Binding for business workflow processes

• US 7,467,371 B1
• Filed: 04/28/2000
• Issued: 12/16/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 04/28/2000
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Mehta, Bimal, Beckman, Brian, Meredith, Lucius Gregory, Andrews, Anthony, Levy, Marc, Kanchan, Mitra
• Primary Examiner(s): Wood; William H
• Application Number:
  US09/560,371
• Time in Patent Office: 3,154 Days
• Field of Search: 703/21, 717/100, 717/104, 717101-102, 705/1, 705/8, 707/10, 719/316
• US Class Current: 717/104
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/10 Requirements analysis; Specification techniques

Abstract

A methodology of employing a binding for interfacing a business workflow process executable program to a real world implementation. The binding can be reduced to a programming language. A preferable programming language is XML (Extensible Markup Language). Separation of the business workflow processes and the binding allow for the same business workflow process to be implemented across a variety of different technologies. The binding maps ports and messages to corresponding units of codes and invocations of a particular technology being utilized for the modeling of the business workflow process. The binding provides a user with the ability to structure schedule messages, define the relationship of schedule ports to units of code, define the relationship of schedule actions to invocations, control the flow of data between messages, provide details of schedule conditionals and specify the interaction of the schedule with specific technology behaviors.

Claims

1. A system that facilitates modeling of business processes comprised of a plurality of business operations, comprising:

a computer-readable medium; and

a plurality of computer-executable files stored on the computer-readable medium comprising;

a scheduling component that employs a dataflow diagram constructed by a user based on an XML scheduling programming language to define a flow of a business process, the dataflow diagram includes actions that are coupled via data flowing between them and defined as virtual ports and messages representing business operations received between the virtual ports and implements the business process independent of business operations represented in the dataflow diagram and technology(ies) or application(s) through which the business operations are performed; and

a binding component independent of the scheduling component that binds business operations associated with a business process to the technology(ies) or application(s) through which the business operations are performed, the binding component uses one or more binding files constructed by a user for the technology(ies) or application(s) through which the business operations are performed via an XML scheduling programming language to define one or more message structures, port connections, port interfaces, or message interfaces for the technology(ies) or application(s) and to resolve references to virtual ports or messages in the dataflow diagram to references to the technology(ies) or application(s).

2. The system of claim 1, the binding component further defines technology specific information for binding business operations to at least one technological component.

3. The system of claim 1, the binding component binds a single business operation to a plurality of technological components.

4. The system of claim 1, the binding files provide port and message mapping between business operations and between business operations and technological components.

5. The system of claim 1, the binding component further defines message structure and declares messages.

6. The system of claim 1, the binding component further defines context semantics.

7. The system of claim 1, the binding component further defines schedule conditionals.

8. The system of claim 1, further including a second binding component that binds the business operations with a second component outside of the dataflow diagram.

9. A system for facilitating modeling of business processes comprised of a plurality of business operations, the system comprising a computer-readable medium having stored thereon a plurality of computer-executable files comprising:

a scheduling component that defines the flow of business processes in a schedule, the schedule is created by a user via an XML scheduling programming language and comprises respective actions that correspond to respective business operations and are connected by data flowing therebetween, the actions are defined as ports representing technological components and messages representing business operations received between ports, the scheduling component can implement the business processes independent of implementations of workflow; and

a binding component created based on an XML scheduling programming language independently of the schedule that separates the schedule from implementations of a workflow and maps actions in the schedule to implementations of business operations at least in part by defining one or more message structures, port connections, port interfaces, or message interfaces for technological components that implement the business operations and resolving references to ports or messages in the schedule to the technological components.

10. The system of claim 9, the binding component binds a single business operation to a plurality of technological components.

11. The system of claim 9, wherein a binding file provides virtual port and message mapping between business operations and between business operations and technological components.

12. The system of claim 9, the binding component further defines message structure and declares messages.

13. The system of claim 9, the binding component further defines context semantics.

14. The system of claim 9, the binding component further defines schedule conditionals.

15. A computer-readable medium having stored thereon computer-executable code for implementing a business process scheduler, the code comprising:

a data flow module that allows a user to define a flow of business processes in a file that is utilized with disparate implementations of a plurality of business operations by employing an XML scheduling programming language, the data flow module represents the disparate implementations of the business operations as virtual ports, represents the business operations as messages received between the virtual ports, and implements the flow of business processes independent of the disparate implementations of the plurality of business operations; and

a binding module that allows a user to define a link between the file with business processes and the disparate implementations of the plurality of business operations by creating one or more binding files using an XML scheduling programming language that resolve references to virtual ports or messages in the file with business processes to the disparate implementations of the business processes.

16. The computer-readable medium of claim 15, wherein the binding module further allows the user to specify the business implementation to apply to a business process.

17. The computer-readable medium of claim 15, wherein the binding module further allows the user to specify programmable semantics of the data flow module.