JP6098685B2 - Workflow system, workflow system control method and program, workflow server, workflow server control method and program - Google Patents

Description

  In the present invention, when the same person in charge is assigned to a plurality of activities and these activities are processed in order, or when the activity to which the same person in charge is assigned is processed again, the role of the matter to be processed is changed. The present invention relates to a workflow system having a function for easily displaying a difference or a function for easily processing a matter.

  In the workflow process, when a process flow is defined in which the same person can perform different processes, the same person can perform the process.

  For example, instead of starting the process screen for the next process from the list of matters as a device for improving efficiency when continuing the next process, the process screen for the next case is displayed continuously from the previous process. There are things to do.

JP2003-030388

  Patent Document 1 describes a workflow system in which the same person in charge efficiently processes activities assigned to successive nodes.

  By keeping the value of continuous processing standby time in the processing activity of workflow processing, the next processing person can be determined within the continuous processing standby time for the activity, and the previous processing person will continue the next processing. If it can be processed, the next process can be processed continuously.

  That is, when the next continuous process can be performed subsequent to the current process, it is possible to display a screen to be processed continuously.

  If the previous processing person cannot process the next process continuously, the selection of the processing person who performs the next process is accepted. As described above, when continuous processing is possible, a mechanism is provided in which the next processing can be performed continuously following the current processing.

  However, in Patent Document 1, when continuous approval is possible, the next processing screen is displayed to the person in charge of processing so that continuous processing can be easily performed. First, if the matter process is advanced in the workflow system that performs processing by starting the matter processing screen to be processed from the list of pending matters, the matter that can be continuously approved, It is not possible to grasp at which processing position the approval phase is currently. In addition, there are cases that are not subject to continuous approval even if they are drafted based on a process definition that allows continuous approval.

  For example, the following are examples of cases that are drafted based on process definitions that are continuously approved. When there are different subordinate departments under a certain organizational unit, for example, when there are departments that have divisions 1 and 2 under a certain department, the department manager is Mr. A, and It is assumed that section A, section manager, who is subordinate to it, concurrently serves as section 2, and section 2 is section B.

  It is assumed that an approval path of “applicant → approval of manager → approval of manager → ...” is defined in this organization. In the case of this approval route, Mr. A once approves the project applied from the first section as the section manager and continuously approves as the section manager. However, Mr. B will approve the section manager for the application submitted from section 2, and Mr. A will approve it for the first time as the manager.

  In this case, there are two cases for the approval of the person in charge of processing, the case of approving as the section manager and the case of approving as the department manager, and the case of approving as the department manager. If you have already approved as a section manager, you have already reviewed and approved it, so you want to be able to efficiently approve the manager following the section manager's approval.

  On the other hand, for cases where an approval request has been made from section 2 where you do not serve as a section manager (an approval request from another section manager), you have processed it once in the past. It means that you want to approve after checking the contents carefully.

  In this way, in a case that is drafted in a process related to continuous processing, both cases that have been processed once and those that have not been processed are mixed. This means that there are cases that are processed for the first time because there are cases that are processed continuously and cases that are processed by others.

  If there are many matters related to continuous processing for the same person in charge in the above state, information on the matter to be processed in the processing waiting list, matter number, matter name, processing date, If you can only check the information of the matter when the matter was drafted, and you can check the processing phase of this matter for the first time by opening the matter processing screen one by one from the matter list, The efficiency of the process itself cannot be achieved.

  Therefore, in view of the above-described problems, the object of the present invention is to identify in which phase a process-waiting item is waiting for processing in the display of a process-waiting item list (processing-waiting item display screen). The purpose is to provide a mechanism that enables the person in charge of processing to efficiently process the matter by making it possible to identify the matter that has been processed in the past. . It is another object of the present invention to provide a mechanism for efficiently processing a case when the same processing person in charge processes the case again.

The present invention provides a workflow system processing again by the same handlers is performed is stored as status process history of the processing in units of activity, which is a unit that performs processing monkey請been projects in the workflow system Processing history storage means, processing waiting matter extraction means for extracting a matter waiting for processing by the person in charge of the matter from the processing history storage means, and processing waiting status extracted by the processing waiting matter extraction means The display processing means for displaying the matter on the processing waiting matter display screen of the person in charge of processing, and the waiting processing matter extracted by the waiting matter extracting means for displaying on the waiting matter display screen by the display processing means. among them, the projects that processing the person in charge of the projects approved in the past, be approved Te said pending projects display screen smell And a process of displaying uniquely associated Open button for opening the process window to check the contents of the approval button, and the pending transactions makes it possible, on the other hand, handlers of the project is approved in the past The item that has not been processed is provided with display control means for performing processing for uniquely displaying an open button for opening a processing screen for confirming the contents of the pending processing item .

  According to the present invention, it is possible to identify in which phase the waiting item is waiting for processing in the waiting item list display (waiting matter display screen), and the waiting item is a matter that has been processed in the past. In this case, by making it possible to identify the case that has been processed in the past, it is possible to provide a mechanism that enables the person in charge of processing to efficiently process the case. In addition, when the same person in charge of processing processes the case again, it is possible to provide a mechanism that can efficiently process the case.

It is a figure which shows an example of a structure of the workflow system in embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of the hardware constitutions of the various terminals in embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of the function block diagram in embodiment of this invention. It is a flow regarding the process of creation of a list of waiting items to be processed (waiting matter display screen) in the embodiment of the present invention. It is a figure which shows the relationship between the definition information and item information in embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of the data table and organization chart which comprise the organization information in embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of the data table and process definition which comprise the definition information in embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of the data table which comprises the matter information in embodiment of this invention, and the processing history figure of a matter. It is a figure which shows an example of the screen of the process waiting list in embodiment of this invention, and the screen of the conventional process waiting list. It is a flow regarding the process of creation of the process waiting item display screen in the embodiment of the present invention. It is a figure which shows an example of the data table and organization chart which comprise the organization information in embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of the data table and process definition which comprise the definition information in embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of the data table which comprises the information of the case in embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of the process history diagram of the case in embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of the process waiting item display screen in embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of the data table which manages about the number of days which can display the function of an "approval" button with the process waiting list with respect to the matter approved in the past in embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of a structure of the workflow system in embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of the process definition in embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of the data table which comprises the information of the case in embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of the process history diagram of the case in embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of the process waiting item display screen in embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of the activity tail in embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the relationship between the definition information and item information in embodiment of this invention. It is a flow regarding the process which receives the process of a case from the process waiting item display screen in embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of the screen of a process waiting list when the process of a case is received from the process waiting item display screen in embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of the data table which comprises the information of the case in embodiment of this invention.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of a workflow system to which this embodiment is applied.

  In FIG. 1, in the workflow system, at least one workflow server 101 and a workflow client 102 are connected via a network. In this embodiment, the workflow client 102 is composed of a plurality of units.

  The user makes a workflow progress request to the workflow server 101 from the workflow client 102 using, for example, a web browser or client software.

  The workflow server 101 performs processing in response to a request from the workflow client 102 and management of matters, and transmits results to the workflow client 102 if necessary. The communication between the workflow server 101 and the workflow client 102 may be a normal HTTP request or a web service request using SOAP or the like.

  FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a hardware configuration of the workflow server 101 and the workflow client 102 according to the embodiment of this invention.

In FIG. 2, the CPU 201 comprehensively controls each device connected to the system bus 204. The ROM 203 or the external memory 211 stores an operating system (OS) that is a control program of the CPU 201 and programs for realizing various functions described later of each server or each client.
The RAM 202 functions as a main memory, work area, temporary save area, and the like for the CPU 201.

The input controller 205 controls input from the input unit 209. Examples of the input unit 209 include a pointing device such as a keyboard and a mouse in a terminal such as a server or a client.
The output controller 206 controls the display of the output unit 210. Examples of the output unit 210 include a CRT and a liquid crystal display.

The external memory controller 207 controls access to the external memory 211 that stores a boot program, various applications, font data, user files, edit files, printer drivers, and the like. In addition, various tables and parameters for realizing various functions of each server or each client are stored. Examples of the external memory 211 include a hard disk (HD), a floppy (registered trademark) disk (FD), a compact flash (registered trademark) connected to a PCMCIA card slot via an adapter, and smart media.
The communication I / F controller 208 executes communication control processing with an external device via the network 213.

  Note that the CPU 201 enables display on the output unit 210 by executing, for example, an outline font rasterization process on a display information area in the RAM 202. Further, the CPU 201 enables a user instruction with a mouse cursor (not shown) on the output unit 210.

  Various programs to be described later for realizing the present invention are recorded in the external memory 211 and executed by the CPU 201 by being loaded into the RAM 202 as necessary. Furthermore, definition files and various information tables used when executing the program are also stored in the external memory 211, and a detailed description thereof will be described later.

  Next, an example of a functional configuration diagram according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.

  The workflow server 101 includes a processing history storage unit 301, a case extraction unit 302, a display unit 303, a role display unit 304, a past processing identification display unit 305, a processing unit 306, and a batch processing unit 307.

  The processing history storage unit 301 stores, as a delivery history, processing completed or waiting for processing in each processing unit for a case that has been applied for in the workflow system.

  The case extraction unit 302 extracts, from the processing history storage unit 301, cases that are waiting for processing in each of the different processes of the person in charge of the case processing.

  The display unit 303 displays the item extracted by the item extraction unit 302 on the processing person in charge list screen (processing waiting item display screen).

  The role display unit 304 displays the role that the person in charge of processing should process the case for the case displayed on the processing-waiting case list screen (processing-waiting case display screen) by the display unit 303.

  The past process identification display unit 305 indicates that the person in charge of the past processing of the case displayed on the list of waiting items to be processed (the waiting item display screen) displayed by the role display unit 304 is the person in charge of processing the item. If they are the same, the role at the time of approval in the past and the approval date and time of approval in the past are displayed so that past processing can be identified.

  The processing unit 306 opens a processing screen for a matter that has been approved in the past among the matters displayed in the list of pending matters displayed on the display unit 311 of the workflow client 102 (waiting matter display screen). Approval is accepted from the processing unit 312 of the workflow client 102 and processing is performed.

  The collective processing unit 307 is a processing screen for a plurality of cases that have been approved in the past among the cases displayed in the list of pending processing items (the pending matter display screen) displayed on the display unit 311 of the workflow client 102. The processing unit 312 of the workflow client 102 accepts batch approval without opening and processing.

  The workflow client 102 includes a display unit 311 and a processing unit 312.

  The display unit 311 displays a process waiting item list screen (process waiting item display screen) of a person in charge of processing for which display processing has been performed by the display unit 303 of the workflow server 101.

  The processing unit 312 accepts a process for the item on the process waiting item list screen (process waiting item display screen) displayed on the display unit 311, and requests the workflow server 101 to process it.

  Next, preconditions necessary for the processing of the workflow of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.

  FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a relationship between definition information that is design information of a workflow and item information that is an item that is actually applied using the definition information.

  The definition information 500 is information for defining a work in the workflow, and is defined in advance by the designer. In this embodiment, the definition information 500 includes a work 501, a process 502, and an activity 503.

  The business 501 is a unit of application design information necessary for making an application in the workflow, and can be identified by a business ID and a business name.

  The process 502 defines the rules of the processing route for the business 501 applied in the workflow. Since one application can define a plurality of processes for each application department, the process 502 It is assumed that the process ID, business ID, and applicationable ID can identify the process.

  The activity 503 is a definition of each processing unit in the processing route defined in the process 502. For example, as one activity setting example for performing approval, a department ID to which a processing person belongs, a processing person The activity is defined by setting the role ID and the like. The activity 503 is associated with the definition of the process 502, and the association can be identified by a combination of the activity ID and the process ID. It also has the number of activity processing order and information on the role in charge.

  In the figure, “1” and “*” indicate a one-to-many relationship. For example, a plurality of processes 502 can be associated with the business 501. One process 502 is that a plurality of activities 503 are configured. Furthermore, it is associated with the case 511 of the case information 510 which is the case data in the workflow applied for based on one process 502.

  The case information 510 is information related to a case applied for in the workflow, and includes a case 511 and a processing history 512.

The case 511 indicates the case data in the workflow system that has been applied based on the work 501, and the case ID, the process ID associated with the work for which the case is applied, and the applicant who applied for the case can be specified. In order to do this, the application department ID and the application role ID to which the applicant belongs are stored.

  A plurality of processing histories 512 exist for one item 511, and indicate processing history data of the item. The processing history 512, which is processing history data, includes a case ID for identifying the requested case, an activity ID that is position information in the process 502 where the case has been processed, and a process that has processed the case. Assume that the person in charge has a person-in-charge ID, a state indicating the processing status of the case, and information on a processing date that is the date and time when the processing of the case is performed.

  FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining the organization information used when the processing of the workflow of the present invention is performed.

  The organization information is created by configuring the organization information table 614 by combining information of the department table 611, the roll table 612, and the user table 613.

  The department table 611 is information for identifying an organization, such as a department ID, a department name, and an organization 621. When the organization is expressed in a hierarchical form, a level number that indicates the level of the organization hierarchy is displayed. It is assumed that the information is composed of information of a parent department ID indicating a department ID of a hierarchy one level higher than the department ID hierarchy.

  The role table 612 is composed of a role ID associated with a user who performs processing such as application and approval in the workflow and a role name indicating the name of the role.

  The user table 613 is composed of a user ID of a user who performs processing such as application and approval in the workflow, a name, an e-mail address, and a password associated with the user ID.

  Based on these pieces of information, the organization information table 614 is created.

  The organization information table 614 is a table for registering information on which organization belongs to which organization and in which role, and the user ID of the user who performs processing such as application and approval in the workflow. A role ID for identifying a role to be associated and a department ID to which the user belongs are included.

  An example illustrated in the organization chart in which the organization information table 614 is expressed in a hierarchical structure will be described using the organization 621. For example, for user ID U000 Ichiro Kiyano, department IDs belonging to the organization information table 614 are B001 and C001. When the department ID is B001, the role ID is R002, and when the department ID is C001, the role ID is R001. If this information is illustrated in a hierarchical organization chart, the department to which Ichiro Kiyano belongs and the role corresponding to the department are illustrated, the situation where the department ID is B001 and the role ID is R002 is 621-1. The situation where the department ID is C001 and the role ID is R001 can be illustrated as 621-2.

  FIG. 7 is a diagram for explaining information of the task 501, process 502, and activity 503 of the definition information 500 of FIG. 5 in a table structure.

  7 will be described on the assumption that the information of the organization information table 614 or the organization 621 of FIG. 6 is used.

  The business table 701 is a diagram illustrating information on the business 501 in a table structure. In the business table 701, information on the design information of the application of the matter to be applied in the workflow is registered, and includes information on a business ID for identifying the design information (application information) and a business name that is the name of the design information. .

  As an example, it is assumed that “GID001” is registered as the business ID and “transportation expense adjustment” is registered as the business name.

  The process table 702 is a diagram illustrating information of the process 502 in a table structure. In the process table 702, process definition information associated with the business to which the matter is applied is registered, and a process ID enabling identification of the process, a business ID associated with the process ID, and an application for the process defined by the process ID. It consists of information on a department ID that can be applied, which is information on a possible department.

  As an example, it is assumed that “PID001” is registered as the process ID, “GID001” as the business ID, and “B001” as the applicationable department ID. If “B001” is specified, it is possible to apply for a case from “C001” and “C002”, which are departments under “B001”.

  The activity table 703 is a diagram illustrating information on the activity 503 in a table structure. Registered in the activity table 703 is information on the person in charge of each process in the process definition that defines who and in what order the cases are processed. The information includes an activity ID for identifying each activity, a process ID that makes it possible to identify which process the activity belongs to, a number that manages the order of processing of activities, and a responsible role ID.

  The process definition 704 shows an actual process in an easy-to-understand manner based on information in the process table 702 and the activity table 703.

  As for the process whose process ID is PID0001, as shown in the order specified by the number in the activity table 703, the 0th activity has no role in charge. Can apply for a project (704-1).

  The next activity 704-2 shows the activity with the number 1 in the activity table 703, and the assigned role is designated by R001.

  The next activity 704-3 shows the activity with the second number in the activity table 703, and the assigned role is designated by R002.

  The example of this process definition is a process definition in which the department ID is not specified and only the responsible role is set in the activity. In this case, the determination of the person in charge of processing determines whether there is a person in charge of processing that has the designated role in the organization having the same department ID as the department ID of the applied department. Follow the higher-level organization of the same series as the department ID, check whether there is a processing person who has the designated person-in-charge role, and if there is, the processing person becomes the user who processes the matter I will do it.

  That is, in the case of 704-2, a processing request is made to the section manager (R001) and the department manager (R002) based on the information in the roll table 612. It is assumed that when there is a user in the role of section manager or general manager, the processing request is sent to the user.

  For example, as shown in organization 621, if Saburo Kiyano has applied from C001, the section manager is in the same department ID organization, so the next person in charge of 704-2 is Ichiro Kiyano, Since the person in charge of processing No. 704-3 is in the organization of B001, Ichiro Kiyano who belongs to B001 performs the processing.

  FIG. 8 is a diagram for explaining the information of the case 511 and the processing history 512 of the case information 510 of FIG. 5 in a table structure.

  8 uses the information of the organization information table 614 or organization 621 of FIG. 6, and the information of the business table 701, process table 702, activity table 703, and process definition 704 of FIG. The explanation is based on the assumption.

  The case table 801 in FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating information on the case 511 in a table structure. In the case table 801, information on the data of the case applied for in the workflow is registered.

  Process ID linked to the work of the applied matter, matter ID given to identify the application when a new matter is applied, application department ID to which the user who applied the matter belongs, tied to the user who applied the matter It consists of information on the application role ID attached.

  As an example, a business ID “GID001” (business to be applied in the workflow) whose process ID is “PID001” belongs to “C001” as an applicationable department ID, and the application role ID is “R000”. The data with the case ID “00000001” applied by the user “” is registered.

  A processing history table 802 in FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating information of the processing history 512 in a table structure. The processing history table 802 is a table that holds processing history data in which a requested matter has been processed for each activity in the process definition.

  In the case ID, an ID for identifying the case for which the application has been applied is registered, in the activity ID, information on the activity in which the case has been processed is registered, and in the person in charge ID, the person in charge of processing. The user ID is registered, the status of the case such as processed or waiting for processing is registered in the state, and the date and time when actual processing such as approval for the case is performed is registered as the processing date.

  For example, for a case with a case ID of 00000001, an application is made by an applicant whose user ID in the organization information table 614 is U002, and in the activity act001, the processing person in charge of a processing person whose user ID is U000 in the organization information table 614 It has become.

For the case with the case ID 00000002, the user ID of the organization information table 614 is applied by U002, and in the activity act001, approval is given by the person in charge of the user ID of the organization information table 614 of U000 (in the role of section manager) Approval has been made), and a processing wait state (processing waiting state in the role of general manager) by a person in charge of processing with a user ID of U000 has been entered.

The case with the case ID 00000003 is applied by the applicant whose user ID is U003 in the organization information table 614, and is approved by the person in charge of processing whose user ID is U001 in the organization information table 614 in activity act001 (section manager) The user ID of U000 is in a processing waiting state (processing waiting state in the role of general manager).

  The process history 803 is a diagram illustrating the status of the process history in the process history table 802 for each case (case ID = 00000001, case ID = 00000002, case ID = 00000003).

  FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating an example of a process waiting matter display screen that displays a list of matters that have been requested in the workflow and have been requested to be processed. 9 is an example of a conventional process waiting item display screen, and 920 in FIG. 9 is an example of a process waiting item display screen according to the present invention. It should be noted that the data of the awaiting processing items displayed in each of them is waiting for processing in the processing history table 802 when the person-in-charge ID is U000 (department ID = B001, role ID = R002 Ichiro Kiyano). It is assumed that the case (case ID = 00000001, case ID = 0000002 and case ID = 0000003).

  Next, each display item on the conventional process waiting item display screen 900 will be described.

  An operation 901 is a portion for displaying a function for performing an operation for processing a case. For example, in 901, a function “Open” for opening a case is displayed. The status 902 displays the “status” value in the processing history table 802. The case name 903 displays the name of the business for which the case has been applied. The case number 904 displays the value of “case ID” in the processing history table 802. The title 905 displays the value of the simple contents of the application (contents describing what kind of application contents) have received the entry process from the applicant on the application screen. The reception date 906 displays the value of “processing date” in the processing history table 802.

  The application department 907 extracts and displays the “department name” in the department table 611 based on the application department ID in the case table 801 associated with the processing history table 802 (linking is performed by “case ID”).

  The applicant 908 has the same “Item ID” as the item displayed in the list of pending matters (the pending matter display screen) among the records existing in the processing history table 802, and the “activity ID” is the application activity. First, the value of “person in charge ID” of the record is extracted. Further, based on the value of the person-in-charge ID, the user table 613 is searched to display “name” information.

  Reference numeral 909 denotes a check box for selecting a displayed case. Reference numeral 910 denotes a button of a collective approval function for enabling the processing of a case without opening a processing screen for the case selected in 909.

  Subsequently, each display item on the process waiting item display screen 920 in the present invention will be described.

  The state 922 is the state 902, the case name 923 is the case name 903, the case number 924 is the case number 904, the title 925 is the title 905, the reception date 927 is the reception date 906, the application department 928 is the application department 907, and the applicant 929 is The applicants 908 and 931 have the same display contents as 909 and 932, so the explanation is omitted. Here, the operation 921, your role 926, remarks 930 and 933 (collective approval of the cases approved in the past) Will be described.

  The operation 921 is a portion for displaying a function for operating to process the case. For example, in 920, a function “approval” is displayed in addition to a function “open” for opening a case. Details of this will be described later.

  Your role 926 displays the role of the person in charge of processing so that the role in which the person in charge of processing is displayed can identify which role is waiting for processing. Details of this will be described later.

  The remark 930 displays, in an identifiable manner, by which role and when the approval was made when the person in charge of the processing has already approved the case. Details of this will be described later.

  Reference numeral 933 denotes a button having a function of batch approval of cases approved in the past for enabling approval of the case without opening a processing screen for the case once approved in the past. It should be noted that when a button is pressed, batch approval may be performed for items that have been approved in the past.

  Similarly, when pressing of the button 933 is accepted, a case that has been approved once in the past may be put in a selected state, and batch approval may be performed after accepting switching of whether or not there is a selection from the user. I will do it.

  Similarly, when the pressing of the button 933 is accepted, it is determined whether the item 931 is in the selected state has been approved in the past, and collective approval is given for those that have been approved in the past. You may be able to do it.

In other words, if a case that has been approved in the past and the button 933 is pressed, at least 931 in the selected state will be approved in a batch after confirming that the case has been approved in the past. It is to make.
<First Embodiment>

  Next, with reference to FIG. 4, processing for displaying a processing waiting list (920 in FIG. 9) in the workflow system of the present embodiment will be described.

  The person in charge of processing in the workflow system enters the user ID and password of the person in charge of processing on the login screen (not shown) and starts using the system. The acquired user ID is stored in the RAM 202 and used in the processing of S401 and S404 described later.

  When the person in charge of processing presses the “waiting for processing” button (not shown) of the workflow client, this processing is performed by the CPU 201 of the workflow server 101, and the waiting for processing list (920 in FIG. 9) is displayed on the workflow client. It will be done.

  In step S401, the processing history table 802 is referenced, the “status” is “waiting for processing”, and the “person in charge ID” matches the user ID input when the person in charge of processing starts using the system. Extract things.

  For example, in this process, it is assumed that data in the process history table 802 whose status is “waiting for process” and whose person-in-charge ID is U000 is extracted.

  Steps S402 to S406 to be described later are repeatedly performed on the extracted data waiting for processing.

  Step S402 is a step of displaying the values of the items 922 to 925 and 927 to 929 in FIG. As for the value of each item, the value is acquired by the method described for each item in FIG.

  Step S403 is a step for obtaining a role name to be displayed on the role 926 of each case on the processing-waiting case display screen 920 in the present invention.

  Based on the “activity ID” in the processing history table 802, the activity table 703 is referred to and the “in-charge role ID” designated as the person in charge of processing is obtained. Further, the “role name” is obtained by referring to the role table 612 from the “in-charge role ID”. This “role name” is displayed on the process waiting item display screen 920 926 in the present invention.

  For example, the record of the case ID = 00000001 (the person in charge ID is “U000” and the state is “waiting for processing”) in the processing history table 802 has the activity ID “act001”. R001. When the role name (role) is obtained from the role table 612, “section manager” is obtained as the role name, and “section manager” is displayed in your role 926.

  The record of the case ID = 00000002 (the person in charge ID is “U000” and the state is “waiting for processing”) in the processing history table 802 has an activity ID of act002, and when the assigned role ID is obtained from the activity ID, R002 is obtained. Become. When the role name (role) is obtained from the role table 612, “department manager” is obtained as the role name, and “department manager” is displayed in your role 926.

  The record of the case ID = 00000003 (the person in charge ID is “U000” and the state is “waiting for processing”) in the processing history table 802 also has the same role as that displayed for the case with the case ID = 00000002.

  Step S404 is a step of determining whether the user has approved in the past.

In the processing history table 802, it is determined that if a “record exists” for a matter that satisfies all of the following conditions (1) to (3), the record of that matter has been approved in the past.
(1) The case ID of the processing history table 802 matches the case ID of the case extracted from the processing history table 802 in step S401. (2) When the person-in-charge ID of the processing history table 802 starts to log in to the workflow system. , Matches the user ID entered by the person in charge of processing (3) The processing history table 802 state has been processed

  If it is determined in step S404 that the case to be processed is not a case approved in the past, in step S405, a process of displaying only the “Open” button is performed in the operation 921 of FIG.

  For example, in the records extracted in step S401, the records with the case IDs “00000001” and “00000003” do not include the record with the person-in-charge ID “U000” and the status “processed”. When displaying on the process waiting item display screen 920 in the present invention, an “Open” button is displayed in the operation 921. In addition, although it is set as a button here, it is supposed that a link may be extended instead of a button.

  If it is determined in step S404 that the case to be processed is a case that has been approved in the past, in step S406, a process of displaying an “Open” and “Approve” button in operation 921 of FIG. 9 is performed.

  For example, in the record extracted in step S401, the record with the case ID of 00000002 includes the record with the person-in-charge ID “U000” and the status “processed”. When displaying on the process waiting item display screen 920 in the present invention, buttons “Open” and “Approve” are displayed in the operation 921. In addition, although it is set as a button here, it is supposed that a link may be extended instead of a button.

  Further, in the remarks 930 of FIG. 9, a comment indicating the role approved in the past and the date and time of approval in the past is displayed.

  For example, as 951 in FIG. 9, “It is a case approved as a section manager on 2014/06/30” is displayed.

  Of the wording “Matter approved as a section manager on 2014/06/30”, the section “section manager” indicates the name of the role when the person in charge of the process has processed, and is extracted in step S404. From the processing history record, the same procedure as in step S403 is performed, and the value is displayed.

  Further, in 2014/06/30, the date processed by the person in charge of processing is displayed. In step S404, the processing date is obtained from the record of the processing history, and the value is displayed.

  For example, in the record extracted in step S401, the record with the case ID of 00000002 includes the record with the person-in-charge ID “U000” and the status “processed”. In the case of displaying on the processing waiting item display screen 920 in the present invention, a comment “A case approved as a section manager on 6/30” is displayed in the remarks 930.

  In addition, when there are a plurality of records in the processing history table extracted in step S404 in the same case, that is, when the same case has been approved twice or more in the past, each of the roles approved in the past and the past The approved date / time of approval may be displayed (not shown), or the role that has been approved in the past and the approval date / time approved in the past may be displayed (not shown).

  In addition, in the process of displaying the actual process waiting list, not only the above but also means for acquiring other information and transferring and displaying the information to the workflow client are necessary. And

  Through the above process, when displaying the list of pending matters (the pending matter display screen), it is possible to identify in which phase the pending matter is pending, and the pending matter is a matter that has been processed in the past Makes it possible to provide a mechanism that enables the person in charge of processing to efficiently process matters by enabling identification of matters that have been processed in the past.

  In addition, in the past processing waiting item display screen 920 of the present invention in FIG. 9, when the button for enabling the batch approval of the items approved in 933 in the past is accepted, the approval is received in the past. Suppose that it is possible to perform batch processing for what is being performed.

  Similarly, when pressing of the button 933 is accepted, a case that has been approved once in the past may be put in a selected state, and batch approval may be performed after accepting switching of whether or not there is a selection from the user. I will do it.

  Similarly, when the pressing of the button 933 is accepted, it is determined whether the item 931 is in the selected state has been approved in the past, and collective approval is given for those that have been approved in the past. You may be able to do it.

  That is, when the button 933 is pressed, a case where at least 931 is selected is confirmed to be a case approved in the past, and then batch approval is made.

  In this example, when the person in charge of processing has processed the matter displayed in the list of waiting items to be processed (waiting matter display screen) in the past, the case of the previous processing has been described. No need to be limited to the previous time. For example, the present invention can also be applied to a case in which another processing person has performed processing last time and the processing person has performed processing in the previous processing unit (activity).

  Next, with reference to the processing diagram of FIG. 24, an explanation will be given of the operation when the person in charge of the case presses the approval button 950 or the collective approval button (933) on the waiting-for-process case display screen 2500 in FIG. Do. This process is executed by the CPU 201 of the workflow server 101.

  In step S2401, a press of an approval button 950 or a collective approval button 933 (hereinafter referred to as a collective approval button 933) of a case approved in the past is received on the process waiting item display screen 2500.

  In step S2402, it is determined which of the approval button 950 and the collective approval button 933 has been pressed on the processing-waiting matter display screen 2500.

  If it is determined in step S2402 that the approval button 950 in FIG. 25 has been pressed, the process proceeds to step S2403. If it is determined in step S2402 that the collective approval button 933 in FIG. 25 has been pressed, the process proceeds to step S2404. To proceed.

  In step S2403, the case for which the pressing of the approval button 950 in FIG. Then, the processing in the activity processed by the person in charge of processing is set to the processed state, and when there is a next activity, the processing person in charge of the next processing of the matter (the activity for performing the next processing) is set in a processing waiting state.

  A case where the case number 924 in FIG. 25 is 00000002 will be described as an example.

  A process waiting item display screen 2500 in FIG. 25 is a diagram illustrating an example of a process waiting item display screen when a process of an item is accepted from the process waiting item display screen.

  Note that the functions 921 to 933 and 950 in FIG. 25 are the same as the functions and items to which the same numbers are assigned in the process waiting item display screen 920 in FIG. Therefore, detailed description of each function and each item is omitted.

  Note that the case where the case number 624 is 00000002 in FIG. 25 is the same case as the case where the case number 924 is 00000002 in FIG. For this reason, it is assumed that the process definition to be associated is the process definition 704, and the processing history is the same as the processing history managed by “0000002” in the processing history table 800.

  In the case where the case number 924 in FIG. 25 is 00000002, in the management of the processing history in the processing history table 802, the “activity ID” is “act002” and the “status” is waiting for processing. When the processing person in charge of U000 accepts the pressing process of the approval button 950 in FIG. 25, the “state” of the record having “Matter ID” of “0000002” and “Activity ID” of “act002” is processed.

  In addition, since the case number 624 in FIG. 25 has a process of 00000002, the process by the next activity does not exist in the process definition, which means that the process has been completed and is not displayed on the process-waiting case display screen 2500.

  In step S2404, the cases to which the approval button 950 has been assigned, that is, the cases in which the person in charge of the process has approved in the past and can be continuously approved, are collectively displayed from the screen of the waiting-for-process display screen 2500. Process.

  Then, the process in the activity of each matter processed by the person in charge of processing is set to the processed state, and if there is a next activity, the next person in charge of processing of each matter (the activity performing the next process) is waiting for processing. State.

  The case where the case number 624 in FIG. 25 is 00000002, 00000010, 00000011 will be described as an example.

  Note that the cases with the case number 624 of 00000010 and 00000011 in FIG. 25 are the cases prepared for the explanation of this processing, but the case was drafted in the same work as the case with the case number 624 of FIG. It is assumed that the items are waiting for processing in the same activity. For this reason, it is assumed that the process definition to be associated is the process definition 704.

  The processing history is assumed to be the same as the processing history managed with “Matter ID” in the processing history table 2600 of “00000002”. It is assumed that the process history managed with “Matter ID” in the process history table 2600 being “00000002” is the same as the process history managed with “Matter ID” in the process history table 800 being “00000002”. Further, the processing history table 2600 in FIG. 26 is the same as the processing history table 802 in FIG. Therefore, detailed description is omitted.

  In the case where the case number 924 in FIG. 25 is 00000002, 00000010, 00000011, in the management of the processing history in the processing history table 2600, the “activity” is “act 002” and the “state” is waiting for processing. When the person in charge of U000 in FIG. 25 accepts the pressing of the collective approval button 933 in FIG. 25, a record with “Activity ID” of “act002” in “Matter ID” of 00000002, 00000010, 00000011. The “state” of is processed.

  25, the case number 624 of 00000002, 00000010, and 00000011 does not exist in the process definition because the process by the next activity does not exist. Therefore, the process has been completed and is displayed on the waiting-for-process display screen 2500. Disappear.

  In addition, when the collective approval button 933 is pressed, a case to which the approval button 950 is assigned is not automatically approved for all cases that have been approved in the past and to which all the approval buttons 950 are assigned. Among them, it is also possible to accept only the cases for which 931 is checked by accepting the selection of the cases for accepting the collective approval by checking 931.

  Further, when the collective approval button 933 is pressed, it may be possible to make collective approval after determining whether or not a case that has been checked in advance in 931 has been approved in the past. .

  That is, when the collective approval button 933 is pressed, a case in which at least 931 is selected is confirmed to be a case approved in the past, and then the collective approval is made. .

This is the end of the description of the processing diagram of FIG.
<Second Embodiment>

  Subsequently, the second embodiment will be described. In the display of the process waiting item display screen of the first embodiment shown in FIG. 4, if it is determined in step S404 in FIG. 4 that the item to be processed is a case approved in the past, the process in FIG. In the operation 921, a process of displaying an “approval” button beside the “open” button is performed. However, in the processing history table 802, if the person in charge of processing has processed the matter in the past, , Make sure to display.

  Therefore, in the second embodiment, even if the person in charge of processing from now on has processed the matter in the past, the person in charge of processing in the subsequent process sends it back to perform processing again. An embodiment will be described in which the “Approve” button is not displayed in the case of the processing waiting list when the process is performed and the processing request is received again.

  Also, an embodiment will be described in which the “Approve” button is not displayed in the case of the processing waiting list when a certain period has passed.

  First, preconditions necessary for the processing of the workflow according to the second embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS.

  FIG. 11 is a diagram for explaining the organization information used when the workflow process according to the second embodiment is performed. 11 is the department table 611 in FIG. 6, the roll table 1112 in FIG. 11 is the roll table 612 in FIG. 6, the user table 1113 in FIG. 11 is the user table 613 in FIG. 6, and the organization information table in FIG. 1114 is the same as the organization information table 614 in FIG. Therefore, detailed description is omitted.

  The organization 1121 in FIG. 11 is an organization chart in which the organization information table 1114 is expressed in a hierarchical structure, and has the same structure as the organization 621 in FIG. In the second embodiment, the user ID = U004, the role ID = R003, and the user belonging to the department ID = A001 is added to the organization information table 1114. The situation where U004 Kantaro Kino who belongs with department ID A001 and role ID R004 is illustrated in the hierarchy shown by 1121 in the organization 1121.

  FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating information on the task 501, process 502, and activity 503 of the definition information 500 of FIG. 5 in the first embodiment in a table structure. 12 is the business table 701 in FIG. 7, the process table 1202 in FIG. 12 is the process table 702 in FIG. 7, the activity table 1203 in FIG. 12 is the activity table 703 in FIG. It shall be the same. Therefore, detailed description is omitted.

  The process definition 1204 in FIG. 12 illustrates an actual process in an easy-to-understand manner based on the information in the process table 1202 and the activity table 1203, and has the same structure as the process definition 704 in FIG. 12 is 704-1 of the process definition 704 of FIG. 7, the process definition 1204-2 of FIG. 12 is the process definition 704-2 of the process definition 704 of FIG. 7, and the process definition 1204- of FIG. 3 is the same as the set value of 704-3 of the process definition 704 in FIG.

  In the second embodiment, the activity with the third number is added in the activity table 1203. Therefore, as illustrated in the activity 1204-4 in FIG. 12, an activity to be processed by the president whose role is R004 is added.

  FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating information on the case 511 and the processing history 512 of the case information 510 of FIG. 5 in the first embodiment in a table structure. 13 is the same as the case table 801 in FIG. 8, the processing history table 1302 in FIG. 13 is the processing history table 802 in FIG. 8, and the table structure is the same. Therefore, detailed description is omitted.

  The processing history 1400 in FIG. 14 is a diagram illustrating the processing history status of the processing history table 1302 with respect to case ID = 00000004 and case ID = 00000005.

  The waiting-for-process item display screen 1500 in FIG. 15 is a diagram illustrating an example of a waiting-for-process item display screen that displays a list of items that have been requested in the workflow and requested to be processed.

  Note that the functions and items of 921 to 933 and 950 in FIG. 15 are the same as the functions and items that are assigned the same numbers in the processing-waiting matter display screen 920 in the present invention of FIG. 9 of the first embodiment. Suppose it is a thing. Therefore, detailed description of each function and each item is omitted. Note that the buttons 952 and 953 in FIG. 15 have a function for opening a processing screen for confirming the confirmation of the contents of a matter.

  The display days management table 1600 in FIG. 16 is a table for managing the number of days for which the function of the “approval” button can be displayed in the process waiting list for the cases approved in the past, and the number of days is managed by the display days 1601. The display days management table 1610 is the same table as the display days management table 1600. The display days 1611 are also the same items as the display days 1601.

  Next, the process of the second embodiment for displaying the process waiting item display screen 1500 of FIG. 15 which is a process waiting list in the workflow system of the present embodiment will be described using FIG.

  The person in charge of processing in the workflow system enters the user ID and password of the person in charge of processing on the login screen (not shown) and starts using the system.

  Further, when the person in charge of processing presses a “processing waiting list” button (not shown) of the workflow client, this processing is performed by the CPU 201 of the workflow server 101, and a processing waiting list (processing waiting matter display screen 1500 in FIG. 15). Is displayed on the workflow client.

  In step S1001, the processing history table 1302 is referenced, the “status” is “waiting for processing”, and the “person in charge ID” matches the user ID input when the person in charge of processing starts using the system. Extract things.

  For example, in this processing, it is assumed that data in the processing history table 1302 whose status is “waiting for processing” and whose person-in-charge ID is U000 is extracted.

  Steps S1002 to S1009 to be described later are repeatedly performed on the extracted data waiting for processing.

Step S1002 is a step of displaying the values of the items 922 to 925 and 927 to 929 in FIG. The value of each item is the same as the method for acquiring the value by the method described for each item in FIG. 9 of the first embodiment. Therefore, explanation is omitted.

  Step S1003 is a step for obtaining a role name to be displayed on the role 926 of each case on the processing-waiting case display screen 1500. Since this step is the same as the process similar to step S403 in the first embodiment, description thereof is omitted.

  Step S1004 is a step of determining whether the user has approved in the past.

In the processing history table 1302, it is determined that if a “record exists” for a matter that satisfies all of the following conditions (1) to (3), the record of that matter has been approved in the past.
(1) The case ID of the processing history table 1302 matches the case ID of the case extracted from the processing history table 1302 in step S1001. (2) When the person in charge ID of the processing history table 1302 starts to log in to the workflow system. , Matches the user ID entered by the person in charge of processing (3) The state of the processing history table 1302 has been processed

  If it is determined in step S1004 that the case to be processed is not a case approved in the past, in step S1009, a process of displaying an “Open” button in the operation 921 in FIG. 15 is performed.

  For example, as in the first embodiment, the records with the case IDs 00000001 and 00000003 in the records extracted in step S1001 have the person-in-charge ID “U000” and the status “processed”. Since there is no record, when displaying this record on the processing-waiting matter display screen 1500, an “Open” button is displayed in the operation 921. In addition, although it is set as a button here, it is supposed that a link may be extended instead of a button.

  If it is determined in step S1004 that the case to be processed is a case approved in the past, the process proceeds to step S1005.

  In step S1005, it is determined whether or not there is a processing history approved by a processing person in charge of processing after the case to be processed is sent back and after the return.

  That is, there is a history of approval in the past in the case, but there is a processing history that is sent back to any process from the subsequent process, and the processing person approves after the processing history that has been sent back This is a step of determining whether or not.

  For example, among the records extracted from the processing history table 1302 in step S1001, the record whose case ID is 00000004 is a record whose person-in-charge ID is “U000” and whose state is “processed” 1310, Since the record 1311 exists, in step S1004, it is determined that the case to be processed is a case approved in the past, and the process proceeds to step S1005.

  Regarding the case ID 00000004, there are 1312 records whose status is “processed (send back)”. However, the record with the person-in-charge ID “U000” and the status “processed (approved)” does not exist in the processing history that occurs after 1312. In other words, in step S1005, it is determined that the processing target item has been returned, and after the return, the processing person who is waiting for processing has approved, and there is no processing history (NO in step S1005). The process proceeds to S1009.

  In step S1009, a process for displaying an “Open” button illustrated in operation 921 in FIG. 15 is performed so that a matter that passes the process in step S1009 can be confirmed by opening the process screen from the process waiting list. . In addition, although it is set as a button here, it is supposed that a link may be extended instead of a button.

  As described above, even if the person in charge of processing from now on has processed the matter in the past, the person in charge of processing in the subsequent process sends back processing to any process in order to perform the process again. If a request for processing is received again, the matter request is not displayed in the waiting list, but only the “Open” button is displayed instead of the “Approve” button. It becomes possible to perform processing after confirming the contents on the processing screen. That is, it is possible to simply avoid displaying the “approval” button when there is a history of processing performed in the past.

  If it is determined in step S1005 that the processing target item has been returned, and after the return, there is a processing history approved by the processing person waiting for processing (YES in step S1005), step S1006 Proceed to the process.

  For example, among the records extracted from the processing history table 1302 in step S1001, the record whose case ID is 00000005 is a record whose person-in-charge ID is “U000” and whose state is “processed” 1313, Since records 1314 and 1316 exist, it is determined in step S1004 that the case to be processed is a case approved in the past, and the process proceeds to step S1005.

  For the case ID 00000005, there is a record 1315 whose status is “processed (send back)”. In addition, a record with the person-in-charge ID “U000” and a status “processed (approved)” is a processing history in which a record 1316 with a status “processed (approved)” occurs after 1315 Exists. That is, in step S1005, it is determined that there is a process history (YES in step S1005) that the processing target case has been sent back and the processing person waiting for processing has approved after the return. The process proceeds to S1006.

  In step S1006, it is determined whether or not a case to be processed has passed a certain time from the approval request. The display day management table 1600 in FIG. 16 is a table for managing the number of days for which the function of the “approval” button can be displayed in the process waiting list for a case approved in the past, and the number of days is managed by the display day 1601. . For example, in the display day management table 1600 of FIG. 16, the number of days is set to 7 days.

  If the date when the case ID 00000005 in the processing waiting state is displayed on the processing waiting matter display screen of the person in charge of processing is “2015/7/14”, the record 1317 indicates that the state = “processing waiting” ”, That is, the time from“ 2015/7/4 ”to“ 2015/7/14 ”, which is the time when 1316 records are in the state =“ processed (approved) ”, is 10 Since the number of display days 1601 managed by the display day management table 1600 is exceeded, the “approval button” is not displayed in the processing wait list.

  It should be noted that the number of days for which the function of the “Approve” button can be displayed on the waiting-for-process item display screen for the items approved in the past is the number of display days 1611 in the display day management table 1610 (table similar to the display day management table 1600). The display of the approval button on the processing-waiting matter display screen with the matter ID 00000005, which is in the processing waiting state when registered as 12 days, will be described.

  If the date when the case ID 00000005 in the processing waiting state is displayed in the processing waiting list of the person in charge of processing is “2015/7/14”, the record 1317 has the state = “processing waiting”. The period from “2015/7/4” to “2015/7/14” when the state is “processed (approved)” at the time of creation, that is, 1316 records is 10 days. Therefore, since the number of display days 1611 managed by the display day management table 1610 has not been exceeded, the “Approve” button is displayed in the processing wait list.

  In step S1007, a process of displaying an “approval” button illustrated in operation 921 in FIG. 15 is performed so that the matter passing through the process of step S1007 can be approved without opening the process screen from the process waiting list. Do. In other words, depending on whether the extracted matter waiting for processing has been sent back from the time the processing person has processed in the past to the waiting state of the processing person, Controls the display of an approval button that enables approval of a matter waiting for processing on the matter display screen.

  For example, for the case with the case ID “00000005”, as shown in the case 961 in FIG. In addition, although it is set as a button here, it is supposed that a link may be extended instead of a button.

  In step S1008, in the remark 930 in FIG. 15, a comment that indicates the role approved in the past and the date and time of approval in the past is displayed.

  For example, the case 961 with the case ID “00000005” in FIG. 15 displays “It is a case approved as a section manager on 2014/07/04” as shown in 970 in FIG.

  Of the wording “A case approved as a section manager in 2014/07/04”, the “section manager” portion displays the name of the role associated with 1316 records processed in the past by the person in charge of processing. Note that linking means a role in the activity that has been processed. That is, the name of the role when the person in charge of processing has processed is displayed.

  As a method, based on the “activity ID” of the record 1316 in the processing history table 1302, the activity table 1203 is referred to and the “in-charge role ID” designated as the person in charge of processing is obtained. Further, the “role name” is obtained by referring to the role table 1112 from the “in-charge role ID”. This “role name” is used for the text displayed at 930 in FIG.

  For example, in the record 1316 of the process history table 1302, the case ID = 00000005 (the person in charge ID is “U000” and the state is “waiting for processing (approved)”), the activity ID is “act001”. When the ID is obtained from the activity table 1203, R001 is obtained. When the role name (role) is obtained from the role table 1112, “section manager” is obtained as the role name and is displayed.

  In the portion of 2014/07/04, the date processed by the person in charge in the past, that is, the value of the processing date of 1316 records is displayed again after sending back in the processing history.

  After the process of step S1008 is completed, the “open” button shown in operation 921 of FIG. 15 is also displayed to enable confirmation by opening the process screen from the process waiting list. Do.

  For example, in the case with the case ID “00000004”, as shown in the case 960 in FIG. 15, the open button 952 in FIG.

  Further, in the case with the case ID “00000005”, as shown in the case 961 in FIG. 15, the open button 953 in FIG. 15 is displayed on the processing waiting case display screen.

  It should be noted that these “open” and “approval” functions are realized by buttons, but links may be provided instead of buttons.

  Note that the branching in step S1006 in the second embodiment may include the process before step S406 in the first embodiment. In this case, in step S1006, if the processing target case has passed a certain time from the approval request, the process proceeds to step S405, and the processing target case has not passed a certain time since the approval request. Will proceed to step S406.

  As described above, when the person in charge of the processing has performed the process in the past in the past and until the point of time when the process is performed again, a processing request for the matter is again sent to the person in charge of the processing. In this case, the person in charge of processing can check the content of the target case on the processing screen and then process the case.

  In addition, if there is no remand processing between the time when the person in charge of processing was processed in the past and the time when processing is performed again, the contents of the processing case that was processed most recently are displayed on the processing screen. Processing can be performed from the waiting item display screen without confirmation.

In addition, even if processing has been performed in the past, for a matter that has been in a process waiting state for a certain period of time, the approval button is not displayed in the processing wait list, so the matter content must be processed Processing can be performed while checking on the screen.
<Third Embodiment>

  Subsequently, the third embodiment will be described. In the third embodiment, the function of the “approval button” in the processing waiting list when it is possible to perform “approval” from the processing waiting list for a specific activity in the workflow process definition will be described. Note that the content of the processing in the embodiment is that the person in charge of a certain activity in the workflow process definition has sent the matter back to the person in charge of processing the other activity. When an approval request for a matter is received from a person in charge of processing an activity that can be performed, the “approval button” is not displayed in the processing waiting list.

  Further, as in the second embodiment, the “Approve” button is not displayed in the case of the processing waiting list when a certain period has passed.

  First, preconditions necessary for performing the workflow processing according to the third embodiment will be described.

  The organization information used when the workflow processing of the third embodiment is performed is the department table 1111, role table 1112, user table 1113, organization information table 1114 of FIG. 11 used in the second embodiment. Will be used.

  Further, the table information necessary for the workflow processing of the third embodiment to be performed and the case to be generated is the business table 1201 of FIG. 12 and the information of FIG. 12 used in the second embodiment. The process table 1202 is used.

  In the first embodiment, the information of the table used as the activity table 703 in FIG. 7 and the activity table 1203 in FIG. 12 in the second embodiment is the same as that in FIG. 22 in the third embodiment. The activity table 2200 is used.

  The activity table 2200 in FIG. 22 is a diagram illustrating information on the activity 2303 in FIG. 23 in a table structure.

  FIG. 23 is a diagram illustrating a relationship between definition information that is workflow design information and case information that is an application that is actually applied using the definition information. 23 is the work 501 in FIG. 5, the process 2302 in FIG. 23 is the process 502 in FIG. 5, the case 2311 in FIG. 23 is the case 511 in FIG. 5, and the processing history 2312 in FIG. The definition is the same as the history 512. Therefore, the detailed description is omitted.

  23, the activity ID of the activity 2303 in FIG. 23 is the activity ID of the activity 503 in FIG. 5, the process ID of the activity 2303 in FIG. 23 is the process ID of the activity 503 in FIG. 5, and the activity in FIG. Assume that the number 2303 is the same as the number of the activity 503 in FIG. 5, and the assigned role ID of the activity 2303 in FIG. 23 is the same as the assigned role ID of the activity 503 in FIG.

  Note that the approval button function of the activity 2303 in FIG. 23 displays a list of matters waiting for processing in the workflow shown in the processing waiting matter display screen 2100 in FIG. Rather than pressing the “Open” button to open the processing screen and confirming the contents to confirm, it is possible to approve by selecting the item and pressing the “Approve” button in 950 To manage permission flags.

  In the activity table 2200, information on the person in charge of each process of the process definition that defines who and in what order the cases are processed is registered. The activity ID of the activity table 2200 is the activity ID of the activity table 703, the process ID of the activity table 2200 is the process ID of the activity table 703, the number of the activity table 2200 is the number of the activity table 703, and the person in charge of the activity table 2200. The role ID is the same item as the assigned role ID in the activity table 703. In the third embodiment, an item called an approval button function is newly held.

  In the approval button function, a list of matters waiting for processing in the workflow shown in the processing waiting matter display screen 2100 in FIG. 21 is displayed. In the list screen, the “open” button 952 is pressed. Instead of opening the processing screen and confirming the contents, the approval flag is managed so that the selected case can be approved by pressing the “approval” button in 950. .

  For the process definition, the process definition 1800 in FIG. 18 is used. The activity of 1804-1 in FIG. 18 is the same as the activity definition of 1204-1 in FIG. 12, and the activity of 1804-2 in FIG. 18 is the same as the activity definition of 1204-2 in FIG.

  In the activity definition 1804-3 in FIG. 18, the person in charge of processing is designated as the “manager” in the role in charge, and so far, it is assumed that the activity definition of 1204-3 in FIG. 12 is the same. In the third embodiment, an attribute “approval button function is possible” is given. The attribute “approval button function is possible” is held when the approval button function of the corresponding activity ID in the activity table 2200 is set to “permitted”. For example, in the case of the activity 1804-3 of the process definition 1800, in the activity table 2200, the record of the activity ID “act002” is the information of the corresponding activity, and the approval button function of the record is set to “OK”. Therefore, such an attribute is retained.

  In the activity table 1203, an activity with the fourth number is added. Therefore, as illustrated in the activity 1804-4 in FIG. 18, an activity to be processed by the president whose role is R003 is added.

  In the third embodiment, the table information necessary for registering the information of the data of the cases applied for in the workflow is the case table 1301 of FIG. 13 used in the second embodiment. I will use it.

  FIG. 19 is a diagram for explaining the information of the processing history 512 in a table structure according to the first embodiment. Further, the processing history table 1900 in FIG. 19 is the same as the processing history table 802 in FIG. Therefore, detailed description is omitted.

  The processing history 2000 in FIG. 20 is a diagram illustrating the status of the processing history in the processing history table 1900 for each case (case ID = 00000004, case ID = 00000005).

  The waiting-for-process item display screen 2100 in FIG. 21 is a diagram illustrating an example of a waiting-for-process item display screen that displays a list of items that have been requested in the workflow and requested for processing.

  In addition, each function and each item of 921 to 933 and 950 in FIG. 21 are the same as the function and item that are assigned the same number in the process waiting item display screen 920 in the present invention in FIG. 9 of the first embodiment. Suppose it is a thing. Therefore, detailed description of each function and each item is omitted. Note that the buttons 952 and 953 in FIG. 21 have a function for opening a processing screen for confirming the confirmation of the contents of a case.

  Next, the process of the third embodiment for displaying the process waiting item display screen 2100 of FIG. 21, which is a process waiting list in the workflow system of the present embodiment, will be described with reference to FIG.

  The person in charge of processing in the workflow system enters the user ID and password of the person in charge of processing on the login screen (not shown) and starts using the system.

  When the person in charge of processing presses the “waiting for processing list” button (not shown) of the workflow client, this processing is executed by the CPU 201 of the workflow server 101, and the waiting list for processing (the waiting for matter display screen 2100 in FIG. 21). Is displayed on the workflow client.

  In step S1701, with reference to the processing history table 1900, the “status” is “waiting for processing”, and the “person in charge ID” matches the user ID input when the person in charge of processing starts using the system. Extract things.

  For example, in this process, it is assumed that data in the process history table 1900 whose status is “waiting for process” and whose person-in-charge ID is U000 is extracted.

  Steps S1702 to S1710, which will be described later, are repeatedly performed on the extracted data waiting for processing.

  Step S1702 is a step of displaying the values of the items 922 to 925 and 927 to 929 in FIG. The value of each item is the same as the method for acquiring the value by the method described for each item in FIG. 9 of the first embodiment.

  Step S1703 is a step for obtaining a role name to be displayed on the role 926 of each case on the processing-waiting case display screen 2100. Since this step is the same as the processing in step S403 in the first embodiment, the description thereof is omitted.

  In step S1704, it is determined whether the setting associated with the approval button function is set in the activity associated with the processing-waiting matter to be processed. If it is determined in step S1704 that the approval button function can be used for the activity associated with the processing-waiting matter to be processed (YES in step S1704), the process proceeds to step S1705 to process the processing target. If the activity associated with the waiting item is not set to use the approval button function (NO in step S1704), the process proceeds to step S1710.

  For example, in this embodiment, assuming that the workflow draft is based on the process definition 1800 in FIG. 18, the act 002 of 1810-3 is designated by the person in charge of the process. In addition, since the “approval button function” is enabled, the approval button function is set to be usable. Note that this information manages information on the person in charge of each process (activity) in the process definition used in the present embodiment, and manages the information in the item of the approval button function of the activity table 2200 for each activity. = Act002, the approval button function is “OK”, so if the matter is in the process waiting state in this activity, the approval of the matter waiting for processing displayed in the processing waiting list A button function will be added. When the approval button function is “impossible”, this function is not added to a process waiting item displayed in the process waiting list.

  Step S1705 is a step of determining whether the user has approved in the past.

In the processing history table 1900, if a “record exists” for a case that satisfies all of the following conditions (1) to (3), it is determined that the record for that case has been approved in the past.
(1) The case ID of the processing history table 1900 matches the case ID of the case extracted from the processing history table 1900 in step S1701. (2) When the person-in-charge ID of the processing history table 1900 starts to log in to the workflow system. , Matches the user ID entered by the person in charge of processing (3) The state of the processing history table 1900 has been processed

  If it is determined in step S1705 that the case to be processed is a case approved in the past (YES in step S1705), the process proceeds to step S1706. If it is determined in step S1705 that the processing target item has not been approved in the past (NO in step S1705), the process proceeds to step S1707.

  For example, among the records extracted from the processing history table 1900 in step S1701, there is a 1910 record with the case ID “00000004”, the person-in-charge ID “U000”, and the status “waiting for processing”, but the case ID is There are two records 1911 and 1912 for the record “00000004”, the person-in-charge ID “U000”, and the status “processed”. Therefore, in the state of the processing history of 1910 (the activity ID is “act002” and the state is “waiting for processing”), it is determined that the case with the case ID “00000004” is a case approved in the past.

  In step S1706, it is determined whether or not there is a process history in which the processing target case is returned. If it is determined in step S1706 that the processing target case has a returned processing history (YES in step S1706), the process proceeds to step S1710. If it is determined in step S1706 that the processing target case does not have the returned processing history (NO in step S1706), the process proceeds to step S1707.

  In the description of this process, the confirmation of the existence of the process history that has been sent back is the history of the process waiting state from the process date that is closest to the process history that has been processed in the past. It will be confirmed by whether or not it exists in the history up to. As another method, confirmation of the existence of the returned processing history may be performed by checking whether the processing history exists in all the processing histories.

  For example, when the case ID is “00000004”, the activity ID is “act002” and the state is “waiting for processing”, and this processing is performed because the person in charge ID is “U000”. As can be seen from the record of the history, the history of the approval by the person in charge “U000” in the past is 1911 with the case ID “00000004”, the person in charge ID “U000”, and the state “processed”. , 1912 records exist. Among these, the processing history that has been processed in the past, the processing date and time closer is 1912 records. The history sent back from this 1912 record to the 1910 record whose status is “waiting for processing” exists as a 1913 record (case ID “00000004”, activity ID “act003” person-in-charge ID) Is “U004” and the state is “processed (send back)”).

  Therefore, since it is determined in step S1706 that the processing target case has the returned processing history, the process proceeds to step S1710.

  Subsequently, in step S1706, a case of a processing history of a case where it is determined that the processing target case does not have a returned processing history will be described.

  For example, among the records extracted from the processing history table 1900 in step S1701, there are 1920 records with the case ID “00000005”, the person-in-charge ID “U000”, and the status “waiting for processing”. There are three records 1921, 1922, and 1923 that are “00000005”, the person-in-charge ID is “U000”, and the status is “processed”. Therefore, in the processing history state of 1920 (the activity ID is “act002” and the state is “waiting for processing”), it is determined in step S1705 that the case with the case ID “00000005” is a case approved in the past. To do.

  Next, the determination as to whether or not it is determined in this case that the processing target item in step S1706 has no process history returned will be described.

  For example, when the case ID is “00000005”, the activity ID is “act002” and the status is “waiting for processing”. This processing is performed because the person in charge ID is “U000”. As can be seen from the history record, the history of the approval by the person in charge ID “U000” in the past is 1921 with the case ID “00000004”, the person in charge ID “U000”, and the state “processed” 1921. There are three records 1922 and 1923. Among these, the processing history that has been processed in the past is the record of 1923 that has a closer processing date and time.

  It should be noted that there is no history sent back from this 1923 record to the 1920 record whose status is “waiting for processing”. Accordingly, since it is determined in step S1706 that the processing target case does not have the returned processing history, the process proceeds to step S1707.

  In step S1707, it is determined whether or not the processing target item has passed a predetermined time from the approval request. Note that the processing is performed by a method based on the same concept as the processing in step S1006 in the second embodiment, and thus detailed description of the processing is omitted.

  If it is determined in step S1707 that the case to be processed has passed a certain time from the approval request, the process proceeds to step S1710. If it is determined in step S1707 that the subject matter to be processed has not passed a certain time from the approval request, the process proceeds to step S1708.

  In step S1708, a process for displaying an approval button shown in operation 921 in FIG. 21 is performed so that a matter passing through the process in step S1708 can be approved without opening the process screen from the process waiting list. In other words, depending on whether the extracted matter waiting for processing has been sent back from the time the processing person has processed in the past to the waiting state of the processing person, Controls the display of an approval button that enables approval of a matter waiting for processing on the matter display screen.

  For example, for the case with the case ID “00000005”, as shown in the case 961 in FIG. 21, an approval button 950 is displayed on the processing-waiting case display screen. In addition, although it is set as a button here, it is supposed that a link may be extended instead of a button.

  In step S1709, in the remark 930 in FIG. 21, a comment that indicates the role approved in the past and the date and time of approval in the past is displayed.

  For example, the case 961 with the case ID “00000005” in FIG. 21 displays “It is a case approved as a section manager on 2014/07/04” as shown in 970 in FIG.

  Of the wording “Matter approved as a section manager on 2015/07/04”, the “section manager” portion displays the name of the role associated with the 1923 record processed by the processing person in the past. Note that the role to be associated is a role in the activity that has been processed. That is, the name of the role when the person in charge of processing has processed is displayed.

  As a method, based on the “activity ID” of the record 1923 in the processing history table 1900, the activity table 2200 is referred to and the “in-charge role ID” designated as the person in charge of processing is obtained. Further, the “role name” is obtained by referring to the role table 1112 from the “in-charge role ID”.

  For example, the record of 1923 in the processing history table 1900 with the case ID = 00000005 (the person in charge ID is “U000” and the state is “waiting for processing (approval)”) has the activity ID “act001”, and the role in charge is assigned to the activity ID When the ID is obtained from the activity table 1203, R001 is obtained. When the role name (role) is obtained from the role table 1112, “section manager” is obtained as the role name and is displayed.

  The 2014/07/04 portion displays the date processed in the past by the person in charge of processing, that is, the value of the processing date of the record of 1923.

  After the processing in step S1709 is completed, the “open” button shown in the operation 921 in FIG. 21 is also displayed so that the processing can be confirmed by opening the processing screen from the processing waiting list. Do.

  In step S1710, a process of displaying an “Open” button illustrated in operation 921 in FIG. 21 is performed so that a case that passes through the process in step S1710 can be confirmed by opening a process screen from the process waiting list.

  For example, in the case with the case ID “00000004”, the open button 952 in FIG. 21 is displayed on the processing-waiting case display screen 2100 as shown in the case 960 in FIG. Further, in the case with the case ID “00000005”, as shown in the case 961 in FIG. 21, the open button 953 in FIG.

  Note that these “open” and “approval” functions are buttons here, but links may be provided instead of buttons.

  As described above, when the person in charge of the processing has performed the process in the past in the past and until the point of time when the process is performed again, a processing request for the matter is again sent to the person in charge of the processing. In this case, the person in charge of processing can check the content of the target case on the processing screen and then process the case.

  In addition, if there is no remand processing between the time when the person in charge of processing was processed in the past and the time when processing is performed again, the contents of the processing case that was processed most recently are displayed on the processing screen. Processing can be performed from the waiting item display screen without confirmation.

  In addition, even if processing has been performed in the past, for a matter that has been in a process waiting state for a certain period of time, the approval button is not displayed in the processing wait list, so the matter content must be processed Processing can be performed while checking on the screen.

  Although three embodiments have been described above, the present invention can take the form of, for example, a system, apparatus, method, program, or recording medium. Specifically, the present invention may be applied to a system composed of a plurality of devices, or may be applied to an apparatus composed of a single device.

  In addition, the program according to the present invention is a program that allows a computer to execute the processing methods of the flowcharts shown in FIGS. 4, 10, and 17, and the storage medium according to the present invention uses the processing methods of FIGS. A computer executable program is stored. Note that the program in the present invention may be a program for each processing method of each apparatus shown in FIGS. 4, 10, and 17.

  As described above, a recording medium that records a program that implements the functions of the above-described embodiments is supplied to a system or apparatus, and a computer (or CPU or MPU) of the system or apparatus stores the program stored in the recording medium. It goes without saying that the object of the present invention can also be achieved by executing reading.

  In this case, the program itself read from the recording medium realizes the novel function of the present invention, and the recording medium storing the program constitutes the present invention.

  As a recording medium for supplying the program, for example, a flexible disk, hard disk, optical disk, magneto-optical disk, CD-ROM, CD-R, DVD-ROM, magnetic tape, nonvolatile memory card, ROM, EEPROM, silicon A disk, solid state drive, or the like can be used.

  Further, by executing the program read by the computer, not only the functions of the above-described embodiments are realized, but also an OS (operating system) operating on the computer based on an instruction of the program is actually It goes without saying that a case where the function of the above-described embodiment is realized by performing part or all of the processing and the processing is included.

  Furthermore, after the program read from the recording medium is written to the memory provided in the function expansion board inserted into the computer or the function expansion unit connected to the computer, the function expansion board is based on the instructions of the program code. It goes without saying that the case where the CPU or the like provided in the function expansion unit performs part or all of the actual processing and the functions of the above-described embodiments are realized by the processing.

  Further, the present invention may be applied to a system composed of a plurality of devices or an apparatus composed of a single device. Needless to say, the present invention can be applied to a case where the present invention is achieved by supplying a program to a system or apparatus. In this case, by reading a recording medium storing a program for achieving the present invention into the system or apparatus, the system or apparatus can enjoy the effects of the present invention.

  Furthermore, by downloading and reading a program for achieving the present invention from a server, database, etc. on a network using a communication program, the system or apparatus can enjoy the effects of the present invention.

  In addition, all the structures which combined each embodiment mentioned above and its modification are also included in this invention.

100 Network 101 Workflow Server 102 Workflow Client 201 CPU
202 RAM
203 ROM
204 System bus 205 Input controller 206 Output controller 207 External memory controller 208 Communication I / F controller 209 Input unit 210 Output unit 211 External memory 212 Program

Claims (7)

A workflow system in which processing is performed again by the same processing person,
A processing history storage means for storing the status of processing in units of activity, which is a unit that performs processing monkey請been projects in the workflow system as the processing history,
A waiting matter extraction means for extracting a matter waiting for processing by the person in charge of the matter from the processing history storage means;
Display processing means for displaying the waiting-for-process matter extracted by the waiting-for-work matter extracting means on the waiting for matter display screen of the person in charge of processing;
Among the items waiting to be processed extracted by the waiting item extracting unit displayed on the waiting item display screen by the display processing unit,
The projects that processing the person in charge of the projects approved in the past, open to open the process screen to confirm the approval button and the contents of the pending projects make it possible to approve Te said pending projects display screen smell A button that uniquely associates and displays the button is displayed. On the other hand, a case that has not been approved by the person in charge of the matter in the past has an open button for opening a processing screen for confirming the contents of the matter waiting to be processed. Display control means for processing to display uniquely associated with;
A workflow system comprising: Role display processing for displaying a role to be processed by the person in charge of processing for a matter waiting to be extracted by the waiting matter extraction means displayed on the waiting matter display screen by the display processing means Means,
If the person in charge of processing has processed in the past the matter in the process waiting state extracted by the matter waiting for item extraction means displayed on the matter waiting to be displayed screen by the display processing means, the person in charge of the processing Past processing identification display processing means for displaying the role and the processing date and time when the matter that has been approved in the past is identifiable,
The workflow system according to claim 1, further comprising: Includes a processing history storage means for storing the status of processing in units of activity, which is a unit that performs processing of transactions that have been filed請the workflow system as the processing history the workflow system, the process again by the same handlers is performed a control method,
A process waiting item extraction step, wherein the process waiting item extracting means extracts a matter waiting for processing of a person in charge of processing the matter from the processing history storage means;
Display processing means, a display processing step of displaying the project status pending extracted by said pending transactions extraction step in pending transactions display screen of the handlers,
The display control means
Among the items in the waiting state extracted by the waiting for matter extraction step displayed on the waiting matter display screen by the display processing step,
The projects that processing the person in charge of the projects approved in the past, open to open the process screen to confirm the approval button and the contents of the pending projects make it possible to approve Te said pending projects display screen smell A button that uniquely associates and displays the button is displayed. On the other hand, a case that has not been approved by the person in charge of the matter in the past has an open button for opening a processing screen for confirming the contents of the matter waiting to be processed. A display control step for processing to uniquely associate and display;
That control how to be characterized in that it comprises a. Includes a processing history storage means for storing the status of processing in units of activity, which is a unit that performs processing of transactions that have been filed請the workflow system as the processing history the workflow system, the process again by the same handlers is performed An executable program in
The workflow system,
A waiting matter extraction means for extracting a matter waiting for processing by the person in charge of the matter from the processing history storage means;
Display processing means for displaying the waiting-for-process matter extracted by the waiting-for-work matter extracting means on the waiting for matter display screen of the person in charge of processing;
Among the items waiting to be processed extracted by the waiting item extracting unit displayed on the waiting item display screen by the display processing unit,
The projects that processing the person in charge of the projects approved in the past, open to open the process screen to confirm the approval button and the contents of the pending projects make it possible to approve Te said pending projects display screen smell A button that uniquely associates and displays the button is displayed. On the other hand, a case that has not been approved by the person in charge of the matter in the past has an open button for opening a processing screen for confirming the contents of the matter waiting to be processed. Display control means for processing to display uniquely associated with;
A program characterized by functioning as A Ruwa over click flow server is processing performed again by the same handlers,
A processing history storage means for storing the status of processing in units of activity, which is a unit that performs processing monkey請been case to the workflow server as processing history,
A waiting matter extraction means for extracting a matter waiting for processing by the person in charge of the matter from the processing history storage means;
Display processing means for displaying the waiting-for-process matter extracted by the waiting-for-work matter extracting means on the waiting for matter display screen of the person in charge of processing;
Among the items waiting to be processed extracted by the waiting item extracting unit displayed on the waiting item display screen by the display processing unit,
The projects that processing the person in charge of the projects approved in the past, open to open the process screen to confirm the approval button and the contents of the pending projects make it possible to approve Te said pending projects display screen smell A button that uniquely associates and displays the button is displayed. On the other hand, a case that has not been approved by the person in charge of the matter in the past has an open button for opening a processing screen for confirming the contents of the matter waiting to be processed. Display control means for processing to display uniquely associated with;
A workflow server comprising: Includes a processing history storage means for storing the status of processing in units of activity, which is a unit that performs processing of transactions that have been filed請the workflow server as processing history, the workflow server processing again by the same handlers is performed a control method,
A process waiting item extraction step, wherein the process waiting item extracting means extracts a matter waiting for processing of a person in charge of processing the matter from the processing history storage means;
A display processing step in which a display processing means displays the waiting-for-process item extracted in the waiting-for-process item extraction step on the waiting-for-process item display screen of the person in charge of processing;
The display control means
Among the items in the waiting state extracted by the waiting for matter extraction step displayed on the waiting matter display screen by the display processing step,
The projects that processing the person in charge of the projects approved in the past, open to open the process screen to confirm the approval button and the contents of the pending projects make it possible to approve Te said pending projects display screen smell A button that uniquely displays the button is displayed. On the other hand, for an item that has not been approved by the person in charge of the matter in the past, an open button is displayed to open a processing screen for confirming the contents of the pending matter. A display control step for processing to uniquely associate and display;
That control how to be characterized in that it comprises a. Includes a processing history storage means for storing the status of processing in units of activity, which is a unit that performs processing of transactions that have been filed請the workflow server as processing history, the workflow server processing again by the same handlers is performed An executable program in
The workflow server
A waiting matter extraction means for extracting a matter waiting for processing by the person in charge of the matter from the processing history storage means;
Display processing means for displaying the waiting-for-process matter extracted by the waiting-for-work matter extracting means on the waiting for matter display screen of the person in charge of processing;
Among the items waiting to be processed extracted by the waiting item extracting unit displayed on the waiting item display screen by the display processing unit,
The projects that processing the person in charge of the projects approved in the past, open to open the process screen to confirm the approval button and the contents of the pending projects make it possible to approve Te said pending projects display screen smell A button that uniquely associates and displays the button is displayed. On the other hand, a case that has not been approved by the person in charge of the matter in the past has an open button for opening a processing screen for confirming the contents of the matter waiting to be processed. Display control means for processing to display uniquely associated with;
A program characterized by functioning as

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