JP7430953B1 - SYSTEMS, METHODS AND PROGRAMS FOR MANAGING WORKFLOW - Google Patents

Abstract

[Problem] To support easy workflow settings. A workflow management server 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention provides a workflow management tool to a user operating a user terminal 30 communicatively connected via a communication network 20. The workflow management server 10 acquires organizational title information and approval workflow rule information in a company, and automatically generates approval workflow setting information based on these information. By preparing the information and rule information, it becomes possible to set up an approval workflow. [Selection diagram] Figure 1

Description

Application of Article 30, Paragraph 2 of the Patent Act On June 7, 2020, UPSIDER Co., Ltd. posted https://ai-coworker. up-sider. Published at: https://note.com/ On June 7, 2020, UPSIDER Co., Ltd. posted https://note.com/. Published at com/upsider_inc/n/n36e5f1300d5e On June 7, 2020, UPSIDER Co., Ltd. posted https://prtimes. jp/main/html/rd/p/000000060.000076272. Published at https://prtimes.jp On June 12, 2020, UPSIDER Co., Ltd. jp/main/html/rd/p/000000061.000076272. Published at https://www. itmedia. co. jp/news/articles/2306/07/news089. Published at https://signal.html On June 7, 2020, Diamond Co., Ltd. published a website at https://signal. diamond. Published at: jp/articles/-/1665 On June 7, 2020, THE BRIDGE Co., Ltd. published the website at https://thebridge.jp/articles/-/1665. Published at: jp/2023/06/upsider-unveils-ai-coworker-upsider-capital On June 7, 2020, Impress Co., Ltd. posted https://www. watch. impression. co. jp/docs/news/1506520. Published at https://japan.html On June 7, 2020, Asahi Interactive Co., Ltd. published the website at https://japan. cnet. Published at https://forbesjapan.com/article/35204817/ On June 7, 2020, Link Tides Co., Ltd. Published at: com/articles/detail/63690 On June 9, 2020, TI Planning Co., Ltd. posted https://paymentnavi.com/articles/detail/63690. com/paymentnews/131294. Published at https://ascii.html On June 22, 2020, Kadokawa ASCII Research Institute Co., Ltd. Published at jp/elem/000/004/141/4141727/

Application of Article 30, Paragraph 2 of the Patent Act On June 29, 2020, Media Gene Co., Ltd. posted the following information on https://www. businessinsider. Published at: jp/post-271686 On July 11, 2020, iDOOR Co., Ltd. posted https://i-doors.jp/post-271686. Published at jp/article/fCaKH1KE

The present invention relates to a system, method, and program for managing workflow.

Conventionally, various systems for managing workflow in companies have been proposed. For example, Patent Document 1 listed below discloses a cloud-type contract management system that allows a cloud-type contract to be concluded online and links the workflow of each contract with the business flow of related parties. Such a workflow mechanism can promote operational efficiency.

Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2021-168115

However, in the conventional system as described above, manual workflow setting work may become complicated. Therefore, a mechanism that supports easy workflow settings is desired.

One of the purposes of the embodiments of the present invention is to support easy setup of workflows.

A system according to an embodiment of the present invention includes one or more computer processors and is a system for managing a workflow, wherein the one or more computer processors store organizational position information regarding organizations and positions in a company. a step of acquiring rule information regarding rules of an approval workflow for obtaining approval in the company; and generating configuration information for the approval workflow based on the organizational position information and the rule information. and registering the setting information.

A method according to an embodiment of the present invention is executed by one or more computers and is a method for managing a workflow, the method comprising: obtaining organizational position information regarding an organization and a position in a company; and obtaining approval in the company. a step of acquiring rule information regarding a rule of an approval workflow for obtaining the information; a step of generating setting information of the approval workflow based on the organizational title information and the rule information; and registering the setting information. and a step.

A program according to an embodiment of the present invention is a program for managing a workflow, and includes the steps of: acquiring organizational position information regarding an organization and position in a company on one or more computers; and obtaining approval in the company. a step of obtaining rule information regarding rules of an approval workflow for the purpose of the approval; a step of generating configuration information of the approval workflow based on the organizational title information and the rule information; and a step of registering the configuration information. , is executed.

Various embodiments of the present invention support easy configuration of workflows.

1 is a configuration diagram schematically showing the configuration of a network including a workflow management server 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention. A diagram illustrating information managed by a user information table 1511. A diagram illustrating information managed by a company information table 1512. 15 is a diagram illustrating information managed by an organization information table 1513. FIG. 15 is a diagram illustrating information managed by a position information table 1514. FIG. 15 is a diagram illustrating information managed by a workflow information management table 1515. FIG. 15 is a diagram illustrating information managed by a workflow stage information management table 1516. FIG. A diagram illustrating information managed by the approval project management table 1517. 15 is a diagram illustrating information managed by the approval information management table 1518. FIG. A diagram illustrating information managed by a payment information management table 1519. 7 is a flowchart illustrating a process executed by the workflow management server 10 when setting an approval workflow. FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a rule input screen 50. FIG. A diagram illustrating output information from a large-scale language model. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an approval workflow details screen 60; FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating a stage information change screen 70; 15 is a diagram illustrating values set in a workflow information management table 1515 and a workflow stage information management table 1516. FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating a process executed by the workflow management server 10 when applying for approval. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a message 200 for a proxy application account. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an approval information confirmation message 210. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an approval request message 220. FIG. FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an example of a request for approval list screen 80. FIG. A diagram illustrating a payment information list screen 90.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. Identical or similar components may be provided with the same reference symbols in the drawings. Other objects of embodiments of the present invention will become apparent upon reference to the entire specification.

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram schematically showing the configuration of a network including a workflow management server 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention. As illustrated, the workflow management server 10 is communicably connected to a user terminal 30 via a communication network 20 such as the Internet. Although only one user terminal 30 is illustrated in FIG. 1, the workflow management server 10 is communicably connected to a plurality of user terminals 30. The workflow management server 10 provides workflow management tools to users who operate the user terminals 30. The workflow management server 10 is an example of a device that implements all or part of the system of the present invention.

First, the hardware configuration of the workflow management server 10 will be explained. The workflow management server 10 is configured as a general computer, and as shown in FIG. ) 15, and these components are electrically connected via a bus (not shown) or the like.

The computer processor 11 is configured by a CPU, GPU, FPGA, etc., or a circuit including them, and loads various programs stored in a storage 15 etc. into the main memory 12 and executes various instructions included in the programs. do. The main memory 12 is composed of, for example, a DRAM or the like.

The input/output I/F 13 includes various input/output devices for exchanging information with an operator and the like. The input/output I/F 13 includes, for example, an information input device such as a keyboard and a pointing device (for example, a mouse, a touch panel, etc.), an audio input device such as a microphone, and an image input device such as a camera. Further, the input/output I/F 13 includes an image output device such as a display, and an audio output device such as a speaker.

The communication I/F 14 is implemented as hardware such as a network adapter, various communication software, or a combination thereof, and is configured to realize wired or wireless communication via the communication network 20 or the like.

The storage 15 is configured by, for example, a magnetic disk or a flash memory. The storage 15 stores various programs including an operating system, various data, and the like. For example, the storage 15 includes various tables 151 that manage various information. Furthermore, for example, the storage 15 stores a server-side program 40 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The program 40 is a program for causing the workflow management server 10 to function as all or part of a system for providing a workflow management tool. At least a portion of the server-side program 40 may be configured to be executed on the user terminal 30 side via a terminal-side program 42 described later.

In this embodiment, the workflow management server 10 may be configured using a plurality of computers, each of which has the hardware configuration described above. For example, the workflow management server 10 may be configured by one or more server devices.

The workflow management server 10 configured in this manner has functions as a web server and an application server, and executes various processes in response to requests from the terminal-side program 42 installed on the user terminal 30. Screen data (for example, HTML data), control data, etc. according to the result of the processing are transmitted to the user terminal 30. The user terminal 30 outputs a web page or other screen based on the received data.

Next, the hardware configuration of the user terminal 30 will be explained. The user terminal 30 is configured as a general computer, and as shown in FIG. 1, includes a computer processor 31, a main memory 32, an input/output I/F 33, a communication I/F 34, and a storage device 35, and these components are electrically connected via a bus (not shown) or the like.

The computer processor 31 is configured by a CPU, GPU, FPGA, etc., or a circuit including them, and loads various programs stored in a storage 35 etc. into the main memory 32 and executes various instructions included in the programs. do. The main memory 32 is composed of, for example, a DRAM or the like.

The input/output I/F 33 includes various input/output devices for exchanging information with an operator and the like. The input/output I/F 33 includes, for example, an information input device such as a keyboard and a pointing device (for example, a mouse, a touch panel, etc.), an audio input device such as a microphone, and an image input device such as a camera. Further, the input/output I/F 33 includes an image output device such as a display, and an audio output device such as a speaker.

The communication I/F 34 is implemented as hardware such as a network adapter, various communication software, or a combination thereof, and is configured to realize wired or wireless communication via the communication network 20 or the like.

The storage 35 is configured by, for example, a magnetic disk or a flash memory. The storage 35 stores various programs including an operating system, various data, and the like. The programs stored in the storage 35 can be downloaded from an application market and installed. Furthermore, the storage 35 stores the terminal side program 42 described above. The program 42 may be configured as a web browser or other application (eg, an application for a workflow management tool, etc.), and may be configured to execute at least a portion of the server-side program 40, as described above.

In this embodiment, the user terminal 30 may be configured as a smartphone, a tablet terminal, a wearable device, a personal computer, or the like.

A user who operates the user terminal 30 configured in this way can communicate with the workflow management server 10 via the terminal-side program 42 installed in the storage 35 or the like, thereby receiving information provided by the workflow management server 10. Workflow management tools are available.

Next, the functions of the workflow management server 10 configured as described above will be explained. As shown in FIG. 1, the computer processor 11 of the workflow management server 10 controls management functions by executing instructions included in a program (for example, at least a portion of the server-side program 40) loaded into the main memory 12. It is configured to function as a workflow setting registration section 112, a workflow setting registration section 114, and a approval information management section 116.

The management function control unit 112 is configured to execute various processes related to control of the management functions of the workflow management tool. For example, the management function control unit 112 transmits screen data and control data of various screens related to the management function to the user terminal 30, and responds to operation input by the user via the screen output from the user terminal 30. and executes various processes, and transmits screen data, control data, etc. according to the results of the processes to the user terminal 30. The management functions controlled by the management function control unit 112 include, for example, login processing (user authentication), billing control, and user information management.

The workflow setting registration unit 114 is configured to execute various processes related to workflow setting registration. For example, the workflow setting registration unit 114 transmits screen data and control data of various screens related to workflow setting registration to the user terminal 30, and inputs operation input by the user via the screen output from the user terminal 30. In response to this, various processes are executed, and screen data, control data, etc. according to the results of the processes are transmitted to the user terminal 30.

In this embodiment, the workflow setting registration unit 114 is configured to acquire organizational position information regarding an organization and a position in a company. For example, such organizational position information is managed in one or more tables included in the various tables 151, and is acquired from these tables. The organizational position information includes, for example, the structure of multiple organizations in a company (eg, parent-child relationships, etc.) and the positions in each organization.

Further, the workflow setting registration unit 114 is configured to acquire rule information regarding rules of an approval workflow for obtaining approval in a company. For example, the workflow setting registration unit 114 acquires rule information input by the user via a screen output from the user terminal 30.

Further, the workflow setting registration unit 114 is configured to generate approval workflow setting information based on the above-mentioned organizational position information and rule information. The setting information includes, for example, a plurality of stages (number of stages) in the approval workflow, and approver condition information regarding approver conditions at each stage. Further, the approver condition information is a condition for specifying the approver, and includes, for example, conditions regarding the approver's affiliated organization and/or position.

Conditions regarding the organization to which the approver belongs include, for example, belonging to a specific organization (for example, a department such as an accounting department, a division, etc.), and belonging to the organization of the applicant applying for approval. Further, the conditions regarding the position of the approver include, for example, that the approver has a specific position (for example, the manager of xx department, etc.).

Further, the workflow setting registration unit 114 is configured to register setting information of an approval workflow. As the setting information, the setting information generated by the workflow setting registration unit 114 may be registered as is, or the setting information after changes made by the user may be registered. Such changes are made via a screen output on the user terminal 30. Approval workflow setting information is managed, for example, in one or more tables included in the various tables 151.

The approval information management unit 116 is configured to execute various processes related to the management of approval information. For example, the approval information management unit 116 transmits screen data and control data of various screens related to the management of approval information to the user terminal 30, and inputs operation input by the user via the screen output from the user terminal 30. In response to this, various processes are executed, and screen data, control data, etc. according to the results of the processes are transmitted to the user terminal 30.

In this way, the workflow management server 10 in this embodiment acquires organizational title information in a company and approval workflow rule information, and automatically generates approval workflow setting information based on these information. , the user can set up an approval workflow by preparing organizational position information and rule information. In other words, the workflow management server 10 supports easy workflow settings.

In the present embodiment, the workflow setting registration unit 114 can be configured to acquire employee information regarding a plurality of employees in a company, including the organization and position to which each employee belongs. In this case, the workflow setting registration unit 114 may be configured to acquire the organizational position information based on the employee information. Such a configuration makes it possible to obtain organizational position information based on employee information.

In this embodiment, rule information in which the rules of the approval workflow are written in text may be acquired. In this case, the workflow setting registration unit 114 generates a prompt for instructing the language model to output the setting information of the approval workflow based on the above-mentioned organizational position information and rule information, and converts the prompt into the language model. The setting information may be configured to be input to the language model and obtain setting information based on information output from the language model. The language model is a model of human language using word appearance probabilities, and includes, for example, a large-scale language model (LLM). The prompt is configured, for example, to instruct the output of setting information to which the organization and position in the company are applied to the rules of the approval workflow. Such a configuration allows the user to write the rules of the approval workflow in text.

Further, the prompt for instructing the output of the setting information of the approval workflow may be composed of a plurality of prompts. For example, among the configuration information, the multiple prompts include the first prompt for instructing the output of multiple stages (number of stages) in the approval workflow, and the output of approver condition information regarding the approver conditions at each stage. and a second prompt for instructions. Such a configuration suppresses an excessive number of characters in one prompt.

In the present embodiment, the approval information management unit 116 may be configured to generate approval information in association with setting information of an approval workflow, and to control approval of the approval information based on the setting information. The approval information can also be referred to as content to be approved in the approval process, and is managed in one or more tables included in the various tables 151, for example. Such a configuration makes it possible to control the approval of approval information based on the setting information of the approval workflow.

Further, when generating the approval information, the approval information management unit 116 associates the setting information of one approval workflow included in the plurality of approval workflows with the approval information, and also associates the setting information of each of the plurality of approval workflows. Among them, it may be configured to control approval of the approval information based on setting information of an approval workflow with which the approval information is associated. The setting information associated with the approval information may be specified by the user (e.g., the approval applicant) from among the setting information of a plurality of registered approval workflows, or automatically specified by the approval information management unit 116. Ru. Such a configuration makes it possible to control approval of approval information based on setting information of one approval workflow included in a plurality of approval workflows.

In this embodiment, the information for generating the approval information may be input by the user. For example, the approval information management unit 116 is configured to generate approval information based on information input by the applicant. For example, the applicant inputs information via a screen output from the user terminal 30. Also, for example, the applicant may upload an electronic file such as a bill or contract through the screen, and the information contained in the electronic file (obtained through character recognition processing such as OCR). Based on this, approval information is generated. Such a configuration makes it possible to generate approval information based on information input by the applicant.

Further, for example, the approval information management unit 116 is configured to generate approval information based on information included in a message addressed to a predetermined account. The messages include chats, e-mails, and the like. For example, the approval information management unit 116 monitors the reception of messages addressed to a predetermined account, and generates approval information based on information included in the received messages. The applicant for such approval information is set, for example, based on the information included in the message, or is set from among the sender of the message or other destinations. Such a configuration makes it possible to generate approval information based on information included in a message addressed to a predetermined account.

Further, the approval information management unit 116 identifies approvers in each of the plurality of stages in the approval workflow based on the setting information of the approval workflow and the employee information, and requests approval of the approval information to the specified approver. It may be configured to notify requests. Such a configuration makes it possible to notify approvers of approval requests at each stage of the approval workflow.

In this embodiment, the approver and approval status in each of the plurality of stages of the corresponding approval workflow may be managed in association with each of the plurality of pieces of approval information. In this case, the approval information management unit 116 may be configured to present a list of approval items associated with a specific approver or the approver's affiliated organization (approval organization). For example, screen data and control data of a screen including a list of such approval information are transmitted to the user terminal 30. Such a configuration makes it possible to manage approval information for each approver and approving organization.

Further, the approval information management unit 116 may be configured to acquire payment information based on contract information and/or bill information associated with the approval information. The acquired payment information is managed, for example, in one or more tables included in the various tables 151. Such a configuration enables management of payment information based on approval information.

Further, the approval information management unit 116 is configured to store contract information and invoice information in association with each other based on the degree of similarity between contract information and invoice information that are associated with mutually different approval information. can be done. Such a configuration allows for association of similar contract and billing information.

Next, a specific example as one aspect of the workflow management server 10 of this embodiment having such a function will be described.

First, in this example, information managed by each table included in the various tables 151 will be explained. FIG. 2 illustrates information managed by the user information table 1511 in this example. The user information table 1511 in this example manages information regarding users of the workflow management tool (employees in a company), and as shown in the figure, "name", "name", It manages information such as a "company ID" that identifies the company to which it belongs, an "organization ID" that identifies the organization to which it belongs, and a "position ID" that identifies its position.

FIG. 3 illustrates the information managed by the company information table 1512 in this example. The company information table 1512 in this example manages information regarding companies in which the workflow management tool has been introduced, and as shown in the figure, information such as "name" is associated with a "company ID" that identifies an individual company. Manage.

FIG. 4 illustrates information managed by the organization information table 1513 in this example. The organization information table 1513 in this example manages information regarding organizations in a company, and as shown in the figure, the organization information table 1513 is a combination of a "company ID" that identifies an individual company and an "organization ID" that identifies an individual organization within the company. Information such as "name" and "parent organization ID" that identifies the parent organization is managed in association with each other. The parent-child relationship of the organization is managed by the parent organization ID.

FIG. 5 illustrates information managed by the position information table 1514 in this example. The position information table 1514 in this example manages information related to positions in a company, and as shown in the figure, is a combination of a "company ID" that identifies an individual company and a "post ID" that identifies an individual position in the company. Information such as "name" is managed in association with each other.

In this example, the contents of the user information table 1511, organization information table 1513, and position information table 1514 are automatically set based on the employee list provided by the person in charge of the company. The employee list includes a user ID of the workflow management tool, a name, an affiliated organization (name), and a position (name), and is provided in, for example, CSV format. The organization in the employee list is in a format that allows the hierarchical structure (parent-child relationship) of the organization to be specified (for example, a format in which upper organizations (e.g., departments) and lower organizations (e.g., sections) are managed in separate columns, etc.) provided by.

FIG. 6 illustrates information managed by the workflow information management table 1515 in this example. The workflow information management table 1515 in this example manages information related to approval workflows in which setting information is registered, and as shown in the figure, a "company ID" that identifies an individual company and identifies an individual approval workflow in the company. Information such as "name" and "application start date" is managed in association with the "workflow ID" combination.

FIG. 7 illustrates information managed by the workflow stage information management table 1516 in this example. The workflow stage information management table 1516 in this example manages information regarding each stage in the approval workflow, and as shown in the figure, a "company ID" that identifies an individual company, a "workflow ID" that identifies an individual approval workflow, And, in association with the combination of "stages" indicating individual stages in the approval workflow, "approver condition information" which is information regarding the conditions of the approver, and "final stage flag" indicating whether it is the final stage or not. ” and other information. The approver at the final stage of the approval workflow can also be called the approver.

FIG. 8 illustrates the information managed by the approval approval management table 1517 in this example. The approval item management table 1517 in this example manages the applied approval items, and as shown in the figure, the “company ID” that identifies an individual company, and the “approval approval item” that identifies an individual company in the company. "Applicant user ID" that identifies the applicant for the approval, "Workflow ID" that identifies the applicable approval workflow, "Application date", and "Applicant ID" that is information about the content of the approval. information," "contract information," which is information about related contracts, "bill information," which is information about related bills, and "approval status." In this example, the contract information is set when the subject of approval in the approval process is "contract conclusion," and includes link information to contract data and the like. Further, the bill information is set when the subject of approval in the approval process is "bill payment", and includes link information to bill data and the like. The approval status is set to a value corresponding to any one of "not approved", "under approval" (only some approvers have approved), "approved", and "rejected".

FIG. 9 illustrates information managed by the approval information management table 1518 in this example. The approval information management table 1518 in this example manages information related to approval in the approval process, and as shown in the figure, includes a "company ID" for identifying an individual company, a "proposal ID" for identifying an individual issue, and , "Approver information", "Approval date", "Approval status", which is information about the approver, and the final stage, in association with the combination of "Stage" indicating individual stages in the approval workflow of the relevant approval item. It manages information such as the "final stage flag" that indicates whether the The approval status is set to a value corresponding to any one of "unapproved," "approved," and "rejected."

FIG. 10 illustrates information managed by the payment information management table 1519 in this example. The payment information management table 1519 in this example manages information regarding payments based on approval information, and as shown in the figure, includes a "company ID" that identifies an individual company, and a "payment ID" that identifies an individual payment in the company. ``Approval Item ID'' that identifies the related approval item in association with the combination of ``Approval ID'', ``Business Partner Information'', which is information about the business partner to whom the payment will be made, ``Scheduled Payment Date'', ``Payment Amount'', and the company. The information such as "responsible organization ID" and "payment status" that identify the organization in charge is managed. The payment status is set to a value corresponding to either "unpaid" or "paid."

The information managed by each table has been described above in this example. Next, in this example, the processing executed by the workflow management server 10, the screen output on the user terminal 30, etc. will be described.

First, the approval workflow settings will be explained. FIG. 11 is a flowchart illustrating a process executed by the workflow management server 10 when setting an approval workflow. The workflow management server 10 first receives an approval workflow rule as shown in the figure (step S100). In this example, the rule is input by the user via a screen output on the user terminal 30.

FIG. 12 illustrates a rule input screen 50 output on the user terminal 30. The screen 50 is a screen for inputting rules of the approval workflow, and as shown in the figure, a name input area 52 for inputting the name of the approval workflow, a rule input area 54 for inputting rules, and a continue button 56 with the text "Next" added thereto. In the name input area 52, a name for specifying the approval workflow, such as "bill payment application" or "contract conclusion application", is input.

The rule input area 54 is configured so that rules for the approval workflow can be input in text. A user (for example, a person in charge of the general affairs department in charge of affairs in a company) may say, for example, ``I would like to use two-step approval, with the manager of the department I belong to approving it, and then the manager of the accounting department approving it, and then the decision will be made.'' Approval workflow rules can be entered in the text. When the continue button 56 is selected, the rule is accepted along with the name of the workflow.

Returning to the flowchart of FIG. 11, the workflow management server 10 then prompts the large-scale language model (LLM) to instruct the large-scale language model (LLM) to generate approval workflow configuration information based on the organizational position information and the rules. is generated (step S110). As such a large-scale language model, for example, GPT-4 provided by OpenAI, Inc. in the United States may be applied.

Specifically, the prompt instructs the generation of approval workflow setting information by applying the structure of multiple organizations in the company and the positions in each organization to the rules specified in the text. be. The structure of the organization and the position are obtained from the organization information table 1513 and the position information table 1514.

Next, the workflow management server 10 inputs the generated prompt to the large-scale language model (step S120). Specifically, prompts are input via an API that supports a large-scale language model.

Next, the workflow management server 10 acquires and displays approval workflow setting information based on the output information from the large-scale language model (step S130). FIG. 13 illustrates output information from a large-scale language model. As shown in the figure, in the output information of this example, conditions for approvers (approval organization and approval position) corresponding to each of the two stages in the approval workflow are described in JSON format.

In this example, a plurality of prompts may be generated (divided into a plurality of prompts) as prompts for instructing generation of approval workflow setting information. In this case, for example, the first prompt may direct the output of the number of stages in the approval workflow, and the second prompt may indicate the number of approvers at each stage of the approval workflow. This instructs the output of conditions. Furthermore, when there is a large amount of information regarding the structure of the organization and job titles, this information may be provided to the large-scale language model in stages using a plurality of prompts.

FIG. 14 illustrates an approval workflow details screen 60 that displays approval workflow setting information. This screen is a screen for displaying and registering the setting information of the approval workflow, and as shown in the figure, a name display area 61 that displays the name of the approval workflow, and a stage information display that displays information about the stages in the approval workflow. area 62, a step addition button 64 with the text "add step" added, an application start date enable check box 66 for enabling the specification of the application start date of the workflow, and an input of the application start date. It has an application start date input area 67 and a save button 68.

The stage information display area 62 has stage buttons 621 corresponding to multiple stages in the approval workflow, and on the right side of the button 621, information regarding approver conditions (in the example of FIG. ``General Manager'' and ``Manager of Accounting Department''). The stage information display area 62 in FIG. 14 corresponds to the case where the number of approval stages in the approval workflow is two, and displays two stage buttons 621 to which the texts "Step 1" and "Step 2" are respectively added. are arranged vertically.

FIG. 15 illustrates a stage information change screen 70 that is output over the approval workflow details screen 60 in response to selection of the stage button 621. The screen 70 is a screen for changing the approver conditions at the corresponding stage and deleting the stage itself, and as shown in the figure, a setting method selection screen for selecting the setting method for the approver conditions. It has an area 72 , an information input area 74 for inputting information regarding approver conditions, a registration button 76 , and a delete button 78 . When the delete button 78 is selected, the corresponding stage itself is deleted.

The setting method selection area 72 allows you to select one from four options: "Specify person," "Specify position in applicant's department," "Specify department and position," and "Specify approver at time of application." It is structured so that you can choose from the following options.

In the information input area 74, an individual input area 741 corresponding to the selection content in the setting method selection area 72 is arranged. Specifically, in the information input area 74, when "specify person" is selected in the setting method selection area 72, one individual input area 741 is arranged in which an approver can be selected and input. Furthermore, when "specify the position of the applicant's department" is selected in the setting method selection area 72, one individual input area 741 in which the position can be selected and input is arranged. Furthermore, when "specify department and position" is selected in the setting method selection area 72, an individual input area 741 where a department can be selectively input and a separate input area 741 where a position can be selectively input are arranged. . Further, if "designate approver at time of application" is selected in the setting method selection area 72, the individual input area 741 is not arranged.

When the registration button 76 is selected, the approver conditions set via the setting method selection area 72 and the information input area 74 are registered (changed).

Returning to the approval workflow details screen 60 in FIG. 14, the stage addition button 64 is an object for adding a stage. When the button 64 is selected, the above-described stage information change screen 70 illustrated in FIG. 15 is output, and the user can set the conditions for the approver of the newly added stage via the screen 70. I can do it. The added stage is added as the final stage of the approval workflow.

When the application start date activation check box 66 is selected and checked, input to the application start date input area 67 becomes possible, and the user inputs the application start date of the approval workflow setting information via the area 67. can do.

When the save button 68 is selected, the approval workflow setting information is registered. Specifically, new records are inserted in the workflow information management table 1515 and the workflow stage information management table 1516, and corresponding values are set (see FIG. 16).

The settings for the approval workflow have been explained above. Next, a request for approval based on the setting information of the approval workflow will be explained.

FIG. 17 is a flowchart illustrating the process executed by the workflow management server 10 when applying for approval. As shown in the figure, the workflow management server 10 first waits to receive a message for the approval application proxy account (NO in step S200). Specifically, the workflow management tool in this example has a chat function, and waits to receive a chat message for the approval application proxy account. For example, a user (applicant) who applies for a approval request sends a chat message addressed to the approval application proxy account.

FIG. 18 illustrates an example of a approval application request message 200 that requests a approval application to be made to the approval application proxy account. As shown in the figure, the message 200 includes the text ``Please apply for bill payment.'' and bill data (electronic file) is attached. In addition, if the application is for the conclusion of a contract, contract data (contract file) will be attached.

Returning to the flowchart of FIG. 17, upon receiving a message for the approval application proxy account (YES in step S200), the workflow management server 10 specifies the approval workflow to be applied (step S210). Specifically, among the plurality of approval workflows of the target company managed in the workflow information management table 1515, the approval workflow whose name is included in the body of the received message is specified as the applicable approval workflow. Note that the degree of similarity (for example, cosine similarity, etc.) between the received message and the sample message associated with each approval workflow is determined, and the approval workflow with the highest degree of similarity is identified as the approval workflow to be applied. You may also do so. In addition, the degree of similarity (for example, cosine similarity, etc.) between the received electronic file and the sample electronic file associated with each approval workflow is determined, and the approval workflow with the high degree of similarity is identified as the approval workflow to be applied. You may also do so.

Next, the workflow management server 10 obtains the text included in the attached file of the received message (step S220). Specifically, text is acquired through character recognition processing (eg, OCR) on the attached file. The attached file is contract data or bill data.

Subsequently, the workflow management server 10 generates approval information (step S230). Specifically, the approval information is generated based on the text included in the attached file. For example, if the subject of the approval request is invoice payment, the values of items included in the approval information such as "Payee", "Payee account", "Billing date", "Payment due date", "Payment amount" etc. A character string corresponding to is extracted from the bill data, and approval information is generated using the character string. Items included in the approval information are set in advance depending on the subject of the approval application (conclusion of contract or bill payment).

Next, the workflow management server 10 receives confirmation of the approval information from the applicant (step S240). Specifically, a confirmation message for confirming the approval information is sent to the applicant. The applicant is a user who sends a chat message to the approval application proxy account.

FIG. 19 illustrates an example of the approval information confirmation message 210 output from the applicant's user terminal 30. As shown in the figure, the message 210 displays the generated approval information and has an OK button 212, a correction button 214, and a cancel button 216. When the OK button 212 is selected, confirmation of the approval information by the applicant is accepted. Furthermore, when the modification button 214 is selected, a screen (not shown) for modifying the approval information is output, and the applicant can modify the approval information via this screen. Furthermore, when the cancel button 216 is selected, the approval application is canceled.

Returning to the flowchart of FIG. 17, when confirmation of the approval information by the applicant is accepted, the workflow management server 10 then identifies the approver and registers the corresponding approval item (step S250). Specifically, the approver is an approver who satisfies the conditions for approvers at each stage of the applied approval workflow, and is specified from among the users managed in the user information table 1511. Specifically, in registering a approval item, a new record is inserted in the approval approval information management table 1517 and the approval information management table 1518, and corresponding values are set.

Subsequently, the workflow management server 10 receives approval from the approver at that stage (step S260). Specifically, an approval request message for requesting approval of the approval information is sent to the approver at the first stage among one or more unapproved stages in the applied approval workflow. The sender of the approval request message is the approval request proxy account.

FIG. 20 exemplifies an approval request message 220 output on the approver's user terminal 30. As shown in the figure, the message 220 displays approval information and includes an approve button 222, a send back button 224, and a reject button 226. When the approval button 222 is selected, approval by the approver is accepted. Moreover, when the send back button 224 is selected, the send back to the applicant is performed. Moreover, when the rejection button 226 is selected, the approval application is rejected. In accordance with the selection of these buttons 222 to 226, the approval status of the corresponding approval item and stage is updated in the approval information management table 1518.

Returning to the flowchart of FIG. 17, the acceptance of approval by the approver is repeated until the approver becomes the final approver (authorizer) (that is, the final stage of approval is performed) (NO in step S270). ). Then, when the final approver approves (that is, approves) (YES in step S270), the workflow management server 10 next selects YES in step S280 if the subject of the approval application is bill payment. ) and register payment information (step S290). Specifically, a new record is inserted in the payment information management table 1519, and a corresponding value is set. Payment information is obtained based on the approval information.

Further, in this example, it is possible to output a list of approval matters in which the user is included as an approver. FIG. 21 illustrates an example of the approval proposal list screen 80 output on the user terminal 30. As shown in FIG. As shown in the figure, the screen 80 includes a workflow specification area 81 for specifying the approval workflow to be displayed as a list of approval items, and a status specification area 82 for specifying the status of the approval items to be included in the list display. , and a list display area 84.

The workflow designation area 81 is configured so that any workflow can be selected from a plurality of approval workflows (managed in the workflow information management table 1515) of the corresponding company.

The status designation area 82 includes an unapproved button 821, an approved button 822, and a rejected button 823. When these buttons 821 to 823 are selected (multiple buttons can be selected at the same time), the approval proposals with the corresponding status (unapproved, approved, or rejected) are displayed in the list display area. The list is displayed in 84.

The list display area 84 displays the approval workflows that include the corresponding user as an approver among the approval workflows that are specified via the workflow specification area 81 and are specified via the status specification area 82. A list of approval items corresponding to one or more statuses is displayed. The information displayed in a list includes, for example, the applicant, the application date, and the number of days that have passed since the approval request was made to the corresponding user. When the number of elapsed days exceeds a threshold value, an alert notification may be sent to the user. Further, instead of or in addition to the approval matters in which the corresponding user is included as an approver, a list of approval matters in which the organization to which the corresponding user belongs may be included as an approval organization may be displayed.

Furthermore, in this example, it is possible to output a list of payment information. FIG. 22 illustrates a payment information list screen 90 output on the user terminal 30. As shown, the screen 90 has a status designation area 92 for designating the status of payment information to be included in the list display, and a list display area 94.

The status designation area 92 has an unpaid button 921 and a paid button 922. When these buttons 921 to 922 are selected (multiple buttons can be selected at the same time), payment information with the corresponding status (unpaid or paid) is displayed in a list in the list display area 94. Subject to display.

The list display area 94 displays a list of payment information corresponding to one or more statuses specified via the status designation area 92 among payment information in the corresponding company. The information displayed in a list includes, for example, business partner (payee), scheduled payment date, amount, status, link to contract data, link to bill data, department in charge, and the like.

In the above example, based on the similarity of the content of the contract data attached in the approval application for contract conclusion and the invoice data attached in the approval application for bill payment, Data may also be associated. For example, combinations of bill data and contract data whose cosine similarity is greater than or equal to a threshold are managed in tables included in the various tables 151. For example, in the case of a subscription contract, multiple pieces of bill data are associated with one contract data. As a result, it becomes possible to appropriately manage the relationship between bill data and contract data.

In the above example, when a message is received for the approval application proxy account, approval information is generated based on the text included in the attached file of the message, but instead of this, or in addition to this, In addition, the applicant may directly input the approval information, and the approval information may be generated in accordance with instructions from the applicant. Alternatively, the applicant may directly input (upload) an electronic file (contract data, bill data, etc.), and the approval information may be generated based on the text included in the electronic file.

In the above example, the rules for the approval workflow are entered in text format, but the rules may be entered in a format other than text. In this case, instead of acquiring setting information via a large-scale language model, setting information for the approval workflow may be generated via a rule-based mechanism.

The workflow management server 10 according to the present embodiment described above acquires organizational position information in a company and approval workflow rule information, and automatically generates approval workflow setting information based on these information. , the user can set up an approval workflow by preparing organizational position information and rule information. In other words, the workflow management server 10 supports easy workflow settings.

In another embodiment of the present invention, some or all of the functions possessed by the workflow management server 10 in the embodiments described above are realized by cooperation between the workflow management server 10 and the user terminal 30, or This can be realized by That is, the system of the present invention is configured not only by the workflow management server 10 but also by the workflow management server 10 and the user terminal 30, or by the user terminal 30.

The processes and procedures described herein may be implemented by software, hardware, or any combination thereof, other than those explicitly described. For example, the processes and procedures described herein are implemented by implementing logic corresponding to the processes and procedures in a medium such as an integrated circuit, volatile memory, nonvolatile memory, magnetic disk, or the like. Further, the processes and procedures described in this specification can be implemented as a computer program corresponding to the processes and procedures, and can be executed by various computers.

Even if processes and procedures described herein are described as being performed by a single device, software, component, or module, such processes or procedures may be performed by multiple devices, software, components, or modules. components and/or multiple modules. The software and hardware elements described herein can also be implemented by combining them into fewer components or decomposing them into more components.

In this specification, even if a constituent element of the invention is described as either singular or plural, or without being limited to either singular or plural, it should be interpreted differently depending on the context. Except for , the component may be singular or plural.

10 Workflow management server 11 Computer processor 112 Management function control unit 114 Workflow setting registration unit 116 Approval information management unit 15 Storage 151 Various tables 1511 User information table 1512 Company information table 1513 Organization information table 1514 Position information table 1515 Workflow information management table 1516 Workflow Stage information management table 1517 Approval approval information management table 1519 Payment information management table 30 User terminal 40 Server-side program 42 Terminal-side program 50 Rule input screen 60 Approval workflow details screen 70 Stage information change screen 80 Approval item list screen 90 Payment information list screen 200 Approval request request message 210 Approval information confirmation message 220 Approval request message

Claims (16)

A system for managing a workflow comprising one or more computer processors, the one or more computer processors comprising:
obtaining organizational position information regarding organizations and positions in the company;
obtaining rule information regarding rules of an approval workflow for obtaining approval in the company;
generating configuration information for the approval workflow based on the organizational position information and the rule information;
registering the configuration information;
system. The setting information includes a plurality of stages in the approval workflow, and approver condition information regarding approver conditions in each of the plurality of stages,
The approver condition information includes conditions regarding the approver's affiliated organization and/or position;
The system of claim 1. The one or more computer processors further execute the step of acquiring employee information regarding a plurality of employees at the company, including the organization and position to which each of the plurality of employees belongs. death,
The step of acquiring the organizational position information includes acquiring the organizational position information based on the employee information.
The system of claim 1. The rule information describes the rules of the approval workflow in text,
The step of generating the configuration information includes:
generating a prompt for instructing a language model to output the setting information based on the organizational position information and the rule information; and
inputting the prompt to the language model and obtaining the configuration information based on information output from the language model;
The system of claim 1. The prompt instructs the rules of the approval workflow to output the setting information to which the organization and position in the company based on the organization position information are applied;
5. The system of claim 4. The prompt is composed of a plurality of prompts,
The plurality of prompts include, among the setting information, a first prompt for instructing the output of a plurality of stages in the approval workflow, and an output of approver condition information regarding approver conditions at each of the plurality of stages. a second prompt for instructions;
5. The system of claim 4. The one or more computer processors further include:
generating approval information in association with the setting information;
controlling approval of the approval information based on the setting information;
The system of claim 1. In the step of generating the approval information, the approval information is generated by associating setting information of one approval workflow included in a plurality of approval workflows;
The step of controlling approval of the approval information includes controlling approval of the approval information based on setting information of the one approval workflow with which the approval information is associated, among setting information of each of the plurality of approval workflows. ,
8. The system of claim 7. The step of generating the approval information includes generating the approval information based on information input by the applicant.
8. The system of claim 7. The step of generating the approval information includes generating the approval information based on information included in a message addressed to a predetermined account.
8. The system of claim 7. The one or more computer processors further execute the step of acquiring employee information regarding a plurality of employees at the company, including the organization and position to which each of the plurality of employees belongs. death,
The step of controlling the approval includes identifying an approver at each of a plurality of stages in the approval workflow based on the setting information and the employee information, and requesting the identified approver to approve the approval information. including notifying you;
8. The system of claim 7. The one or more computer processors further include:
managing approvers and approval status in each of the plurality of stages of the corresponding approval workflow in association with each of the plurality of approval information;
presenting a list of approval information associated with a specific approver or the approver's affiliated organization;
8. The system of claim 7. The one or more computer processors further perform the step of obtaining payment information based on contract information and/or bill information associated with the approval information.
8. The system of claim 7. The one or more computer processors further configure the contract information and the bill information, based on the degree of similarity between the contract information associated with the first approval information and the bill information associated with the second approval information. storing the information in association with the invoice information;
8. The system of claim 7. A method for managing a workflow executed by one or more computers, the method comprising:
obtaining organizational position information regarding organizations and positions in the company;
obtaining rule information regarding rules of an approval workflow for obtaining approval in the company;
generating configuration information for the approval workflow based on the organizational position information and the rule information;
registering the setting information;
Method. A program for managing a workflow, the program comprising:
obtaining organizational position information regarding organizations and positions in the company;
obtaining rule information regarding rules of an approval workflow for obtaining approval in the company;
generating configuration information for the approval workflow based on the organizational position information and the rule information;
registering the setting information;
program.