JPH09198326A - Work flow system with collation function of related user information and work flow system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To dynamically obtain a collation destination when a problem on a circulated document occurs, informs a worker of it and to reduce the burden of the worker in a work flow system. SOLUTION: The document is sequentially circulated and a document processing is executed from a client 20-1 to 20-2 in accordance with definition information 17 of a work flow server 10. When a control part 23 requests the circulation of the document, a control part 12 additionally stores the identifier of a user processing the document to history information 18. When a collation management part 25-3 collates the related user to the server 10 in accordance with the request of the user of the client 20-3 during the circulation of the document, a related user information generation part 13 takes out the related user identifier from history information 18, converts it into a mail address and transmits it to the client 20-3. The collation management part 25-3 emits the collated mail to a mail server 30 addressed to the obtained mail address.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a workflow system or a document circulation system, and more particularly to a workflow system having a function of inquiring information about a user related to a document during document circulation.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, a workflow system or a document circulation system has been developed and used as a system for improving white color productivity. In this system, a person in charge assembles parts of the product while flowing the product being manufactured on a belt conveyor, and finally the product is applied to the document processing.
In this system, since each worker in charge performs efficient processing at each work node configuring a workflow, the work time of the entire system can be shortened. In addition, the conventional business model of carrying documents around and obtaining approval stamps is suitable for such a workflow, and the electronic flow of documents shortens the circulation time of documents and reduces the document The loss can be eradicated and the status of circulation documents can be managed. As described above, the workflow system has been attracting attention as a system for improving white-collar productivity. This workflow system creates workflow definition information in which a plurality of organizations and workers are distributed and computers used by these workers are distributed in an environment in which jobs or workers are defined as work nodes, and the workflow definition information is created. Control and manage the flow of documents based on.

When processing a document in a workflow system, the process is generally advanced while consulting with a plurality of people about the processing know-how, questions and information sources. How easily you can consult will affect the efficiency of document processing. The candidates for consultation regarding circulation documents are the sender of the document, the person who has been circulated and processed, its superior, or an expert in the business that handles the circulation document, but in the workflow system, the circulation route may change depending on the business, If the work is divided and processed even in the same work, one of multiple persons in charge
Different people are involved in a particular circular document, such as people performing actual processing.

As a conventional technique relating to document processing and electronic mail, there is, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 1-151856.

[0005]

According to the above-mentioned prior art, the workflow system is a system that defines and sets a circulation route of a document in advance and circulates documents such as slips and forms according to this circulation route. If a worker in the course of circulating questions and inconveniences regarding the document contents and processing, manually send an e-mail or call the person who seems to be the counselor to ask questions or inconveniences. Was consulting. However, depending on the content of the document, the route that the document was circulated, or the operator who performed the process, the person to consult with at different times. Therefore, there is a problem that it is a heavy burden for the operator to determine where to consult.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a workflow system that dynamically obtains an inquiry destination for a circulated document and notifies the worker, thereby reducing the burden on the worker.

[0007]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention provides a first user's identifier as the user's identifier associated with a document circulated when the first user finishes processing the document and circulates it to the second user. The identifier is stored in the workflow history information, and users who have questions or inconveniences while sequentially circulating documents in this way inquire information about users related to the circulated documents, and respond to this inquiry by e-mail. A workflow that generates the title of the above, refers to the workflow history information, extracts the identifier of the user related to the document, converts it to the corresponding email address, and notifies the inquiring user of the email title and email address. It is characterized by a method of inquiring related user information in the system.

According to the present invention, each time a document is circulated, the user's identifier is dynamically added to the workflow history information in relation to this document or work, so that the user makes an inquiry about the related user. At this time, the user who made the inquiry can be notified of the reference destination according to the actual workflow. Further, since the mail title is automatically generated from the file name of the file storing the document, the mail titles are unified, and when referring to related users by mail thereafter, the reply mail with the same mail title can be easily extracted. Further, by registering the user identifier of the expert of the business related to the document in addition to the dynamic inquiry destination of the workflow history information, it is possible to notify the user of the fixed inquiry destination as well.

[0009]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS One embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a workflow system (document circulation system) of this embodiment. The workflow server 10 is a computer that centrally controls the workflow. The work client 20 is provided for each user who works on a document that flows as a workflow.
It is a computer that processes documents shared by each user. When distinguishing a plurality of work clients 20, the work clients 20-1, 20-2, ... The mail server 30 is a computer that controls transmission / reception of mail between users who use the work client 20. The network 15 is a LAN (Local Area Network) that connects the workflow server 10, the work client 20, and the mail server 30.
rk), WAN (Wide Area Network)
k) and other networks.

The user definition information 16 held by the workflow server 10 is a file for registering an identifier of a user who uses this system, a password for logging in to this system, and a mail address provided for each user. The workflow definition information 17 is a file that defines a plurality of work nodes that make up the workflow, the flow of documents between the work nodes, and the user who is in charge of the work at each work node. The workflow history information 18 is a file that registers the correspondence between the document processed by the workflow and the user who has worked on each document. The document information 19 is a file that stores a plurality of documents handled by this system. The user definition information 16, the workflow definition information 17, the workflow history information 18, and the document information 19 are
It is stored in the storage device of the computer that constitutes the workflow server 10. The workflow control unit 12 receives the request from the work client 20, confirms the user by the user definition information 16, downloads the requested document to the work client 20, and uses the identifier of the user who worked on the circulated document as the workflow. It is a processing unit added to the history information 18. The related user information generation unit 13 refers to the user definition information 16, the workflow definition information 17, and the workflow history information 18 in response to the inquiry from the work client 20, and determines the mail address of the user who worked on the specific document as the work client. It is a processing unit for transmitting to 20. The workflow control unit 12 and the related user information generation unit 13 are realized by executing a program stored in the storage device of the computer that constitutes the workflow server 10.

The mail title 22 held by the work client 20 is a file for storing the title of the mail sent by the work client 20 to the related user for inquiry. The workflow client control unit 23
It is a processing unit that communicates with the workflow server 10 via the network 15, inputs a document into the workflow, requests document download, requests document upload, and requests document circulation to the next work node. The document edit processing unit 24 is a processing unit that edits a document to be input or a document being circulated by interaction with the user. Inquiry management unit 2
Reference numeral 5 denotes a processing unit that inquires the workflow server 10 about a related user for a specific document, and sends a mail, receives a reply mail, and displays the received mail when the mail address of the user related to this document is received. The mail client control unit 26 is a processing unit that sends a mail to the mail server 30 and receives a mail from the mail server 30. The input / output device 21 is the work client 20.
Is a device that is connected to the computer and allows the user to interactively proceed with the system. The dialogue control unit 27 uses the input / output device 21.
Interprets a command from the user received via the workflow client control unit 23, the document edit processing unit 24,
It is a processing unit that transfers control to the inquiry management unit 25 or the mail client control unit 26, and displays information on the input / output device 21 in accordance with display commands from these processing units. The mail title 22 is a file stored in the storage device of the computer constituting the work client 20. Workflow client control unit 23, document edit processing unit 24,
The inquiry management unit 25, the mail client control unit 26, and the dialogue control unit 27 are realized by executing a program stored in the storage device of the computer that constitutes the work client 20. When distinguishing the mail title 22, the workflow client control unit 23, the document edit processing unit 24, the inquiry management unit 25, the mail client control unit 26, and the dialogue control unit 27 belonging to each work client 20, for example, the workflow client control unit 23-
1, 23-2, ... are assigned the reference numerals corresponding to the work clients 20 to which they belong.

When a login request is sent from the workflow client control unit 23 of the work client 20 to the workflow control unit 12 via the network 15, the workflow control unit 12 of the workflow server 10 refers to the user definition information 16 and sets the password. Is checked to determine whether login is possible. Work client 20-
When 1 inputs a document, the document edit processing unit 24-1
After the document is created by, the workflow client control unit 23-1 issues a document upload request to the workflow control unit 12 to upload the document, and the document information 1
9 is stored. After this, when the workflow client control unit 23-1 issues a request to put the document into the workflow, the workflow control unit 12 creates the workflow history information and stores it in the workflow history information 18. If the work circulation destination of the document is the work client 20-2, when the work client 20-2 requests the document list from the work flow server 10, the work flow control unit 1
2 transmits a document list including the document identifier being circulated. When the workflow client control unit 23-2 specifies a document identifier in circulation and issues a download request for the document, the workflow control unit 12 extracts the document from the document information 19 and downloads it to the work client 20-2. After the document edit processing unit 24-2 edits this document, the workflow client control unit 23-2 issues a document upload request to the workflow control unit 12, uploads it, and stores it in the document information 19. After this, the workflow client control unit 23-2
When the document circulation request is issued from, the workflow control unit 12 creates the workflow history information to which the user identifier is added and stores it in the workflow history information 18.
It is assumed that the next circulation destination of the document is the work client 20-3, and when the document being circulated is processed, the user makes an “inquiry”.
Is requested, the inquiry management unit 25-3 inquires the related user information generation unit 13 about the related user. The related user information generation unit 13 refers to the user definition information 16, the workflow definition information 17, and the workflow history information 18 to generate a mail title for a target document, and to notify the person in charge of the job or the user who actually worked. The mail address is transmitted to the inquiry management unit 25-3. The inquiry management unit 25-3 sends a mail to the mail server 30 via the mail client control unit 26-3 to the user of the mail address, and stores the mail title in the mail title 22-3. According to the user's instruction, the inquiry management unit 25-3 refers to the mail title 22-3, extracts the title of the mail sent in the past for the inquiry, and inputs / outputs the input / output device 21-3 via the dialogue control unit 27-3. To display. When the user selects one of the titles,
The inquiry management unit 25-3 makes an inquiry to the mail server 30 about the mail received under this title, opens the mail selected by the user, and displays it on the input / output device 21-3.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of the data format of the user-defined information 16. The user identifier 161 is a unique identifier given to each user, and the login password 16
Reference numeral 2 denotes a password that is a password check target when logging in to the workflow server 10. The email address 163 is for registering an email address given to each user.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of the data format of the workflow definition information 17. Workflow definition information 17
Is composed of business definition information, work node definition information, and role definition information. Business definition identifier 1 of business definition information
Reference numeral 71 is a unique identifier for each type of business, business definition name 172 is the name of the business corresponding to business definition identifier 171, pre-work node identifier 173 is the identifier of the work node located at the previous stage in the workflow, and post-work. The node identifier 174 is an identifier of a work node located at a later stage in the workflow, and the business user identifier 175 is an identifier of a user who is exclusively in charge of the business corresponding to the business definition identifier 171. The business user is an expert who is familiar with the business. The work node definition information defines a work node, and the work node identifier 176 is the front work node identifier 173 or the back work node identifier 174.
It is. The role identifier 177 is an identifier that distinguishes a role in a job system or an organization. The work content indicates the name of the work at the work node. The role definition information further defines the content of the role, and the role identifier 177
Is the same as the role identifier 177 of the work node definition information, and the role name is the corresponding role name. The user identifier column 178 is the identifier 1 of the user who belongs to the role.
61 is listed. In this example, for example, the ordering work is WorkNode0, WorkNode1, Wor
It indicates that documents are circulated in the order of the work node of kNode2, and in WorkNode0, U who is a sales clerk is shown.
Ser0, User1, User2, or User3 issues a purchase order, WorkNode1 has User4 who approves the section, and WorkNode2 has User5 who approves the material.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of the data format of the workflow history information 18. The business identifier 181 is a unique identifier of each business existing for each document. The work definition identifier 171 is the same as the work definition identifier 171 of the work flow definition information 17, and is a work definition identifier to which this work belongs. The document identifier 183 is a unique identifier given to each document such as one slip, and the document path 184 is a file name when accessing the document information 19. The work order user identifier column 185 is one in which the user identifiers 161 of the users who have worked on the document are separated by commas and registered in order. Note that the document identifier 18
3 may be a hierarchical identifier such as a combination of an identifier indicating the type of document and a serial number. Also, the business identifier 18
Similarly, 1 may be a hierarchical identifier such as a combination of an identifier indicating the type of work and a serial number.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of the data format of the mail title 22. The mail title 22 is the title of the mail sent by the user for inquiry, for example, "travel expenses 0
"1 case", "purchase order 01 case", etc. are registered.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of a display screen displayed on the input / output device 21. It is assumed that the document input from the work client 20-1 flows in the order of the work client 20-1 and the work client 20-2. FIG.
(A) is an input / output device 21- of the work client 20-1.
6 is an example of a display screen displayed on the input / output device 21-2 of the work client 20-2, and FIG. 6 (c) is a work client 20-3.
An example of a display screen displayed on the input / output device 21-3 is shown. The workflow control screen 211 has an area for displaying the document list 212 and six buttons 213. The document edit screen 214 is a screen for displaying the content of a document and performing a document edit process. The “document input” button is a button for inputting a new document into the workflow.
The "open document" button is a button for displaying the circulated document and allowing the user to edit it. "Document Next"
The button is a button for circulating the document to the next.
The “query” button is a button for sending a mail to a related user regarding a document specified by the user.
The “mail reception” button is a button for displaying a reply mail to the sent mail. The “end” button is a button for ending the processing of the work client 20.

FIG. 7 is a flow chart showing the flow of processing of the work client 20. The dialogue control unit 27 makes a login request to the workflow server 10 and inputs a password (step 41). Next, the dialogue control unit 27 displays the workflow control screen 211 on the input / output device 21, and a list of documents circulated to this user via the workflow client control unit 23 is displayed as the workflow server 10
To the document list 212 and display the received document list on the document list 212 (step 42). The user can select either document. Next, when the button 213 on the workflow control screen 211 is pressed, the corresponding command is accepted and interpreted (step 43), and the subsequent processing is sorted according to the command (step 44). When the "insert document" button is pressed, the document edit screen 214 is opened, and control is passed to the document edit processing unit 24 to create and edit a new document (step 45). When the document editing process is completed, the workflow client control unit 23 sends the task definition name 17 to the workflow server 10.
2 and a list of business definition identifiers 171 are requested, and the business definition selected by the user from the received list of business definition names 172 is set (step 46). Next, the workflow client control unit 23 requests the workflow server 10 to upload the edited document and receives the document identifier 183 of the uploaded document (step 4
7). The workflow server 10 is requested to input the document uploaded with the finally selected business definition name 172 and document identifier 183 (step 48). When one of the documents is selected in step 42 and the “open document” button is pressed, the workflow client control unit 23 opens the document edit screen 214 and sends the document identifier 183 of the selected document to the workflow server 10. Request to download the document and receive the document (step 49). Next, the control shifts to the document edit processing section 24 to perform the document edit processing (step 5).
0). When the document editing process is completed, the workflow client control unit 23 requests the workflow server 10 to upload the edited document and uploads the edited document (step 51). When the "Next document" button is pressed after uploading the document, the workflow client control unit 23 sends the document identifier 183 of the uploaded document and requests the document to be circulated to the next user (step 52). .

In FIG. 6, the work client 20-1 selects the purchase order 01. The document with the file name "abc" is input to the workflow, the work client 20-2 selects this document, edits it, and circulates it to the next user, and the work client 20-3 further presses the approval stamp on this document. It shows a state in which the editing process is being performed. Document edit screen 2
A, B, and C in 14 have shown the information which each user input.

When one of the documents is selected and the "query" button is pressed in step 42, the control is transferred to the query management unit 25. The inquiry management unit 25 uses the workflow server 10
The document identifier 183 and the user identifier 161 are passed to and the generation of related user information is requested (step 53). When the mail title and the mail address of the related user are received from the workflow server 10, the inquiry management unit 25 sets the mail sending screen on the input / output device 21 and displays the mail title and mail address (step 54). Next, a mail is created on the mail transmission screen according to the user's mail editing operation (step 55). Inquiry management unit 25
Specifies the document identifier 183 and specifies the workflow server 1
Request the download of the document to 0 and set the received document as an attachment file of the mail. When the creation of the mail is completed, this mail is transmitted via the mail client control unit 26 (step 56), and the mail title is registered in the mail title 22.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of the mail transmission screen 215. FIG. 8C is a display screen of the work client 20 that has transmitted the inquiry mail.
FIGS. 8A, 8B, and 8D show examples of display screens of the work client 20 that sends a reply mail.

When the "mail reception" button is pressed after sending the inquiry mail, the inquiry management unit 25 displays the mail reception screen on the input / output device 21 and retrieves the mail title list from the mail title 22. And displays it on the mail reception screen (step 57). When the user selects one of the titles, the inquiry management unit 25 inquires of the mail server 30 via the mail client control unit 26 about mails received under this title, receives a list of the mails, and displays it on the mail reception screen. Display (step 58). When the user selects one of the mails from the mail list, the inquiry management unit 25 transmits the mail identifier to the mail server 30 via the mail client control unit 26, acquires the contents of the mail and displays it on the mail reception screen. To do. When the “end” button is pressed, the workflow client control unit 23 ends the processing of the work client 20.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an example of the mail reception screen 216. In the figure, a title list is displayed for the two inquiries made in the past, and the reply mail with this title is displayed as a mail list because the title of “Purchase order 01” is selected. In this state, select one of the emails and press the "Open Email" button to display the content of the selected email. If you click the "Delete mail title" button with the mail title selected, the title will be changed to the mail title 22
Remove from. When the EXIT button is pressed, the mail reception screen 216 is closed.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing a processing flow of the workflow server 10. Workflow control unit 12
Receives a request from the work client 20 via the network 15 (step 61) and distributes subsequent processing according to the request (step 62). When receiving the login request, the workflow control unit 12 performs a login process (step 63). That is, the received user identifier and password and the user identifier 1 on the user definition information 16
61 and the login password 162 are checked for a match, and a response as to whether communication is possible is returned. When receiving the work definition list request, the work flow control unit 12 refers to the work flow definition information 17 and sends all the work definition identifiers 171 registered and the corresponding work definition names 172 to the work client 20 (step 64). When the document information upload request is received, the document information is received from the work client 20 and stored in the document information 19 (step 67). At this time, in the case of the document before the document is input to the workflow to which the document identifier 183 is not added, the document identifier 183 is newly set and is newly registered in the workflow history information 18 together with the document path 184. Document identifier 18
In the case of a document for which 3 is set, the workflow history information 18 is referenced, the document path 184 corresponding to the document identifier 183 is taken out, and the document information is overwritten in the file name position of the document information 19. When receiving the document input request, the workflow control unit 12 searches the received document identifier 183 for the line in which the document identifier 183 in the workflow history information 18 is registered, and the work definition received from the work client 20 to that line. Identifier 17
1 is registered, and the user identifier 161 is registered in the work order user identifier column 185 (step 65). Further, the business identifier 181 is newly set and registered. When a request to download the document information is received, the document path 184 corresponding to the document identifier 183 in the workflow history information 18 is extracted from the received document identifier 183, the document information is extracted from the file name position of the document information 19, and the work client 20 (step 66). When receiving the document circulation request, the workflow control unit 12 determines the workflow history information 18 from the received document identifier 183.
The line in which the document identifier 183 is registered is searched, and the received user identifier 161 is added to the work order user identifier column 185 of that line (step 68). When the work client 20 makes an inquiry for a request to generate related user information, the control moves to the related user information generation unit 13, and the mail title and the mail address of the related user are generated (step 69). The related user information generation unit 13 determines the workflow history information 18 from the received document identifier 183.
The line in which the document identifier 183 is registered is searched, and the corresponding document path 184 is extracted. This document path 184
Generate a mail title by adding "Matter" to the file name excluding the extension part from. For example, if the file name is “Purchase order 01.abc”, the title of the mail is “Purchase order 01 case”. Next, the related user information generation unit 13 determines that the document identifier 1 in the workflow history information 18
Work order user identifier column 185 of the row in which 83 is registered
With reference to, the user identifier 161 that has worked on this document in the past is retrieved, and with reference to the user definition information 16, the mail address 163 corresponding to this user identifier 161 is retrieved. Next, in the workflow history information 18, the business definition identifier 171 of the line in which the document identifier 183 is registered is taken out, and with reference to the workflow definition information 17, the business user identifier 175 corresponding to this business definition identifier 171 is taken out. By referring to the user definition information 16, the business user identifier 175, that is, the mail address 163 corresponding to the user identifier 161, is extracted. Further, referring to the user definition information 16 from the user identifier 161 of the inquired user, the corresponding mail address 163 is taken out. Finally, the related user information generation unit 13
Sends the mail title and mail address thus obtained to the work client 20 (step 70). When a document list request is received, a list of circulated documents is created and transmitted to the work client 20 (step 71). That is, the workflow control unit 12 retrieves the user identifier column 178 in the workflow definition information 17 from the received user identifier 161, retrieves the corresponding role identifier 177, retrieves the work node identifier 176 corresponding to this role identifier 177, The previous work node identifier 173 having the work node identifier 176 as the subsequent work node identifier 174 is taken out, the corresponding role identifier 177 is taken out from this previous work node identifier 173, and the corresponding user identifier string 178 is taken out from this role identifier 177. Obtained user identifier column 178
The work order user identifier column 185 of the workflow history information 18 is searched based on the document identifier 183 and the document path 1 of the line to which the user identifier 161 added last matches.
The list of 84 pairs is transmitted to the work client 20. When an end command is input from an input / output device (not shown) of the workflow server 10, the workflow control unit 1
2 ends the process.

According to the above embodiment, each document identifier 18
The user identifier 161 that has processed the document is additionally registered in the work order user identifier column 185 for each group 3. In this way, problems can be tracked as a result of processing a particular document. However, the user identifier 161 may be added to the work order user identifier column 185 for each document type, for example, for each document type, instead of for each document. Alternatively, the user identifier 161 may be added to the work order user identifier column 185 for each type of work. Alternatively, a history may be collected for each document and the same type of document or the same type of business may be aggregated when a related user is acquired. By doing so, the range of users associated with the circulated document is expanded to users who have processed the same type of document as the circulated document, or users who have performed the same type of business to which the circulated document belongs. Can be done. Further, in the above-described embodiment, the mail title is generated from the file name attached to the document, but the mail title may be generated based on the identifier indicating the document type or the business type. In order to make the mail title unique, such an identifier may be modified by a serial number or the like.

Further, according to the above embodiment, the workflow server 10 and the mail server 30 are independent servers, but a system in which the workflow server 10 and the mail server 30 are combined may be constructed. In such a system, the document information 19 is a part of the file that stores the mail. The workflow client control unit 23 and the mail client control unit 26 are integrated as one client control unit. Hereinafter, the server integrated in this way will also be referred to as the workflow server 10. The request for the document list made by the work client 20 in step 42 is replaced with the request for the mail list to the server. Further, the download of the document information in step 49 is replaced by the process of opening the mail storing the document information. The upload of the document information in step 51 becomes a circulation request that is included in the document circulation request in step 52 and is accompanied by mail transmission. Steps 47, 48 and 52 are combined into one, and a document input request and a document circulation request are made. The download of the document performed by the workflow server 10 in step 66 is replaced with a process of transmitting an email storing the document information. The document upload process in step 67 is included in the document circulation request process in step 68. In step 68, in addition to the process of updating the workflow history information 18,
From the received document identifier 183, the workflow definition information 171 in the workflow history information 18 is searched to retrieve the corresponding workflow definition identifier 171, and the workflow definition information 1
7 to retrieve the role identifier 177 corresponding to the user identifier 161. Next, the work node identifier 176 corresponding to this role identifier 177 is taken out, and the taken work definition identifier 171 and the back work node identifier 174 whose taken work node identifier 176 is the previous work node identifier 173 are taken out,
After that, again, the role identifier 177 having the work node identifier 174 as the work node identifier 176 is obtained, and the user identifier column 178 corresponding to this role identifier 177 is set as the user identifier 161 of the next circulation destination. The mail address 163 is obtained by referring to the user definition information 16 from the user identifier 161 thus obtained, and a new mail title is generated and added to the mail list of that user. The email address of the sender of the email is the user identifier of the document circulation source 1
By referring to the user-defined information 16 from 61, the corresponding mail address 163 can be obtained. The mail title is created based on the document identifier 183, the document path 184 and the like. Further, the document information received from the work client 20 is stored in the mail file. The process of step 65 is the same as the process of step 68, and in the case of inputting a document, workflow history information is created. Step 71
Then, since the request for the mail list is received, the mail list created for the user is transmitted to the work client 20.

[0028]

As described above, according to the present invention, the reference destination of a document circulated based on the workflow history information is dynamically obtained and notified to the user, so that the burden on the user when processing the document can be reduced. There is an effect.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of a workflow system according to an embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a data format of user-defined information 16 according to the embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a data format of workflow definition information 17 according to the embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a data format of workflow history information 18 according to the embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a data format of a mail title 22 according to the embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of a display screen displayed on the input / output device 21 of the embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing a processing flow of the work client 20 according to the embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of a mail transmission screen 215 of the embodiment.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an example of a mail reception screen 216 of the embodiment.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing a processing flow of the workflow server 10 according to the embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

10 ... Workflow server, 13 ... Related user information generation unit, 18 ... Workflow history information, 20 ...
..Working clients, 22 ... email titles, 2
5 ... Inquiry management unit, 30 ... Mail server, 163
... Email address, 183 ... Document identifier, 18
5: Work order user identifier string

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A document processed by a first device operated by a first user is circulated to a second device operated by a second user and processed based on workflow definition information stored in a storage device. A method for inquiring related user information in a workflow system, wherein when the first device finishes processing the document and circulates the document to the second device, the first user is used as an identifier of the user related to the document circulated. Is additionally stored in the workflow history information on the storage device, information about the user related to the document circulated in the second device is inquired, and a mail title is generated in response to the inquiry, and the workflow is generated. With reference to the history information, the identifier of the user associated with the document is extracted and converted into the corresponding mail address, and the mail title and the mail address are notified to the second device. Displaying method related user information in a workflow system, characterized in that to create an email query with the mail title in the second device transmits to the email address. 2. The workflow according to claim 1, wherein the second device further receives a mail received from the user having the mail address under the mail title and displays it on the display device. How to inquire related user information in the system. 3. A document comprising a workflow server and a plurality of work clients, wherein a document processed by the first work client based on workflow definition information stored in a storage device of the workflow server is sent to a second work client. In the workflow system for circulating and processing, the first work client has means for requesting the work flow server to circulate the document to the second work client when processing of the document is completed, and the work flow server comprises: A means for storing an identifier of a user associated with a document to be circulated as workflow history information, and an identifier of a user who has processed the document by the first work client in response to the circulation request, is added to the workflow history information. Has a means for storing and the second working client is associated with the circulated document. The workflow server for inquiring information about the user, the workflow server generates a mail title in response to the inquiry, and refers to the workflow history information to identify the user associated with the document. It further has means for taking out the identifier, converting it into a corresponding mail address, and transmitting the mail title and the mail address to the second work client, and the second work client sends the inquiry mail having the mail title. A workflow system having a function of inquiring related user information, further comprising means for creating and transmitting to the mail address. 4. The workflow server associates the identifier of the specialized user with a storage unit for storing an identifier of a user who is an expert of the business in addition to the workflow history information in association with the further circulated document. 4. A workflow system having a function of inquiring related user information according to claim 3, further comprising means for converting into a mail address to be transmitted to the second work client. 5. The second work client further comprises means for receiving a mail received from the user having the mail address under the mail title and displaying the received mail on the display device. A workflow system having a function of inquiring related user information described in 3.