JPH11219393A - Processing management system for electronic document in workflow supporting system, method therefor and computer readable recording medium recording program for making computer execute respective processes of the method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To request the processing of an electronic document from a substituting person in charge for substituting a person in charge of a job in the case that the person in charge of the job on a workflow is absent or the like on a system side. SOLUTION: The substituting person in charge for carrying out the processing of the electronic document by the person in charge of the job instead of the person in charge of the job on the workflow is set, and for the electronic document whose processing is requested of the person in charge of the job on the workflow, whether or not the processing is completed within a processing period set beforehand is judged at a prescribed timing (S1001). Then in the case of judging that the processing of the electronic document is not completed within the processing period, electronic mail for requesting the processing of the pertinent electronic document is generated and transmitted to the substituting person in charge for substituting the person in charge of the job (S1004).

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a workflow support system for controlling the transfer of electronic documents between a plurality of persons in charge according to a preset workflow, and for automating the coordination of tasks within an arbitrary group. Even if the authorized person in the workflow cannot process the electronic document, the system requests a substitute person on behalf of the authorized person to process the electronic document, and The present invention relates to an electronic document processing management system and method in a workflow support system capable of facilitating smooth processing, and a computer-readable recording medium storing a program for causing a computer to execute each step of the method.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Recent advances in computer technology, OS,
Development of software technology such as application software,
With the drop in equipment prices, the development of infrastructure such as communications and networks, and the development of the information processing industry, it is natural for individuals to own personal computers, and the penetration rate has dramatically increased. I have.

In particular, companies are rapidly introducing personal computers as a tool for improving white-collar productivity. Specifically, with the introduction of computers,
In addition to making document creation software and spreadsheet software available, standardizing internal documents to specific software and unifying files by converting paper documents into electronic documents,
The company is aiming for a significant improvement in internal business efficiency.

[0004] Furthermore, since information sharing is not easily progressed simply by using a personal computer and a stand-alone system, the next step is to connect a personal computer via a network to further improve the productivity of business. Is planned. This dramatic improvement in productivity can be achieved by sharing information through a network, receiving information from others other than yourself, and immediately obtaining the boss's judgment. Achieved because decisions are made quickly.

[0005] Such a tool for improving the productivity of the entire group including a plurality of members as well as individuals is called groupware, and some people define it as follows. "A computer system designed to be used in groups of multiple members and designed to increase group productivity." As typical examples of such groupware, for example,
There is NOTES (registered trademark of Lotus Corporation) software developed by Lotus Corporation.

Further, recently, not only information is simply shared, but a document created electronically is reviewed and approved and sent to a distribution destination electronically using a network, a so-called workflow. Support systems are gradually being used. Sending the created document to specific people at the same time can be achieved by e-mail. However, the created electronic document is sent to a predetermined number of people sequentially, and when the processing is completed, it is automatically sent to the next person, so that it is possible to monitor where the document has arrived as a whole, It is difficult to measure time and dynamically change the workflow with email software.

For this reason, workflow software has newly appeared in order to realize such a thing. For example,
Drafting system workflow software is well known. This workflow software uses a personal computer to fill in predetermined items in a company-specific drafting form that is determined in advance, and after completion of preparation, receives approval and approval from the supervisor in order, and then makes payment, after which payment is made again It is a system that returns to the elderly. If there is a defect on the way,
It is returned to the creator for rejection, and after correction it can be put back on the original approval route.

[0008]

However, in the above-described workflow software, a route for sending an electronic document such as a draft form to each person in charge of the workflow is determined, and the business is performed by flowing the electronic document according to the route. However, if the workflow does not open an e-mail requesting the processing of an electronic document or does not open an electronic document to be processed, There is a problem that an electronic document does not flow according to a workflow and hinders a smooth flow of business.

[0009] It is a common occurrence for business staff to be absent from the company due to illness or injury or to be absent on a business trip for a long period of time.
When processing is performed on a paper basis, a business associate is absent, and a colleague or boss notices that there is an unprocessed business, and it is also possible to request a substitute to perform the processing. However, in a workflow that communicates the processing of electronic documents by e-mail, it is morally prohibited to read other people's e-mails without permission, and in addition, it is possible to read other people's e-mails without permission. Security management is designed as a system so that it cannot be done. As a result, when the business person cannot process the electronic document due to absence or the like, the processing related to the electronic document has been interrupted.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, a workflow monitoring system has been proposed for monitoring where a flow of an electronic document is interrupted in a workflow. However, in this workflow monitoring system, However, there is a problem that a great deal of labor is required for the process of monitoring the flow of the electronic document.

For example, when the creator of an electronic document is to perform processing for monitoring where in the workflow the flow of the electronic document is stagnant, generally, it is necessary to wait until the final processing of the electronic document is completed. Since a document goes through many departments, monitoring the entire flow of an electronic document is a very heavy burden on the person. Also, when the system administrator is to perform the above-mentioned monitoring work, since a large amount of electronic documents are flowing through the entire system, monitoring and managing the electronic documents of the entire system is very important for the person. Labor is required.

[0012] The present invention has been made in view of the above, and even when a business person cannot perform processing of an electronic document flowing through an electronic route on a workflow due to absence or the like, the system side performs the processing. A first object is to facilitate smooth processing of an electronic document by requesting a substitute person in charge of a business person to process the electronic document.

Further, the present invention has been made in view of the above, and it is an object of the present invention to promote the smooth processing of an electronic document to reduce the labor involved in monitoring and managing the flow of the electronic document. This is the second purpose.

[0014]

To achieve the above object, an electronic document processing management system in a workflow support system according to claim 1 is set in advance by using a network to which a plurality of terminal devices are connected. An electronic document processing management system in a workflow support system that controls the transfer of electronic documents among a plurality of persons in accordance with a workflow and automates the coordination of tasks within an arbitrary group. First agent setting means for setting at least one agent in charge of processing of the electronic document by the authorized person in place of the authorized person, and processing for the authorized person on the workflow. The electronic document for which has been requested has been processed within the preset processing deadline A first determination unit that determines whether the electronic document processing is not completed within the processing time limit by the first determination unit. For your alternate agent,
A first e-mail transmitting means for generating and transmitting an e-mail for requesting processing of the corresponding electronic document.

The electronic document processing management system in the workflow support system according to the second aspect uses a network to which a plurality of terminal devices are connected.
Every time the processing of the electronic document by the person in charge of the previous process on the preset workflow is completed, an e-mail for requesting the person in charge of the post-process to process the electronic document is sequentially generated and transmitted. An electronic document processing management system in a workflow support system that controls the transfer of electronic documents between a plurality of persons in charge of the workflow and automates the coordination of operations in an arbitrary group; First agent setting means for setting at least one agent in charge of processing of the electronic document by the authorized person on behalf of the authorized person, Opening determination means for determining whether or not the e-mail transmitted by the electronic mail has been opened within a preset processing time limit; If it is determined that the e-mail has not been opened, generate an e-mail for requesting processing of an electronic document corresponding to the e-mail to the agent in place of the authorized person And a mail transmitting means for transmitting.

Further, the electronic document processing management system in the workflow support system according to the third aspect uses a network to which a plurality of terminal devices are connected.
An electronic document processing management system in a workflow support system that controls the transfer of an electronic document among a plurality of persons in accordance with a preset workflow and automates the cooperation of tasks in an arbitrary group,
A storage unit that stores group information defining a human relationship within an arbitrary group including a legitimate person on the workflow, and an electronic document requested to be processed by the legitimate person on the workflow Determining means for determining at a predetermined timing whether processing is completed within a predetermined processing time limit, and determining that the processing of the electronic document is not completed within the processing time limit by the determining means In this case, an agent in charge of the authorized person is set based on the group information, and an e-mail for requesting processing of the corresponding electronic document is generated and transmitted to the set agent in charge. And a mail transmitting means for performing the operation.

In a fourth aspect of the present invention, an electronic document processing management system in a workflow support system uses a network to which a plurality of terminal devices are connected.
Every time the processing of the electronic document by the person in charge of the previous process on the preset workflow is completed, an e-mail for requesting the person in charge of the post-process to process the electronic document is sequentially generated and transmitted. An electronic document processing management system in a workflow support system that controls the transfer of electronic documents between a plurality of persons in charge of the workflow and automates the coordination of operations in an arbitrary group; Storage means for storing group information defining a personal relationship in an arbitrary group including a person in charge, and the e-mail transmitted to a person in charge on the workflow within a predetermined processing deadline. Opening determination means for determining whether or not the e-mail has not been opened, and when it is determined that the e-mail is not opened, Setting an agent in place of the authorized person based on the group information, generating an e-mail for requesting the set agent to process an electronic document corresponding to the corresponding e-mail. And a mail transmitting means for transmitting.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided the electronic document processing management system in the workflow support system according to the first or second aspect, further comprising a substitute for the agent in charge. Second agent setting means for setting at least one other agent in charge of processing the electronic document by the agent.

Further, the processing management system for electronic documents in the workflow support system according to claim 6 is as follows.
6. The electronic document processing management system in the workflow support system according to 2 or 5, further comprising, when setting a plurality of the agents in charge, determining which of the plurality of agents is to process the electronic document. A proxy ranking setting means for setting the proxy ranking.

According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, there is provided the electronic document processing management system in the workflow support system according to the first or fifth aspect, further comprising the authorized person or the agent. An absence information registration unit for registering absence information when a person in charge cannot process the electronic document due to absence, based on the absence information registered by the absence information registration unit and the processing time limit; A second determination unit configured to determine, at a predetermined timing, whether to request the substitute person in charge of the authorized person or another substitute person in place of the substitute person to process the electronic document at a predetermined timing; When the absence information is registered by the absence information registration unit, the first determination unit switches to the determination process by the second determination unit. And obtain determination processing control unit, those having a.

The electronic document processing management system in the workflow support system according to claim 8 is the electronic document processing management system in the workflow support system according to claim 7, wherein the absence information is provided by the authorized person or the authorized person. It includes an absent period consisting of a start date and a finish date of a period in which the agent is absent.

According to a ninth aspect of the present invention, there is provided the electronic document processing management system in the workflow support system according to the eighth aspect, wherein the second determination means determines that the processing time limit is exceeded. Is determined during the absence period, it is determined that a request for processing of the electronic document is made to an agent in charge of the authorized person or another agent in charge of the agent in charge.

[0023] Further, the electronic document processing management system in the workflow support system according to the tenth aspect is the first aspect.
In the electronic document processing management system in the workflow support system according to any one of claims 1 to 9, furthermore, the electronic document processing management system for an agent in place of the authorized person or another agent in place of the agent in charge A process prohibition setting unit configured to perform a process prohibition setting on a corresponding electronic document so that the authorized person or the agent in charge cannot process the corresponding electronic document when the processing of the electronic document is requested; It is provided with.

According to the eleventh aspect of the present invention, there is provided an electronic document processing management system in the workflow support system.
11. The electronic document processing management system in the workflow support system according to any one of claims 10 to 10, further comprising an absence information canceling unit that cancels registration of the absence information, wherein the determination processing control unit includes the absence information canceling unit. When the registration of the absence information is canceled by the means, the processing is switched from the second determination means to the determination processing by the first determination means.

[0025] The electronic document processing management system in the workflow support system according to the twelfth aspect of the present invention.
2. In the electronic document processing management system in the workflow support system according to 1, the registration of the absence information is canceled, and a substitute person or the substitute person in place of the regular person during registration of the absence information. In the case where the processing of the electronic document requested to be processed by another agent in place of the person is not completed, the authorized person or the agent can perform the processing of the corresponding electronic document, A process prohibition setting release unit for releasing the process prohibition setting, wherein the process prohibition setting unit substitutes for the agent in charge of the authorized person or the agent in charge of the agent when the process prohibition setting is released To prevent other agents from processing the electronic document,
The processing prohibition setting is performed for the corresponding electronic document.

Further, the processing management system for electronic documents in the workflow support system according to claim 13 is as defined in claim 7.
Or in the electronic document processing management system in the workflow support system according to 11, further comprising, when requesting the authorized person to process the electronic document, generating an e-mail for requesting the processing of the electronic document. A second e-mail transmitting means for transmitting to the legitimate person, and when the absence information of the legitimate person is registered, the second person sends the legitimate person A third determining means for determining whether or not to request a substitute agent to process the electronic document, wherein the second mail transmitting means is configured to determine whether the authorized person is in charge of the electronic mail processing by the third determining means. When it is determined that a substitute person in charge of the electronic document is requested to process the electronic document,
An electronic mail for requesting processing of the corresponding electronic document is generated and transmitted.

[0027] The electronic document processing management system in the workflow support system according to the fourteenth aspect is the first aspect.
3. In the electronic document processing management system of the workflow support system according to 3, the absence information includes a start date of a period in which the authorized person or the agent in charge is absent and an absence period including the end date.

The electronic document processing management system in the workflow support system according to the fifteenth aspect is the first aspect of the present invention.
4. In the electronic document processing management system in the workflow support system according to 4, the third determination unit includes:
When the processing deadline elapses during the absence period, it is determined that a substitute person in charge of the authorized person is required to process the electronic document.

Further, an electronic document processing management system in the workflow support system according to claim 16 is provided.
In the electronic document processing management system in the workflow support system according to any one of 3 to 15, the registration of the absence information of the authorized person is further released,
And, when the processing of the electronic document requested to be performed by a substitute person in place of the authorized person is not completed, an electronic mail for requesting the authorized person to process the electronic document is generated. And a third mail transmitting means for transmitting the mail.

The electronic document processing management system in the workflow support system according to the seventeenth aspect is the first aspect of the invention.
In the electronic document processing management system in the workflow support system according to any one of 3 to 15, the registration of the absence information of the authorized person is further released,
In addition, even if the processing of the electronic document requested to be performed by a substitute person in charge of the authorized person is incomplete, the electronic document corresponds to the authorized person in comparison with the remaining days of the processing deadline. Processing control means for controlling not to request processing of an electronic document to be processed.

The electronic document processing management system in the workflow support system according to the present invention is also described in claim 2.
Or, in the electronic document processing management system in the workflow support system according to 4, further wherein the electronic document corresponding to the electronic mail determined to be opened by the opening determination means is not processed within the processing time limit Even in this case, there is provided a processing control means for controlling an agent in place of the authorized person or another agent in place of the agent in charge so as not to request processing of the corresponding electronic document. It is.

The processing management system for electronic documents in the workflow support system according to the nineteenth aspect is a third aspect of the present invention.
Or in the electronic document processing management system in the workflow support system according to 4, wherein the group information defines a hierarchical relationship by a position of a member belonging to the group, and the mail transmitting unit generates and transmits the electronic mail. In doing so, the manager of the authorized person is set as the agent in charge.

Further, the processing management system for electronic documents in the workflow support system according to claim 20 is as follows.
In the electronic document processing management system in the workflow support system according to any one of the above-mentioned items, further, an electronic mail for requesting the agent in charge of the processing of the electronic document is executed by a proxy processing. It is provided with information adding means for adding proxy processing information indicating that it is a request.

The electronic document processing management system in the workflow support system according to the twenty-first aspect is the first aspect of the present invention.
13. The electronic document processing management system in the workflow support system according to item 0 or 12, further comprising the step of processing the corresponding electronic document when the processing of the electronic document for which processing inhibition is set by the processing inhibition setting means is to be performed. Is provided with prohibition information display means for displaying processing prohibition information indicating that is prohibited.

Further, an electronic document processing management system in the workflow support system according to claim 22 is provided.
In the electronic document processing management system in the workflow support system according to any one of the above-mentioned items 4, 13 and 16, furthermore, when the processing of the electronic document is requested by a substitute person in place of the authorized person. And a processing time limit setting means for setting the same time limit as the processing time limit given to the authorized person as the processing time limit of the corresponding electronic document.

Further, the electronic document processing management system in the workflow support system according to claim 23 is as follows.
In the electronic document processing management system in the workflow support system according to the above, further, the electronic mail transmitted from the first mail transmitting means requests a substitute person in place of the authorized person to process the electronic document. In this case, there is provided a processing time limit setting means for setting a time limit shorter than the processing time limit given to the authorized person as a processing time limit of the corresponding electronic document.

Further, an electronic document processing management system in the workflow support system according to claim 24 is provided in claim 1.
3. The electronic document processing management system in the workflow support system according to item 3, further comprising: requesting an agent in place of the authorized person to process the electronic document by e-mail transmitted from the second mail transmitting means. In this case, there is provided a processing time limit setting means for setting the same time limit as the processing time limit given to the authorized person as the processing time limit of the corresponding electronic document.

The electronic document processing management system in the workflow support system according to the twenty-fifth aspect is the first aspect of the invention.
In the electronic document processing management system in the workflow support system according to the above, the first mail sending means, when generating the e-mail, is a proxy processing request and the process of requesting proxy processing Is added to the bibliographic information of the electronic mail, and the electronic mail transmitted from the first mail transmitting means is received and received. An electronic mail comprising the bibliographic information and the surrogate processing information and the urgency information combined with a screen display, and a notifying means for notifying the surrogate person of the request for the surrogate processing and the urgency of the processing. It is.

The electronic document processing management system in the workflow support system according to the twenty-sixth aspect is the first aspect.
3. In the electronic document processing management system in the workflow support system according to 3, the second mail sending means generates the electronic mail for requesting a substitute for the authorized person to process the electronic document. In doing so, proxy processing information indicating the proxy processing request and the circumstances leading to the request for the proxy processing is added to the bibliographic information of the electronic mail, and further transmitted from the second mail transmitting means. And a notifying unit for notifying the agent in charge that the request is for an agency process by receiving the email, combining the agency process information with the bibliographic information of the received email, and displaying the screen. Things.

According to a twenty-seventh aspect of the present invention, there is provided the electronic document processing management method in the workflow support system, wherein the electronic document is communicated between a plurality of persons according to a preset workflow by using a network to which a plurality of terminal devices are connected. A method for managing the processing of electronic documents in a workflow support system that controls the delivery of documents and automates the coordination of work within an arbitrary group, wherein the regular person in charge of the workflow replaces the regular person in the workflow. A first agent setting process for setting at least one agent in charge of processing of the electronic document, and setting in advance for an electronic document whose processing is requested to an authorized person in the workflow. A first judgment is made at a predetermined timing to determine whether or not the processing has been completed within the set processing time limit. And when the first determining step determines that the processing of the electronic document has not been completed within the processing time limit, the agent in charge of the agent in charge of the authorized person in charge of the corresponding electronic document. A first e-mail transmission step of generating and transmitting an e-mail for requesting processing;
Is included.

According to a twenty-eighth aspect of the present invention, there is provided the electronic document processing management method in the workflow support system, wherein a person in charge of a previous process in a predetermined workflow uses an electronic network by using a network to which a plurality of terminal devices are connected. Each time the processing of the document is completed, an e-mail for requesting the person in charge of the post-process to process the electronic document is sequentially generated and transmitted, and the electronic document is exchanged among a plurality of persons in the workflow. A method for managing the processing of an electronic document in a workflow support system that controls the delivery and automates the coordination of tasks within an arbitrary group, wherein the authorized person on behalf of the workflow is replaced by the authorized person. A first agent setting step for setting at least one agent in charge of processing an electronic document; An opening determination step of determining whether the e-mail transmitted to the authorized person on the row has been opened within a preset processing time limit, and the e-mail being opened in the opening determination step. If it is determined that there is not, a mail transmission step of generating and transmitting an e-mail for requesting processing of an electronic document corresponding to the pertinent e-mail to the agent in place of the authorized person, and , Is included.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided an electronic document processing management method in a workflow support system, wherein a plurality of terminal devices are connected to each other in accordance with a preset workflow by using a network. A method for managing the processing of electronic documents in a workflow support system that controls the transfer of documents and automates the coordination of tasks within an arbitrary group, wherein the processing is requested by a regular person in charge of the workflow. A determination step of determining, at a predetermined timing, whether or not the processing of the document has been completed within a preset processing time limit; and determining that the processing of the electronic document has not been completed within the processing time limit in the determination step. If determined, define the personal relationships within any group, including authorized personnel on the workflow Sending a substitute person in place of the authorized person based on the group information, and generating and sending an e-mail for requesting the set substitute person to process the corresponding electronic document. And

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for managing electronic documents in a workflow support system, comprising: using a network to which a plurality of terminal devices are connected; Each time the processing of the document is completed, an e-mail for requesting the person in charge of the post-process to process the electronic document is sequentially generated and transmitted, and the electronic document is exchanged among a plurality of persons in the workflow. A method for managing the processing of electronic documents in a workflow support system that controls the delivery and automates the coordination of tasks within an arbitrary group, wherein the electronic mail transmitted to a legitimate person in charge of the workflow is set in advance. An opening determination step of determining whether or not the electronic mail has been opened within the set processing time limit; and If it is determined that it is not sealed, set a substitute person in place of the legitimate person based on the group information that defines the personal relationship in any group including the legitimate person on the workflow A mail transmission step of generating and transmitting an e-mail for requesting the set representative to process an electronic document corresponding to the relevant e-mail.

A method for managing electronic documents in a workflow support system according to claim 31 is the method for managing electronic documents in a workflow support system according to claim 27 or 28, further comprising the step of: And a second agent setting process for setting at least one other agent in charge of processing the electronic document by the agent.

In addition, a method for managing the processing of an electronic document in the workflow support system according to claim 32 is provided by
32. The electronic document processing management method in the workflow support system according to 28 or 31, further comprising, when setting a plurality of the agents in charge, determining which of the plurality of agents is to process the electronic document. And a proxy rank setting step of setting the proxy rank.

The method for managing electronic documents in a workflow support system according to claim 33 is the method for managing electronic documents in a workflow support system according to claim 27 or 31, further comprising the authorized person or agent. An absence information registration step for registering absence information when the person in charge cannot process the electronic document due to absence, based on the absence information and the processing time limit registered in the absence information registration step A second determination step of determining, at a predetermined timing, whether or not to request processing of the electronic document by an agent in place of the authorized person or another agent in place of the agent in charge,
A determination processing control step of switching from the first determination step to the determination processing by the second determination step when the absence information is registered in the absence information registration step.

The processing management method for electronic documents in the workflow support system according to claim 34 is the processing management method for electronic documents in the workflow support system according to claim 33, wherein the absence information is determined by the authorized person or the authorized person. It includes an absent period consisting of a start date and a finish date of a period in which the agent is absent.

The processing management method of an electronic document in the workflow support system according to claim 35 is the processing management method of an electronic document in the workflow support system according to claim 34, wherein the second determination step includes the processing time limit. Is determined during the absence period, it is determined that a request for processing of the electronic document is made to an agent in charge of the authorized person or another agent in charge of the agent in charge.

Also, the electronic document processing management method in the workflow support system according to claim 36 is described in claims 27 to
35. The electronic document processing management method in the workflow support system according to any one of 35, further comprising the step of: transmitting the electronic document to an agent in place of the authorized person or another agent in place of the agent. A process prohibition setting step of performing a process prohibition setting on the corresponding electronic document so that the authorized person or the agent in charge cannot process the corresponding electronic document when the processing of the document is requested. Including.

Also, the processing management method of an electronic document in the workflow support system according to claim 37 is a method according to claims 33 to
36. The method for managing an electronic document in a workflow support system according to any one of 36, further comprising an absent information releasing step of releasing the registration of the absent information,
The determination processing control step switches from the second determination step to the determination processing by the first determination step when the registration of the absence information is released in the absence information release step.

According to a thirty-eighth aspect of the present invention, there is provided the electronic document processing management method in the workflow support system according to the thirty-seventh aspect, wherein the registration of the absence information is canceled. In addition, when the processing of the electronic document that has been processed by a substitute person in place of the regular person in charge of the absence information or another substitute person in place of the substitute person is not completed during the registration of the absence information, So that the person in charge or the agent in charge can process the corresponding electronic document,
A process prohibition setting canceling step of canceling the process prohibition setting, wherein the process prohibition setting step is performed when the process prohibition setting is cancelled. The processing prohibition setting is performed on the relevant electronic document so that another agent cannot process the relevant electronic document.

The electronic document processing management method in the workflow support system according to claim 39 is the electronic document processing management method in the workflow support system according to claim 33 or 37, further comprising: A second mail transmission step of generating an e-mail for requesting processing of the electronic document and transmitting the generated e-mail to the authorized person when requesting processing of the document; A third judging step of judging, based on the absence information and the processing time limit, whether or not to request a substitute person in charge of the legitimate person to process the electronic document, And if the second e-mail sending step is determined to request the substitute person in charge of the authorized person to process the electronic document in the third judging step To, with respect to the proxy representative, is to generate and send e-mail for requesting the processing of the corresponding electronic document.

[0053] According to a 40th aspect of the present invention, in the workflow management system according to the 39th aspect, the absence information may include the authorized person or the authorized person. This includes the absence date consisting of the start date and the end date of the period in which the agent is absent.

The electronic document processing management method in the workflow support system according to claim 41 is the electronic document processing management method in the workflow support system according to claim 40, wherein the third determination step is performed by the processing time limit. Is determined to request a substitute person in charge of the authorized person to process the electronic document when the absence period elapses.

Further, the processing management method of an electronic document in the workflow support system according to claim 42 is a method according to claims 39 to
41. The electronic document processing management method in the workflow support system according to any one of 41, wherein the registration of the absence information of the legitimate person in charge is canceled, and a substitute person in charge of the legitimate person in charge is In a case where the processing of the electronic document for which the processing has been requested is not completed, a third mail transmitting step of generating and transmitting an electronic mail for requesting the authorized person to process the electronic document is included.

Also, the processing management method of an electronic document in the workflow support system according to claim 43 is a method for managing processing of an electronic document.
41. The electronic document processing management method in the workflow support system according to any one of 41, wherein the registration of the absence information of the legitimate person in charge is canceled, and a substitute person in charge of the legitimate person in charge is Even if the processing of the electronic document for which processing has been requested is not completed, the processing is controlled so as not to request processing of the electronic document corresponding to the authorized person after comparing with the number of remaining days of the processing time limit. It includes a control step.

According to a 44th aspect of the present invention, there is provided the electronic document processing management method in the workflow support system according to the 28th or 30th aspect, wherein the electronic document is further opened in the open determination step. Even if the electronic document corresponding to the e-mail determined to have been processed has not been processed within the processing time limit, another agent in place of the authorized person or another agent in place of the agent And a processing control step of controlling not to request the user to process the corresponding electronic document.

According to a forty-fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for managing electronic documents in a workflow support system according to the twenty-ninth or thirty-fifth aspect, wherein the group information is
The hierarchical relationship based on the positions of the members belonging to the group is defined, and in the mail transmitting step, when the e-mail is generated and transmitted, the manager of the authorized person is set as the substitute person. .

Further, the processing management method of an electronic document in the workflow support system according to claim 46 is a method according to claims 27 to
The electronic document processing management method in the workflow support system according to any one of 30, 39, and 42, further comprising: a proxy processing request for the electronic mail for requesting the proxy to process the electronic document. And an information adding step of adding proxy processing information indicating that

A method for managing electronic documents in a workflow support system according to a forty-seventh aspect is the method for managing electronic documents in a workflow support system according to the thirty-sixth or thirty-sixth aspect, further comprising: When performing processing of an electronic document for which prohibition has been set, a prohibition information displaying step of displaying processing prohibition information indicating that processing of the corresponding electronic document is prohibited is included.

Also, the processing management method of an electronic document in the workflow support system according to claim 48 is a method according to claims 27 to
30. The electronic document processing management method in a workflow support system according to any one of 30, 39, and 42, further comprising the step of: when a substitute person in charge of the authorized person is requested to process the electronic document. The method includes a processing time limit setting step of setting the same time limit as the processing time limit given to the authorized person as the processing time limit of the corresponding electronic document.

The electronic document processing management method in the workflow support system according to claim 49 is the electronic document processing management method in the workflow support system according to claim 27, further comprising the step of transmitting in the first mail transmission step. When requesting a substitute person in charge of the legitimate person to process the electronic document by the received e-mail, the processing period of the corresponding electronic document is shorter than the processing period given to the legitimate person. The process includes a processing time limit setting step.

The electronic document processing management method in the workflow support system according to claim 50 is the electronic document processing management method in the workflow support system according to claim 39, further comprising the step of transmitting in the second mail transmission step. When requesting a substitute person in charge of the legitimate person to process the electronic document by an e-mail to be processed, the processing of the electronic document has the same deadline as the processing deadline given to the legitimate person in charge. It includes a processing time limit setting step of setting a time limit.

A method for managing electronic documents in a workflow support system according to claim 51 is a method for managing electronic documents in a workflow support system according to claim 27, wherein the first mail sending step is performed by At the time of generating an e-mail, surrogate processing information indicating the process of requesting the surrogate processing and the process of requesting the surrogate processing, and urgency information indicating the urgency of the processing are added to the bibliographic information of the e-mail. Receiving the electronic mail transmitted in the first mail transmitting step, synthesizing the proxy processing information and the urgency information with the bibliographic information of the received electronic mail, and displaying the screen on the screen; This includes a notification step of notifying the person in charge of the request for the substitute processing and the urgency of the processing.

In the method for managing an electronic document in a workflow support system according to claim 52, in the method for managing an electronic document in a workflow support system according to claim 39, the second mail sending step may include: When generating the e-mail for requesting processing of the electronic document to a substitute on behalf of the person in charge, substitute processing information indicating that the processing is a proxy processing request and the circumstances that led to the request for processing substitution The electronic mail is added to the bibliographic information of the e-mail, the e-mail transmitted in the second e-mail transmitting step is received, and the proxy processing information is combined with the bibliographic information of the received e-mail. And a notifying step of displaying the request and notifying the agent in charge of the agent processing request.

A computer-readable recording medium according to claim 53 causes a computer to execute each step of the electronic document processing management method in the workflow support system according to any one of claims 27 to 52. This is a record of the program.

[0067]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An electronic document processing management system and method in a workflow support system according to the present invention, and a computer-readable recording medium storing a program for causing a computer to execute each step of the method. An embodiment will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. Here, an embodiment of the present invention will be described by taking as an example a case where the present invention is applied to an application workflow support system relating to intellectual property rights. By the way, the “processing period” used in the present invention means the number of processing days in a narrow sense, and includes the number of processing days and the processing deadline in a broad sense. “Processing deadline” refers to a specific date on the calendar corresponding to the last day on which the processing period in a narrow sense expires. Hereinafter, the description will be made according to this definition.

[First Embodiment] Regarding the application workflow support system according to the first embodiment, (1) Example of a schematic system configuration of the application workflow support system (2) Workflow and invention notification form to which the present invention is applied (3) Book Scenes where the invention is applied (4) Specific contents of processing management of electronic documents according to the first embodiment (5) Effects of the first embodiment will be described in this order.

(1) Schematic Configuration Example of Application Workflow Support System FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram showing a schematic configuration of an application workflow support system according to the first embodiment. The configuration of the application workflow support system according to the first embodiment is the same as a general workflow support system, and can be realized with various system configurations. Here, as one example, a plurality of clients (terminal devices) 102 to 105
And a plurality of servers 106 and 107 and a plurality of printers 108 and 109 connected to a local area network 101. In the first embodiment, NOTES (registered trademark of Lotus Corporation, USA) is developed by Lotus Corporation as groupware used in the application workflow support system shown in FIG.
Shall be used. In the following description, the term “system” means both the system shown in FIG. 1 and the groupware.

(2) Workflow and Invention Notification Form to which the Present Invention is Applied FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing a part of a workflow (work flow) supported by the application workflow support system according to the first embodiment. FIG. 2 shows a workflow from the creation of an invention report (electronic document) relating to a completed invention to the reception of an intellectual property department (described as an intellectual property department). ), The inventor A (110) and the inventor B (11)
It is assumed that the workflow flows in the order of 1), inventor C (112), examiner (113), approver (114), and intellectual property department (115).

First, the creator / inventor A (110) fills in necessary items on the invention notification creation DB (116) to create an invention notification.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of the invention notification form used in the application workflow support system shown in FIG. When the creator / inventor A (110) selects the invention report creation process on his / her client, the invention report 300 shown in FIG. 3 is displayed on the screen. In FIG. 3, 30
Reference numeral 1 denotes a writer setting item for setting the name, ID, and the like of the writer / inventor A (110). This is set automatically by the system when the entrant displays the invention notification screen. Reference numeral 302 denotes a document form setting item for selecting the selection item 302a or 302b and setting whether the invention report is a 100% electronic document or a part of a paper document. Reference numeral 303 denotes a report number setting item for setting a report number. When a report number acquisition button 303a is clicked, a unique report number is automatically assigned and set and displayed on the system side. .

Reference numeral 304 denotes an inventor setting item for setting information relating to the inventor. An inventor number setting field 304a for displaying the number of inventors and an inventor setting field for setting the inventor's name and ID. 304b. In addition,
When the name of the inventor is set in the inventor setting field 304b, by clicking the button 304c, the inventor's address book (not shown) is displayed from a predetermined database, and the corresponding inventor is displayed from this address book. When is selected, the information of the inventor is set in the inventor setting field 304b, and the number corresponding to the set number of inventors is calculated and displayed by the system in the inventor number setting field 304a. Then, after setting the inventor's information in the inventor setting field 304b, when the kanji name conversion button 304d is clicked, the inventor's information in the inventor setting field 304b is converted into a kanji name, and the information is entered in an invention transfer field (not shown). Is displayed.

Although not shown in the drawings, the invention notification form 300 further includes an invention description field for describing the contents of the invention, and approval / non-approval for the inventor to transfer his invention to a company. 2, an applicant setting field for setting the applicant, an applicant setting field for setting the examiner (113) shown in FIG. 2, and an examination result for inputting the examination result (evaluation result) by the examiner (113). Input field, approver (114)
, An approval result input field for inputting an approval result of the application by the approver (114), an intellectual property department clerk setting field for setting a person in charge of the intellectual property department, and the like.

The creator / inventor A calls the invention notification form 300, designates the inventor B and the inventor C as joint inventors, and performs a process of entering necessary information in each item. At this time, if the inventors B and C are designated,
As a workflow, electronic routes to the intellectual property department are set in the order of 110 to 115 in FIG. Then, when the inventor A (110) performs a transfer approval process for transferring his own invention to the company (when the transfer is approved), an e-mail is sent to the second inventor, the inventor B (111). Sent.

Upon receiving the e-mail, the inventor B (111) checks the invention notification form 300 on the invention notification form creation DB (116) linked to the e-mail, and transfers his invention to the company. Approval processing is performed.
Similarly, upon receiving the e-mail, the inventor C (112) opens the invention notification form 300 linked to the e-mail, confirms the contents, and approves the transfer of his invention to the company. Perform processing.

When all the joint inventors approve the transfer of the invention to the company, the examiner (113) examines the invention and inputs the evaluation of the invention. Thereafter, when the approver (114) approves the application based on the contents of the invention notification form 300, the intellectual property department (115) performs the invention notification form 3 (step 3).
After the reception of 00, the processing proceeds to the next step (not shown) on the application workflow. The approver (11
4) When the application is approved, the invention notification form is the invention notification form DB
(116) is copied to the application intellectual property DB (117). Also, the approved invention notification form is stored in a suitable storage means (not shown) in a protected form so that it cannot be modified at all. It can also help establish the invention's completion date by ensuring that it cannot be modified by the system.

(3) Scene where the Present Invention is Applied In the workflow shown in FIG. 2, the respective persons in charge such as the inventor and the examiner (authorized persons in the workflow) sequentially perform the above-described processing. , And smoothly carry out application work related to intellectual property rights. However,
If each person in charge of the business cannot process the invention report due to absence, etc., the processing of the electronic document is stopped at the person in charge of the work, and the application for intellectual property rights is smoothly performed. You will not be able to do it. Therefore, in the present invention, when a business person cannot process an electronic document (invention notification form) due to absence or the like, the system requests a substitute person in charge of the business person to process the electronic document. Management so that the processing of electronic documents can be performed smoothly.

However, the process of the inventor in the workflow shown in FIG. 2 includes an approval process of whether or not to transfer the invention, and the approval process of the transfer of the present invention may be performed only by the inventor. This is a possible process. Therefore, in the workflow shown in FIG. 2, the present invention is applied when the examiner (113), the approver (114), and the intellectual property department (115) cannot process the invention notification form 300 due to absence. It is possible. In the following description, a person in charge of work is referred to as the inventor A shown in FIG.
(110) to one of the intellectual property department (115).

(4) Specific Contents of Electronic Document Processing Management According to Embodiment 1 Subsequently, an electronic document processing management method in the workflow support system, that is, how to smoothly process electronic documents. Processing to set up a business person in the workflow to manage so that they can be managed. Setting up a person in charge of acting on behalf of business person Registration of absence information Agency processing when business person is absent Acting in case of agent processing Processing deadline to be given to the person in charge Display example of received e-mail The absence cancellation process will be described in detail.

Setting Process of Business Person on Workflow In the system shown in FIG. 1, in order to set each business person on the workflow shown in FIG. There is provided a means for manually setting a person in charge, and a means for automatically setting a person in charge of a subsequent process, for example, according to the department to which the person in charge of the preceding process belongs and the contents of the work. Here, as an example, a process in which a person in charge of a previous process manually sets a person in charge of a post-process will be described.

FIG. 4 is a flow chart showing a process for setting a business person by manual operation. FIGS. 5 and 6 show a process for setting a business person using the invention notification form 300 shown in FIG. 3 as an example. FIG. FIGS. 5 and 6 show an example in which the inventor A (110) sets the examiner (113) who performs examination of the invention.

First, a worker in charge of the preceding process (inventor A (110)) on the workflow clicks a destination selection button 501a shown in FIG. Destination selection button 501
a is clicked, the system, as shown in FIG. 6, causes the address book 6 stored in a predetermined database to be displayed.
00 is displayed on the screen of the client of the operator in charge of the previous process (S401). Here, FIG. 6 shows an example in which an address book 600 is displayed over the invention notification form 300 shown in FIG.

Then, the person in charge of the previous process selects a person to be the person in charge of the post-process (examiner (113)) from the address book 600 displayed on the screen, and the selected person is shown in FIG. This is set in the destination column 501a (S40).
2).

After setting the post-process business operator as described above, the pre-process business operator clicks a send button (not shown), for example, and sends the electronic document to the set post-process business operator. Request processing (request invention examination). As a result, the system sends an e-mail for requesting processing of the electronic document to a set post-operation person in charge.

The post-process business person opens the e-mail from the previous process business person, for example, opens the electronic document attached to the received e-mail, and executes a predetermined process. Become.

Setting Process of Agent in Place of Business Person The system shown in FIG. 1 substitutes the business person in the workflow set as described above when the business person is absent on a business trip or the like. Means for setting an agent in charge of processing. Here, a process for setting a substitute person in place of a business person in the workflow will be described.

A) Process of setting the agent in charge of the post-process when setting the person in charge of the post-process First, when setting the person in charge of the post-process described with reference to FIGS. Can be set together with an agent in charge of the post-process operation. FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram for explaining a process in which a service technician in a previous process sets a service technician in a post-process and a substitute technician for the person in charge. In actual work, it is rare that a person in a previous process determines a substitute for a person in charge of a post-process, but here, an example of a substitute person setting process will be described.

[0109] The work clerk in the previous process selects the work clerk in the post-process from the address book 600 and sets it in the destination column 501 a, and then, as shown in FIG. Is selected, and the selected agent is set in the destination field 501a (see step S402 in FIG. 4).

In this way, the agent in charge is assigned to the destination column 50.
By setting this to 1a, when a post-process business person is absent due to a business trip or the like, as set forth in detail later, the set agent can be made to perform processing of the electronic document. .

FIG. 7 shows a case where Mr. A is selected as a post-process business person and set as the first person in the destination column 501a.
An example is shown in which the second setting of 01a is set. Here, the numbers indicated by “1, 2, 3,...” In the destination column 501 a indicate the priority order of the work staff (authorized staff) on the workflow, and are set first. The person who has been set is the business person in charge of the workflow for actually processing the electronic document, and the person set for the second or later is the agent in charge of the person set for the higher rank. FIG. 7 shows an example in which one person in charge and a person in charge of the person in charge of the person in charge are set one by one. However, by selecting another person and setting the third person in the destination field 501a, the person in charge When the person in charge, Mr. B, is absent, etc., another agent in charge of acting for Mr. B can be set. That is, here, a plurality of agents can be assigned with priorities, and another agent in place of the agent can be set according to the priority. This is usually set in the workplace unit, or is generally set by the supervisor of the workplace.

The destination column 501a shown in FIGS. 6 and 7 is used.
The kanji name of the person in charge of the post-process and the person in charge of the agent in the post-process are set. After setting, for example, replacing the person set as the post-process operation person with the agent in charge and replacing the person set as the agent in charge with the post-operation person in charge,
Priority can be changed. In FIG. 7, when changing the priority order of Mr. A and Mr. B, for example, after inverting the Kanji name part of Mr. A, drag and drop using the mouse to perform Mr. A's Kanji name. Is moved to the second position, Mr. A is reset to the second position (an agent in charge of the post-process operation person), and Mr. B is reset to the first position (the post-process operation person). be able to.

Further, in order to be able to easily search for a person to be set as a post-process business person or substitute person, for example, the display screen of the address book 600 can be scrolled up and down, and kanji and alphabets can be used. It is desirable to construct a system so that a desired person can be automatically searched from the address book 600 by inputting a last name or the like in the address book 600. Also, in order to be able to correctly select the post-process business operator and the agent in charge, the address book 600 includes the address, kanji name, affiliation, and post of the person in charge of the business operator or the agent in charge. It is desirable to register such information. In general, when introducing groupware throughout the company, it is common to register the addresses of all employees in an electronic address book, so no special consideration is required in such a case.

B) Process of setting the agent in charge by the operator in charge The operator in charge of the post-process (examiner) or the agent in charge of the post-process, which is set as described above, is responsible for the absence of himself / herself. It is possible to set an agent in charge of performing his / her processing at an arbitrary timing. In order for these persons to set the agent in charge, for example, a command for setting the agent in charge is selected from the menu, and the address book 600 is displayed on the screen in the same manner as the processing described with reference to FIGS. By displaying and selecting an agent in charge from the address book 600, at least one agent can be set.

The setting process of the agent in charge can be performed not only by the person in charge of the post-process or the agent in charge of the agent, but also by the person in charge of the agent or agent in charge of himself / herself. It can be carried out. Also, a third party, not the principal, can set the agent in place of the principal.

Also, here, as an example of the processing for setting the agent in charge, an example in which the operator in charge of the previous process (third party) sets the agent in charge of the operator in charge of the post process, The example in which the business person or the agent in charge (the person) sets his / her own agent has been described. When the system is constructed so that the agent in charge can be set using these two examples, a different person is set as the agent in the case where the agent is set and the case where a third party is set. Could be In such a case,
Whether to decide in advance which setting should be prioritized, whether to allow the same person to be set as the agent in charge,
Alternatively, measures may be taken such that when one of the person or a third party sets a substitute person, the other person cannot set a substitute person.

Further, here, the agent in charge is set as required, but at least one agent in charge is set in advance for all the persons in charge of business or agents. This makes it possible to omit the process of setting the agent in charge as described above.

Registration of Absence Information In addition, the system provides a business person in the workflow or a person set as a substitute person (a person who is not set as a business person or a substitute person but can become a business person). If the user is absent due to a business trip or the like, there is a means for registering absence information including the period, that is, the absence period including the start date and the end date of the absence.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing a process for registering (updating) absence information or canceling registered absence information. The business operator and the agent in charge select a command (not shown) for setting absence information from a menu prepared in advance, and specify execution of registration (update) or cancellation processing of the absence information (S801). .

The system determines which of the absence information registration (update) and release processing has been selected in step S801 (S802). If it is determined in step S802 that the absence information registration (update) has been selected, the absence information registration (update) process is executed (S80).
3). In step S803, the business clerk or the agent in the workflow inputs the absence information including the absence period including the absence start date and the end date, and performs a process of registering the absence information. In addition, the business clerk or agent on the workflow can input a new absence period and update the previously registered absence information. When the absence information registration (update) process ends, the system ends the absence information registration / cancellation process.

On the other hand, if it is determined in step S802 that the cancellation of the absence information is selected, the system executes the registration processing of the registered absence information (S804), and ends the registration / cancellation processing of the absence information.

When the absence period set as the absence information elapses, the system automatically cancels the absence information, and the system can return quickly from the business trip (the absence period becomes short). The system may be configured so that only the process of canceling the absence information need be performed.

Also, in the first embodiment, the process of setting the agent in charge and the process of registering the absence information are separately described. However, when registering the absence information, the agent must be set. The system may be constructed so as not to be affected.

Proxy Processing When Business Person is Not Available Next, when a person set as a business person in the workflow is absent, a request is made to a substitute person in place of the business person to process the electronic document. (Hereinafter, referred to as “proxy request processing”) will be described in detail in the order of a) first proxy request processing and b) second proxy request processing.

A) The first agency request processing system provides the business operator in the workflow with respect to the electronic document requested to be processed by the business operator in the previous process within the processing deadline set in advance. (Program) for checking whether or not the operation is completed. That is, the system determines, at a predetermined timing, for example, once a day, whether or not the processing has been completed within a processing time limit for an electronic document requested to be processed by a business person in the workflow. (Hereinafter referred to as “processing completion confirmation processing”). The first proxy request process described below is executed by executing the process completion confirmation process.

Note that the preset processing time limit is
It means the time period during which the business operator on the workflow must complete the processing of the electronic document. The processing time is described in, for example, an e-mail for requesting processing of an electronic document transmitted to a business person in the workflow, so that the business person can know the processing time. , Is also set as additional information in the electronic document.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing the processing completion confirmation processing (first proxy request processing). First, the system includes a database (for example, the invention report creation DB 11).
Referring to the electronic document in 6), it is determined whether the processing of the electronic document has been completed (S901).

If the system determines in step S901 that the processing has been completed, the system ends the processing completion confirmation processing for the corresponding electronic document. On the other hand, if it is determined in step S901 that the processing has not been completed, it is determined whether or not the absence information of the person in charge who should process the corresponding electronic document is registered (S90).
2).

If it is determined in step S902 that absence information has not been registered, the system executes processing completion confirmation processing A shown in FIG. 10 (S903). If it determines that absence information has been registered, the system proceeds to step S903. The processing completion confirmation processing B shown in FIG. 11 is executed (S904).

Then, the system determines whether the processing completion confirmation processing has been completed for all the electronic documents in the database (S905). If the processing has been executed for all the electronic documents, the processing completion confirmation processing is performed. If the processing has not been executed for all the electronic documents, the process returns to step S901 to continue the processing.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing the processing completion confirmation processing A shown in step S903 of FIG. The system determines whether or not the processing deadline of the business operator on the workflow set as the additional information in the electronic document has not passed (S1001). Specifically, it may be determined whether or not the execution time of the processing completion confirmation processing is within the processing time limit set in the electronic document.

If it is determined in step S1001 that the processing time limit has not elapsed, the processing completion confirmation processing A for the corresponding electronic document ends. This is because, as long as the processing time limit has not elapsed, there is no problem even if the business person in charge of the workflow has not completed the processing yet.
On the other hand, if it is determined in step S1001 that the processing deadline has elapsed, the system determines whether an agent in charge of the business person in the workflow is set (S1002). If the setting of the agent in charge is required in advance, step S1002
Can be skipped and the process can proceed to step S1004 described below.

If it is determined in step S1002 that a substitute person in place of the business person in the workflow has been set, the system requests the set substitute person to process the corresponding electronic document. Is generated and transmitted (S1004).

FIG. 11 shows that in step S1004,
FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of an electronic mail for requesting a proxy to perform processing of an electronic document; The e-mail shown in FIG. 11 describes the case name, the original business person in charge, the processing deadline, and the like.

The system proceeds to step S1004
In addition to sending e-mails to agents on behalf of, in order to prohibit business personnel on the workflow from processing the electronic documents, A process prohibition setting (for example, to prevent access to an electronic document) is performed (S1005). By performing this processing prohibition setting,
Only the agent in charge can process the corresponding electronic document, so that it is possible to prevent the same electronic document from being subjected to duplicate work.

On the other hand, if it is determined in step S1002 that a substitute person in place of the business person on the workflow has not been set, the system sends an e-mail for prompting the business person on the workflow to perform processing. Generate and transmit (S1003). In other words, when the agent in charge is not set, it is treated as not performing the process even though the business operator on the workflow is not absent, and the processing deadline has passed for the business operator on the workflow. Therefore, an e-mail for urging the user to perform urgent processing is generated and transmitted.

When the system terminates the processing in step S1003 or S1005, it proceeds to the processing in step S905 shown in FIG.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing the processing completion confirmation processing B in step S904 in FIG. The system determines, based on the processing deadline set as the additional information in the electronic document and the absence period in the absence information, whether to request the agent to perform processing based on the following criteria (S1201). ).

FIG. 13 shows that in step S1201,
It is explanatory drawing which shows the determination criteria for judging whether it should request a substitution person in charge of a process. In FIG.
Case 1 shows a case where there is a processing deadline date after the end date of the absence period. In Case 1, since the business person himself / herself can process the electronic document after the absence period ends, the business person in charge of the processing based on the electronic document can be performed without requesting a substitute person to perform the processing for the electronic document. I will do it (no action).

[0120] Case 2 shows a case in which the processing deadline elapses during the absence of the business processing staff. In such a case, it is impossible to complete the process within the time limit without requesting the agent in charge of the process, so the agent in charge of the process will be requested. That is,
Since the processing of the electronic document can be requested to the agent in charge before the expiration of the processing time limit, the processing of the electronic document can be speeded up.

Further, Case 3 shows a case where there is a processing deadline date before the absence start date. In such a case, it is sufficient for the business person to complete the processing of the electronic document by the day before the absence start date, so the business person in charge should do the processing without requesting the agent to perform the processing for the electronic document. (No action).

If the system determines in step S1201 that it falls under cases 1 and 3 shown in FIG. 12 (does not request the agent to perform processing), it ends the processing completion confirmation processing B for the corresponding electronic document, and returns to FIG. It proceeds to step S905 of No. 9.

On the other hand, if it is determined in step S1201 that the case falls under Case 2 (a request is made to a representative in charge of processing), a substitute in charge of a business representative in the workflow is requested to process the corresponding electronic document. An e-mail is created and transmitted (S1202).

FIG. 14 shows that in step S1202,
FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of an electronic mail for requesting a proxy to process an electronic document. In the e-mail shown in FIG. 14, in addition to the contents of the e-mail shown in FIG. 11, the absence period of the original business person is described.

[0125] In step S1202, an example has been described in which the process is performed assuming that an agent in place of a business person in the workflow has been set. Therefore, before step S1202, a step of determining whether or not an agent in charge has been set may be included, as in step S1002 shown in FIG.

Further, the system goes to step S1202
In addition to sending e-mails to agents on behalf of, in order to prohibit business personnel on the workflow from processing the electronic documents, A process prohibition setting is performed (S1203). Then, the system proceeds to step S905 in FIG.

When the business person on the workflow sets the absence information, the business person immediately executes the processing completion confirmation process on the electronic document to be processed, and decides on the electronic document on the workflow. The processing may be speeded up. That is, case 2 in FIG.
An electronic document corresponding to the above can be promptly transferred to the agent in charge, and the processing of the electronic document can be speeded up.

The first proxy request processing (processing completion confirmation processing) is performed on the assumption that when a business operator on the workflow is absent or the like, a proxy for the processing of the electronic document is requested to the agent in charge. As described above, it is apparent that the present invention can be applied to a case where the agent in charge of the agent processing is not present.

Further, in Embodiment 1, FIGS.
The first proxy request process has been described by describing the process completion confirmation process based on FIG. However, the above-described processing is merely an example, and various designs and modifications are possible. In other words, in any way, the progress of the process of the business
The object of the present invention can be achieved if it is possible to request the agent to process the electronic document in accordance with the absence information registered by the business person.

B) Second Proxy Request Processing Next, the second proxy request processing will be described. As described with reference to FIG. 2, when the processing of the electronic document by the person in charge of the previous process on the workflow is completed, the system sends an e-mail requesting the person in charge of the subsequent process to process the electronic document. I do. In the second proxy request processing, when the above-mentioned e-mail is transmitted to the post-process business operator, the electronic mail is sent to the post-process business agent in response to the absence information of the post-process business operator. Requesting the processing of the document.

FIG. 15 is a flow chart showing a process (second proxy request process) when a business technician in a preceding process on a workflow requests a business technician in a subsequent process to process an electronic document. When the business operator in the preceding process on the workflow ends the process based on the electronic document, the system determines whether or not the absence information of the business operator in the subsequent process on the workflow is registered (S1501).

If it is determined in step S1501 that absence information has not been registered, the system generates and sends an e-mail for requesting processing of an electronic document to a person in charge of a post-process in the workflow. Yes (S1
504). On the other hand, if it is determined in step S1501 that absence information has been registered, the system determines the absence of the post-process business operator based on the processing deadline and the absence information (absence period) given to the post-process business operator. It is determined based on the determination criterion shown in FIG. 13 whether or not to request the agent in charge of the process (S1502). Note that the determination criteria are as described in the first proxy request processing described above, and thus description thereof is omitted here.

If the system determines in step S1502 that it corresponds to cases 1 and 3 shown in FIG. 13 (does not request the agent in charge of processing), the system
An e-mail for requesting processing of the corresponding electronic document is generated and transmitted to a person in charge of a post-process in the workflow (S1504). In this case, processing according to a normal workflow is performed.

On the other hand, if it is determined in step S1502 that the situation corresponds to case 2 (a request is made to a representative in charge of processing), the system sends a corresponding electronic Generate and send an e-mail to request processing of the document (S
1503). If it is determined that the person in charge of the post-process in the workflow cannot process the electronic document because of the absence, the person in charge of the post-process can process the electronic document directly to the agent in charge without going through the person in charge of the post-process. Since the request is made, the processing of the electronic document can be speeded up, and the unnecessary processing of sending an e-mail to a business person who cannot perform the processing and requesting the processing can be eliminated.

The electronic mail transmitted to the agent in step S1503 is the same as that shown in FIG.

Further, in addition to sending an e-mail to the agent in step S1503, the system sends an e-mail notifying the person in charge of the post-process in the workflow that the agent has requested processing. Can be generated and transmitted. In addition, the post-process operator can know which electronic document has been requested to be processed by the agent using a view of the database that stores the electronic document.

Upon ending the processing in step S1503 or step S1504, the system ends the processing shown in FIG. 15 for requesting the person in charge of the post-process on the workflow to process the electronic document.

Note that the flowchart shown in FIG.
Although it is premised that an agent in charge of a post-process operation person in the workflow is set, a process of determining whether or not an agent in charge is set before step S1503. You may decide to do it.

The process shown in FIG. 15 is similarly performed when an electronic mail is sent to a substitute person in charge of a substitute person in charge of a post-process work on the workflow to request substitute processing of an electronic document.

Processing deadline given to agent in the case of proxy processing By the way, in order to facilitate the processing of an electronic document by a workflow, each business operator on the workflow usually gives a processing deadline to process the electronic document. (The number of processing days and the processing deadline) are set, and each business operator must process the electronic document within the set processing deadline. Therefore, even when requesting processing of an electronic document by a substitute person in place of a business person in the workflow, it is necessary to give the substitute person a processing deadline (number of processing days and a processing deadline date). In particular, in the first embodiment, when there is no agent in charge who has received a request for processing an electronic document, a process for requesting another agent in charge of the agent to process the electronic document is performed. Therefore, it is necessary to set a processing time limit as a criterion of whether or not to perform the processing proxy request.

Therefore, in the first embodiment, the processing deadline of the agent in charge is set based on the route leading to the request of the agent for processing. Here, the first
The route in the case of the proxy request by the proxy request process is a transfer proxy process route, the route in the case of the proxy request by the second proxy request process is the direct proxy process route, and the route in the case where the proxy process is not performed is the normal process route. Is defined.

FIG. 16 is an explanatory diagram for explaining a transfer proxy processing route, a direct proxy processing route, and a normal processing route. The normal processing route in FIG. 16 is a route in which the electronic document flows in the order of the business person A, the business person B, and the business person C on the workflow. In FIG. 16, the agent in charge a and the agent in charge b correspond to the agent in charge of the business operator B on the workflow.

For example, the transfer agent processing route (the agent request by the first agent request process) is such that the person in charge of business A once requests the person in charge of business B to process an electronic document, and after a predetermined period has elapsed, the person in charge of agent This is a route in which the person a is requested to process the electronic document, and then the agent a requests the business person C to process the electronic document. Therefore, a considerable amount of time has elapsed from the completion of the processing of the electronic document by the business operator A on the workflow to the request of the agent in charge of processing the electronic document. In addition, if a marginal processing time is given to the agent in charge a, a further time elapses before the business operator C on the workflow is requested to process the electronic document, causing a delay in the processing of the electronic document. Becomes For this reason, in the case of the transfer agent processing route, a processing term shorter than at least the processing term given to the business operator B on the workflow is given to the agency operator a. More preferably, if the substitution request is made before the processing time limit given to the business operator B on the workflow elapses, the remaining processing time limit before the elapse is given as the processing time limit of the agent person a. I will.

Further, the direct agency processing route (the agency request by the second agency request process) can be executed by, for example, the operator A, the agent b, and the operator C without the intervention of the operator B on the workflow. This is the route through which the electronic document flows in the following order. Therefore, even if the agent b in place of the agent B processes the electronic document, the agent B does not have any relation to this processing, and the direct agent processing route is substantially the same as the normal processing route. It can be said that this is the same processing route. Therefore, in the case of the direct proxy processing route, the same processing deadline as the processing deadline given to the business operator B on the workflow is given to the proxy operator b.

As described above, the processing deadline given to the agent in charge has been described with reference to FIG. 16. However, in the case where it is not necessary to consider the delay in the processing of the entire workflow due to the request for the agent in charge of the agent. Can assign the same processing time limit as the processing time limit given to the business person in charge of the work flow to be substituted as the processing time limit of the agent person in charge.

Display Example of Received E-mail FIG. 17 shows a state in which e-mails are displayed in a list on the client so that the proxy processing route can be understood when the proxy request processing is distinguished as the transfer proxy processing route and the direct proxy processing route. FIG. As shown in FIG. 17, an electronic mail including “replacement” in the bibliographic information is a processing request as an agent in charge of the transfer agent processing route,
Is a processing request as an agent in charge of the direct proxy processing route, and an email without "substitute" and "direct" is a processing request of an electronic document by the normal route.

As described above, in the case of the transfer agent processing route, since the processing deadline given to the agent in charge is short, when the e-mail displaying “substitute” is received, the e-mail must be opened. No, it is possible to know that it is an emergency process. In other words, the recipient of the e-mail indicates from the display “substitute” that the request is a proxy process request, the route of the proxy request (the transfer proxy process route), and the urgency of the process (the transfer proxy process route). Emergency processing).

On the other hand, in the case of the direct agent processing route, the agent in charge is given the same processing time limit as the operator in the workflow, so that the agent knows that the processing is normal processing without opening an e-mail. be able to. In other words, the recipient of the e-mail will see
It is possible to know that it is a proxy processing request, the route of the proxy request (being a direct proxy processing route), and the urgency of the process (normal processing because it is a direct proxy processing route).

Here, an outline of a method of displaying the above “replacement” and “replacement” in the bibliographic information of an electronic mail will be described. When generating an e-mail requesting a substitute person to process an electronic document, the system adds “replacement” to the bibliographic information of the e-mail if the process being executed is the first substitute request process. . On the other hand, if the process being executed is the second proxy request process, “direct” is added to the bibliographic information of the e-mail. And if the list display of the e-mail is specified,
The system combines “substitute” or “direct” with the bibliographic information of the e-mail and displays it on the screen.

FIG. 18 shows a state in which electronic mail is displayed on the client in a list so that it is possible to determine whether or not a proxy process is a proxy process without distinguishing the proxy request process as a transfer proxy process route and a direct proxy process route. FIG. As described above, since the display of "substitute" is displayed on the screen together with the bibliographic information of the e-mail, the recipient of the e-mail can easily understand that the request is for the proxy processing. In addition, since the display method of "representation" which means a substitute request is the same as the case of displaying "replacement" and "replacement",
Here, the description is omitted.

It is to be noted that emergency processing may be set only for a specific electronic document regardless of the transfer proxy processing route or the direct proxy processing route. A display indicating emergency processing can be made in the bibliographic information. Further, the display of the proxy processing route and the like is not limited to those shown in FIGS. 17 and 18, but may be detailed expressions such as “proxy transfer” and “direct proxy”, or a figure or decoration such as an original icon. Thus, the proxy processing route and the like may be expressed in the bibliographic information of the electronic mail.

Absence Release Processing In the transfer proxy processing route (first proxy request processing),
If the processing of an electronic document is requested to an agent in charge of a person in charge of the workflow, a processing prohibition setting is made so that the person in charge of the workflow cannot perform processing based on the corresponding electronic document (Fig. Step S of 10
1005 and step S1203 in FIG. 12). If a business person in the workflow attempts to process an electronic document for which processing prohibition has been set, that is, if an attempt is made to open an e-mail requesting processing of the electronic document and perform the processing, the system For example, a message as shown in FIG. 19 is displayed.

FIG. 19 is an explanatory diagram showing a message displayed when a business person in the workflow attempts to perform processing on an electronic document for which processing is prohibited. The message shown in FIG. 19 indicates that the agent is in charge of processing, and that when the business person processes an electronic document for which prohibition of processing has been set, it is necessary to perform an absence release process. It is shown. Here, the absence cancellation processing is performed by setting a processing prohibition setting so that, for example, when the business person returns from the absence state, the agent person in charge can perform the processing of the electronic document for which the substitution person is requested to perform the substitution. Is a process for canceling.

Here, a message as shown in FIG. 19 is displayed when a business person in the workflow tries to perform processing on an electronic document for which processing prohibition has been set. Instead, as shown in FIGS. 17 and 18, the processing prohibition setting is performed in the bibliographic information of the e-mail for requesting the processing of the electronic document received before the processing prohibition setting is performed. May be added and displayed.

FIG. 20 is a flowchart showing the absence cancellation processing (processing inhibition setting cancellation processing). This absence release processing is performed when the business person in the workflow selects the start command of the absence absence processing from a prepared menu, or the absence registration processing of the absence information shown in FIG. 8 (S804).
Is started when is executed. When the absence cancellation process is started, the system determines whether or not the process of the agent in charge has been completed for each electronic document that has requested the agent in charge of the agent's process (S2001).

If it is determined in step S2001 that the processing of the agent in charge has been completed, the system proceeds to step S2004. On the other hand, if it is determined that the processing of the agent in charge has not been completed, the system performs processing for canceling the processing prohibition setting of the operator in the workflow set in the corresponding electronic document (S2002).

After the processing prohibition setting of the business person in charge in the workflow is released in step S2002, the system makes the processing prohibition setting to prevent the agent in charge from performing the processing on the corresponding electronic document ( S20
03). Note that in step S2003, the system can send an e-mail to the agent in charge of performing the process by the operator in the workflow to notify that the agent process has been prohibited.

Then, the system performs steps S2001 to S200 for all the electronic documents requested to be processed by the agent in charge.
It is determined whether the process of S2003 has been executed (S20
04). If it is determined in step S2004 that processing has been performed on all electronic documents, the system ends the absence cancellation processing, and if it is determined that processing has not been performed on all electronic documents, the system proceeds to step S20.
Returning to 01, the processing is continued.

After the absence cancellation processing shown in FIG. 20 is completed, the system gives the business person (agent) on the workflow that has performed the absence cancellation processing a processing based on the electronic document whose processing inhibition setting has been canceled. Create and send an e-mail requesting. In this case, the processing of the electronic document by the business operator (agent in charge) on the workflow that has performed the absence cancellation process is treated as agent processing.

In the case of the direct proxy processing route (second proxy request processing), the system does not execute the processing for setting the processing prohibition (see FIG. 15). This is because the processing of the electronic document is directly requested to the agent in charge of the proxy processing without passing through the person in charge in the workflow. Even in this case, when the absence registration of the business person in the workflow is released, the process described above with reference to FIG. 20 (of course, the process of step S2002 is not performed) is performed, and the absence registration is performed. It is also possible to have a business clerk in the workflow who has canceled the process perform the processing of an electronic document for which the processing of the proxy clerk is not completed. If your agent has an incomplete electronic document,
The system generates and transmits an e-mail for requesting a person in charge on the workflow to process the electronic document. In this case, the operation of the business
It is treated as a proxy process on behalf of the agent in charge.

On the other hand, even if the absence information of the business person on the workflow is released and there is an electronic document for which processing by the agent person has not been completed, the system does Alternatively, it may be configured not to request the business person in charge of the workflow whose information has been canceled to process an electronic document that has not been processed by the agent in charge. Even if the processing on the system is not completed, the substantial processing work by the agent in charge is progressing, and if the processing is changed on the way, the efficiency may decrease. In consideration of such a situation, it is also possible to support the system such that the person in charge of the business or the agent in charge is ultimately assigned by exchanging by e-mail or the like. By doing so, the processing of the electronic document can be speeded up. Further, even if there is an electronic document for which processing by the agent in charge has not been completed, it may be determined whether or not to make a request based on comparison with the remaining days of the processing deadline.

(5) Effects of First Embodiment As described above, according to the electronic document processing management system and method in the workflow support system according to the first embodiment, an electronic document on the workflow is generated due to the absence of a business person. Even if it is not possible to process an electronic document that flows through the route, the system side has requested an agent in place of the business person to process the electronic document, facilitating the smooth processing of the electronic document. can do.

Further, by requesting a substitute person in charge of the business person on the system side to process the electronic document, the business person in the workflow and the system administrator need to monitor and manage the flow of the electronic document. Therefore, the labor required for managing the workflow can be reduced.

[Embodiment 2] Next, an electronic document processing management system and method in a workflow support system according to Embodiment 2 will be described. In addition,
In the second embodiment, description of points common to the first embodiment will be omitted, and only different points will be described.

The second embodiment differs from the first embodiment in the method of setting the agent in charge. FIG. 21 is an explanatory diagram for explaining a method of setting the agent in charge. Person relation information in an arbitrary group including a person in charge of work on a workflow, specifically, information on members belonging to an arbitrary group It shows the hierarchical relationship information based on the position.

In the second embodiment, the system refers to the hierarchical relationship information in the group shown in FIG. 21 when the business person on the workflow cannot process the electronic document due to the absence, for example. The boss of the person as the agent in charge and request the agent to perform the process. For example, in FIG.
In the case of Mr., the chief C is selected as the agent in charge.

As described above, in the second embodiment, the agent can be automatically set on the system side, so that the process of setting the agent described in the first embodiment is unnecessary. Can be. In addition, since the system automatically sets the agent in charge, it is possible to omit the process of determining whether the agent is set when requesting the agent to process the electronic document. .

Since an organization name and a post are registered in the address book 600 shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, the system can easily and automatically use the address book 600 in FIG. Can be generated. By storing the generated hierarchical relationship information in a predetermined database, the system can easily call and use the information.

[Embodiment 3] Further, an electronic document processing management system and method in a workflow support system according to Embodiment 3 will be described. In addition,
In the third embodiment, description of points common to the systems of the first and second embodiments is omitted,
Only the differences will be described. In setting the agent in charge, any of the manual setting described in the first embodiment and the automatic setting using the vertical relation information described in the second embodiment may be used.

The third embodiment differs from the first and second embodiments in that it is possible to determine that a business person in the workflow is absent without using absence information. FIG. 22 is a flowchart showing processing completion confirmation processing of an electronic document. FIG. 22 corresponds to FIGS. 9, 10 and 12 described in the first embodiment.

First, the system refers to the electronic documents in the database (for example, the invention report creation DB 116) and determines whether or not the processing for each electronic document has been completed (S2201).

If it is determined in step S2201 that the processing has been completed, the system ends the processing completion confirmation processing for the corresponding electronic document. On the other hand, if it is determined in step S2201 that the processing has not been completed, the system determines whether or not the processing deadline of the business person in charge set in the corresponding electronic document has elapsed (step S2201).
2202).

If it is determined in step S2202 that the processing time limit has not elapsed, the system ends the processing completion confirmation processing for the corresponding electronic document. On the other hand, if it is determined in step S2202 that the processing time limit has elapsed, the system determines whether the e-mail requesting the business person in charge of the workflow to process the electronic document has been opened. Is determined (S220
3).

If it is determined in step S2203 that the e-mail has been opened, the system transmits an e-mail urging the business person in charge of the workflow to process the electronic document (S2207). In step S2207, even though the processing time limit has elapsed, the agency manager was not requested to perform the agency process because
This is because the fact that the e-mail for which the processing was requested has been opened is considered that there is no business person in charge in the workflow. After the processing in step S2207 ends, the system proceeds to step S2206.

On the other hand, if it is determined in step S2203 that the e-mail has not been opened, the system
A request is made to a substitute person in place of the business person in the workflow for processing the electronic document (S2204). Since the e-mail has not been opened, there is a high possibility that the business person in charge is absent, so a request is made to the agent in charge to process the electronic document. However, it is also conceivable that the e-mail has not been opened even though the business person is not absent. In such a case, it is considered that even if the e-mail for the reminder is transmitted, the e-mail is not opened in the same manner, so that the agent in charge is requested to process the electronic document.

After requesting the agent to process the electronic document, the system sets a processing prohibition so that the business operator on the workflow cannot process the corresponding electronic document (S2205).

Then, the system determines whether or not the processing completion confirmation processing has been executed for all the electronic documents in the database (S2206). If the processing has been executed for all the electronic documents, the processing completion confirmation processing is executed. If the processing has not been executed for all the electronic documents, the process returns to step S2201 to continue the processing.

As described above, according to the electronic document processing management system and method in the workflow support system according to the second embodiment, it is determined whether or not the e-mail requesting the processing of the electronic document has been opened. Since it is determined whether or not the above-mentioned business person is absent, it is possible to prevent an unnecessary person from being requested to perform a substitute process.

In Embodiments 1 to 3 described above, by setting an agent in charge of a business person in charge of a workflow as a supervisor of the business person in charge, even if the business person is not absent, he or she can A problem such as not processing an electronic document to be performed can be found. That is, by setting in this way, it is also possible to provide information for instructing subordinates under the responsibility of the boss.

Also, depending on the contents of the electronic document requested to be processed, it may not be appropriate for a person who has been requested to process an electronic document as a proxy to perform the processing as a proxy. Conceivable. In such a case, a person who is requested to perform processing as an agent in charge can request the person in charge who should perform the processing to process the electronic document or request another agent to perform processing. You may do it.

The above-described electronic document processing management method in the workflow support systems according to the first to third embodiments is realized by executing a prepared program on a computer in accordance with the procedure of the flowchart shown in each figure. You. This program includes hard disk, floppy disk, CD-ROM, MO, DVD
The program can be executed by being recorded on a computer-readable recording medium, such as, and read out from the recording medium by a computer. This program also
It can be distributed via the recording medium or via a network.

[0182]

As described above, according to the electronic document processing management system (claim 1) in the workflow support system of the present invention, an electronic document by a regular person in charge is replaced by a regular person in charge of a workflow. First agent setting means for setting at least one agent in charge of document processing, and a predetermined process for an electronic document which is requested to be processed by an authorized person in the workflow A first determining means for determining at a predetermined timing whether or not the processing has been completed within the time limit; and a first determining means for determining whether the processing of the electronic document has not been completed within the processing time limit by the first determining means. A first mail transmission means for generating and transmitting an e-mail for requesting a substitute person in charge of the relevant person to process the corresponding electronic document. Even if the authorized person on the workflow cannot process the electronic document flowing through the electronic route on the workflow due to absence, etc., the system side will process the electronic document to the agent in place of the authorized person. , The smooth processing of the electronic document can be promoted. In addition, the system side has decided to request the agent in charge of processing the electronic document on behalf of the authorized person in the workflow, eliminating the need to monitor and manage the flow of the electronic document. Reduction can be achieved.

Further, according to the electronic document processing management system in the workflow support system of the present invention (claim 2), the electronic document processing is performed by the authorized person on behalf of the authorized person in the workflow. First agent setting means for setting at least one agent, and determining whether an e-mail sent to a legitimate person in the workflow has been opened within a preset processing time limit Requesting an agent in place of an authorized person to process an electronic document corresponding to the corresponding e-mail when it is determined that the e-mail has not been opened E-mail generating means for generating and transmitting an e-mail for determining whether or not an authorized person is present when the e-mail is opened / unopened. For the, it is possible to prevent the call for processing of the electronic document to recklessly agency personnel.

Further, according to the electronic document processing management system in the workflow support system of the present invention (claim 3), the group information defining the personal relationship in an arbitrary group including a legitimate person in the workflow is stored. A determination is made at a predetermined timing as to whether the processing is completed within a preset processing time limit on the stored storage unit and whether or not the electronic document requested to be processed by an authorized person in the workflow is processed. Means, when the determination means determines that the processing of the electronic document is not completed within the processing time limit, sets a substitute agent in place of a regular person in charge based on the group information, and sets the substitute agent in charge. On the other hand, there is provided a mail transmitting means for generating and transmitting an electronic mail for requesting processing of the corresponding electronic document. It is possible to eliminate the need to configure the agency personnel alternative to the person in charge.

Further, according to the electronic document processing management system in the workflow support system of the present invention (claim 4), the group information defining the personal relationship in an arbitrary group including a legitimate person in the workflow is stored. The storage means that stores the information, an open determination unit that determines whether an e-mail transmitted to a legitimate person in the workflow has been opened within a preset processing time limit, and an e-mail If it is determined that the document has not been opened, a substitute agent is set based on the group information in place of the authorized person, and the designated agent is requested to process the electronic document corresponding to the corresponding e-mail. And a mail transmission means for generating and transmitting an e-mail for performing the above-described processing, in addition to the effect of the invention according to claim 2, an agent in place of an authorized person It is possible to eliminate the need to set.

According to the electronic document processing management system in the workflow supporting system of the present invention (claim 5), the electronic document processing managing system in the workflow supporting system according to claim 1 or 2 further comprises A second agent setting means is provided for setting at least one other agent in charge of the processing of the electronic document by the agent in place of the agent, so that the agent is not available. However, the system can request another agent in place of the agent to process the electronic document.

According to the electronic document processing management system in the workflow support system of the present invention (claim 6), the electronic document processing management system in the workflow support system according to claim 1, 2, or 5 is further provided. In the case where a plurality of agents are set, the agent is provided with an agent order setting means for setting an agent order which determines which of the plurality of agents is requested to process the electronic document. Even in this case, the processing of the electronic document can be easily and easily requested to another agent in place of the agent.

According to the electronic document processing management system in the workflow supporting system of the present invention (claim 7), the electronic document processing managing system in the workflow supporting system according to claim 1 or 5 further comprises: Information registration means for registering absence information when the person in charge or the agent in charge cannot process the electronic document due to absence, and the absence information and processing deadline registered by the absence information registration means. Second determining means for determining, at a predetermined timing, whether or not to request the substitute person in charge of the regular person or another substitute person in place of the substitute person to process the electronic document, based on the absence information, And determining processing control means for switching from the first determining means to the determining processing by the second determining means when the absence information is registered by the registering means. In the event that it is clear that a legitimate person or agent is absent, the electronic document can be promptly processed by an agent in place of the authorized person or another agent in place of the agent. You can ask.

According to the electronic document processing management system in the workflow support system of the present invention (claim 8), in the electronic document processing management system in the workflow support system according to claim 7, the absence information can be specified as normal. To include the absence and start dates of the period during which the person or agent on behalf will be absent,
It is easy to identify the period during which a regular or agent is absent.

According to the electronic document processing management system in the workflow support system of the present invention, the second determination means is provided in the electronic document processing management system in the workflow support system according to the eighth aspect. However, if the processing deadline elapses during the absence period, it is determined that the electronic document is requested to be processed by an agent in charge of the authorized person or another agent in charge of the agent in charge of the electronic document. Before the processing deadline for processing the document elapses, the electronic document can be processed by a substitute on behalf of the authorized person or another substitute on behalf of the substitute, so that the electronic document can be processed. Can be accelerated.

According to the electronic document processing management system in the workflow support system of the present invention (claim 10), the electronic document processing management system in the workflow support system according to any one of claims 1 to 9 is provided. In addition, when the processing of the electronic document is requested to an agent in charge of the authorized person or another agent in place of the agent in charge, the authorized person or the agent in charge is Equipped with a processing prohibition setting unit that sets processing prohibition for the corresponding electronic document so that processing of the document cannot be performed, preventing the occurrence of a situation where the same electronic document is subjected to duplicate processing. can do.

According to the electronic document processing management system in the workflow support system of the present invention (claim 11), the electronic document processing management system in the workflow support system according to any one of claims 7 to 10 is provided. , Further comprising an absence information canceling unit for canceling the registration of the absence information, wherein the determination processing control unit performs the first determination from the second determination unit when the registration of the absence information is canceled by the absence information cancellation unit. Since the process is switched to the determination process by the means, when it is possible to return to the business earlier than expected, it is possible to quickly return to the normal process.

According to the electronic document processing management system of the workflow support system of the present invention, the absence of absence information is further provided in the electronic document processing management system of the workflow support system of claim 11. If the registration is canceled and the processing of the electronic document requested to be processed by the agent in place of the authorized person or another agent in place of the agent in the process of registering the absence information is not completed, If the processing prohibition setting is released, the processing prohibition setting release means releases the processing prohibition setting so that the person in charge or the agent in charge can process the corresponding electronic document. To
In order to prevent the agent in charge of the authorized person or another agent in charge of the agent in charge from processing the corresponding electronic document, the processing must be disabled for the relevant electronic document. If the authorized person or agent in charge who should have been able to process the electronic document can process the electronic document as much as possible, a request for processing was requested. The burden on the agent can be reduced. Further, by prohibiting the processing of the electronic document by the agent in charge of the processing substitution, it is possible to prevent the occurrence of a situation in which the same electronic document is subjected to duplicate processing.

According to the electronic document processing management system in the workflow support system of the present invention (claim 13), the electronic document processing management system in the workflow support system according to claim 7 or 11 further comprises: A second mail transmitting means for generating an e-mail for requesting the processing of an electronic document and sending it to a legitimate person when requesting the person in charge of processing the electronic document, and the absence of the legitimate person in charge If the information is registered,
A third evaluator configured to determine whether or not to request a substitute person in charge of the authorized person to process the electronic document based on the absence information and the processing time limit; When the third determination unit determines that the substitute person in charge of the authorized person is required to process the electronic document, an electronic mail for requesting the substitute person to process the corresponding electronic document is generated. If you are certain that a legitimate person will not be able to process the electronic document due to absence, you can request a substitute person to process the electronic document directly without going through the legitimate person. Therefore, the efficiency and speed of electronic document processing can be improved.

Further, according to the electronic document processing management system in the workflow support system of the present invention, the absence information can be specified in the electronic document processing management system in the workflow supporting system. This includes the absence date consisting of the start date and the end date of the period in which the person in charge or the agent in charge is absent, so that the period in which the authorized person or agent is absent can be easily specified.

According to the electronic document processing management system in the workflow support system of the present invention, the third determination means is provided in the electronic document processing management system in the workflow supporting system according to the fourteenth aspect. If the processing deadline elapses during the absence period,
By deciding to request a substitute person in charge of the authorized person to process the electronic document, the substitute person in charge of the authorized person or the substitute person can be notified before the processing deadline for processing the electronic document elapses. Since it is possible to request another substitute person in charge to process the electronic document, it is possible to speed up the processing of the electronic document.

Further, according to the electronic document processing management system in the workflow support system of the present invention, the electronic document processing management system in the workflow support system according to any one of claims 13 to 15 is provided. In addition, if the registration of the absence information of the legitimate person in charge is canceled and the processing of the electronic document requested by a substitute person in place of the legitimate person is not completed, the legitimate person in charge Providing a third mail sending means for generating and sending an e-mail for requesting the processing of the document, so that the processing of the electronic document which can be processed when the authorized person returns to the job can be processed as the original processing Since the request was made to a legitimate person who should have done so, the burden on the agent person in charge can be reduced.

According to the electronic document processing management system in the workflow support system of the present invention (claim 17), the electronic document processing management system in the workflow support system according to any one of claims 13 to 15, is provided. In addition, even if the registration of the absence information of the authorized person is cancelled, and the processing of the electronic document requested to be processed by the agent in place of the authorized person is not completed, the processing time limit Process control means to control not to request a legitimate person to process the electronic document corresponding to the legitimate person, so that the process can be returned to the legitimate person It is possible to speed up the processing of the electronic document by causing the agent in charge of the person in charge to continue to process the electronic document. In other words, if the processing of an electronic document that was once requested to a substitute is requested to a legitimate person who has returned to work, extra processing time will be generated. Can be prevented.

Further, according to the electronic document processing management system in the workflow supporting system of the present invention, the electronic document processing management system in the workflow supporting system according to the second or fourth aspect of the present invention,
Furthermore, even if the electronic document corresponding to the e-mail determined to be opened by the opening judgment means has not been processed within the processing time limit, a substitute agent or agent in place of a regular person A processing control means is provided to control the substitute agent not to request the processing of the corresponding electronic document, so that when the e-mail is opened, it is determined that the authorized person is not absent. ,
Unnecessarily requesting the agent to process the electronic document can be prevented.

According to the electronic document processing management system in the workflow supporting system of the present invention, the electronic document processing management system in the workflow supporting system according to claim 3 or
The group information defines the hierarchical relationship between the members in the group, and the e-mail sending means sets the manager in charge of the legitimate person as the substitute person when generating and sending the e-mail. Can easily set the agent in charge, and it is not necessary to set the agent in advance.

According to the electronic document processing management system in the workflow support system of the present invention (claim 20), the electronic document in the workflow support system according to any one of claims 1 to 4, 13 and 16 is provided. The processing management system further includes information adding means for adding proxy processing information indicating a proxy processing request to an e-mail for requesting the proxy to process the electronic document. Can easily recognize that it is the proxy processing of the electronic document, and the proxy processing of the electronic document can be reliably performed.

According to the electronic document processing management system in the workflow supporting system of the present invention, the electronic document processing management system in the workflow supporting system according to claim 10 or 12 further comprises: Prohibition information display means for displaying processing prohibition information indicating that processing of the corresponding electronic document is prohibited when attempting to process an electronic document for which processing prohibition has been set by the prohibition setting means, The authorized person or agent in charge who has returned to work can easily recognize that the person in charge of the processing of the electronic document requested by him / her has been requested by the agent, and Therefore, it is possible to prevent occurrence of a situation in which redundant processing is performed.

According to the electronic document processing management system in the workflow support system of the present invention (claim 22), the electronic document in the workflow support system according to any one of claims 1 to 4, 13 and 16 is provided. In the processing management system of the above, further, when the processing of the electronic document is requested by a representative in place of the authorized person,
Since a processing time limit setting unit is provided to set the same time limit as the processing time limit given to the authorized person as the processing time limit of the corresponding electronic document, the time limit required for the agent in charge to complete the processing is appropriately set. In addition to this, it is possible to facilitate the process of setting the processing time limit for the agent in charge.

According to the electronic document processing management system in the workflow support system of the present invention (claim 23), the electronic document processing management system in the workflow support system according to claim 1 further comprises:
When an electronic document sent from the first mail transmitting means is requested to process an electronic document by a substitute person in charge of the authorized person, the electronic mail is sent to the corresponding person in charge of a shorter time limit than the processing time limit given to the authorized person. Equipped with a processing time limit setting unit that sets the processing time of the document, so that even if the processing of the electronic document is requested to the agent in charge via the authorized person, the processing of the electronic document can be speeded up. Can be planned.

According to the electronic document processing management system in the workflow support system of the present invention (claim 24), the electronic document processing management system in the workflow support system according to claim 13 is further provided with: When an electronic document sent from an e-mail transmission unit is requested to be processed by an agent in charge of the authorized person in place of the authorized person, the same deadline as the processing time given to the authorized person is assigned to the electronic document. Since the processing time limit setting means for setting the processing time limit is provided, an appropriate processing time can be given to the agent in charge. That is, since the processing of the electronic document is requested to the agent in charge without going through the authorized person, it is desirable to give the agent the same processing time as the processing time of the authorized person.

According to the electronic document processing management system in the workflow support system of the present invention (claim 25), in the electronic document processing management system in the workflow support system according to claim 1, the first mail transmission is performed. When generating the e-mail, the means generates, on the basis of the bibliographic information of the e-mail, the proxy processing information indicating the proxy processing request, the process leading to the request for the proxy processing, and the urgency information indicating the urgency of the processing. Receiving the e-mail transmitted from the first e-mail transmitting means, combining the bibliographic information of the received e-mail with the proxy processing information and the urgency information, and displaying the screen on the screen. Has a notification means for notifying that it is a proxy processing request and the urgency of the processing, so that the agent in charge can easily determine what processing should be performed. It is possible to identify.

According to the electronic document processing management system in the workflow support system of the present invention, the second mail transmission is performed in the electronic document processing management system in the workflow support system according to the thirteenth aspect. Means, when generating an e-mail for requesting a substitute agent on behalf of a regular person to process an electronic document, a substitute process indicating that the request is a substitute process request and the circumstances that led to the request for the substitute process Adding the information to the bibliographic information of the e-mail, further receiving the e-mail transmitted from the second mail transmitting means, synthesizing the proxy processing information with the bibliographic information of the received e-mail, and displaying it on a screen; A notification means is provided to notify the agent in charge of the request for agency processing, so that the agent can easily recognize what kind of processing should be performed. Can.

Further, according to the electronic document processing management method in the workflow support system of the present invention (claim 27), instead of a regular person in the workflow, processing of the electronic document by the regular person is performed. A first agent setting step for setting at least one agent;
A first determination step of determining, at a predetermined timing, whether or not processing has been completed within a predetermined processing time limit for an electronic document whose processing has been requested by a legitimate person in the workflow; If it is determined in the first determination step that the processing of the electronic document has not been completed within the processing time limit, an electronic mail for requesting a substitute person in place of a regular person in charge to process the corresponding electronic document. And a first mail transmission step of generating and transmitting a mail, in which case an authorized person in the workflow cannot process an electronic document flowing through the electronic route in the workflow due to absence or the like. However, the system can request a substitute person in charge of the electronic document to process the electronic document, thereby facilitating the smooth processing of the electronic document.
In addition, the system side has decided to request the agent in charge of processing the electronic document on behalf of the authorized person in the workflow, eliminating the need to monitor and manage the flow of the electronic document. Reduction can be achieved.

Further, according to the electronic document processing management method in the workflow support system of the present invention (claim 28), the electronic document processing is performed by the authorized person on behalf of the authorized person in the workflow. A first agent setting step for setting at least one agent;
An opening judgment step for determining whether an e-mail sent to a legitimate person in the workflow has been opened within a preset processing time limit, and a judgment that the e-mail has not been opened in the opening judgment step And a mail transmission step of generating and sending an e-mail for requesting processing of an electronic document corresponding to the pertinent e-mail to a substitute person in place of a legitimate person when Since it is determined whether an authorized person is absent when the electronic mail is opened or unopened, it is possible to prevent an unnecessary person from requesting the agent to process the electronic document.

Further, according to the electronic document processing management method in the workflow support system of the present invention (claim 29), an electronic document for which processing is requested to an authorized person in the workflow is set in advance. At a predetermined timing to determine whether or not the processing has been completed within the processing deadline. If the determination step determines that the processing of the electronic document has not been completed within the processing deadline, Based on the group information that defines the personal relationship within an arbitrary group including the authorized person, an agent in place of the authorized person is set, and the designated agent is processed for the corresponding electronic document. And a mail transmission step of generating and transmitting an e-mail for requesting. In addition to the effect of the invention according to claim 27, an agent in place of a regular person is set. It is possible to eliminate the need.

Further, according to the electronic document processing management method in the workflow support system of the present invention (claim 30), the electronic mail transmitted to the authorized person in the workflow is set within the preset processing time limit. In the opening judgment step of determining whether or not the e-mail has been opened, if the e-mail has not been opened in the opening judgment step, the personal relationship within an arbitrary group including a legitimate person in the workflow is determined. Based on the specified group information, set a substitute agent in place of the authorized person, and for the set agent,
A mail transmission step of generating and transmitting an electronic mail for requesting processing of an electronic document corresponding to the relevant electronic mail, in addition to the effect of the invention according to claim 28,
This eliminates the need to set a substitute person in place of a regular person.

According to the electronic document processing management method in the workflow support system of the present invention (claim 31), the electronic document processing management method in the workflow support system according to claim 27 or 28 further comprises The method includes a second agent setting process for setting at least one other agent in charge of processing of the electronic document by the agent in place of the agent, so that the agent is not available. However, the system can request another agent in place of the agent to process the electronic document.

According to the electronic document processing management method in the workflow support system of the present invention (claim 32), the electronic document processing management method in the workflow support system according to claim 27, 28 or 31 is further provided. In the case where a plurality of agents are set, an agency order setting step of setting an agency order that determines which of the plurality of agents is requested to process the electronic document is included.
Even when the agent in charge is absent, it is possible to easily and easily request another agent in charge of processing of the electronic document in place of the agent in charge.

According to the electronic document processing management method in the workflow support system of the present invention (claim 33), the electronic document processing management method in the workflow support system according to claim 27 or 31, further comprises The absence information registration step for registering absence information when the person in charge or the agent in charge cannot process the electronic document due to absence, and the absence information and processing deadline registered in the absence information registration step A second determination step of determining, at a predetermined timing, whether to request a substitute person in place of a regular person or another person in charge of the substitute person to process the electronic document based on the absence information; A determination processing control step of switching from the first determination step to the determination processing by the second determination step when the absence information is registered in the registration step. As a result, if it is clear that the authorized person or agent is absent, the electronic document is promptly processed by an agent in place of the authorized person or another agent in place of the agent. can do.

According to the electronic document processing management method in the workflow support system according to the present invention (claim 34), in the electronic document processing management method in the workflow support system according to claim 33, the absence information is determined to be a valid absence information. This includes the absence date consisting of the start date and the end date of the period in which the person in charge or the agent in charge is absent, so that the period in which the authorized person or agent is absent can be easily specified.

According to the electronic document processing management method in the workflow support system of the present invention (claim 35), in the electronic document processing management method in the workflow support system according to claim 34, the second determination step is performed. However, if the processing deadline elapses during the absence period, it is determined that the electronic document is requested to be processed by an agent in charge of the authorized person or another agent in charge of the agent in charge of the electronic document. Before the processing deadline for processing the document elapses, the electronic document can be processed by a substitute on behalf of the authorized person or another substitute on behalf of the substitute, so that the electronic document can be processed. Can be accelerated.

According to the electronic document processing management method in the workflow support system of the present invention (claim 36), the electronic document processing management method in the workflow support system according to any one of claims 27 to 35. In addition, when the processing of the electronic document is requested to an agent in charge of the authorized person or another agent in place of the agent in charge, the authorized person or the agent in charge is Includes a process prohibition setting step that sets a process prohibition setting for the corresponding electronic document so that processing of the document cannot be performed. This prevents the occurrence of a situation in which the same electronic document is subjected to duplicate processing. can do.

According to the method for managing electronic documents in the workflow support system of the present invention (claim 37), the method for managing electronic documents in the workflow support system according to any one of claims 33 to 36. , Further includes an absence information canceling step of canceling the registration of the absence information, wherein the determination processing control step includes the step of performing the first determination from the second determination step when the registration of the absence information is canceled in the absence information cancellation step. If you can return to work earlier than expected because you switch to the judgment process by process,
It is possible to quickly return to normal processing.

According to the electronic document processing management method in the workflow support system of the present invention (claim 38), in the electronic document processing management method in the workflow support system according to claim 37, further, the absence information If the registration is canceled and the processing of the electronic document requested to be processed by the agent in place of the authorized person or another agent in place of the agent in the process of registering the absence information is not completed, If the processing prohibition setting step is released, the processing prohibition setting step is released so that the person in charge or the agent in charge can process the corresponding electronic document. In order to prevent an authorized representative on behalf of the authorized representative or another representative on behalf of the authorized representative from processing the electronic document, If the authorized person or agent in charge who should originally process the electronic document can process the electronic document by setting the processing prohibition for the electronic document, the electronic document is processed to the extent possible. Therefore, the burden on the agent in charge of the processing substitution can be reduced. Further, by prohibiting the processing of the electronic document by the agent in charge of the processing substitution, it is possible to prevent the occurrence of a situation in which the same electronic document is subjected to duplicate processing.

According to the electronic document processing management method in the workflow support system of the present invention (claim 39), the electronic document processing management method in the workflow support system according to claim 33 or 37, further comprises: When requesting a person in charge to process electronic documents,
A second e-mail sending step of generating an e-mail for requesting the processing of the electronic document and transmitting the e-mail to a legitimate person in charge; A third determining step of determining whether or not to request a substitute person in charge of the authorized person to process the electronic document based on the third step. If it is determined that a substitute person in charge of the authorized person in charge of processing the electronic document is requested, generate and send an e-mail to the agent person in charge of requesting the corresponding electronic document to be processed. Therefore, when it is certain that the authorized person cannot process the electronic document due to the absence, it is possible to directly request the electronic person to process the electronic document without going through the authorized person. Processing of electronic documents It is possible to improve the efficiency and speed.

According to the electronic document processing management method in the workflow support system of the present invention (claim 40), in the electronic document processing management method in the workflow support system according to claim 39, the absence information is specified as normal. This includes the absence date consisting of the start date and the end date of the period in which the person in charge or the agent in charge is absent, so that the period in which the authorized person or agent is absent can be easily specified.

According to the electronic document processing management method in the workflow support system of the present invention (claim 41), in the electronic document processing management method in the workflow support system according to claim 40, the third determination step is performed. However, when the processing time limit elapses during the absence period, by determining that the electronic document processing is requested to a substitute person in charge of the authorized person, before the processing time limit for processing the electronic document elapses, Since it is possible to request the agent in charge of the authorized person or another agent in charge of the agent in charge of the processing of the electronic document, the processing of the electronic document can be speeded up.

According to a method for managing electronic documents in a workflow support system according to the present invention (claim 42), a method for managing electronic documents in a workflow support system according to any one of claims 39 to 41 is provided. In addition, if the registration of the absence information of the legitimate person in charge is canceled and the processing of the electronic document requested by a substitute person in place of the legitimate person is not completed, the legitimate person in charge By including a third e-mail transmission step of generating and transmitting an e-mail for requesting the processing of the document, the processing of the electronic document that can be processed at the time when the authorized person returns to the job is performed as the original processing. Since the request should be made to a legitimate person in charge, the burden on the agent can be reduced.

According to a method for managing electronic documents in a workflow support system of the present invention (claim 43), a method for managing electronic documents in a workflow support system according to any one of claims 39 to 41. In addition, even if the registration of the absence information of the legitimate person in charge is cancelled, and even if the processing of the electronic document requested to be processed by a substitute person in place of the legitimate person in charge is not completed,
Including a processing control process that controls not to request the authorized person to process the electronic document corresponding to the remaining days of the processing deadline, without returning the process to the authorized person who has returned to work, It is possible to speed up the processing of the electronic document by causing the agent in charge of the authorized person to process the electronic document continuously. In other words, if the processing of an electronic document that was once requested to a substitute is requested to a legitimate person who has returned to work, extra processing time will be generated. Can be prevented.

According to the electronic document processing management method of the workflow support system of the present invention (claim 44), the electronic document processing management method of the workflow support system of claim 28 or 30 is further opened. Even if the electronic document corresponding to the e-mail determined to have been opened in the judging process has not been processed within the processing time limit, another agent in place of the authorized person or another person in place of the agent Including a processing control step that controls the agent in charge so as not to request the processing of the corresponding electronic document, if the e-mail is opened, by determining that the authorized person is not absent, Unnecessarily requesting the agent to process the electronic document can be prevented.

According to the electronic document processing management method in the workflow support system of the present invention (claim 45), in the electronic document processing management method in the workflow support system according to claim 29 or 30, the group information is , Stipulates the hierarchical relationship based on the positions of members belonging to the group, and the e-mail sending process sets the legitimate boss as the acting agent when generating and sending the e-mail, so the system side can easily An agent in charge can be set, and it is not necessary to set an agent in advance.

According to the electronic document processing management method in the workflow support system of the present invention (claim 46), the electronic document in the workflow support system according to any one of claims 27 to 30, 39 and 42 is provided. Further includes an information adding step of adding proxy processing information indicating a request for proxy processing to an e-mail for requesting the proxy to process the electronic document. Can easily recognize that it is the proxy processing of the electronic document, and the proxy processing of the electronic document can be reliably performed.

According to the electronic document processing management method in the workflow support system of the present invention (claim 47), the electronic document processing management method in the workflow support system according to claim 36 or 38 further comprises: When an attempt is made to process an electronic document for which processing prohibition has been set in the prohibition setting step, a prohibition information display step of displaying processing prohibition information indicating that processing of the corresponding electronic document is prohibited is included. The authorized person or agent in charge who has returned to work can easily recognize that the requested electronic document has been requested to be processed by the agent, and duplicate the same electronic document. It is possible to prevent occurrence of a situation in which the performed processing is performed.

According to the electronic document processing management method in the workflow support system of the present invention (claim 48), the electronic document in the workflow support system according to any one of claims 27 to 30, 39 and 42 is provided. In the processing management method of the above, further, when the processing of the electronic document is requested by a substitute person in charge of the authorized person, the processing of the electronic document corresponding to the processing time limit given to the authorized person Since the process includes a process time limit setting step for setting the time limit, the time limit required for the agent in charge to complete the process can be appropriately set, and the process for setting the process time limit for the agent can be facilitated. it can.

Further, according to the electronic document processing management method in the workflow support system of the present invention (claim 49), the electronic document processing management method in the workflow support system according to claim 27, further comprises: When an electronic document sent by the e-mail transmission process is sent to a substitute person in charge of processing an electronic document, processing of the relevant electronic document is shorter than the processing time limit given to the authorized person. Including a processing time limit setting process to set the time limit, it is possible to speed up the processing of the electronic document even if the processing of the electronic document is requested to the agent in charge via the authorized person in charge it can.

According to the electronic document processing management method in the workflow support system of the present invention (claim 50), the electronic document processing management method in the workflow support system according to claim 39, further comprises: When requesting the processing of an electronic document from a substitute person in charge of the authorized person by e-mail sent in the e-mail sending process, the same deadline given to the authorized person Since the process includes a process time limit setting step for setting the process time limit, an appropriate processing time can be given to the agent in charge. That is, since the processing of the electronic document is requested to the agent in charge without going through the authorized person, it is desirable to give the agent the same processing time as the processing time of the authorized person.

According to the electronic document processing management method in the workflow support system of the present invention (claim 51), in the electronic document processing management method in the workflow support system according to claim 27, the first mail transmission is performed. When the process generates an e-mail, the process sends proxy processing information indicating that the process is a proxy processing request, the process that led to the request for the proxy, and the urgency information indicating the urgency of the process. Receiving the e-mail transmitted in the first e-mail transmission step, combining the bibliographic information of the received e-mail with the proxy processing information and the urgency information, and displaying it on a screen. The process includes a notification process for notifying the request of the agency process and the urgency of the process, so that the agency staff can easily recognize what process should be performed. Can.

According to the electronic document processing management method in the workflow support system of the present invention (claim 52), in the electronic document processing management method in the workflow support system according to claim 39, the second mail transmission is performed. When the process generates an e-mail for requesting a substitute for the authorized person to process the electronic document, a substitute process indicating that the process is a substitute process request and the process of requesting the substitute process Adding the information to the bibliographic information of the e-mail, further receiving the e-mail transmitted in the second e-mail transmitting step, synthesizing the proxy processing information with the bibliographic information of the received e-mail, and displaying the screen; Since the process includes a notification step for notifying the agent in charge of the request for the agent process, it is possible to easily recognize what process the agent should perform.

Further, according to the computer-readable recording medium of the present invention (claim 53), claims 27 to 5 can be used.
2. A program for causing a computer to execute each step of the electronic document processing management method in the workflow support system according to any one of 2) is recorded. Even if a person cannot process an electronic document flowing through the electronic route on the workflow due to absence or the like, the system can request a substitute person in place of a regular person to process the electronic document. As a result, smooth processing of the electronic document can be promoted. In addition, since the system can request the processing of electronic documents to a representative in place of the regular person in charge of the workflow, there is no need to monitor and manage the flow of the electronic document. The labor required for management can be reduced.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram showing a schematic configuration of an application workflow support system according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing a part of a workflow supported by the application workflow support system according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of an invention notification form used in the application workflow support system according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a manual setting process of a business person in a workflow in the application workflow support system according to the first embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram for explaining a process for setting a post-process operation person in charge, taking the invention notification form shown in FIG. 3 as an example.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram for explaining a process of selecting and setting a post-process service clerk from an address book in the application workflow support system according to the first embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram for explaining a process in which a business technician in a preceding process sets a substitute technician together with a business technician in a post-process in the application workflow support system according to the first embodiment of the present invention; It is.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing a process for registering (updating) absence information or canceling registered absence information in the application workflow support system according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing processing completion confirmation processing (first proxy request processing) in the application workflow support system according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention;

FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing processing completion confirmation processing A in step S903 in FIG. 9;

FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of an e-mail for requesting a substitute person to process an electronic document in step S1004 of FIG. 10;

FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing processing completion confirmation processing B in step S904 of FIG. 9;

FIG. 13 is an explanatory diagram showing a criterion for determining whether or not an agent in charge of processing should be requested in step S1201 in FIG. 12;

FIG. 14 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of an e-mail for requesting a substitute person to process an electronic document in step S1202 in FIG.

FIG. 15 is a flow chart illustrating a process (second process) when the business person in charge of the previous process on the workflow requests the business person in charge of the subsequent process to process the electronic document in the application workflow support system according to the first embodiment of the present invention; It is a flowchart which shows a proxy request process.

FIG. 16 is an explanatory diagram for explaining a transfer proxy processing route, a direct proxy processing route, and a normal processing route in the application workflow support system according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 17 In the application workflow support system according to the first embodiment of the present invention, when a proxy request process is distinguished as a transfer proxy process route and a direct proxy process route, an e-mail is sent to the client so that the proxy process route can be understood. FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram showing a state in which a list is displayed.

FIG. 18 is a diagram illustrating an application workflow support system according to the first embodiment of the present invention. In the application workflow support system, it is possible to determine whether or not a proxy process is a proxy process without distinguishing the proxy request process as a transfer proxy process route and a direct proxy process route. FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram showing a state in which electronic mail is displayed in a list on a client.

FIG. 19 shows a message displayed when a business person in the workflow tries to process an electronic document for which processing is prohibited in the application workflow support system according to the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG.

FIG. 20 is a flowchart showing an absence release process (process inhibition setting release process) in the application workflow support system according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 21 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a method of setting a substitute person in the application workflow support system according to the second embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 22 is a flowchart illustrating processing for confirming the completion of processing of an electronic document in the application workflow support system according to Embodiment 3 of the present invention;

[Explanation of symbols]

 101 Local area network 102-105 Client (terminal device) 106, 107 Server 108, 109 Printer

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuation of the front page (54) [Title of the Invention] A computer readable recording of a program for causing a computer to execute each process of the electronic document processing management method and method in the workflow support system, and the method thereof. Recording media

Claims (53)

[Claims] 1. Using a network to which a plurality of terminal devices are connected, control of electronic document transfer between a plurality of persons in charge according to a preset workflow, and coordination of business in an arbitrary group. An electronic document processing management system in a workflow support system to be automated, wherein at least one agent in charge of processing the electronic document by the authorized person is set in place of the authorized person on the workflow. A first agent person in charge setting means for determining whether or not the processing is completed within a preset processing time limit for an electronic document whose processing is requested to a regular person in charge in the workflow A first determination unit that determines at the timing of: the processing of the electronic document is completed within the processing time limit by the first determination unit First e-mail transmission means for generating and transmitting an e-mail for requesting processing of a corresponding electronic document to an agent in place of the authorized person when it is determined that the e-mail is not performed; An electronic document processing management system in a workflow support system, comprising: 2. By using a network to which a plurality of terminal devices are connected, each time a person in charge of a previous process in a preset workflow completes processing of an electronic document, a person in charge of a post-process is notified to a person in charge of a post-process. Automatically generate and send e-mails for requesting the processing of the electronic document, and control the transfer of the electronic document among a plurality of persons in the workflow to automate the coordination of work within an arbitrary group. An electronic document processing management system in a workflow support system, wherein at least one agent in charge of processing the electronic document by the authorized person is set in place of the authorized person in the workflow. A first substitute person setting means, wherein the e-mail transmitted to a legitimate person on the workflow is set in advance. Opening determination means for determining whether or not the electronic mail has been opened within the expiration date; and when the opening determination means determines that the e-mail has not been opened, And a mail transmission means for generating and transmitting an electronic mail for requesting processing of an electronic document corresponding to the electronic mail. A processing management system for electronic documents in a workflow support system, comprising: 3. Using a network to which a plurality of terminal devices are connected, control of transfer of electronic documents between a plurality of persons in charge according to a preset workflow, and coordination of work within an arbitrary group. An electronic document processing management system in a workflow support system to be automated, comprising: storage means for storing group information defining a human relationship within an arbitrary group including a legitimate person on the workflow; Determining means for determining, at a predetermined timing, whether or not the processing is completed within a preset processing time limit for an electronic document for which processing is requested to a legitimate person in charge; If it is determined that the processing of the document is not completed within the processing time limit, the correct processing is performed based on the group information. And a mail transmission means for generating and sending an e-mail for requesting processing of the corresponding electronic document to the set agent in charge. Electronic document processing management system in the workflow support system. 4. By using a network to which a plurality of terminal devices are connected, each time a person in charge of a previous process on a preset workflow completes processing of an electronic document, a person in charge of a post-process is given to a person in charge of a post-process. Automatically generate and send e-mails for requesting the processing of the electronic document, and control the transfer of the electronic document among a plurality of persons in the workflow to automate the coordination of work within an arbitrary group. An electronic document processing management system in a workflow support system, comprising: storage means for storing group information defining a human relationship within an arbitrary group including a legitimate person in charge of the workflow; Opening determination means for determining whether the e-mail sent to the person in charge of the e-mail was opened within a preset processing time limit If it is determined by the opening determination means that the e-mail has not been opened, a substitute person in place of the regular person is set based on the group information, and the set substitute person is And a mail transmitting means for generating and transmitting an electronic mail for requesting processing of an electronic document corresponding to the electronic mail to be processed. 5. A substitute agent setting means for setting at least one other agent in charge of processing of the electronic document by the agent in place of the agent in charge. 3. The method according to claim 1, wherein
An electronic document processing management system in the workflow support system according to 1. 6. A proxy ranking setting means for setting a proxy ranking that determines which of the plurality of proxy personnel to request the processing of the electronic document when the plurality of proxy personnel are set. 7. The method according to claim 1, wherein
An electronic document processing management system in the workflow support system according to 1. 7. An absence information registering means for registering absence information when the authorized person or agent cannot process the electronic document because of absence, and the absence information registration. Based on the absence information registered by the means and the processing deadline, whether to request the agent in charge of the authorized person or another agent in charge of the agent in charge of the processing of the electronic document, A second determination unit that determines at a predetermined timing; and a determination process control that switches from the first determination unit to a determination process by the second determination unit when the absence information is registered by the absence information registration unit. The electronic document processing management system in the workflow support system according to claim 1 or 5, further comprising: 8. The workflow according to claim 7, wherein the absence information includes a start date of a period in which the authorized person or the agent in charge is absent and an absence period including the end date. Electronic document processing management system in support system. 9. The method according to claim 8, wherein the second determining unit is configured to, when the processing time limit elapses during the absence period, notify a substitute agent in place of the regular person in charge or another agent in charge of the substitute person in charge. 9. The electronic document processing management system according to claim 8, wherein it is determined that the electronic document processing is requested. 10. When the electronic document is requested to be processed by an agent in place of the authorized person or another agent in place of the agent, the authorized person or 10. A processing prohibition setting unit configured to perform processing prohibition setting for a corresponding electronic document so that the agent in charge cannot perform processing of the corresponding electronic document. An electronic document processing management system in the workflow support system described in (1). 11. An absent information canceling means for canceling the registration of the absent information, wherein the determination processing control means, when the absence information registration means is canceled by the absent information canceling means, the second process. 11. The electronic document processing management system according to claim 7, wherein the processing is switched from the determination unit to the determination process performed by the first determination unit. 12. Further, the registration of the absence information is canceled, and the processing is performed by a substitution agent in place of the regular person or another substitution person in place of the substitution person during the registration of the absence information. When the processing of the requested electronic document is not completed, the processing prohibition setting is released to release the processing prohibition setting so that the authorized person or the agent can perform the processing of the corresponding electronic document. Means, wherein the processing prohibition setting means, when the processing prohibition setting is released, a substitute person in place of the regular person in charge or another substitute person in place of the substitute person in charge of the electronic document. 12. The processing management system for electronic documents in a workflow support system according to claim 11, wherein a processing prohibition setting is performed on the corresponding electronic document so that the processing cannot be performed. Temu. 13. A second method for generating an e-mail for requesting processing of the electronic document and requesting the authorized person to process the electronic document when requesting the authorized person to process the electronic document. An e-mail sending means, and when the absence information of the authorized person is registered,
A third determination unit configured to determine whether to request a substitute person in charge of the authorized person to process the electronic document based on the absence information and the processing time limit, The e-mail transmission means, when it is determined by the third determination means to request a substitute person in charge of the authorized person to process the electronic document, the agent person in charge of processing the electronic document. The electronic document processing management system in the workflow support system according to claim 7, wherein an electronic mail for requesting the electronic document is generated and transmitted. 14. The absence information according to claim 1, wherein the absence information includes a start date and a termination date of a period in which the authorized person or the agent in charge is absent.
3. An electronic document processing management system in the workflow support system according to 3. 15. The third determining means determines that when the processing time limit elapses during the absence period, the third determining means requests a substitute person in charge of the authorized person to process the electronic document. An electronic document processing management system in the workflow support system according to claim 14. 16. When the registration of the absence information of the legitimate person in charge is canceled and the processing of the electronic document requested to be processed by a substitute person in place of the legitimate person in charge is not completed, 16. A system according to claim 13, further comprising a third mail transmission unit for generating and transmitting an electronic mail for requesting the authorized person to process the electronic document.
An electronic document processing management system in the workflow support system according to any one of the above. 17. The method according to claim 16, wherein the registration of the absence information of the authorized person is cancelled, and the processing of the electronic document requested to be processed by an agent in place of the authorized person is not completed. Even if there is, compare with the remaining days of the processing deadline,
16. The workflow support system according to claim 13, further comprising a processing control unit configured to control not to request the authorized person to process the electronic document corresponding to the electronic document. Processing management system. 18. The method according to claim 1, wherein the electronic document corresponding to the electronic mail determined to be opened by the opening determination unit is not processed within the processing time limit. 5. The image processing apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising a processing control unit configured to control the agent in charge or another agent in place of the agent in charge to not process the corresponding electronic document. An electronic document processing management system in a workflow support system. 19. The group information defines a hierarchical relationship according to the position of a member belonging to the group, and the mail transmitting unit, when generating and transmitting the e-mail, sends the supervisor of the authorized person in charge. 5. The electronic document processing management system according to claim 3, wherein the agent is set as the agent. 20. An information adding means for adding proxy processing information indicating a proxy processing request to an electronic mail for requesting the proxy person to process the electronic document. An electronic document processing management system in the workflow support system according to any one of claims 1 to 4, 13 and 16. 21. When processing of an electronic document for which processing prohibition has been set by the processing prohibition setting means is to be performed, processing prohibition information indicating that processing of the corresponding electronic document is prohibited is displayed. 13. The electronic document processing management system in the workflow support system according to claim 10, further comprising a prohibition information display unit. 22. When the processing of the electronic document is requested by a substitute person in charge of the authorized person, the electronic document corresponding to the processing time limit given to the authorized person corresponds to the electronic document. 14. A processing time limit setting means for setting a processing time limit of a document.
17. The processing management system for electronic documents in the workflow support system according to any one of claims 16 and 17. 23. When an electronic mail transmitted from the first mail transmitting means requests processing of the electronic document to a substitute person in place of the authorized person, the electronic mail is given to the authorized person. 2. The processing management system for electronic documents in a workflow support system according to claim 1, further comprising processing time setting means for setting a time limit shorter than the set processing time limit as a processing time limit of the corresponding electronic document. 24. When an electronic mail transmitted from the second mail transmitting means requests processing of the electronic document to a substitute person in place of the authorized person, the electronic mail is given to the authorized person. 14. The processing management system for electronic documents in the workflow support system according to claim 13, further comprising a processing time limit setting unit that sets the same time limit as the processing time limit set as the processing time limit of the corresponding electronic document. 25. The first mail transmitting means, when generating the e-mail, substitute processing information indicating that the electronic mail is a substitute processing request, a process of requesting the substitution of the processing, and an urgent processing of the processing. Adding urgency information indicating the degree of emergency to the bibliographic information of the e-mail, further receiving the e-mail transmitted from the first mail transmitting means, and substituting the bibliographic information of the received e-mail for the proxy information 2. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a notification unit configured to display the screen by combining the processing information and the urgency information, and to notify the agent in charge of the request for the proxy processing and the urgency of the processing. An electronic document processing management system in a workflow support system. 26. The method according to claim 26, wherein the second mail transmitting means is a request for a proxy process when generating the email for requesting a proxy on behalf of the authorized person to process the electronic document. The proxy processing information indicating the circumstances leading to the request for the proxy processing is added to the bibliographic information of the electronic mail. Further, the electronic mail transmitted from the second mail transmitting means is received, and the received electronic mail is received. 14. The information processing apparatus according to claim 13, further comprising a notifying unit that combines the bibliographic information with the bibliographic information of the mail, displays the screen, and notifies the agent in charge of the request for the agent processing. An electronic document processing management system in a workflow support system. 27. Use of a network to which a plurality of terminal devices are connected to control transfer of an electronic document among a plurality of persons in accordance with a preset workflow, thereby coordinating business operations in an arbitrary group. An electronic document processing management method in an automated workflow support system, wherein at least one agent in charge of processing the electronic document by the authorized person is set on behalf of the authorized person on the workflow. A first agent clerk setting step for determining whether or not processing has been completed within a predetermined processing deadline for an electronic document requested to be processed by a regular clerk in the workflow A first determination step of determining at the timing of: the processing of the electronic document is completed within the processing time limit in the first determination step A first e-mail transmission step of generating and transmitting an e-mail for requesting processing of the corresponding electronic document to an agent in place of the authorized person when it is determined that the e-mail has not been sent. An electronic document processing management method in a workflow support system, comprising: 28. By using a network to which a plurality of terminal devices are connected, each time a person in charge of a previous process in a preset workflow completes processing of an electronic document, a person in charge of a subsequent process is notified. Automatically generate and send e-mails for requesting the processing of the electronic document, and control the transfer of the electronic document among a plurality of persons in the workflow to automate the coordination of work within an arbitrary group. An electronic document processing management method in a workflow support system, wherein at least one agent in charge of processing the electronic document by the authorized person is set instead of the authorized person in the workflow. A first agent person setting step; and a process in which the e-mail transmitted to the authorized person on the workflow is set in advance. An opening determination step of determining whether or not the electronic mail has been opened within the time limit, and when it is determined that the e-mail has not been opened in the opening determination step, the agent in place of the authorized person, A mail transmission step of generating and transmitting an electronic mail for requesting processing of an electronic document corresponding to the electronic mail, and a processing management method of the electronic document in the workflow support system, comprising: 29. By using a network to which a plurality of terminal devices are connected, control of transfer of an electronic document between a plurality of persons in charge according to a preset workflow, and coordination of business in an arbitrary group. An electronic document processing management method in an automated workflow support system, wherein processing is completed within a predetermined processing deadline for an electronic document that has been requested to be processed by an authorized person in the workflow. A determination step of determining whether or not the electronic document is processed at a predetermined timing; and if the determination step determines that the processing of the electronic document is not completed within the processing time limit, the processing includes an authorized person in the workflow. Based on group information that defines the personal relationships within an arbitrary group, a substitute person in place of the regular person is set, and With respect to the agency personnel,
A mail transmission step of generating and transmitting an e-mail for requesting processing of the electronic document, and a method of managing the processing of the electronic document in the workflow support system. 30. By using a network to which a plurality of terminal devices are connected, each time a person in charge of a preceding process in a preset workflow completes processing of an electronic document, a person in charge of a subsequent process is Automatically generate and send e-mails for requesting the processing of the electronic document, and control the transfer of the electronic document among a plurality of persons in the workflow to automate the coordination of work within an arbitrary group. A method for managing an electronic document in a workflow support system, comprising: determining whether the electronic mail transmitted to a legitimate person in the workflow has been opened within a preset processing deadline. A judging step, and if it is judged that the e-mail has not been opened in the opening judging step, the authorized person on the workflow is included. An agent in place of the authorized person is set based on group information that defines a personal relationship within an arbitrary group, and the set agent in charge performs processing of an electronic document corresponding to the corresponding e-mail. A mail transmission step of generating and transmitting an e-mail for requesting, a method of managing the processing of an electronic document in a workflow support system, comprising: 31. Further, on behalf of the agent in charge,
29. The workflow support system according to claim 27, further comprising a second agent setting step of setting at least one other agent in charge of processing of the electronic document by the agent. Electronic document processing management system. 32. The method according to claim 31, further comprising the step of, when setting a plurality of the agents in charge, setting an agent order in which one of the plurality of agents is requested to process the electronic document. 32. The electronic document processing management method in the workflow support system according to claim 27, wherein: 33. An absent information registration step for registering absent information when the authorized person or the agent in charge cannot process the electronic document due to the absence, and the absent information registration. Based on the absence information and the processing deadline registered in the process, whether to request processing of the electronic document to an agent in place of the authorized person or another agent in place of the agent in charge A second determination step of determining at a predetermined timing; and a determination processing control for switching from the first determination step to a determination processing by the second determination step when the absence information is registered in the absence information registration step. 32. The method according to claim 27, further comprising the steps of: 34. The workflow according to claim 33, wherein the absence information includes an absence period including a start date and a termination date of a period during which the authorized person or the agent is absent. An electronic document processing management method in a support system. 35. The second determining step, wherein when the processing time limit elapses during the absence period, a substitute agent in place of the regular person in charge or another agent in charge of the substitute person in charge is provided. The electronic document processing management method according to claim 34, wherein it is determined that the electronic document processing is requested. 36. Further, when the processing of the electronic document is requested to an agent in place of the authorized person or another agent in place of the agent, the authorized person or 36. A method according to claim 27, further comprising a processing prohibition setting step of performing a processing prohibition setting on the corresponding electronic document so that the agent in charge cannot process the relevant electronic document. 9. A method for managing electronic documents in a workflow support system according to claim 1. 37. An absent information canceling step for canceling registration of the absent information, wherein the determination processing control step includes the step of canceling the registration of the absence information in the absence information canceling step. 37. The electronic document processing management method in a workflow support system according to claim 33, wherein the determination process is switched from the determination process to the determination process in the first determination process. 38. Further, the registration of the absence information is cancelled, and the processing is performed by an agent in charge of the authorized person or another agent in charge of the agent in the absence of the absence information. When the processing of the requested electronic document is not completed, the processing prohibition setting is released to release the processing prohibition setting so that the authorized person or the agent can perform the processing of the corresponding electronic document. The process prohibition setting step includes a step in which, when the process prohibition setting is released, a substitute person in place of the regular person in charge or another substitute person in place of the substitute person in charge of the electronic document. 39. The method according to claim 37, wherein the processing prohibition setting is performed on the corresponding electronic document so that the processing cannot be performed. . 39. When requesting the authorized person to process an electronic document, an electronic mail for requesting processing of the electronic document is generated and transmitted to the authorized person. An email sending step, and when the absence information of the authorized person is registered,
A third determining step of determining whether to request a substitute person in charge of the authorized person to process the electronic document based on the absence information and the processing time limit, The e-mail transmission step includes, when it is determined in the third determination step that the substitute person in charge of the authorized person is requested to process the electronic document, the agent person in charge of processing the electronic document. 38. The method according to claim 33, wherein an electronic mail for requesting is generated and transmitted. 40. The absence information according to claim 3, wherein the absence information includes a start date and a termination date of a period in which the authorized person or the agent in charge is absent.
10. The method for managing electronic document processing in the workflow support system according to item 9. 41. The third determining step includes, when the processing time limit elapses during the absence period, determining to request a substitute person in charge of the authorized person to process the electronic document. The method for managing processing of an electronic document in the workflow support system according to claim 40. 42. When the registration of the absence information of the legitimate person in charge is canceled and the processing of the electronic document requested to be performed by a substitute person in place of the legitimate person in charge is not completed, 42. The method according to claim 39, further comprising a third mail transmitting step of generating and transmitting an electronic mail for requesting the authorized person to process the electronic document. An electronic document processing management method in a workflow support system. 43. Further, the registration of the absence information of the legitimate person in charge is cancelled, and the processing of the electronic document requested to be performed by a substitute person in place of the legitimate person in charge is not completed. Even if there is, compare with the remaining days of the processing deadline,
42. The processing of an electronic document in the workflow support system according to claim 39, further comprising a processing control step of controlling not to request processing of the electronic document corresponding to the authorized person. Management method. 44. In place of the authorized person, even if the electronic document corresponding to the electronic mail determined to be opened in the opening determination step is not processed within the processing time limit. 31. The workflow according to claim 28, further comprising a processing control step of controlling a substitute person or another substitute person in place of the substitute person not to request processing of the corresponding electronic document. An electronic document processing management method in a support system. 45. The group information prescribes a hierarchical relationship by a position of a member belonging to the group, and the mail transmitting step includes, when generating and transmitting the e-mail, a manager of the legitimate person in charge. 31. The electronic document processing management method according to claim 29, wherein the agent is set as the agent. 46. An information adding step of adding proxy processing information indicating a proxy processing request to an electronic mail for requesting the proxy person to process the electronic document. An electronic document processing management method in the workflow support system according to any one of claims 27 to 30, 39 and 42. 47. When processing of an electronic document for which processing prohibition is set in the processing prohibition setting step is to be performed, processing prohibition information indicating that processing of the corresponding electronic document is prohibited is displayed. 39. The method according to claim 36, further comprising a step of displaying prohibition information. 48. Further, when a substitute person in charge of the legitimate person is requested to process the electronic document, the same deadline as the processing time limit given to the legitimate person is applied. 31. A processing time limit setting step for setting a processing time limit of a document.
43. The electronic document processing management method in the workflow support system according to any one of items 9 and 42. 49. When requesting processing of the electronic document by a substitute person in place of the authorized person by the electronic mail transmitted in the first mail transmitting step,
28. The workflow support system according to claim 27, further comprising a processing time limit setting step of setting a time limit shorter than the processing time limit given to the authorized person as a processing time limit of the corresponding electronic document. Processing management method. 50. When requesting a substitute person in charge of the authorized person to process the electronic document by an electronic mail transmitted from the second mail transmitting step, the electronic mail is given to the authorized person. 40. The processing management method for an electronic document in a workflow support system according to claim 39, further comprising a processing time limit setting step of setting the same time limit as the processing time limit of the corresponding electronic document. 51. The first mail transmitting step includes, when generating the e-mail, proxy processing information indicating that the electronic mail is a proxy processing request, a process leading to the request for the proxy processing, and an emergency processing. Adding the urgency information indicating the degree to the bibliographic information of the e-mail, further receiving the e-mail transmitted in the first e-mail transmitting step, and substituting the bibliographic information of the received e-mail for the bibliographic information. 28. The workflow according to claim 27, further comprising a notification step of synthesizing the processing information and the urgency information and displaying the screen, and notifying the agent in charge of the request for the proxy processing and the urgency of the processing. An electronic document processing management method in a support system. 52. The method according to claim 52, wherein the second mail transmitting step is a request for proxy processing when generating the electronic mail for requesting a proxy on behalf of the authorized person to process the electronic document. The proxy processing information indicating the circumstances that led to the request for the proxy processing is added to the bibliographic information of the electronic mail. Further, the electronic mail transmitted in the second mail transmitting step is received, and the received electronic mail is received. 40. The workflow support according to claim 39, further comprising a notification step of synthesizing the proxy processing information with the bibliographic information of the mail and displaying the screen on a screen, and notifying the proxy person of the request for the proxy processing. An electronic document processing management method in the system. 53. A computer-readable program for recording a program for causing a computer to execute each step of the electronic document processing management method in the workflow support system according to any one of claims 27 to 52. Possible recording medium.