of the A business, and the actual data 711 of the B business are shown. Have. The case data 705 whose case ID is “004” indicates that the case has been advanced to the end part and has been completed. The result data 712 of the start part of the business process definition data 401 of the business process definition A, the result data 713 of the A business, It has the performance data 714 of the B business and the performance data 715 of the end part.

These pieces of information are stored in the case data storage unit 105.
Are stored and managed in the case management table 115 and the business performance management table 116. FIG. 9 shows a specific example of the case management table 115, and FIG.
2 shows a specific example of the work result management table 116.

The case transfer is described as an example of a case where a case is transferred from the business process definition data 401 (FIG. 4) of the business process definition A to the business process definition data 601 (FIG. 6) of the business process definition B. . In this case, when the difference between the business process definition data before and after the transfer of the matter is determined according to the flowchart (step 501, step 502, step 503, and step 505) of FIG. End part 40
6 and the end part 607 of the business process definition data 601 of the business process definition B are the same business definition, and the B business 405 of the business process definition data 401 of the business process definition A of the next previous business definition and the business process definition B The B business 606 of the business process definition data 601 has the same business definition. Furthermore, comparing the next previous business definition, the business process definition data 401 of business process definition A business A 404 and the business process definition data 601 of business process definition data 601 are compared.
The job definition is different from the job 605. Accordingly, a case that has been performed up to the A business 404 of the business process definition data 401 of the business process definition A is a migration target case, and a case that needs to be migrated is a case ID.
Is the case data 702 having the case ID “001” and the case data 703 having the case ID “002”.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing the flow of the case transfer process. In the workflow management system of the present invention, the matter operated according to a certain business process definition data is migrated to another process definition data,
This matter transfer process is performed to enable continuous operation. In the case transfer process, first, in step 801, the operator selects a business process definition to which a case is to be transferred and a business process definition to which the case is to be transferred by the input / output unit 114, and performs a case transfer operation (instruction). When the operator performs the matter transfer operation, step 80
In 2, the workflow management system control unit 101 that has received the case transfer operation (instruction) extracts a transferable and valid case. Next, in step 803, in order to enable the workflow management system control unit 101 to recognize that it is a migration matter at the time of matter transition, actual data of the unexecuted business definition of the migration destination business process definition data is provided for each matter. Create By generating actual data of the unexecuted business definition by this process, the workflow management system control unit 101 is notified that there is a business to be executed with higher priority than the business definition of the business process definition data currently being referred to. Then, the next step 804
In the workflow management system control unit 101,
It notifies the matter operation operation unit 102 that the matter transfer operation has been completed. Next, proceed to step 805,
If it is a transfer case, the workflow management system control unit 101 refers to the transfer destination business process definition data from the information on the results of the unexecuted work, and transitions the transfer case according to the transfer destination business process definition data. If it is not a transition matter, transition the matter according to the business process definition data currently being referenced.

FIG. 9 is a view for explaining the configuration of the case management table 115. The case management table 115 shows the state of the transferred case after the transfer is completed. The case management table 115 includes, as shown in FIG.
01, a business process definition name field 902, and a status field 903. In the case ID field 901, a case ID of identification information uniquely given when a case is generated is recorded. In the business process definition name field 902, a business process definition name specified at the time of starting the case is recorded. The status field 903 stores data indicating the status of the registered matter (unexecuted, executing, completed).

The case data 702 of the record in the first line of the case management table 115 is a case that is currently referring to the business process definition data named business process definition B, and the case ID is “001”. ,
This indicates that the matter has not been executed. The matter data 703 of the record in the second row is a matter that is currently referring to the business process definition data named business process definition B, the matter ID is “002”, and the matter is in a running state. It indicates that there is. Also, the case data 704 of the record in the third row
Is a matter that is currently referring to the business process definition data named business process definition A,
D is “003”, indicating that the case is in execution. The matter data 705 of the record in the fourth row is a matter that is currently referring to the business process definition data named business process definition A, the matter ID is “004”, and the matter is executed. Indicates that the state is completed.

FIG. 10 is a diagram for explaining the configuration of the business performance management table 116. Business performance management table 116
Are a case ID field 1001, a business process definition name field 1002, a business name field 1003,
It consists of a status field 1004. Case ID
A field 1001 includes a case I of the case in which the business was executed.
D is recorded. Business process definition name field 1
002, the business process definition name of the business process definition data that has executed the business is recorded. In the task name field 1003, the name of the task that executed the task is recorded. In the status field 1004, data indicating the status of the business (unexecuted, executing, executed) is recorded.

More specifically, each record registered in the business performance management table 116 will be described. A record 1005 in the first row has a case ID of “001” and a business process named business process definition B. The task with the task name of task A in the definition data indicates that the task status is not executed.

The record 1006 of the second line
Indicates that the case ID is “002”, and the business having the business name of the business A in the business process definition data named the business process definition A is in the running state. Record 100 in the third row
Reference numeral 7 denotes that the case ID is “002”, and the business having the business name of business C in the business process definition data named business process definition B has a business state of not being executed. The record 1006 and the record 1007 have the same case ID of “002” and a different business process definition name, and the business state of the record 1007 is an unexecuted state. This indicates that the matter has been transferred to the business process definition data of the business process definition B while the business A in the business process definition data of A is being executed.

The record 1008 in the fourth row has the case ID of “003”, and the business with the business name of the business A in the business process definition data having the business process definition A has the status of the business executed. It is in the state. In the record 1009 in the fifth row, the case ID is “003”, and the business with the business name of business B in the business process definition with the business process definition A has the business state of “executing”. It is shown that. Also, the record 101 in the sixth row
0 indicates that the case ID is “004”, and the business having the business name of the business A in the business process definition having the business process definition A has a business state of “executed”. Record 1011 in the seventh row
Indicates that the job ID is “004”, and the job with the job name of the job B in the business process definition with the name of the business process definition A is in the executed status.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing the flow of the case transition process. In the workflow management system of the present invention, the difference between the business process definitions before and after the matter is migrated is determined, and the matter that needs to be continued from the matter in operation in the business process definition before the migration in the business process definition after the migration is determined. Extract. Then, only the matter is operated as the matter of the business process definition after migration.

For this reason, in the case transition process, the workflow management system control unit 101 sets the case management table 11
Referring to FIG. 5, a matter in which the result of the work that can be transited is not executed or being executed is extracted, and the matter transition process is started. When the process starts, in step 1101, the workflow management system control unit 101 refers to the business process definition data of the transition target matter. Next, step 1102
In, to determine whether the transition target matter is a migrated matter, it is determined whether or not there is an unexecuted business record of the business definition of the business process definition data different from the business process definition name. If there is an unexecuted business record, it is determined that the case has been migrated, and the process proceeds to step 1103 to transition the case with the business process definition data of the migration destination.
The business process definition data of the business result registered in the business result management table 116 is newly referred to. The business process definition name of the case ID in the case management table 115 is changed to the migration destination business process definition name. Then, the process proceeds to step 1104.

Next, in step 1104, the business definition of the currently referred business process definition data is referred to. In step 1105, it is determined whether or not the referred business definition is the end part. For example, the process proceeds to step 1108, where the state of the case ID in the case management table 115 is changed to the completed state, and the process ends.

Also, in the determination of step 1105,
If the referenced business definition is not the end part, step 110
Proceeding to 6, the business program of the business concerned is activated and the business program is executed. Then, the next step 1107
After confirming the result of the business program, the status of the business in the business management table is changed to "executed". Then, the process returns to step 1102, and the processing from step 1102 is repeated. That is, after that, steps 1102 to 1
Step 107 is repeated.

FIG. 12 is a diagram for explaining the relationship between the business process definition data before and after the migration and the case data after the migration. FIG. 12 shows the business process definition A
Business process definition data 401, business process definition data 601 of business process definition B, case I
The case data 703 of D “002”, the business process definition control unit 109, and the case control unit 106 are shown.

The business process definition data 401 of the business process definition A includes a start unit 403, an A business 404,
It is composed of each business definition of the B business 405 and the end unit 406. The business process definition data 601 of the business process definition B is stored in the start unit 602 and the A business 60.
3, a C business 604, a D business 605, a B business 606, and an end unit 607. The case data 703 with the case ID “002” includes the start 707, the result 708 of the business A, the result 1201 of the business C, and the result 1 of the business D
202, the result data 1203 of the B business, and the result data of the end 1204.

Start 707, A in case data 703
The business result 708, the business C result 1201, the business D result 1202, the business B result 1203, and the result data of the end 1204 are the start part 403 of the business process definition data 401 of the business process definition A, and the business A 4
04, C business 604, D business 605, B business 6 of business process definition data 601 of business process definition B
06, the job data is generated according to the job definition of the end unit 607, and the result data of the execution of each job is shown.

That is, the start 707 is the actual data of the business definition start unit 403 for generating a case based on the business process definition data 401 of the business process definition A, and the actual result 708 of the business A is the business data of the business process definition A. This is the result data of the A business 404 of the process definition data 401. The result 1201 of the C operation is the business process definition data 6 of the business process definition B after the migration.
01 is the performance data of the C business 604. The D business result 1202 is the result of the D business 605 of the business process definition data 601 of the business process definition B after the migration, and the B business performance 1203 is the business process definition data of the business process definition B after the migration. 601 is the actual result data of the B business 606. And end 120
Reference numeral 4 denotes the actual data of the business definition end unit 607 that performs the process of completing the matter on the business process definition data 601 of the business process definition B after the migration.

The business process definition control unit 109 controls the business process definition from requests such as registering a business process definition, deleting a business process definition, changing a business process definition, and referring to a business process definition. Then, the information of the business process definition data specified by the matter control unit 106 is obtained, and the information of the business process definition data is provided to the matter control unit 106.

The case control unit 106 performs control of a case from a request such as start of a case, deletion of a case, transfer of a case, and the like. The request for starting the matter with respect to the requested business process definition data 401 of the business process definition A is received via the matter operation operation unit 102, and the business process definition control unit 109 is notified of the business process definition data 401 of the business process definition A.
Request a reference to

On the other hand, the business process definition control unit 109 sets the business process definition data storage unit 104
The information of the business process definition data 401 of the business process definition A in is provided to the matter control unit 106. The case control unit 106 generates the case data 703 having the case ID “002” according to the definition of the business process definition data 401 of the acquired business process definition A, and registers the result data of the start 707 in the case management table 115. I do.

Next, the matter control unit 106 checks the business result management table 116 to see if there is any business result data of the business with the case ID “002”, a different business process definition name, and an unexecuted state. Confirm. In this case, since there is no performance data of the corresponding business, the A business 404 is executed in accordance with the business definition of the business process definition data 401 of the business process definition A which is currently acquired.
Executing the processing program A of the business A, the result 7 of the business A
08 in the case data 703 (business result management table 1
16).

Here, the operator operates the input / output device 114
From the business process definition data 401 of the business process definition A to the business process definition data 601 of the business process definition B, the matter control unit 106 extracts the matter with the matter ID “002” as the matter to be migrated. Then, the non-executed result data of the C operation 604 of the business process definition data 601 of the business process definition B is created in the case data 703 (the operation result management table 116).

Next, the matter control unit 106 checks whether or not the work result management table 116 has the result data of the work in which the case ID is “002”, the business process definition name is different, and the state is not executed. , C business 120
1 can be determined as the corresponding performance data, the business process definition data 601 of the business process definition B registered in the performance 1201 of the business C is newly acquired from the business process definition control unit 109, and the business of the business process definition B is obtained. According to the definition of the process definition data 601, the C business 604 is executed and the status of the C business result 1201 is changed. Thereafter, the matter control unit 106 checks the business result data in the unexecuted state in the business result management table 116, and checks the D business 605 and the B business 60 in the business process definition data 601 of the business process definition B.
6. The business program of the business up to the end unit 607 is executed, and the case data 703 (the case management table 115 and the business result management table 116) is stored in the case data 703.
2. The actual data of the actual result 1203 and the end 1204 of the business B are generated.

FIG. 13 shows that the transferred case ID is “002”.
FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a state of the matter management table after the completion of the transition. The case data 703 of the case management table 115 illustrated in FIG. 13 indicates that the case with the case ID “002” executed in the business process definition named business process definition B is in the completed state.

FIG. 14 shows that the transferred case ID is “002”.
FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a state of the business performance management table after the completion of the transition of FIG. In the business result management table 116 shown in FIG. 14, the record 1006 has a case ID of “002”, and the status of the business having the business name of the business A in the business process definition having the business process definition A has been executed. Record 1007
Indicates that the case ID is “002”, and that the state of the operation having the operation name of the operation C in the business process definition having the business process definition B is the executed state. The record 1401 contains the case ID
Is "002", which indicates that the status of the business having the business name D business in the business process definition having the business process definition B is in an executed state, and the record 1402 indicates that the case ID is "002". ", Indicating that the state of the business with the business name of the business B in the business process definition of the business process definition B has been executed.

As described above, in the case management table 115 and the business result management table 116 after the completion of the case transfer, the case whose case ID is “002” is the case of the business process definition A. A
The result data of the business that executed the business, the business C of the business process definition B, the business D of the business process definition B, and the business B that performed the business process definition B are left.

[0071]

As described above, according to the work management system of the present invention, in the workflow management system, when an in-operation matter is migrated, migration is performed based on a difference between business process definitions before and after migration. By extracting the projects that need to be done and by keeping track of the work of the projects before the transition,
The operational efficiency of the transfer process and the reliability of the case can be improved. In addition, the speed of project transfer will be increased.

[Brief description of the drawings]

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

FIG. 2 is a timing chart illustrating a flow of a registration process of a business process definition;

FIG. 3 is a timing chart showing a flow of a matter transition process at the time of matter operation,

FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining the relationship between business process definition data and matter data;

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a flow of a process for extracting a transfer case;

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a specific example of business process definition data of an item migration destination;

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a specific example of matter data operated according to the business process definition data 401 of the business process definition A before the matter transfer;

FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing the flow of a case transfer process;

FIG. 9 is a view for explaining the configuration of a case management table 115;

FIG. 10 is a view for explaining the configuration of a business performance management table 116;

FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing the flow of a matter transition process;

FIG. 12 is a diagram for explaining the relationship between the business process definition before and after the migration and the matter after the migration,

FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a state of the matter management table after the transition of the migrated matter is completed,

FIG. 14 is a diagram illustrating a state of a business record management table after completion of transition of a transferred matter.

[Explanation of symbols]

 101: Workflow management system control unit 102: Matter operation operation unit 103: Business process definition operation unit 104: Business process definition data 105: Matter data 106: Matter control unit 107: Program start unit 108: Request reception unit 109: Business process definition Control unit 110 ... Definition operation unit 111 ... Matter operation unit 112 ... Request issuing unit 113 ... Request issuing unit 114 ... I / O device unit 115 ... Matter management table 116 ... Business performance management table 117 ... Business process definition management table

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A business process definition data storage unit for storing business process definition data defining a flow of a series of business operations, and storing case data for managing results of cases for operating each business according to the business process definition data. Matter data storage means, Business process definition control means for managing the business process definition data and extracting information in the business process definition data, Matter data is generated according to the business process definition data, and A workflow management system, comprising: a case control unit that manages the flow of each business in the state of the performance of the business; and a program starting unit that starts a business program of each business in the business process definition data. 2. The workflow management system according to claim 1, further comprising: a business process definition operating means for performing operations of changing, adding and deleting information of the business process definition data, and an operation for generating and changing matter data. A workflow management system comprising: 3. The workflow management system according to claim 1, wherein said business process definition data storage means includes a business process definition management table and manages each information of business process definition data including a business program of each business. A workflow management system characterized in that: 4. The workflow management system according to claim 1, wherein the case data storage unit registers and manages case data generated for a case operated according to business process definition data with a case identification code. A case management table, and a business result management table for managing the performance status of each business in the case data by the case identification code, wherein the case control unit specifies the case by the case identification code and specifies Judgment of the performance of the business in the completed matter, and based on the status of the executed or unexecuted business, transfer the matter based on one business process definition data to the matter based on other business process definition data Featured workflow management system. 5. The workflow management system according to claim 1, wherein the case control unit judges a difference between business process definitions before and after the case is migrated, and a business process definition that is operating in the business process definition before the migration. It is characterized by comprising extraction means for extracting Items that need to be continued and operated in the business process definition after migration from Items, and Item transition means for operating only the extracted Items as Items in the business process definition after migration. Workflow management system, 6. An operation matter of a workflow management system for migrating a matter operated based on predetermined business process definition data to another business process definition data and continuously operating the matter in the workflow management system according to claim 1. This is a migration method, and it is necessary to determine the difference between the business process definition data before and after the matter is migrated, and to continue and operate the business process definition data in the business process definition data before migration in the business process definition after migration A method for migrating an operation matter of a workflow management system, wherein the matter is extracted and only the matter is operated as a matter of the business process definition data after migration.