Simplifying data mapping in complex flows by defining schemas at convergence points in a workflow

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11630690-B2
Application number	US-201715846748-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Dec 19, 2017
Priority date	Dec 19, 2017
Publication date	Apr 18, 2023
Grant date	Apr 18, 2023

Abstract

A computer-implemented method comprising: receiving, by a computing device, user input defining a workflow; receiving, by the computing device, information defining schemas at convergence points in the workflow; determining, by the computing device, a set of mapping parameters at outputs of nodes of the workflow based on the schemas; receiving, by the computing device, input values to the mapping parameters; storing, by the computing device, the input values to the mapping parameters in a structure corresponding to the schemas; and executing, by the computing device, the workflow based on the input values to the mapping parameters, wherein the executing includes invoking one or more applications residing on one or more application servers through application programming interface (API) calls.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A computer-implemented method comprising:
receiving, by a computing device, user input defining a workflow;
receiving, by the computing device, information defining schemas at convergence points in the workflow, the convergence points being points in the workflow at which two or more workflow node outputs converge;
determining, by the computing device, a set of mapping parameters at outputs of nodes of the workflow based on the schemas;
presenting a menu of available inputs to map a subset of the mapping parameters, wherein the available inputs include previously defined data mappings, wherein the available inputs include only inputs from an IF node in the workflow that have a schema defined;
receiving, by the computing device, input values to the mapping parameters;
storing, by the computing device, the input values to the mapping parameters in a structure corresponding to the schemas;
executing, by the computing device, the workflow based on the input values to the mapping parameters, wherein the executing includes invoking one or more applications residing on one or more application servers through application programming interface (API) calls; and
auto-populating, by the computing device, a subset of the input values to the mapping parameters of a particular node in the workflow, wherein the subset of the input values is from a node in the workflow other than a node in the workflow that is directly connected to the particular node.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein a number of points in the workflow for defining the schemas and inputting the input values to the mapping parameters is less than a number of paths in the workflow.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the workflow is associated with a data record generation and storage application.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the previously defined data mappings are structured in accordance with the schema.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the workflow includes at least two IF nodes in a series,
one of the convergence points is a point in the workflow where outputs from two task nodes converge, and
an input of each of the two task nodes is an output of one of the IF nodes.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein a service provider performs at least one selected from the group consisting of: creates the computing device, maintains the computing device, deploys the computing device, and supports the computing device.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the receiving the user input defining the workflow, the receiving the information defining the schemas, the determining the set of mapping parameters, the receiving the inputs to the mapping parameters, the storing the mapping parameters, and the executing the workflow are provided by a service provider on a subscription, advertising, and/or fee basis.

8. The method of claim 1 , wherein the computing device includes software provided as a service in a cloud environment.

9. The method of claim 1 , further comprising deploying a system for simplifying data mapping in complex flows, comprising providing a computer infrastructure operable to perform the receiving the user input defining the workflow, the receiving the information defining the schemas, the determining the set of mapping parameters, the receiving the inputs to the mapping parameters, the storing the mapping parameters, and the executing the workflow.

10. The method of claim 1 , wherein a first schema of the schemas is defined at a first convergence point of the convergence points,
a first output of the workflow node outputs is an output of a first node of the nodes of the workflow,
a second output of the workflow node outputs is an output of a second node of the nodes of the workflow, the second node being directly downstream in the workflow from the first node and directly downstream in the workflow from the first convergence point, and
mapping parameters at the second output include only mapping parameters of the first schema and mapping parameters of the first output.

11. A computer program product for data mapping in complex flows, the computer program product comprising a computer readable storage medium having program instructions embodied therewith, the program instructions executable by a computing device to cause the computing device to:
receive, via a user interface of a workflow management application, user input for constructing a workflow;
receive, via the user interface, user input that defines schemas at convergence points in the workflow, the convergence points being points in the workflow at which two or more workflow node outputs converge;
receive, via the user interface, input values to mapping parameters defining output data at nodes in the workflow, wherein the input values to the mapping parameters include only the output data at nodes in the workflow and output of the schemas at the convergence points;
store the input values to the mapping parameters in a structure corresponding to the schemas at respective nodes;
auto-populating a subset of the input values to the mapping parameters of a particular node in the workflow, wherein the subset of the input values is from a node in the workflow other than a node in the workflow that is directly connected to the particular node; and
execute the workflow based on the input values to the mapping parameters,
wherein the user input that defines schemas includes defining the mapping parameters of each path into each of the convergence points.

12. The computer program product of claim 11 , wherein a number of points in the workflow for defining the schemas and inputting the input values to the mapping parameters is less than a number of paths in the workflow.

13. The computer program product of claim 11 , wherein the program instructions further cause the computing device to display an error when input values to mapping parameters for non-optional mapping parameters are not received.

14. The computer program product of claim 11 , wherein the program instructions further cause the computing device to present a menu of available inputs to map a subset of the mapping parameters, wherein the available inputs include previously defined data mappings and include only inputs from an IF node in the workflow that have a schema defined.

15. The computer program product of claim 11 , wherein the program instructions further cause the computing device to present to a user an output schema dialogue box on the user interface,
the program instructions further cause the computing device to receive condition definitions through the dialogue box on the user interface, the condition definitions defining the output data in response to particular conditions being met,
the receiving the user input that defines schemas at convergence points in the workflow is through the dialogue box on the user interface, and
the receiving the input values to the mapping parameters is through the dialogue box on the user interface.

16. A system comprising:
a CPU, a computer readable memory and a computer readable storage medium associated with a computing device;
program instructions to present a workflow having a plurality of convergence points, the convergence points being points in the workflow at which two or more workflow node outputs converge;
program instructions to present a plurality of schema definition dialogue boxes, wherein each of the plurality of schema definition dialogue boxes receive user inputs for defining a schema at a respective convergence point;
program instructions to present a plurality of data mapping dialogue boxes, wherein each of the plur

Assignees

• IBM

Inventors

• Nicholson Rob
• Burwood Sarah
• Phippen Robert W
• Broadhurst Peter A
• Thornton Gary
• Breeds Rob

Classifications

• G06F2209/482

  Application · CPC title

• H04L67/10

  in which an application is distributed across nodes in the network (software deployment G06F8/60; multiprogramming arrangements G06F9/46) · CPC title

• G06F8/60

  Software deployment · CPC title

• H04L67/12 Primary

  specially adapted for proprietary or special-purpose networking environments, e.g. medical networks, sensor networks, networks in vehicles or remote metering networks · CPC title

• G06Q10/0633

  Workflow analysis · CPC title