Workflow management system, method and medium with personal subflows

• US 6,430,538 B1
• Filed: 04/30/1998
• Issued: 08/06/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 04/30/1998
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Enterworks Acquisition, Inc. (Winshuttle Holdings LLC)
• Original Assignee: Enterworks Incorporated
• Inventors: Bean, Carl T., Bacon, Ian D., Handy, James M. III
• Primary Examiner(s): AMSBURY, WAYNE P
• Application Number:
  US09/070,636
• Time in Patent Office: 1,559 Days
• Field of Search: 707/7, 707/104, 705/1, 705/9, 709/106, 709/100
• US Class Current: 705/7.21
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06316 Sequencing of tasks or work
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/10 Office automation; Time management
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/1097 Task assignment
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99945 Object-oriented database structure processing
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99948 Application of database or data structure, e.g. distributed, multimedia, or image

Abstract

Workflow management system and method with personal subflows. A workflow system includes a workflow definition including an activity to be performed by a personal subflow. The personal subflow is defined by personal subflow activities and branch expressions associated with the subflow activities. A server interprets the workflow definition and facilitates the scheduling and routing of work items in the system. A client receives work items from the server and displays information therefrom to a participant. The client also receives data and control commands from the participant. A decision agent cooperates with the server in the scheduling of work items by considering participant-provided data and a branch expression associated with a current personal subflow activity.

Claims

1. A workflow system having personal subflows, comprising:

a workflow definition including one or more activities to be performed by a personal subflow, wherein a participant among a plurality of workflow participants performs the one or more personal subflow activities, and wherein each of the one or more personal subflow activities

     1) presents one or more display pages to the participant,

     2) accepts participant entered data, and

     3) evaluates the participant entered data in accordance with branch expressions associated with each of the one or more personal subflow activities;

a server for interpreting the workflow definition and facilitating the scheduling and routing of work items in the system;

a client to receive a work item from the server and to display information therefrom to the participant;

a decision agent to cooperate with the server in the scheduling of work items by considering work item data and a branch expression associated with a current personal subflow activity.

2. The system of claim 1 wherein the client includes

logic to receive the participant entered data and to modify the work item as determined by the participant entered data, and

logic to provide the modified work item to the server, and

wherein the server includes logic to forward the modified work item to the decision point agent so that the agent may consider work item data therein.

3. The system of claim 2 wherein the client includes HTML logic to display a HTML display associated with each personal subflow activity and to update the HTML display with information contained in the work item.

4. The system of claim 3 wherein the HTML logic includes logic to open a browser window to display an initial HTML display for an initial personal subflow activity and logic to refresh the browser window with subsequent HTML displays for subsequent personal subflow activities.

5. The system of claim 3 wherein the HTML logic includes logic to navigate back to a previous personal subflow activity and previous HTML display.

6. The system of claim 1 wherein the client cooperates with the participant and wherein the personal subflow can be used by any of a plurality of participants.

7. The system of claim 1 wherein the client includes logic, cooperative with the server, to navigate to a next personal subflow activity.

8. The system of claim 1 wherein the client includes logic, cooperative with the server, to navigate to a previous personal subflow activity.

9. A method of performing a workflow having personal subflows, comprising:

receiving a workflow definition including one or more activities to be performed by a personal subflow, wherein a participant among a plurality of workflow participants performs the one or more personal subflow activities, and wherein each of the one or more personal subflow activities

     1) presents one or more display pages to the participant,

     2) accepts participant entered data, and

     3) evaluates the participant entered data in accordance with branch expressions associated with each of the one or more personal subflow activities;

a server interpreting the workflow definition to facilitate the scheduling and routing of work items;

a client receiving a work item from the server and displaying information therefrom to the participant;

a decision agent cooperating with the server in the scheduling of work items by considering work item data and a branch expression associated with a current personal subflow activity.

10. The method of claim 9 further comprising

the client receiving the participant entered data and modifying the work item as determined by the participant entered data, and

the client providing the modified work item to the server, the server forwarding the modified work item to the decision point agent so that the agent may consider work item data therein.

11. The method of claim 10 further comprising the client displaying a HTML display associated with each personal subflow activity and updating the HTML display with information contained in the work item.

12. The method of claim 9 further comprising the client cooperating with a participant and wherein the personal subflow can be used with any of a plurality of participants.

13. The method of claim 12 further comprising

the client opening a browser window to display an initial HTML display for an initial personal subflow activity and refreshing the browser window with subsequent HTML displays for subsequent personal subflow activities.

14. The method of claim 9 further comprising

the client cooperating with the server to navigate to a next personal subflow activity.

15. The method of claim 9 further comprising

the client cooperating with the server to navigate to a previous personal subflow activity.

16. A set of computer processable instructions on a computer readable medium, comprising:

server instructions for interpreting a workflow definition and facilitating the scheduling and routing of work items, the workflow definition including one or more activities to be performed by a personal subflow, wherein a participant among a plurality of workflow participants performs the one or more personal subflow activities, and wherein each of the one or more personal subflow activities

     1) presents one or more display pages to the participant,

     2) accepts participant entered data, and

     3) evaluates the participant entered data in accordance with branch expressions associated with each of the one or more personal subflow activities;

client instructions to receive a work item from a server and to display information therefrom to a participant;

decision agent instructions to cooperate with the server in the scheduling of work items by considering work item data and a branch expression associated with a current personal subflow activity.

17. The set of computer processable instructions of claim 16 wherein the client instructions includes

instructions to receive the participant entered data and to modify a work item as determined by the participant entered data, and

instructions to provide the modified work item to a server, and

wherein the server instructions include instructions to forward the modified work item to a decision point agent so that the agent may consider work item data therein.

18. The set of computer processable instructions of claim 17 wherein the client instructions include HTML instructions to display a HTML display associated with each personal subflow activity and to update the HTML display with information contained in the work item.

19. The set of computer processable instructions of claim 18 wherein the HTML instructions include instructions to open a browser window to display an initial HTML display for an initial personal subflow activity and instructions to refresh the browser window with subsequent HTML displays for subsequent personal subflow activities.

20. The set of computer processable instructions of claim 16 wherein the client instructions cooperate with a participant and wherein the personal subflow can be used by any of a plurality of participants.

21. The set of computer processable instructions of claim 16 wherein the client instructions include instructions, cooperative with the server instructions, to navigate to a next personal subflow activity.

22. The set of computer processable instructions of claim 16 wherein the client instructions include instructions, cooperative with the server instructions, to navigate to a previous personal subflow activity.

23. The set of computer processable instructions of claim 16 wherein the server instructions are Java instructions.

24. A method of performing a workflow having personal subflows, comprising:

routing a work item to a participant defined within a workflow as the actor to perform a personal subflow defined by personal subflow activities and branch expressions associated with the subflow activities;

a server interpreting the workflow definition to facilitate the scheduling and routing of work items;

a client receiving a work item from the server and displaying information therefrom to a participant;

a decision agent cooperating with the server in the scheduling of work items by considering work item data and a branch expression associated with a current personal subflow activity.

25. The method according to claim 24 further comprising

the client receiving data from the participant and modifying the work item with the participant data, and

the client providing the modified work item to the server,

the server forwarding the modified work item to the decision point agent so that the agent may consider work item data therein.

26. The method according to claim 24 further comprising

the client displaying a HTML display associated with a personal subflow activity and updating the HTML display with information contained in the work item.