Work process collaboration management

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9542660-B2
Application number	US-201313831330-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Mar 14, 2013
Priority date	Nov 2, 2012
Publication date	Jan 10, 2017
Grant date	Jan 10, 2017

Abstract

A collaboration message is received at a computer system network node of a computer network that operates in a decentralized arrangement such that network nodes comprise work process sources and destinations, and the collaboration messages convey process state updates among the collaborators. There is no central authority though which all process messages and state updates must pass and which thereby may create a system bottleneck and limit system growth. The computer system is scalable and system operation remains efficient with increasing numbers of network nodes.

First claim

What we claim is:

1. A method of process management over a computer network having multiple nodes, the method comprising:
receiving a collaboration message at a network node of the computer network, the collaboration message having process instance data that defines a work process instance and that includes an engagement identifier (ID), a public index, a private index, a work process state, and instance parameters that define one or more source collaborators, destination collaborators, and process owner collaborators, wherein each collaborator comprises a network node, and the process instance data identifies the network node at which the collaboration message is received, wherein the process instance data is based on a template in a template repository at a network node different from the identified network node;
verifying the instance parameters and a version number of the process instance data at the identified network node and obtaining corrected data from a work process engine at a network node different from the identified network node, in response to determining that any one of the instance parameters or version number cannot be verified, such that the instance parameters and version number are verified to be correct;
storing the process instance data and verified instance parameters and version number at the identified network node;
updating the work process state in response to process instance data that indicates the collaboration message was received from a defined source collaborator or destination collaborator and indicates the work process state has been changed;
generating a generated collaboration message at the identified network node, the generated collaboration message having process instance data that indicates a work activity specified in the instance parameters has been performed and changing the work process state accordingly;
sending the generated collaboration message from the identified network node to the source collaborators, destination collaborators, and process owner collaborators of the defined work process instance;
changing at least one of the process instance data comprising engagement ID, public index, or private index in response to data in the received collaboration message;
verifying that the collaboration message was received from a defined source collaborator or destination collaborator of the work process; and
storing the verified changed process instance data at the identified network node.

2. The method as in claim 1 , wherein generating the generated collaboration message is performed by an activity handler application installed at the identified network node.

3. The method as in claim 1 , wherein the received collaboration message was generated at the work process engine of the computer network in response to selection of a work process template and work process parameters based on the selected work process template.

4. The method as in claim 3 , wherein the work process engine further determines the process instance data of the work process instance, the process instance data including the engagement ID, public index, private index, work process state, and instance parameters that define one or more source collaborators, destination collaborators, and process owner collaborators.

5. The method as in claim 3 , wherein the received collaboration message was received at the identified network node from the work process engine.

6. A computer system for process management over a computer network, the computer system comprising a node of the computer network and including:
a memory storing program instructions and in communication with a computer processor executing the program instructions to provide a network communications block adapted for communications by the computer system network node with multiple nodes of the computer network;
the computer processor configured to execute the program instructions to perform operations comprising:
receiving a collaboration message at the computer system network node, the collaboration message having process instance data that defines a work process instance and that includes an engagement identifier (ID), a public index, a private index, a work process state, and instance parameters that define one or more source collaborators, destination collaborators, and process owner collaborators, wherein the collaborators comprise network nodes of the computer network, and the process instance data identifies the network node at which the collaboration message is received, wherein the process instance data is based on a template in a template repository at a network node different from the identified network node;
verifying the instance parameters and a version number of the process instance data at the identified network node and obtaining corrected data from a work process engine at a network node different from the identified network node, in response to determining that any one of the instance parameters or version number cannot be verified, such that the instance parameters and version number are verified to be correct;
storing the process instance data and verified instance parameters and version number at the computer system identified network node;
updating the work process state in response to process instance data that indicates the collaboration message was received from a defined source collaborator or destination collaborator and indicates the work process state has been changed;
generating a generated collaboration message at the computer system identified network node, the generated collaboration message having process instance data that indicates a work activity specified in the instance parameters has been performed and changing the work process state accordingly;
sending the generated collaboration message from the computer system identified network node to the source collaborators, destination collaborators, and process owner collaborators of the defined work process instance;

wherein the computer processor is further configured to perform operations comprising:
changing at least one of the process instance data comprising engagement ID, public index, or private index in response to data in the received collaboration message;
verifying that the collaboration message was received from a defined source collaborator or destination collaborator of the work process; and
storing the verified changed process instance data at the identified network node.

7. The computer system as in claim 6 , wherein the operation of generating the generated collaboration message is performed by an activity handler application installed at the computer system identified network node.

8. The computer system as in claim 6 , wherein the received collaboration message was generated at the work process engine of the computer network in response to selection of a work process template and work process parameters based on the selected work process template.

9. The computer system as in claim 8 , wherein the work process engine further determines the process instance data of the work process instance, the process instance data including the engagement ID, public index, private index, work process state, and instance parameters that define one or more source collaborators, destination collaborators, and process owner collaborators.

10. The computer system as in claim 8 , wherein the received collaboration message was received at the computer system identified network node from the work process engine.

Assignees

• Mitchell Int Inc

Inventors

• Schneider Craig A
• Makris Stefanos
• Albert Frederick
• Genchel Niv
• Fletcher John
• Kanodia Juveria
• Deshmukh Kshitij

Classifications

• G06Q10/06 Primary

  Resources, workflows, human or project management; Enterprise or organisation planning; Enterprise or organisation modelling · CPC title