JP2008040620A - Process management device, business process management system, and process management method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To comprehensively determine information on different data sources to determine priority, and to execute and control the instance of a business process based on this comprehensive priority. <P>SOLUTION: This process management device 110 comprises a business process definition database 130 that receives a request for business application execution and previously stores individual priorities of segmented items constituting the process as the business application and the priority of the process in order to transmit the processing result of this execution request to a predetermined terminal. This process management device also comprises an analysis execution section 240 that, on receiving the request for business application execution, acquires processing execution priority of process by predetermined calculation with reference to each priority of the business process definition database, performs the processing of the request for business application execution, and stores the processing results of the request for business application execution in a transmission queue in the descending order of execution priority. This process management device also comprises a control section 101 for performing transmission processing of the stored processing result of the request for business application execution in the descending order of execution priority. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a business process management apparatus and a business process management method for determining processing priorities in business processing. In particular, the present invention relates to a business process definition creation device using business process priority information and a device, method and program for analyzing and executing the business process definition.

In the business field, various documents such as reports and plans are handled, but in order to efficiently perform business processing, priorities are set for these documents and processing is performed based on the priorities. To do is done. In a system that links applications based on business process definitions such as conventional workflows, priority is set for business processes, and priority information is disclosed to the user to control the priority order of execution processes. There was something like that.
For example, according to “Business Priority Determination Device, Business Priority Determination Method, Recording Medium, and Program” of Patent Document 1, in the business system, the priority is set based on the case type of the business data and the remaining period of the processing deadline. When displaying a list of workflow processing matters, sort and display in order of priority, and display additional information such as priority to notify the user of which process should be executed. The mechanism of doing is explained. In other words, in the setting of the processing priority of a document in the business field, a term in the document is extracted as business information and matched with time limit information or time limit related information to determine the priority.
JP 2001-338107 A

  In a system that links applications based on conventional business process definitions, it was possible to set priorities using single data as keywords in execution instances of business process definitions. When determining the priority, it is necessary to judge information from different data sources in a composite manner. In the prior art, it is possible to control the execution order of processing based on such a composite judgment. There is a problem that it cannot be done.

  The present invention has been made in order to solve the above-described problems, and determines the priority by complexly determining information of different data sources, and executes the execution control of the instance of the business process according to the total priority. For the purpose.

The process management device according to the present invention is a process management device that receives a business application execution request and transmits a processing result based on the business application execution request to a predetermined terminal.
A business process definition database that stores in advance the individual priorities of the subdivision items constituting the process that is a business application and the priorities of the processes;
When the business application execution request is input, the execution priority of the process based on the business application execution request is obtained by a predetermined calculation with reference to each priority of the business process definition database, and the business application execution request is obtained. An analysis execution unit that stores the processing results of the business application execution request in the transmission queue in descending order of the execution priority,
And a control unit that causes transmission processing of processing results of the business application execution request stored in the transmission queue in descending order of execution priority.

  Since the process management apparatus of the present invention includes the business process definition database, the analysis execution unit, and the control unit as described above, there is an effect that the overall importance can be determined based on the execution priority and output processing can be performed.

Embodiment 1 FIG.
When creating a business definition database by standardizing the processing contents of documents used in the business field and setting priorities to them, when performing multiple business processes as a series of processing tasks, this business definition database A business process management apparatus that performs processing in the order of overall priority will be described.
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the configuration and processing flow of the (business process) management apparatus 110 in the present embodiment. In the figure, thick lines indicate the flow of processing, and thin lines indicate elements connected by a bus. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the management device in a more easily understandable hardware configuration, showing each component connected by an internal bus 103 indicated by a thin line, and a flow of processing indicated by a thick broken line connecting these elements. Is shown.

  In these drawings, the management device 110 (process management device) is composed of the following elements. The process definition priority registration unit 120 that receives the business process definition input 120b via the reception unit 200 and determines the priority of the processing (tasks) of the subdivided business application that configures the process included in the process definition. Business (subdivided) process definition database (DB) 130 for registering and storing a standard process including a business application determined by process definition priority, and receiving a request for processing as a business application request 140b from the outside Unit 200, a reception priority setting unit 210 that sets the priority by checking the processing priority of the business application execution request 140b received by the reception unit 200, and lists the business application requests in which the reception priority is set in order of priority. Receive queue part 220 to store as this priority Receiving and extracting unit 230 that extracts the highest priority business application request from the business application request stored in the database, and the analysis execution that analyzes the extracted highest priority business application request and executes the requested process Unit 240, a transmission priority setting unit 250 that sets the transmission priority of the business application that has been subjected to the analysis execution process, a transmission queue unit 260 that stores the business application with the transmission priority set in the order of transmission priority, and this transmission A transmission extraction unit 270 that extracts a business application with the highest priority from a column stored in order of priority, a transmission unit 280 that transmits the extracted business application to a predetermined transmission destination as a business application provision output 150b, a new business If there is a process definition input 120b, its definition With reference to the input, the priority updating unit 290 updates the priority, and a city.

The management apparatus 110 further includes a control unit 101 including a processor and a memory 102 as hardware. The business segmentation process definition DB 130, the reception queue unit 220, and the transmission queue unit 260 are stored in an external memory of the hardware or the memory 102, and the process definition priority registration unit 120 and the reception priority setting unit 210. Are stored in a memory as firmware or software with a function of an operation flow described later. The control unit 101 reads a program stored in these memories via the internal bus 103 and executes an operation flow. The memory 102 includes a main memory having a high access speed, an external memory having a large capacity, and a cache memory in the middle. The receiving unit 200 has an interface for reading the input business process definition input 120b and the business application execution request 140b and converting them into data.
Although not shown, an output unit for displaying a screen is connected to the internal bus 103, and the contents of the reception queue unit 220 and the transmission queue unit 260 are read or the priority is confirmed and displayed.
The management apparatus 110 is connected to external devices such as a terminal a301 and a terminal b302 via a network 303 represented by a LAN or the like. These terminals are devices that are input by a drafter, which will be described later in the description of the operation, or that receive a transmission output, and constitute a business process management system together with the management device 110.

The business process definition registration operation will be described first.
Prior to executing an application processing request, the business process management apparatus 110 standardizes and describes a business process (processing content) that processes a plurality of subdivided business application processes that are tasks. Then, the priority is set and registered. Examples of specific processing contents (business process) when standardizing and registering this business process include sequential read processing that sequentially reads and processes multiple tasks (business applications), branch processing as other processing, or There are a merging process that combines a plurality of processes, a parallel process that processes a plurality of tasks in parallel, and the like. FIG. 3 is a processing flowchart showing the registration operation of the business process definition. 4 shows a business process definition example (No. 1) when the definition is registered in FIG. The example of FIG. 4 is a sequential read processing model in which business applications (a), business applications (b), business applications (c), and business applications (d) as tasks are sequentially called.
In step S101 of FIG. 3 (hereinafter, description of the step is omitted), the process definition priority registration unit 120 creates and describes the above model via the reception unit 200 in FIGS. 1 and 2. The priority registration is received for the processing contents of the business process definition input 120b. In other words, the business process definition input 120b shown in FIG. 4 knows that it is creation information for priority registration by using, for example, an identifier (ID) or the like via the receiving unit 200, and this business process definition input 120b is registered as a process definition priority Accepted by the unit 120.

In step S102, the process definition priority registration unit 120 sets priorities for the model specified by the user shown in FIG. 4 (business process priority setting step). Priorities include
1) Process priority used for comparison between business process definitions,
2) Task priority used for comparison between tasks to be executed,
3) Business priority based on business data, such as comparison by drafters,
and so on.
In addition to the setting based on the drafter, the business priority may be set based on information such as a time limit, a title (included keyword), and business data type. Each piece of information may be included in business data such as a single document, but may be distributed in a plurality of documents.
A specific priority setting example is shown in FIG. That is, the priority of the process as the sequential reading process, the processing priority of the individual business applications that are subdivided, that is, the priority for each task and the business priority determined by the drafter are specified. In the example of FIG. 5, the process ○ 1 has an overall process priority of 100, the subdivided business application (a) call 301a has a task priority of 10, and similarly the business application (b) call 302a has a task priority. The priority is 20, the business application (c) call 303a has a task priority of 30, and the business application (d) call 304a has a task priority of 40.

Further, the priority 402 of the person who designates the business and the drafter as one of the business data priorities is analyzed from the business process definition input 120b. In the example of FIG. 5, it is 100 if the voting person is Natal, 30 if the voting person is Holy Yoshihara, 10 if Misaki Matsumoto, and 5 if the other person. know. Furthermore, since the business data priority 401 is defined as the sum of the drafter priority and the deadline priority, the priority increases when the remaining days decrease. Refer to the priority (deadline) -remaining days designation 403. The deadline priority is added to the drafter priority.
As a result, when the process of sequentially calling the four applications shown in FIG. 5 is requested as a business process, the process priority is 100, and the total priority of each task is further increased by who the drafter is. The priority of the processing request is analyzed.
When all the definitions are completed in this way, the process definition priority registration unit 120 outputs and stores the analyzed priority in the business segmentation process definition DB 130 in S103. That is, regarding the sequential reading of the four applications, the process priority is 100, and further, the priority for each task, the priority for each drafter, and the priority based on the number of remaining days are added and stored. .

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example in which a specific input process is described in BPEL (Business Process Execution Language XML-based business process description language). When the data is input from a network such as a LAN, the receiving unit 200 may be a communication control unit. When the data is input using a medium such as a CD, the receiving unit 200 is a media reader. It's okay. In any case, the data in FIG. 6 is read and transferred to the process definition priority registration unit 120. Process <1> shown in FIG. 6 indicates the process priority 400 of the entire process in FIG. 5, and <Sequence> indicates the sequential invocation of business applications (a) to (d) in FIG. Indicates the task priority. <List> in FIG. 6 indicates that the function id value is the sum of the drafter priority and the deadline priority, and specific numerical values of the drafter priority and deadline priority in FIG. Is shown.
For the process priority and task priority, a priority attribute is defined as an extended attribute for the corresponding element and stored as its attribute value.
The process execution order conforms to the BPEL specification. In this example, the process is started from the receive that receives the draft process, and the invoke process is sequentially executed.
Linkage information with the business application is described based on the BPEL specification, and the relation with the WSDL (Web Service Description Language) that defines the external interface is supported by the attributes of the port type, operation, and partner link. In this example, the cooperation with the business application (n) is convenient.
portType = port_n * n = a, b, c...
operation = op1 * fixed partnerLink = app_n * n = a, b, c ...
And

The business data priority, which is one of the individual priorities, can be calculated by a table structure or a function corresponding to the contents of the business data such as who is the drafter, and a combination of functions (eg func (A) + func (B)) or a hierarchical structure (eg, func (func (C))) having a function as an argument of the function can be designated.
The process definition priority registration unit 120 performs the same analysis for the other business process definition input 120b, analyzes the process priority for each process, and registers and stores the process priority in the business segmentation process definition DB 130.
In addition, other priorities may be set from information included in the business data.
Thus, the process priority and the task priority define a priority as an extended attribute for the corresponding element, and store the priority in association with the business process. The priority by the drafter may be stored as a process priority for each drafter, or stored as a separate table and referred to in combination when a business application request is received. You may make it define a priority.

Next, business application execution processing will be described in which processing priority is analyzed according to the contents of the execution request and processing is performed in the order of execution priority when the process is actually processed by the business application execution request input 140b.
FIG. 7 is an operation flow diagram for performing business application analysis execution in which the management apparatus 110 receives the business application execution request 140b and analyzes how high the overall priority is. Of course, processing corresponding to the execution priority of the analyzed processing request is performed. FIG. 7 also describes the branch flow for performing the priority registration of FIG. 3 in step S211.
(Business Process) The control unit 101 of the management apparatus 110 acquires a business process definition input to be executed that has been registered as an initial process at the time of activation (S201).
The receiving unit 200 and the transmitting unit 280 that execute tasks linked to the business application are set by passing the interface specification and task identifier to the business application (S202). For the receiving unit 200 and the transmitting unit 280, as task identifiers,
Process = Process ○ 1
Port = Port0
Operation = op1
Pass information such as. As interface specifications, WSDL (Web Service Description Language) information associated with the process definition is passed. The task identifier is information indicating a relationship with the business process definition.
Thereafter, the receiving unit 200 waits for a processing request by a business application at an interface defined by WSDL in accordance with the set interface specification (S204: publish service).

The receiving unit 200 receives the business application execution request 140b (S205). This time, the business application execution request 140 b received from the identifier is transferred to the reception priority setting unit 210.
The reception priority setting unit 210 receives a processing request and a task identifier from the reception unit 200, and acquires a corresponding business process definition from the task identifier (S206). Further, the execution priority is calculated from the priority information set in the business process definition and the contents of the business data acquired together with the processing request (S207).
As a specific example, it is assumed that the business application execution request 140b is the following input.
11)
<Business data 1>
<Drafter> Natari </ Drafter>
<Message> Release schedule is 3/29 </ Message>
</ Business data 1>
12)
<Business data 2>
<Deadline> 2006/7/26 </ Deadline>
<Business data 2>
An example of data related to business data is shown below.
13) Today is 7/13/2006

The reception priority setting unit 210 searches the process definition and priority information corresponding to the task identifier information from the contents described in the business application execution request 140b, and the following process priority, business data priority, and task priority are determined. You can see that it is set. Furthermore, the execution priority according to the following definition is specified.
14) Execution priority = process priority + business data priority + task priority In the example of 14), the specific execution priority is as follows.
Process priority = 100: (Process definition setting value)
Business data priority = drafter priority ("Natari") + deadline priority ("2006/7/26")
= 100 + 100 / (2006/7 / 26-2006 / 7/13)
= 108
Here, the value of the argument 1 of the function is set to 100 from the setting value corresponding to “Natari” acquired from the business data 1 / the drafter.
The deadline priority is calculated from the value “2006/7/26” of the argument 1 (p1) of the function, “2006/7/13” today, and the function expression “100 / (p1- $ TODAY)”. 8
Therefore, the execution priority is
Execution priority = 100 + 108 + 0 = 208
It becomes.

The control unit 101 stores the above-described execution processing request as a business application execution request, in the reception queue unit 220, a processing request including business data and an attribute of execution priority in <processing request> (S208).
The processing request includes information for identifying the task to be executed. In this example, port type, operation, and partner link information, which are information related to WSDL, are included.
An example of information to be stored is shown below.
21)
<Processing request>
<Task identifier>
<Process> Process ○ 1 </ Process>
<Port> port0 </ port>
<Operation> op1 </ Operation>
<Partner link> app_a </ partner link>
</ Task identifier>
<Execution priority> 208 </ Execution priority>
<Received data>
<Business data 1>
<Drafter> Natari </ Drafter>
<Message> Release schedule is 3/29 </ Message>
</ Business data 1>
<Business data 2>
<Deadline> 2006/7/26 </ Deadline>
</ Business data 2>
<Received data>
</ Processing request>

Since the business application request is received, that is, the reception request can be operated in parallel, the management apparatus 110 receives another business application execution request shown below.
15)
<Business data 1>
<Voker> Misaki Matsumoto </ voker>
<Message> April event </ Message>
</ Business data 1>
<Business data 2>
<Deadline> 2006/7/26 </ Deadline>
</ Business data 2>
The above processing 11) to 14) is performed by the reception priority setting unit 210, and the following 22) <processing request> is stored in the reception queue unit 220 by the control unit 101.
The execution priority at this time is calculated by the same procedure as the above process and is as follows.
Process priority = 100
Business data priority = drafter priority ("Misa Matsumoto") + deadline priority ("2006/7/26")
= 10 ^{* 1} + 100 / (2006/7 / 26-2006 / 7/13)
= 18
* 1 As the drafter priority, 10 corresponding to Misaki Matsumoto is obtained from the table information shown in FIG. Therefore, the execution priority is
Execution priority = 100 + 18 + 0 = 118
It becomes.

22)
<Processing request>
<Task identifier>
<Process> Process ○ 1 </ Process>
<Port> port0 </ port>
<Operation> op1 </ Operation>
<Partner link> app_a </ partner link>
</ Task identifier>
<Execution priority> 118 </ Execution priority>
<Received data>
<Business data 1>
<Voker> Misaki Matsumoto </ voker>
<Message> April event </ Message>
</ Business data 1>
<Business data 2>
<Deadline> 2006/7/26 </ Deadline>
</ Business data 2>
≪Received data>
</ Processing request>

In addition, a request for another process may operate in parallel. It is assumed that the information regarding the other process definition and the business data priority is the process of process 2 shown in FIG. In FIG. 8, the task priority of the business application (a) call 501 and the task priority of the business application (b) call 502 are the same as those in the previous example, but the value 50 of the process priority 600, The definition of the business data priority 601 is different. That is, the business data priority 601 is only the term priority.
The value of <business data 2> is the following value, and today is 2006/7/13.
<Business data 2>
<Deadline> 2006/7/26 </ Deadline>
</ Business data 2>
The above processing 11) to 14) is performed by the reception priority setting unit 210 for these inputs, and the following 23) <processing request> is stored in the reception queue unit 220 by the control unit 101.
The execution priority at this time is
Process priority = 50
Business data priority = deadline priority ("2006/7/26")
= 100 / (2006/7 / 26-2006 / 7/13)
= 8
Execution priority = 50 + 8 = 58

23)
<Processing request>
<Task identifier>
<Process> Process ○ 2 </ Process>
<Port> port0 </ port>
<Operation> op1 </ Operation>
<Partner link> app_a </ partner link>
</ Task identifier>
<Execution priority> 58 </ Execution priority>
<Received data>
<Business data 2>
<Deadline> 2006/7/26 </ Deadline>
</ Business data 2>
≪Received data>
</ Processing request>

The reception extraction unit 230 is periodically started and operated by the control unit 101, and the reception extraction unit 230 sorts the processing requests stored in the reception queue unit 220 in the order of execution priority, and performs processing with the highest execution priority. The request is extracted and sent to the analysis execution unit 240 (S209).
In this example, 21) is extracted from the above 21) to 23).
Upon receiving the transmitted execution process request from the reception extraction unit 230, the analysis execution unit 240 acquires the corresponding business process definition, and determines from the task identifier that the request is a start request for the process ○ 1 (S210). .
If the input is the business process definition input 120b and a definition registration request is made in this way, the process definition priority registration unit 120 instantiates the business process definition as described above (S211). . That is, this is the operation described with reference to FIG. 3, and S211 means S101 to S103.
If the input is a business application execution request, instantiation of the process definition, that is, an execution instance of the process is executed (S211).
When a business application already defined is called and executed, that is, in the case of the business application execution request 140b, the attribute is acquired and the corresponding instance is searched (S212).
In the business process instance, a task to be executed next is acquired, and if it is a transmission task, a transmission processing request for the business application is created (S215). Then, a processing request including business data is created and sent to the transmission priority setting unit 250 together with the identifier of the transmission task.
In other words, in the above 21) example, the analysis execution unit 240 receives the extracted processing request, determines from the task identifier that it is an execution start request for the process ○ 1, and instantiates the process definition (result of the execution processing) Output).

The business process definition is analyzed, and it is found that the next task to be executed is an invoke (transmission task) for app_a, and a transmission processing request shown in the following 31) is created.
31)
<Processing request>
<Task identifier>
<Process> Process ○ 1 </ Process>
<Port> port_a </ port>
<Operation> op1 </ Operation>
<Partner link> app_a </ partner link>
</ Task identifier>
<Received data>
<Business data 1>
<Drafter> Natari </ Drafter>
<Message> Release schedule is 3/29 </ Message>
</ Business data 1>
<Business data 2>
<Deadline> 2006/7/26 </ Deadline>
</ Business data 2>
≪Received data>
</ Processing request>
Thereafter, the next processing request extracted by the reception extraction unit 230, for example, 22) is processed and sent to the transmission priority setting unit 250.

The transmission priority setting unit 250 acquires the processing request for the business application (providing) and the identifier of the transmission task from the analysis execution unit 240, and executes the execution priority from the priority information given to the business process definition corresponding to the identifier of the transmission task. The degree is calculated (S216), and further stored in the transmission queue unit 260 together with the processing request and the identifier of the transmission task (S217).
In the above example, the priority is set only by looking at the definition of the call linked with the business application (a), and in the definition of this example, the setting related to the business data priority is not made. Therefore, the execution priority at the time of transmission is the sum of the process priority and task priority.
When calling for transmission, there is business data (data to be transmitted) different from that at the time of reception, and not simply inheriting the priority at the time of reception, but setting the execution priority at the time of reception and at the time of transmission. If the definition of the business data priority is set for the calling task from the received data and the transmitted data, the execution priority reflecting it is calculated.
In the example of 31) above, it can be seen from the task identifier that the task priority = 10 is set in the priority attribute for this transmission task. Then, the execution priority is calculated (S216), which is as follows.
Process priority = 100: (Process definition setting value)
Business data priority = 0: (There is no business data priority setting for this task)
Task priority = 10
Execution priority = 110
As a result, the transmission priority setting unit 250 stores the processing request together with the execution priority at the time of transmission in the transmission queue unit 260 with the above 31) as the next 41) (S217). That is, S215 to S217 are analysis execution steps.

41)
<Processing request>
<Task identifier>
<Process> Process ○ 1 </ Process>
<Port> port_a </ port>
<Operation> op1 </ Operation>
<Partner link> app_a </ partner link>
</ Task identifier>
<Execution priority> 110 </ Execution priority>
<Received data>
<Business data 1>
<Drafter> Natari </ Drafter>
<Message> Release schedule is 3/29 </ Message>
</ Business data 1>
<Business data 2>
<Deadline> 2006/7/26 </ Deadline>
</ Business data 2>
≪Received data>
</ Processing request>

Further, the analysis execution unit 240 sequentially checks and updates the status of the processing (business process / instance execution processing) based on the business application execution request input, and prepares to execute the requested processing in the order of execution priority (S218). .
If the input process (business application execution request) is not a transmission task (business application provided output), the analysis execution unit 240 executes a process (for example, condition determination) according to the request content (S219).
S213 to S220 are repeatedly executed until the task to be executed is completed in all steps or becomes a reception task. Note that S220, which is a transmission processing step, includes transmitting the requested transmission processing (provided output) to a terminal or the like.
S203 to S221 are repeatedly executed while the business process management apparatus 110 is in operation, and may operate in parallel depending on a request from a business application.

On the other hand, the control unit 101 periodically activates the transmission extraction unit 270, and the transmission extraction unit 270 extracts the processing request having the highest execution priority from the processing requests stored in the transmission queue unit 260.
Further, a processing request to be transmitted is passed to the corresponding transmitting unit 280 from the task identifier stored in the processing request, and a business application provided call is executed. That is, the control unit 101 causes the transmission unit 280 to transmit the contents of the above 41) as the business application providing output 150b.
When the transmission extraction unit 270 completes processing of one transmission task, the next transmission task is executed. The example of the business application n has been described above with reference to FIGS. 6 and 5. However, in the example where there are only the above three processing requests app_n (n = a, b, c), the next task is transmitted to the app_b. It is a task, performs the same processing as described above, and further performs the next transmission processing.
The control unit 101 periodically activates the priority update unit 290 with a timer or the like, and the priority update unit 290 confirms the processing requests stored in the reception queue unit 220 and the transmission queue unit 260. If there is a stored processing request, the value of execution priority is updated over time. An example of the updating method is shown below.
51) Execution priority = execution priority + 5
That is, every time the priority update unit is activated, +5 execution priority is increased.
Unlike the above update, the execution priority may be updated based on the elapsed time from the start time or the remaining time until the completion time, including the start time and the expected completion time in the processing request.

In the above description, the reception priority setting unit 210, the reception queue unit 220, the reception extraction unit 230, the analysis execution unit 240, the transmission priority setting unit 250, the transmission queue unit 260, and the transmission extraction unit 270 are divided into three blocks. The configuration and operation have been described, but these are combined into two or one block, the analysis operation is performed by the analysis execution unit, stored in one transmission queue in the order of execution priority, and the transmission output is sequentially executed. It is good also as a structure which transmits from this one transmission queue in order with high degree. In addition, the analysis execution unit 240 may serve as either the reception extraction unit 230 or the transmission priority setting unit 250, or both. In this case, it is assumed that the process execution priority is equal to the transmission execution priority.
In the above description, the management device is described as being configured with dedicated hardware. However, the functions illustrated in FIGS. 3 and 7 are described using a general-purpose computer as a program configured in each step, and the memory 102 and Alternatively, the above-described operation may be performed by developing in a high-speed memory.
As described above, according to the configuration and operation of the present embodiment, the problem of setting priority based on a single term, which is performed in a conventional general document, is eliminated. In other words, according to the conventional single priority, the priority is determined by matching the term extraction with the term information, but the business document does not necessarily show the term or the term related term is described. Not necessarily. In some cases, a document without such a deadline needs to be processed with priority. In addition, even if a document contains a deadline, these terminology terms refer either directly to the document's response deadline or to other things mentioned in the document, and the document itself It cannot be judged whether it is unrelated to the deadline.
On the other hand, according to this configuration, the overall priority can be set by combining processes, tasks, and tasks. For example, by subdividing the types of tasks, or by combining document names or drafters and tasks, Priority processing is possible.

The business application provision output 150b can be directly linked to the business application execution request input 140b for output, but is stored in the transmission queue unit 260 so that the control unit 101 periodically sends it to the transmission extraction unit 270. You may make it instruct | indicate and read and perform an output. In this case, as described above, when time elapses from the date processed by the analysis execution unit 240, the priority update unit 290 detects the expiration of the deadline and increases the execution priority.
The priority in the business represents the strategy in the business and needs to be determined from the viewpoint of time, cost, resource, and the like. Therefore, it is not determined from a single piece of information, but a judgment from a composite viewpoint is required. Moreover, the priority once set needs to correspond to the change of the situation with the passage of time. In this example, a deadline is described as an example as a periodic review of priority. In addition, the priority of production tasks can be adjusted regularly based on the number of orders and the number of inventory. In this way, by using this configuration, it is possible to periodically review priorities and set priorities corresponding to changes in the situation over time.

As described above, the business process management apparatus in this embodiment is
A receiving unit that receives a business process start processing (definition instantiation) request from a business application and a processing request for a running business process instance;
A reception priority setting unit for setting an execution priority for a processing request from a business application based on the priority information set in the business data and the business process definition;
A reception queue unit that queues requests from business applications and information on execution priority output from the reception priority setting unit;
A reception extraction unit that extracts requests from business applications stored in the reception queue unit in descending order of execution priority;
An analysis execution unit that controls the generation of processing requests for external applications by analyzing and executing business process instantiation and processing flow of business process definition,
A transmission priority setting unit for setting execution priority from the priority information set in the process definition and the processing request for the external business application;
A transmission queue unit for queuing information on the request and execution priority to the business application output from the transmission priority setting unit;
A transmission extraction unit that extracts requests to the business application stored in the transmission queue unit in descending order of execution priority;
A transmission unit that implements service processing requests and business data delivery to business applications;
And a priority update unit that updates execution priority information stored in the transmission queue unit and the reception queue unit, and controls the processing order of business processes and instances based on the execution priority.

Therefore, the business process definition device is characterized in that, in the definition of a business process, the process priority, the priority based on business data, and the task execution priority in the process are output as attributes of the business process definition.
Furthermore, when a business process definition is newly executed as a business process management apparatus for executing application linkage (calling / business data exchange) based on the business process definition, priority information set as attributes of the business process definition And a priority setting unit for setting the execution priority from the contents of the business data.
Furthermore, as a business process management device, when there is a request for a running business process instance, the priority information set as an attribute of the business process definition is acquired and the execution priority is set from the contents of the business data It is characterized by having a priority setting unit.
The business process management device also includes a reception queue unit for queuing a processing request (including business data), an execution priority, a reception task identifier in a business process definition, and a reception in a business process analysis execution method. It is characterized by having a reception extraction unit that extracts processing requests and identifiers of reception tasks in business process definitions in descending order of execution priority from the queue unit.
Further, the business process management apparatus has a priority setting unit that acquires priority information set as an attribute of a business process definition and sets an execution priority based on the priority information and a task to be executed. .
In addition, a transmission queue part that queues a processing request (including business data) to a business application, an execution priority, and an identifier of a transmission task in the business process definition,
And a transmission extraction unit that extracts the processing request and the identifier of the transmission task in the business process definition in descending order of execution priority from the transmission queue unit.
Furthermore, the business process management device has a priority update unit that updates execution priority information stored in the reception queue device and the transmission queue device, triggered by an event such as the passage of time or reception of a request from a business application. It is characterized by.
In this way, the priority of process execution is not set from a single item, but it is determined and set in combination from various data, and the priority is reviewed and reset as the process is executed. Is possible.

It is a figure which shows the structure of the business process management apparatus in Embodiment 1 of this invention, and the flow of a process. 2 is a diagram illustrating a hardware configuration of a management device according to Embodiment 1. FIG. FIG. 10 is a process flow diagram showing a business process definition registration operation in the first embodiment. 6 is a diagram showing a business definition example (part 1) in the first embodiment. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a specific example of priority set in the first embodiment. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of priority designation described in the BPEL format according to Embodiment 1. FIG. FIG. 6 is an operation flow diagram for performing business application analysis execution performed by the management apparatus according to the first embodiment. FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of another process definition executed simultaneously in the first embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

  101 (including processor) control unit, 102 memory, 103 internal bus, 110 (business process) management device, 120 process definition priority registration unit, 130 business (subdivision) process definition database (DB), 200 receiving unit, 210 Reception priority setting unit, 220 reception queue unit, 230 reception extraction unit, 240 analysis execution unit, 250 transmission priority setting unit, 260 transmission queue unit, 270 transmission extraction unit, 280 transmission unit, 290 priority update unit, 301 terminal a, 302 Terminal b.

Claims (6)

In a process management apparatus that receives a business application execution request and transmits a processing result based on the business application execution request to a predetermined terminal.
A business process definition database that stores in advance the individual priorities of the subdivision items constituting the process that is a business application and the priorities of the processes;
When the business application execution request is input, the execution priority of the process based on the business application execution request is obtained by a predetermined calculation with reference to each priority of the business process definition database, and the business application execution request is obtained. An analysis execution unit that stores the processing results of the business application execution request in the transmission queue in descending order of the execution priority;
And a control unit that causes transmission processing of processing results of the business application execution request stored in the transmission queue to be executed in descending order of the execution priority.   Analyzing the process definition input to be registered in the business process definition database, associating the process with the priority of the process and the individual priorities of the subdivision items constituting the process in the business process definition database. The process management apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a process definition priority registration unit for registration. When a business application execution request is input, the execution priority of the process based on the business application execution request is obtained by a predetermined calculation with reference to each priority of the business process definition database, and the obtained execution priority is assigned. And a reception priority setting unit for storing the business application execution request in the reception queue,
The process management apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the analysis execution unit processes the business application execution request in descending order of the execution priority stored in the reception queue.   2. The process management apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a priority update unit that updates an execution priority of a business application execution request stored in the transmission queue with a trigger including a predetermined time elapse. A terminal that performs a business application execution request and receives a business application provided output that is a processing result of the business application execution request;
The business process definition database that stores in advance the individual priorities of the subdivision items constituting the process that is a business application and the priority of the process, and the business process definition in response to the business application execution request from the terminal With reference to each priority of the database, the execution priority of the processing based on the business application execution request is obtained by a predetermined calculation, the business application execution request is processed, and the processing result of the business application execution request is obtained An analysis execution unit for storing in the transmission queue in descending order of execution priority; and a control unit for causing the transmission processing of the processing results of the business application execution request stored in the transmission queue to be in order of the high execution priority. A process management device;
Business process management system characterized by comprising. In a process management method for receiving a business application execution request and transmitting a processing result of the business application execution request to a predetermined terminal,
A process definition priority registration step in which the process definition priority registration unit pre-sets the individual priority of the subdivision items constituting the process that is a business application and the priority of the process;
When the business application execution request is input, the analysis execution unit refers to each priority set in the business process priority setting step, and executes execution priority based on the business application execution request in a predetermined calculation. An analysis execution step for processing the business application execution request and storing the processing results of the business application execution request in a transmission queue in descending order of the execution priority;
A process management method, comprising: a transmission processing step in which a control unit causes transmission processing of processing results of the business application execution request stored in the transmission queue in order of the execution priority.