JPH08171521A - Method and device for constructing business process support process - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To flexibly cope with alterations of business processes by graphically representing the business processes such as a waiting and a branching process including the complicated transfer of a document. CONSTITUTION: A person who defines business process information pastes a document icon onto a business process information generation window 600. An icon indicating a document circulated in the business process is pasted over an arrow connecting icons showing constituent elements of the business process and then the document transferred between the constituent elements of the business process is visually represented. For example, a business process which waits for a document (a) created by an operator A and a document (b) created by an operator B and transfers the waited document bundle to an operator is described on the business process information generation window 600. When the business process is altered, a combination of icon components is only altered to easily cope with the alteration of the business process.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a system for supporting a business process which is carried out by a plurality of workers.
In particular, the present invention relates to a method and apparatus for configuring a business process support system that can graphically represent a business process involving circulation of documents and flexibly respond to changes in the business process.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A work that is carried out by a plurality of workers, such as circulating documents and processing slips, is called a business process. As a conventional technique of a system configuration method and apparatus for supporting a business process, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 6-1
There is a 04921 issue. In the above conventional technology, a server that manages documents and distribution forms (circulation destination, circulation order, etc.),
A system is composed of terminals connected to a server via a network. By combining circulation and broadcasting (copying documents and distributing them to multiple circulation destinations), automatic transfer control of documents between terminals, grasp of circulation state of documents, and management of circulation deadline are realized. A tabular input screen is used to specify / edit the distribution form. The rows and columns of the table can be associated with the broadcast and the circulation order, respectively, and the business process that combines the circulation and the broadcast can be expressed in a table format.

As a conventional technique for expressing a business process in a combination of figures instead of a table format, for example, UNI
"Staffware" from SYS, "FloW" from Recognition
are ". In each of the above-mentioned conventional techniques, a user application program forming a business process is associated with a figure and the figures are arranged to graphically represent a processing procedure (procedure) of the user application program.

[0004]

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION Problems to be Solved by the Invention
No. 104921 uses a tabular format to represent a business process involving circulation of a document. The tabular format is sufficient to express simply sending a document, such as circulation or broadcasting. In the actual business process, complicated transfer of documents is often involved, such as waiting and branching of multiple documents (selecting a circulation route according to the state of documents). The above-mentioned related art does not consider complicated transfer such as waiting and branching, and does not describe a method of expressing a business process including them.

On the other hand, the prior art "Staffware", "FloW"
“Are” graphically represents the processing procedure (procedure) of the user application program. As long as the processing procedure (procedure) can be changed, it is possible to flexibly respond to changes in the business process. However, in order to realize complicated document transfer control such as waiting and branching as a business process support system, the functions for realizing those controls must be implemented by a user application program on a terminal connected to a server via a network. As such, it is necessary to make it each time. In the business process, when there is a change in a part related to transfer of complicated documents such as waiting and branching, the user application program has to be remodeled significantly, and there is a problem in that it cannot be dealt with flexibly.

It is an object of the present invention to graphically represent a business process including complicated transfer of documents such as waiting and branching, and to flexibly respond to changes in the business process. To provide.

[0007]

[Means for Solving the Problems] In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, a business process that proceeds through the hands of a plurality of workers is circulated at least from the worker to the worker, and a plurality of documents in the middle of the circulation. Waiting, dividing the waiting documents, copying the documents and distributing them to multiple circulation destinations, collecting the bundled documents into one, and selecting a circulation route according to the processing result of the worker for the documents. The description is based on the combination of branches to be selected, and the document transfer is controlled based on the described business process information.

Further, the components of the business process (worker, waiting, division, broadcasting, collection, branching) are displayed by icons, and the transfer of documents between the components is connected between the icons indicating the components. Displayed with an arrow. A character string symbolizing the selected circulation route is displayed on the icon indicating the branch. Documents circulated in the business process are also displayed as icons, and the icon indicating the document is displayed in association with the arrow indicating the transfer of the document between the constituent elements. The shape of the icon is displayed differently for a single document and a document bundle in which multiple documents are bundled.

[0009] Furthermore, in addition to workers, waiting, division, broadcasting, collection, and branching as constituents of the business process, agents that transfer documents to other workers according to pre-specified conditions, circulation destinations The distribution of the document entities to multiple circulation destinations according to the load status of, and the holding of waiting for a plurality of document entities according to a predetermined condition are displayed by icons.

[0010]

In the present invention, a system for supporting a business process is configured such that a client that defines business process information, a server that controls the business process, and a plurality of business clients that perform the work of the business process are connected via a network. Take. The business process information definition client displays the business process information creation screen that starts the business process information creation program. On this screen, icons indicating the components of the business process are attached and the icons are connected by arrows.

Further, a document icon is pasted on the arrow to create a business process. On the way, it is determined whether or not the business process editing is to be ended. If not, the business process editing is continued. When ending, the created business process information is transferred to the server and the business process information creating program is ended.
The business process control server activates business process control and accepts requests from clients. Whether the request is from the business process information definition client,
If it is from the business process information definition client, it judges whether it is from the business client, and receives and stores the transferred business process information. When the request is from the business client, based on the stored business process information, the circulation document is delivered to and from the business client, or circulation control such as waiting for a plurality of documents and determination of branch destination is performed.

After that, it is determined whether or not the business process to be controlled is terminated, and if it is not terminated, control of the business process is continued. In case of termination, control of business process is terminated. The business client activates the user application program to newly create a document or receives a document circulated from another worker from the server and processes it. The processed document is transferred again to the server to proceed with the work of the business process. On the way, it is determined whether or not the work of the business process is finished, and if it is not finished, the work of the business process is continued. When ending, the user application program is ended.

As described above, a business process including complicated transfer of documents such as waiting and branching can be represented graphically, and even if there is a change in the business process, the combination of icon parts showing the components of the business process can be combined. It is possible to easily deal with it by just changing it.

[0014]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows a device configuration example for realizing a business process support system according to an embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 1, 1 to 3 are documents circulated in the business process. 10 to 30 are workers in the business process, and 40 is a definer of the business process information. 10
00 is a server that controls a business process, 1010,
An information storage unit 1020 of the business process control server stores business process information and document information, respectively. Reference numerals 1100 to 1300 are business clients operated by operators of business processes, and 1400 is a client that defines business process information. 1101,
Reference numerals 1201, 1301, 1401 are keyboards 1102, 1202, 130 which are input means of each client.
2, 1402 is a CRT which is an output means of each client
Is. Reference numerals 1103 and 1203 denote input means of the business client, which are scanners for inputting image documents and the like as circulation documents. Reference numeral 1304 denotes an output unit of the business client, which is a printer for outputting a circulation document as an image document or the like. A network 1900 connects the business process control server and each client.

In FIG. 1, the business process support system includes a business process control server 1000, a business client 1100 for performing work of a business process,
1200 and 1300 and a business process information definition client 1400 are connected via a network 1900. Business process control server 100
0 is a business process information definition client 1400
The information storage unit 1010 for storing the business process information created in 1. and the information storage unit 1020 for managing the document information circulated in the business process.

Further, the server 1000 has a business process control unit and executes the control procedure of the business process shown in FIG. 2 (b). The business process information definition client 1400 uses a keyboard 1401 as input means.
Has a CRT 1402 as an output means. The business process definer 40 uses these input / output means to perform an operation for creating business process information. In accordance with the operation of the business process definer 40, the business process information creation program and the business process control access unit execute the business process information definition procedure shown in FIG. Business client 1100, 120
0, 1300 are keyboards 1101, 1201, 1301 as input means and CR as output means, respectively.
It has T1102, 1202, and 1302. Worker 1
Each of 0, 20, and 30 uses these input / output means to perform an operation for performing the work of the business process.

The business clients 1100 and 120
0 has scanners 1103 and 1203,
Circular documents 1 and 2 can be input as image documents. The business client 1300 is the printer 13
04, it is possible to output the circulation document 3 as an image document. In accordance with the operations of the workers 10, 20, and 30, the user application program and the business process control access unit execute the processing procedure of the business process work shown in FIG. 2C.

FIG. 2 is an embodiment of the present invention and is a flow chart showing a definition procedure of business process information, a control procedure of a business process, and a processing procedure of a business client operated by an operator to execute a business process.
In FIG. 2, 2100 to 2104 are (a) processing steps of a client that defines business process information, 211
0 to 2116 are (b) business process control server processing steps, and 2120 to 2125 are (c) business client processing steps.

In FIG. 2A, the business process information definition client starts the business process information creation program (step 2100) and, as shown in FIGS. 5 to 7, based on the terminal operation of the business process definer,
Creating business process information (step 210)
1). On the way, it is determined whether or not the editing of the business process is to be ended (step 2102). If not, the process returns to step 2101 to continue the editing of the business process. When ending, the business process control access unit transfers the created business process information to the server (step 2103) and ends the business process information creating program (step 2104).

In FIG. 2B, the business process control server activates business process control (step 2110) and receives a request from the client (step 2111). It is judged which client the received request is from (step 2112), and if it is from the business process information definition client,
The transferred business process information is received and stored in the information storage unit 1010 (step 2113). After storing, proceed to step 2115. When the request is from the business client, as shown in FIG. 11, based on the stored business process information, the circulation document is delivered to or from the business client, or circulation control such as waiting for a plurality of documents and judgment of branch destination is performed. (Step 2114). afterwards,
It is determined whether or not the business process to be controlled is finished (step 2115). If not, the process returns to step 2111 to continue control of the business process. If it is finished, the control of the business process is finished (step 2116).

In FIG. 2 (c), the business client, after starting the user application program (step 2120), receives the documents circulated from other workers from the server by the business process control access unit, and in FIG. As shown, a list of received documents is displayed (step 2121). Next, it is judged whether or not the operator's operation ends the processing of the document (step 2122), and if not, the document selected by the operator from the list is displayed (step 2122). 212
3). Thereafter, the processing of the worker's document is accepted, the business process control access unit transfers the processing result to the server (step 2124), and the process returns to step 2121. In step 2122, if the operator's operation ends the processing of the document, the user application program ends (step 2125).

FIG. 3 shows the configuration of a business process information creating program which is an embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 3, 2200 is a business process information creation program. 2201 is an overall control unit of the business process information creation program, and 2202 is an input / output control unit of the business process information creation program. Reference numerals 2210 to 2220 are portions that manage information related to the components of the business process. The worker information management unit 2210, the waiting information management unit 2211, the division information management unit 2212, the broadcast information management unit 2213, and the collection information management, respectively. A part 2214, a branch information management part 2215, a proxy information management part 2216, a distribution information management part 2217, a holding information management part 2218, a document information management part 2219, and a document bundle information management part 2220. Two
A buffer 230 temporarily stores business process information. In FIG. 3, the business process information creation program 2200 exists on the business process definition client shown in FIG.
It comprises an input / output control unit 2202, information management units 2210 to 2220 of each business process component, and a business process information storage buffer 2230.

The overall control unit 2201 controls the transfer of information between the input / output control unit 2202 and the information management units 2210 to 2220 of each business process component according to the processing procedure shown in FIG. The input / output control unit 2202 receives an input from the business process definer 40 via the keyboard 1401 and outputs the processing result to the CRT 1402. The information management units 2210 to 2220 of each business process component icon each of the components (worker, waiting, division, broadcast, collection, branch, agency, distribution, hold, document, document bundle) that configure the business process. Manage the information to be converted into and handled. The content is recorded in the business process information storage buffer 2230 and the content is read from the business process information storage buffer 2230. The business process information storage buffer 2230 is an information management unit 2210-22 of each business process constituent element.
The information handled by 20 is temporarily stored. The stored contents are
When the business process information has been created, it is transferred to the server 1000 by the business process control access unit.

FIG. 4 is an embodiment of the present invention and is a flowchart showing a procedure for creating business process information using a business process information creating program. FIG.
At 2300-2303, 2310-2312,
Reference numerals 2320 to 2322, 2330 to 2332, and 2340 are processing steps of the business process information creation program shown in FIG. After being started, the business process information creation program receives an input from the business process definer via the keyboard 1401 (step 230).
0), it is determined whether or not the received input is to paste the component icon of the business process on the screen (step 2301). If the input received is to paste a business process component icon onto the screen,
The pasting information of the component icon is recorded in the business process information storage buffer 2230 (step 230).
2).

Thereafter, the result of pasting the component icon on the screen is displayed on the CRT 1402 (step 230).
3) and returns to step 2300. In step 2301, if the received input does not attach the component icon of the business process to the screen, it is determined whether or not the component icon is connected (step 2310). If the received input is to connect the component icon, the connection information between the component icons is recorded in the business process information storage buffer 2230 (step 2311). After that, the result of connecting the component icons with arrows is displayed on the CRT 1402 (step 2312), and the process returns to step 2300. If it is determined in step 2310 that the received input does not connect the component icons, it is determined whether the document icon is to be pasted on the screen (step 232).
0). If the received input is for pasting the document icon on the screen, the pasting information of the document icon is recorded in the business process information storage buffer 2230 (step 2321).

Thereafter, the result of pasting the document icon on the screen is displayed on the CRT 1402 (step 2322) and the process returns to step 2300. In step 2320, if the received input is not to paste the document icon on the screen, it is determined whether or not to delete an unnecessary icon (step 2330). If the received input is to delete an unnecessary icon, the unnecessary icon pasting information and the connection information to another icon are deleted from the business process information storage buffer 2230 (step 2).
331). After that, the result of deleting the unnecessary icon and the arrow connected to the unnecessary icon from the screen is displayed on the CRT140.
2 (step 2332), and the process returns to step 2300. If the received input does not erase the unnecessary icon in step 2330, it is determined whether the creation of the business process information is completed (step 2340). If the input received does not end the creation of business process information, step 2
Returning to 300, if the creation of the business process information is to be ended, the processing is ended.

5 to 7 show an embodiment of the present invention, showing a process of creating business process information. FIG. 5 is an embodiment of the present invention, and shows a screen to which icons indicating the components of the business process are attached in the process of creating the business process information. In FIG. 5, reference numeral 400 is a business process information creation screen, 500 is a window for displaying icons indicating the components of the business process as parts, and 600 is a window for combining the icons displayed as parts to create business process information. is there. In FIG. 5, screen 4 for creating business process information
00 is composed of a window 500 for displaying icons showing the components of the business process as parts and a window 600 for combining the icons displayed as parts to create business process information. In the icon component display window 500, the worker, waiting, division, broadcast, collection, branch, agency, distribution, and hold, which are the components of the business process, are displayed as icon components.

Further, the documents that are circulated in the business process and the icon indicating the document bundle that bundles a plurality of documents are also displayed. The definer of the business process information selects a necessary one from the icons displayed on the icon component display window 500 by dragging and dropping, and the business process information creation window 6
00 can be attached. Visually express any combination of business process components. In the figure, three worker icons and one waiting icon are displayed as an example of combination.

FIG. 6 shows an embodiment of the present invention, and shows a screen in which the icons showing the components of the business process are connected by arrows in the process of creating the business process information. In FIG. 6, the definer of the business process information is
Subsequent to the operation in FIG. 5, a specific worker can be assigned to the attached worker icon. In FIG. 6, “worker A”, “worker B”, and “worker C” are assigned to the three worker icons pasted on the business process information creation window 600, respectively.

Further, the pasted icons can be connected by an arrow. The definer designates the start point and end point icons and connects the designated icons with an arrow to visually represent the transfer of the document between the components of the business process indicated by the icon. In the figure, "Worker A"
To "Meeting", "Worker B" to "Meeting"
, 3 patterns from “waiting” to “worker C” are displayed as an example of document transfer.

FIG. 7 is an embodiment of the present invention and shows a screen in which a document icon is attached on the arrow connecting the icons showing the components of the business process in the process of creating the business process information. . In FIG. 7, the definer of the business process information, after the operation in FIG. 6, displays the document icon in the business process information creation window 60.
0 can be pasted on. By pasting an icon indicating a document circulated in a business process on an arrow connecting the icons indicating the components of the business process, the document transferred between the components of the business process is visually represented.

In FIG. 7, "worker A" to "waiting"
"Document a", "Worker B" to "Meeting" with "Document b", "Meeting" to "Worker C" from "Document a" and "Document b""Documentbundle" is displayed as an example of a transfer document. Finally, the business process information creation window 600 waits for the “document a” created by “worker A” and the “document c” created by “worker B”, and the waiting document bundle is “worked”. It expresses that the business process of transferring to person C ”is described. By going through the procedure shown in FIGS. 5 to 7, it becomes possible to graphically represent the business process including the complicated transfer of the document. Also, if there is a change in the business process, it can be easily handled by simply changing the combination of icon parts.

FIGS. 8 to 10 show an embodiment of the present invention and show a configuration example of a business process and a data structure of business process information. FIG. 8 is an embodiment of the present invention and shows a configuration example of a business process including workers, waiting, branching, and division, and a data structure of business process information. In FIG. 8, 100 is a business process, 101
˜109 are icons showing components of the business process, and 151 ˜155 are icons showing documents circulated in the business process. Reference numeral 700 is a table showing a data structure of business process information.

In FIG. 8, 101 to 109 are illustrated as icons showing the components of the business process 100. 101, 102, 104, 107, 10
Among the components of the business process, reference numerals 8 and 109 are icons indicating workers, and as actual workers, “worker A”, “worker B”, “worker C”, and
It represents that “worker D”, “worker A”, and “worker B” are assigned. Among the components of the business process, 103 is an icon indicating waiting for a plurality of documents during circulation, and the document “document a” indicated by the document icon 151 and the document “document b” indicated by the document icon 152. It means to wait for and. The document bundle indicated by the document icon 153 represents that a plurality of documents are bundled as a result of waiting for “document a” and “document b”. In order to distinguish between a single document and a document bundle in which a plurality of documents are bundled, the shape of the icon is displayed differently.

Reference numeral 105 denotes an icon showing a branch for selecting a circulation route according to the processing result of the worker for the document among the components of the business process, and represents that there are two branch destinations. . As each branch label (character string that symbolizes the branch destination), "OK" and "N"
G ”is set. Among the components of the business process, reference numeral 106 denotes an icon that indicates the division of documents that have been waited for, and the document bundle that is circulated is the document “Document a” indicated by the document icon 154 and the document “Document a indicated by the document icon 155. It is expressed that the document is divided into "document b". The arrows between the icons that represent business process components indicate the transfer of documents between business process components, and the document icons overlaid on the arrows indicate the documents that are transferred between business process components. Shows.

For example, in FIG. 8, the "document a" created by the "worker A" and the "document b" created by the "worker B" are waited together, and the waiting document bundle is called "worker C". Transfer to. After the processing of "worker C" is completed, the document bundle is transferred to "branch" and the processing result of "worker C" is judged. The document bundle is transferred to "worker D" when the processing result of "worker C" corresponds to the branch label "OK", and to "division" when it corresponds to the branch label "NG". In the "division", the transferred document bundle is divided into "document a" and "document b" and transferred to "worker A" and "worker B", respectively. Reference numeral 700 denotes a data structure of the business process 100, which includes “icon ID”, “icon type”, “worker name”, “branch label”, “connection destination icon ID”,
It consists of "Type of pasted document icon" and "Document name".

[Icon ID] is the business process 1
00 is an identifier of each of the icons 101 to 109 indicating the components of the business process defined in 00,
"1" to "9" are given. "Icon type"
Indicates the type of icon specified by the “icon ID”. In the figure, the types of icons whose "icon ID" is "1" to "9" are "worker", "worker", and
“Waiting”, “worker”, “branch”, “division”, “worker”, “worker”, and “worker”. The "worker name" is valid only for the "icon type" of "worker", and indicates the name of the worker assigned to the worker icon. In the figure, "Icon I" in which "Worker name" is valid
"D" is "1", "2", "4", "7", "8",
“10”, which are “worker A”, “worker B”, “worker C”, “worker D”, “worker A”, respectively.
“Worker B” is assigned.

The "branch label" is valid only when the "icon type" is "branch" and is a character string that symbolizes the circulation route at the branch destination. There are as many branch destinations as there are branches. In the figure, the "icon ID" for which the "branch label" is valid is "5".
Is. The number of branch destinations is 2.
"Branch labels" of "K" and "NG" are set. The “connection destination icon ID” is an identifier of an icon connected by an arrow starting from the icon specified by the “icon ID”. In the figure, "3", "3", "4", and "5" are assigned to the "icon ID" of "1", "2", "3", and "4", respectively. “Icon ID” is “7” and “6” for “5”.
This is because when the "icon type" is "branch", there are as many connection destinations as there are branch destinations, and "IDs of connection destination icons" are set corresponding to the respective branch labels. "8" and "9" for the "icon ID" of "6". This is because when the "icon type" is "division", there are as many connection destinations as there are division destinations, and "connection destination icon IDs" are set corresponding to the respective division destinations. "Icon ID" is "7", "8",
There is no "ID of connection destination icon" for "9".

The "type of attached document icon" and "document name" are attached on the arrow connecting the icon specified by "icon ID" and the icon specified by "ID of connection destination icon". The type and name of the document icon. In the figure, on the arrow connecting the icons with "icon ID""1" and "3", "6" and "8",
The document icon named "Document a" is displayed as "Icon I".
D indicates that a document icon named "Document b" is attached on the arrows connecting the icons "2" and "3" and between the icons "6" and "9", respectively. It also indicates that the "document bundle" including "document a" and "document b" is attached on the arrow connecting the icons having "icon ID" of "3" and "4".

FIG. 9 shows an embodiment of the present invention in which an operator,
The following is an example of a business process configuration including broadcast, collection, and branch, and a data structure of business process information. In FIG. 9, reference numeral 200 is a business process, 201 to 209 are icons indicating components of the business process, and 251 is an icon indicating a document circulated in the business process. Reference numeral 800 is a table showing a data structure of business process information.

In FIG. 9, icons 201 to 209 are illustrated as icons showing the components of the business process 200. 201, 203, 204, 205, 20
Among the components of the business process, reference numerals 7 and 209 are icons indicating a worker, and as actual workers, “worker A”, “worker B”, “worker C”, and
It represents that “worker D”, “worker E”, and “worker B” are assigned. Reference numeral 202 denotes an icon indicating a broadcast that copies a document and distributes it to a plurality of circulation destinations among the components of the business process.
It expresses that the document “Document c” shown by 1 is broadcast to three persons, “Worker B”, “Worker C”, and “Worker D”. 206 is a component of the business process
It is an icon indicating collection of bunched documents in one, and represents that bounced documents are collected from three persons, “worker B”, “worker C”, and “worker D”. There is. Two
Of the components of the business process, 08 is an icon indicating a branch that selects a circulation route according to the processing result of the worker for the document, and represents that there are two branch destinations. As each branch label, "O
“K” and “NG” are set.

The arrows between the icons indicating the business process components indicate the transfer of documents between the business process components, and the document icons displayed over the arrows are transferred between the business process components. Showing the documents For example, in FIG. 9, the "document c" created by the "worker A" is broadcast to three people, "worker B", "worker C", and "worker D". After the processing of "worker B", "worker C", and "worker D" is completed, the broadcasted documents are collected from each and transferred to "worker E". After the processing of "worker E" is completed, the document is transferred to "branch" and the processing result of "worker E" is judged. "Worker A" if the processing result of "Worker E" corresponds to the branch label "OK"
To, if the branch label is "NG", then "Broadcast"
Transfer the document to. 800 is the business process 20
The data structure of 0 is shown, and "icon ID", "icon type", "worker name", "branch label", "connection destination icon ID", "type of pasted document icon",
It consists of "Document name".

[Icon ID] is the business process 2
00 is an identifier of each of the icons 201 to 209 indicating the components of the business process defined in 00,
"1" to "9" are given. "Icon type",
The “worker name”, “branch label”, “ID of connection destination icon”, “type of pasted document icon”, and “document name” are the same as those in the business process information table 700 of FIG. 7. In the figure, "Icon ID"
“Broadcast” with “2” has “ID of connection destination icon” of “3”, “4”, and “5”. This means that if the "icon type" is "broadcast," there are as many connection destinations as there are broadcast destinations, and the "connection destination icon I
This is because "D" is set. On the other hand, if the icon type is "collection", there is only one connection destination, so
Only one “ID of connection destination icon” needs to be set.
Therefore, in the figure, "collection" with "icon ID" of "6"
Indicates that the “ID of connection destination icon” is “7”.

FIG. 10 is an embodiment of the present invention and shows a configuration example of a business process including workers, distribution, agency, and hold, and a data structure of business process information. In FIG. 10, 300 is a business process, and 301 to 3
10 is an icon indicating a component of a business process, 3
Reference numeral 51 is an icon indicating a document circulated in the business process. Reference numeral 900 is a table showing a data structure of business process information.

In FIG. 10, business process 300
301 to 310 are exemplified as the icons indicating the constituent elements. 301, 303, 304, 305, 30
Among the components of the business process, 6, 308, and 310 are icons indicating workers, and as actual workers, “worker A”, “worker B”, “worker C”, and “worker A”, respectively. "Worker D", "Worker E", "Worker F",
It represents that “worker A” is assigned.
Reference numeral 302 denotes an icon that indicates distribution among the constituent elements of the business process that distributes the substance of the document to a plurality of circulation destinations according to the load status of the circulation destination, and is the substance of the document “Document d” indicated by the document icon 351. Is distributed to three persons, “worker B”, “worker C”, and “worker D”. 307 is a component of the business process
This is an icon representing a proxy for transferring a document to another worker according to a condition designated in advance, and represents transferring a document of "worker E" to "worker F". 309
Among the components of the business process, is an icon indicating a hold for waiting for a plurality of document entities according to a predetermined condition. The icon of the document transferred from the “worker E” is to be suspended. expressing.

The arrows between the icons indicating the business process components indicate the transfer of documents between the business process components, and the document icons displayed over the arrows are transferred between the business process components. Showing the documents For example, in FIG. 10, the entity of the “document d” created by the “worker A” is respectively changed according to the load status of the three workers “worker B”, “worker C”, and “worker D”. Distribute to. After the processing of “worker B”, “worker C”, and “worker D” is completed, the respective documents are transferred to “worker E”. After the transfer to the "worker E", the document satisfying the predetermined condition is transferred to the "proxy". Other documents are transferred to "hold" after the processing of "worker E" is completed.
The document transferred to the "proxy" is transferred to the "worker F". The transferred document is judged to have been processed by the "worker E" who is the original worker after the "worker F" has been processed, and "holding" which is the circulation destination of the "worker E" is determined. "
Transfer to The document transferred to the "hold" is transferred to the "worker A" after waiting for a plurality of entities according to a predesignated condition.

Reference numeral 900 denotes a data structure of the business process 300, which includes "icon ID", "icon type",
"Worker name", "Condition", "I of connection destination icon"
D ”,“ Type of pasted document icon ”,“ Document name ”
Consists of. “Icon ID” is the business process 30
These are identifiers of the respective icons 301 to 310 indicating the components of the business process defined as 0, and
"1" to "10" are given. "Icon type", "Worker name", "ID of connection destination icon",
“Type of pasted document icon” and “document name” have the same concept as the business process information table 700 in FIG. 7. The “condition” is valid for the “icon type” of “distribution”, “substitution”, and “holding”, and indicates a distribution condition, a substitution condition, and a holding condition depending on each case. For example, in “Distribution” with “Icon ID” of “2”, “Condition” indicates distribution condition.

In FIG. 10, the distribution ratio “20” that can be calculated from the load situation at the circulation destination or specified in advance.
% ”,“ 30% ”, and“ 50% ”are assigned to“ 3 ”,“ 4 ”,“ ID of connection destination icon ”that is the distribution destination, respectively.
It is set for the icon of "5". This is for the circulation destinations whose "icon ID" is "3", "4", "5",
It shows that the substance of the document is distributed at a ratio of “20%”, “30%”, and “50%”, respectively. When the “icon ID” is “7”, the “substitution” indicates the “substitution”. In FIG. 10, the designation “10 minutes after arrival”
"ID of connection destination icon" is set for the icon of "8". This is a document 10 minutes after arrival,
It indicates that the transfer is performed to the alternate destination whose “icon ID” is “8”. In the “hold” with the “icon ID” of “9”, the “condition” indicates the hold condition. In the figure, "every 10"
Is specified for the icon whose “connection destination icon ID” is “10”. This means that 10 document entities are queued and transferred to the circulation destination whose “icon ID” is “10”.

FIG. 11 is an embodiment of the present invention and shows a control process of a business process. In FIG. 11, 102
Documents 1, 1022 are circulated in the business process. In FIG. 11, the business process control server 100
Controls the circulation of documents among the workers 10, 20, 30 based on the business process information table 700 stored in the business process information storage unit 1010. The workers 10, 20, and 30 are described as “worker A”, “worker B”, and “worker C” on the business process information table 700, respectively. Each worker has a business client 1100, 1200,
Operate the 1300 to advance the business process. The business clients 1100, 1200, 1300 execute the processing of the circulation document while communicating with the business process control server 100 according to the instruction of the worker. In the figure, the “document a” of the circulation document 1021 is the circulation document 1022 in the business client 1100 operated by the “worker A”.
“Document b” is created in each of the business clients 1200 operated by “worker B”.

In the business process information table 700, the transfer destinations of the created documents are both "waiting" with the "connection destination icon ID" of "3".
After being transferred to the business process control server 1000,
The “document a” and the “document b” are managed as a bundle of documents by the document information storage unit 1020. Further, the bundle of documents is the business client 1300 operated by the “worker C”.
Forwarded to and processed. As described above, based on the contents of the business process information table, it is possible to control the circulation of documents between the business clients operated by the workers.

FIG. 12 is an embodiment of the present invention and is an example of a screen display of a user application program existing on a business client that executes a business process.
In FIG. 12, 2000 to 2002 are display screens of user application programs. In FIG. 12, a screen 2000 is displayed when the user application program is activated. The screen 2000 is a screen for displaying a list of documents received by the business client from the business process control server (documents circulated by other workers). As the items of the list, “circulation document” indicating the name of the circulation document, “status” indicating the state of the circulation document, and “content” indicating the configuration of the circulation document are provided.

The screen 2001 is a screen for displaying the document selected by the operator from the list of the screen 2000. In the figure, assuming that the first item "document bundle C" is selected, "document a" which is a document constituting "document bundle C",
"Document b" is displayed. Screen 2002 is screen 2
It is a screen for accepting the processing of the operator for the document displayed in 001. In the figure, "O
The screen is for selecting "K" or "NG". The user application program receives the selection result of the worker and transfers the result to the business process control server. When the processing of the document is terminated on the screen 2000, the user application program is terminated.

[0053]

According to the present invention, such as waiting and branching,
A business process including complicated transfer of documents can be represented graphically, and even if there is a change in the business process, it is possible to easily respond by simply changing the combination of icon parts that represent the components of the business process. Become.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 shows an example of a device configuration for realizing a business process support system.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing a definition procedure of business process information, a control procedure of a business process, and a processing procedure of a business client operated by an operator to execute a business process.

FIG. 3 shows the configuration of a business process information creation program.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a procedure for creating business process information using a business process information creation program.

FIG. 5: Of the process of creating business process information,
The screen which attached the icon which shows the component of a business process is shown.

FIG. 6 is a process of creating business process information.
The screen which connected the icon which shows the component of a business process with the arrow is shown.

[FIG. 7] Of the process of creating business process information,
A screen in which a document icon is attached is shown on the arrow connecting the icons indicating the components of the business process.

FIG. 8 shows a configuration example of a business process including workers, waiting, branching, and division, and a data structure of business process information.

FIG. 9 shows a configuration example of a business process including a worker, a broadcast, a collection, and a branch, and a data structure of business process information.

FIG. 10 shows a configuration example of a business process including workers, distribution, agency, and hold, and a data structure of business process information.

FIG. 11 shows a control process of a business process.

FIG. 12 is a screen display example of a user application program existing on a business client that executes a business process.

[Explanation of symbols]

1-3 ... Circulation documents 10-30 ... Workers 40 ... Business process definer 1000 ... Business process control server 1010 ... Business process information storage unit 1020 ... Document information storage unit 1100 1300 ... Business client 1400 ... Business process definition client 1101, 1201, 1301, 1401 ... Keyboard 1102, 1202, 1302, 1402 ... CRT 1103, 1203 ... Scanner 1304 ... Printer 1900 ···network

Continuation of front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁶ Identification code Internal reference number FI Technical display location G06T 1/60 H04L 12/54 12/58 G06F 15/64 450 G 9466-5K H04L 11/20 101 B (72 ) Inventor Tsutomu Tashiro 1-5-1, Marunouchi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo Incorporated company Hitachi, Ltd. Research & Development Division, Research Planning Center (72) Inventor Kenichi Aoshima 5030 Totsuka-cho, Totsuka-ku, Yokohama, Kanagawa (72) Inventor Hiromasa Nemoto 5030 Totsuka-cho, Totsuka-ku, Yokohama-shi, Kanagawa, Ltd.Inside Software Development Division, Hitachi, Ltd. (72) Atsushi Nitta 1099, Ozen-ji, Aso-ku, Kawasaki-shi, Kanagawa Hitachi Ltd. System Development Laboratory (72) Inventor Tomoko Yasuda 1099 Ozenji, Aso-ku, Kawasaki City, Kanagawa Prefecture Incorporated Hitachi Systems Development Laboratory (72) Inventor Tomomi Koga 1099, Ozenji, Aso-ku, Kawasaki City, Kanagawa Prefecture Hitachi, Ltd. System Development Laboratory

Claims (16)

[Claims] 1. A system for supporting a business process to proceed through a plurality of workers, wherein at least a business process is circulated between a worker and a worker, and waiting for a plurality of documents during the circulation, Division of waiting documents, broadcasting that copies documents and distributes to multiple circulation destinations, collection that bundles the broadcasted documents into one, selection of circulation route according to the processing result of the worker for documents A method for constructing a business process support system, characterized in that the transfer of documents is controlled based on the information of the business process described in combination. 2. The components of a business process (worker, waiting, division, broadcast, collection, branch) are displayed by icons, and the transfer of documents between the components is connected between the icons indicating the components. The display is indicated by an arrow.
How to configure the business process support system described. 3. The method for configuring a business process support system according to claim 2, wherein a character string symbolizing the circulation route to be selected is displayed on the icon indicating the branch. 4. A document circulated in a business process is displayed by an icon, and the icon indicating the document is displayed in association with an arrow indicating transfer of the document between components of the business process. The method for configuring a business process support system according to claim 2. 5. The method for configuring a business process support system according to claim 4, wherein a single document and a document bundle in which a plurality of documents are bundled are displayed with different icon shapes. 6. As an element of a business process, in addition to a worker, a wait, a division, a broadcast, a collection, and a branch, an agent for transferring a document to another worker according to a predetermined condition is represented by an icon. The method for configuring a business process support system according to claim 2, wherein the method is displayed. 7. As a component of a business process, in addition to workers, waiting, division, broadcasting, collection and branching, distribution that distributes the substance of a document to a plurality of circulation destinations according to the load status of the circulation destinations. The icon is displayed as an icon.
How to configure the business process support system described. 8. As a component of a business process, in addition to workers, waiting, division, broadcasting, collection, and branching, a hold for waiting a plurality of document entities according to a predetermined condition is displayed by an icon. The method for configuring a business process support system according to claim 2, wherein: 9. A system for supporting a business process to proceed through a plurality of workers, wherein at least a business process is circulated from a worker to a worker, and waiting for a plurality of documents in the middle of the circulation, Division of waiting documents, broadcasting that copies documents and distributes to multiple circulation destinations, collection that bundles the broadcasted documents into one, selection of circulation route according to the processing result of the worker for documents A constituent device of a business process support system, comprising means for controlling document transfer based on information of a business process described in combination. 10. Business process components (workers,
Waiting, division, broadcasting, collection, branching) are displayed by icons, and the transfer of documents between the components is displayed by an arrow connecting the icons indicating the components. 9. A component device of the business process support system according to item 9. 11. The apparatus for configuring a business process support system according to claim 10, further comprising means for displaying a character string symbolizing a circulation route to be selected on an icon indicating a branch. 12. A means for displaying a document circulated in a business process by an icon and displaying the icon indicating the document in association with an arrow indicating the transfer of the document between the components of the business process. 11. The method according to claim 10,
A constituent device of the described business process support system. 13. The business process support system constituting apparatus according to claim 12, wherein a single document and a document bundle including a plurality of documents have means for displaying different icon shapes. 14. As a component of a business process, in addition to workers, waiting, division, broadcasting, collection, and branching, icons are used to transfer documents to other workers according to predetermined conditions. 11. The business process support system configuration apparatus according to claim 10, further comprising display means. 15. As a component of a business process, in addition to workers, waiting, division, broadcasting, collection, and branching, distribution for distributing the substance of a document to a plurality of circulation destinations according to the load status of the circulation destinations. The apparatus for configuring a business process support system according to claim 10, further comprising means for displaying with an icon. 16. As a component of a business process, in addition to a worker, a wait, a division, a broadcast, a collection, and a branch, a hold for waiting a plurality of document entities according to a predetermined condition is displayed by an icon. 11. The business process support system constituent device according to claim 10, further comprising means.