JP2007072546A - Flow editing device and flow editing method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To efficiently support an operator's work in a monitoring system. <P>SOLUTION: A flow editing unit 70 edits a screen flow for presenting a flow of work. An editing screen display part 71 displays a directed graph having screen parts constituting the screen flow as nodes, and accepts a user's editing operation to the directed graph. A part incorporation part 76 accepts an editing operation for incorporating screen parts stored in an action definition database 34 to the screen flow, and storing the result in the action definition database 34. The incorporated screen parts are additionally displayed by the editing screen display part 71, and a transition destination setting part 78 accepts an editing operation for connecting the nodes showing the screen parts by an edge, sets a transition relation between screens corresponding to the nodes connected by the edge, and stores it in the action definition database 34. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a flow editing technique, and more particularly, to a flow editing apparatus and method for editing a screen flow for showing a work flow.

  In recent years, with the diversification of computer software and the improvement of hardware performance, system operation requirements have become more complex. For this reason, a monitoring apparatus that monitors the operation of a computer system has to acquire more information, such as an information message and a failure message, from each software and hardware. For this reason, in order to handle these messages in an integrated manner, a tool (integrated monitoring system) that integrally monitors management tools that are individually operated for each software and hardware has been proposed (for example, Non-Patent Document 1). reference).

When a failure occurs in the system to be monitored, a monitoring tool for each software or hardware component sends a message. The message transmitted by the monitoring tool is presented on the operator's terminal. The operator looks at the contents of the received message and performs necessary trouble-shooting tasks such as checking the status of monitored devices and processes, restarting, executing recovery commands, and contacting specialists such as engineers. To do.
http://www-6.ibm.com/jp/software/tivoli/products/systems_mgr.html

  In order to perform quick recovery when a failure occurs, it is necessary for an operator to quickly and actively carry out appropriate failure handling. However, in the conventional monitoring system, when the content of the message is presented, the operator has to turn the manual that describes the procedure for handling the failure and examine the content of the response to be performed. It took time to find a suitable countermeasure. In addition, depending on the skill of the operator, it may be necessary to contact an expert and wait for instructions without finding an appropriate countermeasure. Further, when the corresponding work is complicated and sophisticated, the work cannot be entrusted to the operator, and there are cases where an expert has to work.

  In order to solve such problems, the present inventors have come up with a technique for presenting the work contents of an operator by a screen flow. The inventors have come up with a technology that can efficiently generate and edit such a screen flow.

  The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a technique for supporting editing of a screen flow for showing a work flow.

  One embodiment of the present invention relates to a flow editing apparatus. This flow editing device has a screen data storage unit that stores screen data for presenting the content of work to be executed in response to a received message when a message about a monitoring target is received via a network; Provided by combining a plurality of the screens, a screen flow data storage unit for storing screen flow data for presenting the work flow, and an editing screen for editing the screen flow. An editing unit that accepts an operation and edits the screen flow, and the editing unit generates a directed graph having the screens constituting the screen flow as nodes and displays the directed graph on the editing screen, and an edge between the nodes. Accepts an edit operation connected with, sets a transition relationship between screens corresponding to the nodes connected by the edge, and And storing, in the storage unit.

  The monitoring target may be, for example, a terminal device such as a server device or a personal computer, a process operating on those devices, or various communication devices provided in a network. With such a configuration, it is possible to easily generate and edit a screen flow for presenting the operator with work to be executed in response to the received message. Further, when designing a screen flow, it is only necessary to appropriately combine screens that have already been created and specify the screen to be presented next. Therefore, the design of the screen flow is facilitated, and man-hours can be reduced. In addition, a flexible screen flow can be defined, and the work flow can be expressed more appropriately. Furthermore, by creating such a screen flow and presenting it to the operator, it is possible to improve the efficiency of handling the failure by the operator. In addition, it is possible to easily identify the work corresponding to the failure and improve the reliability of the monitoring work.

  The screen data storage unit may store the number of screens that can be set as transition destinations for each screen. When the editing unit receives an editing operation for incorporating the screen into the screen flow, the screen data storage unit stores the number of screens that can be set as the transition destination. A corresponding node may be displayed on the editing screen, the number of screens that can be set as a transition destination of the screen is acquired from the screen data storage unit, and an edge corresponding to the number may be displayed together with the node. The editing unit accepts an editing operation for connecting an end point of an edge from a node to another node, and corresponds to a node connected to the end point of the edge from a screen corresponding to the node of the start point of the edge. Transition to the screen may be set. Thus, even when a plurality of connectors are defined on the screen, the transition destination of each connector can be easily set.

  When there are a plurality of branches that can be set as a transition destination of a screen, the editing unit displays an edge corresponding to each connector, and accepts an editing operation for connecting the end point of the edge to another node. A screen corresponding to a node connected to the end point of the edge may be set as a transition destination screen associated with the connector corresponding to the edge. Thereby, even when there are a plurality of connectors, it is possible to easily set an appropriate transition destination corresponding to each connector. Also, by creating such a screen flow and presenting it to the operator, when the operator executes the work presented on the screen and inputs the execution result, the contents of the next work to be performed based on the result are determined. Since it is determined and presented, the operator can be guided to the correct work. Thereby, an appropriate response can be taken regardless of the skill of the operator. In addition, it is possible to save the labor for the operator to check the contents of the work and reduce the man-hours. Furthermore, even a complicated work can be transferred to an operator.

  Another aspect of the present invention relates to a flow editing method. This flow editing method is configured by combining a plurality of screens for presenting the contents of work to be executed in response to a received message when a message about a monitoring target is received via a network. When editing a screen flow for presenting a flow, a step of accepting designation of a screen constituting the screen flow, a step of displaying a directed graph having the screen as a node on an editing screen, and an edge between the nodes Receiving a connecting editing operation, and setting a transition relationship between screens corresponding to the nodes connected by the edges.

  It should be noted that any combination of the above-described constituent elements and a representation of the present invention converted between a method, an apparatus, a system, etc. are also effective as an aspect of the present invention.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the technique which assists the edit of the screen flow for showing the flow of work can be provided.

  FIG. 1 shows a configuration of a monitoring system according to an embodiment. The monitoring device 20 integrates the monitoring target system 10 including the network systems 12a, 12b,... Provided with the terminal device 14a and server device 14b to be monitored (hereinafter referred to as “monitoring target device 14”). Monitor. The network systems 12a, 12b,... Are respectively provided with management devices 16a, 16b,... In which a monitoring program for detecting an abnormality of the monitoring target device 14 and transmitting a message is installed. When a state that matches the conditions set in the program occurs, a message is transmitted from the management device 16 to the monitoring device 20. A monitoring program installed in the management device 16 may monitor the monitoring target device 14, or an agent for monitoring its own state may be installed in the monitoring target device 14. The monitoring device 20 acquires a message transmitted from the monitoring target system 10, records the acquired message, presents the message to the operator, and notifies the occurrence of the failure. The operator looks at the content of the presented message and determines the content of the action to be taken for the failure.

  In traditional monitoring systems, when the message content is presented, the operator must manually turn through a thick manual that describes the steps to deal with the failure and investigate the content of the response to be taken. In some cases, it was not possible to find a solution. However, some failure responses can be patterned, and by preparing a predetermined response work flow, an appropriate response can be taken regardless of the skill of the operator. In this embodiment, a technique for efficiently supporting failure handling work by an operator by semi-automating the operator's work and presenting a flow of actions to be performed to the operator while accurately guiding the operator's work. suggest.

  Specifically, a separation condition for determining the content of work to be executed and a screen flow for presenting the flow of work to be executed when the separation condition is met are set in advance and received. In response to the message, the flow of work to be performed is presented to the operator as a screen flow. This screen flow is composed of a combination of customizable screens for presenting the contents of the operator's work. In the screen flow, the transition to the screen to be presented next is defined based on the result of the operator's work. When the monitoring device 20 according to the present embodiment receives a message transmitted from a monitoring target device or the like, the monitoring device 20 activates an appropriate screen flow according to the separation condition. The activated screen flow sequentially displays screens indicating the work to be executed next as the operator's work progresses, thereby assisting the operator's work.

  First, an example of the screen flow is shown. FIG. 2 shows a flow of work to be performed by the operator when a message indicating a process abnormality is received. Upon receiving a message indicating a process abnormality, the operator confirms the service status (S110). If the service has already been restored (Y in S112), the fact is reported to the customer (S126). If the service has not been restored (N in S112), a procedure manual for service restoration is searched (S114). If there is a procedure manual (Y in S116), the recovery procedure described in the procedure manual is executed (S118). Whether recovery is successful (Y in S120) or failed (N in S120), it is reported to an appropriate contact (S126). If there is no procedure manual (N in S116), a response history when a similar failure has occurred in the past is searched (S122). Even if there is a past response record (Y in S124) or not (N in S124), it is reported to an appropriate contact (S126).

  The monitoring device 20 presents a screen showing the contents of the work in order to support such an operator's work. First, when the operator starts to deal with a failure of a process abnormality, a screen D1 for prompting execution of service state confirmation (S110), which is the first operation, is presented. When the operator executes the service confirmation work according to the instruction presented on the screen D1, inputs the execution result and clicks the button for transitioning to the next screen, if the service is restored, the customer is informed that the service has been restored. The screen transitions to a screen D5 that presents the work to be reported to (S126). If the service has not been restored, the screen transitions to a screen D2 that presents an operation (S114) for retrieving a procedure manual for service restoration. In this way, a screen flow combining screens for presenting individual work instructions is prepared, and the next work instruction to be executed is presented on the screen according to the execution result by the operator. Support the work.

  FIG. 3 shows a screen D1 for presenting the procedure of the service confirmation work (S110) in the work flow shown in FIG. On the screen D1, an instruction for the operation (S110) for confirming whether the process in which the failure has occurred is automatically recovered is presented. On the screen D1, a button for executing a command for checking the service status is prepared. When the operator presses this button, a command issuance instruction is notified to the monitoring target device 14, and the monitoring target device 14 The command is executed. When the command is executed, a return value indicating the execution result of the command is notified to the monitoring device 20 and displayed in the command execution result column of the screen D1. An explanation of the return value may be displayed in the command execution result image column, and it may be used as an index for the operator to determine the execution result. This description can be arbitrarily edited in advance. The screen D1 is provided with a radio button for inputting an execution result. The operator confirms the state of the process, and selects either the “automatic recovery” or “stopped” radio button. Select the item and click the “Next” button to move to the appropriate screen according to the execution result.

  FIG. 4 shows a screen D2 for presenting the procedure of the recovery procedure manual search operation (S114) in the work flow shown in FIG. The screen D2 presents an instruction for work (S114) for confirming the presence or absence of a process recovery procedure manual. On the screen D2, candidates for a recovery procedure document registered in advance on the screen may be presented. The operator may select an appropriate procedure manual from the candidates presented on the screen D2, or click the “procedure manual list” button to search for an appropriate procedure manual from the list of procedure manuals. May be. When the operator finds the process recovery procedure manual and selects the “Yes” radio button and clicks the “Next” button, the screen transitions to a screen D3 that presents an operation (S118) for executing the procedure manual. If the operator cannot find the process recovery procedure manual and selects the “None” radio button and clicks the “Next” button, the screen returns to the screen D4 for presenting the work for searching for past failures (S122). Transition.

  FIG. 5 shows a screen D3 for presenting the procedure of the procedure manual execution work (S118) in the work flow shown in FIG. On the screen D3, an instruction of the work (S118) for executing the procedure described in the procedure manual is presented. When the operator executes the procedure described in the procedure manual, selects one of the "Normal end", "Abnormal end", or "Other" radio buttons and clicks the "Next" button, depending on the result A transition is made to a screen D5 that presents a work (S126) for reporting to an appropriate contact.

  FIG. 6 shows a screen D4 for presenting the procedure of past failure search work (S122) in the work flow shown in FIG. On the screen D4, an instruction of the work (S122) for searching the past failure handling history is presented. When the operator searches past failure response history, selects the “Yes” or “No” radio button and clicks the “Next” button, the operator reports to the appropriate contact according to the result (S126). Transitions to a screen D5 that presents.

  FIG. 7 shows a screen D5 for presenting the procedure of the reporting work (S126) in the work flow shown in FIG. On the screen D5, an instruction for reporting a failure is presented. In the failure report screen D5, the contents to be reported are presented to the operator according to the execution result of the work so far. Further, as will be described later, the parties to be contacted are registered in advance with priority, and an appropriate contact is automatically selected according to the execution results so far and presented to the operator. Also, the contents and results of the work executed so far can be displayed as a correspondence history. Further, the return value as the command execution result can be displayed in a separate window from this column. The operator may call the contact address presented on the screen and read the text presented on the screen. The content of the sentence can be changed according to the skill of the operator.

  These screens are prepared as parts that can be customized. As described later, if the work contents differ for each customer system, the screens are customized according to the work contents for each customer system by appropriately customizing the screen. Can be created. Each screen is defined by basic data such as name and ID, component property data, connector data for defining transition destinations, etc. By setting these data, it is used as a screen flow component. Be available.

  The sequential display of the screen on the display corresponds to the sequential execution of the process of configuring and displaying the screen when viewed from the monitoring device 20. In this sense, presenting a screen flow is also referred to as “execution” of the screen flow. In addition, reading the screen flow data and starting the process of presenting the screen flow is also referred to as “activation” of the screen flow. The process of configuring and displaying individual screens can be regarded as a component for executing the entire screen flow. In this sense, presenting a screen is also referred to as “execution” of a screen component. The various data for defining the screen described above is also data used for executing the screen component. When the screen is presented, the “screen component” data is read out, and the “screen” is constructed and presented to the operator. In context, the term “screen component”, which is a processing unit of a flow executed by the monitoring apparatus 20, and the term “screen” displayed as an execution result of the processing may be used without distinction.

  The components of the screen include a headline display area, a contact display area, a text entry text box, a “next” button, and an “interrupt” button. When creating and editing a screen, these components can be specified. Therefore, when customizing the screen, it is not necessary to describe the contents of the screen by, for example, HTML, and the screen can be easily created and edited by incorporating the prepared components into the screen.

  Further, a selection input interface such as a radio button is prepared as a component of the screen, and a transition destination screen is defined for a connector corresponding to each option. A connector ID for uniquely identifying each connector is assigned to each connector. The monitoring device 20 is provided with a table for defining screen transitions in the screen flow. By setting a transition destination screen as a connector of each screen, a screen flow adapted to the operator's work can be obtained. Can be built.

  Thus, by automatically determining the flow of work to be performed and presenting it to the operator, the operator is freed from the trouble of opening a thick manual and checking the correspondence each time a message is presented. Therefore, the operator's work can be dramatically improved. In addition, even if the corresponding work is complicated, it is possible to present a screen for appropriately instructing the contents of the work to the operator, so that the work conventionally performed by the expert can be transferred to the operator. Can also reduce the burden.

  Next, the configuration and operation of the monitoring device 20 of the present embodiment will be described.

  FIG. 8 shows the internal configuration of the monitoring device 20. The monitoring device 20 includes a message reception unit 22, a message analysis unit 24, a corresponding action determination unit 26, a corresponding action control unit 28, an alert notification unit 30, a customer system database 32, an action definition database 34, a failure management database 36, and a contact address A database 38 is included. These configurations can be realized in terms of hardware by a CPU, memory, or other LSI of any computer, and in terms of software, they are realized by programs loaded into the memory. It depicts the functional blocks that are realized. Accordingly, those skilled in the art will understand that these functional blocks can be realized in various forms by hardware only, software only, or a combination thereof.

  The message receiving unit 22 receives a message transmitted from the monitoring target system 10. The message analysis unit 24 analyzes the message received by the message reception unit 22 with reference to the customer system database 32 and the action definition database 34. When the received message matches the ignore condition stored in the action definition database 34, the message analysis unit 24 stores the message in the failure management database 36 as an ignore message without presenting the message to the operator. The message analysis unit 24 instructs the configuration for executing the automatic processing to execute the set automatic processing when the received message matches the automatic processing conditions such as automatic telephone, automatic mail, and automatic command. When the received message does not match the ignore condition and the automatic processing condition, the message analysis unit 24 stores the message in the failure management database 36 and notifies the alert notification unit 30 of the reception of the message.

  When the operator notified of the reception of the failure message by the alert notification unit 30 is instructed to start the work to respond to the failure message, the response action determination unit 26 refers to the action definition database 34 to change the received message. The content of the action to be executed correspondingly is determined. Specifically, the corresponding action determination unit 26 determines the screen flow to be activated based on the separation condition stored in the action definition database 34. If the received message does not match any of the separation conditions, that is, if the corresponding action is not set, the corresponding action determination unit 26 may start the general-purpose screen flow set as a default. Good. This screen flow may present, for example, an operation for reporting the occurrence of a failure to a technician or the like.

  The corresponding action control unit 28 refers to the action definition database 34 and presents the screen flow determined by the corresponding action determination unit 26. The corresponding action control unit 28 receives an input of the work result presented by the screen flow, changes the screen based on the result, and records the work content and result as a history in the failure management database 36. Since the corresponding action control unit 28 automatically records the contents and results of the work for each presented screen, the history can be accurately left without the operator creating a work report. Even when an operator's work report is submitted to a customer or the like, the work report can be created collectively by extracting and editing the trouble information and response history information stored in the trouble management database 36. Thereby, an operator's man-hour can be reduced. The alert notification unit 30 notifies the operator of an alert using a patrol lamp or voice.

  FIG. 9 shows an example of internal data of the customer system database 32. The customer system database 32 includes a system ID column 101, a customer name column 102, and a monitoring target device name column 103. The message analysis unit 24 refers to the customer system database 32 based on the monitoring target device name in the message received by the message reception unit 22 and identifies the system ID of the message source. Even when the monitoring device 20 manages messages sent from a plurality of customer systems in an integrated manner, the system ID of the customer system from which the message is sent can be accurately specified, and is appropriate for each customer system. Can respond.

  FIG. 10 shows an example of the table configuration of the action definition database 34. The action definition database 34 includes a separation condition table 40 for storing message separation conditions, a part data table 41 for storing screen part data, and a flow data table 47 for storing screen flow data. The component data table 41 includes a list of screen components that can be used in the monitoring device 20 and a component management table 42 that stores management information thereof, a property table 44 that stores information on elements constituting each screen, and a screen for each component. A connector table 46 that stores information on the defined connectors is included. The flow data table 47 includes a flow management table 48 that stores a list of screen flows that can be used in the monitoring apparatus 20 and management information thereof, a flow component table 50 that stores information on screen components that constitute each screen flow, It includes a transition table 52 that stores information for defining screen transitions in each screen flow. The separation condition table 40 is an example of a condition storage unit, and the flow data table 47 is an example of a screen flow storage unit.

  The action definition database 34 may be provided for each customer system. For example, even if the same failure occurs, one customer first wants the operator to perform a recovery operation, and another customer wants to promptly report to a network administrator etc. The contents of failure handling work may be different. Even in such a case, by providing an action definition database 34 for each system, specifying a customer system that has transmitted a message, and applying the action definition database 34 of that system, an appropriate fault can be flexibly adapted for each system. The contents of correspondence can be set.

  FIG. 11 shows an example of internal data of the separation condition table 40. The isolation condition table 40 stores conditions for isolating messages in order to determine an appropriate action for the received message. The separation condition table 40 includes a system ID column 111, a separation ID column 112, a separation division column 180, a priority order column 113, a separation name column 114, a condition (message ID) column 115, a condition (device ID) column 116, a condition ( Contents) column 117, action category column 118, flow ID column 119, contact block ID column 181, mail template ID column 182, and command column 183 are provided.

  The system ID column 111 stores the customer system ID. The separation ID column 112 stores an ID for identifying the separation condition. The classification section 180 stores the classification condition classification. In the classification condition, “zero-order classification” applied in the message analysis unit 24 before the reception of the message is notified to the operator, the reception of the message is notified to the operator, and the operator starts to respond to the message. After that, there is “primary segmentation” applied in the corresponding action determination unit 26. The priority column 113 stores the priority order to which the separation condition is applied. The priority order is designated in each of the categories of “0th order carving” and “primary carving”. The condition (message ID) column 115 stores a separation condition related to the message ID. The condition (device ID) column 116 stores a separation condition regarding the device ID to be monitored. The condition (content) column 117 stores a separation condition regarding the content of the message. The action category column 118 stores a category of an action to be executed when the separation condition is met. In the action category, "Ignore" to ignore without alert notification, "Automatic call" to automatically call the appropriate contact, "Automatic mail" to automatically send mail to the appropriate contact There are “automatic command” for automatically issuing an appropriate command, “screen flow” for starting an appropriate screen flow, and the like.

  The flow ID column 119 stores the ID of the screen flow to be executed when the action classification matches the separation condition “screen flow”. The contact block ID column 181 stores a block ID of a contact that should automatically make a call or mail when the action classification matches a separation condition of “automatic telephone” or “automatic mail”. The mail template ID column 182 stores the ID of a mail template that is used as a template for mail that is automatically sent when the action classification matches a separation condition of “automatic mail”. The command column 183 stores a command that is automatically issued when the action classification matches a separation condition of “automatic command”.

  The message analysis unit 24 refers to the condition (message ID) column 115, the condition (device ID) column 116, and the condition (content) column 117 of the classification condition table 40, and the received message is classified into “0th order”. It is analyzed whether or not the disregard condition or the automatic processing condition that is “separation” is met. If the action classification of the matched classification condition is “0 (ignore)”, the message analysis unit 24 stores the message reception in the fault management database 36 as an ignored message without notifying the alert notification unit 30 of the reception of the message. . When the action classification of the matching separation condition is an automatic processing condition such as “1 (automatic telephone)”, “2 (automatic mail)”, “3 (automatic command)”, the message analysis unit 24 is set Instruct the configuration to execute automatic processing to execute automatic processing. As a result, when the failure handling process can be automatically executed without starting the screen flow, the automatic process can be performed without intervention of the operator.

  The corresponding action determination unit 26 refers to the condition (message ID) column 115, the condition (device ID) column 116, and the condition (content) column 117 of the classification condition table 40, and the received message is classified into “1”. It is analyzed whether or not the next cutting condition is matched, and the highest priority among the matching cutting conditions is determined as the corresponding action. When the action classification of the matched separation condition is “4 (screen flow)”, the corresponding action determination unit 26 notifies the corresponding action control unit 28 of the ID of the screen flow to be executed. The corresponding action control unit 28 presents the screen flow specified by the screen flow ID to the operator.

  For example, in the example of FIG. 11, a message including a character string “* abnormal * (PROC01) *” in a regular expression is received from a customer system having a system ID “SYSA” with a device ID “NODEA01”. At this time, the separation condition with the separation ID “101” is applied, and the screen flow with the screen flow ID “PROC01_RECOV_01” is activated. This screen flow is a screen flow for presenting the work flow shown in FIG. Thus, when a message indicating a process abnormality is received, the screen flow shown in FIGS. 3 to 7 is presented to the operator.

  FIG. 12 shows an example of internal data of the component management table 42. The component management table 42 stores a list of components used in the screen flow presented by the monitoring device 20 and basic information thereof. In the component management table 42, a system ID column 121, a component ID column 122, a component classification column 123, and a component name column 124 are provided.

  The system ID column 121 stores the ID of the system in which the screen component is used. The component ID column 122 stores an ID for identifying a screen component. The part name column 124 stores the name of the screen part. The component classification column 123 stores the classification of screen components. The screen component classification includes, for example, “command execution component”, “mail transmission component”, “procedure document execution component”, “failure report component”, “general component”, “contact confirmation component”, and the like. As an example, the screen part with the part ID “PROC01_EXEC_CHECK” used in the customer system with the system ID “SYSA” has the part classification “command execution” and the part name “PROC01 service operation status confirmation”. This screen component is a screen component for presenting the screen D1 shown in FIG.

  The “command execution component” is a screen component for executing a command. The command executed by the command execution component is executed by the management device 16 or the monitoring target device 14 such as “ping”, a command that can be executed by the monitoring device 20 itself, and a process restart or a CPU operation rate check. There is a command that becomes. The “mail transmission component” is a screen component for supporting mail transmission when a failure report, a recovery report, or the like is transmitted by electronic mail. The “procedure manual execution part” is a screen part for searching and displaying an appropriate part from an electronic procedure manual. The “failure report component” is a screen component for supporting the work of reporting the occurrence of a failure to an appropriate partner. The “general-purpose component” is a screen component for performing general-purpose script display, value input, option selection, branch processing, procedure manual selection, and the like. The “contact confirmation part” is a screen part for contacting the contact information such as the vendor about the occurrence of a failure and confirming the situation.

  When a new screen component is generated using a flow editing function to be described later, the information of the screen component is registered in the component management table 42 and can be used as a screen component constituting the screen flow thereafter. .

  FIG. 13 shows an example of internal data of the property table 44. The property table 44 stores the properties of elements constituting the screen. The property table 44 includes a component ID column 131, a key column 132, and a setting value column 133.

  The component ID column 131 stores screen component IDs. The key column 132 stores key information indicating the types of elements constituting the screen. The setting value column 133 stores necessary setting values according to the type of element stored in the key column 132. For example, the setting value of the record whose key information is “navi_title” stores “information confirmation (process)” which is the title of the screen component. The corresponding action control unit 28 searches the property table 44 based on the part ID of the screen part to be executed, reads information on the elements constituting the screen presented by the screen part, and configures the screen.

  FIG. 13 shows, as an example, some of the components presented on the screen presented by the screen component having the component ID “PROC01_EXEC_CHECK”, that is, the screen D1 shown in FIG. The corresponding action control unit 28 reads out these pieces of information, arranges the constituent elements on the screen, and configures the screen D1.

  Among the components of the screen shown in FIG. 13, the keys “sel_exp_1” and “sel_exp_2” are radio buttons for inputting the execution result, and the number “1” at the end of “sel_exp_1” indicates the radio button. The connector ID is “1”, and the number “2” at the end of “sel_exp_2” indicates that the connector ID of this radio button is “2”. In the example shown in FIG. 13, “1” is assigned as the connector ID for identifying the connector to the radio button written “automatically restored” and “stopped” is written. A connector ID “2” is assigned to the radio button.

  FIG. 14 shows an example of internal data of the connector table 46. In the case where there is a possibility of transition from a certain screen component to a plurality of screen components, the connector table 46 stores information on the connector of the screen component in order to set each transition destination. The connector table 46 is provided with a component ID column 141 and a connector ID column 142.

  The component ID column 141 stores screen component IDs. The connector ID column 142 stores an ID for identifying the connector of the screen component. As an example, two connectors with connector IDs “1” and “2” are prepared on the screen presented by the screen component with the component ID “PROC01_EXEC_CHECK”, that is, the screen D1 shown in FIG. As defined in the property table 44 of FIG. 13, when the operator selects a radio button written as “automatically restored” and requests a screen transition as a result of executing the process, a corresponding action control unit 28 changes the screen to the transition destination associated with the connector ID “1” of the screen component “PROC01_EXEC_CHECK”. The transition destination screen associated with each connector ID is set in the transition table 52 shown in FIG. This connector ID is also used to identify the connector in the flow editing function described later.

  FIG. 15 shows an example of internal data of the flow management table 48. The flow management table 48 stores a list of screen flows presented by the monitoring device 20 and their basic information. The flow management table 48 includes a system ID column 151, a flow ID column 152, a flow name column 153, and a node ID column 154.

  The system ID column 151 stores the ID of the system in which the screen flow is used. The flow ID column 152 stores an ID for identifying the screen flow. The flow name column 153 stores the name of the screen flow. The node ID column 154 stores the node ID of the screen component that is executed first when the screen flow is activated. The screen flow after this screen component is determined based on the transition table 52 of FIG. Here, a screen component incorporated in the screen flow is referred to as a “node”, and an ID for identifying an individual screen component incorporated in the screen flow is referred to as a “node ID”.

  When the corresponding action determination unit 26 determines the screen flow to be activated, the corresponding action control unit 28 refers to the flow management table 48 based on the ID of the screen flow and first executes the screen component to be executed. Get the node ID. For example, in the example of FIG. 15, when the screen flow with the flow ID “PROC01_RECOV_01” is activated in the customer system with the system ID “SYSA”, the node ID of the screen component to be executed first is “00001”. The correspondence between the node ID and the component ID is stored in the flow component table 50 shown in FIG.

  FIG. 16 shows an example of internal data of the flow component table 50. The flow component table 50 stores a list of screen components constituting each screen flow and basic information thereof. In the flow component table 50, a node ID column 161, a flow ID column 162, and a component ID column 163 are provided.

  The node ID column 161 stores an ID for identifying a screen component arranged in the screen flow. The flow ID column 162 stores an ID for identifying the screen flow. The component ID column 163 stores screen component IDs. When the corresponding action control unit 28 specifies the node ID of the screen component to be executed next with reference to the flow management table 48 in FIG. 15 and the transition table 52 in FIG. 17, the flow component table 50 is determined based on the node ID. To obtain the component ID of the screen component.

  For example, in the example of FIG. 16, the screen flow with the flow ID “PROC01_RECOV_01” includes five types of screen parts with the part IDs “PROC01_EXEC_CHECK”, “PROC01_RECOVERY_SEARCH”, “PROC01_RECOVERY”, “PROC01_OBS_SEARCH”, and “PROC01_REPORT”. Each is assigned a node ID. Among these, since the screen component “PROC01_REPORT” is set as a transition destination of five different connectors, five node IDs are assigned. Even for the same kind of screen components, different node IDs are assigned to each of the screen components when they are set in a plurality of nodes in the screen flow. The transition relation of these screen components is stored in the transition table 52 shown in FIG.

  FIG. 17 shows an example of internal data of the transition table 52. The transition table 52 stores information for defining transitions of screen components in the screen flow. The transition table 52 includes a node ID column 171, a connector ID column 172, and a transition destination node ID column 173.

  The node ID column 171 stores the node ID of the transition source screen component. The connector ID column 172 stores an ID for identifying the connector of the screen component. The transition destination node ID column 173 stores the node ID of the screen component of the transition destination corresponding to the connector ID. The corresponding action control unit 28 refers to the transition table 52 based on the connector ID indicating the work result input by the operator, and acquires the transition destination node ID.

  For example, in the example of FIG. 17, two screen components are set as transition destinations of the screen component with the node ID “00001”, that is, with reference to FIG. 16, the screen component with the component ID “PROC01_EXEC_CHECK” (screen D1). Has been. The transition destination in the case of the connector ID “1”, that is, “automatic recovery” is the screen component with the node ID “00005”, that is, the screen component with the component ID “PROC01_REPORT” (see FIG. 16) Screen D5) is set. The transition destination in the case of the connector ID “2”, that is, “still stopped” is the screen component with the node ID “00002”, that is, with reference to FIG. 16, the screen component with the component ID “PROC01_RECOVERY_SEARCH” (screen D2) is set.

  FIG. 18 shows an example of the table configuration of the contact database 38. The contact database 38 includes a mail template table 54, a contact management table 56, a contact block table 58, a telephone contact order table 60, and a mail destination table 62. In order to present these information to the operator, the contact information is set in advance for the screen parts such as “e-mail sending part”, “fault reporting part”, “general-purpose part”, “contact confirmation part”, etc. Used for. Further, when the “automatic telephone” function or the “automatic mail” function is selected in the sorting condition table 40, it is used to automatically send a telephone call or mail.

  FIG. 19 shows an example of internal data of the mail template table 54. The mail template table 54 stores information on an e-mail template used for a failure occurrence report, a failure recovery report, and the like. The mail template table 54 includes a template ID field 221, a template name field 222, and a text field 223. The template ID column 221 stores an ID for identifying the mail template. The template name column 222 stores the name of the mail template. The text field 223 stores the contents of a sentence used as an e-mail template. A sentence used as a template may include a reserved word for embedding variable values such as message contents and work results in the text.

  When a mail template is specified for the screen component, the corresponding action control unit 28 acquires the text of the corresponding mail template by referring to the mail template table 54, and reads and sets the content of the text.

  FIG. 20 shows an example of internal data of the contact management table 56. The contact management table 56 stores information on the other party to be notified of the occurrence of a failure, failure recovery, and the like. The contact management table 56 includes a contact ID field 231, a company name field 232, an affiliation field 233, a name field 234, a mail attribute 1 field 235, a mail address 1 field 236, a mail attribute 2 field 237, and a mail address 2 field 238. , Telephone attribute 1 field 239, telephone number 1 field 240, telephone attribute 2 field 241, telephone number 2 field 242, telephone attribute 3 field 243, and telephone number 3 field 244 are provided. The contact ID column 231 stores an ID for identifying a contact. The company name column 232 stores the name of the company to which the contact address belongs. The affiliation column 233 stores the affiliation of the contact address. The name column 234 stores the name of the contact. The mail attribute 1 field 235 and the mail attribute 2 field 237 store the type of mail address. The mail address 1 column 236 and the mail address 2 column 238 store the mail address of the contact address. The telephone attribute 1 field 239, the telephone attribute 2 field 241, and the telephone attribute 3 field 243 store character strings indicating the type and attribute of the telephone. The telephone number 1 field 240, the telephone number 2 field 242, and the telephone number 3 field 244 store telephone numbers of contacts.

  The corresponding action control unit 28 acquires the telephone number or mail address of the corresponding contact with reference to the contact management table 56 and presents it on the screen when the contact is specified in the screen part.

  FIG. 21 shows an example of internal data of the contact address block table 58. The contact block table 58 stores a list of contact blocks, which are a set of a plurality of contacts, and their basic information. The contact address block table 58 includes a system ID field 251, a contact address block ID field 252, a block name field 253, and an effective start date field 254. The system ID column 251 stores the system ID. The contact block ID column 252 stores an ID for identifying a contact block. The block name column 253 stores the name of the contact block. The valid start date column 254 stores the date on which the contact block is valid.

  When the contact block is designated in the screen part, the corresponding action control unit 28 refers to the contact block table 58 to confirm the effective start date, and stores the telephone contact order table 60 or the mail destination table 62 described later. By referring to the information, a contact belonging to the contact block is acquired and presented on the screen.

  FIG. 22 shows an example of internal data of the telephone contact order table 60. The telephone contact order table 60 stores contacts belonging to the contact block and priorities for making telephone contact with those contacts. The telephone contact ranking table 60 includes a contact block ID column 261, a contact ID column 262, a telephone attribute number column 263, a rank (business day + day) column 264, a rank (business day + night) column 265, a rank. A (holiday + daytime) column 266 and a rank (holiday + nighttime) column 267 are provided. The contact block ID column 261 stores the contact block ID. The contact ID column 262 stores IDs of contacts belonging to the contact block. The telephone attribute number column 263 stores a character string indicating the type or attribute of the telephone number of the contact. The rank (business day + daytime) column 264, the rank (business day + nighttime) column 265, the rank (holiday + daytime) column 266, and the rank (holiday + nighttime) column 267 are used when calling a contact. Stores priority by time zone.

  FIG. 23 shows an example of internal data of the mail destination table 62. The mail destination table 62 stores mail destinations belonging to the contact block. The mail destination table 62 includes a contact block ID column 271, a contact ID column 272, a mail attribute number column 273, and a destination classification column 274. The contact block ID column 271 stores the contact block ID. The contact ID column 272 stores the IDs of contacts belonging to the contact block. The mail attribute number column 273 stores the mail address type of the contact address. The destination category column 274 stores a destination category for designating a mail address.

  In this way, by registering the contact information in advance and setting it as a screen component as a screen component, it is possible to present an appropriate contact address to the operator according to the received message and the content of the work. . As a result, it is possible to save labor for the operator to check the contact information, and to reduce man-hours.

  FIG. 24 is a flowchart illustrating a procedure from reception of a message to analysis. When the message reception unit 22 receives a failure message transmitted from the monitored system 10 (S10), the message analysis unit 24 refers to the customer system database 32 and the received message is transmitted from any customer system. (S12). When the customer system is specified, the separation condition table 40 of the action definition database 34 set for the customer system is referred to match whether or not the received message matches the zero-order separation condition (S14). If it matches the policy of the ignoring condition (Y in S16), the message analysis unit 24 registers the message in the failure management database 36 as an ignoring failure (S20), and ends the processing for the message. When the policy does not match the policy of the ignoring condition (N in S16), the message analysis unit 24 registers the message as a failure in the failure management database 36 (S18). When the received message matches the policy of the automatic processing condition (Y in S22), the message analysis unit 24 executes automatic processing such as automatic telephone call, automatic mail, and automatic command (S24). When the automatic processing condition is not met (N in S22), the message analysis unit 24 notifies the operator of the message reception by the alert notification unit 30 (S26). When the operator who knows the occurrence of the failure starts the corresponding work, the process proceeds to the corresponding action determination process shown in FIG.

  In this way, first, by specifying a customer system and applying the action definition database 34 set for each customer system, it is possible to appropriately filter messages for each customer system. Further, even when the countermeasures are different for each customer system, it is possible to present an appropriate countermeasure according to the customer system in which the failure has occurred as a screen flow.

  FIG. 25 is a flowchart showing the procedure for determining the corresponding action. When the operator gives an instruction to start work on the failure message, the corresponding action determination unit 26 refers to the isolation condition table 40 of the action definition database 34 and searches for a primary isolation condition that matches the received message (S30). ). When it does not match the policy of the separation condition (N in S32), the corresponding action determination unit 26 selects a general screen flow as the corresponding action (S36). When the policy of the separation condition is met (Y in S32), the corresponding action determination unit 26 determines the highest priority among the matched separation conditions as the corresponding action, and the action classification is “4 (screen flow). ) ", The flow ID is acquired and notified to the corresponding action control unit 28 (S34).

  Thus, by setting the conditions for separating the received message, it is possible to automatically determine an appropriate screen flow according to the message, so that the number of man-hours for the operator can be drastically reduced. Moreover, an operator's judgment mistake can be prevented.

  FIG. 26 is a flowchart showing a procedure for corresponding action control. When the corresponding action control unit 28 is notified of the flow ID from the corresponding action determination unit 26, the corresponding action control unit 28 refers to the flow management table 48 and acquires the node ID of the screen component to be executed first (S40). Subsequently, the corresponding action control unit 28 refers to the flow component table 50 and acquires the component ID of the screen component corresponding to the acquired node ID (S42). Furthermore, the corresponding action control unit 28 refers to the property table 44, reads the elements constituting the screen part of the acquired part ID, constructs and presents the screen (S44).

  When the operator executes the work presented on the screen and inputs the result to request screen transition (Y in S46), the corresponding action control unit 28 refers to the connector table 46 and enters the input result. The connector ID corresponding to is acquired (S48). Subsequently, the corresponding action control unit 28 refers to the transition table 52 and acquires the node ID of the screen component at the transition destination corresponding to the acquired connector ID (S50). At this time, if the node ID is not specified and data indicating that the corresponding action is to be ended is stored (Y in S52), the corresponding action is ended, and the contents and results of the work are stored in the failure management database 36. To record. When the node ID is acquired (N of S52), the process returns to S42, acquires the part ID of the next screen part, executes the screen part, and presents the screen.

  Here, a process in which the screen flow for presenting the work flow shown in FIG. 2 is realized by the configuration shown in FIGS. 8 to 17 will be further described. FIG. 27 shows a screen flow for presenting the work flow shown in FIG. First, it is assumed that the message receiving unit 22 receives a message indicating an abnormality of the process “PROC01” from the monitoring target device “NODEA01” of the customer system of “Company A”. At this time, the message analysis unit 24 searches the customer system database 32 of FIG. 9 using the device ID “NODEA01” included in the message as a key, and the system ID of the customer system that sent this message is “SYSA”. Identify that there is. Subsequently, the message analysis unit 24 searches the isolation condition table 40 of FIG. 11 to determine whether or not this message matches the ignoring condition or the automatic processing condition. Therefore, the alert notification unit 30 issues an alert.

  When the operator notices the alert and starts the response work, the response action determination unit 26 searches the isolation condition table 40 in FIG. 11 to identify that this message matches the isolation condition of the isolation ID “101”. The flow ID “PROC01_RECOV_01” of the screen flow to be activated is notified to the corresponding action control unit 28. The corresponding action control unit 28 refers to the flow management table 48 of FIG. 15, and in the screen flow with the system ID “SYSA” and the flow ID “PROC01_RECOV_01”, the node ID “00001” of the screen component to be executed first. To get. Further, the corresponding action control unit 28 refers to the flow component table 50 in FIG. 16 and among the screen components constituting the flow ID “PROC01_RECOV_01”, the component ID “PROC01_EXEC_CHECK” of the screen component having the node ID “00001”. Is obtained. The corresponding action control unit 28 reads all the records with the component ID “PROC01_EXEC_CHECK” from the property table 44 of FIG. 13 to execute the screen component with the component ID “PROC01_EXEC_CHECK”, and configures the screen with those components. And present. In this way, the screen D1 of FIG. 3 is presented to the operator.

  When the operator executes the instruction presented on the screen D1, selects the “automatically recovering” radio button and clicks the “next” button, the corresponding action control unit 28 displays “automatically recovering”. The connector ID “1” assigned to the “” radio button is acquired. The corresponding action control unit 28 refers to the transition table 52 of FIG. 17, and in the screen component having the node ID “00001”, the transition destination node ID “00005” associated with the connector having the connector ID “1”. Is obtained. The corresponding action control unit 28 further refers to the flow component table 50 of FIG. 16 and acquires the component ID “PROC01_REPORT” of the screen component whose node ID is “00005”. The corresponding action control unit 28 reads the screen components from the property table 44 in FIG. 13 and configures the screen in order to execute the screen component with the component ID “PROC01_REPORT”. In this way, the screen D5 of FIG. 7 is presented to the operator as the screen when the automatic recovery has been performed.

  When the operator executes the instruction presented on the screen D1, selects the “keep stopped” radio button and clicks the “next” button, the corresponding action control unit 28 sets the “keep stopped” radio button. The connector ID “2” assigned to is acquired. The corresponding action control unit 28 refers to the transition table 52 of FIG. 17, and in the screen component whose node ID is “00001”, the transition destination node ID “00002” associated with the connector having the connector ID “2”. Is obtained. Further, the corresponding action control unit 28 refers to the flow component table 50 of FIG. 16 and acquires the component ID “PROC01_RECOVERY_SEARCH” of the screen component whose node ID is “00002”. The corresponding action control unit 28 reads the screen components from the property table 44 of FIG. 13 and configures the screen in order to execute the screen component with the component ID “PROC01_RECOVERY_SEARCH”. In this way, the screen D2 of FIG. 4 is presented to the operator as a screen when the process remains stopped. Thereafter, similarly, the screen components of the screen flow shown in FIG. 27 are sequentially executed, and any of the screens shown in FIGS. 3 to 7 is presented.

  As described above, since a plurality of screen parts can be appropriately combined and the screen part to be executed next can be designated according to the result of the work, the screen flow can be easily designed, and the number of design steps can be reduced. In addition, a flexible screen flow can be defined, and a more appropriate work flow can be expressed. In addition, since the screen can be designed by arranging the prepared components for the individual screen parts, the design of the screen becomes easy and the number of man-hours can be reduced.

  Next, functions for generating and editing screen flows will be described. As described above, the screen flow includes a plurality of screen parts, and the screen flow for presenting a series of work flows is realized by defining transition relations and transition conditions between the screen parts. The

  FIG. 28 shows the configuration of the flow editing unit. The flow editing unit 70 is an example of a flow editing device, and provides a graphical user interface (GUI) for editing a screen flow. The flow editing unit 70 visualizes the screen flow in the form of a directed graph and displays it on the editing screen. The flow editing unit 70 accepts a user editing operation using a pointing device such as a mouse, and displays the configuration of screen components constituting the screen flow, transition relationships, and the like. To edit. The flow editing unit 70 may be provided inside the monitoring device 20 illustrated in FIG. 8, or provided separately from an application that implements the function of the monitoring device 20 as a maintenance application for the monitoring device 20. Also good.

  The flow editing unit 70 receives basic information such as the name of the screen flow, the ID of the system that uses the screen flow, classification, and remarks, and stores it in the flow management table 48. The flow editing unit 70 includes an edit screen display unit 71, a component search unit 72, a component editing unit 74, a component incorporation unit 76, and a transition destination setting unit 78. First, the editing procedure will be described with reference to FIGS. 29 to 31, and the functions of the individual components will be organized.

  FIG. 29 shows an example of a screen flow editing screen presented by the flow editing unit 70. FIG. 29 shows an editing screen 90 presented when a new screen flow is created. Since the screen flow to be edited does not yet include a screen component, the directed graph is not displayed. When the button 91 on the left side of the screen is clicked, a screen component search screen is displayed. On the “MyDock” screen 99, frequently used screen components can be registered, and a list of registered screen components is displayed. A slide bar for changing the display scale is provided on the upper left of the edit screen, and the scale can be freely changed and displayed on the edit screen. In addition, when a part of a huge flow is displayed on the editing screen, the currently displayed position in the entire flow is presented.

  FIG. 30 shows an example of a screen component search screen presented by the component search unit 72. When the user inputs a search condition on the search screen 92 and requests a search, the part search unit 72 refers to the part management table 42 and displays a list of screen parts that match the search condition on the search result screen 93. . When the user drags and drops a screen part to be incorporated into the screen flow from the list or the screen parts registered in the “MyDock” screen 99, the part incorporation unit 76 performs this editing. Accept the operation and incorporate the screen part into the screen flow being edited. The edit screen display unit 71 displays on the edit screen 90 the nodes of the incorporated screen parts and the edges of the number of connectors defined in the screen parts. In the editing screen 90 of FIG. 30, a node 94 indicating a screen component is indicated by a rectangle, and the ID and name of the screen component are displayed inside the rectangle. At the bottom of the rectangle, an edge corresponding to the connector defined in the screen part is displayed. When the pointer rolls over the vicinity of the edge, the name of the connector of the edge may be displayed. Information about screen components constituting the screen flow is stored in the flow component table 50.

  FIG. 31 shows a state in which the screen transition relationship is set. On the editing screen 90, the user drags the end point of the arrow of the edge 97 corresponding to the connector ID “1” out of the two edges coming out of the screen component corresponding to the node 95 by using a pointing device or the like. When the node is dropped on the node 96 indicating the screen component, the screen component corresponding to the node 96 is set as the transition destination of the connector having the connector ID “1” defined in the screen component corresponding to the node 95 at the starting point of the arrow. The This information is stored in the transition table 52. Information about the screen component executed at the beginning of the screen flow is stored in the flow management table 48.

  Returning to FIG. 28, the operation and function of each component are organized. The edit screen display unit 71 generates a directed graph having the screen components constituting the screen flow as nodes, displays the directed graph on the edit screen, and accepts an edit operation on the screen flow from the user. The edit screen display unit 71 may display a node corresponding to the screen component using a graphic such as a rectangle or a circle, and may display an edge indicating the transition relationship of the screen using a graphic such as an arrow. The edit screen display unit 71 may display the ID or name of the screen component inside the graphic indicating the node corresponding to the screen component. The edit screen display unit 71 may display a transition condition, a connector name, or a connector ID corresponding to the edge in the vicinity of the edge indicating the transition relationship of the screen. When the pointer rolls over the vicinity of the edge, the edit screen display unit 71 may display the name of the connector of the edge.

  The component search unit 72 presents a screen for receiving a screen component search condition from the user. When the search condition is received from the user, the component search unit 72 selects from the screen components registered in the component management table 42 of the action definition database 34. Screen parts that match the search conditions specified by the user are searched and presented. The component editing unit 74 presents a user interface for editing basic information and components of screen components, and receives an editing operation from the user. When the basic information of the screen part is edited, the part editing unit 74 changes the corresponding item in the part management table 42 of the action definition database 34. When the component of the screen part is edited, the part editing unit 74 changes the corresponding item in the property table 44 of the action definition database 34. When the screen component transition condition, the number of connectors, and the like are edited, the component editing unit 74 changes the corresponding item in the connector table 46 of the action definition database 34.

  The component incorporation unit 76 receives designation of a screen component to be incorporated into the screen flow from the user, and causes the editing screen display unit 71 to add a node indicating the designated screen component to the directed graph of the screen flow displayed on the editing screen. Instruct. The component incorporation unit 76 drags and drops the screen component presented on the search result screen presented by the component retrieval unit 72 to the screen flow editing screen displaying the directed graph of the screen flow. An instruction to be incorporated into may be accepted. The component incorporating unit 76 may directly accept the ID, name, etc. of the screen component and specify the screen component to be incorporated in the screen flow. When receiving the designation of the screen component to be incorporated into the screen flow, the component incorporation unit 76 assigns a node ID to the screen component and registers it in the flow component table 50.

  When the editing screen display unit 71 receives an instruction to incorporate a screen component into the screen flow from the component incorporation unit 76, the editing screen display unit 71 adds a node corresponding to the screen component to the directed graph. At this time, the edit screen display unit 71 acquires information for identifying the screen component from the component incorporation unit 76, reads the ID or name of the screen component from the component management table 42, and displays it within the graphic indicating the node. May be. Alternatively, the number of connectors defined for the screen component may be read from the connector table 46 and the number of edges may be displayed together with the nodes. Alternatively, the transition condition, the name of the connector, or the connector ID corresponding to each connector may be read from the connector table 46 and displayed near the edge.

  When the transition destination setting unit 78 accepts an editing operation for connecting nodes with edges in an editing screen on which a directed graph having the screen parts constituting the screen flow as nodes is displayed, the screen part corresponding to the nodes connected by the edges Set transition relations between them. When the transition destination setting unit 78 accepts an editing operation for connecting the end point of an edge coming out of a certain node to another node, the node connected to the end point of the edge from the screen part corresponding to the node at the start point of the edge The transition to the screen component corresponding to may be set in the transition table 52. At this time, a screen component corresponding to the node connected to the end point of the edge may be set as a transition destination when the connector ID or the transition condition associated with the edge is met.

  The flow editing unit 70 stores necessary information in the flow management table 48, the flow component table 50, and the transition table 52 when the user is requested to save the setting information at the end of editing the screen flow or during editing. To do.

  In this way, a graphical user interface is provided that can display a screen flow using a directed graph, accept a user editing operation on the directed graph, and edit the screen flow. Thus, the user can easily generate and edit the screen flow by a visually easy-to-understand method. When the monitoring device 20 is newly introduced, a screen flow for presenting standard failure handling work may be registered in advance. The administrator of the monitoring device 20 may customize the screen flow so as to match the content of the work corresponding to the customer system using the screen flow editing function. Thereby, the quality and reliability of the monitoring system can be improved.

  In the monitoring device 20, when the corresponding action control unit 28 presents the screen flow to the operator, the directed graph generated by the flow editing unit 70 is presented, and the currently presented screen in the screen flow is changed to another screen. May be presented in an identifiable manner. For example, the display color of the graphic indicating the node corresponding to the currently displayed screen may be highlighted by changing it to a color different from the graphic of other nodes. In the screen flow, the route of the screen presented up to the current screen may be highlighted.

  FIG. 32 shows an example of a screen on which the monitoring device 20 presents a screen flow. In addition to the screen D3 shown in FIG. 5, the screen D3 shown in FIG. 32 displays a directed graph D0 indicating the entire screen flow being executed in the lower left of the screen. The nodes and edges indicating the screen are displayed with thick lines, and the nodes indicating the currently displayed screen are displayed with diagonal lines. As a result, the operator can easily grasp the entire screen flow and the current progress. The directed graph D0 indicating the entire screen flow may be displayed in a window different from the screen D3.

  The corresponding action control unit 28 may refer to the flow component table 50 and the transition table 52 to newly generate and present a directed graph D0 indicating the entire screen flow, or the screen flow may be changed by the flow editing unit 70. The directed graph presented on the editing screen at the time of editing may be held and presented together with the presentation of the screen flow. In the latter case, when the screen flow is generated and edited, the flow editing unit 70 further stores coordinates indicating the position of the node of each screen component in the directed graph in the flow management table 48 and the flow component table 50. May be. The corresponding action control unit 28 may read the coordinates from the flow management table 48 and the flow component table 50 and display the directed graph D0 of the screen flow.

  Note that, for example, a work to be executed after an instruction from an expert or the like cannot be predicted in advance, and thus there may be a case where the screen flow until the end of the trouble handling work cannot be defined. Also, if a screen flow is prepared in consideration of various work options, the screen flow becomes enlarged and the merit of using the screen as a component is reduced. In consideration of such a case, a screen component having an interface for shifting to another screen flow according to the instructed content may be prepared. This screen component is referred to as a “corresponding cloud component”. In the failure report screen D5 shown in FIG. 7, a large number of radio buttons provided in the section “Confirmation” correspond to an interface for starting another screen flow. When the operator is instructed to execute the “procedure manual” by, for example, a telephone contact partner, the radio button of “procedure execution” is selected to move to the next screen. The corresponding action control unit 28 activates the screen flow associated with the “procedure manual execution” connector and presents the screen. Even in the screen flow after the transition, the contents of the work performed by the operator are recorded in the failure management database 36. Therefore, even if a screen flow that does not define the end of the work is executed, The contents of the work performed are automatically recorded. It is possible to design an appropriate screen flow by referring to this history later.

  The present invention has been described based on the embodiments. This embodiment is an exemplification, and it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various modifications can be made to combinations of the respective constituent elements and processing processes, and such modifications are also within the scope of the present invention. is there.

  In the embodiment, the screen flow for the purpose of mainly assisting the operator in handling the failure has been described. However, even when an expert or the like performs the failure handling operation, the technique described in the embodiment is used. Is possible. In this manner, regardless of whether the operator or the engineer is used, the technique according to the embodiment can be widely used, so that work can be prevented from becoming a person. For example, when another operator who is not the main person in charge works, or when a person inexperienced works, if the work is a person, it cannot be handled. By using the technology described in the embodiment, a person who is not the main person in charge can appropriately respond.

It is a figure which shows the structure of the monitoring system which concerns on embodiment. It is a figure which shows the flow of the operation | work which an operator should perform when the message which shows abnormality of a process is received. It is a figure which shows the screen for showing the procedure of a service confirmation operation | work among the work flows shown in FIG. It is a figure which shows the screen for showing the procedure of a recovery procedure manual search operation | work among the work flows shown in FIG. It is a figure which shows the screen for showing the procedure of a procedure manual execution operation | work among the work flows shown in FIG. It is a figure which shows the screen for showing the procedure of a past failure search operation | work among the work flows shown in FIG. It is a figure which shows the screen for showing the procedure of report work among the work flows shown in FIG. It is a figure which shows the internal structure of a monitoring apparatus. It is a figure which shows the example of the internal data of a customer system database. It is a figure which shows the example of a table structure of an action definition database. It is a figure which shows the example of the internal data of a cutting condition table. It is a figure which shows the example of the internal data of a components management table. It is a figure which shows the example of the internal data of a property table. It is a figure which shows the example of the internal data of a connector table. It is a figure which shows the example of the internal data of a flow management table. It is a figure which shows the example of the internal data of a flow component table. It is a figure which shows the example of the internal data of a transition table. It is a figure which shows the example of a table structure of a contact address database. It is a figure which shows the example of the internal data of a mail template table. It is a figure which shows the example of the internal data of a contact management table. It is a figure which shows the example of the internal data of a contact address block table. It is a figure which shows the example of the internal data of a telephone contact order table. It is a figure which shows the example of the internal data of a mail destination table. It is a flowchart which shows the procedure from receiving a message to analyzing it. It is a flowchart which shows the procedure of corresponding | compatible action determination. It is a flowchart which shows the procedure of corresponding | compatible action control. It is a figure which shows the screen flow which presents the work flow shown in FIG. It is a figure which shows the structure of a flow edit unit. It is a figure which shows the example of the edit screen of the screen flow which a flow edit unit presents. It is a figure which shows the example of the search screen of the screen components which a components search part shows. It is a figure which shows a mode that the transition relationship of a screen is set. It is a figure which shows the example of the screen which a monitoring apparatus presents a screen flow.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Monitoring target system, 20 Monitoring apparatus, 22 Message receiving part, 24 Message analysis part, 26 Corresponding action determination part, 28 Corresponding action control part, 30 Alert notification part, 32 Customer system database, 34 Action definition database, 36 Fault management database 38 Contact database 40 Sorting condition table 41 Parts data table 42 Parts management table 44 Property table 46 Connector table 47 Flow data table 48 Flow management table 50 Flow component table 52 Transition table 54 mail template table, 56 contact management table, 58 contact block table, 60 telephone contact ranking table, 62 mail destination table, 70 flow editing unit 71, Edit screen display section, 72 Parts search section, 74 Parts edit section, 76 Parts assembly section, 78 Transition destination setting section.

Claims (5)

A screen data storage unit for storing screen data for presenting the contents of work to be executed in response to the received message when a message about the monitoring target is received via the network;
A screen flow data storage unit configured to combine a plurality of the screens and store screen flow data for presenting the work flow;
Providing an editing screen for editing the screen flow, and an editing unit that receives an editing operation from a user and edits the screen flow, and
The editing unit generates a directed graph having the screens constituting the screen flow as nodes, displays the directed graph on the editing screen, accepts an editing operation connecting the nodes with edges, and corresponds to the nodes connected with the edges A flow editing apparatus, wherein a transition relationship between screens to be set is set and stored in the screen flow data storage unit. The screen data storage unit stores the number of screens that can be set as transition destinations for each screen,
Upon receiving an editing operation for incorporating a screen into the screen flow, the editing unit displays a node corresponding to the screen on the editing screen, and stores the number of screens that can be set as a transition destination of the screen in the screen data The flow editing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the flow editing apparatus displays the number of edges together with the nodes.   The editing unit accepts an editing operation for connecting an end point of an edge coming out of a node to another node, and corresponds to a node connected to the end point of the edge from a screen corresponding to the node of the start point of the edge The flow editing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein transition to a screen is set.   When there are a plurality of screens that can be set as a transition destination of a screen, the editing unit displays an edge corresponding to each connector, and accepts an editing operation to connect the end point of the edge to another node. 4. The flow editing apparatus according to claim 3, wherein a screen corresponding to a node connected to an end point of the edge is set as a transition destination screen associated with the connector corresponding to the edge. When presenting a message related to a monitoring target via a network, the work flow is presented by combining a plurality of screens for presenting the contents of the work to be executed in response to the received message. When editing the screen flow,
Receiving a designation of a screen constituting the screen flow;
Displaying a directed graph with the screen as a node on an editing screen;
Receiving an editing operation for connecting the nodes with edges, and setting a transition relationship between screens corresponding to the nodes connected with the edges;
A flow editing method comprising:

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