EP1419470A2

EP1419470A2 - Project modelling and management tool

Info

Publication number: EP1419470A2
Application number: EP02776930A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Pierre Chereau; Jacques Chereau; François LEDUC; Philippe Rideau
Original assignee: Memba Sarl
Current assignee: MEMBA SARL
Priority date: 2001-08-20
Filing date: 2002-08-12
Publication date: 2004-05-19
Also published as: CA2457878A1; WO2003019432A2; US20050027582A1; LU90817B1; WO2003019432A3

Abstract

The invention concerns a project management tool comprising a plurality of terminals communicating with a central server, at least one of the terminals including: means (11) for defining project models and for inserting them in a model library (6a), each project model including a list of step models, one step representing a set of tasks contributing to the achievement of the project; means (15) for defining a scenario defining links between a source model and a target model, each link being associated with a condition concerning the properties of the source model of the link; means (21) for generating projects from project models and steps from step models; and means (30) for updating and display the state of the project steps, and for generating a new step from the target model of a scenario link, when the condition associated with the link is fulfilled.

Description

MODELING AND PROJECT MANAGEMENT TOOL.

The present invention relates to a project management tool covering not only planning but also monitoring needs.

Traditionally, a project is broken down into tasks whose accomplishment tends to the achievement of a determined objective, namely the project. The accomplishment of these tasks requires the implementation of a set of resources offered by an organization such as a company carrying out an activity in a given field. Resources are mainly made up of organizational staff and the machines available to the organization.

Generally speaking, two types of activities can be distinguished, namely activities grouping together a small number of large projects, and activities grouping together a large number of small projects. Large projects use a large number of resources for a relatively long period of time, while small projects, also called notably files, cases, or contracts, use a small number of resources which are shared between several projects at a time given.

Existing project management tools are designed to manage and plan large projects.

The breakdown into tasks of a large project is generally hierarchical, tasks grouping other tasks at a lower level. Furthermore, the tasks of the same project can be linked together by constraints of the predecessor / successor type so as to introduce a temporal scheduling of the execution of the tasks. Such scheduling is generally represented in the form of GANTT or PERT diagrams.

This approach poses a first series of problems.

Project management is a macroscopic activity, each hour of work not being planned, while management of the use of resources is a microscopic activity because it must take into account each hour of work. Consequently, either we favor project management with a limited number of tasks, and the granularity of the tasks is insufficient for the management of time spent, in particular if the number of resources to be implemented to carry out a task is important, or one privileges the management of resources, which implies a number of tasks far too important to be able to carry out a serious planning with a traditional project management tool.

In addition, the management of a project is focused on the project as a whole and in particular, on the end date of the project. Even if milestones are introduced to detect possible drifts, it is frequent that the timeouts which they reveal are not very significant because the forgotten tasks were added, or that the planned tasks were executed in order different from the planned order. For this, it is common to break down large projects into sub-projects. However, such a breakdown requires consolidating the project from the subprojects, which is generally a long and difficult exercise and therefore constitutes an important source of errors.

In addition, existing project management tools are designed to manage only one project at a time, which is problematic when the same resource needs to be assigned to multiple projects. It is indeed difficult to control the workload of a resource assigned to several projects. In addition, these tools, which are based on the critical path method, are designed to determine the end date of the project, but are not suitable for calculating and monitoring several intermediate deadlines.

The classic project management approach also poses a second series of problems. Small projects are generally not planned since the implementation cost does not justify the planning load. However, breaking down the project into tasks allocated to resources is still necessary for monitoring tasks. Conventional project management tools do not automatically generate the information necessary to monitor large volumes of small projects, which would be too heavy, if not impossible, to produce manually.

In addition, some small projects last several years but only require small interventions which are often recurrent during the life of the project. Conventional project management tools do not have an automatic mechanism for planning and monitoring the deadlines for these recurring stages.

The present invention aims to eliminate these drawbacks. This objective is achieved by providing a project management tool including a plurality of terminals communicating with a central server, characterized in that at least one of the terminals comprises:

means for defining project models and for inserting them into a library of models, accessible via the central server, each project model comprising a list of step models, each step of a project representing a set of collective work participating in the realization of the project with a view to an intermediate result, and being associated with a progress report,

means for defining at least one scenario for a project model which is inserted into the library of models in association with the corresponding project model, each scenario defining succession links between two nodes associated respectively with step models, namely a link origin node and a link destination node, each link being associated with a condition expressed as a function of properties of the step model associated with the link origin node,

- means for generating a project from a project model selected from the model library, each terminal comprising:

- means for generating stages from stage models, and - means for monitoring projects allowing updating and viewing the state of the stages of projects which have previously been generated using the means of generation of stages, and to trigger the generation of a new stage from a stage model associated with a destination node of a link of a scenario when a condition associated with the link is satisfied by the properties a step associated with the origin node of the link.

Advantageously, each stage model of at least part of the stage models comprises a list of task models defining tasks which are necessary for the completion of a stage generated from the stage model, the tool project management comprising means for generating tasks from task models and means for updating and monitoring tasks which have been previously generated.

Preferably, the management tool comprises means for defining at least one scenario for a stage model which is inserted into the library of models, in association with the corresponding stage model, each scenario defining succession links between two nodes associated respectively with task models, namely a link origin node and a destination node of the link, each link being associated with a condition expressed as a function of the properties of the task model associated with the origin node of the link.

According to a feature of the invention, the management tool comprises means for defining models of sub-projects of a project model or another model of sub-project, and means for defining scenarios comprising succession links between two models taken from project models and sub-project models, namely an origin model of the link and a destination model of the link.

According to another particular feature of the invention, the management tool comprises means for defining a terminal node in a scenario, which node is associated with a node originating from another scenario, and means for triggering a scenario whose the origin node is linked to a terminal node of another running scenario, when a condition relating to a model associated with the terminal node is satisfied.

According to yet another feature of the invention, the management tool comprises a step model includes the definition of at least one forecast or effective date, a step according to this model comprising at least one forecast or effective date, each link of a scenario being associated with a deadline and a date chosen from the provisional or actual dates of a stage defined by its model corresponding to a node for anchoring the link.

Advantageously, the anchoring node of a link is the original node of the link.

In particular, the means to define a scenario include:

- Means for inserting into a display screen window a graphic symbol of node type representing a step model, - means for inserting into said window a graphic symbol of link type connecting two symbols of node type, and representing a link between two stages, and

- Means for inserting into said window a graphic symbol of the recursive link type having for origin and destination the same node type symbol, indicating that the step represented by the origin and destination node of the link must be executed several times at regular intervals.

Preferably, the management tool according to the invention comprises means for associating with a model a form for entering information specific to an object generated from the model, and conversion means for converting a form defined by the user in a standard description language into a form usable by the project management and associated with this model and with objects created according to this model.

Advantageously, during the execution of a scenario, it comprises means for detecting the modification of a property of a step associated with a node of the scenario, means for searching for the node associated with the step and the links leaving this node, means for obtaining a condition associated with each of the outgoing links thus found, means for verifying each of the conditions obtained, means for obtaining the destination node of the link associated with a verified condition and the step model associated with the node destination obtained, and means for creating a stage on the stage model thus obtained.

A preferred embodiment of a project management tool according to the invention will be described below, by way of nonlimiting example, with reference to the appended drawings in which:

FIG. R schematically represents a system allowing the implementation of the project management tool according to the invention;

Figures 2a, 2b and 2c show according to the formalism object of the UML method the structure of models and objects manipulated by the project management tool according to the invention;

Figures 3a, 3b, 3c and 3d show according to the object formalism the UML method the structure of a scenario and its operation;

FIG. 4 illustrates in the form of a sequence diagram of the UML method, the mechanisms implemented in a scenario according to the invention;

FIG. 5 shows the main modules of the project management tool according to the invention; Figure 6 shows in detail one of the main modules shown in Figure 5;

Figures 7a, 7b and 7c are examples of scenarios created and used by the project management tool according to the invention.

FIG. 1 represents a system in which the project management tool according to the invention is implemented. This system comprises a plurality of terminals 2 to 4 made available to users of one or more organizations and connected via a private 5 and / or public network for transmitting data to one or more server computers 1 The server 1 is also connected to a storage unit 6 containing a database. In such a system, the terminals 2 to 4 are generally constituted by desktop computers, but can also be constituted by mobile telephones or also by pocket computers or what are called personal assistants. Furthermore, the server 1 is preferably of the Web server type. Of course, the network 5 can be constituted by one or more public or private data transmission networks.

In this system, the server 1 makes available to the terminals 2 to 4 the various functions of the project management tool, as well as the information generated and stored by the project management tool in the storage unit 6. Of course, access rights can be assigned to the different users of these terminals in order to prohibit them from accessing certain of these functions or information as a function of these access rights.

Compared to the classic breakdown of a project into sub-projects, then into tasks, the invention introduces an additional level of breakdown between the project and the task, called "stage" which corresponds to the commitment of a set of resources involved in the project to deliver a certain result by a given due date. Such a commitment corresponds, for example, to a customer's order, a project package, a deliverable or a billable service. One of the main properties of a stage is therefore its milestone, i.e. the date on which the result of the stage is supplied or delivered. There is a forecast date on the effective date of the milestone called the stage due date, i.e. the date before which the result of the stage must be supplied or delivered, this date possibly being matched grace periods that allow the stage to be carried out without compromising the progress of the project. In this breakdown, the task is analyzed as the participation of one or more resources in this commitment. Project planning is then based on this breakdown into stages which hides the details of the task list. As a result, a task can be added to a stage at any time without having a direct impact on planning. Project monitoring consists of monitoring the stages and tasks by the resources involved. Thanks to the invention, the stages and the planning of the project are automatically updated by consolidating the information collected on the tasks.

Furthermore, the present invention is based on the observation that, in the activities of small projects, the projects or businesses can be grouped in a limited number of sets of similar projects. The same is true for steps and tasks. Starting from this observation, it introduces the concept of object model, namely project, stage or task, which brings together all the elements common to the objects of the same set of similar objects.

The common elements of a set of projects gathered in a project model notably include scenarios which make it possible to reproduce, in the projects derived from these models, reproducible patterns of recurrences.

The project management tool according to the invention implements a modeling phase, that is to say construction of the models and a production phase, that is to say management of the objects created according to these models.

Modeling consists in identifying on the one hand the different activities or types of projects of the organization, and possibly in organizing these project models according to a hierarchical model by identifying models of "sub-projects", and on the other hand to identify the models of stages, the models of tasks and the types of resources which intervene throughout the course of these models of projects managed by the organization.

According to the invention, a project or sub-project model comprises:

- possibly a list of sub-project models and rules for creating sub-projects according to these models, - a list of properties of the project model, to be entered in one or more specific forms of the model, - a list of stage models and rules for creating stages according to these models,

- and possibly scenarios of sub-projects or stages making it possible to specify sequences of sub-projects or stages in the project model.

According to the invention, a step model comprises:

- a list of properties of the stage model, to be entered in one or more specific forms of the stage model, and in particular, a set of states and expected durations between two states,

- an ordered or unordered list of task models and the rules for creating tasks according to these models,

- and possibly task scenarios making it possible to specify sequences of tasks in the stage model.

As the stages have variable execution times and it is not a matter of waiting for the last moment to worry about their smooth progress, the project management tool according to the invention makes it possible to monitor the state of a stage over time and issue alerts if a stage is late or if a deadline has passed. To this end, the stage models make it possible to predefine the way in which a stage generated from a stage model must take place, that is to say all the delays to be monitored from the creation of the stage. at its end. Each stage is associated with two series of dates, namely:

- forecast dates which are defined and recorded when the stage is created, and

- achievement dates which are defined during the life of the stage.

If during the life of the stage, a completion date occurs after a forecast date, it is considered that the stage is late.

The due date and the effective date of the milestone are separate in the planning and implementation. Indeed, let's take the example of "contract signing". This stage includes a certain number of tasks before (preparation of the contract) and after (recording and invoicing of the contract) the effective date of signature. The effective date of signature is the effective date of the milestone of the "signature of the contract" stage. The due date is the corresponding scheduled date. If the milestone date of the stage is later than or not indicated on the stage due date, the stage deadline is considered to have passed.

By way of nonlimiting example, the dates and states presented in the following table are provided for monitoring the steps:

By default, a stage created is in project. In this state, the stage awaits a decision, which can take the form of an order from a client, an internal decision or an external event. Then the step is decided when its execution has been confirmed. The step then goes to the started state when its execution has started. Finally, the stage goes to the finished state, unless it has been abandoned.

A stage model includes the definition of durations for the calculation of forecast dates in the form of deadlines calculated from the due date. As soon as the due date of a stage created according to a model is defined, the forecast dates are automatically calculated according to the durations defined by the model.

According to the invention, a task model comprises:

- a workload and a forecast duration necessary for the accomplishment of the task,

- a list of types of resources necessary for the accomplishment of the task according to the model,

- and possibly a serial number. In the following, an "object" indicates a project, a stage, a task or a resource, and a "model" indicates a project model, a stage model, a task model or a type of resource.

Figure 2a shows in the formalism defined by UML (Unified Modeling Language), the relationships between the different types of models and the different types of objects. This figure shows different blocks representing classes of objects, divided into three parts, namely a first part (from the top) containing the designation of the block, a second part containing the list of attributes of the block and a third part containing the list of block methods. The list of attributes brings together different parameters defining the state of the block, while the methods are functions or procedures which are associated with the block. This figure includes "Model" and "Object" blocks which define two categories of blocks specified by the links marked by a triangle. Thus, the "Model" block is linked to "Project Model", "Stage Model" and "Task Model" blocks, while the "Object" block is linked to "Project", "Stage" and "Task" blocks . This representation simply indicates that the "Model" category gathers project models, step models and task models, and that the "Object" category gathers project, stage and task objects.

The models and the objects themselves are abstract. Only projects and project models, stages and stage models, tasks and task models actually have persistent occurrences in the system.

Then, the "Project Model", "Stage Model" and "Task Model" blocks are linked in series by links marked with a diamond. This representation means that the project models contain stage models, which contain task models. A task model is necessarily contained in a stage model and a stage model in a project model.

The "Project", "Stage" and "Task" blocks are linked together in the same way.

This means that projects contain steps, which contain tasks. A task is necessarily contained in a step and a step in a project.

The "Model" block contains in particular the "creerObjetSelonModele" method which allows you to generate an object according to a model. Introducing attributes and methods in a category block allows you to specify implicitly that all blocks in the category contain these attributes or methods.

The "Object" block contains the "getModel" method which allows each object to keep the memory of the model from which it was created and therefore to find it.

Each link marked with a diamond is associated with numbers "1" and series of numbers "0..n" respectively to the source and destination block of the link. The diamond on the side of the source or origin block of the link means that it aggregates the destination block whose life depends on the origin block, for example the deletion of a project implies the deletion of the stages which depend on it. The numbers mean that the original block of the link contains between 0 and n occurrences of the destination block of the link, for example a project contains between 0 and n steps. Conversely, the link destination block belongs to one and only one link origin block. For example, a step belongs to one and only one project. In addition, the blocks "Project model", "Stage model" and "Task model" are linked by unmarked links whose ends are associated with series of numbers "0..1" and "0..n" respectively to the "Project", "Stage" and "Task" blocks. This means, for example, that a project template can be associated with one or more projects. The absence of a diamond on the link means that the destruction of one of the two blocks does not result in the destruction of the other block. In fact, these links correspond to the "getModel" method for each of the "Project", "Stage" and "Task" blocks.

The various dates for forecasting and carrying out stages, mentioned above, are analyzed in the first instance as properties of stages. For simplicity, these dates are introduced as attributes or properties at the stage object level, insofar as these dates are shared by all the stages.

Figure 2b shows using the same formalism another presentation of the relationships between the different types of models and the different types of objects. This presentation reveals a hierarchical organization of project models and projects, by introducing the abstract notions of collective work and collective work model which group projects and stages, on the one hand, and project and stage models respectively. on the other hand. In addition, to show that projects can contain other projects, called sub-projects, the projects contain collective work, that is to say projects or sub-projects, and stages. Likewise, the project models contain collective work models, i.e. models of projects or models of sub-projects, and models of stages.

These hierarchies can possibly be generalized on the objects and the models, in particular for a breakdown on the one hand of the tasks into elementary tasks and grouping tasks, and on the other hand of the models of tasks into models of elementary tasks and models of tasks of regrouping.

Figure 2c details the constitution of models and objects. A model defines a set of model properties and default values for these model properties. The "creerObjetSelonModele" method creates an object and copies for this object all the model properties defined by the model with their default values in object properties. Certain model properties are possibly transformed during this copying by the "creerObjetSelonModele" method, for example duration model properties can be transformed by a calculation into object type properties of date. The values of the object properties can then be changed independently of the default values of the model properties.

According to the invention, the stages of a project can be linked together by one or more stage scenarios, modeling the succession of stages necessary for the realization of a project and making it possible in particular to automatically generate the stages of the project conditionally depending on the properties and progress of other stages of the project.

A scenario is an automaton that automatically creates objects according to the models specified in the scenario when they are needed. A scenario is a set of nodes and links. The nodes represent the models to be used for the creation of the objects according to the scenario. It should be noted that the same model can be referenced by several nodes of the same scenario. Such an automaton can apply as well to projects or sub-projects, as to stages or tasks.

A stage scenario is made up of stage models symbolized by nodes linked together by links symbolizing a delay between a stage model origin of the link and a stage model destination of the link. Each link therefore designates:

- a source or origin node of the link, associated with an origin step model; - a link destination node, associated with a destination step model;

- a type of anchor date among the dates known from an origin stage: (planned) decision date, (planned) start date, (planned) termination date, due date and date of achievement of the milestone; - a delay expressed in days, months and years between the date of anchoring of the source of the link and the date of expiration of the step associated with the destination node of the link;

- and optionally, a condition expressed as a function of the step model properties. This condition can advantageously be implemented in the form of a script interpreted by the system.

In the case where the origin and destination nodes of a link are identical, the link is said to be recurrent. When these nodes are different, the link is non-recurring.

Figure 3a details the definition of the scenarios. In this figure, the "link" blocks as such are abstract, that is to say that only recurring links and non-recurring links actually have persistent occurrences in the system. A scenario further includes a scenario origin node which is the only node to the destination of no link.

It should be noted that the diagram in FIG. 3a can be easily modified to allow chaining of the scenarios, for example by introducing a subclass "terminal node" of the class "node" defining a node which would not be the origin of 'no link in the scenario, but would be associated with the origin node of another scenario.

Figure 3b shows the links between the scenarios and the objects. Objects, including projects, steps, and tasks, are not necessarily created automatically by scenarios. They can be done manually according to a model. On the other hand, if an object was created by a scenario, it preserves the reference of the node, therefore of the scenario which made it possible to create it. This reference lets you know the next object to create, via the links. It is obtained by the "getNode" method of the object.

By extension, the model of a scenario node is called the model to which said node refers and which is returned by the "getModel" method of said node. We call origin model, respectively destination model, the model corresponding to the origin node, respectively destination node, of a link scenario. We call origin object, respectively destination object, an object created by a scenario according to an origin model, respectively a destination model.

The classes derived from the "Object" class which use the scenarios for an automatic generation, in particular project, step and task, implement the "generateSelonScenario" method (see also Figures 2a and 2c). When this method is called, an object created according to a scenario node obtains said node by the "getNode" method. This node is the origin of the link considered for generation. The "getOutboundLinks" method of said source node returns the collection of outbound links. The application of the "getDestinationNode" method on each of the outgoing links makes it possible to obtain a collection of link destination nodes. The application of the "getModel" method on each of the destination nodes of the links makes it possible to obtain the collection of the corresponding models, to then create the corresponding destination objects by calling the "creerObjetSelonModele" method on each of the said models.

It is possible to check the existence of a destination object before generating it according to the destination model defined by a link, so as not to execute the same generation several times. For this, each object keeps a reference to its successors. Whenever a generation of destination object is attempted along a link, the existence of a successor object referencing the destination node of this link must be tested so as to avoid repeating a generation which has already taken place.

Figure 3c shows the implementation of a condition for the generation of a destination object according to a scenario link. An origin model contains a set of predefined conditions for the generation of destination objects according to the links of a scenario. A link starting from a node referencing this origin model possibly designates a condition of this set for the generation of the destination object according to this link. The condition is verified by the "estConditionVerifiee" method, which is an expression relating to the properties of the same model and whose return value is a boolean. This method takes the origin object as a parameter and uses the values of the properties of the origin object corresponding to the model properties designated by the expression to evaluate the condition. The destination object is only created according to the scenario if the condition is satisfied. If we consider as an example a scenario comprising at least two nodes and a link. The first stage model corresponding to the first node, at the origin of the link, is a "contract signature" and the second stage model corresponding to the second node, at the destination of the link, is a "credit check" . The "contract signature" stage model includes a property of type monetary type and named "amount". The condition associated with the link is "amount greater than 10,000.00" which means that the credit check is only performed if the amount is greater than 10,000.00. The "signing of Mr. Dupont contract" step is a particular instance of the "contract signing" model. If the object property linked to "amount" has the value of 18,000.00, the condition is checked and the credit check step of Mr. Dupont is generated for its execution.

At this stage, the generation of the object according to the link is controlled by an action of the user interface. Preferably, this execution is caused on the basis of a system event, for example as soon as the object property "amount" is valued.

For this, we can for example provide a notification mechanism, used to create an event model. The modification of an object property value by the "assignValue" method systematically triggers the notification of the event to the object on which the object property depends by calling the "proprieteChangee" method of said object.

Figure 4 shows the sequence diagram according to the UML method of applying scenarios with such a condition and such events. Whenever a new value is assigned to an object property, the object is notified by calling the "proprieteChangee" method of said object. The object searches by the "getNode" method for the scenario node which eventually made it possible to create it. If such a node does not exist, the object does not participate in a scenario and the sequence does not apply. Otherwise, the object calls the "getOutboundLinks" method from this node and retrieves the collection of outbound links from that node. For each of said outgoing links, a call to the "getCondition" method returns the applicable condition which is verified by calling the "isCondition Verified" method. If the condition is not satisfied, the sequence goes to the next outgoing link in the collection. If the condition is satisfied, the object obtains the destination node of the link by calling the method "getDestinationNode" on the outgoing link, and the attached model, by calling the "getModel" method of the destination node. Finally a call to the method "creerObjetSelonModele" of the destination model allows to create the destination object. The sequence goes to the next link in the collection of outgoing links until reaching the last element in this collection.

FIG. 3d presents a particular application of the scenarios according to the invention. The scenario automatically creates stages and positions them over time. To do this, all the steps include the object properties "debutPrevu", "debutEffectif," finPrevue "," finEffective "(see also Figures 2a and 2b) from which the states are deduced:

- "In project" or "not started" if the effective start date and the effective end date have not been entered, - "Started" or "not completed" if the effective start date has been entered, but not the effective end date,

- "Completed" if the effective end date has been entered.

The scenario is used to calculate the expected end date "endPrevue" of a destination step "EtapeDest" of a link according to the delay "delaiEntreEtapes" between the origin step "EtapeOrigine" and the destination step of the link, and the stage model "ModeleEtapeDest" allows to deduce the planned start date

"debutPrevu" according to the duration "durePrevue" of the model of the destination step.

In a first variant, the following relationships are applied:

EtapeDest.finPrevue = EtapeOrigine.finEffective + Lien.delaiEntreEtapes et

EtapeDest.debutPrevu = EtapeDestfinPrevue - ModeleEtapeDest.dureePrevue

In a second variant, the link designates an "anchor" node for the calculation. We call stage model anchors the stage model designated by the anchor node of a scenario link. The calculation becomes:

EtapeDest.finPrevue = EtapeAncre. endEffective + Link.delaiEntreEtapes et

EtapeDest.debutPrevu = EtapeDest.finPrevue - ModeleEtapeDest.dureePrevue

Note that the first variant is a special case of the second variant in which origin node and anchor node are identical.

In a third variant, the condition is "EtapeAncre.finEffective filled (not null)". By extension, the creation of the destination step is carried out by notification of the change in value of the object property "finEffective" when it is completed.

In a fourth variant, the date of the anchor step on which the calculation is based, is specified in the link in the form of a "selectedDate" which can refer to any of the properties of objects "debutPrevu", "startEffective," endPrevue "or" endEffective "and the calculation becomes:

EtapeDestfmPrevue = EtapeAncre.dateChoisie + Lien.delaiEntreEtapes et EtapeDest.debutPrevu = EtapeDestfinPrevue - ModeleEtapeDestduree

It is possible to envisage a whole series of dates for the object properties of a stage: order date, planning date, billing date, etc.

For the implementation of all the mechanisms which have just been described, the project management tool according to the invention comprises three main modules (see FIG. 5), namely a module for managing models 10, a module for object management 20, and an object tracking module 30.

The model management module 10 comprises a module for creating / updating 11 models, in particular project models, stage models, task models and types of resources, which are stored in a library of models 6a stored in the storage unit 6, and a module 12 for searching for these models. The object management module 20 comprises a module 21 for creating / updating objects, in particular projects, stages, tasks and resources in accordance with the models found in the library 6a, these objects being stored in a base object data 6b also stored in the storage unit 6, as well as a module 22 for searching for these objects. The object tracking module 30 is designed to edit lists of objects according to criteria to be introduced, in particular the state of these objects on a given date. This module includes a step tracking module 31 designed to edit lists of steps and a task tracking module 32 designed to edit lists of tasks, and in particular in a period and for a given resource. The task tracking module can take the form of a time sheet or a personal electronic agenda.

As shown in more detail in FIG. 6, the module for creating / updating models 11 comprises a function 13 for defining a project model, a function 16 for creating personalized input forms, a function 14 for defining step models, a scenario definition function 15, a function 18 for defining task models, and a function 17 for defining resource types.

The project model definition function 13 makes it possible to enter general information relating to the project model, such as a description, and a description of the project model. This function introduces the notion of sub-project model allowing to decompose a project model into sub-project models. With this in mind, the function of defining a project model makes it possible to specify whether the new project model to be created is a "root" project model or a sub-project model to be linked to an already existing project model, says parent project model. If the new model to be created is a subproject model, function 13 also allows you to specify whether the corresponding subproject should be created automatically following the creation of the parent project corresponding to the parent project model, and define a minimum and maximum number of occurrences of subprojects in the parent project.

The function 16 for creating personalized forms makes it possible to load into the database of models 6a one or more new forms previously defined in a standard language such as HTML or to select an already existing form to assign it to a model. In this way, it suffices to use a specific editor for this language, to create a form usable by the project management tool according to the invention. Function 16 also makes it possible to analyze the fields of the HTML form and to create in the model database 6a, the set of model properties for the model to which the form relates.

These model properties are stored in the model base 6a in the form of a table described in the table below:

Optionally, a specific keyword can be added to the HTML language for type control in text boxes. In HTML, a text box is described by the following label:

which can be completed with the type control keyword as follows:

to control the type of data entered in the text box. Other keywords can be added on the same principle, in particular for checking the fields of the data entered.

Function 16 also makes it possible to interpret a form and display it with its data as read in the table above. The document object model of a browser allows you to read and write data in the fields of the form as displayed by the browser.

Function 14 allows you to define the step models that belong to the project model. This function allows in particular to enter general information relating to a stage model, such as a label, and a description of stage model. This function calls function 16 to associate one or more forms for entering specific information with a step according to this model. It also makes it possible to define the forecast durations of the stage model, and possibly to specify a list of tasks which must be performed to carry out the stage, using the task model definition function 18. Function 18 also makes it possible to decompose a step model into a list of task models and for each task model introduced into the list, to specify a task label, a description of task model, as well as a duration. and a forecast workload necessary to perform the corresponding task. To assign one or more types of resources to a task model, function 18 calls function 17.

In addition to assigning types of resources to task models, function 17 allows you to build up a list of types of resources available for carrying out projects. Resource types correspond to the functions that a resource can play in a project, for example project manager, engineer, consultant, technician, assistant, etc.

The scenario definition function 15 makes it possible to specify a scenario label, a description and possibly a range of validity dates for the scenario, as well as to introduce graphically into a drawing window, nodes and links between two nodes . The introduction of a node triggers the display for selection of the list of step models of the project model being defined, and the introduction of a link between two already introduced nodes requires entering a date anchor, deadline and condition.

This function also makes it possible to introduce recurring links, that is to say links whose origin and destination nodes are identical.

Figures 7a, 7b and 7c show examples of scenarios.

Figure 7a illustrates a scenario for selling a maintenance-free device. This scenario includes a first step symbolized by a source node 51 of the scenario, corresponding to the signing of the sales contract by the customer, a step symbolized by a second node 53, corresponding to the delivery of the device, and a step symbolized by a third node 55, corresponding to the installation of the device. The first and second nodes are linked together by a link associated with a delay 52, indicating that the delivery of the material to the customer must be made 16 days after the signing of the contract. The second and third nodes are also linked together by a link associated with a delay 54, indicating that the installation of the device must be carried out 16 days after its delivery. For the two links 52 and 54, the anchoring date not represented is the date of achievement of the milestone of the origin step, because it is not possible to deliver without signature, nor to install without delivery.

Figure 7b illustrates a sales scenario for a device with maintenance that is renewable every year and includes two annual preventive visits. This scenario comprises, in addition to steps 51, 53, 55 and links 52, 54 of the maintenance-free sales scenario, shown in FIG. 7a, a first step 57 of preventive maintenance visit, triggered 3 months after the signing of the contract. (link 56) and a second stage 59 of preventive visit triggered 6 months (link 58) after the first stage of preventive visit 57. For the two links 56 and 58, the anchoring date not shown is the due date of the origin step, because even if the first visit 57 is delayed or canceled, the second must take place in the terms agreed upon signature.

It should be noted that, in accordance with an alternative embodiment described above in the form of a sequence of scenarios, it is advantageous to factor the preventive visits into an independent scenario and to chain the signature 51 and the renewal 61 to this scenario. This avoids duplicating the structure of steps 57 and 59 and of link 58.

As the maintenance contract is renewable every year, the corresponding scenario includes a renewal step 61, linked to the signing step 51 by a link 60 associated with a period of one year, and the renewal step is linked to itself by a recurring link 62 associated with a period of one year. Stage 61 is also linked (link 56) to a first stage 57 of preventive visit, which is linked (link 58) to a second preventive visit 59. The anchoring date for link 60 is the date of achievement of the milestone (date of signature) and the anchoring date for link 62 is the renewal due date, in order to ensure a due date on the anniversary date of the signing date.

Figure 7c illustrates a scenario for the rental of a device, for a period of three years, including two annual preventive maintenance visits to the device. This scenario also includes an origin node 51 corresponding to the signature of the contract and nodes 53 and 55 symbolizing the stages of delivery and installation, these three nodes being linked together by the links 52 and 54. Furthermore, stage 55 installation is linked by a link 56 associated with a period of 3 months to a first stage of preventive visit 57, which is linked by a link 58 associated with a delay of 6 months in a second stage of preventive visit 59. The payment of the annual rent balance by the client (stage 64), one year after the signature stage 51 (link 63), is followed 3 months after (link 56), two stages of preventive visit 56, 57 to 6 months apart (link 58). These steps are repeated during the third year of the contract (link 65 with step 64 and step 66).

As the contract is renewable, the annual balance step 66 is linked by a link 67 associated with a period of one year to a renewal step 68. The anchoring dates are deduced from the previous models and are not detailed.

It should be noted that the project model "rental / sale of equipment" which includes the three scenarios shown in Figures 7a, 7b and 7c, as well as the stage models involved also includes an additional stage model which does not participate in any scenario, namely a model of curative visit stage, which is only triggered at the request of the customer in the event of a device failure.

The scenario definition function 15 also makes it possible to copy and modify an already existing scenario in order to create a new one. Likewise, the functions 13 and 14 for defining a project and stage model make it possible to copy and modify an existing project and stage model to create new ones.

The module 21 for creating / updating objects is designed to present the user with a list of all the project models in the library.

6a, these models can be grouped by field of activity to facilitate the selection of a model.

Following the selection of a model by the user, this function creates a new project object in the object library 6b and displays on the screen of the user's terminal a window for entering general information and the custom form (s) corresponding to the selected project model.

Once the project has been created according to a model, the next phase consists in initiating a scenario. To this end, the module 21 for creating / updating objects gives access to the list of step models and scenarios of the project model created previously. It is possible to create a first step from a step template from the list. It is also possible to designate a scenario in the list to create the first step from the model associated with the origin node of the scenario. In both cases, it is mandatory to enter the deadline for the step to be created. The module 21 creates a new step object in the object library 6b and displays on the screen of the user's terminal a window for entering general information, the forecast dates calculated from the durations defined in the model d 'stage, the completion dates to be entered and the personalized form (s) corresponding to the stage model selected.

Optionally, the task list for the step is generated from the list of task models of the corresponding step model. Preferably, this generation is carried out at the request of the user or automatically when the step goes to a predefined state. For example, it is useless to break it down into tasks one year before renewing a contract.

The step monitoring module 31 makes it possible to know the list of steps due within a certain period and which are in a certain state on a given date, for example due in the next 6 months and not yet decided on the date of the day. Like the module 22 for searching and updating objects, the module 31 for monitoring the stages makes it possible to record the dates of completion and the changes of state of the stages.

The user can use the module 22 for searching and updating objects or the module 31 to allocate resources to each task of the step. For this purpose, he must for each task from the list of tasks appearing in the step object, select the name of one or more resources, generally among the employees of the organization that hosts the system, in the list of resources. of the object library 6b, according to the types of resources allocated to the task model in the step model.

A resource can use the task tracking module 32 to record the progress of their work. The task tracking module allows you to list all the tasks involving the resource and which depend on steps decided and not completed by a certain date. Advantageously, the task tracking module 32 presents a time sheet, that is to say a table comprising the tasks of the list online, in column of the days in a period considered, generally the week or the current month. , and in the cells at the intersection of the rows and the columns, fields for entering time portions in hours and minutes, engaged by a resource to carry out all or part of a task in the day corresponding to the cell. Portions of times contain only durations, and their sum for all the resources of the same task constitutes the workload necessary for the accomplishment of the task. The duration of the task is determined by the period between the first and the last time portion of said task.

The module 20 for managing objects and the module 30 for tracking objects also make it possible to mark the tasks as completed. The states of the stages are advantageously calculated according to the states of the tasks:

- a step is started when at least one of its tasks is started and the start date of the step is the date of the first portion of time worked by a resource on this task;

- a stage is completed when all of its tasks are completed and the stage termination date is the date of the last portion of time worked by a resource on the stage tasks;

All the information entered by the user or determined from the models of projects, stages and tasks, are inserted by the modules 20. and 30 in the object database 6b, in new "stage" objects. and "task" in relation to the corresponding "project" object.

The object management module 20 makes it possible to modify the calculated start and end dates of the steps, in particular to take account of unsaved work.

The changes in stage states, determined by the changes in the value of their properties, trigger the call to the module 21 for creating / updating objects for the execution of the scenario previously initialized on the project. If the scenario identifies a link leaving the current stage and the current stage contains the data necessary for the creation of the destination object of this link, this one is created with a due date based on the date of anchoring of the calculation and the period defined by the link between said anchoring date for the origin step and the due date of the destination step.

Depending on the number of outgoing links, the corresponding destination steps are created in the object database 6b. The destination step then appears in the follow-up of the steps not decided and the treatments described above. are reproduced for this second step. In the example of FIG. 7b, the end of the "signature" step triggers the creation of the "delivery", "preventive visit" and "renewal" steps from the corresponding step models.

And so on until the last stage of the scenario. At the end of this, the project is eventually considered finished.

The module 10 for modeling projects may only be accessible to some of the terminals 2 to 4, and in particular to the terminals of those responsible for the organization, while the module 20 for managing objects and the module 30 for monitoring objects are accessible to all terminals, so that each of the organization's resources can follow up on its work and enter into the object database 6b information relating to the projects, stages and tasks it performs .

Advantageously, the system includes means for printing details and lists of objects and models.

Claims

1. Project management tool comprising a plurality of terminals (2, 3, 4) communicating with a central server (1), characterized in that at least one of the terminals comprises:

means (11) for defining project models and for inserting them into a library of models (6a), accessible via the central server (1), each project model comprising a list of step models, each stage of a project representing a set of collective work participating in the realization of the project with a view to an intermediate result, and being associated with a stage state,

- means (15) for defining at least one scenario for a project model which is inserted in the library of models (6a) in association with the corresponding project model, each scenario defining succession links (52, 54) between two nodes (51, 53) respectively associated with step models, namely an origin node (51) of the link and a destination node of the link (53), each link being associated with a condition expressed as a function of properties of the model step associated with the origin node of the link,

- means (21) for generating a project from a project model selected from the model library, each terminal comprising:

- means (21) for generating steps from step models, and

- Project monitoring means (30) making it possible to update and view the status of the stages of the projects which have previously been generated using the stage generation means, and to trigger the generation of a new one stage starting from a stage model associated with a destination node of a link of a scenario when a condition associated with the link is satisfied by the properties of a stage associated with the node origin of the link.

2. Project management tool according to claim 1, characterized in that each stage model of at least part of the stage models comprises a list of task models defining tasks which are necessary for the realization of a step generated from the step model, the project management tool comprising means (21) for generating tasks from task models and means for updating and monitoring (32) tasks which have been previously generated.

3. Project management tool according to claim 2, characterized in that it comprises means (15) for defining at least one scenario for a step model which is inserted in the model library, in association with the corresponding step model, each scenario defining succession links between two nodes associated respectively with task models, namely a link origin node and a link destination node, each link being associated with a condition expressed as a function of properties of the task model associated with the link origin node.

4. Project management tool according to one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that it comprises means (11) for defining models of sub-projects of a project model or of another model of subproject, and means (15) for defining scenarios comprising succession links between two models taken from among project models and subproject models, namely a link origin model and a link destination model.

5. Project management tool according to one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that it comprises means for defining a terminal node in a scenario, which node is associated with a source node of another scenario , and means for triggering a scenario whose origin node is linked to a terminal node of another running scenario, when a condition relating to a model associated with the terminal node is verified.

6. Project management tool according to one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that a stage model comprises the definition of at least one forecast or effective date, a stage according to this model comprising at least one date provisional or effective, each link in a scenario being associated with a deadline and a date chosen from the provisional or effective dates of a stage defined by its model corresponding to a node for anchoring the link.

7. Project management tool according to claim 6, characterized in that the anchoring node of a link is the original node of the link.

8. Project management tool according to one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that the means for defining a scenario include:

means for inserting into a display screen window a graphical symbol of the node type representing a stage model,

means for inserting in said window a graphic symbol of type link connecting two node type symbols, and representing a link between two steps, and - means for inserting in said window a graphic symbol of recursive link type having for origin and destination the same node type symbol, indicating that the step represented by the origin and destination node of the link must be executed several times at regular intervals.

9. Project management tool according to one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that it comprises means (16) for associating with a model a form for entering information specific to an object generated from the model. , and conversion means for converting a form defined by the user in a standard description language into a form usable by the project management tool and associated with this model and with the objects created according to this model.

10. Project management tool according to one of claims 1 to 9, characterized in that during the execution of a scenario, it comprises means for detecting the modification of a property of a step associated with a node. of the scenario, means for finding the node associated with the step and the links leaving this node, means for obtaining a condition associated with each of the outgoing links thus found, means for checking each of the conditions obtained, means for obtaining the destination node of the link associated with a verified condition and the stage model associated with the destination node obtained, and means for creating a stage on the stage model thus obtained.