Flow designer for establishing and maintaining assignment and strategy process maps

Abstract

A system, method and carrier medium for modeling a Financial Service Organization (FSO) business in a computer software program and for storing the model of the FSO business in a database. An object-oriented business model representing the FSO may be created and stored in a business model database. The one or more business objects included in the business model may be configured to describe various products, methods, functions and properties associated with an FSO. A process map business object may describe a process workflow. The process workflow may identify a sequence of tasks to be performed by an FSO production system to process an FSO transaction. The sequence of tasks associated with an FSO transaction may be consistent with pre-defined business logic for the transaction. Selecting a task object from a plurality of task objects and transferring the task object to a process map display representing the process map business object may create the process workflow. Additional task objects may be transferred and connected to the transferred task objects in a manner consistent with the business logic. An FSO production system, which may be configured to process FSO transactions, may access the database to request data associated with a particular FSO transaction. On receiving the requested data from the business model database, the FSO production system may complete the processing of the FSO transaction.

Description

PRIORITY CLAIM[0001]This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60 / 151,031 entitled “Flow Designer For Establishing And Maintaining Assignment And Strategy Process Maps,” filed Aug. 27, 1999.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0002]1. Field of the Invention[0003]The present invention generally relates to computer software programs to be used in Financial Service Organizations. More particularly, the present invention relates to a system for modeling a Financial Service Organization (FSO) production system for processing FSO transactions.[0004]2. Description of the Related Art[0005]FSOs such as banks, credit unions, insurance companies, mutual fund companies, credit card companies, brokerage houses, etc., market many types of financial products to their customers, such as savings accounts, brokerage accounts, commercial loans, mortgage loans, auto loans, personal loans, and credit cards. To acquire a credit product, for example, a customer of a FSO is typically re...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0017]In one embodiment, a process map business object may describe a process workflow. The process workflow may identify a sequence of tasks to be performed by an FSO production system to process an FSO transaction. The sequence of tasks associated with an FSO transaction may be consistent with pre-defined business logic for the transaction. Selecting a task object from a plurality of task objects and transferring the task object to a process map display representing the process map business object may create the process workflow. Additional task objects may be transferred and connected to the transferred task objects in a manner consistent with the business logic. An FSO production system, which may be configured to process FSO transactions, may access the database to request data associated with a particular FSO transaction. On receiving the requested data from the business model database, the FSO production system may complete the processing of the FSO transaction.

[0018]In one embodiment, the business modeler program executing on a computer system may provide a graphical user interface that may allow a user of the program to define business model objects. In one embodiment, the business objects may be represented by icons on a display screen. A business model object may be defined by one or more properties that describe the object and its relationship to other objects. Objects may be created within, or as children of, other objects. An object including a child object may be referred to as a parent of the child object. A child object may inherit properties from its parent object if the parent object is of the same object type as the child object. Objects may also reference other objects effective to access properties of referenced objects. An object may also be able to prevent other objects from referencing the object and from referencing children of the object.

[0023]In one embodiment, a method may be provided for creating document template objects. In one embodiment, the method may include a graphical interface that allows icons representing business model objects such as data elements to be dragged and dropped onto a document template and to be positioned on the template where the objects will appear on the document in a production system.

[0025]In one embodiment, the method may also include adding processing task objects to a processing map and connecting the processing task objects in a processing flow hierarchy. In one embodiment, the method may include a graphical interface to allow icons representing processing task objects to be dragged and dropped onto a processing map display template, representing a processing task workflow object, and to be graphically connected in a business product transaction processing task workflow order. In one embodiment, selecting a task object from a plurality of task objects and transferring the task object to a process map display representing the process map business object may create the process workflow. Additional task objects may be transferred and connected to the transferred task objects in a manner consistent with the business logic. An FSO production system, which may be configured to process FSO transactions, may access the database to request data associated with a particular FSO transaction. On receiving the requested data from the business model database, the FSO production system may complete the processing of the FSO transaction.

Problems solved by technology

Mainframe-based customer credit systems are not easily scalable.

As mainframe systems cost from the hundreds of thousands to millions of dollars, upgrading can be very expensive.

Further, downtime associated with the rollover to a new system with a larger mainframe may be disruptive to the account acquisition and account collection operations of the FSO.

The fixed linear hierarchy of steps in existing customer credit systems often result in redundant data entry.

This makes customer credit systems inflexible and difficult to modify, limiting the adaptability of the systems to changing business environments.

This modification process is time-consuming and expensive, and may take months or even years to complete.

Some desired changes may be lost or modified in the process of transferring the desired changes from business officers to source code changes.

Existing customer credit systems are mainframe-based and are therefore not easily scalable.

Modifying existing customer credit systems to meet changing business needs is a long process requiring many steps, including code changes by programmers that may have limited business knowledge in the customer credit marketplace.

This makes it difficult to visualize the credit product processing actually implemented in the customer credit system software.

Current customer credit system software also does not provide a way to model the business structure of a FSO.

Images