Method, system, and computer program product for implementing automated worklists

• US 8,326,864 B2
• Filed: 10/21/2008
• Issued: 12/04/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 10/21/2008
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Agrawal, Prateek, Arora, Rishi, Dietrich, Walter C., Haecker, Regina L., Hazeu, Robert, Singh, Saurabh
• Primary Examiner(s): Le, Thu-Nguyet
• Assistant Examiner(s): LODHI, ANDALIB FT
• Application Number:
  US12/254,968
• Publication Number:
  US 20100114926A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,505 Days
• Field of Search: 707/707, 707/759, 707/769, 707/E17.014, 707/E17.061, 707/E17.062, 707/E17.069, 707/999.003, 707/999.005
• US Class Current: 707/769
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06 Resources, workflows, human or project management; Enterprise or organisation planning; Enterprise or organisation modelling

Abstract

A method, system, and computer program product for implementing automated worklists are provided. The method includes generating a worklist, which further includes retrieving a worklist template corresponding to the worklist and, via a first query, selecting a listing of members and attributes to be populated in the worklist, the attributes include a status indicator of an action item specified for each of the members of the worklist. The worklist generation also includes building a worklist member table with results of the first query and, via a second query, and using attributes of the worklist member table, identifying up-to-date values of one or more worklist member attributes, and outputting results of the second query to the worklist. The method also includes presenting the worklist to a corresponding assignee. For each of the members in the worklist, the status indicator is editable to update a status of the member.

Claims

1. A method for implementing automated worklists, comprising:

generating a worklist, comprising;

retrieving a worklist template corresponding to the worklist from a storage device;

creating the worklist template that defines the worklist by specifying a template ID for the worklist template, defining the first query, storing the first query in the worklist template, defining the second query; and

storing the second query in the worklist template;

via a first query stored in the worklist template, selecting a listing of members, member attributes, and an assignee and populating the listing of members, member attributes, and the assignee in the worklist, the member attributes including a status indicator of an action item specified for each of the members of the worklist;

via a second query stored in the worklist template, and using attributes of a worklist member table corresponding to the member attributes, identifying up-to-date values of the member attributes; and

outputting the up-to-date values to the worklist; and

presenting the worklist to the assignee, wherein for each of the members in the worklist, a value of the status indicator is editable by the assignee to update a status of the member.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

storing the worklist template in a worklist template table that provides a primary key for worklist templates that is used as a foreign key in other tables that refer to the worklist templates.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the members comprise a database entity and occupy rows of the worklist.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein creating the worklist template further includes specifying a schedule period of worklist generation for the worklist template, the schedule period defined by at least one of frequency of generation and duration of schedule period.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the worklist contains a static listing of the members that is unchanged for the duration of the schedule period, and the values of at least one of the member attributes are updateable on demand via the worklist by the assignee.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

specifying a template type for the worklist template;

wherein results of the first query include members having the template type specified in the worklist template, the template type referencing a group of attributes, each of which relates to a defined subject.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein each worklist template has a unique template ID and the template ID is a key to a table that identifies a country to which the worklist template is assigned;

wherein, generating the worklist includes populating the worklist with members and attributes defined for the country identified by the template ID.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein each worklist template has a unique template ID and the template ID is a key to a worklist-user table that identifies at least one assignee to which the corresponding worklist template is associated;

wherein, generating the worklist includes populating the worklist with members and attributes defined for the assignee identified by the template ID.

9. A system for implementing automated worklists, comprising:

a host system; and

an automated worklist application executing on the host system, the automated worklist application implementing a method, the method comprising;

generating a worklist, comprising;

retrieving a worklist template corresponding to the worklist from a storage device;

creating the worklist template that defines the worklist by specifying a template ID for the worklist template, defining the first query, storing the first query in the worklist template, defining the second query; and

storing the second query in the worklist template;

via the first query stored in the worklist template, selecting a listing of members, member attributes, and an assignee, and populating the listing of members, member attributes, and the assignee to in the worklist, the member attributes including a status indicator of an action item specified for each of the members of the worklist;

via a second query stored in the worklist template, and using attributes of a worklist member table corresponding to the member attributes, identifying up-to-date values of the member attributes; and

outputting the up-to-date values to the worklist; and

presenting the worklist to the assignee, wherein for each of the members in the worklist, the status indicator is editable by the assignee to update a status of the member.

10. The system of claim 9, wherein the automated worklist application further implements:

storing the worklist template in a worklist template table that provides a primary key for worklist templates that is used as a foreign key in other tables that refer to the worklist templates.

11. The system of claim 9, wherein the members comprise a database entity and occupy rows of the worklist.

12. The system of claim 9, wherein creating the worklist template further includes specifying a schedule period of worklist generation for the worklist template, the schedule period defined by at least one of frequency of generation and duration of schedule period.

13. The system of claim 12, wherein the worklist contains a static listing of the members that is unchanged for the duration of the schedule period, and the values of at least one of the member attributes are updateable on demand via the worklist by the assignee.

14. The system of claim 9, wherein the automated worklist application further implements:

specifying a template type for the worklist template;

wherein results of the first query include members having the template type specified in the worklist template, the template type referencing a group of attributes, each of which relates to a defined subject.

15. The system of claim 9, wherein each worklist template has a unique template ID and the template ID is a key to a table that identifies a country to which the worklist template is assigned;

wherein, generating the worklist includes populating the worklist with members and attributes defined for the country identified by the template ID.

16. The system of claim 9, wherein each worklist template has a unique template ID and the template ID is a key to a worklist-user table that identifies at least one assignee to which the corresponding worklist template is associated;

wherein, generating the worklist includes populating the worklist with members and attributes defined for the assignee identified by the template ID.

17. A computer program product for implementing automated worklists, the computer program product including a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having computer program instructions embodied thereon, the program instructions causing a computer to implement a method, comprising:

generating a worklist, comprising;

retrieving a worklist template corresponding to the worklist from a storage device;

creating the worklist template that defines the worklist by specifying a template ID for the worklist template, defining the first query, storing the first query in the worklist template, defining the second query; and

storing the second query in the worklist template;

via the first query stored in the worklist template, selecting a listing of members, member attributes, and an assignee to be populated in the worklist, and populating the members, member attributes, and the assignee in the worklist, the member attributes including a status indicator of an action item specified for each of the members of the worklist;

via a second query stored in the worklist template, and using attributes of a worklist member table corresponding to the member attributes, identifying up-to-date values of the member attributes; and

outputting the up-to-date values to the worklist; and

presenting the worklist to the assignee, wherein for each of the members in the worklist, a value of the status indicator is editable by the assignee to update a status of the member.

18. The computer program product of claim 17, further comprising instructions for implementing:

storing the worklist template in a worklist template table that provides a primary key for worklist templates that is used as a foreign key in other tables that refer to the worklist templates.

19. The computer program product of claim 17, wherein the members comprise a database entity and occupy rows of the worklist.

20. The computer program product of claim 17, wherein creating the worklist template further includes specifying a schedule period of worklist generation for the worklist template, the schedule period defined by at least one of frequency of generation and duration of schedule period.

21. The computer program product of claim 20, wherein the worklist contains a static listing of the members that is unchanged for the duration of the schedule period, and the values of at least one of the member attributes are updateable on demand via the worklist by the assignee.

22. The computer program product of claim 17, further comprising instructions for implementing:

specifying a template type for the worklist template;

wherein results of the first query include members having the template type specified in the worklist template, the template type referencing a group of attributes, each of which relates to a defined subject.

23. The computer program product of claim 17, wherein each worklist template has a unique template ID and the template ID is a key to a table that identifies a country to which the worklist template is assigned;

wherein, generating the worklist includes populating the worklist with members and attributes defined for the country identified by the template ID.

24. The computer program product of claim 17, wherein each worklist template has a unique template ID and the template ID is a key to a worklist-user table that identifies at least one assignee to which the corresponding worklist template is associated;

wherein, generating the worklist includes populating the worklist with members and attributes defined for the assignee identified by the template ID.