JPH11249983A - Workflow item management mechanism and method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To support the fine grain property of (n) levels in regard to a variety of application jobs by sending a data module, a semantic module and an inference engine together with a workflow item when this item moves in a non- border environment. SOLUTION: The workflow items 103a to 103n have the W data 104a to 104n of a data component, the W semantics 105a to 105n of a semantic or job rule component and the W engines 106a to 106n of an inference engine component. When the items 103a to 103n are downloaded into a client, the data 104a to 104n, the semantics 105a to 105n and the engines 106a to 106n are also downloaded.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

[0001] 1. Field of the Invention [0002] The present invention relates to a workflow solver, and more particularly to a workflow mechanism for a borderless environment such as the Internet or an intranet or a connectionless environment.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Normally, business processes include
Analyzed for items. Such a workflow item may be a business process or a document. There are workflow management systems in the art that automate the routing of workflow items based on specific business rules and the roles that employees play during the process.

[0003] Known workflow management systems include electronic procurement services or EPS (Electronic Procureme).
nt Services). EPS provides the government, business and consumer markets with a simplified and streamlined approach to traditional procurement processes. EPS typically utilizes client / server technology for buyers and suppliers. The buyer distributes the EPS client application throughout the organization, thereby introducing online purchasing directly to the buyer's desk.

[0004] A purchaser, or other employee authorized to use EPS, creates a purchase order by selecting from an electronic catalog. EPS manages the procurement process from this point and electronically sends purchase instructions to the appropriate supplier for fulfillment through the approval process. The purchaser receives up-to-date information and confirmation from the supplier until the point of shipment.

[0005] Electronic procurement systems have been particularly accepted by large government and legal entities because they automate and enhance the procurement process without retraining large numbers of purchasers and support staff. By automating labor-intensive tasks such as requesting purchase orders and approvals, electronic procurement systems increase service levels while reducing costs and clerical errors.

[0006] Known electronic procurement systems include a local area network or client on a LAN.
Implemented as a server application. Well-known E
PS is World Purchasi by IBM Corporation
ng Professional ^TM or WPP. The WPP system includes a client-server application that provides businesses and government purchasing departments with the ability to provide them electronically to both internal departments and external agencies and suppliers.

FIG. 1 shows the architecture of a traditional workflow management system 1 according to the prior art. The workflow management system 1 includes workflow servers 2 and 3
a, 3b,. . . 3n includes a plurality of workflow clients 3 individually indicated by 3n. The workflow server 2 and the client 3 are connected to a local area network (L
AN) 4 or a wide area network (WAN). Each workflow item 3 includes two main components: a data element indicated by W data and a business rule or semantics element indicated by W semantics. The server 2 includes a workflow engine 5 that processes workflow data (W data) according to workflow item semantics (W semantics). In the conventional workflow management system 1 as shown in FIG. 1, the workflow server 2 functions as a central server including all business rules (that is, W semantics) of the system 1, and the workflow client 3 is represented by a solid line. As shown, LA
It is continuously connected to the server 2 by N4. Since the clients 3 are continuously connected to the server 2, the workflow engine 5 must maintain the context of each client 3. Such requirements generally complicate the workflow engine 5.

[0008] In recent years, the Internet has emerged as a dominant communication network, providing enormous potential for electronic commerce. The Internet includes worldwide computer network systems linked by LANs, WANs, and the like, and provides data communication throughout a seamless collection of networks. The Internet itself is not a computer network as generally considered, but a stateless environment that provides a mechanism for connecting existing computer networks.

In a borderless or connectionless environment such as the Internet, the connection between computers is not long-term. Such a connection is made only for a short time for data transfer. After transferring the data, the connection between the computers is lost and the computers are free to process the desired data. When the process is completed, the computer establishes a connection again. Maintaining a processing context is extremely difficult because a continuous connection is not maintained throughout the business process. In the conventional network environment as shown in FIG. 1, due to the persistence of the connection between the server 2 and the client machine 3, the server 2
Can continuously maintain the context of the business process.

A fundamental problem that arises in workflow management systems in connectionless networks such as the Internet is the support for automatic routing and n-level authorization in connectionless networks. This problem occurs because the business process context is not maintained in the connectionless network. There is no single source or server that can maintain all the semantics of a workflow item. The connection between the client and server is interrupted continuously, resulting in a loss of context information. In order to manage a workflow, the workflow server must clearly have access to all workflow items.

In a conventional workflow system, rules for controlling business logic are maintained in a workflow server 2 (FIG. 1), and context information on workflow items is always maintained by the server. In a disconnected environment, this information must be maintained by the workflow item.

Another of the existing workflow management systems
One disadvantage is the limitation on fineness. That is, in a practical system, a business workflow for a process or document is analyzed. However, it will be appreciated that real life operations include a combination of processes and documents.

Therefore, there is a need for a document management system or workflow system for a borderless environment such as the Internet or an intranet. Such a system is configurable and n-level granularity for various applications (document status is determined by line-level approvals as well as other business standards)
It is preferable to provide a compact design that supports

[0014]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention provides a workflow mechanism for a connectionless or borderless environment such as the Internet or an intranet.

[0015]

According to the present invention, the mechanism includes means for maintaining business logic and context information regarding the workflow in the workflow item itself.

The mechanism includes a workflow architecture that includes data, semantics, and inference engine components for workflow items or objects. According to the invention, all three components are:
Packaged in a workflow item or object.

The function of the workflow mechanism is to attach a workflow object to a document and send it with the document. This allows the client to manipulate the document (or process) without leaving the client connected to the server. Thus, the workflow mechanism eliminates the need for a workflow server as in conventional workflow management systems.

The present invention also provides an inference engine that solves a workflow in a disconnected environment. The inference engine includes means for maintaining the context of the workflow items in the workflow management system and means for enforcing any business rules and organizational structures as primary constraints of the engine. The engine includes a justification-based truth retention system. The engine according to the present invention provides a compact design suitable for integration with workflow items.

The function of the engine is that justification can be introduced as needed, and in most cases justification can be introduced at run time. Justification is encoded as a propositional logical expression that acts as a constraint on the inference engine.
Therefore, any business rule that affects the workflow can be added. A workflow system utilizing the mechanism according to the present invention can be used to manage both processes and documents and provides n levels of granularity.

The present invention provides a workflow mechanism for a borderless environment such as the Internet or an intranet.
The workflow mechanism includes (a) one for complex business rules.
Full workflow support for one or a set of documents; (b) support for n-level approvals and user configurable; (c) support for delegation of authority and document rerouting; (d) multiple roles on multiple documents. And support for multiple users with multiple privileges, and (e) support for any business logic. The workflow mechanism also includes the ability to maintain and control the document level approval status of line level as well as n level approvers.

In a first aspect, the present invention provides a mechanism for processing a workflow item in a borderless environment such as the Internet, the mechanism comprising a data module for data elements associated with the workflow item. And a semantics module for rules associated with the workflow item, and an engine for applying rules to data elements.
The semantics module and engine are included in the workflow item and are sent along with the workflow item when it is sent in a borderless environment.

In a second aspect, the present invention provides a method of processing a workflow item in a borderless environment including a client machine and a server, the method comprising: Storing the rules associated with the workflow items in the semantics module; loading the workflow items into the data and semantics modules;
Loading the engine in the workflow item with the module and routing the workflow item to one or more client machines with the loaded data and semantics modules and engines in a borderless environment And applying the rules from the semantics module to the data elements in the data module using the engine to process the workflow items on the associated client machine independently of the server.

Reference will now be made, by way of example, to the accompanying drawings, which illustrate preferred embodiments of the present invention.

[0024]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention provides a workflow mechanism for a workflow management system. The following description describes the details of the workflow mechanism in the context of a workflow management system. However, other components of the workflow management system that do not form part of the present invention, such as mechanisms for workflow item transfer, tracking, monitoring, and security, are not included in this disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 2, which illustrates a workflow management system, generally designated 100. The workflow management system 100 is intended to operate in a connectionless or borderless environment such as the Internet or an intranet. The workflow management system 100 includes one or more servers 101 and a series of clients 102.
And the workflow item or object 103
And In FIG. 2, servers 101a and 101
b,. . . , 101m, and the clients 102a, 102b,. . . , 102n. Clients 102 include, for example, computers or workstations located in corporate applications at headquarters, branch offices, or remote computers with dial-in access. The dotted line shown in FIG. 2 represents a temporary connection, and thus, in a connectionless network, the roles of the client and the server may not be clearly defined.

The workflow items 103 are shown in FIG. 2 as 103a, 103b, 103c,. . . 103
n, respectively. According to the present invention, the workflow item 103 includes three components: W data for the data component, W semantics for the semantics or business rules component, and W engine for the inference engine component. FIG.
In, the data component is indicated at 104, the semantics component is indicated at 105, and the inference engine is indicated at 106. According to this aspect of the invention, when the workflow item 103 is downloaded to the client, the W data of the data component (104 in FIG. 2) and the W semantics of the rule component (105 in FIG. The engine is downloaded together with the W engine (106 in FIG. 2). The workflow engine 106 is a component that processes the data 104 (W data) according to the business rules included in the semantics component 105 (W semantics). To improve the download performance, the workflow engine 106
Is characterized in that it has a light and compact design and at the same time has the processing capability to process the business rule logic defined by the rule component W semantics 105.

FIG. 3 shows the workflow engine 106 according to this aspect of the present invention in more detail. The workflow engine 106 includes an inference engine 111 and a truth holding system (TMS) 112. Truth holding system 11
2 includes a constraint network that utilizes justification. In the context of the present invention, justification involves a simple first-order propositional clause. A constraint network consisting of justifications containing simple propositional clauses is advantageous because the evaluation is very fast. It has been found that the current state of a document (or business process) can be inferred by currently believed justification. As shown in FIG. 3, the truth holding system 112 records the justification (link 113), and the inference engine 111
An inference is derived from the justification recorded in the TMS 112 (link 114).

Referring to FIG. 3, the inference engine 111
Communicates the constraints on the document to the truth maintenance system 112 in the form of justifications (links 113). Justification is
Includes the following three parts. (1) Consequences of facts inferred by the inference engine

(2) The antecedent is the fact used in inference rules.

(3) Informants are provided by the inference engine to explain the inference in more detail.

In the context of the present invention, each justification is interpreted as a simple propositional finite computation, namely the Horn clause, including the antecedent An and the consequent Cm. For example, nodes A1, A2, A3,. . . , An => Cm are the antecedents A1, A2, A3,. . . ,
If An is believed, it implies the implicit Cm. Most of the constraints or justifications needed to control the workflow in an electronic purchasing system (EPS) are mostly based on the truth retention system 11.
It turns out that it can be formalized in the second propositional clause. The antecedent (An) and the consequent (Cm) are represented in the truth holding system 112 in the form of “nodes” in the constraint network. The most common query submitted by the inference engine 111 to the truth holding system 112 is logically the state of the current database of the document or process (ie, the antecedent An stored in the W data component 104). That is, whether a node (ie, a consequent node) results.

The specification itself of the truth holding system 112 is defined by two sets of data stored in the W data component 105 of the workflow item 103. The two sets of data are (1) a set of antecedents (ie, A
1, A2,. . . , An) and (2) a set of consequences (ie, C1, C2,..., Cm). These two sets of data evolve as various workflow processes progress. As a result, the truth holding system 112
When a query is made, the query can be answered appropriately based on these two sets of content. Truth holding system 11
The two basic tasks are to answer queries about what the node holds (ie, what is believed) given the current set of enabled justifications. . General implementations of the truth retention system according to the present invention are within the purview of those skilled in the art, and are also commercially available from MIT Press (Cambridge, Mass.) By Kenneth D. Forbus and John.
It is described in BuildingProblem Solver by an de Kleer.

According to another aspect, a workflow
Encoding the routing information as justifications, also stored in the W data component 104 of the item 103, or constraints on several sets of propositions, provides for automatic routing of the workflow item 103. Propositional constraints provide routing information, and engine 106 uses this routing information to route workflow items 103 without communicating with workflow server 101 (FIG. 2).

Since the workflow mechanism is designed to operate in a connectionless environment such as the Internet, changes in organizational structure and business rules are not immediately reflected until the workflow item is downloaded again. However, this can be solved by implementing a notification mechanism when business rules or organizational structure changes. For example, client 102 may access server 101b (eg, a website) to download the latest information, or server 101b may
For example, the client 102 can be notified automatically by using an e-mail.

Next, regarding the operation of the workflow mechanism, ie, the workflow engine 106, World Purchasing Professional ^™ (W
This will be described in the context of an electronic procurement system such as a PP (PP) system. Briefly, the WPP system first records "justification" in the truth retention system 112. As the document evolves,
WPP enables or withdraws the antecedent (ie, An) in truth maintenance system 112. The WPP (ie, the work management system) queries the truth maintenance system 112 for the current state of the document. The truth keeping system 112 utilizes the recorded justification (ie, propositional constraints) in the constraint network to provide the current state of the document.

In the case of the workflow engine 106, the state of the document is a consequence of the various beliefs (An) currently believed. For example, the antecedent (An) of a document can be represented and divided as the following set. (1) Current user role (2) User privileges (3) User action (4) Type of document to process (5) Original state of document (6) Resulting state of component (ie, line-level state) (7) Result of Business Rule 1 (8) Result of Business Rule 2

As the processing of the document continues, the WP
P selects or enables one premise from each of the aforementioned sets of antecedents. The truth retention system 112
Using the justifications already recorded, answering what outcomes are currently believed, the inference engine 111 determines new states that the document can take. This function is further elaborated by considering the processing of a "purchase request (PR)" document. The purchase request document has the following antecedents: (1) Current user role (ie, initiating staff, support staff, authorized staff) (2) User privileges (ie, browse, approve,
Can be modified). (3) User action (ie, modify, approve, browse) (4) Document type (PR (purchase request), PO
(Purchase Order), ITT (Invitation to Send Bid), ITQ (Invitation to Send Estimate) ,Such). (6) the resulting state of the component (ie, all line items have been approved, some have been rejected,
(Some investigation, all rejected, no action, etc.) (7) Business Rule 1 (ie, PR value is less than 30,000, PR value exceeds 30,000).

In this example, the following justification (ie, propositional clause) is encoded in the truth holding system 112. (1) Group 1 (starting staff) & Group 2 (can be approved) & Group 3
(Approved) & Group 4 (PR) & Group 5 (work in progress) & Group 6 (not applicable) & Group 5 (not applicable) ===> Work in progress by starting staff

(2) Group 1 (starting staff) & Group 2 (can be approved) & Group 3 (under approval) & Group 4 (PR) & Group 5 (ready to prepare) & Group 6 (all line items are approved) Done) & set 7 (value <30,000) ===> PR is ready for PO process

(3) Group 1 (approved staff) & Group 2 (can be approved) & Group 3 (under approval) & Group 4 (PR) & Group 5 (ready for approval) & Group 6 (all line items are approved) Done) & set 7 (value> 30,000) ===> PR is ready for bidding process

Documents (ie, workflow
During the processing of item 103), the WPP determines the antecedents from each set (eg, "can be approved by initiating personnel").
And the truth maintenance system 112 provides the state of the document to the WPP depending on which justification is truth, and therefore the associated consequences are believed.

The workflow engine 10 according to the present invention
6 takes advantage of the fact that most of the justification can be created in advance, ie during the analysis phase of the business process. The truth retention system 112 suitably stores these justifications (ie, antecedents and consequences) in a relational database or in the form of immutable objects used by the application. As work continues, the WPP simply enables or disables justification, and the truth retention system 112 resolves the justification that was enabled so that the result of the document (i.e., workflow item) can be resolved. Provide status.

The workflow engine 10 according to the present invention
6 provides a function for dynamically adding a new justification. The new justification is recorded by the WPP in the truth maintenance system 112. Thus, by introducing or retracting justification at any time without further encoding, the workflow management process can be refined. A user who drags and drops various antecedents from several sets of antecedents that define a process.
By providing an interface in WPP, new justifications can be entered. The specific implementation of such a user interface is within the purview of those skilled in the art.

In summary, the workflow mechanism according to the present invention includes a truth holding system 112 that can apply a rule to each node in the constraint network, so that
If a node is trusted, those rules that perform business tasks can be triggered. Inference engine 11
It will be appreciated that the code of the one and truth holding system 112 is extremely compact. That is, the remote
The inference engine 111 and the truth-keeping system 112 can be downloaded as part of an applet to track the status of documents downloaded and processed on the client 102 (FIG. 2). Workflow ・
As items move between devices, context is conveyed with them. In other words, workflow items do not require a connection to a workflow server to determine state. Since the truth retention system records all justifications, the truth retention system 112 can provide a description of the consequences of the workflow item. That is, the state of the workflow item can be determined at any time. Such a function is particularly useful in business reform applications.

In summary, the following is disclosed regarding the configuration of the present invention.

(1) In a workflow management system for a borderless environment, a mechanism for managing workflow items in the system, wherein (a) a data module for a data element related to the workflow item; b) a semantics module for rules associated with a workflow item; and (c) an engine that applies rules to data elements; and (d) the data module, the semantics module and the engine are configured to execute the workflow. A mechanism that is included in the item and sent with the workflow item when the workflow item is moved in a borderless environment. (2) The mechanism according to (1), wherein the borderless environment includes the Internet. (3) the engine includes an inference engine and a truth-retention system, and means for recording justification associated with a workflow item in the truth-retention system, the truth-retention system responding to queries from the inference engine; The mechanism of claim 1, further comprising means for providing inference regarding the state of the workflow item in response. (4) The mechanism according to (3), wherein the means for providing inference includes a constraint network, and the constraint network includes a propositional clause for inferring a state of a workflow item. (5) The mechanism of (4) above, wherein the proposition clause comprises one or more antecedents and consequences, wherein the consequences occur when the antecedent is true in the current context for the workflow item. . (6) further comprising means for encoding routing justification in the truth holding system, wherein the truth holding system includes means for providing routing information associated with a workflow item in response to a query. The mechanism according to 1). (7) A method for processing a workflow item in a borderless environment including a client machine and a server, the method comprising: (a) storing a data element associated with the workflow item in a data module; and (b) a workflow. Semantics for rules related to items
Storing in a module; (c) loading a workflow item into the data module and the semantics module; and (d) an engine in the workflow item together with the data module and the semantics module. And (e) routing a workflow item with the loaded data and semantics modules and the engine to one or more client machines in the borderless environment. (F) utilizing the engine to translate rules from the semantics module into the data
Processing the workflow items on the associated client machine independently of the server, applying to the data elements in the module. (8) The method of (1) above, further comprising loading routing information associated with the workflow item. (9) An operating system and a runtime library means equipped to read and execute program data from a data storage medium into a memory in a borderless environment, including the method described in (7) or (8) above. Is combined with the loaded computer,
A data storage medium on which a workflow management computer program is recorded.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a conventional workflow management system according to the related art.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a workflow management system according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a workflow mechanism of the workflow management system of FIG. 2;

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Workflow Management System 2 Workflow Server 3 Client 4 LAN 5 Workflow Engine 100 Workflow Management System 101 Workflow Server 102 Client 103 Workflow Item 104 Data Component 105 Semantics Component 106 Workflow Engine 111 Inference Engine 112 Truth Retention System

Continued on the front page (72) Inventor David Singh Chowaw Canada El 4S 1V 7 Richmond Hill, Ontario Bridlepath Street 32 (72) Inventor Agit Sing Canada M4G 2EL2 Toronto, Ontario Eglinton Avenue East 896 Apartment 108 (72) Inventor Xiaomei Chang Canada M3A 2tee1 North York, Ontario Brookbanks Drive 15 # 1703

Claims (9)

[Claims] A workflow management system for a borderless environment, comprising: a mechanism for managing workflow items in the system, comprising: (a) a data module for a data element associated with the workflow item; C.) A semantics module for rules associated with the workflow item; and (c) an engine for applying rules to data elements; and (d) the data module, the semantics module and the engine are configured to include the workflow module. A mechanism included in an item that is sent with the workflow item when the workflow item is moved in a borderless environment. 2. The non-border environment includes the Internet.
The mechanism according to claim 1. 3. The engine includes an inference engine and a truth-retention system, and means for recording justification associated with a workflow item in the truth-retention system, the truth-retention system comprising The mechanism of claim 1, further comprising: means for providing an inference regarding a state of a workflow item in response to a query. 4. The means for providing inference comprises a constraint network, wherein the constraint network comprises a workflow network.
4. The mechanism of claim 3, including a propositional clause for inferring the state of the item. 5. The proposition clause of claim 4, wherein the proposition clause comprises one or more antecedents and consequences, wherein the consequences occur when the antecedent is true in the current context for the workflow item. mechanism. 6. The system of claim 1, further comprising means for encoding routing justification in said truth holding system, wherein said truth holding system includes means for providing routing information associated with a workflow item in response to a query. The mechanism according to claim 1. 7. A method for processing a workflow item in a borderless environment including a client machine and a server, comprising: (a) storing a data element associated with the workflow item in a data module;
(B) storing rules associated with a workflow item in a semantics module; and (c) loading a workflow item into the data module and the semantics module.
(D) loading an engine in a workflow item with the data module and the semantics module; and (e) a workflow item with the loaded data module and the semantics module and the engine. Routing to the one or more client machines in the borderless environment, and (f) utilizing the engine to apply rules from the semantics module to data elements in the data module. Processing the workflow item on an associated client machine independently of the server. 8. The method of claim 1, further comprising loading routing information associated with the workflow item. 9. A method for reading and executing program data from a data storage medium into a memory in a borderless environment, comprising the method according to claim 7 or 8, wherein the operating system and the runtime library means are provided. Combined with the loaded computer,
A data storage medium on which a workflow management computer program is recorded.