JP2016071725A - Workflow control program, workflow control method and information processing unit - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To process plural processing requests which includes an identical processing flow even when branches are included in the workflow.SOLUTION: A condition branch determination section 35 determines whether or not the next node is a branching node. When the next node is a branching node, the condition branch determination section 35 determines the branching condition for each of the slips. When the condition branch determination section 35 determines that plural branching points are included, a different route shift control unit 36 allots a new process instance ID and copies the control information and the history information to create the new process instance.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

  The present invention relates to a workflow control program, a workflow control method, and an information processing apparatus.

  In recent years, workflows have been applied not only to the field of managing the flow of human work but also to the field of EAI and ESB that integrate corporate computer systems. Here, EAI is Enterprise Application Integration, and ESB is Enterprise Service Bus.

  In the field of EAI and ESB, the highest possible throughput is required. However, in the method of controlling the flow of workflow processing for each processing request, workflow processing is executed by the number of processing requests. Processing costs are high. Also, since a workflow process instance is created for each processing request, the amount of data increases as the number of processing requests increases, increasing the overhead of data manipulation and data management. Here, the process instance is data for managing the state of the workflow processing flow and the execution history.

  Therefore, a plurality of processing requests having the same processing route are bundled and processed. FIG. 17 is a diagram for explaining an ESB system that bundles and processes a plurality of processing requests having the same processing route. In FIG. 17, a slip represents a processing request. Company X, Company Y and Company Z are companies that use the ESB system, and send slips a to g to the ESB device 9.

  As shown in FIG. 17, among the slips a to g, the slip a, the slip b, the slip d, the slip e, and the slip g are processed by the same processing route, and the slip c and the slip f are processed by the same processing route. . Specifically, slip a, slip b, slip d, slip e, and slip g are processed by the processing route of in-house system A → internal system B → external system C or in-house system A → external system C. The slip f is processed by a processing route of in-house system D → external system C.

  Therefore, the ESB system creates and processes one process instance by binding the slip a, slip b, slip d, slip e, and slip g, and creates one process instance by binding the slip c and the slip f. To process.

  In this way, by creating one process instance by bundling slips for each processing route, the ESB device 9 can reduce the processing cost and reduce the overhead of data operation and data management. it can.

  In addition, as a conventional technology related to workflow, multiple processes that have reached the merge activity are temporarily stopped and saved, and multiple processes that meet the waiting conditions are integrated and executed, so that the process can be executed under the specified conditions. There are workflow technologies that enable integration. In addition, it is determined whether at least one synchronization condition is achieved based on the activated branch among the input branches at the synchronization point, and the branch condition for selecting at least one output branch from the synchronization point is evaluated, so that the necessary execution order is achieved. There are techniques that make it possible to arrange processing tasks. Also, by having a copy control node for copying matters, and making the matter copied by the copy control node into a process flow that operates independently and in parallel for the number of matters, for example, matters with different number of approval requests Is a technology that can be deployed on the same process flow.

JP 2009-43199 A JP 2008-299836 A JP 2003-44637 A

  In a workflow, one process instance holds one state and history information associated with a state change (node transition), and therefore cannot simultaneously pass through different processing routes due to conditional branching. Therefore, when a plurality of slips having the same processing route are handled by one process instance, there is a problem that a branch cannot be included in the processing route.

  In one aspect, the present invention provides a workflow control program, a workflow control method, and an information processing apparatus capable of handling a plurality of slips of the same processing route with one process instance even when the processing route includes a branch. With the goal.

  In one aspect, the workflow control program disclosed in the present application is a process in which a plurality of processing requests having the same node transition are bundled in a workflow including a task node indicating execution of processing and a branch node indicating branching of a flow in a computer. Create an instance. Then, the workflow control program acquires a conditional branch determination condition when the next node of the node being processed in the processing of the process instance created by the computer is a branch node, and based on the acquired determination condition To determine the branch destination of each processing request. Then, the workflow control program causes the computer to generate a new process instance that bundles the processing requests with the same branch destination when there are a plurality of determined branch destinations.

  According to one embodiment, a plurality of slips of the same processing route can be handled by one process instance even when the processing route includes a branch.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of an ESB system. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a functional configuration of the ESB device. FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining creation of a process instance by the start unit. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of a data structure of route information. FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of the data structure of the flow information. FIG. 6A is a first diagram for explaining processing by the conditional branch determination unit and the different route transition control unit. FIG. 6B is a second diagram for explaining processing by the conditional branch determination unit and the different route transition control unit. FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing a process flow of the ESB apparatus. FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing a flow of processing for each process instance. FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing the flow of the branch determination execution process. FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a functional configuration of the ESB device according to the second embodiment. FIG. 11 is a diagram for explaining processing by the conditional branch determination unit and the different route transition control unit. FIG. 12A is a first diagram for explaining details of processing by the conditional branch determination unit. FIG. 12B is a second diagram for explaining the details of the processing by the conditional branch determination unit. FIG. 12C is a third diagram for describing the details of the processing by the conditional branch determination unit. FIG. 12D is a fourth diagram for explaining details of processing by the conditional branch determination unit. FIG. 13A is a first diagram for explaining details of processing by the different route transition control unit. FIG. 13B is a second diagram for explaining details of processing by the different route transition control unit. FIG. 13C is a third diagram for explaining details of processing by the different route transition control unit. FIG. 13D is a fourth diagram for explaining details of processing by the different route transition control unit. FIG. 14 is a flowchart showing the flow of processing for each process instance. FIG. 15A is a first flowchart showing a flow of branch determination execution processing. FIG. 15B is a second flowchart illustrating the flow of the branch determination execution process. FIG. 16 is a diagram illustrating a hardware configuration of a computer that executes the workflow control program according to the first and second embodiments. FIG. 17 is a diagram for explaining the ESB system.

  Embodiments of a workflow control program, a workflow control method, and an information processing apparatus disclosed in the present application will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings. The embodiments do not limit the disclosed technology.

  First, the configuration of the ESB system will be described. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of an ESB system. As shown in FIG. 1, the ESB system 10 includes an ESB device 1, an in-house system A, an in-house system B, and an external system C. The in-house system A and the in-house system B are connected to the ESB device 1 via the in-house network 11. The external system C is connected to the ESB device 1 via the external network 12.

  The ESB device 1 is a device that receives processing requests from companies X, Y, and Z, which are users of the ESB system 10, controls processing for the processing requests, and returns processing results. Company X, Company Y and Company Z are connected to the ESB device 1 via the external network 12.

  The in-house system A and the in-house system B are internal systems that process processing requests as workflow task nodes, and the external system C is an external system that processes processing requests as workflow task nodes. The ESB device 1 requests a system inside and outside the company to perform processing based on the processing route specified by the processing request.

  Here, in-house system A and in-house system B are shown as in-house systems, but ESB system 10 may include more or fewer in-house systems. Although only the external system C is shown here as the external system, the ESB system 10 may include more external systems. Here, company X, company Y, and company Z are shown as users of the ESB system 10, but the ESB system 10 may be used by more or fewer users.

  Next, the functional configuration of the ESB device 1 will be described. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a functional configuration of the ESB device 1. As illustrated in FIG. 2, the ESB device 1 includes a storage unit 2 that stores information, a workflow control unit 3 that controls processing, and a communication control unit 4 that communicates with other systems.

  The storage unit 2 includes a reception information storage unit 21, a control information storage unit 22, a history information storage unit 23, a business information storage unit 24, and a route information storage unit 25. The workflow control unit 3 includes a reception unit 31, a start unit 32, a processing request unit 33, a node transition control unit 34, a conditional branch determination unit 35, a different route transition control unit 36, and a return unit 37. .

  The accepting unit 31 accepts a slip to be processed by the workflow, that is, a processing request from the user, and stores information on the accepted slip in the acceptance information storage unit 21.

  The reception information storage unit 21 stores reception information that is information related to the slip received by the reception unit 31. The reception information is, for example, information in which a processing route ID that identifies a processing route, a slip ID that identifies a received slip, and business data that is input of a workflow are associated with each slip. FIG. 3 shows an example of reception information. As shown in FIG. 3, the processing route of the receipt slip identified by “D-01” is identified by “ROOT-01”, and the data to be input to the workflow is <CTRL> 01 </ CTRL> <DATA> 11. </ DATA>.

  The start unit 32 creates process instances by bundling slips having the same processing route using the received information, and stores information on the created process instances in the control information storage unit 22, the history information storage unit 23, and the business information storage unit 24. To do.

  FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining creation of a process instance by the start unit 32. As illustrated in FIG. 3, information regarding processing requests received by the receiving unit 31 from the X company, the Y company, and the Z company is stored as reception information. Note that, in order to create a process instance, the processing request that has been accepted first is awaited. Therefore, the start unit 32 provides a maximum waiting time in order to suppress waiting for a long time, and when the maximum waiting time is exceeded, creation of a process instance is started even if the number of accepted processing requests is small.

  In FIG. 3, the start unit 32 creates one process instance by collecting five slips having the same processing route ID from the received information, and creates control information, history information, and business information regarding the created process instance. To do.

  The control information storage unit 22 stores control information that is information for controlling the workflow. The control information is, for example, information in which a process instance ID for identifying a process instance and flow information are associated with each process instance. In FIG. 3, the start unit 32 stores the process instance ID “P-01” of the created process instance and the flow information in the control information storage unit 22.

  In FIG. 3, the state of a process instance represents the processing status of the process instance. In the process instance state, S surrounded by a circle indicates a start node, and E surrounded by a circle indicates a terminal node.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the route information indicating the processing route of the process instance identified by “P-01” includes a start node, task nodes indicating in-house system A, in-house system B, and external system C, and branch nodes. And a terminal node. The flow information is information from the node indicated by the route information to the node that has been executed and the node that is being executed. In FIG. 3, the processing of the start node indicated by the bold line is completed, and the task node of the in-house system A is being executed.

  FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of a data structure of route information, and FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of a data structure of flow information. In FIG. 4, <process_definition id = “pd01”> indicates that the identifier of the route information is “pd01”. In FIG. 4, the route information is composed of information of five nodes surrounded by <nodes> and </ nodes>, and the information of each node is <node. . . /> Format.

  In the definition of each node, id indicates an identifier for identifying the node. type indicates the type of node, type = “start” indicates the start node, type = “task” indicates the task node, type = “branch” indicates the branch node, and type = “end” indicates the end node. Show. Next_node indicates the next node.

  In the task node, name indicates the name of the system that executes the task. At the branch node, <branch. . . /> Indicates each branch route, id indicates an identifier of the branch route, and condition indicates a branch condition, that is, a condition branch determination condition.

  In FIG. 5, <process_instance id = “P-01”> indicates that the identifier of the flow information is “P-01”. <Process_definition id = “pd01” /> indicates that the identifier of the route information that is the basis of the flow information is “pd01”. <Status id = “active” /> indicates that the corresponding process instance is being executed.

  <Active_nodes>. . . </ Active_nodes> indicates a node being executed. In FIG. 5, the system corresponding to the task node whose id is “node04”, that is, the in-house system B is being executed. <Tasks>. . . </ Tasks> indicates the processing status of the slip, and <task. . . /> Indicates the processing status of each slip. id indicates the identifier of the slip, and status indicates the status of processing. “status =“ finished ”” indicates the end, and “status =“ running ”indicates that it is being executed.

  <Finished_nodes>. . . </ Finished_nodes> indicates a node that has finished executing. If the node is a branch node, the branch destination is indicated. In FIG. 5, the branch destination of the branch node whose ID is “node03” is “to the right route”. In FIG. 5, the execution of the start node, the node corresponding to the in-house system A, and the branch node is completed as indicated by the bold line in the flow information image.

  Returning to FIG. 2, the history information storage unit 23 stores history information that is processing history information for a process instance. The history information is, for example, information in which a process instance ID, a processing node, and an execution date / time are associated with each process instance node. Here, the processing node is a node that has been executed, and the execution date and time is the date and time that the node was executed. In FIG. 3, the start unit 32 stores the process instance ID “P-01”, the processing node “S”, and the execution date “5/13 10:00” of the created process instance in the history information storage unit 23 as initial history information. Store.

  The business information storage unit 24 stores business information that is information in which business data is collected for each process instance. The business information is, for example, information in which a process instance ID and a business data group are associated with each process instance. Here, the business data group includes the number of business data, slip ID, and business data collected for each process instance.

  In FIG. 3, the start unit 32 includes a process instance ID “P-01” of the created process instance, a number of business data “count =“ 5 ”” collected for each process instance, and a business including five business data. The data group is stored in the business information storage unit 24. A slip ID is added to each business data in a format of <DENPYO id = “slip ID”>.

  The route information storage unit 25 stores route information. For example, as illustrated in FIG. 4, the route information is information in which an identifier of a processing route is associated with information on nodes constituting the processing route and connections between the nodes.

  The processing request unit 33 requests processing inside and outside the company corresponding to the task node, and receives the processing result from the system. The processing request unit 33 requests processing for each slip and receives a processing result for each slip. When the processing request unit 33 receives the processing results of all the slips, the processing request unit 33 updates the control information and history information stored in the control information storage unit 22 and the history information storage unit 23, respectively, as node completion processing.

  The node transition control unit 34 controls the transition of the node based on the route information of the process instance so as to transit to the process of the node next to the node for which the process has been completed.

  The conditional branch determination unit 35 determines whether or not the next node is a branch node when the processing of the task node is completed. If the next node is a branch node, the branch condition of the branch node is determined from the route information. And determine the branch destination for each slip. Then, the conditional branch determination unit 35 holds a slip for each branch destination.

  The different route transition control unit 36 determines whether there are a plurality of branch destinations based on the determination result of the conditional branch determination unit 35 when the next node is a branch node. Creates a new process instance. Then, the different route transition control unit 36 performs control so that the processing of each process instance including the created process instance transitions to the next node. Also, the different route transition control unit 36 divides the business information for each process instance according to the branch destination for each slip.

  6A and 6B are a first diagram and a second diagram for explaining processing by the conditional branch determination unit 35 and the different route transition control unit 36. FIG. FIG. 6A shows a state before branching, and FIG. 6B shows a state after branching.

  As shown in FIG. 6A, the state of the process instance “P-01” before branching is a state in which the processing by the in-house system A is completed, and the process instance “P-01” is included in the control information, history information, and business information. Is registered. The conditional branch determination unit 35 determines a branch condition for each slip and divides the slip based on the branch destination. Then, the different route transition control unit 36 creates the number of branch destinations minus 1 new process instances. In FIG. 6B, a new process instance “P-03” is created for the slip branching to “external system C”.

  Then, the different route transition control unit 36 copies the control information and history information of the process instance “P-01” before branching to make the control information and history information of the process instance “P-03”. Also, the different route transition control unit 36 reconstructs the business information according to the branch destination for each slip. In FIG. 6B, three slips having slip IDs “D-01”, “D-04”, and “D-07” are grouped as a process instance “P-01”, and slip IDs are “D-02” and “D-02”. Two slips “D-05” are collected as a process instance “P-03”.

  Returning to FIG. 3, the return unit 37 transmits the processing result of each slip to the process requester for the process instance that has reached the terminal node.

  Next, a processing flow of the ESB device 1 will be described. FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing a processing flow of the ESB device 1. As illustrated in FIG. 7, the reception unit 31 receives a processing request from the user (step S <b> 1), and stores the received processing request information in the reception information storage unit 21.

  Then, when a certain waiting time elapses, the start unit 32 uses the information stored in the reception information storage unit 21 to create a process instance (group) in which processing requests having the same processing route are bundled (step S2). Create corresponding control information, history information, and business information. Here, the process instance (group) indicates that one or more process instances are created. Further, the processing request processing route may include a conditional branch.

  Then, the workflow control unit 3 starts processing for all created process instances (step S3). Specifically, the workflow control unit 3 starts processing from the task node next to the start node. When the processing of each process instance is completed, the return unit 37 transmits the processing result of each slip to the requester (step S4).

  As described above, the ESB device 1 can efficiently process a processing request by the start unit 32 bundling processing requests having the same processing route including processing requests including a conditional branch in the processing route.

  Next, the process flow for each process instance will be described. FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing a flow of processing for each process instance. As shown in FIG. 8, the process request unit 33 requests a process corresponding to the task node (step S11). The processing request unit 33 requests the system for processing for each slip.

  Then, the processing request unit 33 receives the processing result of the slip from the system (step S12). The processing request unit 33 receives a processing result from the system for each slip. When the processing results are received for all the slips, the workflow control unit 3 executes node completion processing (step S13). The node completion processing includes update of control information and history information.

  Then, the workflow control unit 3 performs a branch determination execution process for determining whether or not the next node is a branch node and executing a branch process when the next node is a branch node (step S14).

  Then, the workflow control unit 3 determines whether or not the next node is a terminal node (step S15). If the next node is not a terminal node, the process returns to step S11. If the next node is a terminal node, the process ends. To do.

  As described above, the workflow control unit 3 performs the branch determination execution process when the processing of the task node is completed, so that the ESB device 1 can process the processing requests including the conditional branch with the same processing route. .

  Next, the flow of the branch determination execution process will be described. FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing the flow of the branch determination execution process. As shown in FIG. 9, the conditional branch determination unit 35 determines whether or not the next node is a branch node (step S21). As a result, if the next node is not a branch node, the node transition control unit 34 transitions the process instance being processed to the next node (step S31), and ends the process.

  On the other hand, when the next node is a branch node, the conditional branch determination unit 35 acquires the branch condition, determines the branch condition for each slip, and divides the slip into each branch destination, that is, each processing route. The group is held in pairs (step S22). Here, the slip (group) indicates that the number of slips is one or more.

  Then, the different route transition control unit 36 sequentially takes out the pair of the processing route and the slip (group) (step S23), and determines whether or not the taken out pair is other than the last pair held ( Step S24).

  As a result, in the case other than the last pair, the different route transition control unit 36 assigns a new process instance ID and adds the retrieved slip (group) to the business data group (step S25). Then, the different route transition control unit 36 copies the control information and history information of the process instance being processed, and sets the newly assigned process instance ID to the process instance ID (step S26). That is, the different route transition control unit 36 adds the copied information to the control information and the history information in association with the newly assigned process instance ID. Then, the different route transition control unit 36 controls the process instance newly assigned an ID so as to transit to the next node through the extracted processing route (step S27).

  On the other hand, when the taken-out pair is not the last pair of the retained pair, that is, the last pair of the retained pair, the different route transition control unit 36 sets the processing route and the slip (group). It is determined whether there are two or more pairs (step S28). As a result, if there are not two or more pairs, the different route transition control unit 36 proceeds to step S30, and if there are two or more pairs, the slip (group) that has been taken out is processed with the process instance ID being processed. The data group is set (overwritten) (step S29). Then, the different route transition control unit 36 controls the process instance being processed so as to transit to the next node through the extracted processing route (step S30).

  In this way, when the next node is a branch node and branches to a plurality of processing routes, the different route transition control unit 36 assigns a new process instance ID, copies the control information and history information, and creates a new one. Set to the correct process instance ID. Accordingly, the ESB device 1 can process a slip including a branch node in the processing route.

  As described above, in the first embodiment, the conditional branch determination unit 35 determines whether or not the next node is a branch node. If the next node is a branch node, the branch condition is set for each slip. judge. If there are a plurality of branch destinations, the different route transition control unit 36 assigns a new process instance ID and copies the control information and history information to create a new process instance. Therefore, even when there is a branch in the workflow, the ESB device 1 can create and process a process instance in which processing requests having the same processing route are bundled.

  By the way, in the first embodiment, the case where the branch condition is determined and the slips are bundled again when the processing of one task node is completed for all the slips has been described. However, it is also possible to determine the branch condition when processing of each slip is completed and to divide the slip into processing routes. Thus, in the second embodiment, a case will be described in which the branch condition is determined when the task node processing is completed for one slip and the slip is divided into processing routes.

  FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a functional configuration of the ESB device according to the second embodiment. Here, for convenience of explanation, functional units that play the same functions as the respective units shown in FIG.

  As illustrated in FIG. 10, the ESB device 5 according to the second embodiment includes a storage unit 6, a workflow control unit 7, and a communication control unit 4. The storage unit 6 further includes a determination result information storage unit 66 as compared with the storage unit 2 shown in FIG. Compared with the workflow control unit 3 shown in FIG. 2, the workflow control unit 7 includes a conditional branch determination unit 75 instead of the conditional branch determination unit 35, and different route transition control instead of the different route transition control unit 36. Part 76.

  The determination result information storage unit 66 stores the determination result by the conditional branch determination unit 75 as branch determination result information. For example, as shown in FIG. 11, the branch determination result information includes the process instance ID before branching, the processing route corresponding to the branch destination, and the processing route process instance ID that is the process instance ID of the processing route corresponding to the branch destination. Is associated with each other.

  When the next node of the task node being processed is a branch node, the conditional branch determination unit 75 determines a branch condition each time processing of one slip is completed, and determines branch determination result information based on the determination result. Update. Specifically, the conditional branch determination unit 75 assigns a new process instance ID and determines the branch determination result information together with the processing route when it is determined by the determination of the branch condition that there is a new branch destination different from the previous branch destination. Add to

  When the next node of the task node being processed is a branch node, the different route transition control unit 76 has completed the processing of all slips for the process instance to which the process instance ID is newly assigned by the conditional branch determination unit 75. Create when. Then, the different route transition control unit 76 performs control so that the process transitions to the branch destination node for the newly created process instance and the process instance being processed.

  FIG. 11 is a diagram for explaining processing by the conditional branch determination unit 75 and the different route transition control unit 76. FIG. 11 shows a case where there is a branch after the processing of “in-house system A”. The conditional branch determination unit 75 fetches the conditional branch determination conditions in advance in the “in-house system A” process, and performs branch determination when the processing for each slip is completed.

  When it is determined that there is a branch to a new branch destination, the conditional branch determination unit 75 assigns a new process instance ID and adds it to the branch determination result information together with the new branch destination.

  In FIG. 11, in the process instance identified by “P-01” before branching, the processing route when the branch destination is “right” is “to right route”, and the process instance ID of the processing route is “P”. “-01” does not change. Further, when the branch destination is “down”, the processing route is “to lower route”, and the process instance ID of the processing route is changed to “P-03” newly assigned.

  In addition, the conditional branch determination unit 75 divides the slip data in association with the process instance ID of the processing route corresponding to the branch determination result. Accordingly, when the processing of “in-house system A” is completed for the five slips, the business information is divided in association with the two process instance IDs as shown in FIG.

  When the processing of “in-house system A” is completed for all slips, the different route transition control unit 76 changes the branch determination result information to the processing route for the two process instances corresponding to the branch destinations. Do. That is, the process instance “P-01” is transitioned to “in-house system B”, and the process instance “P-03” is transitioned to “in-house system C”.

  Next, details of processing by the conditional branch determination unit 75 and the different route transition control unit 76 will be described. 12A to 12D are first to fourth diagrams for explaining details of processing performed by the conditional branch determination unit 75. FIG. As illustrated in FIG. 12A, the processing request unit 33 requests the “in-house system A” for processing for each slip.

  Here, the branch condition of the next branch node of “in-house system A” is based on, for example, the first byte of the slip data <DATA>, and when the first byte is other than “0”, go to the right route. Transition is made, and in the case of “0”, transition is made to the lower route. In this way, when the data for each slip is a decision criterion for branching, when each slip processing with the slip data being scattered is completed, branch determination is performed to separate the slip data for each process instance. It is more efficient than dividing the slip data at once. Therefore, the conditional branch determination unit 75 fetches branch conditions in advance, performs branch determination when processing of each slip is completed, and divides the slip data for each process instance.

  That is, as shown in FIG. 12B, when the processing result of the slip with the slip ID = “D-01” is received from “in-house system A”, the conditional branch determination unit 75 determines the branch condition, and the determination result. Is stored as branch determination condition information. At this time, since the slip data is “11”, the first byte is other than “0”, and the processing route is “to the right route”. Further, the process root process instance ID is the same as the current process instance ID “P-01”. Further, the slip data is stored as business information with the processing route process instance ID.

  Then, as shown in FIG. 12C, when the processing result of the slip with the slip ID = “D-02” is received from “in-house system A”, the conditional branch determination unit 75 determines the branch condition. Since the slip data is “02”, the conditional branch determination unit 75 sets the processing route to “downward route” when the first byte is “0”. Since the information on the same processing route does not exist in the branch determination condition information, the conditional branch determination unit 75 assigns a new process instance ID “P-03” to the processing route process instance ID. Further, the conditional branch determination unit 75 stores the slip data as business information with the processing route process instance ID. As a result, the business information includes slip data associated with “P-01” and slip data associated with “P-03”.

  Then, as shown in FIG. 12D, when the processing result of the slip with the slip ID = “D-04” is received from “in-house system A”, the conditional branch determination unit 75 determines the branch condition. Since the slip data is “44”, the conditional branch determination unit 75 sets the processing route to “to the right route” in the case where the first byte is other than “0”. Since the branch determination condition information includes the same processing route information, the conditional branch determination unit 75 adds the slip data to the business information in association with the processing route process instance ID “P-01”.

  As described above, the conditional branch determination unit 75 stores the branch determination result as branch determination result information, and adds the slip data to the business information in association with the processing route process instance ID for each branch determination. Therefore, the ESB device 5 can reduce the processing cost of reassembling the business data group once bundled and re-bundling them together after branch determination of all slips.

  13A to 13D are first to fourth diagrams for explaining details of processing of the different route transition control unit 76. As shown in FIG. 13A, since the process instance information (control information and history information) up to the conditional branch is the same, the different route transition control unit 76 copies the control information and the history information to obtain the process instance information for each route. Separate. Since the business information is divided for each process instance by the conditional branch determination unit 75, the different route transition control unit 76 does not need to perform processing.

  Then, as shown in FIG. 13B, the different route transition control unit 76 changes the control information of the newly created process instance “P-03” to a state that has passed through the “lower route”. That is, the different route transition control unit 76 transitions the node of the process instance “P-03” from the branch node to the node corresponding to the “external system C”.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 13C, the different route transition control unit 76 changes the control information of the process instance “P-01” to a state that has passed the “right route”. That is, the different route transition control unit 76 changes the node of the process instance “P-01” from the branch node to a node corresponding to the “in-house system B”.

  FIG. 13D shows control information, history information, and business information after branch processing. As illustrated in FIG. 13D, information of process instances “P-01” and “P-03” is registered in the control information. The flow information of the process instance “P-01” indicates that the workflow processing has transitioned to “in-house system B”, and the flow information of the process instance “P-03” indicates that the workflow processing has changed to “external system C”. Indicates a transition.

  In the history information, the same information is registered as information regarding the process instances “P-01” and “P-03”. In the business information, slip data of slip ID = “D-01”, slip ID = “D-04”, and slip ID = “D-07” is registered for the process instance “P-01”. Further, for the process instance “P-03”, the slip data of the slip ID = “D-02” and the slip ID = “D-05” is registered in the business information.

  Next, the process flow for each process instance will be described. FIG. 14 is a flowchart showing the flow of processing for each process instance. As shown in FIG. 14, the process request unit 33 requests a process corresponding to the task node (step S61). The processing request unit 33 requests the system for processing for each slip.

  Then, the workflow control unit 3 performs a branch determination execution process (step S62). Then, the workflow control unit 3 determines whether or not the next node is a termination node (step S63). If it is not the termination node, the process returns to step S61, and if it is a termination node, the process ends. To do.

  15A and 15B are a first flowchart and a second flowchart showing the flow of the branch determination execution process. As shown in FIG. 15A, the conditional branch determination unit 75 determines whether or not the next node is a branch node (step S71). As a result, if the next node is not a branch node, the processing request unit 33 waits for the completion of processing of all the slips and performs the node completion processing, and the node transition control unit 34 continues the process instance being processed. (Step S72), and the process ends.

  On the other hand, if the next node is a branch node, the conditional branch determination unit 75 takes in the branch condition (step S73) and waits until one slip process is completed (step S74). When one slip process is completed, the conditional branch determination unit 75 determines a branch condition and obtains a branch destination, that is, a processing route (step S75).

  Then, the conditional branch determination unit 75 determines whether or not processing route data exists in the branch determination result information (step S75). If there is, the process proceeds to step S79. On the other hand, if it does not exist, the conditional branch determination unit 75 determines whether or not the number of data related to the branch in the branch determination result information is 0 (step S76).

  As a result, when it is 0, since it is the case of the first branch destination, the conditional branch determination unit 75 adds the processing route data to the branch determination result information (step S77). Here, the processing route data is the ID of the process instance being processed, the processing route, and the processing route process instance ID. At this time, the process root process instance ID is the process instance ID being processed.

  On the other hand, if it is not 0, it is determined that there is a new different branch destination, so the conditional branch determination unit 75 adds the processing route data to the branch determination result information (step S78). At this time, the process root process instance ID is a newly assigned process instance ID.

  Then, the conditional branch determination unit 75 obtains the processing route process instance ID corresponding to the processing route from the branch judgment result information, and adds the slip data to the business data group of the obtained process instance ID (step S79). And the conditional branch determination part 75 determines whether all the slip processes were completed (step S80), and when not completed, it returns to step S74.

  On the other hand, when all the slip processes are completed, as shown in FIG. 15B, the different route transition control unit 76 changes the processing node of the control information to the completed node, and adds the completion of the node process to the history information. (Step S81). Then, the different route transition control unit 76 searches for data related to the branch from the branch determination result information (step S82), and extracts one data from the search result data (step S83). Here, the data is an ID of a process instance being processed, a processing route, and a processing route process instance ID.

  Then, the different route transition control unit 76 determines whether or not there is data (step S84), and if there is data, acquires the processing route process instance ID of the extracted data (step S85). Then, the different route transition control unit 76 determines whether or not the acquired processing route process instance ID is different from the process instance ID being processed (step S86).

  As a result, if they are different, the different route transition control unit 76 copies the control information and history information of the process instance being processed, and sets the acquired processing route process instance ID as the process instance ID (step S87). . That is, the different route transition control unit 76 adds the copied information to the control information and the history information in association with the acquired processing route process instance ID. Then, the different route transition control unit 76 controls the copied process instance so as to transit to the next node through the processing route of the extracted data (step S88), and returns to step S83.

  On the other hand, if the acquired processing route process instance ID is not different from the process instance ID being processed, the different route transition control unit 76 holds the processing route of the extracted data as a variable (step S89), and proceeds to step S83. Return.

  In the determination in step S84, if there is no data, the different route transition control unit 76 causes the process being processed to transition to the next node through the processing route held in the variable in step S89. (Step S90).

  As described above, in the second embodiment, when the next node is a branch node, the conditional branch determination unit 75 fetches the branch condition in advance and determines the branch condition every time processing of each slip is completed. Bundle the slip data for each process instance at the branch destination. Therefore, when there is a branch, the slip data need not be bundled together and can be efficiently associated with the process instance.

  In the first and second embodiments, the ESB device has been described. However, a workflow control program having the same function can be obtained by realizing the configuration of the ESB device with software. Therefore, a computer that executes a workflow control program will be described.

  FIG. 16 is a diagram illustrating a hardware configuration of a computer that executes the workflow control program according to the first and second embodiments. As shown in FIG. 16, the computer 80 includes a main memory 81, a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 82, a LAN (Local Area Network) interface 83, and an HDD (Hard Disk Drive) 84. The computer 80 has a super IO (Input Output) 85, a DVI (Digital Visual Interface) 86, and an ODD (Optical Disk Drive) 87.

  The main memory 81 is a memory that stores a program, a program execution result, and the like. The CPU 82 is a central processing unit that reads a program from the main memory 81 and executes the program. The CPU 82 includes a chip set having a memory controller.

  The LAN interface 83 is an interface for connecting the computer 80 to another computer via a LAN. The HDD 84 is a disk device that stores programs and data, and the super IO 85 is an interface for connecting an input device such as a mouse or a keyboard. The DVI 86 is an interface for connecting a liquid crystal display device, and the ODD 87 is a device for reading / writing a DVD.

  The LAN interface 83 is connected to the CPU 82 by PCI Express (PCIe), and the HDD 84 and ODD 87 are connected to the CPU 82 by SATA (Serial Advanced Technology Attachment). The super IO 85 is connected to the CPU 82 by LPC (Low Pin Count).

  The workflow control program executed in the computer 80 is stored in the DVD, read from the DVD by the ODD 87, and installed in the computer 80. Alternatively, the workflow control program is stored in a database or the like of another computer system connected via the LAN interface 83, read from these databases, and installed in the computer 80. The installed workflow control program is stored in the HDD 84, read into the main memory 81, and executed by the CPU 82.

  The following appendices are further disclosed with respect to the embodiments including Examples 1 and 2 described above.

(Supplementary note 1)
Create one process instance that bundles multiple process requests with the same node transition in a workflow that includes a task node that indicates the execution of the process and a branch node that indicates the branch of the flow,
When the next node of the node being processed in the process of the created process instance is a branch node, obtain the conditional branch judgment condition,
Determine the branch destination of each processing request based on the acquired judgment condition,
A workflow control program characterized by causing a process to generate a new process instance that bundles processing requests with the same branch destination when there are a plurality of determined branch destinations.

(Additional remark 2) The process which acquires the said judgment conditions acquires the judgment condition of the conditional branch of the following branch node in the process of a task node,
The process of determining the branch destination is performed when processing for each processing request is completed in the processing of the task node,
The process for generating the new process instance is to assign an identifier of the new process instance when it is found that there is a different branch destination in the process of the task node, and when the process of the task node is completed, the process having the identifier The workflow control program according to appendix 1, wherein an instance is generated.

(Supplementary note 3) The supplementary note 2, wherein the branch destination performs a process of bundling the same process request when the determination condition is determined when the process for each process request is completed in the process of the task node Workflow control program.

(Supplementary Note 4) The process of assigning the identifier stores the identifier in a storage device in association with the branch destination,
The workflow control program according to appendix 2, wherein the process of generating a process instance having the identifier generates a process instance using an identifier associated with a branch destination and stored in the storage device.

(Appendix 5) The computer
Create one process instance that bundles multiple process requests with the same node transition in a workflow that includes a task node that indicates the execution of the process and a branch node that indicates the branch of the flow,
When the next node of the node being processed in the process of the created process instance is a branch node, obtain the conditional branch judgment condition,
Determine the branch destination of each processing request based on the acquired judgment condition,
A workflow control method characterized by executing a process for generating a new process instance that bundles the same processing requests with the same branch destination when there are a plurality of determined branch destinations.

(Appendix 6) A creation unit that creates one process instance in which a plurality of processing requests having the same node transition are bundled in a workflow including a task node indicating execution of a process and a branch node indicating a branch of a flow;
An acquisition unit that acquires a condition branch determination condition when a node next to a node being processed in the process of the process instance created by the creation unit is a branch node;
A determination unit that determines a branch destination of each processing request based on the determination condition acquired by the acquisition unit;
An information processing apparatus comprising: a generation unit that generates a new process instance that bundles processing requests with the same branch destination when there are a plurality of branch destinations determined by the determination unit.

(Supplementary note 7) In an information processing apparatus having a memory and a processor connected to the memory,
In the processor,
Create one process instance that bundles multiple process requests with the same node transition in a workflow that includes a task node that indicates the execution of the process and a branch node that indicates the branch of the flow,
When the next node of the node being processed in the process of the created process instance is a branch node, obtain the conditional branch judgment condition,
Determine the branch destination of each processing request based on the acquired judgment condition,
An information processing apparatus that executes processing for generating a new process instance that bundles processing requests with the same branch destination when there are a plurality of determined branch destinations.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1,5,9 ESB apparatus 2,6 Storage part 3,7 Workflow control part 4 Communication control part 10 ESB system 11 In-house network 12 External network 21 Reception information storage part 22 Control information storage part 23 History information storage part 24 Business information storage Unit 25 Route information storage unit 31 Reception unit 32 Start unit 33 Processing request unit 34 Node transition control unit 35, 75 Conditional branch determination unit 36, 76 Different route transition control unit 37 Return unit 66 Determination result information storage unit 80 Computer 81 Main memory 82 CPU
83 LAN interface 84 HDD
85 Super IO
86 DVI
87 ODD

Claims (6)

On the computer,
Create one process instance that bundles multiple process requests with the same node transition in a workflow that includes a task node that indicates the execution of the process and a branch node that indicates the branch of the flow,
When the next node of the node being processed in the process of the created process instance is a branch node, obtain the conditional branch judgment condition,
Determine the branch destination of each processing request based on the acquired judgment condition,
A workflow control program characterized by causing a process to generate a new process instance that bundles processing requests with the same branch destination when there are a plurality of determined branch destinations. The process for obtaining the judgment condition obtains the condition branch judgment condition for the next branch node in the task node process,
The process for determining the determination condition is performed when processing for each processing request is completed in the processing of the task node,
The process for generating the new process instance is to assign an identifier of the new process instance when it is found that there is a different branch destination in the process of the task node, and when the process of the task node is completed, the process having the identifier The workflow control program according to claim 1, wherein an instance is generated.   3. The workflow control program according to claim 2, wherein when the determination condition is determined when processing for each processing request is completed in processing of the task node, the branch destination performs processing for bundling the same processing request. . The process of assigning the identifier stores the identifier in a storage device in association with a branch destination,
The workflow control program according to claim 2, wherein the process of generating a process instance having the identifier generates a process instance using an identifier associated with a branch destination and stored in the storage device. Computer
Create one process instance that bundles multiple process requests with the same node transition in a workflow that includes a task node that indicates the execution of the process and a branch node that indicates the branch of the flow,
When the next node of the node being processed in the process of the created process instance is a branch node, obtain the conditional branch judgment condition,
Determine the branch destination of each processing request based on the acquired judgment condition,
A workflow control method characterized by executing a process for generating a new process instance that bundles the same processing requests with the same branch destination when there are a plurality of determined branch destinations. A creation unit that creates one process instance in which a plurality of processing requests having the same node transition are bundled in a workflow including a task node indicating execution of a process and a branch node indicating a branch of a flow,
An acquisition unit that acquires a condition branch determination condition when a node next to a node being processed in the process of the process instance created by the creation unit is a branch node;
A determination unit that determines a branch destination of each processing request based on the determination condition acquired by the acquisition unit;
An information processing apparatus comprising: a generation unit that generates a new process instance that bundles processing requests with the same branch destination when there are a plurality of branch destinations determined by the determination unit.

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