KR100807355B1 - Method and system for business process managemnet - Google Patents

Abstract

A method and a system for managing a business process are provided to manage the business process including activity, which means a logical business step of the business process, and transition, which is a logical line for connecting the activities by using two waiting queues without using a loop count in a complex process including a loop. A generating module(211) generates instances for a work meaning one activity or transition performed according to the business process. An inserting module(215) inserts the instance, which satisfies a condition set for classifying the instances into each instance type or work type related to the instance among the generates instances, into a second waiting queue(253), and inserts the instances without satisfying the condition among the generated instances into a first waiting queue(251). An executing module(217) calls/executes the instances inserted into the first waiting queue when the instances inserted into the first waiting queue are found, and calls/executes the instances inserted into the second waiting queue when the instances inserted into the second waiting queue are found.

Description

Business Process Management Method and System {Method And System For Business Process Managemnet}

The present invention relates to a business process management method and system. More specifically, the present invention automatically provides a business process including an activity that represents a logical business step of a business process and a transition, which is a logical connection line connecting activities for the flow of work. In the management method, an instance of a work representing a single activity or a transition performed according to a business process is created, and the generated instance is first queued or second queued according to a predetermined condition. It relates to a business process management method and system, characterized in that for inserting in, and executing by calling the instance inserted in the first queue or the second queue.

Recently, with the development of computer technology, each company is adopting Business Process Management (BPM) system. A business process management system is a software system that can integrate existing computer systems with business processes while designing, executing, monitoring, and analyzing business processes within a specific organization.

The introduction of a business process management system is expected to reduce the processing time of each company, reduce the possibility of errors in the work, increase the productivity of the work process, etc., so that the interest is increasing.

In order to implement such a work process management system, processing of a workflow process is required. Workflow processes are the processes of automated tasks performed by defined rules.

As the enterprise environment becomes more complex and the work process management system develops, the demand for processing complex workflow processes increases, and the need for processing processes including loops increases.

In the past, the work process management system was implemented using the loop processing method using the loop count in processing the workflow process including such a loop. However, the conventional method using the loop count has a problem in that a complex loop process cannot implement and process various loop processes due to an error in the process such as falling into an infinite loop and an unexpected result.

1 is one embodiment of a workflow process for simulation. Through this, the simulation of the executed workflow process by the conventional method using the conventional loop count, for example, to explain the problem of the conventional method.

Activity refers to one logical task step in process composition. These activities include Start Activity, which means the start of a process, and End Activity, which means the end of a process.

Transitions are logical connections that connect each task. Work means a single activity or transition performed by a business process.

Loop transition refers to a specific transition included in the loop section when the loop section of the process is determined in the process design process. The loop count is a number that is added by 1 every time a loop section is processed when a process including a loop is processed.

In FIG. 1, the process consists of several activities and a transition that connects each one. Such a transition may not call an activity according to a condition, and the transition may be treated as a kind of task for determining the condition of the transition.

The process including the loop determines a loop section in designing a process and sets a specific transition included in the loop section as a loop transition. Instances are created for a series of tasks, and the created instances are inserted into a queue and then invoked and executed in a queue according to First-in First-out (FIFO).

An instance generally refers to an individual element of a set for a set, and refers to each object belonging to a class in Object Oriented Programming (OOP).

Creating an instance means allocating storage, such as memory, to the instance. For example, if you define a class called list, and then create an object called my list, some storage is allocated and instances of that class are created.

A queue is a data structure in which several data items are arranged in a certain order. Unlike a stack, a queue is only insertable at one end and only output and delete at the other end.

In FIG. 1, the instances created for each job have unique identification information. The identification information may be determined by assigning an ID to an instance of each job. This identification allows identification and invocation of each instance to be performed.

Instances for all tasks inherit the loop count of the previous instance of the same task. The loop count is incremented by 1 for each pass through the loop transition. In this simulation, the initial value of the loop count is set to 1.

Instances of the created job are recorded with the unique identification and loop count of each instance in the instance table. If the job of the instance is processed successfully, the next job connected to it is created.

If an instance with the same unique identification and loop count as the instance for the task to be created is already recorded and inserted into the queue before the instance for the task is created, no separate instance is created and the existing instance is created. It will be called and executed in the queue.

In the process simulated in FIG. 1, the loop intervals are 10B, 10T4, 10C, and 10T5. In FIG. 1, a process is simulated that includes an AND join activity 10D that is located after the loop period but is connected via the transition 10T3 and the activity 10A before the loop period.

Work in business processes involves join activities. A join activity refers to an activity with multiple inputs, and these join activities include an OR join and an AND join.

An AND join activity refers to an activity that can be executed when a plurality of transitions have all been executed and the values of these multiple transitions are all true, and an OR join activity is performed when one or more transitions with a true value among a plurality of transitions have been executed. Speak an action that can be executed.

In the prior art simulation of FIG. 1, transition 10T5 becomes a loop transition, instances for all tasks inherit the loop count and the loop count increases by one each time the instance for loop transition 10T5 is executed.

The progress and results of the simulations are described in the tables of FIGS. 2A, 2B, 2C and 2D. Instances for all jobs except activities at start 100 and end 101 are indicated and distinguished by identifying information including the job name and loop count. In the tables of FIGS. 2A, 2B, 2C, and 2D, the identification information for each instance indicates a loop count inherited by the instance, and the job name of the instance is written in lowercase.

For example, in the tables of FIGS. 2A, 2B, 2C, and 2D, an instance of an activity of 10A with a loop count of 1 is represented by 10a-1. An instance for a 10T2 transition with a loopcount of 4 is represented by 10t2-4.

In FIG. 1, instances for all activities are assumed to be treated as successful upon execution, and instances for transitions can be treated as failed to terminate the loop. The success and failure of the transition is arbitrarily determined in this simulation. When the instance for the terminating activity 101 is executed, the process terminates.

In the tables of FIGS. 2A, 2B, 2C, and 2D, a classification table for an instance that has been treated as successful in execution, an instance for a task waiting for condition, and an instance that has been treated as failed in execution is shown in FIG. .

The process of FIG. 1 will now be described with reference to the tables of prior art simulations 2a, 2b, 2c and 2d.

In FIG. 2A, when the process starts, an instance for start 100 is inserted into a queue and then executed. As a result, 10t1-1, an instance of 10T1, which is a transition connected to the start 100, is generated, inserted into the queue, and executed.

After that, 10a-1, an instance of 10A that is linked to 10T1, is created, inserted into a queue, and executed, then 10t2-1 and 10t3-1 are generated for each of the two transitions 10T2 and 10T3 that are output from 10A. It is inserted into the queue.

According to the principle of first in, first out of the queue, 10t2-1, which is created and inserted first, is executed in preference to 10t3-1, and as a result, instance 10b-1 for activity 10B connected to 10T2 is generated and inserted into the queue. 10t3-1 is then executed, and an instance 10d-1 of AND join activity 10D that receives input from 10T3 is created and inserted into the queue. When 10b-1 is executed, an instance 10t4-1 of transition 10T4 is created and inserted into the queue.

10d-1, which is subsequently executed, is an instance of the AND join activity 10D and requires input from both transitions 10T6 and 10T3. However, 10t3-1, which is currently an instance of 10T3, has been executed but 10T6 has not yet run, so 10d-1 is treated as "waiting" and requeued.

Thereafter, 10t4-1 is executed to generate 10C-1 of 10C and insert it into the queue. The subsequent process is shown in Figure 2b. 10d-1 is queued and requeued because no instances of 10T6 have yet been launched.

When 10c-1 is executed, instances 10t5-1 and 10t6-1 for two transitions 10T5 and 10T6 output from 10C are created and inserted into the queue. 10d-1 is again queued and inserted into the queue.

When 10t5-1 is executed, an instance 10b-2 for 10B, an activity that receives input from 10T5, is created and inserted into the queue. Since 10T5 corresponds to a loop transition as previously assumed, the loop count is increased by 1 when an instance of 10T5 is executed. Therefore, the loop count of the instance for 10B becomes 2, which is represented by 10b-2, and subsequent instances inherit the loop count 2 of 10b-2.

In FIG. 2B, 10t6-1 is treated as a failure in execution. This means that 10D, an activity linked to 10T6, is not instantiated or executed for 10D by the execution of 10t6-1. Therefore, in the case of 10d-1, 10t6-1 is treated as a failure and receives no input from 10T6, so it is processed as a waiting state and inserted into the queue.

10b-2 is then executed, and 10t4-2, which inherits loop count 2, is generated and inserted into the queue. 10d-1 is again queued and inserted into the queue. The subsequent procedure is described in Figure 2c.

In FIG. 2C, 10t4-2 is executed, resulting in 10c-2 being inserted into the queue. 10d-1 is treated as waiting and inserted into the queue. When 10c-2 is executed, instances 10t5-2 and 10t6-2, which are instances for transitions 10T5 and 10T6 output from 10C, are sequentially created and inserted into the queue.

10d-1 is treated as waiting and inserted into the queue. 10t5-2 is treated as a failure in FIG. 2C. Therefore, no instance is created for 10B. 10t6-2 is treated as a success and an instance 10d-2 that inherits the loop count from 10t6-2 is created and inserted into the queue.

As described above, in the conventional technique using loop count, if an instance to be created in the instance table and the same unique identification information and loop count exist in the instance table before the instance for the job exists, the existing instance is not created. We will call the instance and run it.

However, since 10d-1 and 10d-2 are recognized as different instances because the loop counts are different from each other by 1 and 2, in FIG. 2c, a new instance 10d-2 is created and inserted into the queue in addition to the existing instance 10d-1. do.

In Figs. 2C and 2D, 10d-1 will be executed after 10t3-1 and 10t6-1 have been treated as successes, but 10d-1 is still processed as standby because 10t6-1 has been treated as a failure in this simulation. 10d-2 will be executed after 10t3-2 and 10t6-2 have been processed successfully, but since 10t3-2 has not been executed, 10d-2 will continue to be queued.

As a result, according to the existing method using a loop count, a complicated process including a loop may have an unintended result in the process design process, or may result in an infinite loop like the result of the simulation, and thus the process may not be executed. there was.

In order to solve the above problems, an object of the present invention is to provide a method and system for managing a work process using two queues without using a loop count in a complex process including a loop.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a method for automatically managing a work process including an activity and a transition, and creates and creates an instance of a task representing one activity or a transition performed according to the work process. Insert an instance satisfying a predetermined condition among the created instances into the second queue, insert an instance that does not satisfy the predetermined condition among the created instances into the first queue, and execute an instance inserted into the first queue. The present invention provides a method and system for managing a business process that executes by calling an instance inserted into a second queue when an instance inserted into a first queue does not exist.

According to the present invention, unlike a conventional loop count method, a complicated process does not occur when the process is no longer executed due to an infinite loop during the process execution. In addition, when processing a process, the process is processed as intended, without yielding unexpected results in the process design process.

4 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a business process management system according to the present invention. This will be described for the business process management system of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 4, the business process management system 210 includes a generation module 211, an insertion module 215, an execution module 217, and a recording module 213. The work process management system 210 is connected to the instance table 230 or the queue 250 either logically or by electrical signals. The queue 250 includes a first queue 251 and a second queue 253.

The work process management system 210 according to the present invention is a system for automatically managing a work process including an activity representing a logical work step of a work process and a transition, which is a logical connection line connecting the activities for the flow of work. It is about.

In this context, activity refers to one logical task step in process composition. These activities include Start Activity, which means the start of a process, and End Activity, which means the end of a process. Transition refers to the logical line connecting each work. Work refers to an activity or transition performed according to a business process.

The generation module 211 creates an instance for a task that represents one activity or transition performed according to a business process.

Examples of jobs and instances are as follows: Suppose a company's payment process involves sending electronic documents from department A to department B.

In this case a first instance will be created for the above task if it is necessary to perform the first task of sending the first electronic document from department A to department B. Sending the second electronic document from department A to department B is different than sending the first electronic document, so a second instance will be created. In addition, even if the first electronic document sent once from department A to department B is different from that of the first instance, a new instance will be created.

The insertion module 215 inserts an instance satisfying a predetermined condition among the generated instances into the second queue 253, and inserts an instance of the created instance that does not satisfy the predetermined condition into the first queue 251. .

If there is an instance inserted into the first queue 251, the execution module 217 calls and executes the instance inserted into the first queue 251, and executes the instance inserted into the first queue 251. If does not exist, the instance inserted in the second queue 253 is called and executed.

Unlike using only one queue in the related art, the queue 250 includes two queues of the first queue 251 and the second queue 253 in the work process management system according to the present invention.

The first queue 251 is a queue into which an instance that does not satisfy a predetermined condition is inserted by the insertion module 215. The instance inserted into the first queue 251 is called and executed by the execution module 217 in preference to the instance inserted into the second queue 253.

The second queue 253 is a queue into which an instance satisfying a predetermined condition is inserted by the insertion module 251. The instance inserted into the second queue 253 is called and executed by the execution module 217 when there is no instance inserted into the first queue 251.

The insertion module 215 may insert the instance into the first queue 251 or the second queue 253 according to a predetermined condition as follows.

The insertion module 215 may be an instance of an activity for which some of the transitions in which the generated instance is input to the activity is not executed, or an instance of a plurality of transitions in which the generated instance is input to the activity is executed. And insert the generated instance into the second queue 253 and the remaining instances not inserted into the second queue 253 when the values of the instances for the plurality of transitions are not all true. Can be inserted into the queue 251.

The work process management system according to the present invention is applied to the process in FIG. Among the various activities of FIG. 1, an activity in which a plurality of transitions are input corresponds to a join activity, and the join activity includes an OR join activity and an AND join activity.

An AND join activity refers to an activity that can be executed when a plurality of transitions have all been executed and the values of these multiple transitions are all true, and an OR join activity is performed when one or more transitions with a true value among a plurality of transitions have been executed. Speak an action that can be executed.

The insertion module 215 inserts an instance of an OR join activity or an AND join activity in which an instance of some of the plurality of transitions is not executed, into the second queue 253. In addition, the insertion module 215 stores the instance for the AND join activity in which the false value exists among the values of the instance of the input transition even if all the instances for the plurality of input transitions among the instances for the AND join activity have been executed. 253). Except for the above two cases, an instance of the work in the other cases is inserted into the first queue 251 by the insertion module 215.

When the execution module 217 calls the instance inserted into the first queue 251 and executes it, if an instance to be generated is already generated and inserted into the second queue 253, the generation module 211 generates the instance. The insertion module 215 may call the instance already inserted in the second queue 253 and insert the same instance into the first queue without re-creating the same instance as.

To this end, the generation module 211 refers to the instance table 230 to determine whether an instance to be created has already been created and inserted into the queue. The instance table 230 refers to a table that is generated by the generation module 211 and records an instance to be inserted into the first queue 251 or the second queue 253 by the insertion module 215. That is, if an instance to be generated is already recorded in the instance table 230, the generation module 211 does not recreate the same instance as the instance.

The recording module 213 records the instances to be inserted into the instance table 230 so that each instance is distinguished by identification information given to each instance. Each instance can be called by this identification.

In the existing invention, a loop count is given to each instance, and each instance inherits the previous loop count. However, in the present invention, such a loop count is not given to each instance.

In the present invention, an instance is inserted into two queues according to a predetermined condition. In addition, the identification information given to each instance includes information about the number of instances generated for one job in one process.

For example, in the process of FIG. 1, the identification of the first instance created for 10B, which is an OR join activity, is represented by 10b-1, and the identification of the second instance created for 10B is represented by 10b-2. Can be. In this case, -1 and -2 become information about the number of instances created for one job in one process.

Hereinafter, the process and the result of the process by the business process management system according to the present invention with respect to the process of FIG. 1, in which the process was not terminated by an endless loop in accordance with the conventional method using the loop count as described above. It demonstrates using the table of 3a, 3b, 3c.

In all the tables below, the classification for an instance processed as a success in execution, an instance for a job waiting for condition, and an instance processed as a failure in execution are as described in the classification table included in FIG. 2A.

In FIG. 3A, the generation module 211 generates an instance for the start 100, and the insertion module 215 inserts the generated instance into the first queue 251. The execution module 215 calls and executes an instance for the start 100 inserted into the first queue.

The generation module 211 generates an instance 10t1-1 for the transition 10T1 output from the start 100, the insertion module 215 inserts 10t-1 into the first queue 251, and the execution module 217 does this. Call to run

When 10t-1 is executed, 10a-1 is generated and inserted into the first queue 251. When 10a-1 is executed, instances 10t2-1 and 10t3-1 for 10T2 and 10T3 outputted at 10A are generated to generate the first queue. 251 is inserted.

When the first inserted 10t2-1 is executed, an instance 10b-1 for 10B is generated. Since 10B has an OR join activity having a plurality of input transitions or only an instance of 10T2 currently executed and no instance of 10T5 executed, the insertion module 215 inserts 10b-1 into the second queue 253.

When 10t3-1 is executed, an instance 10d-1 for 10D is created. Since 10D is an AND join activity having a plurality of input transitions or only an instance for 10T3 and an instance for 10T6 is not executed, the insertion module 215 inserts 10d-1 into the second queue 253.

The execution module 217 calls and executes 10b-1 inserted into the second queue 253 since there is no instance inserted into the first queue 251. When 10b-1 is executed, 10t4-1 is generated and inserted into the first queue 251.

When 10t4-1 is executed, 10c-1 is generated and inserted into the first queue 251. In this case, 10d-1 inserted into the second queue is not executed because an instance of 10t4-1 exists in the first queue 251 when the execution module 217 calls and executes an instance.

When 10c-1 is executed, 10t5-1 and 10t6-1 are generated and inserted into the first queue 251.

As shown in FIG. 3B, 10t5-1 is first called and executed according to the order in which the first queue 251 is generated and inserted. Since this is the second instance created in 10B, the identity of this instance contains information of -2. The insertion module 215 inserts 10b-2 into the first queue 251 because 10B is an OR join and instances have been executed for both 10T2 and 10T5, two input transitions thereof.

10t6-1 is called in FIG. 3A and is treated as a failure upon execution as in the prior art simulation. If 10b-2 is called and executed, 10t4-2 is generated and inserted into the first queue 251. If 10t4-2 is called and executed, 10c-2 is generated and inserted into the first queue 251.

When 10c-2 is called and executed, 10t5-2 and 10t6-2 are generated and inserted into the first queue 251. 10t5-2 is called and executed and treated as a failure. If execution module 217 executes 10t6-2, an instance for 10D should be created. However, since 10d-1 is inserted into the second queue 253, the generation module 211 does not generate a separate instance. Since 10D is an AND join activity or an instance of both input instances 10T6 and 10T3 has been executed and its value is also true, the insertion module 215 calls 10d-1 and inserts it into the first queue 251.

The execution module 217 calls and executes 10d-1, and as a result, 10t7-1 is generated and inserted into the first queue 251. When 10t7-1 is called and executed, an instance for the terminating activity 101 is created and inserted into the first queue 251. The process terminates when an instance for the shutdown activity 101 is invoked and executed.

As described above, according to the work process management system according to the present invention, unlike the conventional loop count method, the process is smoothly and stably processed without falling into an infinite loop.

5A is one embodiment of a workflow process including a single loop for simulation of a business process management system in accordance with the present invention. The loop sections in the process of FIG. 5A are 30B, 30T3, 30C, 30T4. Other assumptions are the same as in the case of the simulation of the present invention with respect to FIG. Hereinafter, the simulation of the present invention for the process of FIG. 5A will be described using the tables of FIGS. 5B and 5B.

In FIG. 5B, the generation module 211 creates an instance for the start activity 300 and the insertion module 215 inserts it into the first queue 251. When the execution module 217 calls and executes an instance for the start activity 300, an instance 30t1-1 for the output transition 30T1 of the start activity 300 is generated and inserted into the first queue 251.

When 30t1-1 is called and executed, 30a-1 is generated and inserted into the first queue 251. When 30a-1 is called and executed, 30t2-1 is generated and inserted into the first queue 251. When 30t2-1 is called and executed, generation module 211 generates instance 30b-1 for OR join activity 30B.

Since the instance for 30T4 has not yet been executed among the plurality of input transitions for 30B, the insertion module 215 inserts 30b-1 into the second queue 253. In this case, since an instance inserted into the first queue 251 does not exist, the execution module 217 calls and executes 30b-1 inserted into the second queue 253. Since 30B is an OR join activity, even if only one of the instances for multiple input transitions is running and its value is true, the execution result is treated as success.

When 30b-1 is executed, 30t3-1 is generated and inserted into the first queue 251. When 30t3-1 is called and executed, 30c-1 is generated and inserted into the first queue 251. When 30c-1 is called and executed, 30t4-1 and 30t5-1 are generated and inserted into the first queue 251.

When 30t4-1 is called and executed, the generation module 211 generates 30b-2 since the second instance is generated for 30B. Since all instances of the plurality of input transitions have been executed for the OR join activity 30B, the insertion module 215 inserts 30b-2 into the first queue 251.

In Fig. 5C, 30t5-1 is treated as a failure in execution. When 30b-2 is executed, the call thruster 30t3-2 is generated and inserted into the first queue 251. When 30t3-2 is generated, 30c-2 is generated and inserted into the first queue 251. When 30c-2 is called and executed, 30t4-2 and 30t5-2 are generated and inserted into the first queue 251.

30t4-2 is called and treated as a failure at run time. When 30t5-2 is called and executed, 30d-1 is generated and inserted into the first queue 251. When 30d-1 is called and executed, 30t6-1 is generated and inserted into the first queue 251. When 30t6-1 is called and executed, an instance for the end 301 is generated and inserted into the first queue 251. When the instance for the end 301 is executed, the process of FIG. 5A ends.

As described above, as a result of simulating the work process management system according to the present invention for the process including the single loop of FIG. 5A, it can be seen that the process proceeds as expected without errors.

6A is an embodiment of a workflow process including a cross-loop type 1 for simulation of a business process management system in accordance with the present invention. In the process of FIG. 6A the loop sections are 40B, 40T3, 40C, 40T4, 40D, 40T5, 40T6, 40E, 40T7 and the intersection points are 40C. Other assumptions are the same as in the case of the simulation of the present invention with respect to FIG. Hereinafter, the simulation of the present invention for the process of FIG. 6A will be described through the tables of FIGS. 6B, 6C, 6D, 6E, and 6F.

In FIG. 6B, the generation module 211 creates an instance for the start activity 400 and the insertion module 215 inserts it into the first queue 251. When the execution module 217 calls and executes an instance for the start activity 400, an instance 40t1-1 for the output transition 40T1 of the start activity 400 is generated and inserted into the first queue 251.

When 40t1-1 is called and executed, 40a-1 is generated and inserted into the first queue 251. When 40a-1 is called and executed, 40t2-1 is generated and inserted into the first queue 251.

When 40t2-1 is called and executed, the generation module 211 generates 40b-1. 40B is an OR join activity, and the insertion module 215 inserts 40b-1 into the second queue 253 since the instance for 40T5 among the plurality of input transitions has not yet been executed. In this case, since the instance inserted into the first queue 251 does not exist, the execution module 217 calls 40b-1 inserted into the second queue 253 to execute it.

When 40b-1 is executed, 40t3-1 is generated and inserted into the first queue 251. When 40t3-1 is called and executed, 40c-1 is generated. Since no instances of 40T7 among the plurality of input transitions of the OR join activity 40C have been executed, the insertion module 215 inserts 40c-1 into the second queue 253. In this case, since the instance inserted into the first queue 251 does not exist, the execution module 217 calls 40c-1 inserted into the second queue 253 to execute it.

When 40c-1 is called and executed, 40t4-1 is generated and inserted into the first queue 251. When 40t4-1 is called and executed, 40d-1 is generated and inserted into the first queue. When 40d-1 is called and executed, 40t5-1 and 40t6-1 are generated and inserted into the first queue 251.

When 40t5-1 is executed, the generation module 211 generates 40b-2, which is the second instance of 40B. Since a plurality of instances for 40B have all been executed and 40B is an OR join activity, the insertion module inserts 40b-2 into the first queue 251.

When 40t6-1 is called and executed, 40e-1 is generated and inserted into the first queue 251. When 40b-2 is called and executed, 40t3-2 is generated and inserted into the first queue 251. When 40e-1 is called and executed, 40t7-1 and 40t8-1 are generated and inserted into the first queue 251.

When 40t3-2 is called and executed, the generation module 211 generates 40c-2. Since the instance 40t7-1 for 40T7 of the plurality of input transitions for 40c-2 has not yet been executed, the insertion module 215 inserts 40c-2 into the second queue 253.

When 40t7-1 is called and executed, the instance for the OR join activity 40C to which 40T7 is input is inserted into the second queue 253, so the generation module 211 does not create a separate instance for 40C. The insertion module 215 inserts 40c-2 into the first queue 251 because all of the plurality of input transitions to 40c-2 have been performed.

In Fig. 6C, 40t8-1 is treated as a failure in execution. When 40c-2 is called and executed, 40t4-2 is generated and inserted into the first queue 251. When 40t4-2 is called and executed, 40d-2 is generated and inserted into the first queue 251.

When 40d-2 is called and executed in FIG. 6D, 40t5-2 and 40t6-2 are generated and inserted into the first queue 251. When 40t5-2 is called and executed, 40b-3 is generated and inserted into the first queue 251. When 40t6-2 is called and executed, 40e-2 is generated and inserted into the first queue 251.

When 40b-3 is called and executed, 40t3-3 is generated and inserted into the first queue 251. When 40e-2 is called and executed, 40t7-2 and 40t8-2 are generated and inserted into the first queue 251. When 40t3-3 is called and executed, 40c-3 is generated and inserted into the first queue 251.

When 40t7-2 is called and executed, 40c-4 is generated and inserted into the first queue 251. In the simulation of Fig. 6, 40t8-2 is treated as a result of execution failure, so no instance for 40F is created. When 40c-3 is called and executed, 40t4-3 is generated and inserted into the first queue 251. When 40c-4 is called and executed, 40t4-4 is generated and inserted into the first queue 251.

When 40t4-3 and 40t4-4 are sequentially called and executed, 40d-3 and 40d-4 are sequentially generated and inserted into the first queue 251. When 40d-3 and 40d-4 are sequentially called and executed, 40t5-3, 40t6-3 and 40t5-4, 40t6-4 are sequentially generated and inserted into the first queue 251.

In FIG. 6E, since 40t5-3 is called and treated as a failure in execution, an instance for 40B is not generated. Since 40t6-3 is called and treated as a success at execution, 40e-3 is generated and inserted into the first queue 251.

Since 40t5-4 is also treated as a failure in execution, an instance for 40B is not created, and 40t6-4 is treated as a success in execution, so 40e-4 is generated in FIG. 6F and inserted into the first queue 251.

When 40e-3 and 40e-4 are sequentially called and executed, 40t7-3 and 40t8-3 and 40t7-4 and 40t8-4 are sequentially generated and inserted into the first queue 251. In FIG. 6F, 40t7-3 is called and treated as a failure in execution, so no instance for 40C is created.

Since 40t8-3 is called and treated as a success in execution, 40f-1 is generated and inserted into the first queue 251. 40t7-4 and 408-4 are called sequentially and treated as a failure at run time, so no instance is created after that. When 40f-1 is called and executed, 40t9-1 is generated and inserted into the first queue 251. When 40t9-1 is executed, an instance for the end 401 is generated and inserted into the first queue 251. The simulation for the process of FIG. 6A ends when the instance for termination 401 is executed.

6A is an embodiment of a workflow process including a cross-loop type 2 for simulation of a business process management system in accordance with the present invention. The loop sections in the process of FIG. 7A are 50B, 50T3, 50C, 50T4, 50D, 50T5, 50T6, 50E, 50T7, 50T8 and the intersection point is 50C. The process also has nested loops corresponding to 50D, 50T5, and 50B.

Other assumptions are the same as in the case of the simulation of the present invention with respect to FIG. Hereinafter, the simulation of the present invention for the process of FIG. 7A will be described using the tables of FIGS. 7B, 7C, 5D, 7E, and 7F.

In FIG. 7B, an instance for the start 500 is generated and inserted into the first queue 251. When an instance for the start 500 is executed, 50t1-1 is generated and inserted into the first queue 251. When 50t1-1 is executed, 50a-1 is generated and inserted into the first queue 251. When 50a-1 is executed, 50t2-1 is generated and inserted into the first queue 251.

When 50t2-1 is executed, the generation module 211 generates an instance 50b-1 for 50B, which is an OR join activity. In the case of 50b-1, since all instances of 50T2, 50T5, and 50T8, which are multiple input transitions for 50B, are not yet executed, the insertion module 215 inserts 50b-1 into the second queue 253.

The execution module 217 calls and executes 50b-1 inserted into the second queue 253 since there is no instance inserted into the first queue 251. When 50b-1 is executed, 50t3-1 is generated and inserted into the first queue 251.

When 50t3-1 is executed, the generation module 211 generates an instance 50c-1 for the OR join activity 50C. Since not all instances of 50T3 and 50T7, which are input transitions to 50C, have been executed, the insertion module 215 inserts 50c-1 into the second queue 253. The execution module calls and executes the instance 50c-1 inserted into the second queue 253 since the instance inserted into the first queue 251 does not exist.

When 50c-1 is executed, 50t4-1 is generated and inserted into the first queue 251. When 50t4-1 is executed, 50d-1 is generated and inserted into the first queue 251. When 50d-1 is executed, 50t5-1 and 50t6-1 are generated and inserted into the first queue 251.

When 50t5-1 is executed in FIG. 7C, the generation module 211 generates 50b-2, which is the second instance of 50B. Since the instance for 50T8 has not been executed among the plurality of input transitions for 50B, the insertion module 215 inserts 50b-2 into the second queue 253.

Since the execution module 217 has an instance 50t6-1 inserted into the first queue 251, the execution module 217 calls 50t6-1 prior to 50b-2 inserted into the second queue 253 and executes it. When 50t6-1 is executed, 50e-1 is generated and inserted into the first queue 251.

When 50e-1 is called and executed, 50t7-1, 50t8-1, and 50t9-1 are generated and inserted into the first queue 251. When 50t7-1 is executed, the generation module creates a second instance 50c-2 for 50C. Since a plurality of instances for 50C have all been executed and 50C is an OR join activity, the insertion module 215 inserts 50c-2 into the first queue 251.

When 50t8-1 is executed, since the instance 50b-2 for 50B is inserted into the second queue 253, the generation module 211 does not generate a separate instance for 50B. Since a plurality of instances for 50B have all been executed and 50B is an OR join activity, the insertion module 215 calls 50b-2 from the second queue 253 and inserts 50b-2 into the first queue 251.

In Fig. 7C, 50t9-1 is treated as a failure in execution. When 50c-2 is executed, 50t4-2 is generated and inserted into the first queue 251. When 50b-2 is executed, 50t3-2 is generated and inserted into the first queue 251.

When 50t4-2 and 50t3-2 are executed sequentially, 50d-2 and 50c-3 are sequentially generated and inserted into the first queue 251. When 50d-2 is executed, 50t5-2 and 50t6-2 are generated and inserted into the first queue 251. When 50c3-2 is executed, 50t4-3 is generated and inserted into the first queue 251.

In Fig. 7D, 50t5-2 is treated as a failure in execution. When 50t6-2 is executed and processed as success, 50e-2 is generated and inserted into the first queue 251. When 50t4-3 and 50e-2 are executed sequentially, 50d-3, 50t8-2, and 50t9-2 are sequentially generated and inserted into the first queue 251. When 50d-3 is executed, 50t5-3 and 50t6- are executed. 3 are sequentially generated and inserted into the first queue 251.

In FIGS. 7D and 7E, 50t7-2 and 50t8-2 are treated as failures in execution. When 50t9-2 is executed and processed as success, 50f-1 is generated and inserted into the first queue 251. 50t5-3 is treated as a failure when executed. When 50t6-3 and 50f-1 are executed sequentially and processed as success, 50t-3-3 and 50t10-1 are sequentially generated and inserted into the first queue 251.

When 50e-3 is executed, 50t7-3, 50t8-3, and 50t9-3 are generated and inserted into the first queue 251. When 50t10-1 is executed, an instance of the end 501 activity is created and inserted into the first queue 251. In FIGS. 7E and 7F, 50t7-3 and 70t8-3 are treated as failures in execution.

When 50t9-3 is executed, 50f-2 is generated and inserted into the first queue 251. When the instance for termination 501 is executed, the simulation of the business process management system of the present invention for the process of FIG. 7A ends.

As shown in the above simulation, the business process management system according to the present invention does not fall into an infinite loop unlike a conventional method using a conventional loop count even in a complicated process such as FIGS. 1, 5A, 6A, and 7A. The process was processed as intended, with no unexpected results in the processing of.

8 is a process flow diagram of one embodiment according to the present invention. Hereinafter will be described the features of the work process management method according to an embodiment of the present invention.

If an instance to be created is already created, the generation module 211 determines whether an instance of a job to be created is inserted into the second queue 253 in order not to recreate the same instance as the instance (601). To this end, the generation module 211 refers to whether an instance to be created is recorded as being already created in the instance table 230.

When the instance to be generated is not inserted into the second queue 253, the generation module 211 generates an instance of a job representing one activity or a transition performed according to a business process (603).

When an instance to be created is inserted into the second queue 253, the generation module 211 does not create a separate instance, and the insertion module 215 calls an instance inserted into the second queue 253 ( 605).

The recording module 213 records in the instance table 230, which is a table for recording the instance to be inserted into the first queue 251 or the second queue 253, so that the instances to be inserted are distinguished by the identification information (607). . In this way, the generation module 211 does not re-create the same instance as the already created instance with reference to the instance table 230.

In the present invention, the instance may be called by the identification information, which includes information about the number of instances created for one job in one process.

The insertion module 215 determines whether there is an instance satisfying a predetermined condition among the instances generated by the generation module 211 (609). Since the same instance is not created separately because it is inserted into the second queue 253 and the instance called by the insertion module 215 is also generated by the generation module 211 before being inserted into the second queue 253, the generation module It is included in the instance created by 211.

The insertion module 215 inserts an instance satisfying a predetermined condition among the instances generated by the generation module 211 into the second queue 253 (611), and selects an instance among the instances generated by the generation module 211. An instance that does not satisfy the condition is inserted into the first queue 251 (613).

In this case, the instance generated by the generation module 211 is an instance of an activity for which some of the transitions input into the activity are not executed, or an instance of a plurality of transitions in which the instance is input into the activity. In the case where it is executed and the values of the instances for the plurality of transitions are not all true, the insertion module 215 inserts the instance generated by the generation module 211 into the second queue 253, The remaining instances that are not inserted into the second queue 253 may be inserted into the first queue 251.

The execution module 217 determines whether there is an instance inserted into the first queue 251 (615), and if there is an instance inserted into the first queue 251, calls it and calls the first queue ( If the instance inserted into the second queue 253 does not exist, the instance inserted into the second queue 253 is called (619). The execution module 217 executes the instance called in the first queue 251 or the second queue 253 as described above (621).

If the instance executed by the execution module 617 is an instance for the end activity, the business process terminates. Otherwise, it is determined whether the execution result of the instance executed by the execution module 617 is treated as success (625). ).

If the execution result of the instance is treated as a success, the generation module 211 re-determines whether or not to create an instance, and then the insertion module 215 inserts the instance into the first queue 251 or the second queue 253. If not, the execution module 217 calls and executes an instance inserted into the first queue 251 or the second queue 253 without this process.

The method of the present invention can also be embodied in computer readable code on a computer readable recording medium. The computer-readable recording medium includes all kinds of recording devices in which data that can be read by a computer system is stored. Examples of computer-readable recording media include ROM, RAM, CD-ROM, magnetic tape, floppy disk, optical data storage, and the like, which are also implemented in the form of a carrier wave (for example, transmission over the Internet). It also includes. The computer readable recording medium can also be distributed over network coupled computer systems so that the computer readable code is stored and executed in a distributed fashion.

The technical scope of the present invention described above through the embodiments is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications and changes may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. It is evident to those who have knowledge. Therefore, such modifications or variations will have to be belong to the scope of the invention described in the claims of the present invention.

1 is an embodiment of a workflow process for simulation.

2A, 2B, 2C, and 2D are diagrams illustrating a prior art simulation process for one embodiment of the process of FIG.

3A, 3B and 3C are diagrams illustrating a simulation process of the present invention for one embodiment of the process of FIG.

Figure 4 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a business process management system according to the present invention.

5A illustrates one embodiment of a workflow process for simulation.

5B and 5C are diagrams illustrating a simulation process of the present invention for one embodiment of the process of FIG. 5A.

6A illustrates one embodiment of a workflow process for simulation.

6B, 6C, 6D, 6E, and 6F are diagrams illustrating a simulation process of the present invention for one embodiment of the process of FIG. 6A.

7A illustrates one embodiment of a workflow process for simulation.

7B, 7C, 7D, 7E and 7F are diagrams illustrating a simulation process of the present invention for one embodiment of the process of FIG. 7A.

8 is a process flow diagram of one embodiment according to the present invention.

Claims (9)

A method for automatically managing a business process including an activity representing a logical business step of a business process and a transition, a logical connection line connecting the activities for the flow of the work. In Generating an instance of the work by a generation module that generates an instance of a work representing one activity or a transition performed according to the business process; An insertion module for inserting the created instance into a first queue or a second queue is configured to classify the instance according to the state of the created instance and the type of a task related to the instance. Inserting an instance satisfying the condition into a second queue; Inserting, by the insertion module, an instance which does not satisfy the set condition among the generated instances into a first queue; Calling and executing an instance inserted into the first queue by an execution module calling and executing the instance; And And executing, by the execution module, calling and executing an instance inserted into the second queue when the instance inserted into the first queue does not exist. The method of claim 1, wherein inserting the instance into a second queue comprises: The generated instance is an instance of an activity in which an instance of some of the plurality of transitions input to the activity is not executed, The instance is an instance of an activity set to be executed when all instances of a plurality of transitions input to the activity have been executed and the values of the instances of the plurality of transitions are all true, but all the instances of the plurality of transitions have been executed. And when the values of the instances for the plurality of transitions are not all true, the insertion module inserts the generated instances into the second queue. The method of claim 1, wherein inserting the instance into the first queue comprises: If the instance to be created as a result of calling and executing the instance inserted into the first queue is inserted into the second queue, the insertion module calls the instance inserted into the second queue and inserts the instance into the first queue. Business process management method characterized in that. The method of claim 1, wherein the business process management method And recording the instance to be inserted by the identification information into an instance table, which is a table for recording the instance to be inserted into the first queue or the second queue, by the identification information. And the identification information includes information regarding the number of instances created for the one job in the one process. A recording medium which contains a program for realizing the business process management method according to any one of claims 1 to 4. System that automatically manages business processes including activities that represent the logical business stages of the business process and transitions, which are logical connections that connect the activities for the flow of the business. In A generation module for generating an instance of a work representing an activity or a transition performed according to the business process; Among the created instances, an instance satisfying a condition set for classifying the instance according to the state of the instance and a type of a task related to the instance is inserted into a second queue, and the set condition is not satisfied among the created instances. An insertion module for inserting an unsuccessful instance into the first queue; And If there is an instance inserted into the first queue, the instance inserted into the first queue is called and executed. If there is no instance inserted into the first queue, the instance is inserted into the second queue. Execution module for calling and executing the instance; Business process management system comprising a. The method of claim 6, wherein the insertion module The generated instance is an instance of an activity in which an instance of some of the plurality of transitions input to the activity is not executed, The instance is an instance of an activity set to be executed when all instances of a plurality of transitions input to the activity have been executed and the values of the instances of the plurality of transitions are all true, but all the instances of the plurality of transitions have been executed. And inserting the created instance into the second queue when the values of the instances for the plurality of transitions are not all true. The method of claim 6, wherein the insertion module If an instance to be generated as a result of calling and executing the instance inserted into the first queue is inserted into the second queue, the instance inserted into the second queue is called and inserted into the first queue. Work Process Management System. The method of claim 6, wherein the business process management system And a recording module for recording the instance to be inserted to be distinguished by the identification information into an instance table, which is a table for recording the instance to be inserted into the first queue or the second queue. And the identification information includes information on the number of instances created for the one job in the one process.

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