Techniques for Creating Service Status Abstraction Layers Based on Client Roles in a Business Process Management Scenario

• US 20120143774A1
• Filed: 12/07/2010
• Published: 06/07/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 12/07/2010
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Curbera, Francisco Phelan, Dikun, Michael John, Doganata, Yurdaer Nezihi, Laredo, Jim Alain, Rofrano, John J., Shae, Zon-yin, Slominski, Aleksander
• Application Number:
  US12/961,978
• Publication Number:
  US 20120143774A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/304
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/016 After-sales

Abstract

Techniques for role-based service operation status reporting to clients are provided. In one aspect, a method for reporting a status of a service operation to a client is provided. The method includes the following steps. A sequence of business process steps involved in performing the service operation is identified. One or more abstractions of the business process steps are made, each abstraction containing a sequence of a fewer number of steps than the business process, wherein the number of steps in each of the abstractions correlates with a level of detail about the service operation. The status of the service operation is reported to the client based on a given one of the abstractions having the level of detail best suited to a role of the client.

Claims

1. A method for reporting a status of a service operation to a client, comprising the steps of:

identifying a sequence of business process steps involved in performing the service operation;

making one or more abstractions of the business process steps, each abstraction containing a sequence of a fewer number of steps than the business process steps, wherein the number of steps in each of the abstractions correlates with a level of detail about the service operation; and

reporting the status of the service operation to the client based on a given one of the abstractions having the level of detail best suited to a role of the client.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein making the one or more abstractions of the business process steps comprises:

merging two or more of the business process steps into one or more single steps.

3. The method of claim 2, further comprising:

splitting one or more previously merged steps into two or more steps.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein making the one or more abstractions of the business process steps comprises:

making a series of the abstractions, wherein each of the abstractions in the series is created by merging two or more of the steps in a previous one of the abstractions in the series into one or more single steps.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein one or more of the abstractions in the series are created by splitting one or more previously merged steps into two or more steps.

6. The method of claim 4, wherein the one or more single steps are different from the steps in any of the previous abstractions in the series.

7. The method of claim 4, wherein a final one of the abstractions in the series contains a single step.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the single step is that the service operation has been completed.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein reporting the status of the service operation to the client comprises:

reporting to the client a last successfully completed step in the given abstraction.

10. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

reporting to the client at least one of how long each step in the given abstraction took to complete and statistic deviations.

11. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving feedback from the client based on the reported status of the service operation; and

taking action based on the feedback from the client.

12. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

assigning the role to the client.

13. An apparatus for reporting a status of a service operation to a client, the apparatus comprising:

a memory; and

at least one processor device, coupled to the memory, operative to;

identify a sequence of business process steps involved in performing the service operation;

make one or more abstractions of the business process steps, each abstraction containing a sequence of a fewer number of steps than the business process steps, wherein the number of steps in each of the abstractions correlates with a level of detail about the service operation; and

report the status of the service operation to the client based on a given one of the abstractions having the level of detail best suited to a role of the client.

14. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the at least one processor device when making the one or more abstractions of the business process steps is further operative to:

merge two or more of the business process steps into one or more single steps.

15. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the at least one processor device when making the one or more abstractions of the business process steps is further operative to:

make a series of the abstractions, wherein each of the abstractions in the series is created by merging two or more of the steps in a previous one of the abstractions in the series into one or more single steps.

16. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the one or more single steps are different from the steps in any of the previous abstractions in the series.

17. An article of manufacture for reporting a status of a service operation to a client, comprising a machine-readable medium containing one or more programs which when executed implement:

identifying a sequence of business process steps involved in performing the service operation;

making one or more abstractions of the business process steps, each abstraction containing a sequence of a fewer number of steps than the business process steps, wherein the number of steps in each of the abstractions correlates with a level of detail about the service operation; and

reporting the status of the service operation to the client based on a given one of the abstractions having the level of detail best suited to a role of the client.

18. The article of manufacture of claim 17, wherein the one or more programs when making the one or more abstractions of the business process steps implement:

merging two or more of the business process steps into one or more single steps.

19. The article of manufacture of claim 17, wherein the one or more programs when making the one or more abstractions of the business process steps implement:

making a series of the abstractions, wherein each of the abstractions in the series is created by merging two or more of the steps in a previous one of the abstractions in the series into one or more single steps.

20. The article of manufacture of claim 19, wherein the one or more single steps are different from the steps in any of the previous abstractions in the series.