JP2008276511A - Dynamic work center - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a dynamic work center. <P>SOLUTION: This method and apparatus enables providing an action center to perform work. The action center is generated as a modeled software application that enables dynamic access to data and one or more callable services with which to perform an activity related to the data. The dynamic access is provided via determining authorization based a business role associated with a request for the data related. The request for the data is related to a work activity of a workflow associated with the data. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  Embodiments of the present invention relate to modeled software applications, and more particularly to composite application work centers.

  This application is based on U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/705108 (Docket No. 6631.P039Z) filed on August 2, 2005, and U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/705222 (Docket No. 6570) filed on August 2, 2005. .P317Z) claims the benefit of priority.

  In order to do work, employees need access to resources to accomplish their work. Employees who are familiar with the company's systems and operations can also gain access to information and resources. However, new employees may not know how to access the information / resources to do the work or where to get the resources needed to do the work. In the past, employees (new employees or existing employees doing new jobs) have been linked to company websites and links in several networks in order to familiarize employees with corporate systems and operations. , And instructions for accessing the file location have been given. This information may or may not be provided in a organized manner, and may be difficult for employees to handle, even if organized and provided. Therefore, the conventional method of giving information / resources to employees who perform work is inefficient.

  Some companies have employee websites that organize work and information and provide them to employees. Traditional approaches involve creating a website with an actual web address. Using a specially created website is not economical. In addition, in that case, the web site would need to be managed for the purpose of providing and deleting information, and / or a large number of unused web sites could be accumulated. Some enterprise realizations include the use of Web sites or collaborative spaces for projects. Project members can be provided with a collaborative space when assigned to a project.

  In addition to restrictions on data provisioning and data access, another inefficiency arises from mechanisms for employees to work as system users. The mechanism that performs the work is generally an application. Conventional applications include dedicated logic that can be shared with a user interface and interact with each other via a shared database. Conventional applications also require the user of the application to work by navigating through all available functions or mechanisms. In addition, applications that provide users with views that allow them to access tasks and perform tasks traditionally provide all users with a single view for every task. If access to data and the system is restricted and the system does not know the user or task involved, the available content that the user can access to perform run-level tasks is greatly limited. Will be.

  Limiting the available content also makes the user an integrated mechanism for different systems. Users have traditionally been required to search everything in the underlying system to find out what is needed to perform the task. For example, to perform tasks related to the hiring process, a user may be required to access one or more items, such as a personnel system, project system, etc., in a conventional manner.

Providing employees with the information and resources necessary for employees to do their work is time consuming and expensive in terms of resources. The extra development required to allow access to corporate data is inefficient. Providing traditional applications as a mechanism for employees to work on results in inefficient use of employee time and corporate resources.
US Provisional Application No. 60/705108 US Provisional Application No. 60/705222

  The method and apparatus allow for the provision of an action center for performing work. The action center is generated as a modeled software application that provides dynamic access to data and one or more callable services that perform activities associated with the data. Dynamic access is provided by determining authority based on business roles associated with requests for relevant data. The request for data relates to a work activity in the workflow that is associated with the data.

  The following description includes consideration of various figures with illustrations shown as implementations of embodiments of the invention. The drawings should be understood as examples, not as limitations.

  As used herein, references to one or more “embodiments” should be understood as indicating individual features, structures, or characteristics that are included in at least one implementation of the invention. is there. Thus, phrases such as “in one embodiment” or “in another embodiment” appearing herein indicate various embodiments and implementations of the invention, and all refer to the same embodiment. It is not necessarily a thing. However, they are not necessarily mutually exclusive. Subsequently, several illustrations are included that include illustrations of figures that may show some or all of the embodiments described below, and that discuss other possible embodiments or implementations of the inventive concepts presented herein. Details and implementation will be described. Hereinafter, an outline of an embodiment of the present invention will be presented, and then a more detailed description will be given with reference to the drawings.

  Creating composite applications provides an alternative mechanism for providing information and resources for employees to do work. Composite applications can be created as views on access to data and services that can dynamically provide information based on the identity of participating users and / or projects. In one embodiment, the composite application is provided in a web browser. Therefore, access to specific data and work resources can be considered from one point of view as a pseudo Web site. A composite application is a modeled application that is generated within the framework, as described in more detail below.

  When referring to composite applications, or composite views and data access, the term “Web site” is a virtual concept. Rather than a Web site in the traditional sense where content is created in a standard language for browsing by a Web browser, the virtual concept of “Web site” refers to a view about data or services. Data and services may be provided from any number of entities in the enterprise, including files, databases, queries, applications, etc. The view is related to a business role or a user role. A business role refers to a position or status within an enterprise and may refer to a function or purpose to be provided by that role. Business roles can be assigned or associated with jobs or functions of status within the enterprise business process. The business role may be indicated in the business process or may be indicated in the central part of the company data. In one embodiment, the business role may be determined from context, such as determining the identity of the requester requesting the individual business process. Business roles may also be indicated when requesting a process (such as passing credentials).

  Views are also related to permissions. An authority is a data structure associated with a role. Also, authority is usually related to a specific activity or work task to be performed. Enforcement or application of authority, or use of authority, allows a view to be acquired and / or an operation to be performed. Authority allows access to services for displaying or manipulating data. Authority may include, but is not limited to, being able to modify or change data or processes, execute processes, display data, assign tasks associated with data or processes, and the like. In one embodiment, a new authority is provided, referred to herein as a “responsibility” authority or “responsible” authority. A responsible authority may specify the owner of a process or data. By specifying an owner, the responsible authority can acquire the view or ability associated with the process or data even when the owner is not specified to perform an operation on the process or data Can be. Thus, views and other privileges can generally be limited to only certain users who have a role associated with performing work. However, if there is a responsible authority, even a user who does not have a role to perform work on the process or data can access the process or data.

  In addition to roles and permissions, views may be related to activities, which are described in detail below. In general, an activity refers to work. The term “context” may be used herein to refer to any combination of roles, authorities, and / or activities. Thus, a context may refer to a specific role having a specific authority, an individual activity having an individual role, an individual role, an authority, an activity, and the like. Using context, a composite view can provide context mapping of data objects and processes based on some combination of roles, permissions, and activities. Context mapping allows views to be dynamic in context and function.

  The view of data may include what may be referred to as a dynamic work center and service directory in one embodiment. Views are provided based at least in part on roles, permissions, and activities. In short, a dynamic work center, as used herein, refers to a component associated with a work task. The service directory provides information, processes, and services that may include work tasks and components related to components that are independent of work tasks.

  Composite views allow employees to provide data and services dynamically. Data and services are dynamic because content can be assigned within the context of an activity based on business roles and permissions. The business role may be one of a plurality of roles of a single user, or may indicate a plurality of roles of different users. In addition to dynamically providing content based on the context of the data access or request for data, composite views also work in that the view can change as roles, activities, and / or permissions change. Can be In one embodiment, a work center is provided dynamically as work is assigned to a user. When a new employee is hired, a view of information and services related to the employee's work may be provided. The composite view can reflect changes related to employee movement. While work-related items may change automatically, transferred employees may choose to retain non-business “individual” content or non-role-related content. In addition, new features can be highlighted to facilitate transitions to new job requirements, access to training, access to new facility information, and the like. Thus, a service directory and / or “re-provision” of the work center may occur as a result of employee movement. Another change occurs when an employee is fired. In this case, the service directory or work center may be “unprovisioned” by deleting or aborting the composite view. Content may be moved directly to another employee, so that processes and data are assigned to another employee, and thus become part of another employee's composite view. Content reassignment may be performed.

  Views can include information, processes, dashboards, and the like. Information may include work-related items, such as business contact lists, project assignments, customer lists, products, group file links, and the like. Information includes daily items that are not necessarily directly related to work tasks, such as parking locations, emergency procedures, dangerous goods warnings, cafeteria locations / business hours / menus and “crowds”, neighborhood employee names and contact information, It may be related to guide map / arrangement map, how to get medical assistance, IT service, HR service, etc. Complex or aggregated information provides employees with benefits over simply pointing to websites, links, shared networks, etc.

  Access to the composite view can be via a corporate intranet. A composite view can be initiated upon employee login to any networked computer. While providing a general view of composite views, specific details may be more relevant for service directories or dynamic work centers. Note that these are just nicknames and can be called by other names. In addition, details of the service directory or work center are provided below, but these should be understood to provide an implementation of the composite view, and other implementations are possible.

  Work can be done in a dynamic work center. The work center provides an action execution environment. A dynamic work center is generated as a composite view or application that performs one or more actions associated with a work task. The composite application is generated from a framework that uses a service-oriented platform. An enterprise may include a repository of reusable business actions and data objects that can be used to create composite applications.

  In one embodiment, a dynamic work center provides a collection of other work centers, each associated with an individual action or activity and generated for the individual action or activity. A dynamic work center may allow access to all actions and activities of the user. A user's actions and activities represent the work that the user needs to perform or assign. A dynamic work center includes object instances for a given object instantiated for a particular action, activity, or guidance procedure. A dynamic work center application has a service-oriented, model-based architecture based on an application framework. A dynamic work center is a modeled application, so no event handler or screen is required to instantiate it.

  A dynamic work center provides callable services related to actions or work items and contexts. As a modeled application, a dynamic work center can provide callable services in addition to applications that span different functions from back-end systems. Callable services may be provided at the portal. A dynamic work center can provide traceable objects by being able to monitor the behavior of data objects that the dynamic work center can access (based on context, etc.).

  Work can be associated with individual objects that are first instantiated and then with work centers, guided procedures, actions, and / or activities (a set of actions), each renderable from an instantiated object Or callable. Once called, the action or activity work center can be converted to a guided procedure by a state transition. Similarly, guidance procedures can be converted into actions or activities by state transitions. The guidance procedure provides a frame that the user is guided to work on. The derivation procedure can serve as a framework (design time and run time) that supports the interactive dynamic scenario of the composite application described herein. In one embodiment, the guidance procedure is generated by utilizing the underlying JAVA ad hoc workflow engine and limiting its use to a relatively small number of patterns.

  As used herein, a work center can refer to a view in which actions relating to process tasks are to be performed, and may or may not refer to a dynamic work center. A dynamic work center can be understood to provide yet another context tool for a known work center. A dynamic work center can aggregate or access other work centers.

  The service directory provides a high-level view to data and processes. The service directory can serve as a starting point for information and mechanisms to do work. The service directory may include personal information in addition to the information described above. Information disclosure on the service directory employee web site can be subject to corporate security policies and employee management (including privacy personal disclosure / non-disclosure choices). Thus, each viewer of the personalization service directory may see a different view of the employee. Employees can add files, processes, and so on to their service directory to provide a single point of access to everything that is required or required in the work. Blogs, thread discussion groups for interests and skills, shareable files / photos, etc. should be provided to other employees according to security privileges.

  In one embodiment, service directories are aggregated by department, building, floor, geographic location, department, and so on. Service directories may or may not be partitioned from each other, either physically or logically, but may be stored individually or collectively in a single database. Multiple service directories may be provided based on the same enterprise data. In one embodiment, all personalization service directories are stored in a common (probably distributed) database and rendered as a view upon request (e.g., by login, by request to access data). The A distributed (or replicated) database can support fast access to the service directory.

  As mentioned above, the context indicates the individual environment in which the data resides. Objects have a “recognition” of these contexts and may be affected by the context. The context can be stored in metadata associated with the object. The work center provides an environment for interacting with objects (eg, accessing, changing, performing operations using data, etc.). Work is done through the execution of actions. Actions provide a mechanism for invoking services that perform operations related to data. Actions provide operations in the process. A process includes one or more phases or events, each with one or more actions. Some processes have a single phase, ie one thing to do (such as changing the address). Note that a particular phase of a process may link to one or more other processes via events. Some processes have multiple phases, i.e., do multiple things to complete the phase of the process or perform operations (e.g. raise employees). A process may be considered a set of actions that may include one or more actions.

  Each user may have permission to invoke various services and perform various actions that are dynamically displayed in the work center. Individual work centers include various items for which the user has permission for the activities represented by the work center. An activity is a stand-alone transaction. Some examples of many possible activities may include budgeting, hiring processes, performance review processes, or other management activities. An activity may also include another activity or process (eg, a management activity may include a “budget 2006 process”). Activities invoked within the framework described herein can accept input parameters and send feedback to their output parameters.

  In one embodiment, all actions and activities know the enterprise framework (meaning work center and context aware environment) in which they are executed. In an alternative embodiment, the function or process may be invoked from a program that does not know the enterprise framework. An unrecognized function can be invoked within an activity by identifying the activity and wrapping the external function with metadata that provides the necessary hooks to perform that function within the enterprise framework. The metadata wrapper allows access to its functionality without affecting the underlying program. The metadata may be modified for external programs or corporate data. Business processes and actions can affect metadata. Using metadata, it is possible to provide persistence to an external program by having changes from within the business process stored for another use of the external program.

  A work center or service directory can include individual standard views that can be customized or added by a composite view user. A view manager allows the view to be turned on or off and allows customization. For example, one standard view may be a view of the status of all activities or actions associated with the composite view (such as a work center). Another standard view can be a list of pending items for a particular user. Another view may provide a visualization of all services available within the composite view. A view manager can provide all views depending on context, taking into account individual rights or permissions. Other views may include views of activity participants, related documents, costs, and special purpose collaboration (such as thread discussions). The view manager can be generic so that each view applies to any composite view application and changes based on context changes.

  FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an embodiment of an application framework comprising runtime and design time components. Generally, the framework 100 utilizes and enhances the underlying enterprise base system 180, which is one or more elements of data and / or functionality for performing operations. Can be included. The framework 100 is modeled / generated software and provides a structure for generating composite applications. Composite applications may support semi-structured processes, be event-driven, process knowledge-based business scenarios, and / or support collaboration. In one embodiment, the composite application supports a JAVA stack. Composite applications can be divided into various parts, and each part may be generated / modeled separately. The composite application part may be implemented as Enterprise Java Beans (EJB) in one implementation, and in another implementation, the design-time component may be a runtime implementation, such as J2EE, ABAP, .NET. It is possible to have a function that can be generated on different platforms.

  Framework 100 generally allows compound applications to work within an existing system environment by separating the composite application from the underlying enterprise platform. Separating the application from the underlying enterprise platform can include providing communication to the backend system via a central interface and providing a backend independent object model. The framework 100 includes a design time component 102 and a run time component 104. The design time component 102 includes a modeling component for generating a composite application and one or more mechanisms for generating a model. In general, the design time component 102 serves to create a composite application that is executed by the runtime component 104.

  The design time component 102 includes a process modeler 110, a UI modeler 120, and a service modeler 130. These modelers are not necessarily separate entities, but can be separate entities. In addition, another modeling tool may be provided in the design time component 102. In general, a modeler allows business objects, business services, business processes, user interfaces, etc. to be integrated. The process modeler 110 includes the ability to generate one or more actions 112 that represent various phases of the process. Each action 112 has one or more associated operations that represent the work of that action 112. Action 112 can be part of the generated activity, or it can be part of a guided procedure that provides user interaction when performing the operation. In embodiments where action 112 is part of a guidance procedure, process modeler 110 includes information with each action 112 that performs the guidance procedure.

  The process modeler 110 also includes a context 114 that provides process awareness with respect to the operating enterprise system. If the function is used from an application that does not understand the enterprise system, the process modeler 110 can wrap the function in metadata and incorporate it into the system.

  A user interface (UI) modeler 120 enables a user interface to be generated and provide a view of data / processes that can be accessed through composite applications generated using the framework 100. The UI modeler 120 can generate any of several views 122 about the data. In one embodiment, a standard view or pattern is used for each application that is created. The user interface may include several elements from the template. Thus, a user interface may have several common components and provide a familiar look and feel across multiple applications. Some views depend on the environment in which the application is run. View 122 may include functionality that can dynamically generate a view based on roles, privileges, and activities associated with the application. The pattern configuration 124 of the UI modeler 120 allows the use of templates and standard UI components.

  Service modeler 130 allows composite applications to access data. Data objects are accessed through services. Thus, the service modeler 130 provides a service-oriented model for accessing data. In one embodiment, service modeler 130 provides an enterprise service architecture (ESA) in which applications are created by a service driven architecture rather than model driven. A service-driven architecture provides access to callable services that provide interaction with data. Service modeler 130 includes a service 132 that represents one or more services that may be provided. Services 132 may include, but are not limited to, guidance procedures, object monitoring, stand-alone actions, programs or functions, and the like. The entity 134 of the service modeler 130 provides components that are generated to access services or web services within the enterprise. The corporate or web service described herein is an entity in the network (in the corporate network or in the Internet) that is addressable and that provides functionality (such as airline reservations) based on request and / or input parameters Point to.

  The generation program 140 represents one or more components that convert the model into runtime components. In one embodiment, the generator program 140 is a single component, and in an alternative embodiment, the generator program 140 is a plurality of components.

  The runtime component 104 provides instantiation of items that are modeled using the design-time component 102 and includes various frameworks within which objects or service instances operate. Process framework 150 represents a framework under which one or more instances of a process can be executed. For example, the process framework 150 may include a guidance procedure 152, a generic work list 154, and / or a workflow instance 156. The guidance procedure 152 represents an example of the aforementioned guidance procedure. The generic work list 154 provides a list of all workflow or process items available to the user. A workflow or process is made available to the user via a user request operation for the workflow / process and / or through a user with responsibility for the workflow / process. The generic work list 154 can be used to access the work center for each available process. The workflow instance 156 provides an example of one or more workflows representing the user's requested work. A workflow may have one or more actions that a user performs.

  The UI framework 160 allows rendering views on data and processes. In one embodiment, UI framework 160 includes a view manager (not shown) that provides dynamic management of content displayed / presented to the user. UI framework 160 may include a UI component 162 that represents one or more elements of the user display. In one embodiment, UI component 162 includes elements that render the display within a web browser, although other environments may be used. In one embodiment, another application viewer may be used. UI pattern 164 provides a pattern and standard elements for rendering the user interface. UI pattern 164 may provide UI component 162. UI pattern 164 can be standard for any generated application and can be partially customized with instance-specific data templates with various components 162 that provide buttons, links, text, etc. It can be.

  In one embodiment, UI framework 160 includes a dynamic view 166. The dynamic view 166 represents a view having one or more dynamic components and may change the content of the application provided to the user. The dynamic view 166 changes content based on user rights. Content can be dynamically changed to reflect individual organizational changes (movement, promotion, termination, etc.) and changes in the underlying data or service content.

  The service framework 170 performs data access through services available to the user. A user can access one or more entity services 172, application services 174, JAVA data object (JDO) services 176, and / or external services 178. Application service 174 represents a service that is local to the composite application, ie, can be directly accessed by the application. The JDO 176 can access the data 182 of the enterprise basic system 180. Similarly, enterprise base system 180 may include remote functions accessed via one or more remote function calls (RFCs) 184, or one or more web services 186. External service 178 accesses remote elements (such as RFC 184 and Web service 186).

  Metadata 106 represents an abstraction of one or more data and / or access / service resources that can be accessed and utilized by design-time component 102 and run-time component 104. The metadata 106 is not necessarily an internal resource of one of the components, and it should not be understood that only the component is available. Metadata 106 provides a repository that includes another application part for use in modeling and / or executing business objects, business services, business processes, and / or application parts. Thus, whether in the local database, in the remote database, or in a combination of both, not only the data source but also the application part can be modeled. In one embodiment, the content of metadata 106 includes information that extends beyond a specific implementation of the application portion. There may also be a repository that describes a specific implementation that can be satisfied from a more general repository. Metadata 106 may be understood as including general repository information, specific repository information, or a combination of repository information.

  Composite view 190 represents a composite application provided through framework 100. The composite view 190 can be a service directory or a dynamic work center according to any embodiment described herein. Composite view 190 includes one or more elements of data 192 and one or more services 194. The runtime component 104 creates an instance of the modeled element that is presented as a composite view 190. Composite view 190 relies on contextual information that provides the dynamic content of composite view 190.

  FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an embodiment of an enterprise service architecture. The enterprise service architecture provides an architecture for providing dynamic content views and access via the access portal 210. The access portal 210 can be any type of network portal for accessing a company.

  The system of FIG. 2 may include providers of multiple types of functions that are combined as a composite application. For example, but not limited to, a composite application is considered to include a plurality of components from several function providers. The use of different feature providers should not be understood as a requirement for the creation of the dynamic data view described herein. Examples of possible function providers include a modeled process 250, a traditional application 260, and an external function 270.

  Modeled process 250 includes, for example, one or more processes generated from modeled components according to the framework shown in FIG. Modeled process 250 includes data 258 that represents data associated with the process of modeled process 250. One element of the process is phase 252 which may include several actions or activities or guidance procedures.

  Conventional application 260 includes one or more processes generated from a more conventional application. In this case, the more conventional application is not modeled, unlike the modeling process 260. Rather than being modeled and generated, traditional applications 260 may include services and data that are not based on unique functions or standard components available across subsystems. Conventional application 260 includes data 268 representing data related to the process of conventional application 260. One element of the process is phase 262, which may include the functionality required for dynamic composite views. Traditional application 260 and modeled process 250 may understand the underlying framework and system in which the composite view is instantiated. Thus, phases 252 and 262 may recognize the context.

  External functions 270 include one or more processes available outside the enterprise system environment. For example, the external function 270 may represent a function available from a program that is a third party with respect to the enterprise system. External function 270 may be a remote function that is accessed and executed. Phases 272 and 274 represent external function 270 process phases required for composite applications. The metadata may be included when retrieving components from the external function 270 and can act as a wrapper for incorporating the external function.

  Service 280 represents one or more services that can provide services to the composite process. Services 280 include services 282 that provide services to be incorporated into composite processes of composite applications.

  The selected process phase and service (s) are pulled into the enterprise service architecture 230 via the composite application framework 240. Composite application framework 240 is a framework according to an embodiment of framework 100 of FIG. Process phases can also be generated in frameworks that are not pulled from existing processes. For example, the composite application framework may model phase 242 as an element of a composite application process. Each of the phases and services selected for the composite application is combined to generate a composite application 220 that includes a composite process 222 that is generated with various selection elements. That is, the phases 252, 242, 262, 272, and 274 are combined to form a composite process 222 that is accessible to the user via the access portal 210.

  In one embodiment, the system of FIG. View manager 290 provides management of views available to the user via access portal 210. For example, the composite application 220 may be restricted to be accessible only to users with certain privileges, including roles and permissions within the context of the activity. The view manager 290 determines a role module 292 that determines what role the user has, or under what role the user is requesting access to the composite process 222 (e.g., trying to "browse"). (For example, a user may have multiple roles, ie, a role with permission to access the composite process 222 and a role without that permission). View manager 290 includes an authority module or manager 294 that determines the roles or authorities associated with a particular context. View manager 290 may determine what activities are associated with composite process 222 and which can be used in determining authority. In one embodiment, the authority module 294 of the view manager 290 enforces authority and restricts the view without proper authority for it. View manager 290 further includes a view generation module 296 that generates a view based on role and activity permissions and provides the view in response to a request for access.

  FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating an embodiment of a composite application architecture. Composite application 310 is an example of a composite application or view according to any embodiment described herein. Composite application 310 is generated using a service-oriented architecture that allows access to components that span different functions of the back-end system. Composite application 310 includes composite access view 312 that changes content as the underlying accessed system component changes and responds to various permissions used to access the composite application. Represents a dynamic view that changes content. Composite access view 312 includes roles and work centers, composite application specific user interfaces, and the like. With respect to dynamic views, the composite access view 312 may display certain content in response to a call by a user with certain privileges. In response to calls by different users with different privileges or calls by the same user with different privileges, different content may be displayed and different access may be allowed.

  Composite application 310 includes a composite application (app) object 320 that represents an object associated with composite application 310. Composite application object 320 includes a situation / action management (mgt) 322 that can be used to track composite application object 320. Situation / action management 322 may manage object behavior and provide consistency between instances of composite application object 320 and enterprise platform 330. Composite application object 320 has an associated composite application agent 314 that provides input and output to and from object 320. In one embodiment, composite application agent 314 is a plurality of agent entities and can be an input agent and an output agent. In addition, composite application agent 314 may provide inquiries or requests to composite application object 320. In one embodiment, each object of composite application 310 has a separate agent (s). In another embodiment, composite application agent 314 is associated with composite application 310 and provides services for multiple object instances within composite application 310.

  The enterprise platform 330 may include a plurality of objects 340, 350, each object having an interface agent, specifically, interface agents 344 and 354, respectively. Via the agent, objects 340 and 350 may access or be accessed from other components of enterprise platform 330. Objects 340 and 350 also include situation / action management 342 and 352, respectively. Objects 340 and 350 represent objects from which a particular instance can be created in composite application 310.

  Enterprise platform 330 includes a backend 360 that provides enterprise backend components. The back end 360 may include a framework 362, which may be a composite application framework described herein that provides a framework for generating the composite application 310. Engine service 364 provides a back-end service that is used to create composite application 310. The subordinate object 366 and the master data object 368 represent the types of objects that can be used in the back end 360.

  The enterprise platform 330 also includes an enterprise server 370 with information management 372 that provides management functions including analysis, search, tasks, master data, and the like.

  FIG. 4A is a block diagram illustrating an embodiment of a user equipment comprising a service directory. User equipment 410 represents computer equipment on which a user accesses a company. In one embodiment, user equipment 410 includes a browser 412 representing a web browser or a program that acts as a user agent for accessing network content. Browser 412 provides an example of a program that can be used to display a service directory or a dynamic work center or other composite application. In one embodiment, the browser 412 includes a service directory 420 that represents a type of composite application that can be generated from enterprise data using a framework. Service directory 420 includes work center 422, data 424, and service 426.

  Work center 422 represents one or more applications in which work level actions should be performed. Work center 422 may be a known work center or a dynamic work center as described herein. The service directory 420 may activate the work center 422, but is not necessarily for accessing the work center 422. The work center 422 is accessed via the management center or another work center. Note that it is also possible. Data 424 represents data objects and other information that may be displayed to the user in a dynamic view. Service 426 represents one or more services available to the user from within service directory 420. In summary, work center 422, data 424, and service 426 are the contents of service directory 420. The contents of the service directory 420 are dynamically provided based on the context 414. The context 414 represents any combination of the aforementioned roles, activities, and privileges.

  The enterprise service interface 430 represents one or more components that allow the user equipment 410 to access the network and the underlying enterprise system. In one embodiment, enterprise service interface 430 includes a view manager that restricts the contents of service directory 420 according to context 414. The enterprise service interface 430 may also include a portal for accessing the network 440. Network 440 may include any type of network and represents both hardware and software, or network protocol (s) with which user equipment 410 accesses server 450. The network 440 may include a local area network (LAN), a wireless LAN (WLAN), a virtual private network (VPN), a virtual LAN (VLAN), a wide area network (including the Internet), and the like.

  Server 450 includes a framework 452 that generates a service directory as a composite application. Server 450 is an enterprise server and provides access to one or more services 460 that may be incorporated into service directory 420 and one or more elements of enterprise data 470. Enterprise data 470 may include any type of data or information, including, for example, extensible markup language (XML) data, enterprise resource planning database (ERPDB) 474, or other data 476. May be included. As described above, there is no restriction on the types of data accessible to the service directory 420 other than through permissions provided through authority.

  FIG. 4B is a block diagram illustrating an embodiment of a user equipment comprising a dynamic work center. Similar to FIG. 4A, the browser 412 may include the dynamic work center 480 as a composite application. The application of the context 414 and the function of the enterprise service interface 430 may be the same as or similar to those of the service directory 420.

  Dynamic work center 480 includes data 484 and service 486 similar to data 424 and service 426 in service directory 420. The range of content in the dynamic work center may be limited to activities or processes, or other work center activations, and may be limited by the service directory 420. The dynamic work center 480 also includes a workflow 482 having one or more actions 488. In one embodiment, the dynamic work center 480 exists only after a workflow 482 is assigned to a user who has logged on to the user equipment 410. The workflow 482 includes work to be performed by the user.

  FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating an embodiment of a callable service. As described above, a composite application is generated using a framework. Service directory 512 and work center 514 are examples of composite applications that may be generated. The composite application can access the callable service 520 based on the authority received from the authority manager 540. Thus, data or services available through the enterprise system can be viewed and accessed from the composite application based on permissions associated with the authority data structure. The authority manager 540 generates or determines an authority based on the context of the data request. The view manager, in conjunction with the rights manager 540, determines rights by determining what roles exist and potentially what permissions are associated with that role. Authority can also be determined by determining what processes are involved in the case of work level composite applications (such as work center 514).

  The authority manager 540 may include a role module 542 and an authority module 544, both of which are examples of similar modules described above. In brief, the role module 542 determines the role associated with the action to allow the rights manager 540 to provide rights appropriate to the context. The authority module 544 allows the authority manager 540 to generate authorities. The role module 542 and the authority module 544 work in conjunction with an activity manager 546 that represents one or more components that allow the authority manager 540 to determine the activities for which the callable service 520 should be invoked. Permissions can be modeled for specific activities and roles. Similarly, activities can be generated for a given authority and role.

  Callable services 520 can include one or more services that can be invoked and invoked by a composite application. For example, the trackable object 522 represents any object that can be monitored or whose behavior is observed. A stand-alone action (SAA) 524 represents an action or activity that is a complete transaction. Some transactions access or call other processes. A stand-alone action is a transaction that is completed after the work associated with the action is completed in the work center. Note that a stand-alone action can be part of a larger activity or process having multiple parts or phases.

  Work center 526 can be part of service directory 512 that serves as a management center or part of work center 514, which can be a dynamic representation of all work. Program 528 represents a function or service provided by a software executable module or routine. The guidance procedure 530 provides an action guidance process that helps the user to complete work involving several phases. The universal resource locator (URL) 532 represents the address of a service or a website that provides the service.

  The data object is accessed and processed via a service accessible to the user. Via the callable service 520, the user of the composite application may access the data object 560. The callable service 520 may also include an input 552, an output 554, and other interactions 556. Input 552 represents input parameters that affect how the callable service is accessed or how the callable service is executed. Output 554 represents a result or report generated by callable service 520 in connection with performing a data access. Other interactions 556 may be, for example, authorization decisions associated with authority 540, enterprise level context, or the like.

  FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating one embodiment of a dynamic work center that can access multiple backend services. The role layer 602 includes a user context 610 that includes the aforementioned context and affects what view or access the user has to the data or service. The management center 620 provides a container for a user to manage work and access the work center associated with completing the work. One user may include several roles 622-626. Roles 622-626 may also represent different user roles accessing the same process. Different roles can dynamically yield different views based on the permissions associated with that role. In one embodiment, the administrator or administrator has all available permissions. Thus, a role may belong to the user as the creator, which results in a specific view. One role may belong to an administrator, which leads to another view. An administrator with all permissions may have a third view on the same process. These differences are related to different roles even if the underlying basic system is the same.

  Below the role layer 602 is Apps, a composite application layer 604. xApps 604 includes elements that span several different functions that can be used to create dynamic composite applications. Examples of composite systems may include xRPM (Composite Resource Planning Management) 632, xMA (Composite Merger Acquisition) 634, xPD (Composite Product Data) 636, and others 638. In addition or alternatively, other systems may be involved in the dynamic composite application. These composite applications access the underlying basic system at the back end 606. Examples of such back-end systems include finance 642, HR (HR) 644, project system 646, procurement 648, and others 650.

  FIG. 7 is a block diagram illustrating an embodiment of a management center having a dynamic work center. User context 710 determines the roles and permissions for the user to access the data. The user context 710 determines what can be accessed via the management center 720 that provides a view of the work. In one embodiment, the service directory acts as a management center. From the management center 720, a user can access a work center 730, 750, or 760, a general work list 772, a dashboard 774, a favorites 776, or other views 778. The generic worklist 772 provides a view of the work (workflows, actions, processes, etc.) to be performed by the user. Dashboard 774 provides another view for viewing the status of work or work to be performed by the user. Another possible view is the favorite view 776, which shows recent or long-term access history, selected settings (e.g. showing work items scheduled within the next 3 days), or assigned views. Data may be shown based on (eg, prompted by an administrator). Other views 778 are possible.

  Work center 730 includes actions for performing work. Work center 730 is dynamic and allows the content provided to the user to be changed. Thus, the user can be provided with information that is meaningful and most relevant to the performance of the work. Examples of views about work center 730 content include activity actions 732 (individual tasks to be performed), activity worklist 734 (list of all work activities), activity dashboard 736 (work tasks more spatial, Schematic layout), activity favorites 738 (eg, customized views of activities), or other views 840 are included. Although not explicitly shown, work centers 750 and 760 can also have similar views. Not only can the user change from view to view, the content represented by any of the views also changes dynamically as described herein.

  FIG. 8 is a block diagram illustrating an embodiment of a dynamic work center accessed via a tab view. In the following, Figure 8 is described in terms of a tabbed view that allows access to the annual raise and bonus (ARB) process, but a dynamic work center provides for any of several processes. And can access the dynamic work center through other views. The tab view 801 is provided to the user via the user interface. The user interface can be rendered via a web browser as described above. Tab view 801 includes tabs that can be selected to provide various context views for information. A tab is provided by the system for each process started in the system for which permissions allow access to that view. Thus, a tab indicates the presence or absence of a process that allows an authority to access it. The tab view 801 is affected based on roles and privileges. In one embodiment, the tabs are accessible because the user's role and authority in the tab view 801 can access each of the categories represented by each tab. In brief, tabs are shown for ARB 803, Sales Council (SR) 804, Customer Process (CP) 805, and Achievement Target Setting (PTS) 806. Other tabs may exist if other processes have been started that allow the authority to access it. A tab that can be labeled ARB 803 allows for integrated access to multiple back-end systems, such as HR system 821, financial system 822, DRM system 823, project system 824, and the like. Services of multiple systems can be accessed across different functions via modeled software.

  Participants 810 include individuals 811-814, who are participants in the ARB803 process (HR (HR) personnel, auditors, managers, evaluated employees, approvers). Etc.). In one embodiment, participant 810 represents a role in the process, and thus an individual may represent multiple participants (eg, if the administrator is an approver, or similar situations). In addition, an individual may have different roles depending on the context of the ARB 803 process (eg, an employee to be evaluated in one example and an approver in another example). Each participant receives a dynamic work center associated with the ARB 803 process, and each dynamic work center allows access to activities, guidance procedures, and workflow tasks associated with a particular role. Thus, multiple participants 810 may participate in the entire process, each having a different view of the same entire process, and having different activities within the process based on role.

  In one embodiment, each tab in tab view 801 may be considered a work center that provides information and links for performing work. A user aggregates work centers and accesses work tasks via a management center 802 that provides navigation to the work. The management center 802 can allow access to a generic worklist 807 that can provide a list of all tasks for individual users of individual roles. The management center 802 may also allow access to the service directory 808 described herein. In short, the service directory 808 may allow access to work as well as other information of the user (eg, may allow access to the dynamic work center 830).

  The dynamic work center 830 dynamically enables access to services and views based on roles and privileges determined for individual instantiations. Subsequently, examples of items potentially accessible via the dynamic work center 830 will be described, but this is not an exhaustive description of the types of items available or a description for limitation.

  The dynamic work center 830 allows access to one or more callable services 840. The callable service 840 may include input fields, service links, or other mechanisms that can perform work. Callable services include stand-alone action (SAA) 841, guidance procedure 842, program 843 (external application functionality, etc.), another work center that can be activated and accessed via dynamic work center 830 A work center 844, a trackable object 845, a stand-alone business (SAbiz) process 847, and / or a uniform resource locator (URL) 848 may be included. The stand-alone action 841 and the guidance procedure 842 are as described above. The independent business process 847 is a self-contained business process similar to the independent action 841. Independent business process 847 can be accessed and executed from within dynamic work center 830. URL 848 may provide a locator for individual services that allow roles and permissions to access it. The traceable object 845 can be any object or service that can be monitored. In one embodiment, the trackable object 845 allows access to a wide variety of types of views 846 that can provide various ways of tracking the object. The callable service 840 provides functionality to execute processes associated with the ARB 803.

  The dynamic work center 830 also allows access to a situation 850 that can provide a view of one or more processes so that the situation can be determined. In one embodiment, instead of or in addition to the input field, status 850 may provide tables, graphs, and / or other views for determining process status. In one embodiment, the situation 850 includes a thumbnail view of the process. Each view can be high-level, drillable, detailed, or some combination. The situation 850 may include a briefing book 851, a key performance indicator (KPI) 852, and / or a process dashboard 853. The briefing book 851 may provide an automated status report that reports according to schedule (weekly, every few days, etc.) or asynchronously (such as the user choosing to update the status “immediately”). KPI852 can provide an overview of the process and allow access to more detailed information through drill-down. The process dashboard 853 may provide an aggregated view of multiple processes, for example, aggregated by process type, department, or other aggregation factor. Situation 850 can provide information regarding promotions that occur during employee evaluations with salary increases and / or bonuses.

  Work center worklist 860 provides a worklist of tasks for individual workflows, rather than a general view of the tasks provided by generic worklist 807. The work center work list 860 is specific to the process or activity selected and viewed at the dynamic work center 830 and can include a pending workflow 861. In the ARB 803 example, the work center work list 860 may provide a list of all workflows (corresponding to work centers) that have tasks associated with annual pay raises and bonus roles.

  The dynamic work center 830 also allows access to other views 870 that may provide other views regarding work associated with the authority for which the dynamic work center 830 is instantiated. Other views 870 may include anything related to the process. For example, other views 870 may allow access to process context 871, document 872, details 873, cost 874, and template 875. Document 872 can be any document attached to the process. Details 873 may include a list of participants or other parameters of the process. The cost view 874 can show expenditures and comparisons to other processes or to goals. Template 875 can be any form of customized view associated with a process.

  FIG. 9 is a flow diagram illustrating an embodiment for generating a composite application. The composite application controller instantiates the data object (902). The controller controls the generation of the composite application. The controller determines authority to access the data object (904). Authority can be determined in response to a request for access to a data object. Authority provides permission to access data and services. The controller can determine 906 what services and data are associated with the authority. In the composite application, the services and data associated with the authority are accessible.

  The controller can model the design-time component of the composite application for services and data determined to be accessible using authority (908). The composite application is modeled software and is generated based on authority. In one embodiment, a composite application is generated for each data access. Composite applications may be regenerated or changed when permissions or other contexts change.

  A view on the data to be provided by the composite application may also be modeled (910). From the composite application model, the composite application controller can instantiate the composite application by generating a runtime component of the composite application (912). Note that some of the operations described above can be a single operation and some involve multiple operations. The order of operations is not necessarily limited to the example shown in FIG. 9, and may be changed in other implementations.

  FIG. 10 is a flow diagram illustrating an embodiment for accessing data in a composite view. The enterprise interface receives a request for data (1002). A request for data can be made by the user explicitly trying to access the process or data, or by the user subsequently signing in to a work center or service directory that provides the user with a view of the data and work. Can be generated. The interface identifies the role associated with the request (1004). In one embodiment, roles may be explicitly selected within a service directory or work center. In alternative embodiments, roles may be determined in context, such as by username and password, by identifying what type of process is being viewed.

  In one embodiment, the interface identifies an activity associated with the role (1006). Depending on the data and authority, the activities involved are not related to authorization. For some data and views, identifying the activity is an essential part of determining whether the requested view or requested data can be provided. From roles and potentially activities, the interface can determine permissions based on the roles and activities (1008). Authority can depend on what views can be provided within a specific role of a specific activity.

  The interface determines (1010) the access associated with the authority. Access can be read, manipulated, “responsible” by the user, or any other permission to access the data in some way. The possible access may determine what services are provided in the view. The interface determines the view of activity within the scope of roles and privileges (1012). The interface can determine a view of data that is not associated with a workflow or data associated with an individual workflow process. In one embodiment, an individual requested view may be provided, with restrictions on what data or processes a user can access from within that view. Certain views may be denied because the user does not have permission to access them. If the view and service based on access are known, the composite application manager can generate a composite application that provides the determined view (1014).

  While various descriptions herein refer to managers or modules, these may include hardware, software, and / or combinations thereof. If the component performing the functions described herein includes software, the software data, instructions, and / or configuration may be provided by a machine / electronic device / hardware product. An article of manufacture may include a machine-readable medium having content that provides instructions, data, and the like. This content may result in the electronic devices described herein that implement the various operations or executions described above. A machine-readable medium includes any mechanism that provides (i.e. stores and / or transmits) information / content in a form accessible by a machine (computing device, electronic device, electronic system / subsystem, etc.). . For example, machine readable media include recordable / non-recordable media (read only memory (ROM), random access memory (RAM), magnetic disk storage media, optical storage media, flash memory devices, etc.). The machine-readable medium may further include an electronic device having code loaded on a storage device that can be executed when the electronic device is operating. Thus, distributing an electronic device having such a code can be understood as providing an article of manufacture having the content described herein. Furthermore, storing the code in a database or other storage location and providing the code for download via a communication medium is also understood to provide an article of manufacture having the contents described herein. To get.

  In addition to the contents described herein, various modifications can be made to the disclosed embodiments and implementations of the present invention without departing from the scope of the present invention. Accordingly, the description and examples herein should be construed as illustrative rather than limiting. The scope of the invention should be assessed solely by reference to the appended claims.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an embodiment of an application framework that includes components at run time and design time. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an embodiment of an enterprise service architecture. FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an embodiment of a composite application architecture. FIG. FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating an embodiment of a user equipment comprising a service directory. FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating an embodiment of a user equipment comprising a dynamic work center. FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating an embodiment of a callable service. FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an embodiment of a dynamic work center that can access multiple backend services. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an embodiment of a management center having a dynamic work center. FIG. FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating an embodiment of a dynamic work center accessed via a tab view. 5 is a flow diagram illustrating an embodiment for generating a composite application. 6 is a flow diagram illustrating an embodiment for accessing data in a composite view.

Explanation of symbols

100 framework
102 Design time
104 Run time
106 metadata
110 Process Modeler
112 Action
114 Context
120 UI modeler
122 Views
124 Pattern composition
130 Service Modeler
132 Services
134 entities
140 Generator
150 process framework
152 Guidance procedure
154 General-purpose worklist
156 Workflow instance
160 UI framework
162 UI components
164 UI patterns
166 dynamic views
170 Service Framework
172 Entity Service
174 Application Service
176 JAVA (registered trademark) data object
178 External service
180 Basic corporate system
182 and 192 data
184 Remote function call
186 Web Service
190 Compound View
194 Service
210 Access Portal
220 Composite applications
230 Corporate Service Architecture
240 Composite Application Framework
250 Modeled process
258, 268, 278 data
260 Traditional applications
270 External function
280 Service
290 View Manager
292 Role Module
294 Authorization Module
296 View Generation Module

Claims (22)

Identifying the business role associated with the request for data related to the work activity of the workflow,
Determining authority for access to the requested data, the authority based at least in part on the context of the business role;
Generating an action center as a modeled software application that enables dynamic access to the data and callable services that perform the work activity, the dynamic access at least in part And a step based on the determined authority.   The method of claim 1, wherein the work activity of the workflow includes a plurality of different actions. Determining the authority for access to the requested data comprises:
The method of claim 1, comprising determining whether to allow access to perform one or more of changing the data, deleting the data, or generating new data. Method. Determining the authority comprises:
The method of claim 1, comprising determining a responsibility authority to indicate that the workflow is an owner. Determining the responsibility authority to indicate the owner of the workflow;
Determining responsibility authority that allows the action center to dynamically access the data, whether the business role is associated with the work activity of the workflow or not. 5. A method according to claim 4, characterized in that Determining the authority based on the context of the business role comprises:
Determining credentials of a requester making the request for the data;
The method of claim 1, further comprising deriving the business role from the qualification information and the workflow. Generating the action center to allow dynamic access to the callable service comprises:
Generating the action center to allow access to one or more of a stand-alone action, stand-alone process, guidance procedure, or uniform resource locator (URL) indicating the address of a service. The method according to claim 1. Generating the action center to allow dynamic access to the callable service comprises:
2. The method of claim 1, comprising generating the action center to allow access to functions from an external program. Generating the action center to allow dynamic access to the callable service comprises:
2. The method of claim 1, comprising generating the action center to allow access to a view that monitors an object. Receiving a request for workflow work activity, the request indicating a business role associated with the request;
Determining authority for access to the requested work activity, the authority based at least in part on the context of the business role;
Generating an action center as a modeled software application that allows dynamic access to data associated with the work activity and a callable service that performs the work activity, the dynamic access comprising: An article of manufacture comprising a machine-readable medium having stored thereon content for providing instructions for causing a machine to execute instructions including at least a portion based on the determined authority. The instructions for receiving the request are:
11. The article of manufacture of claim 10, further comprising instructions for receiving a request to view a work center associated with the workflow. The instruction to receive the request to direct the business role is:
Instructions for identifying system credentials associated with the request;
11. The product according to claim 10, further comprising an instruction for determining the business role from the system qualification information related to the workflow. A business role module that receives a request for data related to a workflow work activity and identifies a business role associated with the request;
At least in part, an authority module that determines an authority for access to the requested data based on a context of the business role;
A view generation module that generates a software action center modeled based at least in part on the determined authority, allowing dynamic access to the data and callable services that perform the work activity And a view manager.   14. The view manager according to claim 13, wherein the view generation module generates an action center that aggregates other work centers each associated with a workflow.   The view generation module generates an action center that enables access to perform one or more of changing the data, deleting the data, or generating new data. The view manager of 13.   The view generation module includes one or more of a stand-alone action, a stand-alone process, a guidance procedure, a uniform resource locator (URL) indicating a service address, a function from an external program, or a view for monitoring an object. 14. The view manager of claim 13, generating an action center that enables dynamic access to the callable services that it contains. A business role module that receives a request for data and identifies a business role associated with the request for data; and
An activity manager that determines an activity associated with the request for data;
At least in part, an authority module that generates an authority to access the requested data based on the business role context and the determined activity, wherein the authority accesses the data An authority manager comprising: an authority module that enables modeling of services in a modeled software application for   18. The authority manager of claim 17, wherein the authority module generates different authorities when the activity manager identifies an activity change.   The authority module is responsible for instructing the owner role of the data to enable access to the data, regardless of whether the business role has work to be performed on the requested data. 18. The authority manager according to claim 17, wherein the authority manager is generated. A web browser,
A business role module that receives a request for data related to a work activity in a workflow and identifies a business role associated with the request, access to the requested data based at least in part on the context of the business role An authority module for determining an authority for the data, and based on the determined authority at least in part to allow dynamic access to the data and callable service that performs the work activity, And a view manager having a view generation module for generating a software action center modeled in a Web browser.   The system of claim 20, wherein the modeled software application comprises a composite application.   21. The system of claim 20, wherein the view manager generates a view through the modeled software application by utilizing a service-oriented composite application framework.

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