Facilitating workflow application development

• US 10,120,657 B2
• Filed: 01/06/2016
• Issued: 11/06/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 01/08/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Hand Held Products Incorporated (Honeywell International Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Hand Held Products Incorporated (Honeywell International Inc.)
• Inventors: Doubleday, Dennis, Pike, Jeffrey, Zabel, Shawn, Bender, Brian, Murawski, Mark
• Primary Examiner(s): Miller, Viva
• Application Number:
  US14/989,285
• Publication Number:
  US 20160202959A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,035 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/34 Graphical or visual programming
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/71 Version control security arrangements therefor G06F21/57; Configuration management

Abstract

A system has a domain expert component library stored on a computer readable storage device, the component library containing connectable components that create a mobile workflow based application; a domain expert user interface coupled to the domain expert component library to facilitate assembly of components in a workflow sequence; and a developer user interface coupled to: receive an intermediate representation of a workflow application based on the workflow sequence, and provide a software programming language environment to perform data manipulation changes to the intermediate representation to create the mobile workflow based application.

Claims

1. A system comprising:

a domain expert component library stored on a non-transitory computer readable storage device of a computing device having a processor, the component library containing connectable components that create a mobile workflow sequence for generating an executable mobile workflow application having a multi-primary user interface;

a domain expert user interface coupled to the domain expert component library to facilitate assembly of the connectable components in the workflow sequence; and

a developer user interface configured to;

receive an intermediate representation of the mobile workflow application based on the assembled workflow sequence, and

provide a software programming language environment to perform data manipulation changes to the intermediate representation to generate the mobile workflow based application;

wherein both the domain expert user interface and the developer user interfaces are each configured to receive user input or output information to a user for generating the mobile workflow based application; and

wherein the connectable components each have a parameter that is modifiable via the domain expert user interface, wherein the parameter comprises a view that can be rendered on a primary user interface of the multi-primary user interface.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the domain expert user interface causes a display to present the components as workflow activity objects which a user can:

drag and drop onto a workbench, and

draw connections between objects on the workbench.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the workflow sequence includes a loop.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the workflow sequence includes a dependent branch.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the domain expert user interface excludes defining details of logical manipulation of data.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the developer user interface includes software programming language environment that provides for detailed manipulation of data associated with the connectable components.

7. The system of claim 1, comprising a developer component library coupled to the developer user interface and storing developer created components and components that are data manipulation intensive.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein the developer user interface stores changes to the intermediate representation separate from the intermediate representation.

9. A method comprising:

providing a component library containing connectable components that create a mobile workflow sequence for generating a mobile workflow application having a multi-primary user interface;

receiving a component selected from a domain expert component library;

displaying the selected component with previously selected components in a workflow sequence via a domain expert user interface;

receiving a connection request to connect components in the workflow sequence;

providing an intermediate representation of the workflow sequence to a developer user interface; and

tracking and storing component data manipulation related changes to the intermediate representation;

wherein both the domain expert user interface and the developer user interfaces are each configured to receive user input or output information to a user; and

wherein the components each have a parameter that is modifiable via the domain expert user interface, wherein the parameter comprises a view that can be rendered on a primary user interface of a mobile workflow application having a multi-primary user interface.

10. The method of claim 9, comprising:

receiving a domain expert selection for the parameter; and

incorporating the parameter selection into the workflow sequence.

11. The method of claim 9, wherein the data manipulation related changes are stored independent from the intermediate representation.

12. The method of claim 9, comprising generating a mobile device workflow application from the data manipulation related changes and the intermediate representation.

13. The method of claim 12, comprising switching between the domain expert user interface and the developer user interface to iteratively modify the application.

14. A non-transitory computer readable storage device having instructions for execution by a processor to perform a method comprising:

receiving a component selected from a domain expert component library, the component library containing connectable components that create a mobile workflow sequence for generating a mobile workflow application having a multi-primary user interface;

displaying the selected component with previously selected components in a workflow sequence via a domain expert user interface module;

receiving a connection request to connect components in the workflow sequence;

providing an intermediate representation of the workflow sequence to a developer user interface module; and

tracking and storing component data manipulation related changes to the intermediate representation;

wherein both the domain expert user interface and the developer user interfaces are each configured to receive user input or output information to a user; and

wherein the components each have a parameter that is modifiable via the domain expert user interface, wherein the parameter comprises a view that can be rendered on a primary user interface of a mobile workflow application having a multi-primary user interface.

15. The computer readable storage device of claim 14, comprising:

receiving a domain expert selection for the parameter; and

incorporating the parameter selection into the workflow sequence.

16. The computer readable storage device of claim 14, wherein the data manipulation related changes are stored without changing the intermediate representation.

17. The method of claim 14, comprising:

switching between the domain expert user interface and the developer user interface to iteratively modify the intermediate representation and the data manipulation related changes; and

generating a mobile device workflow application from the data manipulation related changes and the intermediate representation.