Dynamic workflow process

• US 20030233374A1
• Filed: 12/02/2002
• Published: 12/18/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 03/14/2002
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: SAP AG (SAP SE)
• Original Assignee: SAP AG (SAP SE)
• Inventors: Bach, Christian, Engel, Andreas, Spinola, Ulrich
• Application Number:
  US10/309,322
• Publication Number:
  US 20030233374A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/02 Reservations, e.g. for tickets, services or events
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06 Resources, workflows, human or project management; Enterprise or organisation planning; Enterprise or organisation modelling
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/08 Logistics, e.g. warehousing, loading or distribution; Inventory or stock management
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/087 Inventory or stock management, e.g. order filling, procurement or balancing against orders
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/10 Office automation; Time management

Abstract

A system for creating and altering a dynamic workflow process during runtime and executing the runtime-built or modified workflow so that users can make ad hoc custom workflows and change workflows on the fly in response to special requirements of a given situation. A graphical tree editor is employed for runtime manipulation of the process definition. Mutually recursive meta-processes interpret runtime-built procedures for branch and step workflow processing.

Claims

1. An electronic data processing method for defining during runtime a workflow process consisting of a collection of process steps connected in a process route, comprising

associating with each step an action and an agent for performing the action;

and

defining a process route for said collection of steps by specifying for each step,

a consecutive step ID;

whether the step is a sequential or parallel step; and

the parent of the step, where, in the case that the step is within a parallel branch, but not the first step in this branch, the parent is the beginning step of said branch.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of specifying whether the step is sequential or parallel includes the limitation that a parallel step is defined as one of three types, (1) the beginning of a block of parallel steps, (2) the end of said block or (3) within the block but neither at the beginning nor the end.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising, graphically representing the workflow process as a tree in which nodes correspond to respective process steps in the process route.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein a node preceding the beginning of a block of parallel branches of steps corresponds to the block as a whole.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein parallel steps of said three types are all represented by the same icon.

6. The method of claim 3, wherein each node of the tree representing a step has associated with it multiple fields displaying respectively at least the agent and the action associated with the step corresponding to the node.

7. A meta-process for interpreting and executing an ad hoc dynamic workflow process definition including process steps connected in a path definition sequentially and in blocks of parallel branches each with at least one step, with the possibility of a branch including as a step, a nested block of parallel branches, comprising

providing a branch workflow procedure to find out if there are more steps to be processed in the same branch;

and

providing a step workflow procedure to execute the user activity associated with respective steps and to find out if there is a sub-branch to be started.

8. The method of claim 7 wherein said branch workflow procedure further includes calling the step workflow procedure to execute each parallel step.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein said branch workflow procedure includes a first evaluation of the path definition to determine if there are no more steps on the same branch level, in which case the process returns to the calling branch level, otherwise the process calls the step workflow iteratively for each of the parallel steps to be processed at said branch level.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein said step workflow includes a second evaluation of the path definition to determine if the step is not the start of a new branch, in which case the process returns to the calling branch workflow procedure, otherwise the process executes a recursive call of the branch workflow procedure.

11. A method of operating a computer system having a workflow process engine, comprising

creating a workflow process and changing the process during runtime by inserting, changing or deleting steps under the condition that the process may yield sequential and parallel ordering of steps and arbitrarily nested combinations of sequential and parallel steps or blocks of steps.

12. A dynamic electronic business process workflow method, comprising

creating during runtime an ad hoc workflow process definition consisting of sequential and parallel steps with associated record elements, actions and agents;

and

executing the ad hoc workflow process definition with a meta-process interpreter during runtime.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the step of creating the process definition includes presenting to an authorized user a graphical user interface for composing the workflow process definition.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein said graphical user interface comprises a tree representation of the process.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein said interface permits the user to insert parallel or sequential steps as nodes in the tree to define the process.

16. The method of claim 12, further comprising

permitting authorized users to alter the workflow process definition on the fly while the process is being executed.

17. The method of claim 16, further comprising

pre-designating users who are authorized to alter a workflow process definition.

18. An electronic business process workflow method, comprising

providing in a computer system for an enterprise a class of pre-defined workflow processes that can be executed at runtime but are not alterable at runtime;

and

providing on the same computer system for the same enterprise the capability of another class of dynamic workflow processes that can be created as a process definition at runtime, executed and altered at runtime by authorized users while the dynamic workflow process is undergoing execution.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein providing the capability of another class of dynamic workflow processes includes pre-designating users who are authorized to alter a dynamic workflow process definition.

20. The method of claim 18, wherein providing the capability of another class of dynamic workflow processes includes presenting to an authorized user a graphical user interface for composing or altering the workflow process definition.

21. The method of claim 20, wherein providing the capability of another class of dynamic workflow processes further includes pre-designating users who are authorized to alter a dynamic workflow process definition.

22. The method of claim 20, wherein providing the capability of another class of dynamic workflow processes further includes interpreting the dynamic workflow process definition at runtime with a meta-process.

23. The method of claim 22 wherein said meta-process is capable of handling arbitrarily nested combinations of sequential and parallel steps or blocks of steps.

24. A dynamic electronic business process workflow system, comprising

a workflow process graphical user interface for allowing authorized users to create and alter during runtime a workflow process definition;

and

a meta-process for interpreting said definition during runtime to execute the corresponding workflow process.

25. The system of claim 24, wherein said graphical user interface includes a tree in which nodes correspond to respective process steps in the process definition.

26. The system of claim 25, wherein a node preceding the beginning of a block of parallel branches of steps corresponds to the block as a whole.

27. The system of claim 26, wherein nodes for sequential and parallel steps have distinct icons.

28. The system of claim 27, wherein parallel steps of said three types are all represented by the same icon.

29. The system of claim 28, wherein each node of the tree representing a step has associated with it multiple fields displaying respectively at least the agent and the action associated with the step corresponding to the node.

30. The system of claim 24, wherein said meta-process includes mutually recursive procedures for executing branch and step workflow processes.