JPH08287157A - Business process defining method - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To easily grasp the positioning of a node in the entirety by making a break between in-department business processes distinctive when a large-scale business process extending over plural departments is defined. CONSTITUTION: A part of the business process composed of plural nodes is represented as a macronode and a macroicon representing a macronode is provided; when a macroicon 62-1 is arranged on a chart 61, a macroprocess as a flow of the operation of the macronode represented with the macroicon is represented with a node icon which is inputted and specified, an arrow connecting node icons, and a case icon as a chart 62 different from the chart 61. Then the macroprocess is defined on the basis of the chart 62 and attribute information on the inputted node icon and case icon to describe the business process hieerarchically. In the figure, 60-1 and 60-2 are node icon menus and 60-3 is a case icon menu.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a business process definition method for group business consisting of a plurality of workers, and more particularly to a business process definition method for describing a flow of business using a graphical interface.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, a workflow management system has been introduced for the purpose of increasing the productivity of white collars. The workflow management system digitizes documents to be worked, and uses a network to automate work processing including a plurality of workers. A workflow management system usually consists of a business definition tool that describes business processes, a workflow manager that manages business processes, business client applications that perform each business, and the like, according to the business process definition information described by the business definition tool. A workflow manager circulates documents (flow information) as a work target among business clients and executes a series of business processes. As a business definition tool in the workflow management system as described above, Re
MapB at cognition FloWare
Builder tool and UNISYS Staffwa
There is a flow charter of re. These business definition tools use a graphical map to describe the flow of a series of business processes. Specifically, R
Map in the Ecognition FloWare
In the case of the Builder tool, icons of components (activities) representing prepared business process steps and icons of flow information (couria) circulated on a business route (business process) are arranged on the chart in advance. As a result, business definition (business process definition) information consisting of multiple activities is described.

[0003]

In the conventional work definition tool as described above, the chart on which the icons are arranged is composed of one plane. Therefore, when the business process to be defined is large, the number of icons to be arranged on the chart increases. When the icon does not fit in the display area of the display, the conventional business definition tool displays the icon by scrolling the display area. Therefore, when defining a large-scale business process that spans multiple departments, the following points have been a problem. (1) When the business process is displayed by scrolling the display area, it is difficult to grasp the position of the activity of interest to the user in the entire business process. (2) Since all business processes are defined on one plane (chart), it is difficult to grasp the break between business processes within a department even when the business process is configured to span a plurality of business processes within a department. An object of the present invention is to clarify the breaks between business processes within a department in a business process when defining a large-scale business process that spans multiple departments, and to grasp the position of an activity (node) in the whole business process. It is to provide a method of defining a business process that facilitates it.

[0004]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a process of each worker and a flow of documents in a series of works realized by circulating documents among a plurality of workers. The process that controls is expressed as a node,
A business process, which is a series of business processes, is represented as a chart on the display by a node icon that is input and designated, an arrow connecting between the node icons and a case icon that represents a document flowing on the arrow, and is input as the chart. In a business process definition method in a business process management system, which is defined based on attribute information of the node icon and case icon, manages the defined business process as business process definition information, and controls the flow of documents according to the business process definition information. , A part of a business process composed of a plurality of nodes is represented as a macro node, a macro icon is provided as an icon representing the macro node, and when the macro icon is arranged on the chart, the macro represented by the macro icon Node business flow The macro process is represented as a chart separate from the chart on the display by an arrow and a case icon connecting the input-specified node icon and the node icon, and the node icon and the case icon input with the chart. It is defined based on the attribute information of, and the business processes are described in layers. Further, a part of a business process composed of a plurality of nodes is expressed as a macro node, a macro icon is provided as an icon representing the macro node, and a part of the business process including at least a plurality of the node icons on the chart is designated. When the designated portion is designated as a macro node, a macro process, which is a flow of business of the macro node, is defined based on the attribute information input to the node icon or the like of the designated portion, and designated on the chart. The part is converted into a macro icon and arranged on the chart so that the business process is hierarchically described.

[0005]

According to the present invention, when a large-scale business process that extends over a plurality of departments is defined, a macro icon can be made to correspond to each department so that a break between the departments in the business process can be made clear. Further, since a large-scale business process is hierarchically defined, screen scrolling can be reduced, and the position of an activity (node) in the whole business process can be easily grasped.

[0006]

【Example】

(Embodiment 1) Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an outline of an example of a business definition tool that realizes a business process definition method according to the present invention. The details will be clarified by the description below. Reference numeral 1 in the figure is a workflow description part, which is composed of a group of parts for arranging a business definition chart on the chart, displays a dialog etc. for inputting attribute information corresponding to the arranged icon, and inputs the attribute The information is stored in the definition information table 4-1 or the macro process definition information table 4-2. The parts include a node icon that represents a work step, a case icon that represents flow data, and an arrow that connects the node icons. Reference numeral 2 is an icon file that stores information about parts such as node icons and case icons. Reference numeral 5 denotes macro process management, which manages processing related to the macro process. 6 is a macro process browser, which is a macro process definition information table 4
Search the macroflow managed by -2. 7 is an icon arrangement position calculation for calculating the position of the converted macro node in the chart. A macro node conversion check 8 converts a set of nodes into macro nodes using the macro node conversion rule 9. Reference numeral 10 is a business process definition check, which uses the business process definition rule 12 to check the attribute information set in the workflow description section 1 and the connection state of the icon. If there is an error, an error message is displayed. Generate and display. A macro process connection check 11 checks the connection between macro processes, and if there is an error, generates and displays an error message. Thirteen
Is a workflow definition script generation, which converts the information stored in the business process definition file 4 into a workflow definition script 14. Reference numeral 15 is a graphical definition information file, in which graphical definition information expressing a business process created by arranging it on the chart is stored.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a structure for realizing a workflow management system. Reference numeral 21 in the figure is a workflow definition client that describes a business as a business process, and the above-described business definition tool also operates on this workflow definition client. A workflow manager 23 circulates flow data between business clients using the business process definition information defined by the workflow definition client. In this embodiment, the business process definition information is provided in the form of a workflow definition script, and the workflow definition script converted into a form executable by the workflow manager is used. The process of converting the workflow definition script into a format executable by the workflow manager may be performed by the workflow definition client or the workflow manager. 22-1 to 22-3 are business clients that process the circulated flow data. An operation management client 24 monitors the progress of business processes and manages the entire workflow management system.

FIG. 29 shows an example of the format of the workflow definition script. Workflow definition script is output information of workflow definition client,
Data that is transferred to the workflow manager, interpreted, and executed. In the format example of the business process definition script shown here, attribute information is described as text data for each node. In this format example, the text data composed of reserved words and attribute information to be set and enclosed in parentheses is a unit of business process definition information. Reserved words in this script are represented by a character string with # added at the beginning. The attribute information to be expressed is shown in FIG.
The information is the same as the contents of the definition information table shown in FIG.
Although the workflow definition script is expressed as text data here, it may be converted into a format efficiently executed by the workflow manager such as a binary tree expression at the time of execution.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the structure of a workflow definition client that realizes the present invention. Reference numeral 31 in the figure is a keyboard for inputting code data, and 32
Is a pointing device (mouse) for inputting data using a mouse cursor. 33 is a display for displaying code data and bitmap data, 3
A LAN adapter 4 connects the client and the network. Reference numeral 35 is a data file that stores information of the business process definition file, rules used for check processing, and the like. Reference numeral 36 denotes a CPU that controls the entire workflow definition client. Reference numeral 37 denotes a memory, which includes a ROM 37-1 and a RAM 37-2. RO
The M37-1 stores various programs for implementing the present invention, and the business definition tool is also stored in the ROM 37-1. The RAM 37-2 stores various tables and data. Although the ROM and the RAM are separate blocks in this embodiment, they can also be realized by dividing the storage areas of the data stored in the ROM and the data stored in the RAM on the same memory.

In this workflow management system, information corresponding to one job is managed in units of business processes. The information set in the business process description process is stored in the definition information table 40 as shown in FIG. The definition information table includes a business process ID, a business process name, a user key, a creator name, a creation date, a pointer to a node attribute definition information table, a pointer to a case attribute definition information table, and a macro process ID list. . The business process ID is information for uniquely identifying the business process in the workflow management system, and the business process name is the name of the business process and is information used by the user to identify the business process. A user key is information that represents a field name that stores information that uniquely identifies an instance of a business process when the instance is created. The creator name is a field that stores the name of the user who created the business process, and the creation date is a field that stores the date and time when the business process was created. Pointer to node attribute definition information table, pointer to case attribute definition table,
This is a field that stores a pointer to a node and case attribute definition information table related to the business process. The macro process ID list is a field that manages identification information of macro processes that form a business process.

Information regarding the macro process is stored in the macro process definition information table 42 as shown in FIG. The macro process definition information table includes a macro process ID, a macro process name, a creator, a creation date, a pointer to a node attribute definition information table, a parent macro process ID list, a child macro process ID list, and the like. The macro process ID is information for uniquely identifying the macro process in the workflow management system, and the macro process name is the name of the macro process and is information used by the user to identify the macro process. The creator name is a field that stores the name of the user who created the business process, and the creation date is a field that stores the date and time when the business process was created. The pointer to the node attribute definition information table and the pointer to the case attribute definition table are fields for storing pointers to the attribute definition information tables of the nodes and cases related to the business process.
The parent macro process ID list is a field for managing the identification information of macro processes located higher than the macro process. The child macro process ID list is
This is a field for managing the identification information of the macro process located at a lower level than the macro process. The macro process browser is a tool for managing the hierarchical relationship of macro processes.

A screen example of the macro process browser is shown in FIG. The screen example shown in FIG. 6 corresponds to the configuration diagram of the business process having the configuration shown in FIG. In this example, macro processes 1, 2 and 3 exist immediately below the business process 1, and macro processes 3 and 23 exist immediately below the business process 2. A macro process may exist below the macro process. In this example, the macro processes 21 to 23 exist below the macro process 2.

FIG. 8 shows an example of the processing flow of the workflow description. Step 100 performs business process description processing. The detailed flow of business process description processing is shown in FIG. In step 200, it is selected whether or not it is a new creation. If it is not a new creation, in step 202 a list of existing business processes is displayed and the selected business process is read. In step 204, the flow description is executed.

FIG. 10 shows a detailed processing flow of the flow description. The flow description is a process of placing a node icon on a chart and creating a business process or macro process. In step 300, it is designated whether or not the process of arranging the node icons is performed. When arranging the node icons, a node icon arranging process is performed in step 302. In addition, as shown in the screen example of the task definition tool of FIG. 11, the node icon placement process is performed by selecting an icon to be placed on the chart 61 from the icon menu 60 with a mouse or the like and moving it to a position on the chart to be placed. By doing. In this embodiment, the icons prepared in the icon menu include
Node icons 60-1 and 60-2, case icon 60-3
and so on. As the node icons, in addition to those that represent macro processes, there are those that represent division, broadcasting, waiting, collection, branching, processing, sources, sinks, and the like.
Note that FIG. 12 shows an outline of the functions in the business process represented by the node icon that can be used in the business process editing shown in this embodiment. Also, the case icon is
It is an icon for designating the type of document to be flown in business.

Returning to FIG. 10, in step 304, it is determined whether or not the placed node icon is a macro icon, and if it is a macro icon, step 306.
Then, the macro process editing process is performed. FIG. 13 shows the detailed processing flow of macro process editing. Macro process editing is the process of hierarchically describing a business process using macro nodes. For example, the business process is first designed at the department level, and then the business process is designed by the sections that compose each department. It is used when doing. At step 400, whether to newly create a macro process is selected.
02, display the list of existing macro processes,
Read the selected macro process. Step 404
Now, execute the flow description. This flow description is the same processing as the flow description in business process editing, and the detailed processing flow is the same as the processing flow shown in FIG. 10.

FIG. 15 shows an example of the screen of the work definition tool for executing the placement processing of node icons when editing a macro process. FIG. 15 shows a macro process corresponding to a macro node on a chart different from the chart in which the macro node is arranged. Icon menu 6
It is performed by selecting an icon to be arranged on the chart 62 from 0 with a mouse or the like and moving it to a position on the chart to be arranged. Here, business process 1
The example of the screen when the chart 62 for editing the macro process is opened for the macro icon 61-2 in FIG. In the case of the macro process definition, the menu of the node icons that can be arranged in the chart is almost the same as the business process definition, and an example of the types of node icons that can be arranged is shown in FIG. In this embodiment, the icons provided in the icon menu include the node icon 60.
-1, 2 and a case icon 60-3. Node icons include split, broadcast, wait, collect, branch,
Also, it is possible to represent processing, in, out, macro, and the like. The method of displaying the macro process corresponding to the macro node may be a method of surrounding the node group corresponding to the macro process with a polygon, a method of changing the display form such as a color, or the like.

In step 406, the macro process definition is checked. If there is an error in the result of the definition check in step 408, an error message is displayed in step 410, and the processing from step 404 onward is repeated. If there is no error, in step 412, it is selected whether or not to register the macro process. If it is registered, in step 414, macro process registration processing is executed. The processing flow of macro process registration is shown in FIG. In step 450, a script corresponding to the macro process is generated, and in step 452, the macro process definition information table is updated. In step 454, the macro process script is registered and the process returns.

Returning to FIG. 10, in step 308, a part of the process that has already been created is designated, and whether or not to create a macro process is selected for this process part. Is step 31
At 0, macro processing is executed. The macro process conversion process converts a part of a business process into a macro process. FIG. 17 shows the detailed processing flow of the macro processing processing. Macro process processing is
In the business process description, execute the process of replacing the specified flow part with a macro process. Step 5
In 00, the range to be macro-processed is specified in the business process description and macro process description.

18 and 19 show examples of a method of designating a range to be a macro process target. FIG. 18 is a method of designating a target region for macro processing using a rectangle. Here, an example is shown in which the upper left and lower right coordinates of a rectangle are specified using a pointing device such as a mouse. In addition, in this example, the method of designating the area by the rectangle is shown, but the method of designating the target area by the polygon is also possible. FIG. 19 is a method of designating a target region for macro flow conversion by using node icons representing the start and end of a macro process.
In this case, the area from the macro start node to the macro end node is the target area for macro processing. Here, two examples of the method of specifying the range to be the macro process target are given, but if the method of specifying the connected node icon is used,
It can be used as a range specification method.

In step 502, it is selected whether or not the designated range is to be converted into a macro process. If the specified range is to be converted into a macro process, the processes in and after step 504 are executed. If not, the process in step 500 is repeated. . In step 504, the macro process generation process is started by the user issuing a macro process generation command. At step 506, attribute information about the macro process is input. In step 508, the input attribute information and the like are checked, and in step 510, the presence or absence of an error is checked. If there is an error, an error message is generated in step 512, the processes of steps 500 to 510 are repeated, and if there is no error, step 514 is executed.
Perform the following processing. In step 514, the flow portion within the macro process target range is replaced with the macro icon of the macro node, and in step 516, the display position of the replaced macro icon of the macro node is calculated. In step 518, the business process description and macro process description after node replacement are displayed. Step 5
At 20, it is selected whether or not to end the generation of the macro process. If it is not ended, the processes of steps 500 to 518 are repeated. If it is ended, at step 522,
It is selected whether or not to register the generated macro process. When registering, the macro process is registered in step 524, and the process returns. The processing flow of macro process registration is as shown in FIG.

A plurality of nodes becomes one by macro processing
When changing to three nodes, the method of displaying the nodes on the chart after the change is to change the placement position of the nodes other than the macro-processed nodes, and to change all the nodes on the chart after the change. A method of rearranging is possible. As a method of changing the placement position of nodes other than the macro-processed node group, a method of calculating the placement position of the macro node from the position of the node group placed before conversion can be considered. As a method of doing so, for example, there is a method of using the center of gravity of the position of the node group arranged before conversion.

Returning to FIG. 10, in step 312, the process for the icon is selected. The selectable processes are a process of inputting attribute information about a node icon, a process of connecting an arrow to a node icon, a process of deleting a node icon or an arrow, and a process of changing. Step 3
In 14, the input processing of the attribute information regarding the node icon is executed. In the attribute information input process, code data is input by operating a keyboard or a mouse using a dialog box or the like corresponding to each node icon. The input attribute information is stored in the node attribute definition information table as shown in FIG. The node attribute definition information table stores information such as node numbers, node names, role names, and business process procedures for each node. The node number is identification information for uniquely determining the node in the business process, and the node name is the name of the node and is information used by the user to identify the node. The node type is information indicating each node type, and in this embodiment, the node type is classified into eight types of source, sink, processing, branch, waiting, collection, division, and broadcast. The role name is information that sets a role and a user corresponding to each node. The role is composed of one or more users. The business process (BP) procedure is information describing the content of processing to be executed by each node shown in FIGS. 12 and 16.

In step 316, the process of connecting the arrow to the node icon arranged on the chart is executed. In step 318, it is checked whether or not a new case is generated at the node which is the starting point of the arrow. If a case is generated, step 320,
The processing of 322 is executed. In step 320, case icon placement processing is executed. The arranged case icons can be displayed on all the nodes. here,
Display the case icon placed only on the arrow output from the source node or on the arrow output from the waiting node. At step 322, attribute information regarding the case icon is input. In the attribute information input processing, code data is input by operating a keyboard, a mouse or the like using a dialog box or the like corresponding to each case icon. The input attribute information is stored in the case attribute definition information table as shown in FIG. The case attribute definition information table includes a case ID, a case name, a pointer to a case attribute, and the like for each case. The case ID is information that uniquely identifies the case, the case name is the name of the case, and is information that the user uses to identify the case. Figure 2
2 shows an example of a case attribute table that stores case attributes. Case attributes are case attribute name, case attribute type,
It is composed of case attribute values. The case attribute name represents the name of the case attribute and is information used by the user to identify the case attribute. The case attribute type is information that defines the type of data set in the case attribute value. , Character type, number type, date and time type, etc. The case attribute value is a field in which the data set by the business client is stored. Although the access control is not managed in this embodiment, it is also possible to associate roles / users for each case attribute and manage operations (reference only, changeable, etc.) on the case attribute value.

At step 324, a delete process or a change process for the node icon, the case icon, the arrow, etc. is selected. In step 326, deletion processing of the node icon, the case icon, the arrow, etc. is executed. When the icon is deleted, the attribute definition information corresponding to the icon is also deleted. In step 328, the changing process of the node icon, the case icon, the arrow, etc. is executed. Regarding the node icon, the position in the chart can be changed and the content of the node attribute definition information corresponding to the icon can be changed. Step 3
At 30, a check & display state change process is executed. The check & display state changing process is a process of checking the setting status of the attribute information corresponding to the node icon, the case icon, etc., and changing the display form of the icon depending on the setting status. At 332, it is selected whether or not to end the flow description. If not ended, steps 300 to 3 are performed.
The process of 30 is repeated.

Returning to FIG. 9, in step 206, a business process definition check is executed. In the business process definition check, processing such as object connection check and flow correctness check is performed. Object connection check, individual node, arrow connection check,
It consists of attribute information completeness check of nodes and cases. The individual node / arrow connection relation check process is a process of verifying the situation of the arrows connected to the node, the connection relation with an adjacent node, and the like. In addition, the attribute information completeness check process of the node and the case checks the setting status of the attribute information to be set in the node and the case,
It is a process of classifying the attribute information setting status of a case. After the object connection check process is completed, the result of the object connection check process can be reflected in the icon display state. The flow legitimacy check process is a process for verifying the definition status of the entire business process such as the connection status of nodes.

In step 208, it is checked in the business process check whether there is a rule violation,
If there is a rule violation, an error message is displayed in step 210, and if there is no error, step 2
The processing after 12 is performed. In step 212, a script is generated. There are two methods of script generation: one is to expand all business processes into a script at once, and the other is to express the business process as a set of macro processes. In step 214, the generated script is registered and the process returns. The script is managed by associating the icon with the graphical definition information arranged on the chart. Through the above procedure, the script created by the workflow definition client is registered in the workflow manager. The workflow manager analyzes the script and executes workflow control.

Second Embodiment In the first embodiment, the case where there is one workflow manager (workflow server) that executes workflow control has been described. In this embodiment, a case where there are a plurality of workflow managers will be described. FIG. 23 is a block diagram showing an example of the outline of a work definition tool that realizes this embodiment. 151-in the figure
164 has the same function as 1 to 14 of FIG. 1, respectively. Reference numeral 166 in the figure is a resource definition, and performs a process of assigning a workflow manager to execute a sub-process that constitutes a business process. A resource definition file 167 stores the resource definition information defined by the resource definition 166.

FIG. 24 is a block diagram showing the structure for realizing the workflow management system. 171 in the figure is
It is a workflow definition client that describes a business as a business process, and the business definition tool described above also operates on this workflow definition client. 173-
Reference numerals 1-2 denote workflow managers, which use the business process definition information defined by the workflow definition client to circulate flow data between business clients. A resource management server 175 manages a resource such as a workflow manager that executes workflow control.

FIG. 25 is an example showing a processing flow of a business process description for executing resource definition. In addition,
In this embodiment, the unit assigned to the workflow manager is the macro process unit, and the workflow manager that executes the macro process is designated. Here, the unit assigned to the workflow manager may be any unit as long as it is a subset constituting the business process. In step 1000, business process editing is executed. The detailed flow of the business process description processing is the same as that shown in FIG. Step 10
In 02, it is selected whether or not to end the business process editing process. When it is ended, steps 1004 to 100
6. Process 6 is performed. In step 1004, it is selected whether or not to perform resource definition. When resource definition is to be performed, the process of step 1006 is executed and the process ends. FIG. 27 shows a screen example of the result of resource definition, and FIG. 26 shows a detailed process flow of resource definition. In FIG. 27,
Reference numeral 171 is a list of connectable workflow servers, and reference numeral 172 is a macro process resource definition table. FIG. 28 shows an example of the created resource definition table. The resource definition table includes macro process names, workflow types, server names, IP addresses, and the like. The macro process name is information that uniquely determines the macro process, and the workflow type specifies the type of the workflow manager that executes the workflow control of the macro process (for example, the product of company A, the product of company B). Information. The server name is the name of the workflow server, and the IP address is information that uniquely determines the workflow server on the network.

Referring to FIG. 26, in step 1100,
The macro process definition information table is read from the resource management server and a list of registered macro processes is created. In step 1102, the created list is displayed. In step 1104, a macro process is selected from the macro process list. In step 1106, the type of workflow manager that implements the macro process is entered. In step 1108, whether to input or select the server information is selected. When the selection is selected, the processing of steps 1110 to 1112 is executed, and when the input is selected, the processing of step 1114 is executed. To do. The server information is information that manages a server name and information that uniquely determines the server on the network in association with each other, and includes, for example, a server name and an IP address. In step 1110, a connectable workflow manager is searched using the resource definition table managed by the resource management server, and a list of server information corresponding to the workflow manager is displayed. In step 1112, appropriate server information is selected from the server information displayed in the list. In step 1114, the server information is directly input from the keyboard.

In step 1116, the contents of the resource definition information file are checked. In step 1118, if the contents of the resource definition information are correct, step 1120
Is executed, and otherwise, steps 1106 to
The processing of 1116 is repeated. In step 1120, after registering the resource definition information for the macro process in the resource management server, the process returns and the business process description processing ends.

[0032]

According to the present invention, when a large-scale business process that extends over a plurality of departments is defined, the macro process can be replaced with one macro icon by associating a macro icon with each department. . Therefore, the business process can be defined by dividing it into department units, so that the breaks between departments can be made clear. Further, since a large-scale business process is hierarchically defined, screen scrolling can be reduced, and it becomes possible to easily grasp the position of the node icon of interest in the entire business process.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an outline of a work definition tool.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of a workflow management system.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of a workflow definition client.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of a definition information table.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of a macro process definition information table.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of a browser of a macro process.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a configuration example of a business process.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a flowchart of processing of a business process description.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a flowchart of a process of editing a business process.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a flowchart of processing of a flow description unit.

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of a screen for business process editing.

FIG. 12 is a diagram for explaining node icons that can be used in business process editing.

FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a flowchart of processing of macro process editing.

FIG. 14 is a diagram showing a flowchart of processing of macro process registration.

FIG. 15 is a diagram showing an example of a screen for macro process editing.

FIG. 16 is a diagram for explaining a node icon that can be used in macro process editing.

FIG. 17 is a diagram showing a flowchart of processing of macro processing processing.

FIG. 18 is a diagram showing an example of a screen for specifying a macro conversion target range.

FIG. 19 is a diagram showing another example of a screen for specifying the macro conversion target range.

FIG. 20 is a diagram showing an example of a node attribute definition information table.

FIG. 21 is a diagram showing an example of a case attribute definition information table.

FIG. 22 is a diagram showing an example of case attributes.

FIG. 23 is a block diagram showing an outline of a work definition tool according to the second embodiment.

FIG. 24 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a workflow management system according to a second embodiment.

FIG. 25 is a diagram showing a flowchart of a process of business process description according to the second embodiment.

FIG. 26 is a diagram showing a flowchart of processing of resource definition.

FIG. 27 is a diagram showing an example of a resource definition screen.

FIG. 28 is a diagram showing an example of a resource definition table.

FIG. 29 is a diagram showing an example of the format of a workflow definition script.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Workflow description part 2 Icon file 4 Business process definition file 5 Macro process management 6 Macro process browser 7 Icon placement position calculation 8 Macro node conversion check 9 Macro node conversion rule 10 Business process definition check 11 Macro process check 12 Business process definition rule 13 Workflow definition script generation 14 Workflow definition script 15 Graphical definition information file 21 WF definition client 22-1, 22-2, 22-3 Business client 23 WF manager 24 Operation management client 31 Keyboard 32 Mouse 33 Display 34 LAN adapter 35 Disk 36 CPU 37 memory 37-1 ROM 37-2 RAM

Continuation of the front page (72) Inventor Atsushi Tanaka 1099 Ozenji, Aso-ku, Kawasaki-shi, Kanagawa Prefecture Company Hitachi, Ltd. System Development Laboratory

Claims (12)

[Claims] 1. A node represents processing of each worker in a series of operations realized by circulating a document among a plurality of workers and processing for controlling the flow of documents,
A business process, which is a series of business processes, is represented as a chart on the display by a node icon that is input and designated, an arrow connecting between the node icons and a case icon that represents a document flowing on the arrow, and is input as the chart. In a business process definition method in a business process management system, which is defined based on attribute information of the node icon and case icon, manages the defined business process as business process definition information, and controls the flow of documents according to the business process definition information. , A part of a business process composed of a plurality of nodes is represented as a macro node, a macro icon is provided as an icon representing the macro node, and when the macro icon is arranged on the chart, the macro represented by the macro icon Node business This macro process is represented as a chart separate from the chart on the display by an arrow and a case icon that connect between the node icon to be input and the node icon, and the node icon and the case to be input with the chart. Defined based on the attribute information of the icon,
A business process definition method characterized by hierarchically describing business processes. 2. The process of each worker in a series of operations realized by circulating a document among a plurality of workers and the process of controlling the flow of documents are expressed as nodes,
A business process, which is a series of business processes, is represented as a chart on the display by a node icon that is input and designated, an arrow connecting between the node icons and a case icon that represents a document flowing on the arrow, and is input as the chart. In a business process definition method in a business process management system, which is defined based on attribute information of the node icon and case icon, manages the defined business process as business process definition information, and controls the flow of documents according to the business process definition information. , A part of a business process composed of a plurality of nodes is expressed as a macro node, a macro icon is provided as an icon representing the macro node, and a part of the business process including at least a plurality of the node icons on the chart is designated. , The designated part When is designated as a macro node, a macro process, which is the flow of business of the macro node, is defined based on the attribute information input to the node icon or the like of the designated portion, and the designated portion on the chart is changed to the macro icon. A method for defining a business process, characterized by converting and arranging the business process on the chart, and hierarchically describing the business process. 3. The business process definition method according to claim 2, wherein a part of the business process including at least a plurality of the node icons on the chart is designated by surrounding it with a polygon, and the designated portion is designated as a macro icon. A business process definition method characterized in that the target area is converted. 4. The business process defining method according to claim 2, wherein a start node icon designating a start position of a part of a business process including at least a plurality of the node icons on the chart, and an end node designating an end position. A method for defining a business process, wherein an icon is provided, and a part of the business process surrounded by the start node icon and the end node icon is set as a target area for conversion into a macro icon. 5. The business process defining method according to claim 2, wherein when a designated portion on the chart is converted into a macro icon and placed on the chart, the placement positions of the node icons other than the designated portion are not changed. Business process definition method characterized by the following. 6. The business process defining method according to claim 5, wherein when a designated portion on the chart is converted into a macro icon and placed on the chart, the macro is based on a placement position of a node icon in the designated portion. A business process definition method characterized by calculating the placement position of an icon. 7. The business process defining method according to claim 6, wherein the placement position of the macro icon is calculated by calculating the center of gravity of the placement position of the node icon in the designated portion. Process definition method. 8. The business process definition method according to claim 2, wherein a node icon or the like representing the macro process is displayed on a chart different from the chart on which the macro icon is arranged. . 9. The business process defining method according to claim 2, wherein when a designated portion on the chart is converted into a macro icon and placed on the chart, the placement positions of all the node icons placed on the chart. Business process definition method characterized by rearranging 10. The business process defining method according to claim 1, wherein a browser that describes a hierarchical relationship of the hierarchical business processes is created and registered, and the browsers are read to create a hierarchy. A business process definition method characterized by displaying the hierarchical position and hierarchical relationship of business processes. 11. The business process definition method according to claim 1, wherein a workflow manager in the business process management system is assigned according to business process definition information for each hierarchical business process. Business process definition method. 12. The business process definition method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein at least a plurality of pieces of flow information are divided and distributed to a plurality of nodes as nodes other than the macro node constituting a business process. Duplicate node and flow information,
Broadcast node that distributes to a plurality of arrows, a waiting node that correlates a plurality of flow information and distributes it as a set, a collection node that integrates a plurality of flow information and distributes as one flow information, and a plurality of arrows A business process definition method characterized in that a branch node for selecting and distributing only one arrow is provided.