Aided design method for approval process

Abstract

The invention relates to the technical field of approval process design, in particular to an auxiliary design method based on an approval process. The method comprises the following steps: S1, determining an approval process and an iteration ending condition; s2, assigning a value to the initiating node; s3, calculating the receipt outflow density of each node, and migrating the receipt outflow density to the next node to which the receipt outflow density points; returning the density of the approved receipts to zero; s4, judging whether an iteration ending condition is met or not, and if yes, entering the step S5; otherwise, 1 is added to the time step, the document density is increased for each initiating node, and then the step S3 is executed again; s5, judging whether the design of the approval process is reasonable or not; and ending. The method can predict the bottleneck of the approval process in real time, helps to predict the effect of the approval process after design and adjustment, helps to shorten the design and adjustment period of the approval process, and improves the user satisfaction of the approval process.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the technical field of approval process design, and more specifically, to an auxiliary design method based on an approval process. Background Art

[0002] In various management platforms, process approval is a key function. For example, the borrowing of confidential documents requires multi-level approval, and each level of approval will have multiple options. If the approver does not pass, it will return to the previous approver or to the submitter of the borrowing document. The approval process requires multiple verifications to ensure that each reviewer is in good condition. This process can be very complicated. For example, after the document is reviewed by the person in charge of the initiating unit, the type of document will be determined and sent to different reviewers.

[0003] During the review process, if there is a blockage at the review node, it means that the approval process design is not very reasonable and needs to be redesigned or improved. In the prior art, in order to obtain a better approval process, the designer usually continuously adjusts the approval process according to the actual application of the approval process.

[0004] However, if problems are found during actual use, it will take a long time to continuously repair and adjust the approval process until the information between different nodes in the approval process can be transmitted in a timely manner and the workload of each node is stable. This will not only lead to a longer approval process design and adjustment cycle, but also affect user experience and satisfaction, and even have a negative impact on the business. Summary of the invention

[0005] In view of the problem that the design of the approval process in the above-mentioned prior art needs to be adjusted according to the actual application situation, which leads to a long design and adjustment cycle and affects user satisfaction, the present invention provides an auxiliary design method for the approval process, which can help designers predict the rationality of the approval process, shorten the approval process design and adjustment cycle, and improve user satisfaction.

[0006] In order to solve the above technical problems, the technical solution provided by the present invention is:

[0007] An auxiliary design method for approval process includes the following steps:

[0008] S1: First determine the approval process. The entire approval process can be represented by a directed graph with probability weights, where each approval node corresponds to a position and the approver on the position; wherein the approval process includes multiple levels, the first level includes at least one initiating node, and the second to the last level each includes at least one approval node; then determine the direction of the document outflow of each node, the document migration probability of each node pointing to the next node, and the iteration end condition; proceed to step S2. It should be noted that each node described in this specification includes all initiating nodes and all approval nodes. It can be understood that if the document outflow of node A is directed to B, it means that A has a certain probability of submitting the document to B; the document migration probability of node A pointing to node B represents the probability that A will submit the document to B.

[0009] S2: Assign a number greater than 0 to each of the initiating nodes as the document density, where the document density represents the number of documents staying on the node per unit time; proceed to step S3.

[0010] S3: Select all nodes whose document density is greater than zero, calculate the document outflow density of each node for the next node it points to according to the direction of each node and the document migration probability, and migrate the document outflow density to the next node it points to, that is, the current node is subtracted from a portion of the document density that is equal to the aforementioned document outflow density, and the next node it points to is increased from a portion of the document density that is equal to the aforementioned document outflow density; at the same time, the density of the approved documents is reset to zero; proceed to step S4.

[0011] S4: Determine whether the iteration end condition is met, if so, proceed to step S5; otherwise, increase the time step by 1, increase the document density for each initiating node, and then re-enter step S3.

[0012] S5: judging whether the design of the approval process is reasonable according to the size of the current time step, the document density of each node at present, or the difference between the document density of each node at present and that of the previous time step; end. The number of iterations is equal to the value of the current time step.

[0013] Preferably, after step S1 and before entering step S2, the document density of each node is assigned a value of 0, which means that all approval nodes are idle before the submitter submits the document. This can prevent the document density left over from the previous prediction process from affecting the prediction result this time.

[0014] In one preferred solution, the iteration termination condition is that the current time step reaches the maximum time step.

[0015] Preferably, in step S1, a document density threshold is also determined; in step S5, it is determined whether there is at least one node whose document density is greater than the document density threshold. If so, it means that the design of the approval process is unreasonable; otherwise, it means that the design of the approval process is reasonable.

[0016] In another preferred solution, in step S1, the iteration end condition is "among the nodes with document density greater than 0, the difference between the current document density of at least one node and the document density of the previous time step is less than or equal to a certain value" or "the time step reaches the maximum time step". The iteration can be stopped when one of the two conditions is met, which is beneficial to reduce the number of iterations and improve the prediction efficiency of the approval process. If the former condition is met, it means that the designed approval process can converge, otherwise it means that the designed approval process cannot converge. It can be understood that the failure of the approval process to converge means that the document density of the node is constantly changing or increasing, the entire process cannot remain stable, and the specific workload of the node cannot be predicted. If the designed approval process can converge, it means that the approval process has reached a stable state, and each node has its fixed workload.

[0017] Preferably, in step S5, it is determined whether the number of iterations is greater than or equal to the maximum time step. If so, it means that the design of the approval process is unreasonable; otherwise, it means that the design of the approval process is reasonable.

[0018] Preferably, in step S1, the calculation formula of the document migration probability of the initiating node to the approval node it points to is:

[0019] P = P0 × P1;

[0020] In the formula, P represents the document migration probability of the current node to the next node it points to; P1 represents the probability that the initiator of the current node saves and sends the document;

[0021] The calculation formula of the document migration probability of an approval node for the approval node it points to is:

[0022] P = P0 × P2;

[0023] In the formula, P represents the document migration probability of the current node to the next node it points to; P2 represents the probability that the next node has seen the documents submitted by the current node and has not returned these documents.

[0024] Preferably, in step S3, the calculation formula for the document outflow density is:

[0025] q = s × P;

[0026] In the formula, q represents the document outflow density; s represents the current document density of the current node; and P represents the document migration probability of the current node to the next node it points to.

[0027] Preferably, in step S1, the pressure coefficient, the combined processing advantage coefficient and the first iteration number threshold of each approval node are determined; in step S3, when the iteration number is greater than or equal to the first iteration number threshold, the calculation formula of the document outflow density of the approval node for the next node it points to is:

[0028] q = s × P × d × h;

[0029] In the formula, q represents the document outflow density; s represents the current document density of the current node; P represents the document migration probability of the current node to the next node it points to; d represents the pressure coefficient corresponding to the current node; h represents the merge processing advantage coefficient corresponding to the current node. The pressure coefficient is used to evaluate the busyness and document processing capacity of a certain approval node. If the pressure coefficient of an approval node is too high, it means that the approver of the approval node needs to handle a large number of approval tasks. The merge processing advantage coefficient refers to a quantitative indicator of the advantages or efficiency improvements brought about by merging multiple approval tasks in the approval process. The size of the pressure coefficient and the merge processing advantage coefficient depends on the design of the approval process. When the number of iterations is greater than the first iteration number threshold, incorporating the pressure coefficient and the merge processing advantage coefficient into the calculation of the document outflow density can more realistically restore the actual process of the approval process, thereby improving the accuracy and reliability of the prediction results of the approval process.

[0030] Preferably, in step S5, if the result is that the design of the approval process is unreasonable, it means that the part that cannot converge needs to be modified, that is, the blocked nodes need to be modified, and the modification method includes adding parallel nodes or replacing nodes with slower document processing speeds with nodes with faster document processing speeds, that is, adding the same positions in the same approval level or replacing the approvers with slower document processing speeds with approvers with faster document processing speeds.

[0031] Beneficial effects of the present invention:

[0032] 1. This method can predict the bottleneck of the approval process in real time, help predict the effect of approval process design and adjustment, help shorten the design and adjustment cycle of the approval process, and improve user satisfaction with the approval process.

[0033] 2. Based on the density of documents staying at each node, after specifying the approval habits of the currently selected approvers at each node and the probability of approval options calculated based on complex logic, the document flow is simulated using discrete time and space to simulate the efficiency and document density of the entire approval process. This simulation can give the average document density and flow rate over a period of time, which can reflect the efficiency of the approval process.

[0034] 3. Probabilistic modeling of complex business logic is performed, and the convergence of the model is predicted with less computational effort, without the need to simulate the status change of a single document. The calculation speed is fast, and the application of the approval process can be quickly predicted.

[0035] 4. This method can quickly give numerical quantitative relationships when designing the approval process, and can perform probabilistic modeling evaluation on the directed graph design of any complex approval process. The evaluation parameters include the stability of the approval process, the pressure of each node in the approval process, and the rationality of the approval process. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0036] Figure 1 It is a flowchart of an auxiliary design method for approval process;

[0037] Figure 2 This is a rough schematic diagram of the approval process directed graph. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0038] The technical solution of the present invention is further described in detail below through specific embodiments and in conjunction with the accompanying drawings:

[0039] Example 1

[0040] This embodiment is a first embodiment of an auxiliary design method for an approval process. Figure 1 As shown, it includes the following steps:

[0041] S1: First determine the approval process. The entire approval process can be used as follows: Figure 2 The directed graph with probability weights shown in the figure indicates that each approval node corresponds to a position and the approval personnel on the position; the approval process includes multiple levels, the first level includes at least one initiating node, and the second to the last level each includes at least one approval node; then determine the direction of the document outflow of each node, the document migration probability of each node pointing to the next node, and the iteration end condition; enter step S2. It should be noted that each node described in this specification includes all initiating nodes and all approval nodes. It can be understood that if the document outflow of node A is directed to B, it means that A has a certain probability of submitting the document to B; the document migration probability of node A pointing to node B represents the probability that A will submit the document to B.

[0042] S2: Assign a number greater than 0 to each initiating node as the document density, where the document density represents the number of documents that stay on the node per unit time; proceed to step S3.

[0043] S3: Select all nodes whose document density is greater than zero, calculate the document outflow density of each node for the next node it points to according to the direction of each node and the document migration probability, and migrate the document outflow density to the next node it points to, that is, the current node is subtracted from a portion of the document density that is equal to the aforementioned document outflow density, and the next node it points to is increased from a portion of the document density that is equal to the aforementioned document outflow density; at the same time, the density of the approved documents is reset to zero; proceed to step S4.

[0044] S4: Determine whether the iteration end condition is met. If so, proceed to step S5; otherwise, increase the time step by 1, increase the document density for each initiating node, and then re-enter step S3.

[0045] S5: Determine whether the design of the approval process is reasonable based on the size of the current time step, the document density of each node, or the difference between the document density of each node and the previous time step; end. The number of iterations is equal to the value of the current time step.

[0046] Furthermore, after step S1 and before entering step S2, the document density of each node is assigned a value of 0. The document density of 0 means that all approval nodes are idle before the submitter submits the document. This can prevent the document density left over from the previous prediction process from affecting the prediction result this time.

[0047] Beneficial effects of this embodiment:

[0048] 1. This method can predict the bottleneck of the approval process in real time, help predict the effect of approval process design and adjustment, help shorten the design and adjustment cycle of the approval process, and improve user satisfaction with the approval process.

[0049] 2. Based on the density of documents staying at each node, after specifying the approval habits of the currently selected approvers at each node and the probability of approval options calculated based on complex logic, the document flow is simulated using discrete time and space to simulate the efficiency and document density of the entire approval process. This simulation can give the average document density and flow rate over a period of time, which can reflect the efficiency of the approval process.

[0050] 3. Probabilistic modeling of complex business logic is performed, and the convergence of the model is predicted with less computational effort, without the need to simulate the status change of a single document. The calculation speed is fast, and the application of the approval process can be quickly predicted.

[0051] 4. This method can quickly give numerical quantitative relationships when designing the approval process, and can perform probabilistic modeling evaluation on the directed graph design of any complex approval process. The evaluation parameters include the stability of the approval process, the pressure of each node in the approval process, and the rationality of the approval process.

[0052] Example 2

[0053] This embodiment is a second embodiment of an auxiliary design method for an approval process, and this embodiment further supplements step S1 and step S2.

[0054] Furthermore, the iteration termination condition is that the current time step reaches the maximum time step.

[0055] Furthermore, in step S1, a document density threshold is determined; in step S5, it is determined whether the document density of at least one node is greater than the document density threshold. If so, it means that the design of the approval process is unreasonable, otherwise, it means that the design of the approval process is reasonable.

[0056] The other features, working principles and beneficial effects of this embodiment are consistent with those of Embodiment 1.

[0057] Example 3

[0058] This embodiment is a third embodiment of an auxiliary design method for an approval process. This embodiment is similar to the second embodiment, except that: Figure 1 As shown, in step S1, the condition for ending the iteration is "Among the nodes with document density greater than 0, the difference between the current document density of at least one node and the document density of the previous time step is less than or equal to a certain value" or "the time step reaches the maximum time step". The iteration can be stopped when one of the two conditions is met, which is beneficial to reduce the number of iterations and improve the prediction efficiency of the approval process. If the former condition is met, it means that the designed approval process can converge, otherwise it means that the designed approval process cannot converge. It can be understood that the failure of the approval process to converge means that the document density of the node is constantly changing or increasing, the entire process cannot remain stable, and the specific workload of the node cannot be predicted. If the designed approval process can converge, it means that the approval process has reached a stable state, and each node has its fixed workload.

[0059] Further, in step S5, it is determined whether the number of iterations is greater than or equal to the maximum time step. If so, it means that the design of the approval process is unreasonable, otherwise, it means that the design of the approval process is reasonable.

[0060] The other features, working principles and beneficial effects of this embodiment are consistent with those of Embodiment 2.

[0061] Example 4

[0062] This embodiment is a third embodiment of an auxiliary design method for an approval process. Based on the third embodiment, this embodiment further supplements steps S1 to S5. Figure 1 and Figure 2 As shown, in step S1, the calculation formula of the document migration probability of the initiating node for the approval node it points to is:

[0063] P = P0 × P1;

[0064] In the formula, P represents the document migration probability of the current node to the next node it points to; P1 represents the probability that the initiator of the current node saves and sends the document;

[0065] The calculation formula of the document migration probability of an approval node for the approval node it points to is:

[0066] P = P0 × P2;

[0067] In the formula, P represents the document migration probability of the current node to the next node it points to; P2 represents the probability that the next node has seen the documents submitted by the current node and has not returned these documents.

[0068] Furthermore, in step S3, the calculation formula for the document outflow density is:

[0069] q = s × P;

[0070] In the formula, q represents the document outflow density; s represents the current document density of the current node; and P represents the document migration probability of the current node to the next node it points to.

[0071] Furthermore, in step S1, the pressure coefficient, the combined processing advantage coefficient and the first iteration number threshold of each approval node are determined; in step S3, when the iteration number is greater than or equal to the first iteration number threshold, the calculation formula of the document outflow density of the approval node for the next node it points to is:

[0072] q = s × P × d × h;

[0073] In the formula, q represents the document outflow density; s represents the current document density of the current node; P represents the document migration probability of the current node to the next node it points to; d represents the pressure coefficient corresponding to the current node; h represents the merge processing advantage coefficient corresponding to the current node. The pressure coefficient is used to evaluate the busyness and document processing capacity of a certain approval node. If the pressure coefficient of an approval node is too high, it means that the approver of the approval node needs to handle a large number of approval tasks. The merge processing advantage coefficient refers to a quantitative indicator of the advantages or efficiency improvements brought about by merging multiple approval tasks in the approval process. The size of the pressure coefficient and the merge processing advantage coefficient depends on the design of the approval process. When the number of iterations is greater than the first iteration number threshold, incorporating the pressure coefficient and the merge processing advantage coefficient into the calculation of the document outflow density can more realistically restore the actual process of the approval process, thereby improving the accuracy and reliability of the prediction results of the approval process.

[0074] Further, in step S5, if the result is that the design of the approval process is unreasonable, it means that the part that cannot converge needs to be modified, that is, the blocked nodes need to be modified. The modification methods include adding parallel nodes or replacing nodes with slower document processing speeds with nodes with faster document processing speeds, that is, adding the same positions in the same approval level or replacing approvers with slower document processing speeds with approvers with faster document processing speeds.

[0075] Other features, working principles and beneficial effects of this embodiment are consistent with those of Embodiment 3.

[0076] Obviously, the above embodiments of the present invention are merely examples for clearly explaining the present invention, and are not intended to limit the implementation methods of the present invention. For those skilled in the art, other different forms of changes or modifications can be made based on the above description, and it is not necessary and impossible to list all the implementation methods here. Any modifications, equivalent substitutions and improvements made within the spirit and principles of the present invention should be included in the protection scope of the claims of the present invention.

Claims

1. An auxiliary design method for approval process, characterized in that: The following steps are involved: S1: First determine the approval process, wherein the approval process includes multiple levels, the first level includes at least one initiating node, and the second to the last level each includes at least one approval node; then determine the direction of the document outflow of each node, the document migration probability of each node pointing to the next node, and the iteration end condition; then proceed to step S2; S2: assigning a number greater than 0 to each of the initiating nodes as the document density; Go to step S3; S3: Select all nodes with a document density greater than zero, calculate the document outflow density of each node for the next node it points to according to the direction of each node and the document migration probability, and migrate the document outflow density to the next node it points to; at the same time, return the density of approved documents to zero; Go to step S4; S4: Determine whether the iteration end condition is met, if so, proceed to step S5, otherwise, increase the time step by 1, increase the document density for each initiating node, and then re-enter step S3; S5: judging whether the design of the approval process is reasonable based on the size of the current time step, the document density of each current node, or the difference between the document density of each current node and the previous time step; end.

2. The auxiliary design method of the approval process according to claim 1, characterized in that: After step S1 and before entering step S2, the document density of each node is first assigned a value of 0.

3. The auxiliary design method of the approval process according to claim 1 is characterized in that: In step S1, the iteration end condition is that the current time step reaches the maximum time step.

4. The auxiliary design method of the approval process according to claim 3 is characterized in that: In step S1, a document density threshold is also determined; in step S5, it is determined whether there is at least one node whose document density is greater than the document density threshold. If so, it means that the design of the approval process is unreasonable; otherwise, it means that the design of the approval process is reasonable.

5. The auxiliary design method of the approval process according to claim 1, characterized in that: In step S1, the iteration end condition is "among the nodes with document density greater than 0, the difference between the current document density of at least one node and the document density of the previous time step is less than or equal to a certain value" or "the current time step reaches the maximum time step".

6. The auxiliary design method of the approval process according to claim 5, characterized in that: In step S5, it is determined whether the current time step is greater than or equal to the maximum time step. If so, it means that the design of the approval process is unreasonable; otherwise, it means that the design of the approval process is reasonable.

7. The auxiliary design method of the approval process according to claim 1, characterized in that: In step S1, the calculation formula of the document migration probability of the initiating node to the approval node it points to is: P = P0 × P1; In the formula, P represents the document migration probability of the current node to the next node it points to; P1 represents the probability that the initiator of the current node saves and sends the document; The calculation formula for the document migration probability of the initiating node to the approval node it points to is: P = P0 × P2; In the formula, P represents the document migration probability of the current node to the next node it points to; P2 represents the probability that the next node has seen the documents submitted by the current node and has not returned these documents.

8. The auxiliary design method of the approval process according to claim 1, characterized in that: In step S3, the calculation formula of the document outflow density is: q = s × P; In the formula, q represents the document outflow density; s represents the current document density of the current node; and P represents the document migration probability of the current node to the next node it points to.

9. The auxiliary design method of the approval process according to claim 8, characterized in that: In step S1, the pressure coefficient, the combined processing advantage coefficient and the first iteration number threshold of each approval node are determined; in step S3, when the iteration number is greater than or equal to the first iteration number threshold, the calculation formula of the document outflow density of the approval node for the next node it points to is: q = s × P × d × h; In the formula, q represents the document outflow density; s represents the current document density of the current node; P represents the document migration probability of the current node to the next node it points to; d represents the pressure coefficient corresponding to the current node; h represents the merge processing advantage coefficient corresponding to the current node.

10. An auxiliary design method for approval process according to any one of claims 1 to 9, characterized in that: In step S5, if the result is that the design of the approval process is unreasonable, it means that the non-convergent part needs to be modified, and the modification method includes adding parallel nodes or replacing nodes with slower document processing speed with nodes with faster document processing speed.

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