JP2001338108A - Workflow system, business processing method, recording medium, and program - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] [PROBLEMS] In a workflow system, by referring to previously created document information, plan definition information on the document information can be obtained, and setting of new plan definition information on new document information can be performed. make it easier. SOLUTION: A plan definition information associating means 11e of a business processing apparatus 11 associates the plan definition information with document information created by a first business initiator, and stores the document information associated with the plan definition information in a document information storage device. Fifteen
When the second business drafter drafts a new business, the document information extraction unit 12a of the business processing device 12 extracts the document information stored in the document information storage device 15, and The definition information extracting unit 12b extracts plan definition information associated with the document information extracted by the document information extracting unit 12a.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a workflow system for performing a predetermined business process by digitizing and circulating a business document, a business processing method, and a computer readable program storing a program for causing a computer to perform the functions thereof. Recording medium and a program for causing a computer to perform the functions thereof, in particular, a workflow system having a function of managing business documents, a business processing method, a computer-readable recording medium storing a program for causing the computer to perform the functions, And a program for causing a computer to perform the function.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, business documents such as request documents and application documents have been digitized as document information, the document information has been stored in a document database, and the document information has been defined in accordance with the definition of plan definition information that defines a method of circulating business documents. And the introduction of a workflow system for performing a predetermined business process is in progress.

When using such a workflow system, first, a business drafter uses an assigned computer terminal to create document information relating to the business and define a circulation method indicating a circulation route and the like of the document information. Set plan definition information. The created document information is stored in the document database, and the other persons in charge who circulate the document information are sequentially given access rights to the document information according to the definition of the plan definition information. Become. The person in charge given the access right reads the document information from the document database using the computer terminal assigned thereto, and performs various processes such as reading the read document information and adding a comment. When the circulation on the circulation route defined in the plan definition information ends, a series of business processes ends.

[0004] Here, the document information created by the business creator remains stored in the document database even after the business is completed. Therefore, another business drafter who performs the same business processing thereafter can efficiently create a new business document by using the document information created before and stored in the document database.

[0005]

However, in the conventional workflow system, information obtained by a new business planner by referring to a document database is only document information previously created by another business planner. However, simply by referring to this document information, it is not possible to obtain plan definition information relating to the document information. Therefore, even if an equivalent business was previously drafted, the new business creator must search for the relevant plan definition information separately, and set the plan definition information efficiently. There is a problem that can not be.

[0006] The present invention has been made in view of such a point, and it is possible to obtain plan definition information on document information by referring to the document information created before, and to obtain a new document information on new document information. An object of the present invention is to provide a workflow system capable of efficiently setting plan definition information.

Another object of the present invention is to refer to previously created document information to obtain plan definition information relating to the document information, and to efficiently obtain new plan definition information relating to new document information. It is to provide a business processing method that can be set.

Further, another object of the present invention is to refer to previously created document information to obtain plan definition information relating to the document information, and to efficiently obtain new plan definition information relating to new document information. An object of the present invention is to provide a computer-readable recording medium storing a program for causing a computer to perform a function that can be set.

Another object of the present invention is to refer to previously created document information to obtain plan definition information relating to the document information, and to efficiently obtain new plan definition information relating to new document information. An object of the present invention is to provide a program that causes a computer to perform a function that can be set.

[0010]

According to the present invention, in order to solve the above-mentioned problem, in a workflow system shown in FIG. 1 which performs a predetermined business process by digitizing and circulating the business document, A first business processing apparatus 11 having plan definition information associating means 11e for associating plan definition information defining the circulation method with the electronic document information of the business document, and the document information associated with the plan definition information , A document information extracting unit 12a for extracting the document information from the document information storing device 15, and the plan definition information associated with the document information extracted by the document information extracting unit 12a. And a second business processing device 12 having plan definition information extracting means 12b for extracting Workflow system 10 is provided.

Here, plan definition information association means 11
“e” associates plan definition information defining a circulation method of business documents with document information obtained by digitizing business documents. The document information storage device 15 stores the document information associated with the plan definition information, and extracts the document information. The means 12a extracts document information from the document information storage device 15, and the plan definition information extracting means 12b extracts plan definition information associated with the document information extracted by the document information extracting means 12a.

Also, in a business processing method for performing predetermined business processing by digitizing and circulating business documents, a work flow system converts plan definition information defining a method of circulating the business documents into a business document. Storing the document information associated with the digitized document information and the plan definition information, extracting the stored document information, and extracting the plan definition information associated with the extracted document information A business processing method is provided.

By doing so, it becomes possible to easily obtain the plan definition information of the document information created in the past. Furthermore, plan definition information that defines a business document circulation method is associated with document information obtained by digitizing the business document, the document information associated with the plan definition information is stored, and the stored document information is extracted. A computer-readable recording medium storing a program for causing a computer to perform a function of extracting the plan definition information associated with the extracted document information is provided.

By activating the program stored in the recording medium on a computer, the plan definition information of the document information created in the past can be easily obtained.

Further, plan definition information defining a business document circulation method is associated with document information obtained by digitizing the business document, the document information associated with the plan definition information is stored, and the stored document is stored. A program is provided for causing a computer to perform a function of extracting information and extracting the plan definition information associated with the extracted document information.

By activating this program on a computer, the plan definition information of the document information created in the past can be easily obtained.

[0017]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram illustrating a configuration of a workflow system 10 according to the present embodiment.

The workflow system 10 stores a business processing device 11 as a first business processing device, a business processing device 12 as a second business processing device, an electronic communication line 13 for transmitting document information and the like, and plan definition information. Plan definition information storage device 14, document information storage device 1 for storing document information
5 and a plurality of other business processing devices not shown.

The business processing devices 11 and 12 are computer terminals or the like assigned to each user who uses the workflow system 10, and include document information extracting means 11c and 12a for extracting document information from the document information storage device 15, and document information. Plan definition information extracting means 11a and 12b for extracting plan definition information associated with the document information extracted by the extracting means 11c and 12a, plan definition information setting means 11b and 12c for setting plan definition information, creation of document information , Document information creating means 11d and 12d, plan definition information associating means 11e and 12e for associating plan definition information with document information, and information transmitting means 11f and 12f for transmitting document information and plan definition information. Here, the document information is, for example, text information obtained by digitizing a business document such as a decision document or a plan document, and is created by the business initiator using the business processing devices 11 and 12. The plan definition information is information that defines a circulation method such as a circulation route and a distribution destination of a business document, and is created by the business drafter using the business processing devices 11 and 12 similarly to the document information. The electronic communication line 13 is connected to a LAN (Local
area network), and electrically connects the business processing devices 11 and 12, the plan definition information storage device 14, the document information storage device 15, and other business processing devices so that they can communicate with each other. .

FIG. 2 is a diagram exemplifying the plan definition information 20. In the example of FIG. 2, document information that is a plan document collected and monitored by a business planner through a monitor survey is circulated with a section manager and a section manager for approval, and then circulated to a participant of the plan meeting. After the participant holds a planning meeting on the document information, the participant circulates the document information summarizing the result of the meeting to the business manager and the product development staff.

Next, the operation of the workflow system 10 will be described with reference to FIG. In the following description, the document information and plan definition information created and set by the first business initiator are used by using the business processing device 11 and the business processing device 1
2, the case where the second business drafter creates and sets new document information and plan definition information will be described.

First, the first business drafter uses the business processing device 11 to create and set document information and plan definition information. The document information is created using the document information creating means 11d, and the document information here may be created as a completely new document, or the document information stored in the document information storage device 15 may be created. It may be created by diverting the template or document information created in the past. On the other hand, the setting of the plan definition information is performed using the plan definition information setting means 11b, and the plan definition information here may be set as a completely new plan. It may be set by diverting a stored template of plan definition information or plan definition information set in the past.

When the creation and setting of the document information and the plan definition information are completed, the plan definition information associating means 11e performs an associating process of associating the set plan definition information with the created document information.
The association here is performed by, for example, setting a custom property in the created document information and setting plan definition information in the set custom property. Other examples related to this association will be described with reference to a flowchart described later.

When the association of the plan definition information with the document information is completed, the created document information and the plan definition information associated therewith are transmitted using the information transmitting means 11f. The document information and the plan definition information transmitted by the information transmitting unit 11f are transmitted to the electronic communication line 13
Is transmitted to the plan definition information storage device 14 or the document information storage device 15, and the plan definition information storage device 14 or the document information storage device 15 stores the transmitted document information and plan definition information. The storage format of the document information and the plan definition information here differs depending on the method of associating the plan definition information with the document information. For example, the plan definition information is set in a custom property set in the document information. In this case, both the document information and the plan definition information are stored in the document information storage device 15. The storage form in the plan definition information storage device 14 or the document information storage device 15 for other association methods will be described with reference to a flowchart described later.

As described above, the document information created by the first business initiator and stored in the document information storage device 15 is sequentially read into other business processing devices on the circulation route in accordance with the plan definition information. It will be viewed by each person in charge.

Next, when the second business planner intends to start a new business plan different from the above, first, the second business planner sets the business process assigned to the second business planner. The document information to be diverted is extracted using the device 12.

As described above, the previously created document information is stored in the document information storage device 15, and when extracting this document information, first, the second business initiator sets the document information storage device 15 Get list information of the document information stored in. The list information is obtained through the electronic communication line 13 by using the document information extracting means 12a, and the list thus obtained is displayed by information display means such as a display (not shown).
The second business creator refers to the displayed list,
Select the document information to be diverted. The selected document information is extracted by the document information extracting unit 12a via the electronic communication line 13, and the second business creator diverts the extracted document information and newly uses the extracted document information by using the document information creating unit 12d. Create document information.

At this time, the plan definition information extracting means 1
2b extracts plan definition information associated with the document information extracted by the document information extracting means 12a. The extraction of the plan definition information differs depending on the method of associating the plan definition information with the document information by the business processing apparatus 11. For example, when the plan definition information is set in the custom property set in the document information, the plan definition information is extracted. The extracting unit 12b extracts plan definition information set in the custom property set in the extracted document information. Extraction modes for other association methods will be described later with reference to flowcharts.

The plan definition information extracted by the plan definition information extracting means 12b is displayed by information display means such as a display (not shown), and the second business drafter diverts the displayed plan definition information. New plan definition information is set using the plan definition information setting means 12c. The new plan definition information set by the second business initiator is associated with the document information newly created by the plan definition information associating unit 12e. The business processing device 1 described above also relates to the
The new document information and the plan definition information associated with such a procedure are transmitted by the information transmitting unit 12f, and the new document information and the transmitted new document information are transmitted by the same procedure as the first plan definition information associating unit 11e. The plan definition information is stored in the plan definition information storage device 14 or the document information storage device 15 as in the case of the document information and the plan definition information created and set by the first business initiator. Thereafter, the stored new document information is read and browsed by other business processing devices according to the definition of the plan definition information.

Next, the operation of the workflow system 10 will be described with reference to a flowchart. FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing an operation of setting document information and plan definition information performed by the first business initiator using the business processing device 11.

[S1] Document information is created using the document information creating means 11d. [S2] The plan definition information is set using the plan definition information setting means 11b.

[S3] Plan definition information association means 1
Using 1e, the plan definition information set in step S2 is associated with the document information created in step S1. [S4] The document information is transmitted from the information transmitting unit 11f,
The information is stored in the document information storage device 15 via the electronic communication line 13.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the operation of extracting the conventional plan definition information performed by the second business initiator using the business processing device 12. [S11] Using the document information extracting means 12a, a list of document information stored from the document information storage device 15 is obtained, and the obtained list is displayed on the information display means (not shown).

[S12] The second business creator selects the document information desired to be diverted, and the document information extracting means 12a
The selected document information is extracted from the document information storage device 15.

[S13] It is determined whether plan definition information is associated with the document information extracted in step S12. If they are associated, the process proceeds to step S14. If not, the process ends.

[S14] Plan definition information extracting means 12
By b, plan definition information associated with the document information extracted in step S12 is extracted. [S15] The plan definition information extracted in step S14 is displayed on an information display unit (not shown).

Next, a method of associating plan definition information with document information and a method of extracting plan definition information corresponding to each associating method will be described with reference to flowcharts.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a first example of association. (A) is a flowchart showing the contents of step S3 in FIG. 3 in the first example of association (S
21, S23), and (b) is a flowchart (S23) showing the contents of step S14 in FIG. 4 for the first association procedure.

[S21] A custom property is set to the document information created by the document information creating means 11d. [S22] The plan definition information set by the plan definition information setting means 11b is set in the custom property set in step S21.

[S23] The plan definition information set therein is extracted from the custom property set in the document information extracted by the document information extraction unit 12a.

In the case of the first example of association, the document information transmitted from the information transmitting means 11f of the business processing device 11 is stored in the document information storage device 15, and the plan definition information associated with the document information is stored. Is stored in the document information storage device 15 as a custom property of the document information.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing a second example of association. Here, (a) is a flowchart (S31 to S33) showing the contents of step S3 in FIG. 3 in the second example of association, and (b) shows the contents of step S14 in FIG. 4 for the second association procedure. It is the flowchart (S34-S36) shown.

[S31] It is determined whether or not a title and a comment are described in the document information created by the document information creating means 11d. When the title and the comment are described, the process proceeds to step S32. If not, the process proceeds to step S33.

[S32] Plan definition information is added to the head of the title and annotation described in the document information. [S33] The plan definition information is set in the title portion for describing the title, the comment, and the comment portion.

[S34] It is determined whether or not a title and a comment are described in the document information extracted by the document information extracting means 12a. When the title and the comment are described, the process proceeds to step S35. If not, the process proceeds to step S36.

[S35] The plan definition information is extracted from the head of the title and the annotation described in the document information. [S36] The plan definition information is extracted from the title part and the annotation part.

In the case of the second example of association, the document information transmitted from the information transmitting means 11f of the business processing device 11 is stored in the document information storage device 15, and the plan definition information associated with the document information is stored. Is stored in the document information storage device 15 as a part of the document information. FIG. 11 shows an example in which a plan ID for designating plan definition information is set in a comment (comment) column of the attached document.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing a third example of association. Here, (a) is a flowchart (S41 to S43) showing the contents of step S3 in FIG. 3 in the third example of association, and (b) shows the contents of step S14 in FIG. 4 for the third association procedure. It is the flowchart (S44, S45) shown.

[S41] Plan definition information setting means 11
Create a file describing the plan definition information set in b. [S42] The file created in step S41 is transmitted from the information transmitting means 11f, and the plan definition information storage device 1
4 is stored.

[S43] The file created in step S41 is associated with the document information created by the document information creating means 11d. [S44] The file associated with the document information extracted by the document information extraction unit 12a is read from the plan definition information storage device 14.

[S45] Plan definition information is extracted from the file read in step S44. In the case of the third example of association, the document information transmitted from the information transmitting unit 11f of the business processing device 11 is stored in the document information storage device 15.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing a fourth example of association. Here, (a) is a flowchart (S51 to S53) showing the contents of step S3 of FIG. 3 in the fourth association example, and (b) shows the contents of step S14 of FIG. 4 for the fourth association procedure. It is the flowchart (S54, S55) shown.

In this example, a document information ID corresponding to the document information stored in the document information storage device 15 on a one-to-one basis,
Then, a correspondence table including plan definition information of the document information is created, and the created correspondence table is stored in the document information storage device 15.

[S51] The correspondence table is retrieved from the document information storage device 15 via the electronic communication line 13. [S52] The document information ID of the document information newly created by the document information creating means 11d is associated with the plan definition information newly set by the plan definition information setting means 11b and added to the extracted correspondence table.

[S53] The correspondence table to which the new plan definition information and the document information ID are added is transmitted to the information transmitting unit 1.
1f, and store it in the document information storage device 15. [S54] The correspondence table is retrieved from the document information storage device 15 via the electronic communication line 13.

[S55] The plan information is obtained by associating the document information ID of the extracted document information with the correspondence table. In the case of the fourth example of association, the document information transmitted from the information transmitting unit 11f of the business processing device 11 is stored in the document information storage device 15, and the plan definition information associated with the document information is It is stored in the document information storage device 15 as a part of the table.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing a fifth example of association. Here, (a) is a flowchart (S61 to S63) showing the contents of step S3 in FIG. 3 in the fifth example of association, and (b) shows the contents of step S14 in FIG. 4 for the fifth association procedure. It is the flowchart (S64-S65) shown.

[S61] A file is created. [S62] The plan definition information newly set by the plan definition information setting means 11b and the document information ID of the document information newly created by the document information creation means 11d are set in the created file.

[S63] The file is transmitted to the information transmitting means 11
f and is stored in the document information storage device 15. [S64] A file is retrieved from the document information storage device 15 via the electronic communication line 13.

[S65] Plan definition information corresponding to the document information ID of the document information extracted by the document information extracting means 12a is extracted from the extracted file. In the case of the fifth association example, the document information transmitted from the information transmission unit 11f of the business processing device 11 is stored in the document information storage device 15, and the plan definition information associated with the document information is created. The file is stored in the document information storage device 15 as a part of the file.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing a sixth example of association. Here, (a) is a flowchart (S71, S72) showing the contents of step S3 of FIG. 3 in the sixth example of association, and (b) shows the contents of step S14 of FIG. 4 for the sixth association procedure. It is the flowchart (S73, S74) shown.

[S71] Plan definition information setting means 11
A folder and a container (parent directory of the folder) are created with the name of the plan definition information set in b. [S72] The document information created by the document information creating means 11d is stored in the created folder and container.

[S73] The name of the folder or container in which the document information extracted by the document information extracting means 12a is stored is obtained. [S74] The plan definition information of the obtained folder and container names is extracted from the plan definition information storage device 14 via the electronic communication line 13.

In the case of this sixth example of association, the document information is transmitted from the information transmitting means 11f of the business processing device 11 as information stored in folders and containers, and stored in the document information storage device 15. The plan definition information associated with the document information is transmitted from the information transmission unit 11f of the business processing device 11, and stored in the plan definition information storage device 14. FIG. 12 shows a plan I that specifies plan definition information in a folder storing business documents to be circulated.
The example which sets D is shown.

As described above, in the present embodiment, the business processing device 1
The first plan definition information association means 11e
The plan definition information is associated with the document information created by the business creator, the document information associated with the plan definition information is stored in the document information storage device 15, and the document information is extracted by the document information extraction unit 12 a of the business processing device 12. Storage device 1
5 is extracted, and the plan definition information extraction unit 12b extracts the plan definition information associated with the document information extracted by the document information extraction unit 12a. It is possible to obtain the plan definition information relating to the document information by referring to the previous document information stored in the second business creator, and the second business planner can divert the obtained plan definition information. Accordingly, new plan definition information relating to new document information can be efficiently set.

The above processing functions can be realized by a computer. In this case, the processing contents of the functions that the business processing devices 11 and 12 should have are described in a program recorded on a computer-readable recording medium. Then, by executing this program on a computer, the above processing is realized on the computer. Examples of the computer-readable recording medium include a magnetic recording device and a semiconductor memory. When distributing to the market, CD-ROM (Compact Disk Read Onl
(y Memory) or a floppy (registered trademark) disk, and store the program in a portable recording medium for distribution, or store it in a storage device of a computer connected via a network and transfer it to another computer via the network. You can also. When the program is executed by the computer, the program is stored in a hard disk device or the like in the computer, and is loaded into the main memory and executed.

In this embodiment, the plan definition information storage device 14 and the document information storage device 15 are separately configured. However, the plan definition information storage device 14 and the document information storage device 15 are integrally configured. Is also good.

Further, in the present embodiment, the plan definition information storage device 14 and the document information storage device 15 are
However, at least one of the plan definition information storage device 14 and the document information storage device 15 may be arranged inside the business processing devices 11 and 12.

Further, in the present embodiment, the first business initiator uses the business processing device 11 and the second business initiator uses the business processing device 12, but the first business initiator uses the business processing device 12. The business processing apparatus 12 may be used, and the second business planner may use the business processing apparatus 11, and the first business planner and the second business planner use the same business processing apparatus. It may be.

Further, in this embodiment, the management of business documents is performed by storing the business documents in the document information storage device 15 of the workflow system 10, but the management of business documents is configured separately from the workflow system 10. The processing according to the present embodiment may be performed by storing in a document management system which is a document database, and by linking the document management system and the workflow system 10. In this case, the role that the document information storage device 15 should play is performed by the document management system.

[0071]

As described above, according to the present invention, the plan definition information associating means of the first business processing apparatus provides
The plan information is associated with the document information created by the first business creator, the document information associated with the plan definition information is stored in the document information storage device, and the document information extraction means of the second business processing device uses Since the document information stored in the document information storage device is extracted and the plan definition information extracting means extracts the plan definition information associated with the document information extracted by the document information extracting means, the second business It is possible to efficiently set new plan definition information relating to new document information drafted by the drafter.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram showing a configuration of a workflow system.

FIG. 2 is a diagram exemplifying plan definition information.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a document information and plan definition information setting operation performed by a first business initiator using a business processing device.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a conventional plan definition information extracting operation performed by a second business initiator using the business processing device.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a first example of association.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a second example of association.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing a third example of association.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating a fourth example of association.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating a fifth example of association.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing a sixth example of association.

FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an example in which a plan ID of a workflow is embedded in a comment column of an attached document.

FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating an example in which a folder is created for each plan ID of a workflow, and an attached document is stored in the folder.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Workflow system 11, 12 Business processing apparatus 11a, 12b Plan definition information extracting means 11b, 12c Plan definition information setting means 11c, 12a Document information extracting means 11e, 12e Plan definition information associating means 15 Document information storage device 20 Plan definition information

Claims (6)

[Claims] In a workflow system for performing predetermined business processing by digitizing and circulating a business document, plan definition information defining a method of circulating the business document is provided.
A first business processing device having plan definition information associating means for associating the business document with digitized document information; a document information storage device storing the document information associated with the plan definition information; A second business processing apparatus comprising: document information extracting means for extracting the document information from the apparatus; and plan definition information extracting means for extracting the plan definition information associated with the document information extracted by the document information extracting means. And a workflow system comprising: 2. The workflow system according to claim 1, wherein the second business processing device is the first business processing device. 3. A workflow system for performing predetermined business processing by circulating a document stored in a document management system for managing business documents, wherein plan definition information defining a circulation method of the business documents is
A workflow, comprising: plan definition information association means for associating with the document information of the business document; and plan definition information extraction means for extracting the plan information associated with the business document stored in the document management system. system. 4. A business processing method for performing a predetermined business process by digitizing and circulating a business document, wherein plan definition information defining the business document circulation method is defined by a workflow system.
Associating the business document with digitized document information, storing the document information associated with the plan definition information, extracting the stored document information, and defining the plan definition associated with the extracted document information A business processing method characterized by extracting information. 5. Linking plan definition information defining a business document circulation method with document information obtained by digitizing the business document, storing the document information associated with the plan definition information, and storing the stored document. A computer-readable recording medium storing a program for causing a computer to perform a function of extracting information and extracting the plan definition information associated with the extracted document information. 6. A method for associating plan definition information defining a business document circulation method with document information obtained by digitizing the business document, storing the document information associated with the plan definition information, and storing the stored document. A program for causing a computer to perform a function of extracting information and extracting the plan definition information associated with the extracted document information.