Workflow in a paperless office

• US 6,985,938 B2
• Filed: 09/12/2001
• Issued: 01/10/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 09/12/2000
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Ohsaki, Hiroyasu, Tsuda, Kazuyuki
• Primary Examiner(s): Etienne, Ario
• Assistant Examiner(s): GOLD, AVI M
• Application Number:
  US09/951,096
• Publication Number:
  US 20020032596A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,581 Days
• Field of Search: 709/218, 709/223, 709/224, 709/227, 709/238, 705/1, 705/9, 718/100
• US Class Current: 709/223
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/10 Office automation; Time management

Abstract

A workflow system for a paperless office, an information processing apparatus, a method for simply defining a complicated workflow, for example, a workflow such as a circulation among a plurality of departments where the circulation route varies in each department, and a storage medium. A workflow system comprises: a manipulating computer terminal for executing a workflow between persons in charge, a computer terminal for designing the workflow by designating project variables for multiplexing a plurality of paths for nodes, each indicating a unit of operation to be handled; and a workflow server for managing the designed workflow and accessing the manipulating computer terminals in accordance with activities that indicate operations assigned to the nodes.

Claims

1. A workflow system comprising:

manipulating computer terminals, for executing a workflow between persons in charge, said manipulating computer terminals being connected to a network;

a designing computer terminal for designing said workflow by designating project variables for multiplexing a plurality of processes for nodes, each process indicating a unit of operations to be handled; and

a workflow server for managing said warkflow designed by said designing computer terminal, and accessing said manipulating computer terminals in accordance with activities that indicate operations assigned to said nodes,

wherein the workflow server is coupled to both the designing computer terminal and the manipulating computer terminals through the network,

wherein a designer at the designing computer terminal uses the designing computer for arranging the nodes and connecting the nodes by paths such that said nodes and paths determine a workflow definition that determines a processing order of the nodes,

wherein the designer uses the designing computer for prescribing a data definition relating to the workflow definition and for prescribing attributes of the nodes and of the paths wherein a project created by a designer at the designing computer terminal is registered in the workflow server,

wherein the workflow server comprises programs and storages,

wherein the programs comprise a project management program, a process management program, a client request management program, and a user management program,

wherein the storage comprise a workflow definition storage, a data definition storage, a process storage, a workflow status storage, and a user information storage,

wherein the project management program causes the workflow definition storage and the data definition storage to respectively retain data on the workflow definition and the data definition defined by the designer using the designing computer terminal,

wherein the process management program manages a first process created by using a definition of the project, said first process having a definition ID and a process ID, said process ID being for identifying the plurality of processes created by the definition of the project,

wherein the client request management program includes functions for providing a person in charge who uses the manipulating computer terminals with a list of activities that are assigned to the person in charge and for honoring a request to terminate an activity assigned to the person in charge, and

wherein the user management program controls an authorization of the person in charge to participate in the workflow system, registers user information in the user information storage, and makes access to the user information as the user information is needed.

2. The workflow system according to claim 1, wherein said manipulating computer terminals inform said workflow server of termination of activities after execution of assigned operations;

and

said workflow server completes the process after the termination of all activities of said workflow.

3. The workflow system according to claim 1, wherein the designing computer terminal includes functions for designing said workflow, wherein the designing computer terminal further includes definition functions for realizing duty processing by the workflow system, and wherein the duty processing is defined by a designer who uses the designing computer terminal for designing theworkflow to design a flow of operations of duties to be performed and a data structure for use in said operations of duties to be performed.

4. The workflow system according to claim 3, wherein the attributes of the nodes are selected from the group consisting of the names of the nodes, persons in charge of the nodes, and a relationship designation defined by a relationship between users of the nodes.

5. The workflow system according to claim 3, wherein the attributes of the paths include conditions for enabling the paths.

6. The workflow system according to claim 1, wherein a first node of said nodes is adapted to generate and execute child processes as an activity of said activities by using a definition of a project referred to by the first node.

7. The workflow system according to claim 6, wherein the first node is adapted to circulate data to different users or departments by separately setting IDs of the child processes.

8. The workflow system according to claim 7, wherein the IDs of the child processes are linked to variable IDs of array elements of a variable by an input tag, and wherein data values set to data in the variable IDs are adapted to be substituted into a form.

9. The workflow system according to claim 8, wherein the first node refers to a project type array associated with the project, wherein the number of said child processes is equal to the number of array elements, and wherein the first node is adapted to execute the child processes in parallel.

10. The workflow system according to claim 9, wherein project type data relating to said project type array facilitates reuse of a workspace definition and data definition of another project.