Preserving a process instance for use by different user interfaces

• US 7,743,328 B2
• Filed: 10/12/2006
• Issued: 06/22/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 10/12/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Guo, Shiqiu, Hilerio, Israel, Shukla, Dharma
• Primary Examiner(s): Hailu; Tadesse
• Assistant Examiner(s): Ulrich; Nicholas S
• Application Number:
  US11/549,022
• Publication Number:
  US 20080148367A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,349 Days
• Field of Search: 715/748
• US Class Current: 715/700
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/44526 Plug-ins; Add-ons
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/453 Help systems

Abstract

A guided process framework includes a process engine, one or more data stores, and one or more user interfaces configured to communicate with the process engine. A user can access a given process instance through any appropriately configured user interface, which contacts the process engine, and which in turn contacts/consults definitions for one or more guided processes at a data store. If the user finishes only part of a given process instance, the process engine can save state corresponding to the progress in the data store. A user can continue work on the process instance through a different user interface (or at a different computer system) by contacting the process engine through the different user interface, and receiving rendering information configured for the different user interface. Thus, the user can stop and start work on a process however desired, and with whatever tools are available at any given time.

Claims

1. At a client computer system in a computerized environment that includes a process engine for executing process instances associated with corresponding one or more guided processes, one or more remote data stores, and one or more user interfaces built on corresponding different technology, a method of facilitating progress in a process instance through different user interfaces built on different technology, such that the user can work on the process instance using any of the different user interfaces, comprising the acts of:

sending, to a process engine, initial user input on a process instance of a guided process through an initial user interface at a client computer system;

receiving initial rendering information for the at least one process instance from the process engine, wherein the initial rendering information is formatted for a technology platform of the initial user interface;

upon receiving a user login request through a different user interface, sending one or more requests to the process engine for any existing process instances associated with the user;

receiving from the process engine the identity of one or more existing process instances associated with the user, wherein at least one of the received process instance identities corresponds to the initial user input on the process instance;

receiving different rendering information formatted for a technology platform of the different user interface; and

rendering the at least one process instance at the different user interface at the client computer system.

2. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein one of the initial user interface or the different user interface is built on a web-based user interface technology, and wherein the other of the initial or different user interfaces is built on a rich, desktop style user interface technology.

3. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the process engine is remote of the client computer system.

4. The method as recited in claim 1, further comprising an act of terminating a connection with the process engine.

5. The method as recited in claim 4, wherein terminating the connection further comprises an act of sending one or more logoff requests to the process engine after sending the initial user input on the process.

6. The method as recited in claim 4, wherein the one or more requests for any existing process instances comprise anyone or more of user credentials, cookie information, and connection session information for the different user interface.

7. The method as recited in claim 1, further comprising an act of sending one or more messages from the different user interface to the process engine that indicates a selection for one of the one or more existing process instances.

8. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the format of the rendering information received for the different user interface is different from a format of rendering information previously received for the initial user interface.

9. At a process engine in a computerized environment that includes one or more client user interfaces and one or more remote data stores, a method of automatically preserving and supplying states of a user'"'"'s process instance in a guided process so that the user can stop and continue working on a process instance using a plurality of different user interfaces or at a plurality of different computer systems, comprising the acts of:

receiving one or more user inputs for a particular guided process from a first client computer system;

passing state for an process instance of the guided process to a data store, wherein the data store maintains at least a current state for the user'"'"'s progress in the process instance;

receiving a user login request from a second client computer system for any available process instances associated with the user for any guided processes; and

sending to the second client computer system rendering information for the process instance of the particular guided process, wherein the process instance is based in part on the one or more user inputs received from the first client computer system and;

sending second rendering information to the second client computer system based on the user progress in the process instance of the particular guided process, wherein the first rendering information is formatted for one user interface technology, and wherein the second rendering information is formatted for a different user interface technology.

10. The method as recited in claim 9, further comprising an act of creating the process instance for the guided process in response to the one or more user inputs from the first client computer system.

11. The method as recited in claim 10, wherein the act of creating the process instance further comprises identifying user credentials in the received one or more user inputs and comparing the identified user credentials with one or more requested guided process.

12. The method as recited in claim 9, further comprising an act of sending first rendering information to the first client computer system, wherein the first rendering information corresponds to user progress in the process instance of the particular guided process.

13. The method as recited in claim 9, wherein the first rendering information is formatted for a user interface of a web-based user interface, and the second rendering information is formatted for a user interface of a non-web-based, rich user interface.

14. The method as recited in claim 9, further comprising an act of identifying that a connection with the first computer system has been terminated.

15. The method as recited in claim 14, wherein the act of passing state to the data store occurs after identifying that the connection with the first computer system has been terminated.

16. At a process engine in a computerized environment that includes one or more client user interfaces and one or more remote data stores, a computer program product having computer-executable instructions stored thereon that, when executed, cause one or more processors at the process engine to perform a method comprising:

receiving one or more user inputs for a particular guided process from a first client computer system;

passing state for an process instance of the guided process to a data store, wherein the data store maintains at least a current state for the user'"'"'s progress in the process instance;

receiving a user login request from a second client computer system for any available process instances associated with the user for any guided processes; and

sending to the second client computer system rendering information for the process instance of the particular guided process, wherein the process instance is based in part on the one or more user inputs received from the first client computer system and

sending second rendering information to the second client computer system based on the user progress in the process instance of the particular guided process, wherein the first rendering information is formatted for one user interface technology, and wherein the second rendering information is formatted for a different user interface technology.

17. The computer program product as recited in claim 16, further comprising creating the process instance for the guided process in response to the one or more user inputs from the first client computer system.

18. The computer program product as recited in claim 17, wherein creating the process instance further comprises identifying user credentials in the received one or more user inputs and comparing the identified user credentials with one or more requested guided process.

19. The computer program product as recited in claim 16, further comprising sending first rendering information to the first client computer system, wherein the first rendering information corresponds to user progress in the process instance of the particular guided process.

20. The computer program product as recited in claim 16, wherein the first rendering information is formatted for a user interface of a web-based user interface, and the second rendering information is formatted for a user interface of a non-web-based, rich user interface.