JP2005038172A - Control program, server system, and workflow system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To register an approval process at a necessary stage as one part of a workflow, and to collectively carry out all approval processes which have been requested for approval until then when the workflow reaches the approval process. <P>SOLUTION: In the workflow system, a plurality of processes composing the workflow are sequentially processed by the server system 101 and a plurality of client terminals 102. The approval process which is a process of carrying out approval of a document is registered as one part of the workflow, one or more approvers are registered per approval process, each process of the workflow including the approval process is sequentially executed, and when the approval process is reached, approval of non-approved documents is collectively carried out from client terminals of the registered approvers. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a workflow system in which an administrator or the like collectively performs a plurality of approval processes in an approval process in which an administrator or the like approves a document or the like created on the workflow, and a server device and control used in the workflow system Regarding the program.

Conventionally, a workflow system that can perform a plurality of approval processes all at once has been proposed in order to eliminate the annoyance that a boss individually performs an approval process each time a plurality of subordinates create a document. . In such a conventional workflow system, the number of unnotified documents that have not yet been notified to the approver who is the superior is confirmed, and when the total number of unnotified documents exceeds the number of documents specified in the condition setting table, A request notification is sent to the approver as a list of information on a plurality of documents, and if the number of specified documents is not exceeded, the number of unreported documents is added and the process ends (for example, see Patent Document 1).
JP 2002-279335 A

  However, the above conventional technique has the following problems.

  In other words, whether or not to notify the approver is simply determined by the number of unreported cases, so it is also approved to the requester who is the subordinate of each approval when the timing of batch approval is There was a problem that even the person did not understand. In particular, for the client, the approver has not yet received the request, if there is a problem and it is pending, and when it will be approved at all times, schedule the next work There was a problem that could not.

  The present invention has been made in view of such a problem, and an approval process is registered at a necessary stage as one of the workflows. When the workflow reaches the approval process, an approval request has been made so far. It is an object of the present invention to provide a workflow system capable of performing all approval processes collectively, and a server device and a control program used in the workflow system.

  The present invention registers an approval process, which is a process for approving a document, as a part of a workflow in a workflow system that sequentially processes a plurality of processes constituting a workflow by a server device and a plurality of client terminals. One or more approvers are registered for each, and each process of the workflow including the approval process is sequentially executed, and approval of unapproved documents is collectively performed from the client terminal of the approver registered when the approval process is reached. It is something that is made to do.

  According to the present invention, by incorporating explicitly workflow approval process, at the design stage of the workflow, so who can decide whether to perform approval processing at any timing advance, be operated efficiently workflow it can.

  The control program, server device, and workflow system according to the present invention register an approval process at a necessary stage as one of the workflows, and when the workflow proceeds to the approval process, all the approvals that have been requested for approval so far Processing can be performed collectively.

  The control program according to the first aspect of the present invention has a function of registering an approval process as a part of a workflow in a computer that processes a plurality of processes constituting the workflow in cooperation with a plurality of client terminals on the network; A function for registering one or more approvers for each approval process, a function for sequentially executing each process of the workflow including the approval process, and the client terminal of the registered approver when the workflow process reaches the approval process And a function for batch approval of unapproved documents.

  According to the control program, by incorporating explicitly workflow approval process, at the design stage of the workflow, so who can decide whether to perform approval processing at any timing advance efficiently be operated workflow Can do.

  In addition, since the approval request is not sent to the approver until the start of the approval process, the approver decides whether or not to approve the document between the creation of the document that requires approval and the approval process. Since various workflow processes can be inserted, various workflows can be designed.

  Further, by collectively approving a plurality of unapproved documents in the approval process, a plurality of documents can be approved collectively, so that the burden on the approver can be reduced.

  The control program according to the second aspect of the present invention has a function of registering an approval process as a part of a workflow in a computer that processes a plurality of processes constituting a workflow in cooperation with a plurality of client terminals on a network. A function for registering one or more approvers for each approval process, a function for registering one or more approval target documents for each approval process, a function for sequentially executing each process of the workflow including the approval process, and a workflow When the above process reaches the approval process, the registered approver's client terminal collectively approves the registered approval target documents.

  According to the control program, by incorporating explicitly workflow approval process, at the design stage of the workflow, it is possible to determine who is to approve any document in which timing advance efficiently operate the workflow can do.

  In addition, since the approval request is not sent to the approver until the start of the approval process, the approver decides whether or not to approve the document between the creation of the document that requires approval and the approval process. Since various workflow processes can be inserted, various workflows can be designed.

  Furthermore, since a plurality of documents can be approved at once by collectively approving a plurality of documents in the approval process, the burden on the approver can be reduced.

  Furthermore, by associating the name of the document to be approved for each approval process, it becomes clear which document will be approved even if multiple approval processes are provided on one workflow. Can be performed separately.

  The control program according to the third aspect of the present invention has a function of registering an approval process as a part of a workflow in a computer that processes a plurality of processes constituting the workflow in cooperation with a plurality of client terminals on the network; A function that registers one or more approvers for each approval process, a function that sequentially executes each process of the workflow including the approval process, and a list of documents to be approved when the workflow process reaches the approval process And a function for enabling the approver's client terminal to select approval / disapproval for each document.

  According to the control program, by incorporating explicitly workflow approval process, at the design stage of the workflow, so who can decide whether to perform approval processing at any timing advance efficiently be operated workflow Can do.

  In addition, since the approval request is not sent to the approver until the start of the approval process, the approver decides whether or not to approve the document between the creation of the document that requires approval and the approval process. Since various workflow processes can be inserted, various workflows can be designed.

  Furthermore, since a plurality of unapproved documents can be approved / rejected on one screen, a plurality of documents can be approved together by a simple operation, so that the burden on the approver can be reduced.

  A control program according to a fourth aspect of the present invention has a function of registering an approval process as a part of a workflow in a computer that processes a plurality of processes constituting a workflow in cooperation with a plurality of client terminals on a network. A function for registering one or more approvers for each approval process, a function for registering one or more approval target documents for each approval process, a function for sequentially executing each process of the workflow including the approval process, and a workflow When the approval process reaches the approval process, a list of the documents to be approved is displayed, and the function of enabling the approval / rejection of each document to be selected from the client terminal of the approver is realized.

  According to the control program, by incorporating explicitly workflow approval process, at the design stage of the workflow, it is possible to determine who is to approve any document in which timing advance efficiently operate the workflow can do.

  In addition, since the approval request is not sent to the approver until the start of the approval process, the approver decides whether or not to approve the document between the creation of the document that requires approval and the approval process. Since various workflow processes can be inserted, various workflows can be designed.

  Furthermore, since a plurality of unapproved documents can be approved / rejected on one screen, a plurality of documents can be approved together by a simple operation, so that the burden on the approver can be reduced.

  Furthermore, by associating the name of the document to be approved for each approval process, it becomes clear which document will be approved even if multiple approval processes are provided on one workflow. Can be performed separately.

  A control program according to a fifth aspect of the present invention provides a document creation process that is a process for creating at least a document in a computer that processes a plurality of processes constituting a workflow in cooperation with a plurality of client terminals on a network. And a function for registering a workflow including an approval process for approving the created document, a function for registering one or more approvers for each approval process, and a document creation process for each approval process A function for registering a document to be approved as a document to be approved, a function for executing a plurality of processes of the workflow in the order of registration, and a list of the documents to be approved when the workflow process reaches the approval process. A function that allows the user to select whether or not to approve each document from the approver's client terminal, and whether to approve or reject all the documents to be approved. Is used for realizing the a function terminates the approval process workflow when is.

  According to the control program, by incorporating explicitly workflow approval process, at the design stage of the workflow, it is possible to determine who is to approve any document in which timing advance efficiently operate the workflow can do.

  Also, because the approver is not requested for approval until the start of the approval process, insert a process for the approver to determine whether to approve or reject the document between document creation and approval process, etc. A variety of workflows can be designed.

  Furthermore, since a plurality of approval target documents can be approved / rejected on a single screen, a plurality of documents can be approved together with a simple operation, so that the burden on the approver can be reduced.

  Furthermore, by associating the name of the document to be approved for each approval process, it becomes clear which document will be approved even if multiple approval processes are provided on one workflow. Can be performed separately.

  A control program according to a sixth aspect of the present invention is a document creation process that is a process for creating at least a document in a computer that processes a plurality of processes constituting a workflow in cooperation with a plurality of client terminals on a network. And a function for registering a workflow including an approval process for approving the created document, a function for registering one or more approvers for each document creation process, and one or more for each approval process. A function for registering an approver, a function for sequentially executing each process of a registered workflow, and an approver of the document creation process immediately after the document is created when the workflow process reaches the document creation process Function to individually approve the approved document, and when the workflow process reaches the approval process, the approval process from the client terminal of the approver of the approval process A function to perform collectively approval the associated full-text document is intended to realize.

  According to the control program, by incorporating explicitly workflow approval process, at the design stage of the workflow, so who can decide whether to perform approval processing at any timing advance efficiently be operated workflow Can do.

  In addition, whether or not to approve between the creation of a document that requires approval and the approval process, is not requested by the approver registered in the approval process until the approval process is started. Since a process of another workflow for the approver to make a determination can be inserted, a variety of workflows can be designed.

  Furthermore, for example, the approver set for each document is the section manager, and the approver of the workflow approval process is the department manager, so the department manager approves the documents individually approved by each section manager in the workflow approval process. Therefore, it is possible to operate various workflows according to the business contents by using both the approval for each document and the approval as a workflow.

  A control program according to a seventh aspect of the present invention is a document creation process that is a process for creating at least a document in a computer that processes a plurality of processes constituting a workflow in cooperation with a plurality of client terminals on a network. And a function for registering a workflow including an approval process for approving the created document, a function for registering one or more approvers for each approval process, and a document creation process for each approval process A function for registering a document to be approved as a document to be approved, and a list of the documents to be approved when workflow processing reaches the approval process, and whether or not to approve each document can be selected from the client terminal of the approver And when executing registration of the document creation process or approval process in the workflow, it is executed on a matrix format table composed of rows and columns. The function of registering by inserting each process name by number, and the procedure of starting the process of multiple columns in the same row simultaneously in the matrix format and sequentially executing the process of the next line when all the processes in the same line are completed The function to execute the workflow in the system is realized.

  According to the control program, by incorporating explicitly workflow approval process, at the design stage of the workflow, it is possible to determine who is to approve any document in which timing advance efficiently operate the workflow can do.

  Also, because the approver is not requested for approval until the start of the approval process, insert a process for the approver to determine whether to approve or reject the document between document creation and approval process, etc. A variety of workflows can be designed.

  Furthermore, since a plurality of approval target documents can be approved / rejected on a single screen, a plurality of documents can be approved together with a simple operation, so that the burden on the approver can be reduced.

  Furthermore, by associating the name of the document to be approved for each approval process, it becomes clear which document will be approved even if multiple approval processes are provided on one workflow. Can be performed separately.

  Further, since the execution order of each process in the row and the column has different meanings, the execution order of each process is shown in a visually easy-to-understand manner, so that the entire workflow can be designed easily.

  According to an eighth aspect of the present invention, in the control program according to any one of the first to seventh aspects, when the workflow process reaches the approval process, the approval process is requested to all the approvers registered in the approval process. It realizes the function to send notification emails.

  According to this control program, an approval request mail is automatically sent to a person set as an approver, so that the approver is surely notified that there is a document to be approved. be able to.

  According to a ninth aspect of the present invention, in the control program according to any one of the third to fifth or seventh aspects, when displaying the list of documents to be approved, the document content of the document is changed to the client of the approver. This realizes a function that can be referred to from a terminal.

  According to this control program, the document contents can be confirmed at the time of approval by linking each document content to the list display screen, so that the approver can view the document contents one by one and perform the approval process without error. Can do.

  According to a tenth aspect of the present invention, in the control program according to any one of the first to seventh aspects, when the approval is denied by the approver in the approval process, the rejection is notified to the creator of the denied document. It realizes the function to send e-mail.

  According to this control program, when a document is rejected, a mail is automatically sent to the document creator, so that the document creator knows that the document has been rejected. be able to.

  According to an eleventh aspect of the present invention, in the control program according to any one of the first to seventh aspects, a function for detecting whether the approver has approved or denied or unprocessed, and the detection result Based on this, a function for creating an approval confirmation screen indicating the approval status and a function for transmitting the approval confirmation screen to the client terminal in response to a request from the client terminal are realized.

  According to the present control program, it is possible to know whether the approval / rejection has been completed by managing the process of the approver and displaying the result, so that the current situation can be easily confirmed from other than the approver.

  According to a twelfth aspect of the present invention, in the control program according to any one of the first to seventh aspects, the mail of the approver of the approval process that has not approved or denied after the workflow process reaches the approval process. This realizes a function of sending an email prompting the approval process to the address.

  According to the present control program, an e-mail prompting the approval process can be sent to the approver, so that the approver can be prompted for approval without taking time and effort.

  In a thirteenth aspect of the present invention, in the control program according to any one of the first to seventh aspects, when a disapproval is determined by an approver, the workflow processing is returned to the creation of the rejected document. The function to redo the subsequent workflow is realized.

  According to this control program, since the workflow has a return function, the flow is automatically restarted from the creation of the document when denied, so that the workflow can proceed without contradiction.

  According to a fourteenth aspect of the present invention, in the control program according to any one of the first to sixth aspects, when a workflow is registered from a client terminal, the execution order is performed on a matrix-type table composed of rows and columns. The function of registering by inserting each process name in the procedure, and the process of executing the processing of a plurality of columns in the same row in the matrix format at the same time and sequentially executing the processing of the next row when all the processes in the same row are completed. And a function for executing the workflow.

  According to this control program, the execution order of each process in the row and column has different meanings, and the execution order of each process is shown visually, so the entire workflow can be designed easily It can be carried out.

  A server apparatus according to a fifteenth aspect of the present invention is a server apparatus that processes a plurality of processes constituting a workflow in cooperation with a plurality of client terminals on a network, and registers an approval process as a part of the workflow. Flow registration means, setting registration means for registering one or more approvers and one or more approval target documents for each approval process, workflow engine means for sequentially executing each process of the workflow including the approval process, and approval WWW server means for displaying a list of documents to be approved at the time of processing, transmitting an approval screen that allows selection from the approver's client terminal for each document, and receiving the input content to the approval screen; When approval is selected for all documents to be approved, control is performed so that the approval process of the workflow is terminated and the next process is executed. And control means, a configuration that includes take.

  According to this configuration, by incorporating explicitly workflow approval process, at the design stage of the workflow, it is possible to determine who is to approve any document in which timing advance efficiently operate the workflow be able to.

  In addition, since the approval request is not sent to the approver until the start of the approval process, the approver decides whether or not to approve the document between the creation of the document that requires approval and the approval process. Since various workflow processes can be inserted, various workflows can be designed.

  In addition, since a plurality of unapproved documents can be approved / rejected on a single screen, a plurality of documents can be approved together with a simple operation, so that the burden on the approver can be reduced.

  Furthermore, by associating the name of the document to be approved for each approval process, it becomes clear which document will be approved even if multiple approval processes are provided on one workflow. Can be performed separately.

  A server device according to a sixteenth aspect of the present invention is a server device that processes a plurality of processes constituting a workflow in cooperation with a plurality of client terminals on a network, and at least creates a document. A flow registration unit that registers a workflow including a document creation process and an approval process that approves the created document, and registers one or more approvers and one or more approval target documents for each approval process. Setting registration means, workflow engine means for executing a plurality of processes of the workflow in the order of registration, a list of documents to be approved at the time of approval processing, and whether or not approval is made for each document. WWW server means for transmitting an approval screen that can be selected from the terminal and receiving the input content to the approval screen, and for all the documents to be approved There are approved adopts a configuration comprising a control means for controlling so as to execute a completed following processes such approval workflow processing when selected.

  According to this configuration, by incorporating explicitly workflow approval process, at the design stage of the workflow, it is possible to determine who is to approve any document in which timing advance efficiently operate the workflow be able to.

  Also, because the approver is not requested for approval until the start of the approval process, insert a process for the approver to determine whether to approve or reject the document between document creation and approval process, etc. A variety of workflows can be designed.

  Furthermore, since a plurality of approval target documents can be approved / rejected on a single screen, a plurality of documents can be approved together with a simple operation, so that the burden on the approver can be reduced.

  Furthermore, by associating the name of the document to be approved for each approval process, it becomes clear which document will be approved even if multiple approval processes are provided on one workflow. Can be performed separately.

  A seventeenth aspect of the present invention is the server device according to the sixteenth aspect, further comprising approver registration means for registering one or more approvers for each document creation process, wherein the workflow engine means performs workflow processing. Immediately after the document is created when the document creation process is reached, the created document is individually approved from the client terminal of the approver of the document creation process, and the approval is made when the workflow process reaches the approval process. A configuration is adopted in which the approval of all the documents associated with the approval process is collectively performed from the client terminal of the process approver.

  According to this configuration, for example, an approver set for each document is a section manager, and an approver of a workflow approval process is a section manager, so that a section manager approves a document approved by each section manager in the workflow approval process. Since the approval can be performed in a lump, various workflows can be operated according to the business contents by using both the approval for each document and the approval as a workflow.

  According to an eighteenth aspect of the present invention, in the server device according to the fifteenth or sixteenth aspect, the WWW server means transmits a registration screen in a matrix format including rows and columns to the client terminal at the time of workflow registration, and The input content to the registration screen is received, the flow registration unit registers the processing name of the workflow inserted in the matrix format together with the insertion order, and the workflow engine unit, based on the registration content of the flow registration unit, In the matrix format, the processing of a plurality of columns in the same row is started at the same time, and the processing of the next row is sequentially executed when all the processing in the same row is completed.

  According to this configuration, the execution order of activities is shown in an easy-to-understand manner by assigning different meanings to the execution order of each process in the row and column, so the entire workflow can be designed easily. Can do.

  A workflow system according to a nineteenth aspect of the present invention is a workflow system that sequentially processes a plurality of processes constituting a workflow by a server apparatus and a plurality of client terminals, and the server apparatus is a process that approves a document. Approval processing is registered as part of the workflow, and one or more approvers and one or more approval target documents are registered for each approval processing, and the server device sequentially executes and approves each processing of the workflow including the approval processing. When processing is reached, an approval screen is displayed in response to a request from the approver's client terminal to display a list of the documents to be approved and whether to approve each document, and for all the documents to be approved When the approval is selected, the server device adopts a configuration in which the approval process of the workflow is ended and the process proceeds to the next process.

  According to this configuration, by incorporating explicitly workflow approval process, at the design stage of the workflow, it is possible to determine who is to approve any document in which timing advance efficiently operate the workflow be able to.

  In addition, since the approval request is not sent to the approver until the start of the approval process, the approver decides whether or not to approve the document between the creation of the document that requires approval and the approval process. Since various workflow processes can be inserted, various workflows can be designed.

  Furthermore, since a plurality of unapproved documents can be approved / rejected on one screen, a plurality of documents can be approved together by a simple operation, so that the burden on the approver can be reduced.

  Furthermore, by associating the name of the document to be approved for each approval process, it becomes clear which document will be approved even if multiple approval processes are provided on one workflow. Can be performed separately.

  A workflow system according to a twentieth aspect of the present invention is a workflow system that sequentially processes a plurality of processes constituting a workflow by a server apparatus and a plurality of client terminals, and the server apparatus is a process that creates at least a document. A workflow including a document creation process and an approval process that is a process for approving the created document is registered. Further, for each approval process, one or more approvers and a document created by the document creation process are registered as approval targets. When the server apparatus executes a plurality of processes of the workflow in the order of registration and reaches the approval process, the document to be approved is displayed in a list in response to a request from the client terminal of the approver 1 When an approval screen for selecting whether to approve each document is sent and approval is selected for all the documents to be approved Over server apparatus employs a configuration in which the transition ends the approval processing of the workflow to the next processing.

  According to this configuration, by incorporating explicitly workflow approval process, at the design stage of the workflow, it is possible to determine who is to approve any document in which timing advance efficiently operate the workflow be able to.

  Also, because the approver is not requested for approval until the start of the approval process, insert a process for the approver to determine whether to approve or reject the document between document creation and approval process, etc. A variety of workflows can be designed.

  Furthermore, since a plurality of approval target documents can be approved / rejected on a single screen, a plurality of documents can be approved together with a simple operation, so that the burden on the approver can be reduced.

  Furthermore, by associating the name of the document to be approved for each approval process, it becomes clear which document will be approved even if multiple approval processes are provided on one workflow. Can be performed separately.

  According to a twenty-first aspect of the present invention, in the workflow system according to the twentieth aspect, an approver of a document created by the document creation process is registered in advance in a server device, and the workflow reaches the document creation process. Immediately after the document is created, the created document is individually approved from the client terminal of the approver of the document creation process, and when the workflow process reaches the approval process, the client terminal of the approver of the approval process In other words, a configuration is adopted in which all documents associated with the approval process are collectively approved.

  According to this configuration, for example, an approver set for each document is a section manager, and an approver of a workflow approval process is a section manager, so that a section manager approves a document approved by each section manager in the workflow approval process. Since the approval can be performed in a lump, various workflows can be operated according to the business contents by using both the approval for each document and the approval as a workflow.

  According to a twenty-second aspect of the present invention, in the workflow system according to the nineteenth or twentieth aspect, the server device transmits a registration screen in a matrix format composed of rows and columns to the client terminal when the workflow is registered, and the registration Based on the contents registered on the screen, the processing of a plurality of columns in the same row is started simultaneously in the matrix format, and the processing of the next row is sequentially executed when all the processing in the same row is completed.

  According to this configuration, the execution order of activities is shown in an easy-to-understand manner by assigning different meanings to the execution order of each process in the row and column, so the entire workflow can be designed easily. Can do.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a network configuration to which a workflow system according to an embodiment of the present invention is applied. This network is a client / server type network, and shows a network in which a plurality of client terminals 102 to 108 are connected to a single server device (hereinafter referred to as “server”) 101.

  In this embodiment, assuming a network built in a company, client terminals 103 to 105 are used by employees belonging to section B of section A, and client terminals 106 to 108 are connected to section C of section A. It shall be used by employees belonging to. The client terminals 103 and 106 are used as section managers of section B and section C, respectively, and the client terminal 102 is used as a section manager of section A.

  This workflow system is a system mainly for the purpose of improving the efficiency of business procedures by programming business procedures related to document creation. The server 101 manages document data created on the workflow system, manages business processing such as approval processing and circulation processing of the created document data, and the execution status of these business processing. The client terminals 102 to 108 connected to the network can receive provision of the workflow system by activating an installed WEB browser.

  In this workflow system, a series of business procedures related to document creation is called a JOB flow. This JOB flow is configured by combining business processing such as document creation processing, approval processing, circulation processing, and meeting processing. These business processes constituting the JOB flow are called activities. A JOB flow suitable for various business procedures can be configured by freely combining the activities.

  FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a configuration in the server that provides the workflow system according to the present embodiment.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the server 101 includes a WWW server unit 201 that transmits an HTML document in response to an access request from a WEB browser installed in each client terminal. An HTML document is transmitted and received between the WWW server unit 201 and the WEB browser according to the HTTP protocol. The HTML document sent out by the WWW server unit 201 is created by the HTTP screen creation processing unit 202.

  The workflow engine unit 203 includes a JOB main processing unit 204, a JOB status management unit 205, a JOB flow rule analysis unit 206, and a JOB flow processing unit 207, and executes various processes necessary for executing the JOB flow. Execution of various processes in the workflow engine unit is controlled by the JOB main processing unit 204. At the time of such control, the JOB main processing unit 204 uses information from the JOB status management unit 205 and the JOB flow rule analysis unit 206, and gives an instruction to the JOB flow processing unit 207 based on the information.

  The job status management unit 205 manages the status of each activity included in the job flow being executed. The JOB flow rule analysis unit 206 determines completion of each activity included in the JOB flow, and determines whether there is a subsequent activity. The JOB flow processing unit 207 executes each activity included in the JOB flow.

  The user account management unit 208 manages identification information for each user and its execution environment. For example, a password for logging in to the workflow system is managed for each user. The JOB template management unit 209 manages a template in which a JOB flow is registered (hereinafter referred to as “JOB template”). The JOB template managed by the JOB template management unit 209 is used when a similar or similar JOB flow is registered later.

  The JOB flow management unit 210 manages JOB flow information that is currently being executed and has not yet been completed. When there are a plurality of currently executed JOB flows, the JOB flow management unit 210 manages a plurality of JOB flows. The activity management unit 211 manages activity execution conditions. For example, parameters specified in various activities are managed.

  The JOB data management unit 212 manages data necessary for an executing JOB flow or data created in an activity included in an executing JOB flow. In the JOB data management unit 212, data (common data) used in common with the execution of the JOB flow and data (user data) used corresponding to each user are managed. In FIG. 2, only the part corresponding to the user 1 and the user 2 is displayed as the user data management unit. The log management unit 213 manages the operation log of this workflow system.

  The data managed by the JOB template management unit 209, the JOB flow management unit 210, the activity management unit 211, and the JOB data management unit 212 is used by the JOB flow processing unit 207, and is managed by the user account management unit 208 and the log management unit 213. The data is used by the JOB main processing unit 204.

  Hereinafter, processing in the workflow system provided by the server 101 having the above configuration will be described. FIG. 3 is a flowchart for explaining the processing of the server 101 according to the present embodiment. Here, processing when the server 101 according to the present embodiment sets a JOB flow in the workflow system and processing when executing or saving the set JOB flow will be described.

  A user who wishes to set a JOB flow first activates a WEB browser on the client terminal and accesses a URL predetermined for the workflow system. Receiving the access, the server 101 sends a login screen to the client terminal. The login screen displayed on the client terminal is pre-assigned to users in order to prevent unauthorized use of information for identifying users (hereinafter referred to as “user ID”) and users who do not have access rights. There is a password entry field. The user requests login after inputting the information.

  If the user ID and password input from the login screen are received, the server 101 determines whether or not the user has properly logged in (ST301). Specifically, it is determined whether or not the user has been properly logged in by comparing the received user ID and password with information managed by the user account management unit 208.

  If logged in appropriately, server 101 sends the initial screen of the workflow system shown in FIG. 4 to the client terminal and displays it on the display unit of the client terminal (ST302). When the server 101 sends an initial screen to the client terminal, information necessary for creating the initial screen is acquired from the JOB data management unit 212, and the HTML document created by the HTTP screen creation processing unit 202 is converted into the WWW server unit 201. Sent out. In the following description, the screen sent from the server 101 to the client terminal is the same.

  On the initial screen, as shown in FIG. 4, a new arrival information confirmation button 401 for confirming new arrival information for requesting execution of an activity delivered to the user, for confirming an activity to be processed by the user. Activity confirmation button 402, JOB flow confirmation button 403 for confirming the contents of the JOB flow being executed or completed, JOB flow setting button 404 for setting the JOB flow, and changing the password assigned to the user. A password change button 405 for logging out and a logout button 406 for logging out are provided. In the state in which the initial screen is displayed, the area to the right of each button (hereinafter referred to as “data area”) is displayed to notify newly arrived information addressed to the user.

  After displaying such an initial screen on the client terminal, the server 101 determines whether the JOB flow setting button 404 has been selected (ST303). If selected, the JOB flow setting screen shown in FIG. 5 is sent to the client terminal and displayed on the display unit of the client terminal (ST304).

  As shown in FIG. 5, the JOB flow setting screen displays buttons similar to those on the initial screen, and a list of JOB templates corresponding to the JOB flow previously set in the data area. The contents of each JOB template are displayed by selecting the JOB button 501. Further, the job flow setting screen is provided with a new creation button 502 for setting a new job flow and an input field 503 for inputting the name of the job template corresponding to the new job flow.

  If the previously set JOB template does not exist, only the new creation button 502 and the input field 503 are displayed. The reason why the JOB template corresponding to the previously set JOB flow is displayed is to simplify the setting of the JOB flow by referring to the JOB template. FIG. 5 shows a case where three JOB templates with names “test”, “JOB flow design”, and “circulation test” are displayed.

  After displaying such a JOB flow setting screen on the client terminal, the server 101 determines whether the JOB button 501 or the new creation button 502 has been selected (ST305). If selected, the JOB template screen shown in FIG. 6 is sent to the client terminal and displayed on the display unit of the client terminal (ST306).

  As shown in FIG. 6, the JOB template screen displays the same buttons as the initial screen, and displays the name of the JOB template, the name of the JOB flow, and the contents of the JOB flow set in the JOB template in the data area. Is done. That is, the activity button 601 corresponding to the activity that constitutes the JOB flow is displayed. When the JOB button 501 is selected from the JOB flow setting screen of FIG. 5, an activity button 601 constituting the JOB flow set in the JOB template is displayed, and the new creation button 502 is selected in FIG. In this case, an IDLE button indicating that no activity is set is displayed as the activity button 601. Data displayed in the data area of the JOB template screen is managed by the JOB template management unit 209. FIG. 6 shows a case where the new creation button 502 is selected.

  In the JOB template screen of FIG. 6, an execution button 602 for instructing execution of the JOB flow set in the selected JOB template, and storage for instructing saving of the contents of the JOB flow set in the selected JOB template. A button 603 and a cancel button 604 for instructing to discard the contents of the JOB flow set in the selected JOB template are provided.

  On the JOB template screen, each activity is displayed in a matrix format consisting of rows and columns. The activities set in the same line indicate that they are executed at the same time, and after all the activities in the line are executed, the activity moves to the execution of the activity set in the next line. Since the execution order of each process of the JOB flow is given different meanings in the rows and columns in this way, the execution order of each process is shown in an easily understandable manner, so that the entire JOB flow can be easily designed. it can. The order of execution of each activity will be described later.

  After displaying such a JOB template screen on the client terminal, the server 101 determines whether the activity button 601 has been selected (ST307). If selected, the activity setting screen shown in FIG. 7 is sent to the client terminal and displayed on the display unit of the client terminal (ST308).

  As shown in FIG. 7, the activity setting screen displays the same buttons as the initial screen, and also displays an activity change button 701 for changing the content of the selected activity and the content in the data area. The The activity change button 701 is provided with an “IDLE” button, a “circulation” button, a “document creation” button, a “meeting” button, and an “approval” button. By selecting any button, the content of the selected activity ("IDLE" in FIG. 7) can be changed to the activity corresponding to that button.

  In the present embodiment, as shown by the activity change button 701, “document creation activity”, “approval activity”, “circulation activity”, and “meeting activity” are prepared. The “document creation activity” is an activity for creating a specific document on the JOB flow, and the “approval activity” is an activity for approving a document on the JOB flow. The “circulation activity” is an activity for circulating a document on the JOB flow, and the “meeting activity” is an activity for exchanging opinions on a certain theme on the JOB flow.

  In addition, on the activity setting screen, as the contents of the selected activity, a JOB flow name, an activity ID for identifying the activity, and a button indicating the current activity are displayed. In the activity ID, information for specifying any activity displayed in a matrix format on the JOB template screen is displayed.

  FIG. 7 shows a case where the IDLE button as the activity button 601 is selected from the JOB template screen shown in FIG. Also, “1-1” is displayed as the activity ID in order to identify the activity displayed on the leftmost side of the first line among the activities displayed in the matrix format.

  Further, a registration button 702 for instructing registration of the activity displayed on the activity setting screen and a cancel button 703 for returning to the JOB template screen shown in FIG. 6 are provided.

  After displaying such an activity setting screen on the client terminal, the server 101 determines whether any one of the activity change buttons 701 is selected. Specifically, it is determined whether an IDLE button, a document creation button, an approval button, a circulation button, and a meeting button are selected (ST801 to ST805 in FIG. 8).

  If any of the document creation button, the approval button, the circulation button, and the meeting button is selected, the process proceeds to the corresponding document creation setting process, approval setting process, circulation setting process, and meeting setting process (ST806 to ST809). . Here, each setting process will be described.

  FIG. 9 is a flowchart for explaining the document creation setting process. The document creation setting process (ST806) is a process for setting the creator or the like when a document creation activity is incorporated in the JOB flow.

  When the document creation button is selected and the process proceeds to the document creation setting process, the server 101 sends the document creation activity setting screen shown in FIG. 10 to the client terminal and displays it on the display unit of the client terminal (ST901). In the document creation activity setting screen, as shown in FIG. 10, “activity name”, “document approver”, “document sender”, “created document name”, “created document format”, “comment”, “email” "Title" and "Mail comment" are displayed.

  In the “document approver”, a person responsible for approving the document created by this document creation activity is designated. When the creation of the document is completed, an email requesting the approval is transmitted to the designated approver. By checking the check box provided in the “document approver” column, it is possible to omit the process of performing the approval immediately after the document is created (hereinafter referred to as “document approval process”). . This document approval process will be described later. In “document sender”, a person in charge of creating a document is designated. For example, in the diagram showing the configuration of FIG. 1, the members 104 and 105 of the B section or the members 107 and 108 of the C section are designated as document senders. In “Created document name”, the name of the document to be created is specified. In the “created document format”, a format of a document created as necessary is registered in advance.

  In “Comments”, an outline of the document to be created is written. In “Mail title”, a title of a processing request mail described later is designated, and in “Mail comment”, a comment in the processing request mail is designated. The same contents are specified for the “comment”, “mail title”, and “mail comment” in the following setting process.

  In addition, the document creation activity setting screen in FIG. 10 includes a registration button for instructing registration of the specified content, a reset button for canceling the specified content, and a cancel button for returning the processing to the activity setting screen shown in FIG. .

  After displaying such a document creation activity setting screen on the client terminal, the server 101 receives various parameters such as a document sender (ST902), and determines whether the registration button, the reset button, and the cancel button are selected. (ST903 to ST905).

  If the registration button and the cancel button are selected, the document creation activity setting process is terminated. When the registration button is selected, the document creation activity is set, and the parameters specified in the document creation setting process are managed by the activity management unit 211. If the reset button is selected, the process returns to ST901.

  FIG. 11 is a flowchart for explaining the approval setting process. The approval setting process is a process for setting an approver or the like when an approval activity is incorporated into a JOB flow.

  When the approval button is selected on the activity setting screen shown in FIG. 7 and the process proceeds to the approval setting process (ST807), the server 101 sends the approval activity setting screen shown in FIG. 12 to the client terminal and displays it on the display unit of the client terminal. (ST1101 in FIG. 11). As shown in FIG. 12, “Activity name”, “Approver”, “Approval document”, “Comment”, “Mail title”, and “Mail comment” are displayed on the approval activity setting screen. In addition, a registration button, a reset button, and a cancel button having the same functions as those on the document creation activity setting screen are provided.

  In the “approver”, a person responsible for approving a document created by the preceding document creation activity is designated. For example, in the diagram showing the configuration of FIG. 1, the section manager 103 of section B, the section manager 106 of section C, or the section manager 102 of section A is designated as the approver. A plurality of responsible persons can be designated as the “approver”. In the “approval document”, a document to be approved is designated. In the “approval document”, a plurality of documents to be subjected to the approval process can be designated.

  After displaying such an approval activity setting screen on the client terminal, the server 101 receives various parameters such as an approver (ST1102), and determines whether a registration button, a reset button, and a cancel button are selected (ST1103). ~ ST1105).

  If the registration button and the cancel button are selected, the approval activity setting process is terminated. When the registration button is selected, the approval activity is set, and the parameters specified in the approval setting process are managed by the activity management unit 211. If the reset button is selected, the process returns to ST1101.

  FIG. 13 is a flowchart for explaining the circulation setting process of ST808 of FIG. The circulation setting process is a process for setting a circulation target person or the like when a circulation activity is incorporated in a JOB flow.

  When the circulation button is selected on the activity setting screen shown in FIG. 7 and the process proceeds to the circulation setting process, the server 101 sends the circulation activity setting screen shown in FIG. 14 to the client terminal to be displayed on the display unit of the client terminal (ST1301). . In the circulation activity setting screen, as shown in FIG. 14, “activity name”, “transmission responsible person”, “sender”, “circulation document”, “comment”, “mail title”, “mail comment”, and “mail comment” Confirmation method "is displayed. In addition, a registration button, a reset button, and a cancel button having the same functions as those on the document creation activity setting screen are provided.

  In the “transmission responsible person”, a person who sets this activity, that is, a person who instructs circulation is designated. The designated person responsible for transmission is notified when the circulation by the circulation target person is completed. In “Sender”, a circulation target person is designated. A plurality of circulation target persons can be designated as “sender”. It can be specified for each user and for each group.

  In “circulation document”, a document to be subjected to circulation processing is designated. In the “circulation document”, for example, a document created by a document creation activity is designated. In the “confirmation method”, the type of confirmation method is designated. There are two types of confirmation methods: one indicating only that the circulation document has been confirmed and one indicating whether or not the contents of the circulation document can be understood or cannot be understood (impossible). FIG. 14 shows a case where the latter type is designated.

  After displaying such a circulation activity setting screen on the client terminal, the server 101 receives various parameters such as a sender (ST1302), and determines whether a registration button, a reset button, and a cancel button are selected (ST1303). ~ ST1305).

  If the registration button and the cancel button are selected, the circulation activity setting process is terminated. When the registration button is selected, the circulation activity is set, and the parameters specified in the circulation setting process are managed by the activity management unit 211. If the reset button is selected, the process returns to ST1301.

  FIG. 15 is a flowchart for explaining the meeting setting process of ST809 in FIG. The meeting setting process is a process for setting participants and the like in a meeting when a meeting activity is incorporated in the JOB flow.

  When the meeting button is selected on the activity setting screen of FIG. 7 and the process proceeds to the meeting setting process, the server 101 sends the meeting activity setting screen shown in FIG. 16 to the client terminal to be displayed on the display unit of the client terminal (ST1501). . In the meeting activity setting screen, as shown in FIG. 16, “activity name”, “administrator”, “participant”, “meeting title”, “comment”, “email title”, and “email comment” are displayed. The In addition, a registration button, a reset button, and a cancel button having the same functions as those on the document creation activity setting screen are provided.

  In the “manager”, the manager of this meeting activity is designated. In the JOB user data management unit corresponding to the manager in the JOB data management unit 212, an area in which the opinions of participants to be described later are written is formed. Such an area is referred to as a “bulletin board area” because participants can access in common. In addition, the manager is given the authority to close the meeting started in this activity. Note that the meeting activity does not end unless the closing process is performed by the administrator.

  In “Participant”, a participant in the meeting is designated. A plurality of participants can be designated as “participants”. For example, it can be specified for each user and can be specified for each group. The “meeting title” specifies a theme (subject) to be exchanged in the meeting.

  After displaying such a meeting activity setting screen on the client terminal, the server 101 receives various parameters such as an administrator (ST1502), and determines whether a registration button, a reset button, and a cancel button are selected (ST1503). ~ ST1505).

  If the registration button and the cancel button are selected, the meeting activity setting process ends. When the registration button is selected, the meeting activity is set, and the parameters specified in the meeting setting process are managed by the activity management unit 211. If the reset button is selected, the process returns to ST1501.

  After completing these setting processes, the server 101 determines whether the registration button 702 or the cancel button 703 has been selected from the activity setting screen of FIG. 7 (ST810 and ST811 shown in FIG. 8). When the IDLE button is selected, it is determined whether the registration button 702 or the cancel button 703 has been selected without performing various setting processes (ST810 and ST811).

  If the registration button 702 or the cancel button 703 is selected, the setting process of the selected activity is completed (in the case of the registration button), or the setting process of activities other than the selected activity is desired ( In the case of a cancel button), the process returns to ST306 shown in FIG. 3, and the JOB template screen is displayed. If not selected, the process returns to ST801.

  By selecting the registration button 702 in FIG. 7, the activity selected in the previous ST307 is set as the desired activity. Furthermore, when setting another activity, a different activity is selected again from the JOB template screen, and setting processing is performed for the activity. By repeating such setting processing, the JOB flow desired by the user can be set in the JOB template.

  If the execution button 602 is selected on the JOB template screen of FIG. 6 (ST309), the process proceeds to execution processing of the JOB flow set or selected immediately before (ST312). The execution process of this JOB flow will be described later. If the save button 603 is selected (ST310), the JOB template in which the JOB flow set or selected immediately before is registered is saved (ST313). The JOB template is stored in the JOB template management unit 209. If cancel button 604 is selected (ST311), the JOB template in which the JOB flow set or selected immediately before is registered is discarded (ST314).

  Then, after finishing the execution process of the JOB flow, or after saving or discarding the JOB template, the server 101 ends the process. If none of the activity button 601, the execution button 602, the save button 603, and the cancel button 604 is selected, the process returns to ST307.

  FIG. 17 is a diagram illustrating an example of a JOB template stored when the save button 603 is selected. In FIG. 17, two document creation activities are set on the first line, one approval activity is set on the second line, one circulation activity is set on the third line, and one meeting activity is set on the fourth line. Shows a JOB flow in which is set. Such a JOB template is stored in the JOB template management unit 209.

  FIG. 18 is a flowchart for explaining the execution process of the JOB flow in ST312 of FIG. The job flow execution process refers to a process of detecting an unprocessed activity among the activities set in the JOB flow and requesting the process of the activity. Such execution processing is performed for each line set in the JOB flow, and the execution processing for the next line is not performed before the execution processing for each line is completed.

  When the execution button 602 is selected from the JOB template screen of FIG. 6 and the process proceeds to the execution process of the JOB flow, the server 101 performs the initialization process of data necessary for the execution process of the JOB flow (ST1801). Here, the data necessary for the execution processing of the JOB flow is a value of a loop counter for counting JOB loops, a line number of an activity, or a position on the line.

  After performing the initialization process, the server 101 checks the status of the activity of the processing target line in the JOB flow (ST1802). First, the first line set in the JOB flow becomes the first processing target line, and the second line becomes the processing target line following the processing of the first line.

  First, the activity status of the first line set in the JOB flow is confirmed. If there are a plurality of activities on the first line, their statuses are confirmed at the same time. The activity status includes “unprocessed”, “processing requested”, and “finished”. In the activity status confirmation process, these statuses are confirmed (ST1803 to ST1805).

  When detecting an activity whose status is “unprocessed”, the server 101 transmits a processing request mail requesting the processing of the activity (ST1806). This processing request mail is transmitted to the user specified in the activity. In this processing request mail, a URL that can directly access the activity when the recipient clicks is described. The URL described in the processing request mail includes an activity ID and a JOB flow ID for identifying the activity.

  After transmitting the processing request mail, the server 101 updates the status of this activity (ST1807). The status is updated from “unprocessed” to “processing requested” when the processing request mail is transmitted, and is updated from “processing requested” to “finished” when the activity is actually executed.

  When the status of the activity is updated, the server 101 determines whether the activity is the final activity of the target line (ST1808). If it is the final activity, it is determined whether the statuses of the activities on the line are all “end” (ST1809).

  If at least one “processing request” activity remains, the job flow execution process ends. This is to avoid processing the activity on the subsequent line in a state where the activity on the preceding line is not processed.

  On the other hand, if all the statuses are “end”, it is determined whether or not the target line is the last line of the JOB flow (ST1810). If it is the last line, the JOB flow execution process is terminated. On the other hand, if it is not the last line, the target line is incremented (ST1811), and the processing from ST1802 is performed again.

  If the activity status of the target line is “processing requested” or “finished” (ST1804 and ST1805), the processing from ST1808 is similarly performed, but the status of the activity corresponds to both. If not, error processing is performed, and then processing is interrupted (ST1806).

  Next, processing when an activity is executed in the server according to the present embodiment will be described. The recipient of the processing request mail sent in the execution process of the JOB flow described above, when executing the requested activity, accesses this server by clicking the URL described in the processing request mail. It becomes.

  In the flowchart of FIG. 19, the server 101 accepts access from this recipient (ST1901), and when there is access, extracts information such as a JOB flow ID and activity ID from the URL (ST1902). Based on the extracted information, the corresponding activity is searched (ST1903), and it is determined whether the status of the activity is unprocessed (ST1904). If the activity has been executed, the server 101 sends a notification indicating that the activity has been executed to the accessing user, and displays it on the display unit of the client terminal (ST1905).

  On the other hand, if the activity is not yet processed, it is determined whether the activity is a document creation activity, an approval activity, a circulation activity, or a meeting activity in order to perform processing according to the processing content of the activity ( ST1906 to ST1909).

  If the activity is a document creation activity, the process proceeds to a document creation activity process (ST1910). If the activity is an approval activity, the process proceeds to an approval activity process (ST1911). If the activity is a circulation activity, the process proceeds to a circulation activity process (ST1912). If it is a meeting activity, the process proceeds to meeting activity processing (ST1913). If the activity does not correspond to any activity, a notification indicating that an error has occurred is sent out and displayed on the display unit of the client terminal (ST1914), and then the process ends. To do.

  FIG. 20 is a flowchart for explaining the document creation activity process of ST1910. Note that the document creation activity process shown in FIG. 20 shows the case where “document approver” in FIG. 10 is not specified in the document creation setting process (the check box is checked). The document creation activity process in which “document approver” is designated will be described later.

  After shifting to the document creation activity, the server 101 sends the document creation activity processing screen shown in FIG. 21 to the client terminal and displays it on the display unit of the client terminal (ST2001).

  In the document creation activity processing screen, as shown in FIG. 21, “JOB flow name”, “activity name”, “activity ID”, “activity”, “comment”, “creation document format” and “creation” are created in the data area. “Document Name” is displayed. In addition, an execution button indicating completion of document creation by the user and a cancel button for instructing interruption of document creation activity processing are provided. The example shown in FIG. 21 shows a case where a template of a document is prepared in “Created document format” and “Program summary” is displayed as “Created document name”.

  After displaying such a document creation activity processing screen, the user creates an instructed document using a template as necessary, and the server 101 accepts the created document (ST2002). The received created document is stored in a memory allocated in advance to the user.

  After receiving the created document, the server 101 determines whether an execution button or a cancel button has been selected (ST2003, ST2004). If the execution button is selected, the server 101 updates the status of the document creation activity (ST2005), and ends the document creation activity process. With this status update, the status of the document creation activity is updated from “processing requested” to “finished”. When the cancel button is selected, the server 101 interrupts the document creation activity process.

  When the document creation activity process ends, the server 101 performs the job flow execution process described with reference to FIG. 18, as shown in FIG. The job flow execution process is performed after the document creation activity process is completed. The status of the document creation activity is “finished”, so that the JOB flow including the document creation activity is completed or another activity is executed. This is to determine what should be done. The same applies to the execution processing of the following activities.

  FIG. 22 is a flowchart for explaining the approval activity process of ST1911 of FIG. After shifting to the approval activity, the server 101 sends the approval activity processing screen shown in FIG. 23 to the client terminal and displays it on the display unit of the client terminal (ST2201).

  As shown in FIG. 23, “JOB flow name”, “activity name”, “activity ID”, “activity”, and “comment” are displayed in the data area on the approval activity processing screen. In addition, a list of approved documents including an icon linked to the approved document data is displayed. In addition, an execution button indicating completion of approval by the user and a cancel button indicating interruption of the approval activity process are provided. In the example shown in FIG. 23, the case where two approval documents are displayed in the list of approval documents is shown.

  After displaying such an approval activity processing screen, the server 101 performs an approval / denial process for accepting a decision to approve or reject the approval document from the user (ST2202).

  FIG. 24 is a flowchart for explaining the approval / denial processing. When performing the approval / denial processing, the server 101 first searches for and confirms the target JOB flow from the URL described in the processing request mail (ST2401). Information (hereinafter referred to as “approval information”) that is subject to approval processing is acquired from the JOB template corresponding to the determined JOB flow (ST2402), sent to the client terminal, and the approval document is displayed on the display unit of the client terminal. In addition, document attributes such as the creator and date of creation are displayed (ST2403).

  After the display, if an approved document is selected (ST2404), the approved document is displayed on the display unit for confirmation (ST2405), and if no approved document is selected, it is directly displayed. Then, it is determined whether there is a selection of approval or denial from the user (ST2406, ST2407). Since the document contents can be confirmed at the time of approval by linking the document contents to the list screen in this way, the approver can view the document contents one by one and perform the approval process without error. When either approval or denial is selected, the approval / denial process is terminated. If there is no selection, the process returns to ST2404 and the process is repeated.

  After completing the approval / denial processing, the server 101 determines whether an execution button or a cancel button has been selected (ST2203, ST2204). If the execute button is selected, the server 101 updates the status of the approval activity (ST2205), and then ends the approval activity process. If approval is selected for all approval documents by this status update, the status of the approval activity is updated from “processing requested” to “finished”. On the other hand, when disapproval is selected for any approval document, the status of the approval activity remains “Processing Requested” and is not updated, and the status of the document creation activity when the approval document is created is It is updated from “End” to “Unprocessed”. If the cancel button is selected, the server 101 interrupts the approval activity process.

  After completing the approval activity process, the server 101 performs a job flow execution process (FIG. 18) including the approval activity in the same manner as the document creation activity. In the approval activity, if the status is “finished”, the processing of the activity after the approval activity is confirmed, the status is “processing requested”, and the status is before the activity. If there is an “unprocessed” document creation activity, the document creation activity is processed.

  FIGS. 25 and 26 are flowcharts for explaining the document creation activity process when “document approver” is designated (the check box is not checked) in the document creation setting process of FIG. . In FIG. 25 and FIG. 26, the processes denoted by the same reference numerals as those in FIG. 20 and FIG.

  The document creation activity process when “document approver” is designated is different from the document creation activity process when “document approver” is not designated in the process after the execution button is selected in ST2003. . When the execute button is selected, server 101 determines whether “document approver” is designated (ST2501).

  If “document approver” is not designated, the status of the document creation activity is updated from “processing requested” to “finished” (ST2502), and then the document creation activity process is terminated. On the other hand, if it is designated, the status of the document creation activity is updated from “processing requested” to “unprocessed” (ST2503), and then the document creation activity process is terminated.

  When the document creation activity process is completed, the server 101 performs the job flow execution process of FIG. 18, but the status of the document creation activity is “process” because “document approver” is designated. If it is updated from “in request” to “unprocessed”, a processing request mail is transmitted to the user designated as “document approver” (ST1806). When there is an access from such “document approver” (ST 1901 in FIG. 19), the process proceeds to the document creation activity process again (ST 1910).

  When the process proceeds to the document creation activity process in such a procedure, the server 101 sends the document creation activity process screen shown in FIG. 27 to the client terminal and displays it on the display unit of the client terminal (ST2601 in FIG. 26). ). This document creation activity processing screen displays an approval document including an icon linked to the approval document data in addition to the elements shown in FIG. In addition, an approval button indicating approval by the “document approver”, a denial button indicating rejection, and a cancel button indicating interruption of the document creation activity process are provided.

  After displaying such a document creation activity processing screen, the server 101 performs processing similar to the approval activity processing described with reference to FIG. In other words, after the approval / denial process for accepting the approval or denial of the approval document from the user is performed (ST2202), it is determined whether the execution button or the cancel button is selected (ST2203, ST2204), and the execution button is selected. If so, the server 101 updates the status of the document creation activity (ST2205), and ends the document creation activity process.

  When an approver is provided in the document creation activity, the section manager can be approved for each document, and the manager can be further approved by the approval activity. However, in this case, the approver of the document creation activity will receive an approval request email each time a document is created, so if there are many approvals, the approver activity will not be established in the document creation activity. It is also possible to use a method in which the approver is the section manager and the approver is the general manager in the subsequent line approval activities.

  FIG. 28 is a flowchart for explaining the circulation activity process. After shifting to the circulation activity, the server 101 sends the circulation activity processing screen shown in FIG. 29 to the client terminal and displays it on the display unit of the client terminal (ST2801).

  On the circulation activity processing screen, as shown in FIG. 29, “JOB flow name”, “activity name”, “activity ID”, “activity”, and “comment” are displayed in the data area. In addition, an approval document including an icon linked to the circulation document data is displayed. In addition, an OK button indicating that the contents of the circulation document have been approved by the user, a disabling button indicating that the user cannot understand, and a cancel button indicating interruption of the circulation activity process are provided. Further, a comment field for writing a comment when selecting the OK button or the Impossible button is provided.

  In the example shown in FIG. 29, the case where the type of “OK / NO” is selected as the confirmation method in the circulation setting process shown in FIG. 14 is shown. When the type of “confirmation” is selected as the confirmation method, a confirmation button is displayed instead of the OK button and the disapproval button.

  After displaying such a circulation activity processing screen, the server 101 performs an approval / disapproval process for accepting the approval or disapproval of the circulation document from the user (ST2802).

  FIG. 30 is a flowchart for explaining the approval / impossibility processing. When performing the approval / disapproval processing, the server 101 first searches for and confirms the target JOB flow from the URL described in the processing request mail (ST3001). Then, information to be circulated (hereinafter referred to as “circulation information”) is acquired from the JOB template corresponding to the determined JOB flow (ST3002), sent to the client terminal, and the circulation document is displayed on the display unit of the client terminal. In addition, the document attributes such as the creator and creation date are displayed (ST3003).

  After the display, if a circulation document is selected (ST3004), the circulation document is displayed on the display unit for confirmation (ST3005), and if no approved document is selected, it is directly displayed. Then, it is determined whether there is an approval or disapproval selection from the user (ST3006, ST3007). If either OK or NO is selected, the OK / NO process is terminated. If there is no selection, the process returns to ST3004 and the process is repeated.

  After completing the approval / disapproval process, the server 101 updates the status of the circulation activity (ST2803), and ends the circulation activity process. With this status update, the status of the circulation activity is updated from “processing requested” to “finished”. When the cancel button is selected, the server 101 interrupts the document creation activity process.

  FIG. 31 is a flowchart for explaining the meeting activity process. After shifting to the meeting activity, the server 101 sends the meeting activity processing screen shown in FIGS. 32 and 33 to the client terminal and displays it on the display unit of the client terminal (ST3101).

  Here, the meeting activity processing screen shown in FIG. 32 is displayed when the accessing user is a meeting participant, and the accessing user is the meeting manager. Is displayed when.

  In the meeting activity processing screen shown in FIG. 32, “JOB flow name”, “activity name”, “meeting title”, and “comment” are displayed in the data area. In addition, a column (title and text) for writing opinions by participants and a column for instructing to refer to the attached file are provided. By allowing files to be attached in this way, files related to the agenda can be referred to the participants, so it is possible to easily distribute / reference related documents and operate electronic meetings smoothly. it can. Furthermore, a posting button for instructing posting of the written opinion and a reset button for instructing interruption of the meeting activity process are provided.

  In the meeting activity processing screen shown in FIG. 33, “JOB flow name”, “activity name”, “meeting title”, and “comment” are displayed in the data area. In addition, a closing button for instructing the manager to end the meeting is provided.

  When a posting button is selected to post an opinion from a participant who has displayed the meeting activity processing screen shown in FIG. 32, server 101 accepts this posting (ST3102). When accepting the posting, server 101 updates the status indicating the participation status of the participant in the meeting (ST3103).

  After accepting the posting and updating the status of the participant, or when accepting the posting and selecting the close button from the administrator who displayed the meeting activity processing screen shown in FIG. 33 (ST3104), the server 101 After updating the status of the meeting activity (ST3105), the meeting activity process is terminated. With this status update, the status of the meeting activity is updated from “processing requested” to “finished”. If the closing button is not selected, the process returns to ST3102.

  Here, an operation when the workflow system according to the present embodiment is specifically used will be described. For example, description will be made using a JOB flow in which an activity is set as shown in FIG. In the JOB flow, the designated document creator creates a document, the approved document is approved by the approver, the approved document is circulated by the designated circulator, and the meeting is performed with the circulated document as an agenda. It is assumed that processing to be performed is set. It is assumed that all activities set in the JOB flow are unprocessed.

  When the execution process of the JOB flow shown in FIG. 17 is started, as shown in FIG. 18, first, the first line is set as the target line, and the status of the activity on the line is confirmed (ST1802). Here, since the statuses of both document creation activities are unprocessed, a processing request mail is transmitted to the document creators specified for the activities (for example, section 104 and section 105 in section A and section B) (ST1803). ). Since the status of both activities is being processed and all statuses are not completed (ST1809), the job flow execution process is terminated.

  When both document creators who received the processing request mail access the server 101 (ST1901 in FIG. 19), create a document in the document creation activity process (ST1910), and the status is updated (ST2005 in FIG. 20). Then, the execution process of the JOB flow is performed again. As in the previous case, the first line is processed as the target line. Here, since the statuses of both document creation activities are complete, after determining whether the activity is the final activity (ST1808), it is determined whether it is the final line (ST1810).

  Since it is not the final line, the second line is the target line, and the status of the approval activity on that line is confirmed. Since it has not been processed yet, this time, a processing request mail is transmitted to the approver designated by the activity (for example, section manager 103 of section A and section B) (ST1806). Since the status of the approval activity is “processing request” and not completed (ST1809), the job flow execution process ends.

  When the approver who has received the processing request mail accesses (ST1901 in FIG. 19), performs approval processing (ST1911) of the two documents created by the preceding document creation activity in the approval activity processing, and the status is updated ( In ST2205 in FIG. 22, the execution process of the JOB flow is performed again. The second line is processed as the target line as before, but since the status of the activity is completed, it is determined whether it is the final activity (ST1808), and then it is determined whether it is the final line (ST1810).

  Since it is not the last line, the third line is set as the target line, and the status of the circulation activity on the line is confirmed. Since it has not been processed yet, this time, a processing request mail is simultaneously transmitted to the circulator designated by the activity (for example, all members in section A) (ST1806). Since the status of the circulation activity is “processing request” and not completed (ST1809), the job flow execution process ends.

  Each circulator who has received the processing request mail accesses the server 101 (ST1901 in FIG. 19), performs a circulation process (ST1912) of the document approved by the preceding approval activity in the circulation activity process, and all the circulators have access. When the status is confirmed and updated (ST2803 in FIG. 28), the execution process of the JOB flow is performed again. The third line is processed as the target line in the same manner as described above. However, since the status of the activity is completed, it is determined whether it is the final activity (ST1808), and then it is determined whether it is the final line (ST1810).

  Since this is not the final line, the fourth line is the target line, and the status of the meeting activity on that line is confirmed. Since it has not yet been processed, a processing request mail is transmitted to the participants designated by the activity (for example, all members in section A) (ST1806). Since the status of the meeting activity is being processed and is not completed (ST1809), the job flow execution process ends.

  Each participant who has received the processing request mail accesses the server 101 (ST1901), posts the agenda in the meeting activity processing, and finally the administrator instructs the closing of the meeting and the status is updated (ST2005). ) The execution process of the JOB flow is performed again. The fourth line is processed as the target line in the same manner as above, but since the status of the activity is completed, it is determined whether it is the final activity (ST1808), and then it is determined whether it is the final line (ST1810). Here, since the fourth line is the final line, the execution process of the JOB flow ends. In this way, a series of activities set in the JOB flow shown in FIG. 17 is executed.

  As described above, in the workflow system according to the present embodiment, it is possible to explicitly incorporate an activity including the approval process into the workflow. Thus, at the design stage of the workflow, so who can decide whether to perform approval processing at any timing advance, it is possible to operate efficiently workflow.

  In the approval process, a process request mail is transmitted to the approver designated in the approval activity when the process of the preceding activity set in the JOB flow is completed. For this reason, the approver does not receive an approval request until the start of the approval process, so that the approver decides whether to approve or not between the creation of the document that requires approval and the approval process. Since another workflow process can be inserted, various workflows can be designed.

  In particular, an approval activity processing request mail is automatically transmitted to a user set as an approver. Thus, the approver can be surely notified that there is a document to be approved, so that the approval process can be performed quickly.

  Further, when the approval process is performed, a plurality of unapproved documents can be approved / rejected on one screen from the approval activity processing screen shown in FIG. As a result, a plurality of documents can be approved together with a simple operation, so that the burden on the approver can be reduced.

  Furthermore, when setting an approval activity, a document name to be approved can be associated with each approval process. As a result, even when a plurality of approval processes are provided on a single workflow, it is clear which document is to be approved, so that a plurality of approval processes can be performed separately at the best timing. .

  Furthermore, when setting a document creation activity, an approver for each document can be set, and different approvers can be set in the approval process. Therefore, for example, the approver set for each document is the section manager, and the approver of the workflow approval process is the department manager, so the department manager approves the documents individually approved by each section manager in the workflow approval process. Therefore, it is possible to operate various workflows according to the business contents by using both the approval for each document and the approval as a workflow.

  Further, when the approval document is rejected in the approval activity, the status of the document creation activity of the approval document is updated from “finished” to “unprocessed”, and as a result, the document creation activity is processed again. As a result, the workflow can be automatically restarted from the creation of the document when the rejection is made, so that the workflow can proceed without contradiction.

  In the present embodiment, a description is given of a form in which the document creation activity is processed again when the approval document is rejected by the approval activity. However, if the document creator is notified that the approved document has been rejected, the above-described form is not necessarily adopted. For example, an e-mail for notifying the document creator of the rejection may be automatically transmitted in response to the rejection of the approver. In this case, the document creator can know that the document has been rejected, and thus can quickly take measures such as recreating the document.

  Next, a process for confirming the execution status of the JOB flow in the server according to the present embodiment will be described. FIG. 34 is a flowchart when the server according to the present embodiment confirms the execution status of the JOB flow set in the workflow system. In principle, the user who confirms the execution status is assumed to be a user who has set the JOB flow. In particular, the authority to instruct forcible termination is given only to such users.

  When a user who wishes to check the execution status of the JOB flow requests login, the server 101 determines whether or not the user has logged in appropriately, as in the case of setting the JOB flow shown in FIG. 3 (ST3401). Then, the initial screen of the workflow system shown in FIG. 4 is displayed on the display unit of the client terminal (ST3402).

  Then, it is determined whether or not the JOB flow confirmation button 403 has been selected from this initial screen (ST3403). If selected, the JOB flow execution status confirmation list screen shown in FIG. 35 is sent to the client terminal and displayed on the display unit of the client terminal (ST3404).

  As shown in FIG. 35, the JOB flow execution status confirmation list screen displays buttons similar to those on the initial screen, and a list of currently executed JOB flows and completed JOB flows related to the user in the data area. Is displayed. The display of the JOB flow being executed and the completed JOB flow can be switched by a check button. The job flow list displays the name, execution date and execution status of each job flow. A JOB button 3501 is provided corresponding to each JOB flow. The user can confirm the detailed execution status of the JOB flow by selecting the JOB button and then selecting the selection button 3502.

  After displaying such a job flow execution status confirmation list screen on the client terminal, the server 101 determines whether the selection button 3502 has been selected (ST3405). If selected, the JOB flow execution status confirmation screen shown in FIG. 36 is sent to the client terminal and displayed on the display unit of the client terminal (ST3406).

  As shown in FIG. 36, the JOB flow execution status confirmation screen displays buttons similar to those on the initial screen and a list of activities set for the selected JOB flow in the data area. In the activity list, the set line, activity name, execution status, and completion date and time are displayed. An activity button 3601 for selecting each activity is provided. By selecting this activity button 3601, the user can prompt the execution of the activity. The JOB flow execution status confirmation screen (FIG. 36) is provided with a forced end button 3602 for instructing the forced end of the displayed JOB flow.

  After displaying such a job flow execution status confirmation screen on the client terminal, the server 101 determines whether any activity button 3601 has been selected (ST3407 to ST3410). If selected, the process proceeds to the confirmation process for the selected activity (ST3411 to ST3414). Specifically, the process proceeds to a document creation confirmation process (ST3411), an approval confirmation process (ST3412), a circulation confirmation process (ST3413), and a meeting confirmation process (ST3414). Each confirmation process will be described later.

  If no activity button 3601 is selected, it is determined whether the forced termination button 3602 has been selected (ST3415). If selected, the processing for confirming the execution status of the JOB flow is forcibly terminated (ST3416). End the process. If no forced end button 3602 is selected, the process returns to ST3407 and the process is repeated.

  FIG. 37 is a flowchart for explaining the document creation confirmation process. In FIG. 36, when the document creation activity button is selected and the process proceeds to document creation confirmation processing (ST3411 in FIG. 34), the server 101 sends the document creation activity confirmation screen shown in FIG. 38 to the client terminal, and displays the client terminal. (ST3701).

  As shown in FIG. 38, “JOB flow name”, “activity name”, “activity ID”, “activity”, and “execution status” are displayed on the document creation activity confirmation screen. Also, the “document name” to be created, its “creator” and its “execution status” and “completion date”, its “approver” and its “execution status”, “approval result” and “completion date” Is displayed. Further, the document creation activity confirmation screen is provided with a prompt button for instructing the execution of the document creation activity and a forced end button for instructing the forced end.

  After displaying such a document creation activity confirmation screen on the client terminal, the server 101 determines whether the reminder button and the forced end button are selected (ST3702 and ST3703).

  If the prompt button is selected, information about the creator designated in the document creation activity is acquired (ST3704), and a reminder mail is transmitted to the creator (ST3705). The document creation confirmation process is terminated by the transmission of the reminder mail. In this prompt mail, a message for prompting the creator to create a document and a URL linked to the document creation activity are described. The user who has received the reminder mail clicks on this URL to access the activity and execute an execution process. This process is the same in the other confirmation processes described below. On the other hand, if the forced end button is selected, the document creation activity is forcibly terminated (ST3706), and then the document creation confirmation process is terminated.

  FIG. 39 is a flowchart for explaining the approval confirmation process. 36, when the approval activity button is selected and the process proceeds to the approval confirmation process (ST3412 in FIG. 34), the server 101 sends the approval activity confirmation screen shown in FIG. 40 to the client terminal and displays it on the display unit of the client terminal. (ST3901).

  As shown in FIG. 40, “JOB flow name”, “activity name”, “activity ID”, “activity”, and “execution status” are displayed on the approval activity confirmation screen. Further, the “document name” to be approved, the “creator” and the “creation date”, the “approver”, the “execution status”, and the “completion date” are displayed. Further, the approval activity confirmation screen is provided with a prompt button for instructing a prompt to execute the approval activity and a forced end button for instructing the forced end.

  After displaying such an approved activity confirmation screen on the client terminal, the server 101 determines whether the prompt button and the forced end button are selected (ST3902, ST3903).

  If the prompt button is selected, information on the approver designated in the approval activity is acquired (ST3904), and a prompt mail is transmitted to the approver (ST3905). The approval confirmation process is terminated by sending this reminder mail. On the other hand, when the forced end button is selected, the approval activity is forcibly terminated (ST3906), and then the approval confirmation process is terminated.

  FIG. 41 is a flowchart for explaining the circulation confirmation process. In FIG. 36, when the circulation activity button is selected and the process proceeds to circulation confirmation processing (ST3413 in FIG. 34), the server 101 sends the circulation activity confirmation screen shown in FIG. 42 to the client terminal and displays it on the display unit of the client terminal. (ST4101).

  On the circulation activity confirmation screen, as shown in FIG. 42, “JOB flow name”, “activity name”, “activity ID”, “activity”, and “execution status” are displayed. In addition, the “document name” to be circulated, its “creator” and its “creation date”, its “circulator” and its “execution status”, “confirmation result”, and “completion date” are displayed. . The circulation activity confirmation screen is provided with a prompt button for instructing the execution of the circulation activity and a forced end button for instructing the forced end.

  After displaying such a circulation activity confirmation screen on the client terminal, the server 101 determines whether the reminder button and the forced end button are selected (ST4102, ST4103).

  If the prompt button is selected, information on the circulator designated by the circulation activity is acquired (ST4104), and a memorandum mail is transmitted to the circulator (ST4105). The circulation confirmation process is completed by the transmission of the reminder mail. On the other hand, when the forced end button is selected, after the circulation activity is forcibly terminated (ST4106), the circulation confirmation process is terminated.

  FIG. 43 is a flowchart for explaining the meeting confirmation processing. In FIG. 36, when the meeting activity button is selected and the process proceeds to the meeting confirmation process (ST3414 in FIG. 34), the server 101 sends the meeting activity confirmation screen shown in FIG. 44 to the client terminal and displays it on the display unit of the client terminal. (ST4301).

  As shown in FIG. 44, “JOB flow name”, “activity name”, “activity ID”, “activity”, and “execution status” are displayed on the meeting activity confirmation screen. In addition, “participants” to the meeting and their “reference status” and “reference date” are displayed. On the meeting activity confirmation screen, in addition to the prompt button for instructing the execution of the meeting activity and the forced end button for instructing the forced end, the meeting reference button for instructing the reference of the posted contents of other participants Is provided.

  After displaying such a meeting activity confirmation screen on the client terminal, the server 101 determines whether the meeting reference button, the prompt button, and the forced end button are selected (ST4302, ST4303, and ST4304).

  If the meeting reference button is selected, server 101 acquires the content posted so far, sends it to the client terminal, and displays it on the display unit of the client terminal (ST4305). If the user is instructed to end other posts from the screen (ST4306), the user displays the meeting activity confirmation screen again.

  If the prompt button is selected, information on the participant designated in the meeting activity is acquired (ST4307), and a reminder mail is transmitted to the participant (ST4308). The meeting confirmation process is completed by transmitting the reminder mail. On the other hand, if the forced end button is selected, the meeting activity is forcibly terminated (ST4309), and the meeting confirmation process is terminated.

  As described above, in the workflow system according to the present embodiment, it is possible to confirm the execution status of an activity whose content is an approval process. As a result, it can be seen whether the approval process has been executed or the approval process has not been executed yet, so that the current situation can be easily confirmed by a person other than the approver.

  Further, when confirming the execution status of the approval activity, it is possible to send a reminder mail prompting the approver of the approval process to execute the approval process. Thereby, the approval process can be urged to the approver without trouble.

  In the present embodiment, the activities set in the JOB flow are described only for the document creation activity, the approval activity, the circulation activity, and the meeting activity, but are not limited thereto. In other words, it is possible to arbitrarily set activities necessary for daily work and incorporate them into the workflow. Thereby, a more flexible workflow can be realized.

  Further, as will be apparent to those skilled in the art, the present invention can be implemented using a general commercially available digital computer and microprocessor programmed according to the technique described in the above embodiment. Further, as will be apparent to those skilled in the art, the present invention includes a computer program created by a person skilled in the art based on the technique described in the above embodiment.

  Furthermore, computer program products that are storage media containing instructions that can be used to program a computer that implements the invention are within the scope of the invention. This storage medium is a disk such as a floppy (R) disk, an optical disk, a CDROM and a magnetic disk, a ROM, a RAM, an EPROM, an EEPROM, a magnetic optical card, a memory card, a DVD, etc., but is not particularly limited thereto. Absent.

  The control program, server device, and workflow system according to the present invention register an approval process at a necessary stage as one of the workflows, and when the workflow proceeds to the approval process, all the approvals that have been requested for approval so far This has the effect that the processing can be performed collectively, and is useful for improving the timeliness and efficiency of the approval processing in which the administrator or the like approves a document or the like created on the workflow.

The figure which shows the structure of the network with which the workflow system which concerns on one embodiment of this invention is applied. The block diagram which shows the structure in the server which provides the workflow system which concerns on the said embodiment. Flow chart for explaining the processing of the server according to the above embodiment The figure which shows the initial screen displayed with the workflow system which concerns on the said embodiment The figure which shows the JOB flow setting screen displayed with the workflow system which concerns on the said embodiment. The figure which shows the JOB template screen displayed with the workflow system which concerns on the said embodiment. The figure which shows the activity setting screen displayed with the workflow system which concerns on the said embodiment. Flow chart for explaining the processing of the server according to the above embodiment Flow chart for explaining the document creation setting process in the workflow system according to the above embodiment The figure which shows the document creation activity setting screen displayed with the workflow system which concerns on the said embodiment Flow chart for explaining approval setting processing in the workflow system according to the above embodiment The figure which shows the approval activity setting screen displayed with the workflow system which concerns on the said embodiment. Flow chart for explaining circulation setting processing in the workflow system according to the above embodiment The figure which shows the circulation activity setting screen displayed with the workflow system which concerns on the said embodiment. Flow chart for explaining the meeting setting process in the workflow system according to the above embodiment The figure which shows the meeting activity setting screen displayed with the workflow system which concerns on the said embodiment. The figure which shows an example of the JOB template preserve | saved when the save button is selected by the process in the workflow system which concerns on the said embodiment. Flow chart for explaining job flow execution processing in the workflow system according to the above embodiment Flow chart for explaining activity execution processing in the workflow system according to the above embodiment Flow chart for explaining document creation activity processing in the workflow system according to the above embodiment The figure which shows the document creation activity process screen displayed with the workflow system which concerns on the said embodiment. Flow chart for explaining the approval activity process in the workflow system according to the above embodiment The figure which shows the approval activity process screen displayed with the workflow system which concerns on the said embodiment. Flow chart for explaining approval / denial processing in the workflow system according to the above embodiment Flow chart for explaining document creation activity processing in the workflow system according to the above embodiment Flow chart for explaining document creation activity processing in the workflow system according to the above embodiment The figure which shows the document creation activity process screen displayed with the workflow system which concerns on the said embodiment. Flow chart for explaining circulation activity processing in the workflow system according to the above embodiment The figure which shows the circulation activity process screen displayed with the workflow system which concerns on the said embodiment. Flow chart for explaining understanding / impossibility processing in the workflow system according to the above embodiment Flow chart for explaining meeting activity processing in the workflow system according to the above embodiment The figure which shows the meeting activity process screen displayed with the workflow system which concerns on the said embodiment. The figure which shows the meeting activity process screen displayed with the workflow system which concerns on the said embodiment. Flow diagram when the server according to the above embodiment confirms the execution status of the JOB flow set in the workflow system The figure which shows the JOB flow execution condition confirmation list screen displayed with the workflow system which concerns on the said embodiment. The figure which shows the JOB flow execution condition confirmation screen displayed with the workflow system which concerns on the said embodiment Flow chart for explaining document creation confirmation processing in the workflow system according to the above embodiment The figure which shows the document creation activity confirmation screen displayed with the workflow system which concerns on the said embodiment Flow chart for explaining approval confirmation processing in the workflow system according to the above embodiment The figure which shows the approval activity confirmation screen displayed with the workflow system which concerns on the said embodiment. Flow chart for explaining circulation confirmation processing in the workflow system according to the above embodiment The figure which shows the circulation activity confirmation screen displayed with the workflow system which concerns on the said embodiment. Flow chart for explaining meeting confirmation processing in the workflow system according to the above embodiment The figure which shows the meeting activity confirmation screen displayed with the workflow system which concerns on the said embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

101 Server device (server)
102 to 108 Client terminal 201 WWW server unit 202 HTTP screen creation processing unit 203 Workflow engine unit 204 JOB main processing unit 205 JOB status management unit 206 JOB flow rule analysis unit 207 JOB flow processing unit 208 User account management unit 209 JOB template management unit 210 JOB flow management unit 211 activity management unit 212 JOB data management unit

Claims (22)

  A function that registers approval processes as part of a workflow on a computer that processes multiple processes constituting a workflow in cooperation with multiple client terminals on the network, and registers one or more approvers for each approval process Function, a function that sequentially executes each process of the workflow including the approval process, and the approval of unapproved documents from the registered approver's client terminal when the workflow process reaches the approval process. And a control program for realizing the functions.   A function that registers approval processes as part of a workflow on a computer that processes multiple processes constituting a workflow in cooperation with multiple client terminals on the network, and registers one or more approvers for each approval process A function, a function for registering one or more approval target documents for each approval process, a function for sequentially executing each process of the workflow including the approval process, and the registration when the workflow process reaches the approval process. A control program for realizing a function of collectively approving the registered document to be approved from the client terminal of the approver.   A function that registers approval processes as part of a workflow on a computer that processes multiple processes constituting a workflow in cooperation with multiple client terminals on the network, and registers one or more approvers for each approval process Function, a function for sequentially executing each process of the workflow including the approval process, and a list of documents to be approved when the workflow process reaches the approval process, and whether the approver is approved or not for each document A control program for realizing a function that can be selected from a terminal.   A function that registers approval processes as part of a workflow on a computer that processes multiple processes constituting a workflow in cooperation with multiple client terminals on the network, and registers one or more approvers for each approval process A function, a function of registering one or more approval target documents for each approval process, a function of sequentially executing each process of the workflow including the approval process, and the approval target when the workflow process reaches the approval process. A control program for realizing a function of displaying a list of documents and enabling the approver's client terminal to select whether or not to approve each document.   A document creation process that is a process for creating at least a document and a process for approving the created document to a computer that processes a plurality of processes constituting a workflow in cooperation with a plurality of client terminals on a network. A function for registering a workflow including an approval process, a function for registering one or more approvers for each approval process, a function for registering a document created in the document creation process for each approval process as a document to be approved, A function for executing a plurality of processes of the workflow in the order of registration, and a list of the documents to be approved when the workflow process reaches an approval process, and whether or not approval is made for each document. And the approval process of the workflow ends when all the documents to be approved are approved or rejected. A control program for realizing functions and that, a.   A document creation process that is a process for creating at least a document and a process for approving the created document to a computer that processes a plurality of processes constituting a workflow in cooperation with a plurality of client terminals on a network. A function for registering a workflow including an approval process, a function for registering one or more approvers for each document creation process, a function for registering one or more approvers for each approval process, and a registered workflow A function for sequentially executing each process, a function for an approver of the document creation process to individually approve the created document immediately after the document is created when the workflow process reaches the document creation process, and the workflow Approval of all documents associated with the approval process is performed in a batch from the client terminal of the approver of the approval process when the process reaches the approval process A control program for realizing functions and that, a.   A document creation process that is a process for creating at least a document and a process for approving the created document to a computer that processes a plurality of processes constituting a workflow in cooperation with a plurality of client terminals on a network. A function for registering a workflow including an approval process, a function for registering one or more approvers for each approval process, a function for registering a document created in the document creation process for each approval process as a document to be approved, When the workflow process reaches the approval process, a list of the documents to be approved is displayed, and a function that enables the approval / rejection of each document to be selected from the client terminal of the approver, and the document creation process or approval process in the workflow Registration by inserting each process name in the order to be executed on the matrix format table composed of rows and columns. And the function of executing the workflow in the procedure of sequentially executing the processing of the next row when all the processing of the same row is completed and the processing of the plurality of columns of the same row is simultaneously started in the matrix format. Control program.   8. The function of transmitting a notification mail for requesting an approval process to all approvers registered in the approval process when the workflow process reaches the approval process is realized. The control program described in 1.   6. The function according to any one of claims 3 to 5, wherein a function is provided that makes it possible to refer to the document contents of the document from the client terminal of the approver when displaying a list of documents to be approved. 7. The control program according to 7.   8. The function of transmitting an e-mail for notifying the creator of the rejected document when the approval is denied by the approver in the approval process is realized. The control program described in 1.   A function for detecting whether the approver has approved or denied or unprocessed, a function for creating an approval confirmation screen indicating the approval status based on the detection result, and the approval in response to a request from the client terminal The control program according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein a function of transmitting a confirmation screen to the client terminal is realized.   2. A function of transmitting an email prompting the approval process to an e-mail address of an approver of the approval process that has not approved or denied after the workflow process reaches the approval process is realized. The control program according to claim 7.   8. A function according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein when a rejection is determined by an approver, a function of returning the workflow processing to the creation of the rejected document and re-starting the subsequent workflow is realized. The control program described.   When registering a workflow from a client terminal, a function for performing registration by inserting each process name in the order of execution on a matrix format table composed of rows and columns, and a plurality of columns in the same row in the matrix format 7. The process according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein a function for executing the workflow is realized in a procedure in which execution of processes is started simultaneously and all processes on the same line are completed, and processes on the next line are sequentially executed. The control program described in 1.   A server device that processes a plurality of processes constituting a workflow in cooperation with a plurality of client terminals on a network, and includes a flow registration means for registering an approval process as a part of the workflow, and at least one person for each approval process. A setting registration unit that registers an approver and one or more approval target documents, a workflow engine unit that sequentially executes each process of the workflow including the approval process, and a list of the approval target documents during the approval process. Approval is selected for all documents to be approved, and a WWW server means for transmitting an approval screen that allows selection from the approver's client terminal and receiving the input content to the approval screen for each approval. And a control means for controlling to end the approval process of the workflow and execute the next process. Apparatus.   A server device that processes a plurality of processes constituting a workflow in cooperation with a plurality of client terminals on a network, and performs at least a document creation process that is a process for creating a document and approval of the created document A flow registration unit that registers a workflow including an approval process, a setting registration unit that registers one or more approvers and one or more approval target documents for each approval process, and a plurality of processes of the workflow. A workflow engine unit that executes in the registered order, and a list of the documents to be approved at the time of the approval process, and an approval screen that enables selection from the approver's client terminal for approval / non-approval for each document. The WWW server means for receiving the input contents on the screen and the workflow when the approval is selected for all the documents to be approved. Server apparatus characterized by comprising a control means for controlling so as to execute a completed following processes the authorization process.   Approver registration means for registering one or more approvers for each document creation process, and the workflow engine means performs the document creation process immediately after the document is created when the workflow process reaches the document creation process. Approving all the documents associated with the approval process from the approver's client terminal of the approval process when the workflow process reaches the approval process by individually approving the created document from the client terminal of the approver The server apparatus according to claim 16, wherein:   The WWW server means sends a registration screen in a matrix format consisting of rows and columns to the client terminal at the time of workflow registration and receives the input contents to the registration screen, and the flow registration means is inserted into the matrix format. The workflow engine means registers the processing names of the selected workflows together with the order of insertion, and the workflow engine means starts executing a plurality of columns in the same row at the same time in the matrix format based on the registration contents of the flow registration means. The server device according to claim 15 or 16, wherein when the processing is completed, the processing of the next line is sequentially executed.   A workflow system that sequentially processes a plurality of processes constituting a workflow by a server device and a plurality of client terminals. The server device registers an approval process, which is a process for approving a document, as a part of the workflow, and further approves it. At least one approver and one or more approval target documents are registered for each process, and when the server apparatus sequentially executes each process of the workflow including the approval process and reaches the approval process, the client terminal of the approver In response to the request, a list of the documents to be approved is displayed, and an approval screen is transmitted for selecting whether or not each document is approved. When approval is selected for all the documents to be approved, the server device approves the workflow. A workflow system characterized by terminating a process and transitioning to the next process.   A workflow system for sequentially processing a plurality of processes constituting a workflow by a server apparatus and a plurality of client terminals, wherein the server apparatus performs at least a document creation process which is a process for creating a document and approval of the created document. A workflow including an approval process, which is a process to be performed, and more than one approver for each approval process and a document created by the document creation process are registered as documents to be approved, and the server device has a plurality of workflows Processing is executed in the order of registration, and when approval processing is reached, an approval screen is sent to display a list of documents to be approved in response to a request from the approver's client terminal and select whether to approve each document. When the approval is selected for all the documents to be approved, the server device ends the approval process of the workflow and Workflow system, characterized in that the transition sense.   An approver of a document created in the document creation process is registered in the server device in advance, and the document creation process approver's client terminal immediately after the document is created when the workflow reaches the document creation process. Approve the created documents individually, and when the workflow process reaches the approval process, approve all documents associated with the approval process from the client terminal of the approver of the approval process at once. The workflow system according to claim 20.   The server device transmits a registration screen in a matrix format consisting of rows and columns to the client terminal at the time of workflow registration, and processing of a plurality of columns on the same row in the matrix format is started simultaneously based on the registration contents on the registration screen. 21. The workflow system according to claim 19 or 20, wherein when all the processes on the same line are completed, the processes on the next line are sequentially executed.

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