JP2002041741A - Business process management system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a business process management system which can integrate and manage a series of business processes that more than one company is concerned with. SOLUTION: Input data of application items inputted to a client-side terminal device by an applicant and sent to a server-side terminal device 1. The device 1 generates an authority table prescribing authorities based on respective procedures up to the reception of the final result of the application items by the applicant, a progress state table showing whether or not the procedures are completed by an authority prescribed in the authority table, and a report showing that the corresponding authority should input data according to the progress state table, sends a report on the generation to the corresponding authority, rewrites the progress state table according to the data input from the authority having received the report, and finally sends the progress state table to the applicant at an applicant's request.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in a company, for example,
In connection with the occurrence of an event such as marriage, childbirth, address change, purchase of goods, etc., of an employee, or when an event occurs such as periodic application for expense settlement or application for overtime pay, , It becomes necessary to carry out paperwork for the company to which the company belongs and various institutions, and in accordance with the conditions related to the event, documents such as application forms and notification forms (hereinafter referred to as “ "Application form, etc."), and required signing, sealing and submission.

For example, consider a procedure in which an employee (hereinafter referred to as “employee A”) purchases stationery in a certain company. First, an employee A submits an application form or the like ( A purchase application form is created and submitted to a predetermined department, and the submitted application form physically moves within the company in accordance with predetermined rules.

[0003] More specifically, as shown in FIG.
It is sent sequentially to the person in charge, etc. for each processing such as decision making,
A seal or a signature as proof that each processing is completed is sequentially made. Further, new documents (hereinafter, referred to as “order sheets, etc.”) such as an order sheet and a summary table are created based on the information described in the application form.

[0004] In this example, after a purchase application form created and submitted by employee A is sent to section manager B and approved for approval, etc.,
The manager C performs the same approval procedure, and the purchase application form is sent to the general affairs section manager D to seal the decision, and then the general affairs section member E prepares an order form.

Next, the created order form is physically transferred from the company to which the employee A belongs (hereinafter, referred to as “ordering company”) to the company that orders stationery (hereinafter, referred to as “ordering company”). The ordering company sends new documents (hereinafter referred to as “order receipts, etc.”) such as order receipts, shipping instructions, and delivery notes for in-house procedures based on the information described in this order. ) To create. Orders and the like physically move within the company according to rules set by the ordering company.

[0008] Specifically, the order form is sent to the person in charge of the ordering company for each processing such as approval by the person in charge, similarly to the procedure in the ordering company described above. It is sent sequentially, and a seal or a signature is sequentially made as evidence that each processing is completed.

[0007] Then, when the order is confirmed, the ordering company sends the ordered stationery to the employee A of the ordering company with a document such as a delivery note (hereinafter referred to as a "delivery note") attached thereto. Finally, this employee A signs and seals the delivery note, etc.
By confirming that the ordered goods have been received, a series of processes from application to delivery confirmation are completed.

In this example, as shown in FIG. 33, when the order sent from the ordering company reaches the stationery sales company, which is the ordering company, an order receipt is created by the employee P who is the receptionist. Based on the items described in the order slip, the employee Q as the responsible person performs an approval procedure (sealing, etc.), and then the employee R as the processing person prepares a shipping instruction,
A delivery note is created by the employee S who is the person in charge of delivery based on the items described in the shipping instruction, and the created delivery note is sent to the employee A of the ordering company together with the stationery. ing.

[0009] As described above, conventionally, in each company, even if a single act of purchasing stationery is carried out through various procedures in accordance with the rules of the company, furthermore, transactions with other companies, At present, it is performed through various procedures according to the rules of the other companies. And, in any company or any transaction between companies, paper documents such as application forms in various forms, purchase orders, order receipts, delivery notes, etc. are used, and individual forms and individual forms are used. Depending on the processing method, a series of processings in which the paper document moves within a company or between companies has been performed.

Conventionally, in order to complete a series of processes from application to receipt confirmation (hereinafter referred to as a business process), a plurality of documents have been used as described above. These documents relate to the same contents (“purchase stationery by employee A” in the above example).
Documents used for approval in the ordering company (applications, etc.), documents used for inter-company contracts and information transmission from the ordering company to the ordering company (ordering documents, etc.), ordering companies Due to differences in purposes such as documents used for approval within the company (order receipts, etc.), documents (delivery notes, etc.) used for communication between companies and information transmission from the ordering company to the ordering company, For each purpose, the format was changed, data was extracted (selected, etc.), and the order of data was changed. Conventionally, such operations as extracting data and changing the order of arrangement have been performed manually in many companies.

[0011]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The inventor of the present invention has conceived that the whole series of procedures described above is regarded as a cycle (closed loop), analyzed, and reviewed.

An outline of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 33 and 32 described above. Here, when employee A purchases stationery, a series of processes performed inside and outside the company will be described as an example. FIG. 33 shows an analysis result of the present inventor, and FIG. 32 shows an outline of the present invention. ing.

In general, when one employee (employee A) purchases a product at the expense of the company, the employee prepares an application in advance, and a person who is a supervisor of the employee (for example, section manager B) applies for the application of employee A. Has authority over whether or not to approve the document, and furthermore, a person who is the supervisor of section manager B (for example, section manager C) has the right to approve the application form of employee A approved by section manager B, The general affairs section employee E creates an order form for ordering the stationery sales company based on the application form of the employee A, which is approved by the general affairs section manager D, and submits the order form to the stationery sales company. Will be done.

At the stationery sales company that has received the order form, the person in charge of reception (employee P) prepares an order slip, and the manager Q who is the supervisor of employee P decides whether or not to approve the order slip. In addition, if the person in charge Q approves, the person in charge of processing R collects the corresponding goods (stationery), and then the person in charge S creates a delivery note, and To the employee A of the ordering company together with the delivery note.

[0015] The employee A of the former company confirms the delivery of the product by receiving the stationery and the delivery note.

That is, not only purchasing but also all business procedures performed by members of an organization having a legal personality such as a company (hereinafter referred to as employees, etc.) start with an intention to indicate an application or notification of an employee, etc. It is considered that the business process is started and the employee or the like ends by receiving or confirming some result. Regardless of the business process, as shown in FIG. 32, the entire series of procedures is cycled (closed loop). ) Can be considered.

As another example, when an employee of a certain company applies for a change of a dependent according to a change in family structure, a plurality of organizations (for example, a company in which the applicant is enrolled and a health insurance The business process ends when the health insurance card reflecting the change of the dependent arrives at the employee's hand through various processes between the unions. In yet another example, when an employee applies for expense reimbursement, the employee receives a notification that the requested amount has been transferred to the bank through various processes between multiple companies. , The business process ends. Therefore, in such an application, the ordering company and the ordering company are not classified only for the purchase, but the requesting company and the requesting company.
I think that. In the example of the family structure change described above, the requested company is a health insurance union, and in the example of expense settlement, the requested company is an outsourcing company for accounting work.

Conventionally, business processes use paper application forms, purchase orders, order receipts, delivery notes, and the like, thereby limiting the productivity of a company to a certain level. In other words, physically moving the application form inside the company takes time or man-hours to move, there is always the possibility of loss, and it is necessary to check which process has been completed. We had no choice but to go around looking for the application form.

In general, an application form cannot be submitted to a requesting company, but a new order form to be submitted to the requesting company based on the information described in the application form or the like. The need to rework was also a factor that hindered corporate productivity improvement.

That is, although the information described in the order form is derived from the information described in the application form, the format differs between the company and the outside, or the order of the information described in the specification differs. For example, there is a need to re-create an order form from an application or the like because of different criteria for extracting information.

For example, consider a case where a purchase application for stationery and computer-related equipment that has a purchase contract with a separate client company is described and approved in the same purchase application form. Persons in charge of purchasing, such as the General Affairs Division, must create two new purchase orders for ordering stationery and computer-related equipment, and send them to separate client companies. Was. In other words, even if the described information is the same, a new man-hour is generated because the format and the criteria for extracting the information are different.

In addition, the client company that has received the purchase order for the computer-related equipment prepares an order receipt and the like to execute its own business, and manages a part of the business process from confirmation of the order to shipment of the product. I do. Further, the newly-prepared delivery note is attached to the computer-related equipment to be sent and sent to the applicant of the requesting company. Again,
New man-hours are required to create documents. Finally, when the applicant signs and seals the delivery note and receives the delivery, a series of business processes is completed, but the application company and the delivery note correspond to the requesting company. There was a man-hour to make sure that things were done. In addition, separate documents such as a purchase application form, an order form, an order form, an order form, a shipping instruction form, and a delivery note are created at each stage such as within the requesting company, between the companies, within the requested company, between the companies, and within the requesting company. Therefore, the processing was temporarily interrupted at each stage.

On the other hand, due to the recent development of computer technology, a part of the business process, for example, the data described in a plurality of applications in the requesting company can be converted into one order form or the like. In the case of performing work to collectively write in a database, work such as changing the format, extracting data, and changing the arrangement order of data is frequently performed while registering the work in a database using a computer (terminal device). It is becoming.

However, conventionally, it has not been possible to integrate and manage a whole series of business processes spanning a plurality of companies, from application to delivery confirmation, and there has been no such idea.

An object of the present invention is to integrate a whole series of business processes spanning a plurality of companies and manage all kinds of application forms and the like which require a series of processing from application to receipt confirmation. It is to provide a business process management system.

[0026]

According to a first aspect of the business process management system according to the present invention, with respect to an application by an applicant, each procedure is performed by a plurality of authorized persons in a plurality of companies which perform procedures for the application. The server-side terminal device that manages the database and the server-side terminal device that is operated by the applicant and the authorized person to monitor the progress status of each procedure until the final result of the application matter is received by the applicant through A business process management system for managing using a client-side terminal device capable of transmitting and receiving data to and from a client-side terminal device, wherein the client-side terminal device is at least one requesting terminal device used by a member of a company to which the applicant belongs. And at least one requesting terminal device used by a member of the company to which the applicant requests the application. Upon receiving the input data on the application matter from the applicant, the server-side terminal device performs a procedure until the final result on the application matter is received by the applicant based on the input data and the data in the database. Create and store an authority database that includes an authority list that specifies all the authorized persons and the order of the procedures of the authorized persons, and a progress table that indicates the progress of the procedures by the authorized persons specified in the authority list, Each time a notification to the effect that the procedure should be performed is sent to the authority performing the next procedure, and whenever data indicating the completion of the procedure is received from the authority performing the next procedure, the authority database is updated, Repeatedly sending a notice to the next authority in the order to perform the procedure, and receiving data indicating the final result of the application, Send a notification of the final result destined seekers, upon receiving the confirmation signal for the final results from the applicant, is characterized in that the process ends.

According to a second configuration of the business process management system according to the present invention, in the first configuration, each time the server-side terminal device receives data indicating the completion of the procedure from an authorized person who performs the next procedure. And updating the authority database by writing the fact that the procedure is completed in the progress status table.

According to a third configuration of the business process management system according to the present invention, in the first or second configuration, the server-side terminal device stores data on a rule for selecting an authorized person according to the content of the application by the applicant. It is stored in advance and, upon receipt of input data, an authorized person is selected based on a selection rule.

According to a fourth configuration of the business process management system according to the present invention, in any one of the first to third configurations, information on a company and information on each worker are described in an authority database. It is characterized by.

A fifth configuration of the business process management system according to the present invention is characterized in that, in any one of the first to fourth configurations, the progress status table describes the date and time of the application and each procedure. And

A sixth aspect of the business process management system according to the present invention is the business process management system according to any one of the first to fifth aspects, wherein the server-side terminal device rejects an application from any of the authorized persons. Upon receiving the application rejection data indicating that the request is to be made, the description of the progress status table is returned to the state before the update, and the fact is notified to the applicant.

In a seventh aspect of the business process management system according to the present invention, in any one of the first to fifth aspects, the server-side terminal device partially denies an application from any authorized person. Upon receipt of the application partial rejection data to the effect that the request is to be made, this is described in the progress status table and notified to the applicant, and the input data is changed according to the application partial rejection data.

An eighth configuration of the business process management system according to the present invention is the business process management system according to any one of the first to seventh configurations, wherein the server-side terminal device further comprises: When the transmission request data for requesting the data transmission is received, the data of the authority database is transmitted to the applicant.

In a ninth configuration of the business process management system according to the present invention, in any one of the first to eighth configurations, the server-side terminal device receives input data on an application matter from the applicant. Prior to this, data on a template for inputting input data is transmitted to the applicant.

According to a tenth configuration of the business process management system according to the present invention, in any one of the first to ninth configurations, each time the server-side terminal device updates the authority database, Is transmitted to the applicant.

According to an eleventh configuration of the business process management system according to the present invention, in any one of the first to tenth configurations, the server-side terminal device receives the input data or the data indicating the completion of the procedure before receiving the data. Authentication of those who can become applicants or authorized persons.

According to a twelfth configuration of the business process management system according to the present invention, in the eighth configuration, the server-side terminal device authenticates the applicant before transmitting the data of the authority database to the applicant. Is performed.

According to a thirteenth configuration of the business process management system according to the present invention, in the eleventh or twelfth configuration, the server-side terminal device stores in advance authentication information of an applicant or a person who can be an authorized person, Upon receiving the authentication data of the data input person, the received authentication data is collated with pre-stored authentication information to perform authentication of a person who can be an applicant or an authorized person.

A fourteenth configuration of the business process management system according to the present invention is the business process management system according to any one of the first to thirteenth configurations, wherein the client-side terminal device includes a transmitting / receiving means for transmitting / receiving data to / from the server-side terminal device. An operation input unit for inputting data to be transmitted to the server terminal device by the transmission / reception unit; and a display unit for displaying data from the server terminal device received by the transmission / reception unit.

According to a fifteenth configuration of the business process management system according to the present invention, in any one of the first to fourteenth configurations, the server-side terminal device is located in an outsourcing company that manages business processes between the companies. It is characterized by being arranged.

A sixteenth configuration of the business process management system according to the present invention is characterized in that, in any one of the first to fifteenth configurations, the client-side terminal device is a mobile portable terminal device.

[0042]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a diagram for explaining the overall configuration of a business process management system to which the present invention is applied. As shown in FIG. 1, a business process management system according to an embodiment includes a server-side terminal device 1 that manages a database.
And the terminal device 2 (2A, 2B, 2C, 2) of the requesting company.
D,... 2n) and the terminal device 3 (3A, 3
B, 3C, 3D,... 3n) are connected via a communication network 4 such as the Internet to transmit and receive data.

In this embodiment, the terminal device 1 on the server side is arranged in an external company (outsourcing company) that manages business processes between companies. Details of the terminal device 1 on the server side will be described later.

The terminal device 2 of the requesting company is a terminal device used by members of the company to which the applicant belongs.
In this embodiment, for example, the terminal device 2A is connected to the employee A
The terminal device 2B is a dedicated device on the (applicant) desk.
Is a dedicated device on the desk of section manager B, the manager of employee A, and terminal device 2C is a dedicated device on the desk of manager D, manager of section manager B. Are for personal use only. Note that the present invention is not limited to this, and one terminal device can be shared and used by a plurality of persons. Further, the terminal devices 2A to 2n may be arranged in a plurality of companies.

The terminal device 3 of the requested company refers to a terminal device used by a member of the company to which the applicant requests the application. In this embodiment, as with the terminal device 2 of the requesting company, each terminal device is used exclusively for the individual, as in the terminal device 2 of the requesting company described above. However, the present invention is not limited to this. Instead, one terminal device may be shared by a plurality of persons in a company. In this embodiment, the terminal device 3A (3
And A ₁ ~3A _n) the stationery sales company will use equipment, the terminal apparatus 3B (3B ₁ ~3B _n) to a personal computer sales company will use equipment, the terminal device 3C (3C ₁ ~3C _n) the education company Assuming that the terminal device 3 is to be used, the terminal device 3 is arranged at a plurality of request destination companies.

Note that the terms "requester company" and "requestee company" are relative. For example, in the above example, an employee of a stationery sales company may be the applicant.

Hereinafter, for convenience of explanation, the terminal device on the server side is referred to as “server side terminal device”, the terminal device of the requesting company is referred to as “requesting terminal device”, and the terminal device of the requesting company is referred to as “terminal device of requesting company”. It is referred to as a "requested terminal device", and as a concept including both of them, is referred to as a "client-side terminal device" in comparison with the server-side terminal device 1. Here, each client-side terminal device may be a mobile portable terminal device having a function such as a mobile phone.

The communication network 4 is a wired network such as the Internet or an intranet, but may be configured to be wireless.

(Configuration of Server-Side Terminal Device) FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining the configuration of the server-side terminal device 1. As shown in FIG. 2, the server-side terminal device 1 includes a control unit 11 for controlling the entire terminal device, an external storage unit 12 including a hard disk drive or the like in which a database is stored, and a transmission / reception unit 13 including a modem or the like. And a display unit 14 such as a CRT or a liquid crystal display, and an operation input unit 15 such as a keyboard and a mouse.

The control section 11 of the server-side terminal device 1 controls each section based on the processing program. The details of this control will be described later.

External storage unit 12 storing a database
Performs data processing such as new registration, retrieval, reading, deletion, addition, and rewriting of data in the database based on a control signal from the control unit 11. The data of the database read from the external storage unit 12 is displayed on the display unit 14.

Here, in the database stored in the external storage unit 12, various data on the requesting company and the requested company are registered. As the data registered in the database, for example, as data on the requesting company, requesting company identification data for identifying each requesting company, identification of members (employees) in each registered requesting company, and Data of ID and password, which are authentication information for authentication, data defining the hierarchical relationship between members in each requesting company, and the like are stored in a predetermined storage area of the external storage unit 12.

Similarly, as the data on the requested company, the requested company identification data for identifying each requested company, the members (employees) of each registered requested company.
ID and password data, which are authentication information for identifying and authenticating, and data defining the hierarchical relationship between members in each requested company are stored in the external storage unit 1.
2 are stored in two predetermined storage areas.

The external storage unit 12 authenticates a data input person (hereinafter, referred to as an operator) of the client-side terminal device based on the authentication information transmitted from the client-side terminal device. Certification program,
An authority database creation program for creating an authority database, which will be described in detail later, an authority database management program for updating and managing the created authority database,
Are stored.

Here, the authority database creation program includes selection of the authority of the requesting company to which the applicant belongs, selection of the requested company to which the applicant does not belong, and the authority thereof, and furthermore, the order of the procedures of each authority. A program for making decisions is included.

The authority database management program includes a program for transmitting a notice to the effect that the procedure should be performed to each authority, and various data transmitted from the request source terminal device 2 or the request destination terminal device 3. And a program for performing various kinds of processing upon receipt of the program.

Further, in the external storage unit 12, item names (for example, applicant, purchased item, cost incurred date, amount of money, etc.) and item attributes (for example, character string type, date type) , Currency type, etc.), item values (for example, Heisei 1
Data on the format of the input screen, data on the format of the application document template, and the like are stored.

These various programs, data, and the like are read out by the control unit 11 as necessary, processed, and further transmitted to the request source terminal device 2 or the request destination terminal device 3 as appropriate.

The transmission / reception unit 13 receives data transmitted from the request source terminal device 2 or the request destination terminal device 3 (client terminal device) via the communication network 4. Here, data sent from the client-side terminal device include data on the authentication information (ID and password) of the worker, data on the work contents of the worker (application or approval, database browsing, etc.), server Terminal device 1
There are various commands for.

In the server side terminal device 1, when these various data sent from the client side terminal device are received by the transmission / reception unit 13, the control unit 11 based on the data.
Controls the external storage unit 12 to perform a predetermined process on the data of the database stored in the external storage unit 12.

In the server-side terminal device 1, the control unit 1
1, the data read from the database or the data processed by the control unit 11 is transmitted to the client-side terminal device via the transmission / reception unit 13 and the communication network 4.

(Outline of Processing Performed by Server-Side Terminal) Hereinafter, with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 3 and FIG. 4, the control unit of the server-side terminal 1 will be described based on various data sent from the client-side terminal. An outline of a series of processes performed by 11 will be described.

The control unit 11 of the server-side terminal device 1 determines in step S1 based on the data on the authentication information (ID and password) of the initial input person (applicant) sent from the client-side terminal device. Execute the authentication program to authenticate the applicant.

Here, the control unit 11 searches the database of the external storage unit 12 and determines and checks whether or not the ID and the password are registered in the database. Authentication is performed. Then, the control unit 11 performs the processing of step S2 and subsequent steps only when the user is recognized as a legitimate user.

Next, the control unit 11 stores the input data of the applicant's application sent from the client-side terminal device in the external storage unit 12 (Step S).
2). This input data is shown in FIGS.
5 will be described later.

Then, the control unit 11 executes the authority database creation program based on each data sent from the client side terminal device, and selects an authority of the requesting company to which the applicant belongs (step (1)). The process of S3) and the selection of the requested company and its authorized person (Step S4) are performed, an authority database based on the results of these selections is created (Step S5), and the created authority database is stored in the external storage unit 12.

Here, as an example of the created authority database, for example, as shown in FIG. 4, it is assumed that the database includes a table of applicants, an authority list, and a progress status table.
The table for the applicant has a “company” column, a “worker” column, a “work document” column, a “work content” column, and a “work date” column. In addition, "Authority" is listed in the authority list
Column, a “worker” column, a “work document” column, and a “work content” column, and a “work date” column is provided in the progress status table.

In this embodiment, the "company" column of each table describes the requesting company or the requested company and the name of the company. In executing the authority database creation program, a plurality of request destination companies may of course be selected.

In the "Worker" column of each table, the names and positions of the members (employees) of the company described in the company column are described. In this embodiment, the work is performed in order from the top. Will be described.

In the “work document” column of each table, the type of application for the initial input person (applicant) (for example, a purchase application, an expense settlement application, a notification of a change in address, etc.) is described. You.

In the “work content” column of each table, the work content (for example, application,
Approval, approval, shipping, delivery confirmation, etc.).

In the “work date” column of each table, when a work (input work) is performed by a worker, the date of the work is described.

When creating the authority database, the control unit 11 registers (lists) the applicant in each column of the table, selects an authorized person for the applicant's application, and registers the authority in each column of the authority list. Make a description and leave the progress status table blank.

In the authority list of the created authority database, the configuration and number of authorized persons generally differ depending on the content of the application by the applicant. For example, the applicant is responsible for the application depending on whether the application is for the purchase of stationery, the purchase of fixed assets, the attendance of an external seminar, the addition of a dependent to a health insurance card, etc. Since the section and the client company change, the composition and number of authorized persons change accordingly.

Subsequently, the control unit 11 of the server-side terminal device 1
Executes the authority database management program,
A notification to the effect that the procedure should be performed is transmitted to the authority in the next procedure order (step S6). Specifically, it notifies the authorized person listed at the top of the authority list that the applicant's application items are in a state in which procedures (authoritative acts) such as approval for the application items are possible.

Further, each time the control unit 11 receives data indicating the completion of the procedure from the authorized person in the next procedure order from the client-side terminal device, the control unit 11 stores the data in the work date column of the progress status table based on the data. The authority database is updated by making the description, and the notification that the procedure should be performed to the authority in the next procedure order is repeatedly transmitted (step S7), and the data indicating the final result of the application matter is received. Then, a notification about the final result is transmitted to the applicant (step S8), and when the confirmation signal about the final result is received from the applicant, the process ends.

Here, when updating the authority database, every time data indicating that the procedure has been completed is received from the client-side terminal device from the authority in the next procedure order, the fact that the procedure has been completed is notified. In this embodiment, the state table is described, and as described later, at least the date and time of each procedure is described to indicate that the procedure has been completed.

After the server-side terminal device 1 has created the authority database, the server-side terminal device 1 sends the authority database and the contents of the input data by the applicant to the person described in the operator column of the authority database in response to the request. Allow browsing. As a result, the applicant and each authorized person can know the progress of the procedure and the contents of the applicant's application at any time, and prohibition of unrelated persons from viewing the authority database and the applicant's application contents. , Confidentiality is maintained. Further, the workers listed in the worker column of the authority database are prevented from browsing the contents of the authority database and the input data by the applicant before the time to work comes.

Further, after the server-side terminal device 1 has created the authority database, the server-side terminal device 1 may notify the content of the authority database to the applicant in the form of e-mail, for example. As a result, even when the applicant does not directly access the system, it is possible to know the number of each authorized person.

(Client-side Terminal Device) FIG. 5 is a block diagram for explaining the configuration of the client-side terminal device. Although FIG. 5 shows only the configuration of the request source terminal device 2A, other request source terminal devices 2B and the like and the request destination terminal devices 3 (3A, 3B,... 3n) have the same configuration. This is a configuration, and the description is omitted.

As shown in FIG. 5, the client side terminal device includes a control unit 21 for controlling the entire terminal device, an external storage unit 22 such as a hard disk drive, a transmitting / receiving unit 23 such as a modem, and a CRT. Alternatively, a display unit 24 including a liquid crystal display or the like and an operation input unit 25 such as a keyboard and a mouse are provided. Note that the control unit 21 is referred to as a CPU 21 in the following description to distinguish it from the control unit 11 of the server-side terminal device 1.

In the client terminal device, a predetermined OS
(Operating system) or communication network 4 such as the Internet
A program or the like for performing data communication by connecting to the PC is stored in the external storage unit 22, and the CPU 21 reads and executes the program.

The transmission / reception unit 23 receives data transmitted from the server terminal 1 via the communication network 4. The received data is input to the CPU 21. Further, the transmission / reception unit 23 is configured to execute the CPU 2 based on the operation of the operation input unit 25.
1 is transmitted to the server side terminal device 1 via the communication network 4.

The display unit 24 displays a screen for transmitting various data to the server-side terminal device 1 and a screen for various data transmitted from the server-side terminal device 1. Here, the screen displayed on the display unit 24 includes, for example, an initial input screen (FIG. 1) for establishing a connection with the server-side terminal device 1.
1), an operation selection screen (FIG. 12) for selecting an operation to be performed by an operator, and an application data input screen (a template of an application form for inputting data of application contents to be performed by the applicant) ( FIG. 13). The display unit 2
Details of the various screens displayed in 4 will be described later.

The operation input section 25 performs an input operation for various data to be transmitted to the server-side terminal device 1 by key input, mouse click, or the like.

(Outline of Processing Performed by Client-Side Terminal Device) Hereinafter, with reference to FIGS. 6 to 18, an operation performed by the worker using the client-side terminal device and the display unit 24 of the client-side terminal device will be described. Will be described.

FIGS. 6 to 10 are flowcharts for explaining a data input operation performed by operating the operation input unit 25 of the client-side terminal device, a data transmission / reception process by the client-side terminal device, and the like. To FIG. 18 show the display unit 2 of the client-side terminal device.
FIG. 4 is a diagram showing various screens displayed in FIG.

First, in step S11, the client terminal accesses a predetermined address (site) on the Internet and connects to a business process management system (hereinafter simply referred to as a system). When connected to the system, an initial input screen for inputting the authentication information (ID and password) of the worker is displayed on the display unit 24,
As shown in FIG. 11, by inputting an ID and a password on this initial input screen and clicking an OK button (not shown) with a mouse or pressing a return key (not shown), these information are used as authentication data as server-side terminal devices. 1 (step S12).

Next, when the server-side terminal device 1 is recognized as a legitimate user by the authentication process (step S1), the worker-side client-side terminal device shown in FIG.
Is displayed as shown in FIG. In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 12, as a work selection screen, information on a template of an application is displayed on the right side of the screen, and information on the work status of the worker is displayed on the left side of the screen.

As shown in FIG. 12, the information on the work status of the worker on the work selection screen includes, as shown in FIG. And the number and number of “Applications pending processing” that must be prepared and submitted by another worker and that worker must work as an authorized person, and the applications that the worker has already created and submitted The items of the “Submitted Application Form” and the number of cases are displayed to confirm the subsequent situation.

In this example, as the information on the template of the application form, the item of “list of personnel application” concerning the application form to be submitted to the human resources department of the company and the “general application "List" and "Accounting application list" related to the application to be submitted to the accounting department of the company are displayed.

The operator clicks any item displayed on this work selection screen with the mouse,
Select to perform any of the operations (Step S1)
3). Here, as an option of the operation, a case where a new application form is created (steps S21 to S21 in FIG. 7)
23), when updating the application form being created (steps S31 to S33 in FIG. 8), when processing an application waiting for processing (steps S41 to S43 in FIG. 9), To check the status of the application form (steps S51 to S52 in FIG. 10)
There is.

(When creating a new application form)
Step S21 in FIG. 7 when creating a new application form
The processing from step S23 to step S23 will be described.

In the client-side terminal device (request source terminal device 2), in step S21, when any item of the application form template on the right side of the work selection screen shown in FIG. The template of the application form is displayed on the display unit 24, and data can be input to the template.

Here, a case will be described in which “stationery purchase” in the “general affairs application list” is clicked with the mouse and a purchase application template is selected in step S21 as an application to be submitted to the general affairs department. In this case, the display of the display unit 24 is switched from the work selection screen of FIG. 12 to a screen display of a purchase application form template as shown in FIG. Then, input necessary data as shown in FIG. 14 in each field of the input data displayed on this screen, and temporarily save by clicking the save button 24a with the mouse (step S22), or click the submit button 24b with the mouse. By clicking and submitting to the manager (section S23), the operation on the client side terminal device ends.

At this time, in the case of temporary storage, the input data is stored in the external storage unit 22 of the client side terminal device or the external storage unit 12 of the server side terminal device. This is transmitted to the side terminal device 1. Then, as described with reference to FIG. 3, based on the input data, the server-side terminal device 1 selects the authorized person of the requesting company (Step S3) and the requested company and the authorized person (Step S4). Then, an authority database based on each of these selection results is created (step S5).

(When Updating an Application Form Under Creation) Next, the processing of steps S31 to S33 in FIG. 8 when updating an application form under creation will be described.

In the client-side terminal device (request source terminal device 2), in step S31, when the user clicks on “application being created” on the work selection screen shown in FIG. In this example, a selection screen (not shown) for three cases is displayed. When the user selects which application form to create on this selection screen, the external storage unit 22 of the client-side terminal device or the external storage of the server-side terminal device is selected. The corresponding data is read from the unit 12,
The display unit 24 becomes, for example, a screen similar to that shown in FIG. 14, and is in a state where necessary data can be input to each column. Then, the worker additionally inputs data, for example, as shown in FIG.
As described above, in the case of storage, the input data is stored in the external storage unit 22 or the external storage unit 12 (step S32), and in the case of the submission process, the input data is transmitted to the server-side terminal device 1 (step S33). Will be. The processing performed by the server-side terminal device 1 after this is as described above in steps S3 to S5.

(When processing a pending application)
Next, the processing of steps S41 to S43 in FIG. 9 in the case of performing the processing of the application waiting for processing will be described.

In the client side terminal device (in this case, the request source terminal device 2 or the request destination terminal device 3 used by the authorized person in the next procedure order), in step S41, the “processing wait” is displayed on the work selection screen shown in FIG. When the mouse clicks on “Application Form”, a list of application forms waiting to be processed is displayed on the display unit 24, as shown in FIG. Here, when the application form to be worked on (in this example, the application form at the top row) is selected by mouse click (step S42), the template for the selected application form is input data as shown in FIG. It is displayed on the display unit 24 upon entering. On the other hand, when the authorized person performs an operation such as a mouse click on the approval button 24c or the denial button 24d, or an input data change for partial denial and a mouse click on the approval button 24c (step S43). The result is transmitted to the server-side terminal device 1 as data indicating the completion of the procedure. After that, the above-described processing in step S7 and subsequent steps is performed in the server-side terminal device 1.

The details of the processing performed by the server-side terminal device 1 when the request of the applicant is denied or partially denied by the authorized person will be described later.

(When the Status of Submitted Application is Confirmed) Next, the processing of steps S51 to S52 in FIG. 10 when the status of the submitted application is confirmed will be described.

In the client side terminal device (the request source terminal device 2 and the request destination terminal device 3), in step S51, when the "submitted application" on the work selection screen shown in FIG. 12 is clicked with the mouse, in step S52, As shown in FIG. 18, a list of applications already created and submitted by the worker (in this example, two applications) and information on the subsequent progress of each application are displayed on the display unit 24. .

(Work and processing performed between terminal devices)
Next, with reference to FIG. 19 to FIG. 30, details of operations and processes performed between the server-side terminal device 1 and the client-side terminal device will be described. The following describes a case where Ichiro Yamada, an employee of 2n Co., Ltd., which is a requesting company, makes a purchase application for the purchase of stationery to the general affairs department of the company.

FIGS. 19 to 22 show the work performed by each worker and the flow of processing performed by each terminal.

First, Ichiro Yamada, who is the applicant, operates the operation input unit 25 of the client-side terminal device (request source terminal device 2).
Is operated to access a predetermined address (site) on the Internet as described above to connect to the system (step S61, step S11), and the initial input screen displayed on the display unit 24 displays the ID and the ID as shown in FIG. A password is input, and these are transmitted to the server-side terminal device 1 as authentication data (step S62).

When the transmitting / receiving unit 13 receives the authentication data, the server side terminal device 1
Is read out to identify the worker (step S63), and after authenticating that the user is a legitimate user (worker), the process proceeds to step S64. Note that the authentication processing is as described in step S1 of FIG.

In the next step S 64, the server-side terminal device 1, based on the data stored in the external storage unit 12, stores data on the “work status” and “type of application document template” of the worker. Read it out and send it to the requesting terminal device 2. Then, the request source terminal device 2 that has received the data
Then, the work selection screen described above with reference to FIG. 12 is displayed on the display unit 24 (step S65, step S13), so that the worker (applicant) Ichiro Yamada is required to submit a purchase application form to the general affairs department. Then, the item of "purchase application" in the list of general affairs applications of the application form on the work selection screen is selected with a mouse click (steps S66 and S21).

As a result, the data on the item selected by the worker, Ichiro Yamada, is transmitted to the server-side terminal device 1 as template request data. From the data stored in the storage unit 12, the model data of the purchase application form is read (step S67), and the model data is returned to the requesting terminal device 2 (step S68).

Then, in the client-side terminal device receiving the template data, the template screen of the purchase application form described above with reference to FIG. 13 is displayed on the display unit 24 (step S6).
9) Therefore, the applicant, Ichiro Yamada, inputs necessary data as shown in FIG. 14, clicks the submit button 24b with a mouse, and transmits the input data to the server-side terminal device 1 (step S70, step S70). S23).

As shown in FIG. 14, the fields for inputting data into the model of the purchase application form include a field for inputting the “item” of the article to be purchased and a field for inputting the “code” of the article to be purchased. , A column to enter the "quantity" of purchased goods and its "unit", a column to enter the date and time when you want the delivery date of the purchased goods, and "remarks" for other communication items
A column is provided. In this input example, as shown in FIG. 14, as the stationery for which the applicant, Ichiro Yamada, applies for purchase, five dozen brush pens and five dozen ball pens are used.
The desired delivery date is March 15, 0.

Subsequently, the server-side terminal device 1 that has received the input data, based on the received input data and the data stored in the external storage unit 12, performs the procedure of the step S3 to step S5 in FIG. The process of selecting the authorized person of the company (step S3) and the requesting company and the authorized person (step S4) are performed, and further, based on each of these selection results, the authority list and the progress status described above with reference to FIG. An authority database is created by registering data in the corresponding column of the table (step S71, step S71).
5) The created authority database is stored in the external storage unit 12.

FIG. 23 shows that the input data from the applicant, Ichiro Yamada, was sent to the server-side terminal 1 on March 5, 2000.
9 shows an example of data registration in each column of the authority database when the data is transmitted to the authority database. In this example, the section manager Goro Hashimoto is selected as the authority of the requesting company 2n to which Ichiro Yamada belongs, the section manager C is also the approval authority, and the general affairs section manager D is the approval authority. As the authority of the requested company 3n (for example, stationery sales company) to which Ichiro does not belong, the responsible person Q is selected as the order approval authority, and the shipping charge R is selected as the shipping authority, and thereafter, various authorities are assigned in this order. Based procedures will be conducted. By creating such an authority database, the authority, the order of the procedures, and the contents of the procedures across a plurality of companies are automatically assigned to the application made by the applicant Ichiro Yamada.

As shown in FIG. 23, at the stage when the authority database is created, no work is performed by each authorized person, so the work date column of the progress status table is blank.

Then, the server-side terminal device 1 transmits a notification to the effect that the procedure should be performed to the authorized person in the next procedure order (in this case, the section manager Goro Hashimoto) (steps S72 and S6).

By transmitting this notification, if Goro Hashimoto, who is the authority of the next procedure order, accesses the system at the client terminal device (request source terminal device 2) and inputs an ID or the like, the above-described operation is performed. A selection screen is displayed on the display unit 24 of the terminal device (see FIG. 12). In the work selection screen, one of the purchase applications applied by Ichiro Yamada is displayed in the number column of the item of “application waiting for processing”. Added,
When the item of the “application waiting for processing” is clicked with a mouse by Goro Hashimoto, a list of application waiting for processing shown in FIG. 16 is displayed on the display unit 24 (step S7).
3).

In the example shown in FIG. 16, the item about the purchase application by Ichiro Yamada is displayed at the top, and when this top column is selected with a mouse click, as shown in FIG. The template and the input data of the purchase application are displayed on the display unit 24 (step S7).
4). Then, Goro Hashimoto, who is the authorized person, confirms the contents of the purchase application by Ichiro Yamada and clicks the approval button 24c on the screen with a mouse to transmit the approval to the server-side terminal device 1 as data indicating the completion of the procedure. Is performed (step S75).

The server-side terminal device 1 that has received the data indicating that the procedure has been completed updates the authority database by rewriting the progress status table of the authority database and storing it in the external storage unit 22. A notification to the effect that the procedure should be performed is transmitted to the authority of the order (in this case, the manager C) (step S76). Here, regarding the rewriting of the progress status table, as shown in FIG. 24, the date and time when data indicating the completion of the procedure from Goro Hashimoto was received (for example, 20
March 8, 2000) is registered in the work date column of Goro Hashimoto.

Thereafter, the processing of steps S73 to S76 described above is repeated (step S77), so that the authority applied to the purchase application made by Yamada Ichiro spans a plurality of companies described in the progress status table. Processing is performed. That is, in this example, the approval by the section manager Goro Hashimoto, the approval by the section manager C, and the approval by the general affairs section manager D are performed in this order, and every time these processes are performed, a procedure is performed from the client-side terminal device used by each authorized person. Each time data indicating the completion of the procedure is transmitted, and the data indicating the completion of the procedure is received by the server-side terminal device 1, the progress status table of the authority database is rewritten (see FIG. 25) and stored in the external storage unit 22. Is stored.

Then, the person who performs the procedure last among the authorized persons, that is, the procedure completed by the person at the bottom of the authorized persons listed in the authority list (in this example, the dispatcher R) is completed. Is transmitted from the client-side terminal device (request-destination terminal device 3) (step S78), the server-side terminal device 1 that has received the data, as shown in FIG. The data of the reception date and time (March 12, 2000 in this example) is registered in the work date and time column of the table, the authority database is updated, and the data indicating the final result of the application matter is received. A notification about the final result is transmitted to a certain Yamada Ichiro (in this example, the fact that the shipment has been performed) (step S80), and the reception of a confirmation signal about the final result from Ichiro Yamada is waited. To become.

When the following transmission of this notification causes the next Ichiro Yamada to access the system on the client-side terminal device and input an ID or the like, the above-described work selection screen is displayed on the display section 24 of the terminal device ( In the work selection screen, one case concerning the purchase application filed by Ichiro Yamada is added to the number column of the item of “application for processing” (step S81).

When Ichiro Yamada clicks the "submitted application form" with the mouse on the work selection screen described above with reference to FIG. 12 (step S51), the procedure at that time based on the description of the progress status table in the authority database is performed. Since the state is displayed on the display unit 24 (step S52) (see FIG. 18), Yamada Ichiro knows that stationery (five dozen brush pens and five dozen ballpoint pens) has been sent out on March 15, 2000. be able to.

Then, Yamada Ichiro receives the stationery sent out by the dispatcher R at a later date, receives it, and confirms the delivery. When the stationery is delivered and operated, the client-side terminal device is operated to connect to the system. The mouse button is clicked on the “application waiting to be processed” on the work selection screen and the corresponding purchase application form in order (step S82), and the display unit 2 is displayed.
As a final result of the purchase application form, data input indicating that the delivery has been confirmed is input on the screen displayed in FIG. 4, and the input data is transmitted to the server-side terminal device 1 as a confirmation signal of the final result ( Step S83).

When the server side terminal device 1 receives the confirmation signal about the final result from the applicant, Ichiro Yamada, as shown in FIG. 26, the work date column of Ichiro Yamada in the progress status table of the authority database, as shown in FIG. Then, the data of the date and time when the confirmation signal is received (for example, March 15, 2000) is registered, and a series of processing is ended.

By performing the above processing,
In the embodiment, the authority, the order of the procedures, and the details of the procedure are automatically assigned to one application made by the applicant, and the documents are prepared by the applicant and each authority. It is possible to process a series of work from “application to delivery confirmation” as a completely closed loop, so that a whole series of business processes spanning multiple companies can be integrated It becomes possible to manage.

(In the case where the application is denied by the authorized person) In this embodiment, when the application of the applicant is rejected by any one of the authorized persons, the progress status table of the authority database is set to a predetermined previous state. And will be notified to the applicant.

More specifically, the control unit 11 of the server-side terminal device 1 executes the transmission / reception unit 13 based on the mouse-click of the denial button 24d from the display screen of FIG. 17 in the client-side terminal device (step S43). Upon receiving application rejection data to deny an application from one of the authorized persons, the work date column in the progress table of the authority database is returned to the previous state and the application is rejected by the relevant authority The transmission / reception unit 13 is controlled so as to notify the applicant in the form of e-mail, for example.

This will be described with reference to specific examples shown in FIGS. 27 and 28. For example, a purchase application filed by Ichiro Yamada is first approved by the section manager Goro Hashimoto on March 8, 2000 (FIG. 27 ( a), FIG. 28 (a)), and also the director C was approved on March 9 of the same year (FIG. 27 (b), FIG. 28).
(B)) After that, if the general affairs section manager D denies the request, the work date column in the progress status table is changed to the state shown in FIG. 28 (a) as shown in FIGS. 27 (c) and 28 (c). That is, the state is returned to the state approved by Goro Hashimoto. As a result, when the manager C connects to the system, the matter about the purchase application applied by Ichiro Yamada is added to the “application for processing” on the work selection screen in FIG. A certain manager C is ready to process again. In this case, the server-side terminal device 1 notifies the department manager C that the purchase application has been rejected by the general affairs section manager D, for example, in the form of e-mail.

For reference, FIG. 28D shows the state of each table in the case where the general affairs section manager D approves, for example, on March 10, 2000. In this case, when the manager Q of the requesting company, which is the authority of the next procedure, connects to the system, the matter of this purchase application is added to the “application for processing” on the work selection screen in FIG. Is done.

In this embodiment, as to what state the work date column is returned to when the application is rejected, the authority immediately before the authority who rejected the application (the general affairs section manager D in the above example) is used. Although (the manager C in the above example) returns to the state in which the work can be performed, depending on the setting, for example, the work date column may be entirely reset to a blank state, and the applicant may apply again.

Further, the authority database may be provided with a reason column for describing a comment from the authority regarding the reason for denying the application. In this way, when the applicant reapplies for the same application items, referring to the description in the reason column, for example, reduce the unit price per stationery to be applied, or reduce the number of stationery to apply, etc. Can be taken.

(Case where Part of Application Content is Denied by Authorized Person) Further, in this embodiment, a part of the application content of the applicant can be denied by the authorized person.
In this case as well, the progress status table of the authority database is returned to the predetermined previous state, the fact is notified to the applicant, and the input data on the application content of the applicant is made in accordance with the request of the authority. It has been changed.

More specifically, the control unit 11 of the server-side terminal device 1 changes the input data from the display screen of FIG. 17 in the client-side terminal device and, based on the mouse click of the approval button 24c (step S43),
When the transmission / reception unit 13 receives the application partial rejection data indicating that the application is partially rejected from any of the authorized persons, this is described in the progress status table, and at least addressed to the applicant, Change the input data according to the application partial rejection data, and inform the applicant and the respective authorities regarding the application that e.g. e. The transmission / reception unit 13 is controlled so as to be notified in a mail format.

This will be described with reference to the specific examples shown in FIGS. 29 and 30. For example, FIGS. 29 (a) and 30 (a)
As shown in the figure, when Ichiro Yamada inputs five dozen brush pens and five dozen ball pens as input data to the template of the purchase application form and sends it to the server-side terminal device 1, Goro Hashimoto, the first authorized person, 29, the same screen is displayed on the display unit 24 for the purchase application form (FIG. 29).
(B), FIG. 30 (b)). And from this display screen,
As shown in FIG. 30C, Goro Hashimoto changes the application number of ballpoint pens from 5 dozens to 2 dozens for the input data of the template, and clicks the approval button 24c with the mouse.

Then, the authority (manager C) of the next procedure order
When is connected to the system, this purchase application is added to the "application for processing" with the input data changed. In this case, the notification that the input data has been changed (the number of applications for purchased items has been reduced) is sent to the applicant, Ichiro Yamada, and to each authority listed in the authority list. Sent to the person.

As described above, in this embodiment, the input data on the application items input by the applicant can be changed according to the request of the authorized person. Goro Hashimoto, an authorized person, can approve Ichiro's application on the condition that the number of ballpoint pens requested for purchase be reduced from 5 dozens to 2 dozens.

[0138] Rules regarding which authority is granted to change the contents of the basic data and which contents of the basic data can be changed are, for example, if
What is necessary is just to set individually by the program of ~ then ~ syntax.

As described above, according to the business process management system of the embodiment, the inter-company contract from the requesting company to the requesting company, such as the application form used for the above-mentioned decision in the requesting company. Orders used for information communication with clients, orders received for approval within the client company, etc. Used for inter-company contracts and information transmission from client companies to client companies Each document such as a delivery note becomes unnecessary,
The man-hours related to the delivery of each document are reduced, and the procedure is simplified and speeded up.

As shown in FIGS. 31 and 32, the database can be eventually shared between the requesting company and the requesting company, and the requesting company and the requesting company can use their own databases. Can be extracted from the database. In this way, it is possible to centrally manage not only the flow of procedures within a company, but also transactions between multiple companies such as "ordering and receiving orders" and "shipping and delivery confirmation"
It is possible to process the entire series of business processes from “application to delivery confirmation” as a completely closed loop.

[0141]

As described above in detail, according to the present invention, it is possible to provide a business process management system capable of integrating and managing a whole series of business processes spanning a plurality of companies. Becomes

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an overall configuration of a business process management system to which the present invention has been applied.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a server-side terminal device.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating an outline of a process performed by a server-side terminal device.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an authority database created by a server-side terminal device.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a client-side terminal device.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a data input operation and a process performed by the client-side terminal device;
The procedure and the like up to the stage where an operator connects to the system and selects an operation will be described.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating a data input operation and a process performed by a client-side terminal device (request source terminal device), illustrating a procedure when an operator newly creates an application form;

FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating a data input operation and a process performed by a client-side terminal device (request source terminal device), and illustrates a procedure when an operator updates an application form being created;

FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating a data input operation and a process performed by a client-side terminal device (a request source terminal device and a request destination terminal device), and a procedure when an operator processes an application waiting for processing; Is shown.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating operations and processes performed by a client-side terminal device (a request source terminal device and a request destination terminal device), and illustrates a procedure for checking the status of a submitted application;

FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an example of an initial input screen displayed on a display unit of the client-side terminal device.

FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating an example of a work selection screen displayed on a display unit of the client-side terminal device.

FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating an example of a template of a purchase application form displayed on a display unit of the client-side terminal device.

FIG. 14 is a diagram showing a state in which data has been input to the template of the purchase application form in FIG. 13;

FIG. 15 is a diagram illustrating a state in which data is additionally input from the state of FIG. 14;

FIG. 16 is a diagram showing a screen of a list of application forms waiting to be displayed, which is displayed on the display unit of the client-side terminal device.

FIG. 17 is a diagram showing a purchase application form template screen displayed on the display unit of the client-side terminal device used by the authorized person in the next procedure order.

FIG. 18 is a diagram showing a screen for displaying a list of the progress of an application already created and submitted by an operator.

FIG. 19 is a chart for explaining the work performed by each worker, the processing performed between the server-side terminal device and the client-side terminal device, and the flow of data.

FIG. 20 is a chart for explaining the work performed by each worker, the processing performed between the server-side terminal device and the client-side terminal device, and the flow of data.

FIG. 21 is a chart for explaining the work performed by each worker and the flow of processing performed between the server-side terminal device and the client-side terminal device.

FIG. 22 is a chart for explaining the work performed by each worker and the flow of processing performed between the server-side terminal device and the client-side terminal device.

FIG. 23 is a diagram showing a state in which an authority database is created based on input data of an applicant.

FIG. 24 is a diagram showing a state in which work has been performed by an authority in the order of the applicant's next procedure and the authority database has been updated.

FIG. 25 is a diagram showing a state in which work has been performed by all authorized persons and the authority database has been updated.

FIG. 26 is a diagram showing a state in which the basic authority database has been updated based on confirmation data from the applicant, and a progress status table has been completely written.

FIG. 27 is a diagram illustrating a case where an application of the applicant is rejected by any authority.

FIG. 28 is a diagram illustrating a case where an application of the applicant is rejected by any authority.

FIG. 29 is a diagram illustrating a case where a part of the application content of the applicant is rejected by any authority.

FIG. 30 is a diagram illustrating a case where a part of the application content of the applicant is rejected by any authority.

FIG. 31 is a diagram illustrating a state where a database is shared between a requesting company and a requested company.

FIG. 32 is a diagram illustrating an outline of the present invention, and is a diagram for describing processing performed within a company and between companies when a certain employee applies for stationery purchase.

FIG. 33 is a flowchart showing an analysis result of the inventor on a process performed in a company and between companies when a certain employee applies for stationery purchase.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 server side terminal device 2, 3 client side terminal device 2 (2A, 2B, 2C, 2D,... 2n) requesting terminal device 3 (3A, 3B, 3C, 3D,... 3n) requesting terminal device 4 communication Network 11 control unit 12 external storage unit 13 transmission / reception unit 14 display unit 15 operation input unit 21 control unit (CPU) 22 external storage unit 23 transmission / reception unit 24 display unit 25 operation input unit

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuing on the front page (72) Inventor Wataru Inotani 24-1, Nihonbashi-Hakozakicho, Chuo-ku, Tokyo Inside Atwork Co., Ltd. Inside (72) Inventor Ayako Kogane 24-1, Nihonbashi-Hakozakicho, Chuo-ku, Tokyo Atwork Inc. (72) Inventor Yuko Tsuboi Inside 24-1, Nihonbashi-Hakozakicho, Chuo-ku, Tokyo Atwork Inc. F term (reference) 5B049 CC32 FF03 FF09 GG04 GG06 GG08

Claims (16)

[Claims] [Claim 1] With respect to an application by an applicant, through each procedure by a plurality of authorities in a plurality of companies that perform procedures for the application, until the final result of the application is received by the applicant. A server-side terminal device that manages the progress status of each procedure of the database,
A business process management system that is operated by the applicant and the authorized person and manages using a client-side terminal device capable of transmitting and receiving data to and from the server-side terminal device, the client-side terminal device comprising: At least one requesting terminal device used by a member of the company to which the applicant belongs, and at least one requesting terminal device used by a member of the company to which the applicant applies for the application, The server-side terminal device, upon receiving the input data on the application matter from the applicant, based on the input data and the data of the database, until a final result on the application matter is received by the applicant. A list of authorities specifying all the authorities who carry out the above procedures and the order of the relevant authorities, and the authorities listed above And create and store an authority database including a progress table showing the progress of the procedures by the authorized authority, and send a notification to the authority in the next procedure order that the procedure should be performed; and Whenever the data of the completion of the procedure is received from the authority of the order of the procedure, the authority database is updated, and further, a notification that the procedure should be performed is transmitted to the authority of the next procedure. Repeatedly, upon receiving data indicating the final result of the application matter, transmitting a notification about the final result to the applicant, and ending the process upon receiving a confirmation signal about the final result from the applicant. Business process management system. 2. The server-side terminal device receives the data indicating the completion of the procedure from the authority in the next procedure order every time
2. The system according to claim 1, further comprising the step of updating the authority database by writing the completion of the procedure in the progress table.
Business process management system described. 3. The server-side terminal device stores in advance data on an authority selection rule according to the content of an application by the applicant, and upon receiving the input data, an authority list based on the selection rule. 3. The business process management system according to claim 1, wherein 4. The business process management system according to claim 1, wherein the authority database contains information about a company and information about each worker. 5. The progress table according to claim 1, wherein at least application and date and time of each procedure are described.
A business process management system according to any one of claims 1 to 4. 6. The server-side terminal device, upon receiving application rejection data for rejecting an application from any of the authorized persons, updates the description of the progress status table to a state before a predetermined update. And the applicant and / or
6. The business process management system according to claim 1, wherein a notification is sent to an authorized person of the procedure order in a state before the update. 7. The server-side terminal device, upon receiving application partial rejection data for partially rejecting an application from any one of the authorized persons, describes the fact in the progress status table. The business process management system according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein at least the notification is sent to the applicant, and the input data is changed according to the application partial denial data. 8. When the server-side terminal device receives transmission request data requesting transmission of data of the authority database from the applicant after creating the authority database, the server-side terminal device transmits the data of the authority database. 8. The business process management system according to claim 1, wherein the business process management system transmits the request to the applicant. 9. The server-side terminal device sends data on a template for inputting the input data to the applicant before receiving input data on the application matter from the applicant. 9. The business process management system according to claim 1, wherein the transmission is performed. 10. The server-side terminal device according to claim 1, wherein each time the authority database is updated, data of the authority database is transmitted to the applicant. Business process management system. 11. The server-side terminal device, prior to receiving the input data or the data indicating the completion of the procedure,
11. The authentication according to claim 1, wherein authentication is performed for the applicant or the potential authority.
Business process management system described. 12. The business process management according to claim 8, wherein the server-side terminal device authenticates the applicant before transmitting the data of the authority database to the applicant. system. 13. The server-side terminal device stores in advance authentication information on the applicant or the person who can be the authorized person, and upon receiving authentication data on a data entry person, stores the received authentication data in advance. 13. The business process management system according to claim 11, wherein the authentication is performed on the applicant or the person who can be the authorized person by comparing the authentication information with the authentication information. 14. The client-side terminal device includes: a transmission / reception unit for transmitting / receiving data to / from the server-side terminal device; an operation input unit for inputting data to be transmitted to the server-side terminal device by the transmission / reception unit; 14. The business process management system according to claim 1, further comprising: display means for displaying data from the server-side terminal device received by the means. 15. The business process management system according to claim 1, wherein the server-side terminal device is disposed in an outsourcing company that manages a business process between companies. . 16. The terminal device according to claim 1, wherein the client terminal device is a mobile portable terminal device.
5. The business process management system according to any one of 5.