System and method for performing scalable distribution of process flow activities in a distributed workflow management system
First Claim
1. A system for performing scalable distribution of process flow activities in a distributed workflow management system, comprising:
- a computer network comprising a plurality of interconnected computers, each computer including a processor, memory and input/output facilities, the distributed workflow management system operating over the computer network;
a plurality of resources which are each operatively coupled to at least one of the computers and execute at least one of the activities in the process flow;
a process flow engine, including a database in which is stored data used in effecting each of the process flow activities, the process flow engine coordinating and scheduling execution of the process flow activities on the resources; and
bidirectional proxy components operatively interposed between the process flow engine and the resources, the bidirectional proxy components comprising logic for handling application data for the resources, logic for handling worklists for access by the resources and logic for managing transport of messages between the process flow engine and each of the resources.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A system and method for performing scalable distribution of process flow activities in a distributed workflow management system is described. The distributed workflow management system operates over the computer network which includes a plurality of interconnected computers. Each computer includes a processor, memory and input/output facilities. A plurality of resources are each operatively coupled to at least one of the computers and execute at least one of the activities in the process flow. A process flow engine, including a database in which is stored data used in effecting each of the process flow activities, coordinates and schedules execution of the process flow activities on the resources. Bidirectional proxy components are operatively interposed between the process flow engine and the resources. The bidirectional proxy components include logic for handling application data for the resources, logic for handling worklists for access by the resources and logic for managing transport of messages between the process flow engine and each of the resources.
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Citations
26 Claims
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1. A system for performing scalable distribution of process flow activities in a distributed workflow management system, comprising:
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a computer network comprising a plurality of interconnected computers, each computer including a processor, memory and input/output facilities, the distributed workflow management system operating over the computer network; a plurality of resources which are each operatively coupled to at least one of the computers and execute at least one of the activities in the process flow; a process flow engine, including a database in which is stored data used in effecting each of the process flow activities, the process flow engine coordinating and scheduling execution of the process flow activities on the resources; and bidirectional proxy components operatively interposed between the process flow engine and the resources, the bidirectional proxy components comprising logic for handling application data for the resources, logic for handling worklists for access by the resources and logic for managing transport of messages between the process flow engine and each of the resources. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
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9. A method for performing scalable distribution of process flow activities in a distributed workflow management system, the distributed workflow management system operating over a computer network comprising a plurality of interconnected computers and a plurality of resources, each computer including a processor, memory and input/output facilities, each resource operatively coupled to at least one of the computers and executing at least one of the activities in the process flow, the method comprising the steps of:
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coordinating and scheduling the execution of the process flow activities on the resources using a process flow engine, including storing data used in effecting each of the process flow activities in a database of the process flow engine; providing application data accessed from the database of the process flow engine to the resources using a application data handler interposed between the resources and process flow engine; managing worklists for access by the resources using a worklist handler interposed between the resources and process flow engine; and transporting messages between the process flow engine and each of the resources using a transport manager interposed between the resources and process flow engine. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
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17. A method for managing process flow activities in a distributed processing environment, each of the process flow activities comprising units of work performed by a resource operating within the distributed processing environment, the method comprising the steps of:
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coordinating the process flow activities using a process management engine operating on a computer system within the distributed processing enviromnment, the process management system identifying the work units to be performed; augmenting data maintained by the process management engine with further data specific to each such process flow activity using an application data handler functionally interposed between the process management engine and each such resource within the distributed processing enviromnment; maintaining a list of the work units using a worklist handler functionally interposed between the process management engine and each such resource within the distributed processing environment, the process management engine providing the work units list to the worklist handler and each such resource interactively selecting such work units from the work units list; and exchanging messages containing descriptions of the work units using a transport manager functionally interposed between the process management engine and each such resource within the distributed processing environment, each such resource interpreting the descriptions for the selected work units. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26)
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Specification