Flow designer for establishing and maintaining assignment and strategy process maps

• US RE43,905 E1
• Filed: 11/29/2007
• Issued: 01/01/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 08/27/1999
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Fintegraph, LLC (Ascend Innovation Management, LLC)
• Original Assignee: Comp Sci Holdings LLC (Intellectual Ventures LLC)
• Inventors: Bierenbaum, Steven E.
• Primary Examiner(s): Coppola, Jacob C.
• Application Number:
  US11/947,714
• Time in Patent Office: 1,860 Days
• Field of Search: 705/39
• US Class Current: 705/39
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/00 Administration; Management
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06 Resources, workflows, human or project management; Enterprise or organisation planning; Enterprise or organisation modelling
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/10 specially adapted for electronic funds transfer [EFT] systems; specially adapted for home banking systems
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99942 Manipulating data structure, e.g. compression, compaction, compilation
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99945 Object-oriented database structure processing

Abstract

A system, method and carrier medium for modeling a Financial Service Organization (FSO) business in a computer software program and for storing the model of the FSO business in a database. An object-oriented business model representing the FSO may be created and stored in a business model database. The one or more business objects included in the business model may be configured to describe various products, methods, functions and properties associated with an FSO. A process map business object may describe a process workflow. The process workflow may identify a sequence of tasks to be performed by an FSO production system to process an FSO transaction. The sequence of tasks associated with an FSO transaction may be consistent with pre-defined business logic for the transaction. Selecting a task object from a plurality of task objects and transferring the task object to a process map display representing the process map business object may create the process workflow. Additional task objects may be transferred and connected to the transferred task objects in a manner consistent with the business logic. An FSO production system, which may be configured to process FSO transactions, may access the database to request data associated with a particular FSO transaction. On receiving the requested data from the business model database, the FSO production system may complete the processing of the FSO transaction.

Claims

1. A method for defining a process map for processing a financial service organization business product transaction, the method comprising:

displaying a plurality of task objects on a computer display screen;

displaying a process map design palette on the computer display screen;

selecting a first task object from the displayed plurality of task objects;

adding the first task object to the process map design palette; and

storing the process map in a business model database;

wherein the process map stored in the business model database is configured for translation into a financial service organization production system database,

wherein the financial service organization production system database is configured for use in the financial service organization production system, and

wherein the financial service organization production system is configured to process business product transactions between a financial service organization and a financial service organization customer.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein selecting the first task object comprises moving a cursor over the first task object.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein adding the first task object to the process map design palette comprises moving the selected first task object onto the process map design palette.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

selecting a second task object from the displayed plurality of task objects; and

adding the second task object to the process map design palette.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the method further comprises

defining a processing path between the first task object and the second task object,

wherein the processing path describes a path for business product transactions to be passed from the first processing task to the second processing task in the financial service organization production system.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the first task object comprises

one or more output links, and

wherein defining the processing path between the first task object and the second task object comprises connecting a first output link of the first task object to the second task object.

7. The method of claim 6, further comprising:

selecting a third task object from the displayed plurality of task objects;

adding the third task object to the process map design palette; and

defining a processing path between the first task object and the third task object;

wherein defining the processing path between the first task object and the third task object comprises disconnecting the first output link of the first task object from the second task object and connecting the first output link of the first task object to the third task object.

8. The method of claim 5, further comprising:

selecting a third task object from the displayed plurality of task objects;

adding the third task object to the process map design palette; and

defining a processing path between the first task object and the third task object;

wherein the first task object is a decision task object configured to pass a business product transaction to one of the first and second tasks objects as a function of data relating to the financial service organization customer associated with the business product transaction.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the first task is an invoke external interface task, wherein the invoke external interface task launches an external interface that transfers information between the financial service organization production system and outside sources.

10. A system for processing FSO transactions, the system comprising:

a computer program;

a computer system;

wherein the computer program is executable on the computer system to execute the method of;

displaying a plurality of task objects on a computer display screen;

displaying a process map design palette on the computer display screen;

selecting a first task object from the displayed plurality of task objects;

adding the first task object to the process map design palette; and

storing the process map in a business model database;

wherein the process map stored in the business model database is configured for translation into a financial service organization production system database,

wherein the financial service organization production system database is configured for use in the financial service organization production system, and

wherein the financial service organization production system is configured to process business product transactions between a financial service organization and a financial service organization customer.

11. The system of claim 10, wherein selecting the first task object comprises moving a cursor over the first task object.

12. The system of claim 11, wherein adding the first task object to the process map design palette comprises moving the selected first task object onto the process map design palette.

13. The system of claim 10, further comprising:

selecting a second task object from the displayed plurality of task objects; and

adding the second task object to the process map design palette.

14. The system of claim 13, wherein the method further comprises

defining a processing path between the first task object and the second task object,

wherein the processing path describes a path for business product transactions to be passed from the first processing task to the second processing task in the financial service organization production system.

15. The system of claim 14, wherein the first task object comprises

one or more output links, and

wherein defining the processing path between the first task object and the second task object comprises connecting a first output link of the first task object to the second task object.

16. The system of claim 15, further comprising:

selecting a third task object from the displayed plurality of task objects;

adding the third task object to the process map design palette; and

defining a processing path between the first task object and the third task object;

wherein defining the processing path between the first task object and the third task object comprises disconnecting the first output link of the first task object from the second task object and connecting the first output link of the first task object to the third task object.

17. The system of claim 14, further comprising:

selecting a third task object from the displayed plurality of task objects;

adding the third task object to the process map design palette; and

defining a processing path between the first task object and the third task object;

wherein the first task object is a decision task object configured to pass a business product transaction to one of the first and second tasks objects as a function of data relating to the financial service organization customer associated with the business product transaction.

18. The system of claim 10, wherein the first task is an invoke external interface task, wherein the invoke external interface task launches an external interface that transfers information between the financial service organization production system and outside sources.

19. The system of claim 10, wherein the computer system comprises a display device coupled to the computer system to display data.

20. The system of claim 19, wherein the display device is a display screen.

21. The system of claim 10, wherein the computer system comprises a user input device coupled to the computer system to enter data.

22. The system of claim 21, wherein the user input device is a mouse or a keyboard.

23. A carrier memory medium comprising program instructions, wherein the program instructions are executable having stored thereon, computer-executable instructions configured for execution by a computer system to implement the method of, to cause the computer system to perform acts comprising:

displaying a plurality of task objects on a computer display screen;

displaying a process map design palette on the computer display screen;

selecting a first task object from the displayed plurality of task objects;

adding the first task object to the process map design palette; and

storing the process map in a business model database;

wherein the process map stored in the business model database is configured for translation into a financial service organization production system database,

wherein the financial service organization production system database is configured for use in the financial service organization production system, and

wherein the financial service organization production system is configured to process business product transactions between a financial service organization and a financial service organization customer.

24. The carrier memory medium of claim 23, wherein selecting the first task object comprises moving a cursor over the first task object.

25. The carrier memory medium of claim 24, wherein adding the first task object to the process map design palette comprises moving the selected first task object onto the process map design palette.

26. The carrier memory medium of claim 23, wherein the acts further comprising comprise:

selecting a second task object from the displayed plurality of task objects; and

adding the second task object to the process map design palette.

27. The carrier memory medium of claim 26, wherein the method acts further comprises comprise:

defining a processing path between the first task object and the second task object,

wherein the processing path describes a path for business product transactions to be passed from the first processing task to the second processing task in the financial service organization production system.

28. The carrier memory medium of claim 27, wherein the first task object comprises one or more output links, and wherein defining the processing path between the first task object and the second task object comprises connecting a first output link of the first task object to the second task object.

29. The carrier memory medium of claim 28, wherein the acts further comprising comprise:

selecting a third task object from the displayed plurality of task objects;

adding the third task object to the process map design palette; and

defining a processing path between the first task object and the third task object;

wherein defining the processing path between the first task object and the third task object comprises disconnecting the first output link of the first task object from the second task object and connecting the first output link of the first task object to the third task object.

30. The carrier memory medium of claim 27, wherein the acts further comprising comprise:

selecting a third task object from the displayed plurality of task objects;

adding the third task object to the process map design palette; and

defining a processing path between the first task object and the third task object;

wherein the first task object is a decision task object configured to pass a business product transaction to one of the first and second tasks objects as a function of data relating to the financial service organization customer associated with the business product transaction.

31. The carrier memory medium of claim 23, wherein the first task is an invoke external interface task, wherein the invoke external interface task launches an external interface that transfers information between the financial service organization production system and outside sources.

32. The carrier medium of claim 23, wherein the carrier medium is a memory medium.