Patent Grant
7296056
This application is related to the following copending and commonly assigned patent applications, which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety:
“Method, System, and Program for Generating a Workflow”, application Ser. No. 09/894,074 and filed on Jun. 28, 2001;
“Method, System, and Program for Using Objects In Data Stores During Execution of a Workflow”, application No. 09/894,413 and filed on Jun. 28, 2001; and
“Method, System, and Program for Executing a Workflow”, application No. 09/894,076 and filed on Jun. 28, 2001.
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method, system, and program for selecting one user to assign a work item in a workflow.
2. Description of the Related Art
A workflow program allows businesses and other organizations to define their business operations as a computer model known as a workflow. A workflow defines a series of processes to be performed by users at a client computer. The user activities at the client computers may involve updating an electronic form, reviewing information, etc. After one user in the workflow performs a specified action, the work item or other information is then routed to one or more further nodes where further action may be taken. For instance, an on-line purchase of a product may involve numerous steps, such as receiving the customer order, routing the customer order to the credit department to process the bill and then routing the order to the shipment department to prepare the shipment. Once the shipment is prepared, the product may be shipped and information on the purchase is then transferred to the customer service department to take any further action. Each of these processes may be defined as nodes in a workflow. A workflow program would then route the customer order to the business agents designated to handle the job. For instance, the initial order would be received by the order department and then routed to a person in shipping and billing. Once the bill and package are prepared, a further invoice may be forwarded to shipping. After shipping sends the package, the shipping agent may then enter information into the invoice and forward the electronic invoice to customer service for any follow up action.
A workflow is designed using workflow software, such as the International Business Machines (IBM) MQSeries Workflow software product. A process modeler is a person that analyzes the business operations, determines how the information related to the operations is routed electronically to client computers, and then defines a workflow model of the operations. The workflow model may be coded in the FlowMark Definition Language (FDL). The workflow model is then imported into a Runtime program that verifies and translates the workflow model into a process template. An instance of the process template can then be invoked to automates the sequence of events defined by the model.
In prior art workflow programs, an access list identifies a group of users associated with each node in the workflow. When proceeding to a node in the workflow, access to the work item for that node is provided to all members of the access list for that node. Anyone of the users on the access list notified of the work item may then access and obtain a lock on the work item and perform the action defined for the work item. Such prior art schemes initially distribute the work item to all members of the access list regardless of their current workload and availability to execute the work item.
For these reasons, there is a need in the art to provide improved techniques for distributing work items in a workflow to the different users permitted to execute the work item in the workflow.
Provided is a method, system, and program for assigning a work item for one of a plurality of nodes in a workflow to at least one of a plurality of users capable of performing workflow related operations at the nodes. A node in a current workflow is processed, wherein a current work item is associated with the processed node. A determination is made of users capable of being assigned the current work item. For each determined user, a determination is made of a number of work items other than the current work item assigned to the user. At least one determined user is selected based on the determined number of work items assigned to the determined users. The current work item is assigned to the at least one determined user.
Further, the determined number of work items assigned to each user includes active work items assigned to the user in workflows other than the current workflow.
Still further, when selecting at least one determined user based on the determined number of work items assigned to the determined user, a further determination is made of a priority related to each work item assigned to the user. For each user, an index is calculated based on each priority related to each work item assigned to the user. The index is then used to select one user to assign the new work item.
Additionally, a user defined priority is received, wherein the user defined priority is the priority related to the work item.
In still further implementations, a user defined priority scheme is received that associated a plurality of user defined priorities with a plurality of normalized ratings. A determination is made of a user defined priority related to the work item, wherein the determined priority related to the work item used to calculate the index comprises the normalized rating associated with the user defined priority.
The described implementations provide a methodology for selecting a user to assign a work item when processing a new node in the workflow in a manner that takes into account each users current workload with respect to other work items.
Referring now to the drawings in which like reference numbers represent corresponding parts throughout:
a, b illustrate logic implemented in the workflow server to select one user to assign a work item in accordance with implementations of the invention;
In the following description, reference is made to the accompanying drawings which form a part hereof and which illustrate several embodiments of the present invention. It is understood that other embodiments may be utilized and structural and operational changes may be made without departing from the scope of the present invention.
The workflow server 6 coordinates and manages the execution of processes for a defined process template 8. The workflow server 6 executes any programs associated with a process defined for the workflow, interprets the process definitions, creates process instances and manages their execution, manages processes and states, logs events, communicates with users as part of the workflow, etc. The workflow server 6 may include a database client program (not shown) to access and update records related to the workflow being processed maintained in the runtime database 4. The workflow server 6 processing may be distributed across multiple computers to achieve workload balancing.
The workflow clients 12a, b . . . n represent the client computers that execute workflow application program interfaces (APIs) to perform workflow related actions and activities and return messages to the workflow server 6. The workflow clients 12a, b . . . n thus comprise instances of the workflow code on the client computers that allow users to interface with the executing workflow and the workflow server 6. The workflow server 6 would execute activity programs as part of executing the workflow and transmit messages and data to the workflow client 12 to request user action to proceed with the workflow. The actions associated with the nodes and executed by the workflow server 6 may comprise Java servlets. The workflow client 12 may comprise a Web browser capable of executing Java scripts transferred from the Java servlet executing on the workflow server 6. Further, details on implementations and interactions of the workflow server 6 and client 12 are described in the IBM publication “IBM MQSeries Workflow: Concepts and Architecture, Version 3.3”, IBM document no. GH12-6285-03 (March, 2001), which publication is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
A workflow builder 20 comprises a system including a buildtime program 22 that implements a plurality of graphical user interface (GUI) panels in which a user may define the components of a workflow model 24. A workflow translator 26 converts the workflow model 24, with the defined workflow components, into a workflow definition language (WDL) file 10 that implements the workflow model 24. The workflow definition language (WDL) may comprise the FlowMark Definition Language (FDL), Workflow Process Definition Language (WPDL) or any other workflow definition language known in the art that is used to define workflows. The workflow translator 24 would transfer the WDL file 10 to the workflow server 6 to transform into a process template 8 in the runtime database 4 in a manner known in the art. Further details of using the buildtime program 22 to build workflows are described in the copending and commonly assigned patent application “Method, System, and Program for Generating a Workflow”, having docket no. STL920000044US1, which application was incorporated herein by reference above.
The workflow engine 2, and each of the program components therein, such as the runtime database 4 and workflow server 6, may be implemented in one or more computing machines. The workflow clients 12 which provide the workflow interface to users may be implemented on one or more client machines. The workflow builder 20, including the buildtime program 22 and workflow translator 26 programs, may be implemented on one or more computing machines. Any portion of the workflow engine 2, workflow builder 20, and/or workflow client 12, and program components therein, may be implemented on the same computing machines or separate machines. The computing machines used to implement the workflow engine 2, workflow clients 12, and workflow builder 20 may comprise any computing device known in the art, such as a server, workstation, mainframe, personal computer, laptop computer, hand held computer, telephony device, etc.
One use of a workflow is to generate a final product, which may comprise the result of the effort of a single business unit or the cumulative efforts of multiple users and units within an organization. To produce the final product, a workflow packet comprised of one or more documents would transfer through various user work stations in the company defined as nodes in the workflow to require the user associated with such node to handle and process and forward to another user to handle. A document is comprised of a multimedia item that has digital content.
For instance, an insurance company may have to process numerous documents related to an insurance claim, such as photographs, appraisals, expert reports, etc. Employees may spend a substantial amount of time sorting through documents and associating the documents with particular claims. In the workflow model, all the documents related to a single claim would be part of a work packet that may move through various user stations to review and process. The workflow would comprise the flow of work and actions that are performed on the documents or workflow packet by multiple users in the system.
The workflow defines the sequence and boundaries of how the work is performed with respect to the documents in the workflow packet, and any restrictions on the order in which documents in the workflow packet must be processed. For instance, before the claim can proceed to a further step, a claims adjuster might be required to ensure that certain documents are included in the workflow packet for the claim before the workflow packet can proceed to further nodes in the workflow, e.g., determining the amount of compensation.
In workflow terminology, a worklist is a queue of work items. Each work item comprises a unit of work for a node in the workflow that is performed by the users associated with that node. Each work item may be associated with one work packet, which comprises documents or objects that are processed during the work defined for that work item. When a user at one node accesses the work item to perform the work define therein, that work item is locked, thereby preventing others at that node from accessing the work item.
A worklist, which is a queue of work for the users of the organization to perform with respect to the workflow packet. The work items within the worklist can be handled by any of the employees/users assigned to the worklist. An action list defines the actions that a user can perform on the work packet objects associated with the work item, such as selections or data that may be entered in the work packet. For example, an adjuster in the claim process workflow can select an option to continue consideration of the claim if it appears valid or select an option to reject the claim. The workflow further consists of the paths defined as the connections between nodes which indicate the order of execution of nodes in the workflow.
An action list may be associated with a workflow that provides a list the actions that can be invoked at the nodes in the defined workflow. The actions may comprise programs that are executed at a particular node. In certain implementations, the actions comprise Java methods that the workflow server 6 executes when control proceeds to the node with which the method is associated. Action in the list would be associated with particular nodes. An access list defines a mapping of users that can be assigned to nodes to perform the action associated with such node. An notification feature causes a message to be sent to a specified user if the user associated with a node has not performed the action define for the node within a specified time frame.
One or more actions and a user with are associated with the work nodes in the workflow. The work nodes defined for the workflow may comprise a decision point node, collection point node, document node, and assign value node. A decision point node causes the workflow to proceed along a branch of execution based on selection by the user or some other action taken by an external application called at a previous work node. For instance, the path taken to the next node in the workflow may vary if the claim adjuster selects to reject the claim as opposed to approving the claim. A collection point node is a work node where certain documentation is gathered and added to the work packet. The collection node holds and manages work packages that cannot be processed completely until additional information is received. A document node represents a document in the workflow.
In certain implementations, the workflow model 24 defined using the buildtime program 22 is document centric in that the actions performed at the node concern the processing of work packages that may comprise any content or object that is processed and routed through the workflow.
If (at block 114) notification is enabled for the current node and the deadline has passed (at block 116) without receiving a response from the user, then the workflow server 6 notifies the user specified with the enable notification that the deadline has passed. Upon receiving (at block 118) a response from the user, which may comprise entering information, modifying a work item, adding a work item to the work package, selecting an option, etc., the workflow server 6 unlocks (at block 120) the work item(s) previously locked for the user. If (at block 122) the current node is the stop node, then control ends; otherwise, if there are further nodes to process in the workflow, then the workflow server 6 determines (at block 124) from the path from the current node the next node in the workflow and accesses (at block 126) the next node. Control then proceeds back to block 326 to process the next node.
The workflow logic of
With the described implementations, the workflow builder 20 generates a WDL file 10 that may be compatible with workflow engines from different vendors because different vendors may design their workflow engines to be compatible with the WDL format of the WDL file 10. This allows the workflow model define in the WDL file 10 to be transportable across different vendor workflow engine platforms.
The WorkFlowService class 402 is the starting point for a user wanting to access a workflow. The WorkFlowService class 402 includes methods that allow users to access already define workflow templates and executing workflows. The WorkFlowService class 402 is associated with the WorkFlowTemplate 404, WorkFlow 406, and WorkFlowList 408 classes. The WorkFlowTemplate class 404 provides methods that allow the user to manipulate workflow process template objects, e.g., process template 8 (
The WorkFlowTemplate class 404 provides information on a workflow template. A workflow object from the WorkFlow class 406 represents an executing workflow. The WorkFlowContainer class 410 includes methods to instantiate a container object that includes information on one container used to transfer data between nodes. Users at nodes may access data in the container and update the container with additional data. The data in the container may be used by the action being executed at a node. The WorkFlow class 406 is associated with the WorkFlowNotification class 412, which is used to provide notifications, such as notifications if a user does not perform an action at a node within a predefined time period. There may be many notifications provided for one workflow. The WorkFlow class 406 is further associated with the WorkFlowItem class 414, such that one executing workflow may be associated with one or more work items indicating a unit of work to perform for a node within the workflow. The WorkFlowItem class 414 is associated with the WorkFlowContainer class 410, such that one container may be used at a work item to provide data to the user executing the unit of work defined by the work item. The relationship between the WorkFlow class 406 and the WorkFlowItem class 414 indicates that there may be many work item objects associated with one executing workflow. The class architecture of
The above object oriented architecture of
Following are examples of some methods of the WorkFlowService class 402, including:
Following are examples of some methods of the WorkFlowService class 402, including:
Following are examples of some methods of the WorkFlow class 406, including:
Following are examples of methods of the WorkFlowContainer class 410, which instantiates a container object used with a workflow to transport information among the nodes.
Following are examples of some methods of the WorkList class 408, where a work list object is a representation of a work list in the system. As discussed, a work list object comprises a collection of work items and notifications for an executing workflow.
Additional commands may be provided to access the information in the work list, such as filter commands to provide filters for accessing information from the work list, thresholds of the number of items that can be in the work list, etc.
Following are examples of some methods of the WorkFlowItem class 414, where a work item object represents a unit of work performed in the workflow. The following methods are used to create and modify work items, and obtain information thereon.
Following are examples of some methods of the WorkFlowNotification class 412, where a notification object represents a generated notification. The following methods are used to create and modify notifications, and obtain information thereon.
The above described methods and classes would be included in a workflow program executed by the workflow server 6 (
At block 454, user selection of a workflow to process is received. The workflow program then calls (at block 456) the WorkFlow start method to start the workflow. The workflow program then calls (at block 458) the listWorkltemsByNode method to obtain all the work items for the started workflow, and the nodes to which the one or more items are associated. The workflow program then performs a loop at blocks 460 through 490 for each node i in the workflow, as determined from the list of work items by node. For each node i, the workflow program performs a loop at block 462 to 488 for each work item j associated with node i. If (at block 464) there is a notification for the work item and the user that is the owner of the item, as determined from the methods, then the workflow program retrieves (at block 466) retrieves the notification and then starts a monitor to determine if the time period for the notification has elapsed without the work item completing. From block 464 or 466, the workflow program calls (at block 468) the checkOut method to lock the work item j. The inContainer method is called (at block 470) to access any container associated with the work item j. Once the work item j is locked, the workflow program then executes (at block 474) the actions associated with the work item j.
Control then proceeds to block 476 in
The above described logic utilized workflow related classes and the methods therein to implement a workflow and obtain information thereon. The workflow server 6, or some other component in the workflow engine 2 (
As discussed, when transitioning between nodes, the workflow server 6 (
In certain implementations, methods would be provided to allow a user instantiating a workflow to define a priority scheme for that workflow. In certain implementations, in defining the priority scheme, the user would specify ranges of priority values, which are typically integer values, to specific predefined ratings.
Once a priority scheme 500 is defined for a workflow, the user instantiating the workflow would then set a global priority from the user defined priority values 502 to apply to that workflow. All work items assigned to users at nodes within the workflow are assigned the global priority value set by the user instantiating the workflow. Additionally, users with appropriate permission may alter the global priority of a workflow during execution of the workflow.
Each workflow 520a, b . . . n further includes an access list 532a, b . . . n, as discussed above, which identifies those users who have permission to access the work items for the nodes defined in the work flow. Additionally, multiple access lists of different users may be provided for one workflow to provide different groups of users access to different nodes in one workflow 520a, b . . . n
In the described implementations, to select a user that is a member of the access list 532a, b . . . n of the workflow 520a, b . . . n, the workflow server 6 (
a, b illustrate logic implemented in the workflow server 4 (
The workflow server 6 determines (at block 604) all the workflows instantiated in the runtime database 4. For each instantiated workflow i, the workflow server 6 performs a loop at blocks 606 through 628 in
If (at block 616) the work item for the node(s) being processed in workflow i are not checked out or owned by one user, then the workflow server 6 determines (at block 618) all users in the selection matrix 670 that are also on the access list for workflow i, i.e., are capable of being assigned the active work item for workflow i. If (at block 616) the work item 528aa . . . an, ba . . . bn, na . . . nn for the active node in workflow i is checked out, then one user is the owner of the work item 528aa . . . an, ba . . . bn, na . . . nn. In the case the work item 528aa . . . an, ba . . . bn, na . . . nn is checked out and if (at block 620 in
In addition to considering work items assigned to users in the selection matrix 670 in other workflows 520a, b . . . n, there may also be active work items 528aa . . . an, ba . . . bn, na . . . nn assigned to users in the current workflow being processed. If (at block 630) there are active nodes in the current workflow than the current new node being processed, then the workflow server 6 performs the operations at blocks 610 through 626 to assign the normalized rating for each other work item assigned to members of the access list 532a, b . . . n of the workflow 520a, b . . . n including the new node being processed.
After completing the selection matrix 670, the workflow server 6 uses the selection matrix 670 to select one user to assign the new work item being processed. If (at block 634) one user in the selection matrix 670 has a lowest workload index 672 value, then the workflow server 6 assigns (at block 636) the work item to such user. If two or more users have the same workload index value, then a determination (at block 638) is made of whether one user has the least number of assigned work items 528aa . . . an, ba . . . bn, na . . . nn as indicated in column 674 of the selection matrix 670 (
With the described implementations, the workflow server 6 assigns the work item to only one user on the access list for the new node being processed. In this way, other unselected users are not burdened with being notified of another work item to process. Further, the selection of one user to receive the work item 528aa . . . an, ba . . . bn, na . . . nn is based on the normalized priority of the work items the users are currently processing, with the goal of selecting the user having the lowest rating, i.e., processing the fewest number of work items for the assignment. In this way, new work items are directed toward the users having the lightest load of assigned work items in a manner that balances the distribution of work items to users. Moreover, improving load balancing of work items to users will increase the likelihood that work items are completed faster, thereby improving the performance of the overall workflow process.
The preferred embodiments may be implemented as a method, apparatus or article of manufacture using standard programming and/or engineering techniques to produce software or code. The term “article of manufacture” as used herein refers to code or logic implemented in a computer readable medium (e.g., magnetic storage medium (e.g., hard disk drives, floppy disks, tape, etc.), optical storage (CD-ROMs, optical disks, etc.), volatile and non-volatile memory devices (e.g., EEPROMs, ROMs, PROMs, RAMs, DRAMs, SRAMs, firmware, programmable logic, etc.). Code in the computer readable medium is accessed and executed by a processor. The code in which preferred embodiments are implemented may further be accessible through a transmission media or from a file server over a network. In such cases, the article of manufacture in which the code is implemented may comprise a transmission media, such as a network transmission line, wireless transmission media, signals propagating through space, radio waves, infrared signals, etc. Of course, those skilled in the art will recognize that many modifications may be made to this configuration without departing from the scope of the present invention, and that the article of manufacture may comprise any information bearing medium known in the art.
In the described implementations, the workflow server 6 performed the load balancing operations to determine the user to assign the work item. In alternative implementations, a set of APIs may be provided to allow workflow clients 12a, b, c (
The described implementations utilized specific methods to determine the work items assigned to users that are members of the access list of the new node being processed. However, in workflow architectures utilizing different methods and data structures for maintaining information on workflows and work items, alternative determinations may be made to identify the work items assigned to each user in the access list of the new node being processed.
In additional implementations, there may be multiple access lists for different nodes within one workflow. In such case, the workflow server 6 would have to consider access lists on a node-by-node basis, as opposed to a workflow basis.
In the described implementations, one user was assigned the work item for the new node. In alternative implementations, multiple users may be assigned the work item, and the user requesting to check out or own such work item would then be provided the work item to complete.
In the described implementations, a priority assigned to the workflow and the number of work items assigned to a user were used to select the user to assign the new work item. However those skilled in the art will appreciate that there are alternative ways to calculate the workload index. For instance, in one alternative implementation, the workload index may be based on the number of work items assigned to each user without regard to any priority assigned to the workflow including the assigned work items. Still further, the workload index may be based on a priority assigned on a node-by-node basis, instead of on a workflow basis.
In the described implementations, the actions were implemented as Java methods. Alternatively, the actions may be implemented in any programming language known in the art.
In the described implementations, the priority was set by a user instantiating the workflow. Alternatively, the priorities for different workflows may be set prior to instantiation.
The foregoing description of the preferred embodiments of the invention has been presented for the purposes of illustration and description. It is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise form disclosed. Many modifications and variations are possible in light of the above teaching. It is intended that the scope of the invention be limited not by this detailed description, but rather by the claims appended hereto. The above specification, examples and data provide a complete description of the manufacture and use of the composition of the invention. Since many
embodiments of the invention can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention, the invention resides in the claims hereinafter appended.
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