Multiple stakeholders for a single business process

• US 9,223,480 B2
• Filed: 05/02/2013
• Issued: 12/29/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 10/01/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Salesforce.com, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Salesforce.com, Inc.
• Inventors: Bhandarkar, Mangesh P., Dewey, Michael K.
• Primary Examiner(s): Titcomb, William
• Application Number:
  US13/886,206
• Publication Number:
  US 20130246933A1
• Time in Patent Office: 971 Days
• Field of Search: 715/741
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/048 Interaction techniques based on graphical user interfaces [GUI]
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0484 for the control of specific functions or operations, e.g. selecting or manipulating an object, an image or a displayed text element, setting a parameter value or selecting a range
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/10 Office automation; Time management

Abstract

Methods and apparatus, including computer program products, implementing and using techniques for providing a customized representation of a business process involving one or more organizational entities that are accessible through a network. A user interface that can display a customized representation of a business process is provided. User information, including user privileges associated with the business process, is stored in a central repository that is accessible through the network. A request to view the business process is received from a first user through the user interface. The user privileges for the first user are retrieved from the central repository. A customized representation of the business process is displayed with the user interface. The customized representation is in compliance with the retrieved user privileges for the first user.

Claims

1. A computer program product, comprising a non-transitory computer usable medium having a computer readable program code embodied therein, the computer readable program code adapted to be executed to implement a method, the method comprising:

providing, by a system, a user interface operable to allow a first user to manage creation of a business process;

storing, by the system, privileges for the first user associated with the creation of the business process, the privileges for the first user allowing the first user to grant additional users privileges relating to the creation of the business process;

receiving, by the system from the first user in accordance with the privileges of the first user, privileges for additional users relating to the creation of the business process, including;

an indication of one or more additional users allowed to collaborate with the first user on the creation of the business process, and

an indication of which of a plurality of operations related to the creation of the business process each of the one or more additional users are allowed to perform;

storing, by the system, the privileges for the additional users;

controlling, by the system, access to the business process by the one or more additional users, based on the privileges stored for the additional users, including;

when the privileges stored for a user of the one or more additional users indicates that the user is not allowed to perform one or more of the operations related to the creation of the business process, then prohibiting the user from initiating the one or more of the operations within the system, and

when the privileges stored for the user of the one or more additional users indicates that the user is allowed to perform one or more of the operations related to the creation of the business process, then allowing the user to initiate the one or more of the operations within the system.

2. The computer program product of claim 1, wherein the first user is associated with a role and the role has an associated set of user privileges.

3. The computer program product of claim 2, wherein the role represents one of:

an individual user, and an organizational entity including two or more individual users.

4. The computer program product of claim 2, wherein the role is one of:

a business analyst role, a developer role, an information technology professional role, a quality assurance tester role, a security or business auditor role, and a performance analyst rote.

5. The computer program product of claim 1, wherein the user privileges include privileges to do one or more of:

create a new business process, view an existing business process, modify an existing business process, import elements of one business process into another business process and copy elements from one business process into another business process.

6. The computer program product of claim 1, wherein the business process is defined in an extended markup language.

7. The computer program product of claim 1, wherein the storing the user information includes:

storing user privileges for the first user in a privilege storage area of the system, the privilege storage area being associated with a user account for the first user.

8. The computer program product of claim 7, wherein the privilege storage area includes one or more sets of user privileges, each set of user privileges corresponding to a particular business process.

9. The computer program product of claim 1, wherein the business process includes a description of what types of user privileges are needed in order to view the business process.

10. The computer program product of claim 1, wherein the operations include viewing the business process.

11. The computer program product of claim 1, wherein the operations include modifying the business process.

12. The computer program product of claim 1, further comprising removing, through the system by the first user in accordance with the privileges of the first user, privileges previously configured for at least one further user, the previously configured privileges relating to the creation of the business process.

13. A method, comprising:

providing, by a system, a user interface operable to allow a first user to manage creation of a business process;

storing, by the system, privileges for the first user associated with the creation of the business process, the privileges for the first user allowing the first user to grant additional users privileges relating to the creation of the business process;

receiving, by the system from the first user in accordance with the privileges of the first user, privileges for additional users relating to the creation of the business process, including;

an indication of one or more additional users allowed to collaborate with the first user on the creation of the business process, and

an indication of which of a plurality of operations related to the creation of the business process each of the one or more additional users are allowed to perform;

storing, by the system, the privileges for the additional users;

controlling, by the system, access to the business process by the one or more additional users, based on the privileges stored for the additional users, including;

when the privileges stored for a user of the one or more additional users indicates that the user is not allowed to perform one or more of the operations related to the creation of the business process, then prohibiting the user from initiating the one or more of the operations within the system, and

when the privileges stored for the user of the one or more additional users indicates that the user is allowed to perform one or more of the operations related to the creation of the business process, then allowing the user to initiate the one or more of the operations within the system.

14. An apparatus, comprising:

a processor; and

one or more stored sequences of instructions which, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to carry out the steps of;

providing, by a system, a user interface operable to allow a first user to manage creation of a business process;

storing, by the system, privileges for the first user associated with the creation of the business process, the privileges for the first user allowing the first user to grant additional users privileges relating to the creation of the business process;

receiving, by the system from the first user in accordance with the privileges of the first user, privileges for additional users relating to the creation of the business process, including;

an indication of one or more additional users allowed to collaborate with the first user on the creation of the business process, and

an indication of which of a plurality of operations related to the creation of the business process each of the one or more additional users are allowed to perform;

storing, by the system, the privileges for the additional users;

controlling, by the system, access to the business process by the one or more additional users, based on the privileges stored for the additional users, including;

when the privileges stored for a user of the one or more additional users indicates that the user is not allowed to perform one or more of the operations related to the creation of the business process, then prohibiting the user from initiating the one or more of the operations within the system, and

when the privileges stored for the user of the one or more additional users indicates that the user is allowed to perform one or more of the operations related to the creation of the business process, then allowing the user to initiate the one or more of the operations within the system.