System and method for managing a workflow process

• US 20020184293A1
• Filed: 04/20/2001
• Published: 12/05/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 04/20/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. (HP Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. (HP Inc.)
• Inventors: Cheeniyil, Lakshmi Kutty, Krishnaswamy, Srivatsa
• Granted Patent: US 6,990,664 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 718/103
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/465 Distributed object oriented systems remote method invocation [RMI] G06F9/548
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/4887 involving deadlines, e.g. rate based, periodic
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/547 Remote procedure calls [RPC]; Web services

Abstract

A method is disclosed for managing a workflow process to bring execution time for said process at least closer to an expected deadline. The process includes a plurality of work nodes and a set of priority levels associated with each work node. The method includes the steps of: generating for each work node a set of expected time to complete (ETC) values for each priority level, each ETC value denoting a cumulative time to complete the process including the time taken by the corresponding node to complete its activity for a selected priority level; selecting for each work node a priority level that has a corresponding ETC value less than or equal to a remaining time available to meet said deadline; and executing activities associated with said work nodes in accordance with said selected priority levels to substantially meet said expected deadline.

Claims

1. A method for managing a workflow process to bring execution time for said process at least closer to an expected deadline, said process including a plurality of work nodes and a set of priority levels associated with each work node, said method including the steps of:

generating for each work node a set of expected time to complete (ETC) values for each priority level, each ETC value denoting a cumulative time to complete the process including the time taken by the corresponding node to complete its activity for a selected priority level;

selecting for each work node a priority level that has a corresponding ETC value less than or equal to a remaining time available to meet said deadline; and

executing activities associated with said work nodes in accordance with said selected priority levels to substantially meet said expected deadline.

2. A method according to claim 1 wherein each priority level is selected so that the difference between said deadline and the ETC value is a minimum.

3. A method according to claim 1 wherein said ETC values are generated from historical data collected from completed process instances during a learning phase.

4. A method according to claim 1 wherein said ETC values are generated using formula ETC=η

+2σ and

wherein η

is a statistical mean and σ

is a statistical standard deviation of values collected during a learning phase.

5. A method according to claim 1 wherein said executing is performed by at least one business object.

7. A system according to claim 5 wherein each priority level is selected so that the difference between said deadline and the ETC value is a minimum.

8. A system according to claim 5 wherein said ETC values are generated from historical data collected from completed process instances during a learning phase.

9. A system according to claim 5 wherein said ETC values are generated using the formula ETC=η

+2σ and

wherein η

is a statistical mean and σ

is a statistical standard deviation of values collected during a learning phase.

6. A system for managing a workflow process to bring execution time for said process at least closer to an expected deadline, said process including a plurality of work nodes and a set of priority levels associated with each work node, said system including:

means for generating for each work node a set of expected time to complete (ETC) values for each priority level, each ETC value including a time taken by the corresponding node to complete its activity for a selected priority level;

means for selecting for each work node a priority level that has a corresponding ETC value less than or equal to a remaining time available to meet said deadline; and

means for executing activities associated with said work nodes in accordance with said selected priority levels such that the said expected deadline is substantially met with a high probability.

10. A system according to claim 6 wherein said means for executing includes at least one business object.