Workflow integration system for enterprise wide electronic collaboration

• US 20020010741A1
• Filed: 02/16/2001
• Published: 01/24/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 02/16/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Oracle International Corporation (Oracle Corporation)
• Original Assignee: BEA Systems Incorporated (Oracle Corporation)
• Inventors: Price, Adrian, Takacsi-Nagy, Pal, Metsaportti, Timo, Stewart, Rocky
• Granted Patent: US 7,051,071 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/204
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06 Resources, workflows, human or project management; Enterprise or organisation planning; Enterprise or organisation modelling
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/10 Office automation; Time management
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/06 Buying, selling or leasing transactions
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/04 Trading; Exchange, e.g. stocks, commodities, derivatives or currency exchange
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/188 Electronic negotiation
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 99/00 Subject matter not provided for in other groups of this subclass
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/00 User-to-user messaging in packet-switching networks, transmitted according to store-and-forward or real-time protocols, e.g. e-mail
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/212 using filtering or selective blocking
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/214 using selective forwarding

Abstract

An enterprise wide electronic commerce system allows trading partners to act as participants in a complex trading process. Participants communicate with one another by joining conversations that are hosted in a collaboration space and managed by a collaboration hub. In this manner, the enterprise workflow may have an effect on, or be affected by, local workflows. The invention provides a workflow integration system for enterprise wide electronic collaboration. An embodiment of the invention includes a workflow integration system for a collaboration system that allows for sharing of workflow information between collaboration participants, comprising a collaboration server having stored thereon an enterprise workflow, a workflow server having stored thereon a participant workflow and an integration mechanism for allowing said enterprise workflow and said participant workflow to interact with one another.

Claims

1. A workflow integration system for a collaboration system that allows for sharing of workflow information between collaboration participants, comprising:

a collaboration server having stored thereon an enterprise workflow;

a workflow server having stored thereon a participant workflow; and

, an integration mechanism for allowing said enterprise workflow and said participant workflow to interact with one another.

2. The workflow integration system of claim 1 wherein the enterprise workflow includes workflow process information for an enterprise project including two or more participants.

3. The workflow integration system of claim 1 wherein the participant workflow includes workflow process information for a project local to the participant.

4. The workflow integration system of claim 1 wherein the enterprise workflow and the participant workflow may interact through the exchange of XML data.

5. The workflow integration system of claim 1 wherein the enterprise workflow includes at least one process flow lane for each active participant, and the action of the workflow is determined by messages sent to and received from each of said active participants or a process flow lane of said active participant.

6. The workflow integration system of claim 5 wherein the enterprise workflow sends and receives messages directly from the participant.

7. The workflow integration system of claim 5 wherein the enterprise workflow sends and receives messages from the participant workflow.

8. The workflow integration system of claim 7 wherein the enterprise workflow sends and receives messages from the participant workflow via a collaboration enabler authorized to communicate with the collaboration sever.

9. The workflow integration system of claim 1 wherein said integration mechanism allows the enterprise workflow to modify an active participant workflow process.

10. The workflow integration system of claim 1 wherein said integration mechanism allows the participant workflow to modify an active enterprise workflow process.

11. A method for integrating workflows in a collaboration system, comprising the steps of:

storing an enterprise workflow on a collaboration server;

storing a participant workflow on a participant server; and

,

providing an integration mechanism for allowing said enterprise workflow and said participant workflow to interact with one another.

12. The method of claim 11 wherein the enterprise workflow includes workflow process information for an enterprise project including two or more participants.

13. The method of claim 11 wherein the participant workflow includes workflow process information for a project local to the participant.

14. The method of claim 11 including interacting communicating workflow information between the enterprise workflow and the participant workflow through the exchange of XML data.

15. The method of claim 11 wherein the enterprise workflow includes at least one process flow lane for each active participant, and the action of the workflow is determined by messages sent to and received from each of said active participants or a process flow lane of said active participant.

16. The method of claim 15 including sending messages to and from the enterprise workflow directly to the participant.

17. The method of claim 15 including sending messages to and from the enterprise workflow to the participant workflow.

18. The method of claim 17 including sending and receives messages between the enterprise workflow and the participant workflow via a collaboration enabler authorized to communicate with the collaboration sever.

19. The method of claim 11 including allowing the enterprise workflow to modify an active participant workflow process.

20. The method of claim 11 including allowing the participant workflow to modify an active enterprise workflow process.