JP2016071435A - Workflow control device and program - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a workflow control device that can make a user aware that the user has instructed execution of processing different from workflows.SOLUTION: A workflow control device includes: a workflow management part 13 that manages workflows WF for instructing execution of processing corresponding to a specific operation (execution instruction operation) to an image forming apparatus 1 while combining the processing in specific order; a coincidence determination part 15 that determines whether or not processing corresponding to a user's operation performed to the image forming apparatus 1 matches with processing according to the managed workflows WF; and a display processing part 17 that, when the processing corresponding to the user's operation does not match with all the managed workflows WF, displays, on a display part 7a on a screen 7 of an UI part 3, order of processing to be combined with a workflow WF (partially matched workflow WF) having relatively high coincidence and instructed to be executed.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to a workflow control apparatus and a program for controlling a workflow for instructing execution by combining processes corresponding to operations on an electronic device such as an image forming apparatus.

  As an image forming apparatus as an electronic apparatus, an apparatus having a plurality of functions such as a facsimile function and a document server function is known in addition to a printing function, such as a digital multifunction peripheral.

  When using such a plurality of functions, it may be required to perform processing based on a specific function in a specific order. For example, in an image forming apparatus installed in an organization such as a company, when a user in the organization such as an employee uses the image forming apparatus, specific scanning, storage, circulation, approval, distribution, etc. There is a case where it is defined as a rule that processing is performed in order.

  In this case, the user needs to perform a specific operation for instructing execution of scanning, storage, circulation, approval, distribution, and the like of a document in a specific order according to a predetermined rule. However, there are problems such as the need for well-known rules and complicated operations on the image forming apparatus.

  On the other hand, for example, Patent Literature 1 and Patent Literature 2 disclose a technique for registering a workflow in which execution instructions for processing corresponding to a specific operation are combined in a specific order. In these Patent Documents 1 and 2, when a user selects a registered workflow, it is possible to instruct the image forming apparatus to execute a process corresponding to a specific operation in a specific order.

  Further, Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2 also disclose that convenience when using a workflow is improved.

  In Patent Document 1, when the user (registrant) who registered the workflow is different from the user (executor) to be selected, it is possible to easily perform the unique setting of the executor.

  In Patent Document 2, a personal workflow of a user who is trying to select a workflow from a large number of registered workflows and a workflow important for an organization such as a company to which the user belongs are displayed so as to be noticeable at a time. To improve workflow searchability.

  However, in both Patent Documents 1 and 2, it is necessary to recognize in advance the existence of a workflow selected by the user. For this reason, a user who does not recognize the existence of the workflow performs an operation instruction on the image forming apparatus without using the workflow, and may instruct execution of a process different from the workflow. If an instruction is given to execute a process different from the workflow, it is necessary to make corrections according to the workflow. However, the user who performed the operation completes a series of processes without noticing that an instruction to execute a process different from the workflow has been issued. There is a problem of letting you. A similar problem also occurs when a user who recognizes the existence of a workflow makes an operation mistake without using the workflow.

JP 2005-258672 A JP 2008-217685 A

  The problem to be solved by the present invention is that there is a possibility that the processing may be completed without noticing that execution of processing different from the workflow is instructed.

  The present invention corresponds to a workflow management unit that manages a workflow for instructing execution by combining processes corresponding to a specific operation on an electronic device in a specific order, and corresponds to a user operation performed on the electronic device. In a case where the degree of coincidence determination unit for determining whether or not the process is consistent with the process by the managed workflow, and the process corresponding to the user's operation are not consistent with respect to all the managed workflows, The main feature is a workflow control device including a display processing unit that displays on the screen the order of processing that is executed in combination with a workflow having a relatively high degree of coincidence.

  According to the present invention, when there is no workflow that can be instructed to execute a process that matches the process corresponding to the user's operation performed on the electronic device, the order of the processes by the workflow having a relatively high matching degree is displayed on the screen. It can be displayed on top and recognized by the user.

  For this reason, the user can recognize that the process for which the execution instruction has been given by the already performed operation is different from that of the workflow by referring to the order of the displayed processes.

  Therefore, it is possible to prompt the user to make a specific operation corresponding to the displayed processing order, or to allow the user to use the workflow recognized from the displayed processing order. It is possible to instruct the electronic apparatus to execute the processing according to the above.

1 is a block diagram of a main part of an image forming apparatus having a workflow control apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating a display unit and an operation unit on a screen of a UI unit provided in the image forming apparatus of FIG. 1. It is a flowchart which shows the workflow control processing by the workflow control apparatus of FIG.

  When there is no workflow that can be instructed to execute a process that matches the process corresponding to the user's operation performed on the electronic device for the purpose of making the user aware of the execution instruction for the process different from the workflow Furthermore, it was realized by displaying on the screen the order of processing by a workflow with a relatively high degree of coincidence.

[Configuration of Image Forming Apparatus]
FIG. 1 is a principal block diagram of an image forming apparatus having a workflow control apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

  The image forming apparatus 1 is installed in an organization such as a company, and is used by a user in the organization such as an employee. The image forming apparatus 1 is a digital multi-function peripheral as an electronic device, and has a plurality of functions such as a print function, a copy function, a scanner function, a facsimile function, and a document server function. These functions of the image forming apparatus 1 can be realized by a configuration provided in a known image forming apparatus, and thus detailed description thereof is omitted.

  The image forming apparatus 1 in FIG. 1 includes a user interface unit (hereinafter referred to as “UI unit”) 3, a workflow control device 5, and the like.

  The UI unit 3 includes a screen 7 such as a touch panel type liquid crystal, and enables operation input to the image forming apparatus 1 on the screen 7 and display of the operation status thereof. The UI unit 3 according to the present embodiment includes a display unit 7a and an operation unit 7b on the screen 7 in a workflow control process to be described later. The control of the UI unit 3 can be realized by an arithmetic processing unit such as a dedicated processor or a central processing unit such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit).

  FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing the display unit 7 a and the operation unit 7 b on the screen 7 of the UI unit 3.

  The display unit 7a is partitioned as a display area of the workflow WF on the screen 7 of the UI unit 3, and displays the workflow WF so that it can be selected by a user's touch operation. FIG. 2 illustrates the case where the workflows WF1 and WF2 are displayed on the display unit 7a.

  The workflow WF is a program for instructing execution by combining processes corresponding to specific operations on the image forming apparatus 1 in a specific order. Accordingly, when the workflow WF is selected by a user's touch operation on the display unit 7a, it is possible to instruct each unit of the image forming apparatus 1 to execute processing in the combined order. Note that the workflow WF is not limited to the workflow control process, and the UI unit 3 can search and use the workflow WF.

  The process instructed to be executed by the workflow WF is a process based on the functions of the image forming apparatus 1 such as document scanning, storage, circulation, approval, distribution, printing, e-mail transmission, and facsimile transmission.

  As the display of the workflow WF, together with the identification information of the workflow WF (WF1 and WF2 in FIG. 2), the order of the processes combined in each workflow WF (A to F in FIG. 2) is displayed on the display unit 7a. Therefore, in this embodiment, “display workflow WF” means that the order of processing by the workflow WF is displayed together with the identification information of the workflow WF. However, only the processing order may be displayed without displaying the identification information of the workflow WF.

  In the display of the workflow WF of the present embodiment, in the example of FIG. 2, for example, it is shown that the processes A, B, A, and D are combined in this order with the workflow WF1. Similarly, the workflow WF2 indicates that the processes A, C, E, and F are combined in this order.

  The operation unit 7b is partitioned as an input area for operations on the image forming apparatus 1 on the screen 7 of the UI unit 3, and displays soft keys in a selectable manner to accept input by a user's touch operation. Accordingly, the operation unit 7b can accept an operation (hereinafter, also referred to as “execution instruction operation”) directed to an execution instruction for processing in the image forming apparatus 1. FIG. 2 conceptually illustrates a case where execution instruction operations for the processes A, B, C, and D are sequentially performed.

  When the processing corresponding to the execution instruction operation performed on the image forming apparatus 1 by the user does not match that of the workflow WF, the workflow control device 5 changes the order of processing by the workflow WF having a relatively high degree of matching. It is displayed on the display unit 7 a on the screen 7 of the UI unit 3.

  The workflow control device 5 of the present embodiment is incorporated in the image forming apparatus 1, but can be provided separately from the image forming apparatus 1. When separating from the image forming apparatus 1, the workflow control apparatus 5 may be provided as a server apparatus or the like, and the workflow control apparatus 5 may be connected to the image forming apparatus 1 via a network.

  The workflow control device 5 includes a storage unit 9 and a control unit 11.

  The storage unit 9 is a ROM (Read Only Memory) that stores a workflow control program for realizing the functions of the workflow control device 5 and data necessary for processing, a RAM (Random Access Memory) as a work area, and an auxiliary storage device The storage device includes a hard disk drive (HDD).

  The control unit 11 is an arithmetic processing device as a computer that executes the workflow control program and realizes the function of the workflow control device 5. The control unit 11 according to the present embodiment functions as a workflow management unit 13, a matching degree determination unit 15, a display processing unit 17, a selection reception unit 19, an execution instruction unit 21, and a notification unit 23 by executing the workflow control program.

  The workflow management unit 13 realizes a workflow management function and manages the workflow WF. In the management of the workflow WF, the workflow WF is stored and updated. For example, the workflow management unit 13 accepts storage or change of the workflow WF in response to an input from the UI unit 3, and stores or updates the accepted workflow WF in the storage unit 9 in advance.

  The coincidence determination unit 15 realizes a coincidence determination function, and processing corresponding to a user's execution instruction operation performed on the image forming apparatus 1 is processed by the workflow WF managed in the storage unit 9. Determine whether they match.

  Specifically, a workflow WF (hereinafter referred to as “match workflow WF”) that can be instructed to execute the processing corresponding to the execution instruction operation in order using the execution instruction operation already performed by the user or the processing corresponding thereto as a key. The storage unit 9 is searched for the presence or absence of the

  When the matching workflow WF is searched, it is determined that the processing corresponding to the user's execution instruction operation performed on the image forming apparatus 1 matches the workflow WF managed in the storage unit 9.

  When the matching workflow WF is not searched, the matching degree determination unit 15 performs processing corresponding to the user's execution instruction operation performed on the image forming apparatus 1 with all the workflows WF managed in the storage unit 9. Judged to be inconsistent.

  In this case, a workflow WF that partially matches the process corresponding to the execution instruction operation that the user has already performed (hereinafter, may be referred to as “partial match workflow WF”) is extracted from the storage unit 9. For the extracted partial matching workflow WF, the matching degree determination unit 15 obtains a matching degree with the process corresponding to the execution instruction operation that the user has already performed.

  The display processing unit 17 realizes a display processing function, and a process corresponding to a user execution instruction operation performed on the image forming apparatus 1 is inconsistent with all workflows WF managed in the storage unit 9. In this case, the processing order instructed to be executed in combination with the partial matching workflow WF having a relatively high matching degree is displayed on the display unit 7a on the screen 7 of the UI unit 3.

  When displaying the partial match workflow WF, for example, the display processing unit 17 acquires an image that combines the identification information of the partial match workflow WF and the processing order from the storage unit 9, and displays the acquired image on the display unit 7 a of the UI unit 3. To display as described in FIG.

  The selection receiving unit 19 realizes a selection receiving function, and receives a selection for the partial match workflow WF displayed on the display unit 7 a on the screen 7 of the UI unit 3.

  The execution instruction unit 21 realizes an execution instruction function, and the selected partial match is traced back to the process in which the process instructed to execute by the selected partial match workflow WF does not match the process corresponding to the user operation. An instruction to execute processing according to the workflow WF is issued to each unit of the image forming apparatus 1.

  At this time, the execution instruction unit 21 discards unnecessary processing or data. For discarding unnecessary processing, if an execution instruction operation for a specific process after the mismatched process is in progress, cancel the operation, and if the execution instruction for the specific process is complete, the execution instruction Is canceled or when a specific process is being executed, the process is canceled. For discarding unnecessary data, if data generated as a specific processing result after the mismatched processing is stored in the storage unit 9, the data is deleted from the storage unit 9.

  The notification unit 23 realizes a notification function, and when the selection receiving unit 19 does not receive the selection of the partial match workflow WF, the part corresponding to the processing order displayed on the display unit 7a on the screen 7 of the UI unit 3 A specific notification destination is notified of a mismatch between the matching workflow WF and the process corresponding to the execution instruction operation of the user.

  In the present embodiment, for example, when there is no execution instruction operation for a user process, when a specific time has passed without displaying the selection of the partial match workflow WF after displaying the partial match workflow WF, the above notification of mismatch Is done.

  The notification destination is, for example, an administrator terminal such as an information processing device of a system administrator, and the notification unit 23 notifies the notification destination of the inconsistency by e-mail or the like. The inconsistency notified is, for example, the difference between the series of processes including the process corresponding to the execution instruction operation performed immediately before by the user and the partial match workflow WF, and the degree of coincidence.

[Workflow control processing]
FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing workflow control processing by the workflow control apparatus of FIG.

  The workflow control process according to the present exemplary embodiment is started when the user performs an execution instruction operation for an instruction to execute the process on the image forming apparatus 1. For example, as shown in FIG. 2, the execution instruction operation is performed by a user touching a soft key on the operation unit 7 b on the screen 7 of the UI unit 3. At this time, the workflow management unit 13 stores the operation information in the storage unit 9. Thereby, the operation information in the storage unit 9 is updated each time an execution instruction operation is performed. In addition, when data is generated by processing accompanying the execution instruction operation, the workflow management unit 13 also stores the generated data in the storage unit 9. The operation information includes information that specifies the user's execution instruction operation that has already been performed, processing corresponding to the execution instruction operation, and data generated by the execution instruction operation.

  In step S1, a “user operation detection” process is performed. That is, the coincidence degree determination unit 15 of the workflow control device 5 detects the user's execution instruction operation performed immediately before by the operation unit 7 b on the screen 7 of the UI unit 3. This detection can be realized by, for example, notification from the UI unit 3 or the like.

  When the execution instruction operation of the user is detected in this way, the process proceeds to step S2.

  In step S2, a process of “Is there a matching workflow?” Is performed. That is, the coincidence degree determination unit 15 of the workflow control device 5 refers to the operation information in the storage unit 9 according to the detection of the execution instruction operation performed immediately before, or the user's execution instruction operation already performed or Using the corresponding process as a key, the storage unit 9 determines whether there is a matching workflow WF that can be instructed to execute the process in order.

  In the example of FIG. 2, when an execution instruction operation for process A is detected, the execution instruction operations that have already been performed are only for process A, so workflows WF1 and WF2 are both the matching workflow WF. When the execution instruction operation that has already been performed is for the processes A and B, the workflow WF1 becomes the matching workflow WF.

  If there is a matching workflow WF, the process returns to step S1 to detect the next execution instruction operation (YES). If there is no matching workflow WF, the process proceeds to step S3.

  Note that the matching degree determination unit 15 may store the search result of the matching workflow WF in the storage unit 9. Thereby, it can utilize for the search of the next matching workflow WF at the time of returning to step S1. That is, the search for the next matching workflow WF can be executed within the range of the search result of the previous matching workflow WF, and the search processing can be speeded up and the processing load can be reduced.

  In step S3, “extraction of partial match workflow” is performed. That is, the matching degree determination unit 15 of the workflow control device 5 generates a partial matching workflow WF from the storage unit 9 that can be instructed to execute processing that partially matches processing that has already been performed by the user. Extract. The coincidence degree determination unit 15 stores the extraction result of the partial match workflow WF in the storage unit 9.

  In the example of FIG. 2, when the execution instruction operation that has already been performed is for the processes A, B, and C, the workflows WF1 and WF2 are extracted as the partial match workflow WF.

  At this time, if there is a search result of the previous matching workflow WF in the storage unit 9, the partial matching workflow WF can be extracted within the range of the search result, thereby speeding up the extraction process and reducing the processing load. Mitigation is possible.

  Thus, step S3 is completed, and the process proceeds to step S4.

  In step S4, “calculation of the degree of coincidence of the partial matching workflow” is performed. That is, the coincidence degree determination unit 15 of the workflow control device 5 obtains the degree of coincidence of the process by the partial coincidence workflow WF extracted in step S3 for the process corresponding to the execution instruction operation already performed by the user. The coincidence determination unit 15 stores the obtained coincidence in the storage unit 9 in association with the extraction result of the partial match workflow WF.

  In the example of FIG. 2, when the execution instruction operation that has already been performed corresponds to the processes A, B, C, and D, the degree of coincidence of the processes A, B, A, and D of the workflow WF1 with respect thereto is 75%, and the degree of coincidence between the processes A, C, E, and F of the workflow WF2 is 25%. In this example, the degree of coincidence indicates the rate at which the corresponding processes match for each process order between the execution instruction operation and the workflow WF.

  When the degree of coincidence is thus calculated, the process proceeds to step S5.

  In step S5, “partial match workflow display” is performed. That is, the display processing unit 17 of the workflow control device 5 can select the identification information of the partial matching workflow WF having a relatively high degree of matching obtained in step S4 and the subsequent processing order on the display unit 7a of the UI unit 3. Display. For example, as illustrated in FIG. 2, the display processing unit 17 displays in order from a relatively high partial match workflow WF.

  When displaying the partial match workflow WF, the display processing unit 17 may color the partial match workflow WF or highlight the background according to the degree of match. The display processing unit 17 may narrow down the partial match workflow WF to be displayed by setting a threshold value for the number of displays and the degree of match. However, in the case where a threshold value for the degree of coincidence is provided, there may be no partial match workflow WF that exceeds the threshold value, so the display processing unit 17 displays a warning or the like on the display unit 7a when displaying the partial match workflow WF. May be.

  When the partial match workflow WF is displayed, the user refers to the processing order of the displayed partial match workflow WF, and the process instructed to be executed by the operation already performed is different from the partial match workflow WF. You can notice that.

  Accordingly, the user can be prompted to correct the corresponding execution instruction operation while referring to the processing order by the partial match workflow WF, or the displayed partial match workflow WF can be selected and used by the user. Is possible.

  When the display of the partial match workflow WF is thus completed, the process proceeds to step S6.

  In step S6, a process of “has an operation by the user?” Is performed. In other words, the display processing unit 17 of the workflow control device 5 determines whether or not an execution instruction operation for processing on the image forming apparatus 1 by the user has been performed by the operation unit 7b of the UI unit 3 after displaying the partial match workflow WF. To do.

  For example, in the example of FIG. 2, the display processing unit 17 executes the new process D while the execution instruction operation for the processes A, B, and C has already been performed and the workflows WF1 and WF2 are displayed on the display unit 7a. It is determined whether or not an instruction operation has been performed.

  Alternatively, the display processing unit 17 has already performed the execution instruction operation for the processes A, B, C, and D, and has displayed the workflows WF1 and WF2 on the display unit 7a. It is determined whether or not a cancel operation has been performed.

  When there is an operation by the user, the operation information is stored in the storage unit 9 and the process proceeds to step S7 (YES), and when there is no operation by the user, the process proceeds to step S8 (NO).

  In step S7, a “cancel operation?” Process is performed. That is, the display processing unit 17 determines whether the execution instruction operation is an operation for canceling the process for correction as described above or an execution instruction operation for a new process.

  If the execution instruction operation is a cancel operation, the processing content corresponding to the execution instruction operation that has already been performed is changed, so the process returns to step S2 and the subsequent processing is resumed (YES).

  When the execution instruction operation is a new process execution instruction operation, the process returns to step S4 (NO). When returning from this step to step S4, the degree of coincidence of the processing corresponding to the execution instruction operation of the user who newly added the execution instruction operation is matched with the partially matching workflow WF extracted in step S3. The degree determination unit 15 obtains it. When obtaining the degree of coincidence, the degree of coincidence determination unit 15 refers to the extraction result and operation information of the partial coincidence workflow WF in the storage unit 9. Thereafter, in step S5, the partial matching workflow WF corresponding to the matching degree obtained in step S4 is displayed again.

   In step S8, a process of “whether a workflow has been selected?” Is performed. That is, the selection receiving unit 19 of the workflow control device 5 determines whether or not the partially matching workflow WF being displayed on the display unit 7a is selected.

  If the partially matching workflow WF being displayed is selected, the process proceeds to step S9 (YES), and if the partially matching workflow WF being displayed is not selected, the process proceeds to step S10 (NO).

  In step S <b> 9, “a process execution instruction according to the partial match workflow” is performed. That is, the execution instruction unit 21 of the workflow control device 5 executes the partial match workflow WF as a program in the storage unit 9 based on the identification information of the selected partial match workflow WF.

  As a result, according to the executed partial match workflow WF, the execution instruction of the process is imaged retroactively to the process that does not match the process corresponding to the execution instruction operation of the user while referring to the operation information in the storage unit 9. It can be performed on each part of the forming apparatus 1. At this time, unnecessary processing and data are deleted from the storage unit 9.

  For example, in the example of FIG. 2, when the partial match workflow WF1 is selected in the state where the execution instruction operation for the processes A, B, C, and D has already been performed, the process C is traced back to the process C that does not match. Instead, the execution instruction of the process A and the subsequent process D by the partial match workflow WF1 is performed.

  At this time, if unnecessary data generated in the process C corresponding to the execution instruction operation that has already been performed and the subsequent process D are stored in the storage unit 9, the unnecessary data is deleted. Further, when the execution instruction operation for the process D is in the middle, when the execution instruction for the process D is completed, or when the process D is still being executed, the execution instruction operation, the execution instruction, or the process D is canceled. Is done.

  When step S9 is completed in this way, the workflow control process is completed.

  On the other hand, in step S10, a process of “has a specific time elapsed?” Is performed. That is, the notification unit 23 of the workflow control device 5 determines whether or not a specific time has passed without accepting selection of the partial match workflow WF since the selection reception unit 19 displayed the partial match workflow WF.

  If the specific time has elapsed, the process proceeds to step S11 assuming that the user has completed a series of processes without using the partial match workflow WF (YES). On the other hand, if the specific time has not elapsed, the process returns to step S6 (NO).

  In step S11, “notification of mismatch” is performed. That is, the notification unit 23 of the workflow control device 5 performs a partially matching workflow including a series of processes including a process corresponding to an execution instruction operation performed by the user immediately by e-mail or the like to the administrator terminal of the system administrator. The difference between the processing by WF and the degree of coincidence are notified. It is assumed that the partial match workflow WF used at the time of notification has the highest degree of match.

[Effect of Example]
The workflow control apparatus 5 according to the present exemplary embodiment includes a workflow management unit 13 that manages a workflow WF for instructing execution by combining processes corresponding to specific operations on the image forming apparatus 1 in a specific order, and the image forming apparatus 1. A coincidence degree determination unit 15 that determines whether or not a process corresponding to a user operation performed on the process matches a process performed by the workflow WF, and all processes corresponding to the user operation are managed. Display process for displaying on the display unit 7a on the screen 7 of the UI unit 3 the order of processing instructed to be executed in combination with the partial match workflow WF having a relatively high degree of match when there is a mismatch with the workflow WF of Unit 17.

  Therefore, in the present embodiment, when there is no workflow WF that can instruct execution of processing that matches the processing corresponding to the execution instruction operation of the user performed on the image forming apparatus 1, a portion having a relatively high degree of coincidence. The order of processing by the matching workflow WF can be displayed on the display unit 7a on the screen 7 so that the user can recognize it.

  For this reason, even a user who does not recognize the presence of the workflow WF refers to the order of the displayed processing, and the processing instructed to be executed by an operation that has already been performed is different from the workflow WF. You can notice.

  In addition, even when a user who recognizes the existence of a workflow makes an operation mistake without using the workflow, it is possible to recognize that the process instructed to execute is different from the workflow WF.

  Accordingly, it is possible to prompt the user to make corrections so that a specific execution instruction operation corresponding to the displayed processing order is performed, or to allow the user to use the workflow WF recognized from the displayed processing order. It is possible to instruct the image forming apparatus 1 to execute processing according to the workflow WF.

  Further, in this embodiment, when the user gives an instruction to execute a process that deviates from the workflow WF, the order of the processes by the partial match workflow WF is displayed on the display unit 7a, which is compared with the case where the workflow WF is always displayed. , Easy to draw user's attention and does not disturb the operation.

  Furthermore, the partial matching workflow WF can be narrowed down using the execution instruction operation or the corresponding processing already performed by the user as a key, the processing can be performed at high speed, and the processing by the workflow WF that is highly likely to be used. Can be presented to the user for recognition.

  In addition, the workflow control apparatus 5 according to the present embodiment is instructed to be executed by the selection receiving unit 19 that receives the selection of the workflow WF corresponding to the processing order displayed on the display unit 7a on the screen 7 and the selected workflow WF. And an execution instructing unit 21 for instructing execution of the process according to the selected workflow WF, going back to the process in which the process corresponding to the user operation does not match.

  Therefore, in this embodiment, the user can easily use the workflow WF recognized from the processing order displayed on the display unit 7a only by selecting the workflow WF displayed on the display unit 7a.

  In addition, in the present embodiment, the process instructed to be executed by the workflow WF can be started from the point where it does not coincide with the process corresponding to the user's operation, and the process can be speeded up and simplified.

  Further, in the workflow control device 5 of the present embodiment, when the selection receiving unit 19 does not receive the selection of the workflow, the workflow WF corresponding to the processing order displayed on the display unit 7a on the screen 7 and the user's operation are performed. A notification unit 23 is provided that notifies a notification destination such as a specific administrator of a mismatch with a corresponding process.

  Therefore, in this embodiment, when the user completes the processing different from the workflow WF without using the displayed workflow WF, it is possible to grasp and manage this in a notification destination such as an administrator. .

  The workflow control program of the present embodiment can realize the function of the workflow control device 5 and achieve the same operational effects as the workflow control device 5.

1 Image forming device (electronic equipment)
5 Workflow control device 7 Screen 13 Workflow management unit 15 Matching degree determination unit 17 Display processing unit 19 Selection reception unit 21 Execution instruction unit 23 Notification unit

Claims (4)

A workflow management unit that manages a workflow for instructing execution by combining processes corresponding to specific operations on an electronic device in a specific order;
A degree-of-match determination unit that determines whether a process corresponding to a user operation performed on the electronic device matches a process performed by the managed workflow;
When processing corresponding to the user's operation does not match all the managed workflows, the order of processing instructed to be executed in combination with a workflow having a relatively high matching degree is displayed on the screen. A display processing unit;
A workflow control apparatus comprising: The workflow control device according to claim 1,
A selection accepting unit that accepts selection of a workflow corresponding to the order of the processes displayed on the screen, and a process in which the process instructed to be executed by the selected workflow and the process corresponding to the user's operation are inconsistent And an execution instruction unit that issues an execution instruction for processing according to the selected workflow,
A workflow control apparatus comprising: The workflow control device according to claim 2,
A notification for notifying a specific notification destination of a mismatch between the workflow corresponding to the processing order displayed on the screen and the processing corresponding to the user's operation when the selection receiving unit does not receive the selection of the workflow Comprising a part,
A workflow control device characterized by that. A workflow management function for managing a workflow for instructing execution by combining processes corresponding to a specific operation on an electronic device in a specific order;
A degree-of-match determination function for determining whether a process corresponding to a user operation performed on the electronic device matches a process performed by the managed workflow;
When processing corresponding to the user's operation does not match all the managed workflows, the order of processing instructed to be executed in combination with a workflow having a relatively high matching degree is displayed on the screen. Display processing function,
A workflow control program characterized by having a computer realize the above.