Workflow form configuration method and system

Through the coupled association between custom configuration forms and work nodes, the problem of difficult form expansion in the existing technology is solved, and the high reusability and scalability of the workflow management system is achieved, which reduces development costs and business delays.

CN114240343BActive Publication Date: 2024-12-24ZHEJIANG YUANCHUANG BUILDING INTELLIGENT TECH CO LTD
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Patent Information

Application Number
CN202111470855.7
Authority / Receiving Office
CN · China
Patent Type
Patents(China)
Current Assignee / Owner
Filing Date
2021-12-03
Publication Date
2024-12-24
Estimated Expiration
2041-12-03

AI Technical Summary

Technical Problem

The existing workflow management system cannot quickly expand forms when business expansion, resulting in high development costs and delayed business advancement, and it is difficult for developers to understand business needs, resulting in forms being unable to meet business needs.

Method used

Provide a workflow form configuration method and system, through custom configuration forms, obtain form objects based on business attributes, couple associated work nodes, generate business documents, and pass them through the workflow engine to achieve the scalability and reusability of the form .

Benefits of technology

It reduces development costs, shortens business expansion cycle, improves the reusability and scalability of forms, ensures that forms can meet different business needs, and reduces enterprise investment.

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Abstract

The present invention discloses a workflow form configuration method and system, which is applied to a workflow management system, wherein the method includes: S100, receiving a newly constructed work object, customizing a configuration form, and obtaining multiple form objects; S200, customizing and guiding the configuration of several work nodes in the workflow according to each form object, and coupling and associating the work nodes with the form objects; S300, configuring roles for each work node; S400, generating a work list according to the work node and role configuration, executing the business application programs in each work node in sequence according to the work list, and generating a business document; S500, passing the business document to the next work node according to the work list through a workflow engine, determining to execute the business application program of the corresponding work node, or returning to the previous work node, and re-executing the business application program of the corresponding work node. The present invention performs low coupling and high cohesion between the custom form and the workflow, thereby meeting different process business expansion requirements.
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Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the field of office system automation, and in particular to a workflow form configuration method and system. Background Art

[0002] With the rapid advancement of science and technology, automated office systems have become very popular. Among them, the workflow flow in the workflow management system is equivalent to the document flow, so how to ensure the diversity and scalability of form types is an important guide for the design of office system automation.

[0003] For example, the company's business is urgently expanding, which results in the inability to use the online automation system normally in a short period of time. It can be seen that due to the uncertainty of the company's business expansion, it is undoubtedly impossible to set up the business form in the development stage to complete the company's full-stage business expansion.

[0004] The existing workflow management system has pre-set applications for business forms. When a form needs to be added or modified, the workflow management system needs to be redeveloped. Therefore, it can be seen that traditional form expansion cannot be achieved in a short period of time, which delays the progress of business expansion. In addition, the secondary development increases the investment of funds, making it difficult to achieve frequent changes or increases in a large number of businesses in a short period of time, resulting in a solution to the dilemma of business forms not being able to meet the needs. On the other hand, during the secondary development stage, due to different industries, the communication between business personnel and developers cannot guarantee that developers can truly and effectively understand business needs. After the secondary development, it is difficult to guarantee whether the program can be directly put into use, which will further delay the company's business and cause losses. Summary of the invention

[0005] To solve the above technical problems, the embodiments of the present application provide a workflow form configuration method and system, thereby realizing customized configuration forms in a workflow management system, quickly submitting different forms for different business needs, improving the reusability and scalability of forms, reducing enterprise investment costs, and improving versatility.

[0006] In a first aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a workflow form configuration method, which is applied to a workflow management system, and the method includes:

[0007] S100, receiving a newly constructed work object, determining required business attributes, customizing a configuration form, and obtaining multiple form objects;

[0008] S200, configuring several working nodes in the workflow according to the customized guidance of each form object, and coupling and associating the working nodes with the form object;

[0009] S300, performing role configuration on each of the working nodes, determining an operation object and a form access object of each of the working nodes, wherein the form access object includes an operation object of the next working node;

[0010] S400, generating a work list according to the work node and the role configuration, executing the business application in each work node in sequence according to the work list, acquiring business data, automatically updating it to the form object, and generating a business document;

[0011] S500, the business document is passed to the next work node according to the work list through the workflow engine, so that the operation object of the next work node accesses and verifies the business document and determines to execute the business application corresponding to the work node, or returns to the previous work node and re-executes the business application corresponding to the work node.

[0012] Furthermore, in step S100, the method for customizing the configuration form includes:

[0013] It is determined whether there is a form object adapted to the business attribute in the form library; if so, the form object pre-stored in the form library is directly called, otherwise, a number of form objects adapted to the business attribute are custom configured.

[0014] Furthermore, in custom configuring several form objects adapted to business attributes, a visual interface is used to guide and drag custom form element components to generate a form object based on page visualization, so that after the form object is coupled and associated with the corresponding work node, the configured form object is visually displayed.

[0015] Furthermore, when the custom form element component is dragged and guided by the visual interface, it also includes setting input attributes for the form element so as to match the acquired business data.

[0016] Furthermore, in the step S200, it also includes presetting a configurable workflow architecture, and then customizing and configuring the working nodes according to the form object.

[0017] Furthermore, one or more of the working nodes are coupled and associated with the same form object.

[0018] Furthermore, one of the working nodes is coupled and associated with one or more of the form objects.

[0019] In a second aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a workflow form configuration system, using any method described in the first aspect, the system comprising:

[0020] A form configuration module is configured to receive a newly constructed work object, determine required business attributes, customize the configuration form, and obtain multiple form objects;

[0021] A node configuration module, configured to customize a plurality of working nodes in the configuration workflow according to each of the form objects, and to couple and associate the working nodes with the form objects;

[0022] A role configuration module, configured to perform role configuration on each of the working nodes, determine the operation object and form access object of each of the working nodes, and the form access object includes the operation object of the next working node;

[0023] A data acquisition module is configured to generate a work list according to the work node and the role configuration, execute the business application programs in each of the work nodes in sequence according to the work list, acquire business data, automatically update it to the form object, and generate a business document;

[0024] The business transfer module is configured to transfer the business document to the next work node according to the work list through the workflow engine, so that the operation object of the next work node accesses and reviews the business document and determines to execute the business application corresponding to the work node, or returns to the previous work node and re-executes the business application corresponding to the work node.

[0025] In a third aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides an electronic device, including:

[0026] one or more processors;

[0027] Memory; used to store one or more programs;

[0028] When the one or more programs are executed by the one or more processors, the one or more processors implement any method described in the first aspect.

[0029] In a fourth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a computer-readable medium having a computer program stored thereon, wherein the computer program, when executed by a processor, implements any method described in the first aspect.

[0030] The technical solution provided in the embodiments of the present application has at least the following technical effects:

[0031] 1. This application organically integrates the workflow management system with the configurable form, and customizes the form object according to the work object, and then customizes the work node according to the form object, and couples the form object with the work object. The two can be independent of each other and interdependent. Therefore, the business content form of the form object is not restricted, and its flow is based on the flow of the task status of the work node. Based on the role configuration, the business documents can be viewed and reviewed in real time according to the configured permissions. This method can be plugged into a third-party system, so it is highly reusable, and can shield the differences in business data between different systems, further improving software reliability.

[0032] 2. By adopting the custom form objects and process node designs in this solution, any process-based soft development will greatly reduce capital investment costs and shorten the business expansion cycle.

[0033] 3. Since the workflow management system of this solution executes work nodes that depend on the process, and the work nodes have provided form objects in the design stage, the form elements use the same label elements according to the rules agreed upon by the developers, and the elements are processed uniformly during storage and update. When updating label elements, it is not limited to drawing form elements to update, but also can assign values ​​to the form.

[0034] 4. Since the entity of the work object is used as a link, the work node and the form object are the two main attributes. The business document generated based on the form object follows the flow of the work node in the workflow management system, and the content form of the business data in the form object is not restricted. Its flow is based on the flow of the status of each work node in the workflow. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0035] Figure 1 This is a flowchart of the workflow form configuration method in Example 1 of the present application;

[0036] Figure 2 Design a flow chart for customizing forms and work nodes in Example 1 of this application;

[0037] Figure 3 This is a flowchart of work nodes that share the same form object in Example 1 of the present application;

[0038] Figure 4 This is a block diagram of the workflow form configuration system in Example 2 of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0039] In order to better understand the above technical solution, the above technical solution will be described in detail below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and specific implementation methods.

[0040] Embodiment 1

[0041] The embodiment of the present application provides a workflow form configuration method, which is applied to a workflow management system. However, the workflow architecture and form in the existing workflow management system are pre-set, so they cannot support the business expansion of the enterprise. In this regard, the present application provides a technical solution for configurable workflow forms, in which the business attributes (business attributes can be understood as label data in the form) are determined for the business needs of the workflow, and then after the custom configuration form is performed, the required multiple form objects are obtained, and then the work nodes are configured according to the form objects. In other words, the technical solution of this embodiment is executed inside the workflow management system. The workflow task management personnel in the work project only need to perform the coupling of the workflow and the form according to the given configuration, and the workflow and the form are independent of each other, so they have the characteristics of low coupling and high cohesion. And because the technical solution has the advantages of low coupling and high cohesion, the technical solution can be extended to other procedural business or engineering needs, so as to improve the reusability of the technical solution, reduce development costs, reduce the construction difficulty of related businesses or projects, and shorten the cycle.

[0042] Reference Figure 1-2 As shown, the workflow form configuration method provided in this embodiment includes the following steps.

[0043] Step S100, receiving a newly constructed work object, determining required business attributes, customizing a configuration form, and obtaining multiple form objects.

[0044] Among them, the work object can represent several project information and require several business operations, and the corresponding operations are performed in order for the same purpose. Of course, this solution is also applicable to some civil engineering projects. Its purpose is to use data to intuitively represent the process. On the one hand, it can ensure the correct connection between the previous and next operations, and on the other hand, it is convenient for supervisors to carry out corresponding monitoring.

[0045] In this step, when a newly constructed work object is received, the business attributes related to the work object are determined based on the relevant tag data already in the work object, so as to perform a custom form configuration.

[0046] The custom configuration form in this step includes configuring the form according to the required business attributes, and also includes specific content in the configuration form.

[0047] To further illustrate, in step S100, the method for customizing the form configuration includes: determining whether there is a form object adapted to the business attribute in the form library; if so, directly calling the pre-stored form object in the form library, otherwise, customizing several form objects adapted to the business attribute.

[0048] In custom configuration of several form objects adapted to business attributes, the visual interface is used to guide and drag the custom form element components to generate form objects based on page visualization, so that after the form objects are coupled and associated with the corresponding work nodes, the configured form objects are visually displayed.

[0049] When using the visual interface to guide and drag the custom form element component, it also includes setting input properties for the form element to match the acquired business data.

[0050] Step S200 , customizing the guidance configuration of several work nodes in the workflow according to each form object, and coupling and associating the work nodes with the form objects.

[0051] Therefore, it can be seen that in this embodiment, whether it is a customized form or a customized workflow, no pre-configuration is required. When executing a customized configuration form, drag the element components of the customized form object on the visual interface to generate a page-style form object, and then guide the configuration of the work node according to the form object. In other words, the form object is coupled to the work node of the workflow in this way, and after the form object is coupled to the work node of the workflow, the page-style form object can be viewed through the corresponding process node. It can be seen that this embodiment configures the workflow nodes and form development settings within the existing system through front-end customization, that is, a combination of front-end custom component technology and workflow technology. In this embodiment, after integrating the visual workflow process customization and the visual form configuration into one project, the page-style workflow customization and form customization can be achieved, reducing the cost of developing processes or forms, that is, the purpose of one-time development and lifelong use.

[0052] In order to facilitate operators to customize the configuration of workflow nodes, step S200 also includes presetting a configurable workflow architecture, and then customizing the configuration of the work nodes according to the form object.

[0053] Further explanation, in this embodiment, one or more work nodes are coupled and associated with the same form object. A work node is coupled and associated with one or more form objects. Figure 3 That is to say, in this step, the same form object can be processed at different work nodes according to the process definition, or different forms can be executed according to the relationship between the forms. The workflow engine itself completes the task flow and completes a set of form processing defined by the process.

[0054] Step S300 , configuring roles for each working node, determining the operation object and form access object of each working node, and the form access object includes the operation object of the next working node.

[0055] Step S400, generating a work list according to the work node and role configuration, executing the business application in each work node in sequence according to the work list, obtaining business data, automatically updating it to the form object, and generating a business document.

[0056] To further explain, when configuring a form object, element input rules are defined for the form object, that is, as mentioned above, restrictions on the processing of input values ​​or selected values ​​by form elements.

[0057] Step S500, the business document is passed to the next work node according to the work list through the workflow engine, so that the operation object of the next work node accesses and reviews the business document and determines to execute the business application of the corresponding work node, or returns to the previous work node and re-executes the business application of the corresponding work node.

[0058] From the above, it can be seen that the present implementation provides a custom form and a custom workflow, and a technical solution for coupling the custom form with the workflow. The workflow is defined before running the workflow, and whether the form needs to be configured is determined according to the nature of the work object. After configuring the form, it is determined whether there is a suitable form object to choose from, and whether to enter the form configuration page. The form configuration page has a rich set of form elements that can be used to configure the form, which can be configured into various general forms and forms for special needs to meet the needs of different scenarios. Furthermore, when creating a process definition (i.e., a work node), the corresponding form can be selected in the work node, which strengthens the association without affecting the configuration of the process definition for the role.

[0059] The workflow management system in this embodiment is a software system. Work tasks are transferred according to the process pre-defined in the system. The data of each work node is updated to the business document formed in the form object and will be transferred accordingly. The coupling with the configuration form is completed based on the workflow system product architecture. Different configurable forms can be used to meet different business process definitions. By associating the task node in the process definition with the form object, the high scalability of the configurable form based on the workflow system can be achieved. Different forms can be configured according to different business processes or approval processes, eliminating the process of pre-configuring forms.

[0060] To further illustrate, in this embodiment, a corresponding form is established according to the actual business or process, and is bound to the workflow. The intermediate work object is used as a link to make the workflow process correspond to the form one-to-one, and form a one-to-many mapping relationship. Select a configurable form and bind the form to the process definition attribute. Each task node can display the processing opinions and results of the previous node. Even if it is limited by the fewer forms, a new form to be used can be created immediately according to the regulations. During the circulation process of the form elements, the element attributes will not change, and the element value will change according to the approval of the approval node personnel, and flow to the next node in real time and effectively. Thanks to the low coupling of this system, it can be used as a third-party workflow plug-in to provide external services and reduce invasiveness.

[0061] Embodiment 2

[0062] refer to Figure 4 The embodiment of the present application provides a workflow form configuration system, which adopts any method of the embodiment, and the system includes the following modules.

[0063] The form configuration module 100 is configured to receive a newly constructed work object, determine required business attributes, customize the configuration form, and obtain multiple form objects.

[0064] The node configuration module 200 is configured to customize and guide the configuration of several working nodes in the workflow according to each form object, and couple and associate the working nodes with the form objects.

[0065] The role configuration module 300 is configured to perform role configuration on each working node, determine the operation object and form access object of each working node, and the form access object includes the operation object of the next working node.

[0066] The data acquisition module 400 is configured to generate a work list according to the work node and role configuration, execute the business application in each work node in sequence according to the work list, obtain business data, automatically update it to the form object, and generate a business document.

[0067] The business transfer module 500 is configured to transfer the business document to the next work node according to the work list through the workflow engine, so that the operation object of the next work node accesses and reviews the business document and determines to execute the business application of the corresponding work node, or returns to the previous work node and re-executes the business application of the corresponding work node.

[0068] Embodiment 3

[0069] An embodiment of the present application provides an electronic device, including:

[0070] one or more processors;

[0071] Memory; used to store one or more programs;

[0072] When one or more programs are executed by one or more processors, the one or more processors implement any method in the first embodiment.

[0073] An embodiment of the present application provides a computer-readable medium having a computer program stored thereon, wherein when the computer program is executed by a processor, any method in the first embodiment is implemented.

[0074] Those skilled in the art will appreciate that embodiments of the present invention may be provided as methods, systems, or computer program products. Therefore, the present invention may take the form of a complete hardware embodiment, a complete software embodiment, or an embodiment combining software and hardware. Moreover, the present invention may take the form of a computer program product implemented on one or more computer-usable storage media (including but not limited to disk storage, CD-ROM, optical storage, etc.) containing computer-usable program code.

[0075] The present invention is described with reference to flowcharts and / or block diagrams of methods, devices (systems), and computer program products according to embodiments of the present invention. It should be understood that each process and / or block in the flowchart and / or block diagram, as well as the combination of processes and / or blocks in the flowchart and / or block diagram, can be implemented by computer program instructions. These computer program instructions can be provided to a processor of a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, an embedded processor, or other programmable data processing device to produce a machine, so that the instructions executed by the processor of the computer or other programmable data processing device generate instructions for implementing the processes in the flowchart and / or block diagram. Figure 1 A process or multiple processes and / or boxes Figure 1 A device that provides the functions specified in a block or multiple blocks.

[0076] These computer program instructions may also be stored in a computer-readable memory capable of directing a computer or other programmable data processing device to operate in a specific manner, so that the instructions stored in the computer-readable memory produce an article of manufacture comprising an instruction device, which implements the process Figure 1 A process or multiple processes and / or boxes Figure 1 A function specified in one or more boxes.

[0077] These computer program instructions can also be loaded onto a computer or other programmable data processing device so that a series of operating steps are executed on the computer or other programmable device to produce a computer-implemented process, thereby providing instructions for implementing the process. Figure 1 A process or multiple processes and / or boxes Figure 1 The steps for the functions specified in one or more boxes.

[0078] Although the preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described, those skilled in the art may make additional changes and modifications to these embodiments once they have learned the basic creative concept. Therefore, the appended claims are intended to be interpreted as including the preferred embodiments and all changes and modifications that fall within the scope of the present invention.

[0079] Obviously, those skilled in the art can make various changes and modifications to the present invention without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. Thus, if these modifications and variations of the present invention fall within the scope of the claims of the present invention and their equivalents, the present invention is also intended to include these modifications and variations.

Claims

1. A workflow form configuration method, applied in a workflow management system, characterized in that: The method comprises: S100, receiving a newly constructed work object, determining required business attributes, customizing a configuration form, and obtaining multiple form objects; the custom configuration form includes configuring the form according to the required business attributes, and also includes specific content in the configuration form; the method for customizing the configuration form includes: determining whether there is a form object adapted to the business attributes in the form library; if so, directly calling the pre-stored form object in the form library, otherwise, customizing a number of form objects adapted to the business attributes; in customizing the number of form objects adapted to the business attributes, using a visual interface to guide and drag custom form element components to generate a form object based on page visualization, so that after the form object is coupled and associated with the corresponding work node, the configured form object is visually displayed; S200, configuring several working nodes in the workflow according to the customized guidance of each form object, and coupling and associating the working nodes with the form object; S300, performing role configuration on each of the working nodes, determining an operation object and a form access object of each of the working nodes, wherein the form access object includes an operation object of the next working node; S400, generating a work list according to the work node and the role configuration, executing the business application in each work node in sequence according to the work list, acquiring business data, automatically updating it to the form object, and generating a business document; S500, the business document is passed to the next work node according to the work list through the workflow engine, so that the operation object of the next work node accesses and verifies the business document and determines to execute the business application corresponding to the work node, or returns to the previous work node and re-executes the business application corresponding to the work node.

2. The workflow form configuration method according to claim 1, characterized in that: When the custom form element component is dragged and dropped using the visual interface, it also includes setting input attributes for the form element to match the acquired business data.

3. The workflow form configuration method according to claim 1, characterized in that: In the step S200, it also includes presetting a configurable workflow framework, and then customizing and configuring the work nodes according to the form object.

4. The workflow form configuration method according to claim 1, characterized in that: One or more of the working nodes are coupled and associated with the same form object.

5. The workflow form configuration method according to claim 1, characterized in that: One of the working nodes is coupled to and associated with one or more of the form objects.

6. A workflow form configuration system, using the method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that: The system comprises: A form configuration module is configured to receive a newly constructed work object, determine required business attributes, customize a configuration form, and obtain multiple form objects; the customized configuration form includes configuring the form according to the required business attributes and also includes specific content in the configuration form; A node configuration module, configured to customize a plurality of working nodes in the configuration workflow according to each of the form objects, and to couple and associate the working nodes with the form objects; A role configuration module, configured to perform role configuration on each of the working nodes, determine the operation object and form access object of each of the working nodes, and the form access object includes the operation object of the next working node; A data acquisition module is configured to generate a work list according to the work node and the role configuration, execute the business application programs in each of the work nodes in sequence according to the work list, acquire business data, automatically update it to the form object, and generate a business document; The business transfer module is configured to transfer the business document to the next work node according to the work list through the workflow engine, so that the operation object of the next work node accesses and reviews the business document and determines to execute the business application corresponding to the work node, or returns to the previous work node and re-executes the business application corresponding to the work node.

7. An electronic device, characterized in that: include: one or more processors; Memory; used to store one or more programs; When the one or more programs are executed by the one or more processors, the one or more processors implement the method as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 5.

8. A computer readable medium having a computer program stored thereon, characterized in that: When the computer program is executed by a processor, the method according to any one of claims 1 to 5 is implemented.