JP2000315234A - Workflow server and workflow system control method - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] [PROBLEMS] To provide a workflow system in which an unprocessed matter stored in an inbox of an absentee can be processed by a designated agent in advance. SOLUTION: A workflow server links to a user management table 100 for managing matters for each user, and designates an agent list 130 for designating an agent in advance for each job, and designates itself as an agent. A list of delegates is provided. When a user selects a specific user to be delegated from the delegate list, the authority of the delegate is confirmed by referring to the delegate list of the selected user and designated in advance. Workflow system that allows agency processing of unprocessed matters of completed business.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a workflow system, and more particularly, to a workflow server and a workflow system control method for performing a control operation so that another specific user can substitute for a business case when a responsible user is absent. About.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A workflow system is a computer network system developed for efficiently processing office work involving a plurality of people in a time-series manner.
By defining in advance the flow of each case that occurs in the form of digitized documents in office work, cases processed at the client terminal are automatically transferred to the person in charge downstream of the work flow one after another. It is like that.
The workflow system includes, for example, a plurality of client terminals interconnected by a communication network represented by a LAN, and a workflow server that communicates with each client terminal via the communication network. The process is defined in advance in a process management table provided in the workflow server. In addition, the business referred to in this specification is
For example, office work typified by material ordering and travel expenses settlement, etc., and its components include, for example, processing assigned to a user or application at each client terminal, typified by proposal, examination, approval, etc. There is. A new matter (digitized document) created at each client terminal, or a matter transferred from another user and subjected to additional processing at the client terminal, is processed under the control of the workflow server. Automatically sent to the person in charge of the next step along the line.

In this specification, the identifier of each business in the workflow system is “process ID”, each digitized document generated in the business is “case”, and each of a series of processing steps constituting the business flow is “node”. Is defined.
When the transfer destination of the matter at each node is specified in an individual unit, “user” is specified, and a group consisting of a plurality of users having the same role is specified as a unit, and one of a plurality of members belonging to the group is specified. If you want to transfer to a "roll", say "roll"

In the workflow system, when a user (transferred user) who is a transfer destination of an item is absent due to a business trip, a vacation, or the like, another user (an agent) is used in order to avoid business stagnation. It is desirable to make it possible to process cases. As a conventional workflow system that enables agent processing by agents, for example,
In Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H10-177603, the following configuration is adopted in which each user designates an agent for each job and a case is automatically delivered to the agent when the person is absent. In the above-mentioned conventional system, the workflow server includes, for each node constituting the business process, a role ID, an initial delivery type for designating which of a user / role is the first destination of the matter, and an initial delivery type. A "process management table" that defines a failure delivery type that specifies which of the user / role is to be the next destination in place of the case where the matter delivery to the destination specified in It has a “role management table” that defines user IDs that belong to each role ID, and a “user management table” that stores case acceptability information for each user ID. , Roll I
In response to the request D, whether or not the case can be accepted in the user's inbox and the agent who should process the case on his / her behalf are designated.

When the workflow server receives a transition command for a processed matter from a client terminal,
In the process management table, refer to the record of the next node of the process corresponding to the above matter, and if "role" is specified as the initial transmission type, send the matter to the corresponding role. If the initial transmission type specifies “user”, the role management table corresponding to the role ID defined in the record is referred to, and based on the first user ID defined in the role management table, Refer to the corresponding user management table. In the user management table, regarding the role ID, if the reception status of the case indicates “reception permitted”, the case is sent to the user in charge specified by the user ID. If the reception status is "reception prohibited" and a proxy ID is specified, the proxy management server checks the user management table of the proxy and checks the reception status of the proxy regarding the role ID. If the acceptance status of the agent indicates that acceptance is permitted, the case is sent to the agent. In the user management table, if the first user has not designated an agent, or if the designated agent indicates that the acceptance of the matter is prohibited, the first transmission of the matter has failed. In this case, the workflow
The server determines the next destination according to the transmission type at the time of failure in the process management table. If the sending type at the time of failure is "role", the matter is sent to the role, and if it is "user", the same procedure as the first user is repeated for the next user defined in the role management table.

[0006]

The above-mentioned conventional workflow system automatically transfers a matter to a designated agent in advance when the user in charge is absent, and each user including the agent is assigned to his / her inbox. The accumulated matter is processed. For this reason, each user is obliged to change the acceptance status of the case from “acceptance of acceptance” to “acceptance of acceptance” for the role ID for which proxy processing is desired before his / her absence. Therefore, for example, when the user cannot operate the terminal due to a sudden business trip, unscheduled absence due to illness, or the like, the workflow server performs a case transfer operation based on the user management table that has not been updated. Therefore, there is a problem that matters are accumulated one after another in the tray of the absentee, and the business is stagnated at the node where the absentee is located.

Further, in the above-described conventional agent processing method, even if it is confirmed that the case is stagnated at the node where the person in charge is absent, the case where the case is temporarily stored in the inbox of the absentee is determined. However, since the security function prohibits access by other users, there is a problem that even a user who has been designated as a proxy in advance cannot perform proxy processing of these cases.

In the field of electronic mail, for example, as described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 3-223946, a right holder (the person) and an agent are registered in association with a personal mailbox. It is known that an agent registered when the right holder is absent accesses the mailbox, substitutes the electronic slip received by e-mail, and sends the electronic slip to the next processing section by e-mail. However, in this proxy method, since the proxy can access all the emails received in the personal mailbox, the proxy must be permitted only for a limited case related to a specific business in the received emails. Can not. Further, the above-mentioned known example is directed to an e-mail, and it is necessary for a person in charge to send a processed electronic voucher by designating the next destination, and the workflow system and the invention are different. .

[0009] It is an object of the present invention to provide a workflow system and a server capable of processing a case sent to an absentee (user in charge) by a substitute user designated in advance by the user in charge for each job. It is another object of the present invention to provide a flexible workflow system and a server that allows a user in charge at a desk to handle a case received by himself / herself separately from a substitute user designated for each business. is there. Still another object of the present invention is to provide a workflow system and a control method provided with a user interface for easily calling a case when a substitute user processes a case received by another user.

[0010]

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the present invention is connected to a plurality of client terminals for processing digitized documents generated as business-response cases, and generated by the client terminals. In a workflow server that controls transfer of a processed matter to the next responsible user in accordance with a process flow defined in advance for each task, at least one matter is assigned to a responsible user to which the matter was transferred, and A control means is provided for permitting access to both a proxy user designated in advance for each job or each process, and for directly or indirectly transferring a matter processed by any of the above users to the next responsible user. It is characterized by having.

According to the above configuration, when the responsible user is absent, the case can be processed by the designated agent in advance, and when the responsible user is present, both the responsible person and the agent can process the case. Therefore, when the number of stored cases becomes large, the cases can be processed separately by two persons.
In addition, according to the above configuration, the matter is stored in the inbox of the user in charge even after the agent is designated, so each user can obtain the matter before he or she returns to his or her seat. There is no need to change the specified information about whether or not to receive the message. If the agency authority is complete, the matter processed by the agent is automatically transferred to the next user in charge defined in the workflow.If the agency authority is restricted, for example, Indirect transfer can be used to transfer and then transfer to the next responsible user after approval by the responsible person.

Another feature of the present invention is that the workflow
The server has means for displaying, in response to a request from any one of the client terminals, a partner user (recipient) who is specifying the user of the requesting client terminal as a substitute on the client terminal. It is characterized by. The delegate can be specified, for example, by sequentially searching a user management table storing management information for each user of the client terminal when a display request for the delegate is made from the client terminal. If the agent user is stored in the agent list linked to the agent management table of the agent at the point in time when the agent is designated, when the display of the agent is requested from the client terminal, the requesting user's display is By referring to the delegate list, the delegate name can be instantaneously displayed on the requesting terminal.

Another feature of the present invention is that the workflow
The server has a user management table for linking with management information about each user of the client terminal and storing information about the agent designated by the user in a business correspondence or a processing correspondence. When there is a request to display a proxy case by specifying another user to be a proxy, the control means refers to the user management table corresponding to the proxy and the proxy authority of the client terminal user who made the request. In order to identify the agency matter to be displayed. The above agent designation is
For example, on the proxy setting screen displayed on the client terminal, it can be specified by inputting the identifier of the proxy for each job or each process. Instead of this, for example, a method of creating a member table using organization information of a company and selecting a substitute from among a plurality of members displayed on the screen, or a condition to be provided by the substitute by a logical expression A method of inputting and automatically extracting a corresponding user from the organization information may be adopted. In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, in order to prevent improper designation of a substitute by a user, a qualification to be possessed by the substitute is preset for each node of the business process, and the workflow server is set by the user. For each designated agent, check if the above agent qualifications are met,
If improper, the agent is changed.

Yet another feature of the present invention is a workflow system.
The server, in correspondence with the identification information of each user of the client terminal, list information of the matter transferred to the user, identification information of the agent designated for each job or process by the user, and Having user information storage means for storing identification information of a delegate designated as a proxy,
When there is a request from another user other than the transfer destination of a case to start a proxy process for a case to be processed by another user, the identification information of the delegate stored in the user information storage means corresponding to the requesting user is stored. Based on the request source user terminal, a screen for selecting a delegate is output, and when the delegate is specified by the request source user, the information stored in the user information storage means corresponding to the specified delegate is output. By referring to the request, the substitute qualification of the requesting user is confirmed and the case in which the substitute is permitted is specified.

In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the user information storage means stores at least one of a proxy authority, a proxy condition, and a proxy expiration date in addition to the identification information of the proxy designated by each user for each job. One is stored, and when the workflow server confirms the substitute qualification of the requesting user,
By judging whether or not the user's identification information is pre-registered and at least one of the proxy authority, the proxy condition, and the proxy expiration date, the range of the case processing by the proxy can be restricted. And

More specifically, the workflow server according to the present invention provides a "process management table" which defines the relationship between each node identifier constituting a business process and the destination of a case in correspondence with the business identifier. Corresponding to the user identifier operating the client terminal, the identifier of the unprocessed matter, the identifier of the agent designated by the user for each job or each process, and other identifiers specifying the user as an agent. A “user management table” storing an identifier of a delegate indicating a user, and a “matter” storing an identifier of a task to which the matter belongs and a node identifier indicating a current position of the matter corresponding to the matter identifier. Management table ", for each matter, the user in charge of the matter in the user management table and the matter in the user management table of the user in charge The process is permitted to both the proxy user registered as a proxy in correspondence with the business identifier, and for the case processed by each of the client terminals, according to the business identifier of each case and the node identifier of the current position, Identify the next node identifier and destination user from the above process management table, register it as an unprocessed matter in another user management table corresponding to the destination user,
Means for rewriting a node identifier indicating the current position in the case management table corresponding to the case to the next node identifier.

According to the method for controlling a workflow system according to the present invention, a plurality of client terminals and each business-response matter generated or processed by the client terminals are transmitted to a next user in accordance with a process flow defined for each business in advance. In a workflow system comprising a workflow server for transfer control, when any one of the client terminals specifies a partner user to be a delegate and requests display of a proxy case, the workflow server Wherein the requesting client terminal user selects an unprocessed case of a specific job for which the requesting client terminal user is qualified to act from among the unprocessed cases of the delegate, and displays the case on the requesting client terminal. And Another feature of the workflow system control method according to the present invention is that, when there is a request for display of a delegate from any client terminal, the work flow server manages the management information prepared for each user of each client terminal. On the basis of, the delegate specifying the user of the requesting client terminal as a delegate is specified and displayed on the requesting client terminal, whereby the delegate can display the delegate on the display screen. That it can be specified.

The workflow server according to the present invention has, as an additional function, a function of recording history information indicating the progress of processing of a case in each node in the case management table. The workflow server further includes, as an additional function, a client terminal operated by a responsible user who is a transfer destination of the matter and a substitute user designated as a substitute of the matter for a matter to be processed urgently. At least one of the operating client terminals has a function of transmitting a message urging the processing of the case. The dunning message may be, for example, a case in which the workflow server receives a case pointed out by another user, a case where a predetermined time has elapsed after being transferred to a responsible user, or a user whose number of stays exceeds a predetermined threshold value. Issued for a matter. The reminder message is sent to, for example, a user who has been recognized as absent in the schedule management system, a user who has not accessed the workflow server for a certain period of time, or a user who has not processed the urgent matter within a certain period of time. On the other hand, a reminder may be performed several times, and if there is no response, the substitute may be urged.

By providing the workflow server with these additional functions, the workflow system of the present invention enables a user involved in the processing of a case to easily check the current status of the case to which the user is concerned, and By inviting the process based on the indication from the related user or inviting the process by the automatic detection, it becomes possible to promote the case process by the responsible user and the substitute user.
In order to limit the execution of the case process by the agent, the agent process may be limited to the user who has received the reminder message from the workflow server.

[0020]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a diagram for schematically explaining the features of the workflow server according to the present invention. Items stored in a tray of a user A and a case where the user A is absent are designated in advance by the user A. This shows the relationship between the other users B and D that have been processed on behalf of the absentee A.

Reference numeral 110A denotes a display screen showing a list of cases stored in the tray of the user A. The case list includes a work name 111, a work name 112, an arrival date and time 1 for each case.
In this example, the user A has five unprocessed cases C001 to C005. When these unprocessed cases are classified by business, three cases of “material order” business are C001, C003, and C005, one case of “financing check” business is C002, and one case of “travel expense clearing” business is C004. It is one of the cases. 130A shows an outline of a proxy list showing the relationship between the proxy 132 and the proxy service 131 specified by the user A in advance. In this example,
The user A designates the user B to perform the “material ordering” operation and the user D to perform the “travel expense settlement” operation.

[0022] 150B and 150D are user A
13 shows a list screen of agency cases displayed on the terminal screens of users B and D designated as agents. As is clear from the contents of each agency case list screen, for user B, "material order" specified by user A in agency list 130A.
Three cases C001, C003, and C005 of the business are displayed, and one case C004 of the “travel expense settlement” business specified in the agent list 130A is displayed for the user C. The users B and D are given the authority to perform processing on behalf of the absent user A for specific cases displayed on their respective substitute case list screens. Since the user C has not been designated as a substitute from the user A, the user C cannot access the case of the user A.

FIG. 2 shows the configuration of the workflow system according to the present invention. The workflow system includes a workflow server 1, a client terminal 2 used by a system administrator, and a plurality of client terminals 3 (3A to 3N) used by general users. These elements are interconnected by a LAN 4. Have been.

Reference numerals 10 to 60 denote typical files related to the present invention among various information files provided in the workflow server 1. Reference numeral 10 denotes the above-described case list and agent agent corresponding to the user ID. A file for storing a user management table 100 defining user information such as a list, 20 is a file for storing a role management table 200 defining a list of user IDs corresponding to role IDs, 30 is a file for storing A file for storing a process management table 300 in which node list information is defined in correspondence with a process ID indicating a task, and 40 is a case ID
For each process ID corresponding to this, the current node I
D, a case management table 4 defining information such as a history list
9 shows a file for storing 00. Also, 50 is
Reference numeral 60 denotes a file for storing digitized document data serving as a main body of each case, and a file for storing organization information of a company to which the workflow system is applied.

The user management table 100, the role management table 200, and the process management table 300 are generated / updated by an administrator registering / correcting respective data from the client terminal 1. It is generated for each case newly generated in the terminal 3, and its contents are automatically updated as the process proceeds.

FIG. 3 shows the structure of the user management table 100 stored in the file 10. A user management table 100 (100A, 100B,... 100N) is prepared for each user, and has a user ID 101 and a user name 1 respectively.
02, organization ID 103 to which the user belongs, post 104 of the user, administrator authority 105, pointer 106 to the case list 110, pointer 10 to the work history list 120
7. Includes a pointer 108 to a proxy list 130 and a pointer 109 to a proxy list 140.

The case list 110 shows a list of case IDs indicating unprocessed cases existing in the inbox of each user. The case ID stored in the case data file 60 indicates a case stored in the case data file 60. Data, ie, digitized documents, can be recalled. In the management table 100A of the user A illustrated here, it is understood that five cases with case IDs “C001” to “C005” exist in the inbox of the user A.

The work history list 120 shows the work history of the workflow performed by the user in the past. The work history is composed of operation history information specified by a work ID generated for each case at each node. In the example shown here, the user A
It can be seen that the workflow work UH001 to UH005 has been performed five times in the past. The operation history information is stored, for example, in the case data file 50 in association with each case data, and for each user or case, when and by whom.
You can keep track of which cases were processed and how.

The agent list 130 has the process ID 13
In correspondence with 1, the agent ID 132 indicating the agent, the agent authority 133 indicating the range in which the agent can operate the item, and the conditions for transitioning the item processed by the agent to the next step (node). A proxy condition 134 indicating the validity period of the proxy authority is defined. These requirements place certain restrictions on the agent's ability to process other people's cases,
This is to prevent unauthorized processing.

In the example shown in the figure, the user A receives “BP00
For the business name (process name) indicated by “1”, “U0
The proxy authority is given to the user having the user ID of “04” in the form limited to the “transfer” process.
If “1” is the process ID of the travel expense settlement and “U004” is the user ID given to the user D, the user D will have the agency authority for the transfer process of the case shown in FIG. Similarly, assuming that “BP002” is the process ID of the material order and “U002” is the user ID given to the user B, the user B has full agency authority for the case shown in FIG. .

Note that, for example, if the processing condition is required to be transferred to the responsible person (for example, the boss) before automatically transferring the processed matter to the next node, the processed matter is transferred from the agent to the responsible person. After the approval of the person in charge, the transfer is transferred to the next user in the workflow. In addition, for a specific agent having a secretarial role, the authority 133 is used to distribute (allocate) the received matter of the absentee to other users who are present.
The specific agent may transfer the unprocessed matter stored in the inbox of the absentee to the inbox of another agent. As an agent,
If, for example, a group name indicating a department name or a post name to which the agent belongs is specified instead of the user ID, the workflow server 1 acquires all the users who belong to the group from the organization information file 60 This is displayed on the user's terminal, and the agent selected or confirmed by the user is added to the agent list 130.

The delegate list 140 is a list of the user IDs of the other users who will be delegates (responsible users) when a user is designated as a delegate by another user. . In the illustrated example, user A:
Another user having the user ID “U003” is designated as a substitute (proxy is permitted), and can perform proxy processing on the cases stored in the inbox of “U003”. In this case, regarding the tasks (process ID) and the range of authority that the user A can perform on behalf of,
Agent list 130 in 3 ”user management table
Is defined in

FIG. 4 shows an example of the configuration of the role management table 200 stored in the file 20. The role management table 200 includes, for each role, a role ID 201,
Role name 202 and pointer 2 to user list 210
03, and the user list 210 is a list of user IDs of users belonging to the role. In the illustrated example, the role A has the identifier “R00
1 and five users having user IDs “U001” to “U005” belong.

FIG. 5 shows an example of the configuration of the process management table 300 stored in the file 30. The process management table 300 contains, for each business process (business),
A process ID 301, a process name 302, and a pointer 303 to a node list 310 are defined. The node list 310 includes a node ID 311 and a node name 312 for each node constituting the business process.
, A node type 313, a destination ID 314, and a proxy range 315.

The node type 313 indicates whether the case destination at this node is a user (individual unit) or a role (group unit). When the node type 313 is a role, a role ID indicating the destination of the case is set in the destination ID 314 in the next column. The case is sent to the user selected from the plurality of users belonging to the role by searching the role management table 200 shown in FIG. 4 for the user list 210 corresponding to the role ID 314. .
If the node type 313 is a user, the destination ID 31
4, a user ID is set. The agent range 315 is
For the case received by this node, the range (qualification condition) of the user who can perform proxy processing is set. The above range 315
Is set by the system administrator when the business process is registered, and the user in charge of the matter can specify an agent within the set range.

FIG. 6 shows an example of the structure of the case management table 400 stored in the file 40. The case management table 400 includes, for each case, a case ID 401, which is a case identifier in the workflow system, and a case name 402.
And the ID 403 of the business process to which the case belongs,
A node ID 404 indicating the current position of the case in the business process, and a case entity pointer 40 indicating the location of entity data of the case in the case data file 50
5, a tray arrival time 406 indicating the time when the present case was sent to the current node, and a pointer 407 to the case history list 410.

The case history list 410 retains a history from the drafting of each case to the present. In the example shown in the figure, case A is processed through five stages of work indicated by work identifiers “WH001” to “WH005”. You can see that it has come. For each case identified by the case ID 401, each user can confirm the time, who, what, and what of the case by calling the work record based on the case history 410.

FIG. 7 shows an example of a user selection screen (dialog) referred to by a user to select a substitute in the client terminal. On the screen 61, a window 620 displaying a proxy permission business 131 and a proxy permission user (proxy person) 132 is generated.
A setting button 611 for designating the displayed user as a substitute, a cancel button 612 for canceling the operation of selecting the substitute, and a user selection button 613 are included. The window 620 displays the agent list 13 of the user management table 100 corresponding to the user ID by the workflow server 1 referring to the file 10 based on the user ID of the user who has requested the agent selection.
Obtained by editing 0. However, in an actual application, as described later, the agent list 130
By using the process management table 300 in addition to the above, the proxy setting screen 61 is edited so as to cover the tasks related to the user in the window 620.

The screen 62 is an input screen for designating a substitute for the above-mentioned work after selecting one of the substitute-permitted works 131 on the initial screen 61 of the selection operation. Generated by pressing. In the case where a substitute is designated for a new business that is not displayed, after adding the above-mentioned business name to the column of the substitute permitted business, a user selection button 613 is pressed. On the screen 62, in addition to a window 631 for displaying a user who is currently designated as a substitute, a setting button 611, a cancel button 612 as operation buttons,
A button 614 for generating an organization chart window and a button 615 for generating a condition input window are displayed.

When a new agent is designated, the cursor is moved to the window 630 and the name of the agent is input from the keyboard. To change the conventional agent (user B in this example) displayed in the window 630 to another agent, delete the displayed user name and input a new user name to be specified from the keyboard. Good. Screen 6
No. 3 is displayed when the condition generation button 615 is pressed on the proxy input screen 62. This screen 63 is for specifying a substitute by an abstracted conditional expression instead of specifying a substitute by a user name. In the illustrated example, the affiliation is “materials department” and the position is “section manager”. Is designated as a substitute user. By using the screen 63, an agent can be designated without knowing the correct name and user identifier of the other party. When a conditional expression is input on the screen 63, the workflow server 1 searches the organization information file 60 for a user who satisfies the above search expression, and treats this user as the user input on the screen 62.

FIG. 8 shows an example of the user selection screen 64 displayed when the organization chart button 614 is pressed on the proxy input screen 62. The screen 64 is generated based on the organization information stored in the organization information file 60 and displays a window 640 for displaying an organization chart and a list of members belonging to the specific department 641 selected from the organization chart. And a window 645 to be displayed. The organization chart and the member list displayed in each window can be moved within the display range by scrolling the contents hidden at the top and bottom of the window. The user selects the department 641 of the user to be the agent in the organization chart window 640, selects the agent 642 in the member list displayed in the window 645, and presses the selection button 611. As a result, a new agent can be set in the agent-permitted user column 132 for the selected job on the screen 61 shown in FIG.

FIG. 9 shows the agent setting screen 61 shown in FIG.
15 shows a screen 65 of another embodiment that replaces the above. Screen 65 above
Is for designating a proxy service for each user who is a proxy, and the arrangement of the proxy permission user 132 and the proxy permission service 131 in the window 660 is reversed in the window 620 of the screen 61. On the screen 65, the agent 132 is designated, and the business selection button 61
When 7 is pressed, the agency work selection screen 66 is displayed. This screen includes a window 670 for displaying a list of jobs in the department to which the agent 132 belongs, and selects an agency job from the job names displayed in this window,
By pressing the setting button 611, the proxy permission business 131 on the screen 65 can be designated.

Regardless of which of the proxy setting screens 61 and 65 is used, the workflow server 1 determines the role of the proxy obtained from the organization information file 60 and
Regarding 31, the relationship with the proxy range 315 defined in the node list of the corresponding process management table 300 is checked, and the proxy list 130 is updated only when the proxy specification condition is met. At this time, the agent list 1 is displayed based on the user name and the business name displayed on the agent setting screen 61.
The conversion into the user ID and the process ID of 30 is automatically performed by the workflow server 1. Also,
If the proxy name and the proxy specification condition are not met, a warning message is output to the requesting client terminal, and a change in the proxy specification content is requested.

In FIGS. 7 to 9, for simplicity of description, the agent 132 is included in the items of the agent list 130.
Only the relationship between the agent and the work (process ID) 131 has been described, but by adding an item display column to the agent setting screens 61 and 65, other items 133 to 135 in the agent list 130 can be easily specified.

FIG. 10 is a sequence diagram showing operations of the client terminal 3 and the workflow server 1 in agent registration. When performing agent registration, the user of the client terminal 2 (hereinafter referred to as the agent) starts an agent registration routine by, for example, selecting an icon that appears on the initial screen of the workflow client module. When the selection operation is performed, the client terminal requests the workflow server 1 to transmit a list of business processes to which the user ID of the delegate is related by a request message M1 (step 801).

When the workflow server 1 receives the request message M 1, first, the user list 2 of each role information management table 200 stored in the file 20 is read.
Referring to 10, the role ID of the role to which the delegate belongs
201 is searched. Next, the node list 31 of each process information management table 30 stored in the file 30
0, a process including the searched role ID as the destination ID 314 and a process including the user ID of the delegate as the destination ID 314 are searched, and a list of the process ID 301 and the process name 302 of these processes is obtained. A response message M2 including the list is generated and transmitted to the requesting client terminal 3 (step 802).

The client terminal 3 that has received the response message M2 requests the workflow server 1 for a proxy list that corresponds to the user ID of the proxy by a new request message M3 (step 803). ). Upon receiving the request message M3, the workflow server 1 refers to the user management table 100 corresponding to the user ID of the delegate, creates a response message M4 including the content data of the delegate list 130, and To the client terminal 3 (step 804).

When the client terminal 3 receives the response message M4, it based on the business process list already acquired in the message M2 and the agent list acquired this time, the above-mentioned agent setting screen 61 (or 65) is edited and displayed on the display screen (step 805). The user performs an input operation for designating a proxy on the proxy setting screen 61 (or 65) according to the procedure described with reference to FIGS. 7 to 9 (step 807). When the input operation for designating the agent is completed, the client terminal 3 issues an agent registration request message including agent-specific information describing the relationship between the agent, authority, condition, and time limit for each task, and the user ID of the requester. M5 is generated and transmitted to the workflow server 1 (step 809).

When the workflow server 1 receives the message M5, for each of the agents included in the agent designation information, the conditions defined by the agent range 315 of the process information management table 300 with respect to each agent business are set. Check if it is met. If there is no problem in the relationship between the agency business and the agency, the content of the agency list 130 corresponding to the requesting user ID is updated based on the received data. Also, the user management table corresponding to each of the substitute IDs is accessed, and the requester user ID (the substitute ID) is registered in the substitute list 140. When these data processes are completed, a response message M6 indicating that the agent registration process has been completed is generated and transmitted to the client terminal 3 (step 810). If there is a problem in the qualification of the designated agent in any of the agent services, an error message describing the relationship between the error agent, the agent service, and the cause of the error is transmitted instead of the response message M6.

The client terminal 3 sends the message M
Upon receipt of No. 6, a message indicating the registration completion of the agent or the content of the error is output on the display screen, and a response from the user is awaited (step 811). If a response input indicating the end of registration has been received from the user (step 813), this processing routine ends. If an input operation for proxy correction is performed on the proxy setting screen while the error message is output, the process returns to step 807. When the agent is specified by a conditional expression on the condition generation screen 63, the workflow server 1 searches the organization information file 60 for a user who satisfies the above conditions, and replaces the user with a corresponding user ID.

FIG. 11 shows an operation sequence of a proxy processing routine executed when another user who has been designated as a proxy in advance processes a case received in the tray of the absentee in the workflow system of the present invention. Is shown. The proxy processing of the matter is achieved by exchanging a message between the client terminal 3 and the workflow server 1 in response to a user operation, and the function of the client terminal 3 is mainly performed by the workflow server 1. Here, for the sake of simplicity, the distinction between the two is omitted, and the client terminal is treated as a part of the workflow server.

The proxy processing routine is started when the user of the client terminal selects a specific icon on the initial screen of the workflow client module. When the proxy processing routine is started, the workflow server 1 firstly checks the user ID of the terminal user.
With reference to the user management table 100 corresponding to, the agent ID registered in the agent list 140 is acquired, each agent ID is converted into a user name, and output as an agent list on the display screen. (Step 902).

In this case, for example, as shown in FIG.
An organization chart display window 710 and a delegate name display window 720 are provided on the delegate list display screen 70. When one of the delegate is selected in the window 720, the By changing the display of the department to which the user belongs on the organization chart, it may be possible to see at a glance where the partner is. The designation of the substitute is completed, for example, by selecting one of the substitutes displayed in the window 720 on the screen 70 of FIG. 12 and then pressing the setting button 701.

The workflow server 1 is waiting for the designation of a substitute, and when the terminal user (for example, user B) designates a substitute (for example, user A), the work server 1 gives the user B a substitute for the substitute. It is checked whether there is a qualification (step 906). This check refers to the substitute list 130 of the user management table 100A based on the user ID of the substitute A, and determines whether the user B is registered as the substitute ID 132 and whether the substitute period has expired. Is achieved by doing If the user is a system administrator, the qualification for proxy may be recognized even if the user is not registered in the proxy list 130. As a result of the qualification check, if it is determined that the user B lacks the proxy qualification, a message indicating that the proxy is not available is output to the display screen (step 908), and the proxy B is displayed in the work history 120 of the user B and the proxy A The history data indicating the failure of the processing is recorded (step 910), and this routine ends.

If the substitute qualification of the agent A is recognized by the user B, the fact is recorded in the work history 120 of the users A and B (step 912), and then posted on the case list 110 of the agent A. The selected cases, that is, the cases for which the above-mentioned user B is allowed to be delegated from among the unprocessed cases stored in the inbox of the delegate, are displayed as a list of delegation-permitted cases. Output to the screen (step 914). The selection of the case is performed by reading the process ID 131 permitted to be delegated to the user B from the agent list 130 of the agent A, and among the case IDs listed in the case list 110, the case management table 400
Can be achieved by selecting a process ID 403 corresponding to the process ID 131.

The workflow server 1 reads the authority 313 and the condition 314 from the agent list 130 of the agent A in correspondence with the process ID 131 of which the user B is authorized to perform the operation. The range is determined (step 916), and the process is awaited. The user B sequentially selects cases from the list of proxy-permitted cases displayed on the screen, and processes each selected case (step 918). The process of the case refers to the case management table 400 corresponding to the case designated by the user from the list, reads the digitized document from the case data file 50 according to the case entity pointer 405, and outputs this to the display screen. This is done by: The user B performs a data input process by a keyboard operation or the like on the displayed digitized document, and upon completing necessary data processing, transfers the processed matter to the server 1 to the next step (next node). Command. In the case processing, the workflow server 1 allows the data processing within the range of the proxy authority given to the user B.

Upon receiving a transfer instruction for the processed matter from the user B, the workflow server 1 stores the matter in the matter data file 50, and then enters the next node from the node list 310 of the process management table 300 corresponding to the matter. , The node type 313, and the destination ID 311 are obtained. The transfer of the case to the next node is performed by deleting the ID of the processed case from the case list 110 of the delegate A, and deleting the case ID of the next user specified by the destination ID 311 of the next node. This is achieved by adding the case ID to the case list 110 (step 920).

With the transfer of the above-mentioned matter, the workflow
The server 1 sets the node ID 404 to the next node ID in the case management table 400 corresponding to the processed case.
To the tray arrival time 406, to the current time, to record in the case history list 410 that the user B has performed the agency process at the above time, and to register the work history list 1 in the user management table 100B corresponding to the user B.
In step 20, the time and the ID of the case subjected to the proxy processing are recorded (step 922). The record of these case histories is
By recording the actual substance data of the history in the case data file and leaving the pointer address to the actual data in the work record list 120, the processing contents added to the case by the user B can also be linked to the history data. it can. The workflow server 1 monitors the input operation from the user (step 924). If the user B instructs the logout of the proxy processing, the workflow server 1 ends this routine. If the next case is selected from the above, the process returns to the case processing step 918, and the above-described data processing is repeated.

The above-mentioned agent's case processing by another agent is as follows.
The process is executed by each agent's voluntary intention or based on advance notification from the user in charge (agent). As one embodiment of the present invention, the workflow server 1
However, a case processing request message (a reminder message) may be issued to the client terminal of the agent, and the case processing may be performed in response to this. For example, as illustrated in FIG. 13, it is assumed that in a business process including nodes N001 to N006, a case drafted by a user H is stagnated in a user A's inbox at a node N004.

As one function of the workflow server 1, each item management table 400 is periodically monitored, and when an item X whose elapsed time from the tray arrival time 406 exceeds a predetermined threshold is found, a timer interrupt INT is executed. Is provided, and when the above timer interrupt occurs, the workflow server 1 refers to the case management table corresponding to the stagnated case X, and executes the process I of the stagnated case X.
D403 and the node ID 404 are specified.
From the node list of the process management table 300 corresponding to D, the user ID (user A) holding the case X is specified. In this case, the workflow server 1
First, for the client terminal of the user in charge A,
A message M11 requesting the processing of the case X is transmitted.
If there is no response from user A after several retries, or if user A does not process case X,
Regarding user A as an absentee, agent A's agent list 1
From the process 30, the agent M searches for the agent B registered in advance for the process ID 403 of the stagnation case X, and transmits a message M12 requesting the agent B's client terminal to perform the agent X process.

When each of the client terminals receives the processing request messages M11 and M12, for example, displays an alarm message in the form of a pop-up dialog, and when the principal A or the agent B starts the case processing,
In the case list displayed for case selection,
It is preferable that the display color of the stagnated case X can be distinguished from other cases. In this case, since the matter to be processed urgently has already been identified, the display of the matter list is omitted, and when the user responds to the alarm message, the electronic document of the matter X is immediately displayed on the screen, and this is displayed. A system capable of processing may be used. Note that the time monitoring by the timer may be performed only for a specific matter for which urgent processing is specified in advance at the time of drafting. As another embodiment, instead of the time monitoring, the number of cases stored in the inbox is monitored, and when a predetermined threshold is exceeded, a case processing request is issued to the responsible user and the substitute user. Is also good.

Apart from the time monitoring or the number monitoring described above, other users related to the staying matter, for example, the drafter H
When receiving the reminder message M10 for processing of the case X from, the workflow server 1 may send a processing request message of the case X to the user A or the agent B in charge. In this case, for example, in response to a work history display request from the user H, the workflow server 1
Outputs the cases in the work history list 120 of the user H to the screen in the form of a list list, and displays the cases selected by the user from the list list in the case management table 40.
By accessing 0 and the process management table 300, a status display screen indicating whether or not the designated matter has completed processing and, if not completed, from which tray has been stagnated is output. If a dunning button is prepared on the status display screen, the user H can use the dunning button to
The transmission of the reminder message M10 relating to the case X can be instructed. Further, since the stagnation point of the case X can be found from the status display screen, the user A can be directly urged to perform the process by telephone before the transmission of the reminder message M10.

As a special embodiment of the present invention, in order to restrict the execution of the case processing by the agent, a workflow
The permission may be granted only when the above-mentioned proxy processing request is issued from the server. In other words, when an urgent matter is received in the inbox of the user in charge, when a dunning matter or a long-term stay matter occurs, or when the number of stays exceeds the threshold, processing by the agent is truly necessary. Only in this case, a processing request message is transmitted from the server to the client terminal of the agent, and when the agent responds to this, an opportunity to execute the agent processing routine shown in FIG. 11 is provided. In this case, since the delegate is already specified, the display and selection processing of the delegate list can be omitted. Although some embodiments of the present invention have been described with reference to the drawings, the present invention is not limited to the claims and many other modifications may be made within the scope of the technical idea described as means for solving the problems. It includes examples and is not to be construed as limited to the illustrated embodiments.

According to the workflow system of the embodiment, since the case transferred to a specific user can be accessed by both the principal and a designated agent, the user can set his / her inbox to “ Even if you are absent without changing to the "Reception prohibited" state, it is possible for the agent to process the matter while the person is absent and to transition to the next person in charge in the business flow (next node of the business process) Become. In addition, since either the responsible user or the agent can process the same matter, the responsible user and the agent can perform the matter processing separately according to the accumulation status of the matter. In addition, each user designates an agent for each business to which the user is related, and sets the authority of the agent, the conditions of the agent processing, or the validity period of the agent authority as necessary, thereby enabling the agent Abuse of Item processing authority. Furthermore, on the workflow server side, qualifications of agents that can be specified for each business node are defined in advance, and qualifications are checked for each agent specified by each user, and agents that do not conform to the qualifications are specified. By rejecting the request, it is possible to prevent improper substitute designation and case processing by an inappropriate substitute.

According to the present embodiment, prior to execution of the proxy processing, a list of persons (recipients) who designate the operator of the client terminal as a proxy is displayed. By adopting the user interface of a format for specifying the agent, the designation of the agent in the agent processing and the operation of calling the agent matter to the terminal screen can be easily realized. Further, according to the present embodiment, a dunning message to the user in charge of the above-mentioned case or a specific case which has been dunned by another user according to the staying state of the case in the inbox of each user or about a specific case. By issuing the proxy processing request message to the proxy, the processing of the retained matter is promoted, and the retention period of the unprocessed matter can be shortened.

[0066]

According to the present invention, an agent can process a case even when there is no user in charge of processing a business flow.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram for explaining an outline of a workflow system according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a workflow system according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a view showing an example of a configuration of a user management table 100 stored in a file 10 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a view showing an example of a configuration of a role management table 200 stored in a filer 20 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is a view showing an example of a configuration of a process management table 300 stored in a file 30 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 6 is a view showing an example of a configuration of a case management table 400 stored in a file 40 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing one embodiment of a proxy setting screen.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of a user selection screen with an organization chart.

FIG. 9 is a view showing another embodiment of a setting screen of a substitute.

FIG. 10 is a sequence diagram showing the operation of the workflow system of the present invention in the agent registration process.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing an operation sequence of the workflow system of the present invention in the proxy processing.

FIG. 12 is a diagram showing an example of a display screen of a delegate list.

FIG. 13 is a view for explaining automatic issuance of a case processing request message M11 and a proxy processing request message M12 in the workflow system of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

1: workflow server, 2: client terminal, 100: user management table, 110: case list, 120: work history list, 130: agent list,
140: delegate list, 200: role management table, 210: user list, 300: process management table, 310: node list, 400: case management table, 410: case history list.

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuing on the front page (72) Inventor Noriyuki Yamaguchi 5030 Totsuka-cho, Totsuka-ku, Yokohama-shi, Kanagawa Prefecture Inside Software Division of Hitachi, Ltd. (72) Inventor Takayuki Yokoyama 5030 Totsuka-cho, Totsuka-ku, Yokohama-shi, Kanagawa In the Software Division of Hitachi, Ltd.

Claims (10)

[Claims] 1. A workflow which is connected to a plurality of client terminals for processing an electronic matter and transfers and controls the matter generated or processed by each of the client terminals to a next responsible user in accordance with a predefined process flow.
In the server, for at least one matter, both the user in charge who is the transfer destination of the matter and the substitute user specified in advance for each processing by the person in charge are allowed to access, and any one of the users A workflow server comprising control means for directly or indirectly transferring a completed matter to a next user in charge. And means for displaying, in response to a request from any one of the client terminals, a partner user who is designating the user of the requesting client terminal as an agent on the client terminal. The workflow server according to claim 1, wherein: 3. A user management table for linking with management information corresponding to each user of the client terminal and storing information relating to an agent designated by the user in a processing correspondence, wherein the user management table includes: From the terminal, when a request for display of a proxy case is specified by specifying a partner user to be a delegate, the control unit refers to the user management table corresponding to the delegate and determines the client terminal user of the request source. The workflow server according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the presence / absence of a substitute qualification is confirmed, and a substitute case to be displayed is specified. 4. A workflow server connected to a plurality of client terminals for transferring and controlling a matter drafted or processed at each of said client terminals to a next user in charge according to a predefined process flow. User information storage means for storing a list of unprocessed cases transferred to the user and identification information of an agent designated for each process by the user in correspondence with the identification information of each user Then, when there is a request from another user other than the transfer destination of the matter to start the proxy process for the received matter of another user, referring to the storage information of the user information storage means corresponding to the other user,
A workflow server for confirming the substitute qualification of the requesting user and specifying a substitute-permitted case. 5. A workflow server connected to a plurality of client terminals for transferring and controlling a matter generated or processed at each of said client terminals to a next user in charge according to a predefined process flow. In correspondence with the identification information of each user, the list information of the case transferred to the user, the identification information of the agent designated for each process by the user, and the recipient who designates the user as the agent. User information storage means for storing the identification information of the agent, and when a user other than the transfer destination of each item requests the start of the agent process for an item to be processed by another user, the requester user Based on the identification information of the delegate stored in the corresponding user information storage means, a delegate selection screen is output to the requesting client terminal, and When the original user specifies the delegate, by referring to the information stored in the user information storage means corresponding to the specified delegate, the requester's delegate qualification is confirmed and the A workflow server characterized by performing identification. 6. The method according to claim 1, wherein the user information storage means includes, in addition to the identification information of the agent designated by each user for each process,
At least one of a proxy authority, a proxy condition, and a proxy expiration date is stored. When confirming the proxy qualification of the requesting user, the presence or absence of pre-registration of identification information of the user, the proxy authority, The workflow server according to claim 4, wherein the workflow server determines at least one of a proxy condition and a proxy expiration date. 7. A workflow server which is connected to a plurality of client terminals and controls transfer of a matter drafted or processed by each of said client terminals in accordance with a predefined process flow. A process management table that defines the relationship between the node identifiers that make up the business process and the destination of the matter, and the identifier of the unprocessed matter and the user's designation for each business, corresponding to the user identifier that operates the client terminal A user management table storing the identifier of the acting agent and the identifier of the agent representing another user who designates the user as an agent; and the identifier of the business to which the item belongs in association with the item identifier. And a case management table storing a node identifier indicating the current position of the case, and a user management table for each case. Allows both the user in charge who has made the matter an unprocessed matter and the substitute user registered as a substitute in correspondence with the business identifier of the above matter in the user management table of the above-mentioned responsible user, and allows each of the above client terminals For the matter that has been processed in the above, specify the next node identifier and destination user from the above process management table according to the business identifier of each case and the node identifier of the current position, and specify another user corresponding to the destination user Means for registering as an unprocessed matter in the management table and rewriting a node identifier indicating the current position in the matter management table corresponding to the matter to the next node identifier. . 8. For a matter to be processed urgently, at least one of a client terminal operated by a responsible user who is a transfer destination of the matter and a client terminal operated by a substitute user designated as a substitute of the matter. The workflow server according to any one of claims 1 to 7, further comprising means for transmitting a message urging processing of the matter. 9. A workflow comprising a plurality of client terminals and a workflow server for controlling transfer of each business-related matter generated or processed by the client terminal to a next user in accordance with a predefined process flow. In the system control method, when any one of the client terminals specifies a partner user to be a delegate and requests display of a delegation case, the workflow server executes the unprocessed case of the delegate. A method of controlling a workflow system, wherein the requesting client terminal user selects an unprocessed matter for which the requesting client terminal user has a substitute qualification, and displays the matter on the requesting client terminal. 10. A workflow comprising a plurality of client terminals and a workflow server for controlling transfer of each business-related matter generated or processed by the client terminals to a next user in accordance with a predefined process flow. In the control method of the system, when a display request of the delegate is issued from any of the client terminals, the workflow server is configured to execute the process based on the management information prepared for each user of the client terminal. The delegate specifying the user of the requesting client terminal as the delegate is specified and displayed on the requesting client terminal. From the client terminal, the delegate is specified and the display request of the delegation matter is received. When the workflow server detects that the client The selects an unprocessed transactions processing with proxy qualified method of controlling a workflow system that matter guiding and displaying on the client terminal.