Dynamically repositioning workflow by end users

• US 7,680,683 B2
• Filed: 12/29/2005
• Issued: 03/16/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 12/29/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Hilerio, Israel, Indurkar, Pravin, Sanabria, Andres, Uemura, Marcelo R., Mihai, Constantin, Kothari, Nikhil, Harder, Michael
• Primary Examiner(s): Jeanty; Romain
• Assistant Examiner(s): SANTIAGO, LUIS F
• Application Number:
  US11/321,777
• Publication Number:
  US 20070156888A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,538 Days
• Field of Search: 705/8
• US Class Current: 705/7.27
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06 Resources, workflows, human or project management; Enterprise or organisation planning; Enterprise or organisation modelling
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/0633 Workflow analysis
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/10 Office automation; Time management

Abstract

Systems and methods that dynamically reset a workflow state by employing a dynamic state manager that is external to the workflow, and enables interaction of a host with a workflow instance. An event driven workflow or state machine workflow can be supplied, wherein ad hoc events are employed to reset and manipulate the workflow to states that have not been modeled as part of the workflow itself, to dynamically create relation ships at runtime.

Claims

1. A computer implemented system comprising:

a computer-readable storage medium having stored thereon computer-executable components, the computer-executable components comprising;

a workflow provider that provides a workflow, the workflow including a plurality of workflow states and a plurality of web pages corresponding to the plurality of workflow states, the plurality of web pages including;

a first web page corresponding to a first workflow state of the plurality of workflow states;

a second web page corresponding to a second workflow state of the plurality of workflow states, the second web page being positioned in the workflow after the first web page, the second workflow state being positioned in the workflow after the first workflow state; and

at least one intermediate web page corresponding to at least one intermediate workflow state of the plurality of workflow states, the at least one intermediate web page being positioned in the workflow after the first web page and before the second web page, the at least one intermediate workflow state being positioned in the workflow after the first workflow state and before the second workflow state; and

a dynamic state manager component as part of an engine of the workflow, the dynamic state manager component, in response to a browser browsing from the second web page back to the first web page, creates one or more relationships between the workflow states that have not been modeled as part of the workflow, to enable ad hoc state changes in the workflow at run time;

the one or more relationships created in response to the browser browsing from the second web page back to the first web page including;

a relationship between the first web page and the second web page that causes the workflow to, in response to a submission of the first web page, navigate from the first web page to the second web page and skip over the at least one intermediate web page.

2. The computer implemented system of claim 1, wherein the computer-executable components further comprise an interactive activity component that stops the workflow at specific points and awaits an input from a host application that drives the workflow states.

3. The computer implemented system of claim 2, wherein the workflow is associated with an application navigation control displayed in a browser.

4. The computer implemented system of claim 3, wherein there is a one to one association between each display and each state.

5. The computer implemented system of claim 4, wherein the computer-executable components further comprise navigation paths that are supplied by the host.

6. The computer implemented system of claim 5, wherein the navigation paths having a “

go-to”

form.

7. The computer implemented system of claim 5, wherein the events correspond to user interfaces.

8. The computer implemented system of claim 5, wherein the events are ad hoc events not modeled as part of the workflow logic.