System, method and program for managing workflow

Abstract

To provide a system for supporting easy setting of workflow.SOLUTION: A workflow management server 10 provides a workflow management tool to a user who operates a user terminal 30 communicably connected via a communication network 20. The workflow management server 10 acquires organizational position information in a company and rule information of approval workflow and automatically generates setup information of the approval workflow based on the two pieces of information, so that the user can set up the approval workflow by preparing the organizational position information and the rule information.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a system, a method, and a program for managing a workflow. [Background technology]

[0002] Conventionally, various systems for managing workflows in companies have been proposed. For example, the following Patent Document 1 discloses a cloud-based contract management system that enables cloud-based contracts to be concluded online and links the workflow of each contract with the business flow of the parties involved. Such a workflow mechanism can promote the efficiency of business operations. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Patent Publication No. 2021-168115 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] However, in the conventional systems described above, the manual work of setting up a workflow can be cumbersome, and therefore a mechanism for supporting easy setting of a workflow is desired.

[0005] An object of the embodiment of the present invention is to support easy setup of a workflow. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] A system according to one embodiment of the present invention is a system for managing workflows, comprising one or more computer processors, wherein the one or more computer processors execute the steps of acquiring organizational and position information relating to organizations and positions within a company, acquiring rule information relating to rules of an approval workflow for obtaining approval within the company, generating setting information for the approval workflow based on the organizational and position information and the rule information, and registering the setting information.

[0007] A method according to one embodiment of the present invention is executed by one or more computers and is a method for managing a workflow, comprising the steps of acquiring organizational and position information relating to organizations and positions within a company, acquiring rule information relating to rules of an approval workflow for obtaining approval within the company, generating setting information for the approval workflow based on the organizational and position information and the rule information, and registering the setting information.

[0008] A program according to one embodiment of the present invention is a program for managing workflows, which causes one or more computers to execute the steps of acquiring organizational and position information relating to organizations and positions within a company, acquiring rule information relating to rules for an approval workflow for obtaining approval within the company, generating setting information for the approval workflow based on the organizational and position information and the rule information, and registering the setting information. Effect of the Invention

[0009] Various embodiments of the present invention facilitate easy setup of workflows. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0010] [Figure 1] 1 is a configuration diagram showing an outline of a network configuration including a workflow management server 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 2] FIG. 15 is a diagram illustrating an example of information managed by a user information table 1511. [Diagram 3] FIG. 15 is a diagram illustrating an example of information managed by a company information table 1512. [Figure 4] FIG. 15 is a diagram illustrating an example of information managed by an organization information table 1513. [Diagram 5] FIG. 15 is a diagram illustrating an example of information managed by a position information table 1514. [Figure 6] FIG. 15 is a diagram illustrating an example of information managed by a workflow information management table 1515. [Figure 7] 15 is a diagram illustrating an example of information managed by a workflow stage information management table 1516. [Figure 8] 15 is a diagram illustrating an example of information managed by an approval item management table 1517. [Figure 9] 15 is a diagram illustrating an example of information managed by a request for approval information management table 1518. FIG. [Figure 10] FIG. 15 is a diagram illustrating an example of information managed by a payment information management table 1519. [Figure 11] 4 is a flowchart illustrating a process executed by the workflow management server 10 when setting an approval workflow. [Figure 12] FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a rule input screen 50. [Figure 13] FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating an example of output information from a large-scale language model. [Figure 14] FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of an approval workflow details screen 60. [Figure 15] FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating a stage information change screen 70. [Figure 16] 15 is a diagram illustrating examples of values ​​set in a workflow information management table 1515 and a workflow stage information management table 1516. [Figure 17] 6 is a flowchart illustrating a process executed by the workflow management server 10 when submitting an application for approval. [Figure 18] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a message 200 sent to an approval application proxy account. [Figure 19] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of an approval information confirmation message 210. [Figure 20] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of an approval request message 220. [Figure 21] FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating an example of an approval request case list screen 80. [Figure 22] FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating a payment information list screen 90. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0011] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In each drawing, the same reference numerals may be used for the same or similar components. Other objects of the embodiment of the present invention will become apparent by referring to the entire specification.

[0012] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of a network including a workflow management server 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in the figure, the workflow management server 10 is communicatively connected to a user terminal 30 via a communication network 20 such as the Internet. Although only one user terminal 30 is shown in FIG. 1, the workflow management server 10 is communicatively connected to a plurality of user terminals 30. The workflow management server 10 provides a workflow management tool to a user who operates the user terminal 30. The workflow management server 10 is an example of an apparatus that implements all or a part of the system of the present invention.

[0013] First, we will explain the hardware configuration of the workflow management server 10. The workflow management server 10 is configured as a general computer, and as shown in Fig. 1, includes a computer processor 11, a main memory 12, an input / output I / F 13, a communication I / F 14, and a storage (storage device) 15, and these components are electrically connected via a bus or the like (not shown).

[0014] The computer processor 11 is configured with a CPU, a GPU, an FPGA, or the like, or a circuit including them, and loads various programs stored in the storage 15 or the like into the main memory 12 and executes various instructions included in the programs. The main memory 12 is configured with, for example, a DRAM, etc.

[0015] The input / output I / F 13 includes various input / output devices for exchanging information with an operator, etc. The input / output I / F 13 includes, for example, an information input device such as a keyboard, a pointing device (e.g., a mouse, a touch panel, etc.), an audio input device such as a microphone, and an image input device such as a camera. The input / output I / F 13 also includes an image output device such as a display, and an audio output device such as a speaker.

[0016] The communication I / F 14 is implemented as hardware such as a network adapter, various communication software, or a combination of these, and is configured to realize wired or wireless communication via a communication network 20 or the like.

[0017] The storage 15 is configured, for example, by a magnetic disk or a flash memory. The storage 15 stores various programs including an operating system, various data, and the like. For example, the storage 15 has various tables 151 that manage various information. Also, for example, the storage 15 stores a server-side program 40 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The program 40 is a program for causing the workflow management server 10 to function as all or part of a system for providing a workflow management tool. At least a part of the server-side program 40 can be configured to be executed on the user terminal 30 side via a terminal-side program 42 described later.

[0018] In this embodiment, the workflow management server 10 may be configured using a plurality of computers each having the above-mentioned hardware configuration. For example, the workflow management server 10 may be configured by one or a plurality of server devices.

[0019] The workflow management server 10 configured in this manner functions as a web server and an application server, executes various processes in response to requests from a terminal-side program 42 installed in the user terminal 30, and transmits screen data (e.g., HTML data) and control data corresponding to the results of the processes to the user terminal 30. The user terminal 30 outputs a web page or other screen based on the received data.

[0020] Next, a description will be given of the hardware configuration of the user terminal 30. The user terminal 30 is configured as a general computer, and as shown in Fig. 1, includes a computer processor 31, a main memory 32, an input / output I / F 33, a communication I / F 34, and a storage (storage device) 35, and these components are electrically connected via a bus or the like (not shown).

[0021] The computer processor 31 is configured with a CPU, a GPU, an FPGA, or the like, or a circuit including them, and loads various programs stored in a storage 35 or the like into the main memory 32 and executes various instructions included in the programs. The main memory 32 is configured with, for example, a DRAM, etc.

[0022] The input / output I / F 33 includes various input / output devices for exchanging information with an operator, etc. The input / output I / F 33 includes, for example, an information input device such as a keyboard or a pointing device (e.g., a mouse, a touch panel, etc.), an audio input device such as a microphone, and an image input device such as a camera. The input / output I / F 33 also includes an image output device such as a display, and an audio output device such as a speaker.

[0023] The communication I / F 34 is implemented as hardware such as a network adapter, various communication software, or a combination of these, and is configured to realize wired or wireless communication via the communication network 20 or the like.

[0024] The storage 35 is configured, for example, by a magnetic disk or a flash memory. The storage 35 stores various programs including an operating system, various data, and the like. The programs stored in the storage 35 can be downloaded from an application market or the like and installed. The storage 35 also stores the above-mentioned terminal-side program 42. The program 42 can be configured as a web browser or other application (for example, an application for a workflow management tool, etc.) and can be configured to execute at least a part of the server-side program 40 as described above.

[0025] In this embodiment, the user terminal 30 may be configured as a smartphone, a tablet terminal, a wearable device, a personal computer, or the like.

[0026] A user operating a user terminal 30 configured in this manner can utilize the workflow management tools provided by the workflow management server 10 by communicating with the workflow management server 10 via a terminal-side program 42 installed in storage 35 or the like.

[0027] Next, a description will be given of the functions of the workflow management server 10 configured as above. The computer processor 11 of the workflow management server 10 is configured to function as a management function control unit 112, a workflow setting registration unit 114, and an approval information management unit 116 by executing instructions included in a program (e.g., at least a part of the server-side program 40) loaded into the main memory 12, as shown in FIG.

[0028] The management function control unit 112 is configured to execute various processes related to the control of the management function of the workflow management tool. For example, the management function control unit 112 transmits screen data and control data of various screens related to the management function to the user terminal 30, executes various processes in response to an operation input by a user via the screen output on the user terminal 30, and transmits screen data and control data according to the results of the processes to the user terminal 30. The management functions controlled by the management function control unit 112 include, for example, login processing (user authentication), billing control, and management of user information.

[0029] The workflow setting registration unit 114 is configured to execute various processes related to the setting and registration of a workflow. For example, the workflow setting registration unit 114 transmits screen data and control data of various screens related to the setting and registration of a workflow to the user terminal 30, executes various processes in response to an operation input by a user via the screen outputted on the user terminal 30, and transmits screen data, control data, etc. according to the results of the processes to the user terminal 30.

[0030] In this embodiment, the workflow setting registration unit 114 is configured to acquire organization position information related to organizations and positions in a company. For example, such organization position information is managed in one or more tables included in the various tables 151, and is acquired from these tables. The organization position information includes, for example, the structure of multiple organizations in the company (e.g., parent-child relationships, etc.) and the positions in each organization.

[0031] The workflow setting registration unit 114 is also configured to acquire rule information related to the rules of an approval workflow for obtaining approval in a company. For example, the workflow setting registration unit 114 acquires rule information input by a user via a screen output on the user terminal 30.

[0032] The workflow setting registration unit 114 is also configured to generate setting information for the approval workflow based on the above-mentioned organization position information and rule information. The setting information includes, for example, a plurality of stages (the number of stages) in the approval workflow and approver condition information regarding the conditions for the approver at each stage. The approver condition information is a condition for identifying an approver, and includes, for example, conditions regarding the organization to which the approver belongs and / or the position.

[0033] The conditions regarding the organization to which the approver belongs include, for example, belonging to a specific organization (e.g., a department or division such as the accounting department) and belonging to the same organization as the applicant who applies for approval, etc. Furthermore, the conditions regarding the job title of the approver include, for example, a specific job title (e.g., manager of xx department, etc.).

[0034] The workflow setting registration unit 114 is configured to register setting information of the approval workflow. The setting information may be the setting information generated by the workflow setting registration unit 114 as is, or the setting information changed by the user may be registered. Such changes are made via a screen output on the user terminal 30. The setting information of the approval workflow is managed in, for example, one or more tables included in the various tables 151.

[0035] The approval information management unit 116 is configured to execute various processes related to the management of approval information. For example, the approval information management unit 116 transmits screen data and control data of various screens related to the management of approval information to the user terminal 30, executes various processes in response to operation input by the user via the screen output on the user terminal 30, and transmits screen data and control data according to the results of the processes to the user terminal 30.

[0036] In this way, the workflow management server 10 in this embodiment acquires organizational position information in a company and approval workflow rule information, and automatically generates approval workflow setting information based on this information, so that a user can set up an approval workflow by simply preparing organizational position information and rule information. In other words, the workflow management server 10 supports easy workflow setting.

[0037] In this embodiment, the workflow setting registration unit 114 can be configured to acquire employee information on a plurality of employees in a company, the employee information including the organization and job title of each employee, and in this case, the workflow setting registration unit 114 can be configured to acquire the above-mentioned organization job title information based on the employee information. Such a configuration makes it possible to acquire organization job title information based on employee information.

[0038] In this embodiment, rule information in which the rules of the approval workflow are described in text may be acquired. In this case, the workflow setting registration unit 114 may be configured to generate a prompt for instructing the language model to output the setting information of the approval workflow based on the above-mentioned organization position information and rule information, input the prompt to the language model, and acquire the setting information based on the information output from the language model. The language model is a model of human language using the occurrence probability of words, and includes, for example, a large-scale language model (LLM). The prompt is configured to instruct the output of the setting information to which the organization and position in the company are applied to the rules of the approval workflow, for example. This configuration enables the user to describe the rules of the approval workflow in text.

[0039] Also, the prompt for instructing the output of the setting information of the approval workflow may be configured with a plurality of prompts. For example, the plurality of prompts may include a first prompt for instructing the output of a plurality of stages (number of stages) in the approval workflow among the setting information, and a second prompt for instructing the output of approver condition information regarding the conditions for the approver at each stage. Such a configuration prevents the number of characters in one prompt from becoming excessive.

[0040] In this embodiment, the approval information management unit 116 can be configured to generate approval information in association with setting information of an approval workflow, and to control the approval of the approval information based on the setting information. The approval information can also be said to be the contents to be approved in an approval, and is managed, for example, in one or more tables included in the various tables 151. This configuration makes it possible to control the approval of the approval information based on the setting information of the approval workflow.

[0041] Furthermore, the approval information management unit 116 can be configured to associate setting information of one approval workflow included in a plurality of approval workflows with the approval information when generating the approval information, and to control the approval of the approval information based on setting information of the approval workflow with which the approval information is associated, among the setting information of each of the plurality of approval workflows. The setting information to be associated with the approval information is specified by a user (e.g., the person who applied for the approval) from among the setting information of the plurality of registered approval workflows, or is automatically specified by the approval information management unit 116. This configuration enables the control of the approval of the approval information based on setting information of one approval workflow included in a plurality of approval workflows.

[0042] In this embodiment, information for generating the approval information may be input by a user. For example, the approval information management unit 116 is configured to generate the approval information based on information input by an applicant. For example, the applicant inputs information via a screen output on the user terminal 30. Also, for example, the applicant uploads an electronic file such as an invoice or contract via the screen, and the approval information is generated based on information included in the electronic file (obtained via character recognition processing such as OCR). Such a configuration enables the generation of approval information based on information input by an applicant.

[0043] Also, for example, the approval information management unit 116 is configured to generate approval information based on information included in a message addressed to a specific account. The message includes chat and e-mail. For example, the approval information management unit 116 monitors the reception of a message addressed to a specific account, and generates approval information based on information included in the received message. The applicant of such approval information is set, for example, based on information included in the message, or is set from the sender of the message or from among other recipients. This configuration enables the generation of approval information based on information included in a message addressed to a specific account.

[0044] The approval information management unit 116 can be configured to identify approvers at each of a plurality of stages in the approval workflow based on the setting information of the approval workflow and the employee information, and to notify the identified approvers of the approval request for the approval information. Such a configuration makes it possible to notify the approvers at each stage of the approval workflow of the approval request.

[0045] In this embodiment, approvers and approval statuses at each of multiple stages of a corresponding approval workflow may be managed in association with each of multiple pieces of approval information. In this case, the approval information management unit 116 may be configured to present a list of approval cases associated with a specific approver or an organization (approval organization) to which the approver belongs. For example, screen data and control data of a screen including such a list of approval information are transmitted to the user terminal 30. This configuration enables management of approval information for each approver and approval organization.

[0046] Furthermore, the approval information management unit 116 can be configured to acquire payment information based on contract information and / or invoice information associated with the approval information. The acquired payment information is managed, for example, in one or more tables included in the various tables 151. This configuration enables management of payment information based on approval information.

[0047] In addition, the approval information management unit 116 can be configured to store the contract information and the invoice information in association with each other based on the similarity between the contract information and the invoice information associated with different approval information. This configuration enables association of similar contract information and invoice information.

[0048] Next, a specific example of one aspect of the workflow management server 10 of this embodiment having such functions will be described.

[0049] First, in this example, information managed by each table included in various tables 151 will be described. Fig. 2 illustrates information managed by user information table 1511 in this example. User information table 1511 in this example manages information related to users (employees of a company) of the workflow management tool, and as shown in the figure, manages information such as "name," "company ID" identifying the company to which the user belongs, "affiliated organization ID" identifying the organization to which the user belongs, and "position ID" identifying the position, in association with a "user ID" identifying an individual user.

[0050] 3 illustrates an example of information managed by company information table 1512. In this example, company information table 1512 manages information related to companies that have implemented a workflow management tool, and as illustrated, manages information such as "name" in association with a "company ID" that identifies an individual company.

[0051] 4 illustrates information managed by organization information table 1513 in this example. Organization information table 1513 in this example manages information related to organizations in a company, and as shown in the figure, manages information such as a "name" and a "parent organization ID" that identifies a parent organization in association with a combination of a "company ID" that identifies an individual company and an "organization ID" that identifies an individual organization in the company. The parent-child relationship of the organizations is managed by the parent organization ID.

[0052] 5 illustrates information managed by position information table 1514 in this example. Position information table 1514 in this example manages information related to positions in a company, and as shown in the figure, manages information such as "name" in association with a combination of a "company ID" that identifies an individual company and a "position ID" that identifies an individual position in the company.

[0053] In this example, the contents of user information table 1511, organization information table 1513, and position information table 1514 are automatically set based on an employee list provided by a company person in charge. The employee list includes the workflow management tool user ID, name, affiliated organization (name), and position (name), and is provided in, for example, a CSV format. The affiliated organizations in the employee list are provided in a format that allows the hierarchical structure (parent-child relationship) of the organizations to be identified (for example, a format in which a higher-level organization (e.g., a department) and a lower-level organization (e.g., a section) are managed in separate columns, etc.).

[0054] 6 illustrates an example of information managed by the workflow information management table 1515. The workflow information management table 1515 in this example manages information related to the approval workflow for which setting information is registered, and as illustrated, manages information such as "name" and "start date of application" in association with a combination of a "company ID" that identifies an individual company and a "workflow ID" that identifies an individual approval workflow in that company.

[0055] 7 illustrates an example of information managed by workflow stage information management table 1516 in this example. Workflow stage information management table 1516 in this example manages information related to each stage in the approval workflow, and as shown in the figure, manages information such as "approver condition information" which is information related to the approver's conditions, and a "final stage flag" which indicates whether or not it is the final stage, in association with a combination of a "company ID" which identifies an individual company, a "workflow ID" which identifies an individual approval workflow, and a "stage" which indicates an individual stage in the approval workflow. The approver at the final stage of the approval workflow can also be called the decision maker.

[0056] FIG. 8 illustrates information managed by the approval request management table 1517 in this example. The approval request management table 1517 in this example manages the applied approval request, and as illustrated, manages information such as an "applicant user ID" identifying the applicant of the approval request, a "workflow ID" identifying the approval workflow to be applied, an "application date", "approval information" which is information about the contents of the approval request, "contract information" which is information about a related contract, "invoice information" which is information about a related invoice, and "approval status" in association with a combination of a "company ID" identifying an individual company and a "approval request ID" identifying an individual approval request in the company. In this example, the contract information is set when the approval target in the approval request is "contract conclusion", and includes link information to the contract data, etc. In addition, the invoice information is set when the approval target in the approval request is "invoice payment", and includes link information to the invoice data, etc. The approval status is set to one of the following values: “Not approved”, “Approving” (only some approvers have approved), “Approved”, or “Rejected”.

[0057] 9 illustrates information managed by the request approval information management table 1518 in this example. The request approval information management table 1518 in this example manages information related to approval in a request, and as shown in the figure, manages information such as "approver information" which is information about the approver, "approval date", "approval status", and "final stage flag" which indicates whether it is the final stage, in association with a combination of a "company ID" which identifies an individual company, a "request case ID" which identifies an individual request case, and a "stage" which indicates an individual stage in the approval workflow of the request case. The approval status is set to a value corresponding to any one of "unapproved", "approved", and "rejected".

[0058] 10 illustrates information managed by payment information management table 1519 in this example. In this example, payment information management table 1519 manages information related to payments based on approval information, and as shown in the figure, manages information such as a "approval case ID" that identifies a related approval case, "client information" that is information about the client to be paid, "scheduled payment date", "payment amount", a "responsible organization ID" that identifies the responsible organization in the company, and "payment status", in association with a combination of a "company ID" that identifies an individual company and a "payment ID" that identifies an individual payment in the company. The payment status is set to a value corresponding to either "unpaid" or "paid".

[0059] The information managed by each table in this example has been described above. Next, the processes executed by the workflow management server 10 and the screens output on the user terminal 30 in this example will be described.

[0060] First, the setting of the approval workflow will be described. Fig. 11 is a flowchart illustrating the process executed by the workflow management server 10 when setting the approval workflow. As shown in the figure, the workflow management server 10 first accepts the rules of the approval workflow (step S100). In this example, the rules are input by the user via a screen output on the user terminal 30.

[0061] 12 illustrates an example of a rule input screen 50 output on the user terminal 30. The screen 50 is a screen for inputting the rules of an approval workflow, and as shown in the figure, has a name input area 52 for inputting the name of the approval workflow, a rule input area 54 for inputting the rules, and a continue button 56 with the text "Next" added. In the name input area 52, a name for identifying the approval workflow, such as "bill payment application" or "contract conclusion application", is input.

[0062] The rule input area 54 is configured so that the rules of the approval workflow can be input in text. A user (for example, a person in charge of the general affairs department in charge of business affairs in a company) can input the rules of the approval workflow in text such as, for example, "I want to approve it in two stages, with the department manager first approving it and then the accounting manager approving it, and then it will be decided." When the continue button 56 is selected, the rule is accepted along with the name of the workflow.

[0063] 11, the workflow management server 10 then generates a prompt for instructing the large-scale language model (LLM) to generate setting information for the approval workflow based on the organizational position information and the rules (step S110). As such a large-scale language model, for example, GPT-4 provided by OpenAI, Inc. of the United States may be applied.

[0064] Specifically, the prompt instructs the generation of setting information for the approval workflow after applying the structure of multiple organizations in the company and the job titles in each organization to the rule specified in the text. The organizational structure and job titles are obtained from the organization information table 1513 and the job title information table 1514.

[0065] Next, the workflow management server 10 inputs the generated prompt to the large-scale language model (step S120). Specifically, the prompt is input via an API corresponding to the large-scale language model.

[0066] Next, the workflow management server 10 acquires and displays setting information of the approval workflow based on the output information from the large-scale language model (step S130). Figure 13 shows an example of output information from the large-scale language model. As shown in the figure, in the output information of this example, the conditions of the approver (approval organization and approval position) corresponding to each of the two stages in the approval workflow are described in JSON format.

[0067] In this example, multiple prompts may be generated (divided into multiple prompts) as a prompt for instructing the generation of setting information for the approval workflow. In this case, for example, a first prompt instructs the output of the number of stages in the approval workflow, and a second prompt instructs the output of the conditions for approvers at each stage of the number acquired via the first prompt. Also, when the amount of information on the organizational structure and job titles is large, this information may be provided to the large-scale language model in stages using multiple prompts.

[0068] 14 shows an example of an approval workflow details screen 60 that displays the setting information of an approval workflow. This screen is for displaying and registering the setting information of an approval workflow, and as shown in the figure, has a name display area 61 that displays the name of the approval workflow, a stage information display area 62 that displays information about the stage in the approval workflow, a stage addition button 64 with the text "Add step" added, an application start date enable checkbox 66 for enabling the specification of the application start date of the workflow, an application start date input area 67 for inputting the application start date, and a save button 68.

[0069] The stage information display area 62 has stage buttons 621 corresponding to multiple stages in the approval workflow, and displays information about the approver's conditions (in the example of FIG. 14, "Director of the applicant's department" and "Director of the accounting department") to the right of the buttons 621. The stage information display area 62 in FIG. 14 corresponds to a case where there are two approval stages in the approval workflow, and two stage buttons 621 with the text "Step 1" and "Step 2" respectively added are arranged vertically.

[0070] 15 illustrates a stage information change screen 70 that is output and superimposed on the approval workflow details screen 60 in response to selection of a stage button 621. The screen 70 is a screen for changing the approver's conditions in the corresponding stage and deleting the stage itself, and as shown in the figure, has a setting method selection area 72 for selecting a setting method for the approver's conditions, an information input area 74 for inputting information related to the approver's conditions, a registration button 76, and a delete button 78. When the delete button 78 is selected, the corresponding stage itself is deleted.

[0071] The setting method selection area 72 is configured to allow the user to select one of four options: "Specify a person," "Specify a position in the applicant's department," "Specify a department and position," and "Specify an approver when applying."

[0072] In the information input area 74, an individual input area 741 corresponding to the selection in the setting method selection area 72 is arranged. Specifically, in the information input area 74, when "specify person" is selected in the setting method selection area 72, one individual input area 741 in which the approver can be selected and input is arranged. In addition, when "specify the job title of the applicant's department" is selected in the setting method selection area 72, one individual input area 741 in which the job title can be selected and input is arranged. In addition, when "specify department and job title" is selected in the setting method selection area 72, an individual input area 741 in which the department can be selected and an individual input area 741 in which the job title can be selected and input are arranged. In addition, when "specify approver at the time of application" is selected in the setting method selection area 72, an individual input area 741 in which the department can be selected and input is arranged.

[0073] When the registration button 76 is selected, the conditions of the approver set via the setting method selection area 72 and the information input area 74 are registered (changed).

[0074] Returning to the approval workflow details screen 60 in Fig. 14, the add stage button 64 is an object for adding a stage. When the button 64 is selected, the above-mentioned stage information change screen 70 illustrated in Fig. 15 is output, and the user can set the approver conditions for the newly added stage via the screen 70. The added stage is added as the final stage of the approval workflow.

[0075] When the application start date enable checkbox 66 is selected and checked, input becomes possible in the application start date input area 67, and the user can input the application start date of the approval workflow setting information through this area 67.

[0076] When the save button 68 is selected, the setting information of the approval workflow is registered. Specifically, a new record is inserted in the workflow information management table 1515 and the workflow stage information management table 1516, and corresponding values ​​are set (see FIG. 16).

[0077] The settings for the approval workflow have been explained above. Next, we will explain how to submit an approval request based on the settings information for the approval workflow.

[0078] 17 is a flowchart illustrating a process executed by the workflow management server 10 when submitting an approval request. As shown in the figure, the workflow management server 10 first waits to receive a message to the approval request proxy account (NO in step S200). Specifically, the workflow management tool in this example has a chat function, and waits to receive a chat message to the approval request proxy account. For example, a user (applicant) submitting an approval request sends a chat message addressed to the approval request proxy account.

[0079] 18 shows an example of an approval request message 200 for requesting an approval request to an approval request proxy account. As shown in the figure, the message 200 contains the sentence "Please apply for payment of the invoice," and also has invoice data (electronic file) attached. Note that if the approval request is for the conclusion of a contract, contract data (contract file) is attached.

[0080] Returning to the flowchart of FIG. 17, when a message to the approval application proxy account is received (YES in step S200), the workflow management server 10 identifies an approval workflow to be applied (step S210). Specifically, among the multiple approval workflows of the target company managed in the workflow information management table 1515, an approval workflow whose name is included in the body of the received message is identified as the approval workflow to be applied. Note that the similarity (e.g., cosine similarity, etc.) between the received message and a sample message associated with each approval workflow may be determined, and an approval workflow with a high similarity may be identified as the approval workflow to be applied. Also, the similarity (e.g., cosine similarity, etc.) between the received electronic file and a sample electronic file associated with each approval workflow may be determined, and an approval workflow with a high similarity may be identified as the approval workflow to be applied.

[0081] Next, the workflow management server 10 acquires text contained in the attached file of the received message (step S220). Specifically, the text is acquired through character recognition processing (e.g., OCR) on the attached file. The attached file is contract data or invoice data.

[0082] Next, the workflow management server 10 generates approval information (step S230). Specifically, the approval information is generated based on the text included in the attached file. For example, if the subject of the approval request is bill payment, character strings corresponding to the values ​​of the items included in the approval information, such as "payee," "payee account," "billing date," "payment due date," and "payment amount," are extracted from the invoice data, and the approval information is generated using the character strings. The items included in the approval information are preset according to the subject of the approval request (contract conclusion or bill payment).

[0083] Next, the workflow management server 10 accepts confirmation of the approval information by the applicant (step S240). Specifically, a confirmation message for confirming the approval information is sent to the applicant. The applicant is the user who sent the chat message to the approval application proxy account.

[0084] 19 illustrates an example of a request for approval information confirmation message 210 output on the applicant's user terminal 30. As illustrated, the message 210 displays the generated request for approval information and has an OK button 212, a Modify button 214, and a Cancel button 216. When the OK button 212 is selected, the applicant's confirmation of the request for approval information is accepted. When the Modify button 214 is selected, a screen (not shown) for modifying the request for approval information is output, and the applicant can modify the request for approval information via this screen. When the Cancel button 216 is selected, the request for approval application is canceled.

[0085] Returning to the flowchart in Fig. 17, when the applicant's confirmation of the approval information is accepted, the workflow management server 10 then identifies an approver and registers the corresponding approval case (step S250). Specifically, the approver is an approver who meets the approver conditions at each stage of the applied approval workflow, and is identified from among the users managed in the user information table 1511. To register the approval case, specifically, a new record is inserted and corresponding values ​​are set in the approval case management table 1517 and the approval information management table 1518.

[0086] Next, the workflow management server 10 accepts approval from the approver at that stage (step S260). Specifically, an approval request message is sent to the approver at the first stage among one or more unapproved stages in the applied approval workflow to request approval of the approval request information. The sender of the approval request message is the approval request application proxy account.

[0087] 20 illustrates an example of an approval request message 220 output on the approver's user terminal 30. As illustrated, the message 220 displays the approval request information and has an approval button 222, a return button 224, and a rejection button 226. When the approval button 222 is selected, the approval by the approver is accepted. When the return button 224 is selected, the request is returned to the applicant. When the rejection button 226 is selected, the approval request application is rejected. Depending on the selection of these buttons 222 to 226, the approval status of the corresponding request case and stage is updated in the approval request information management table 1518.

[0088] Returning to the flowchart in FIG. 17, the acceptance of approval by the approver is repeated (NO in step S270) until the approver becomes the final approver (decision maker) (i.e., the final stage of approval is given). Then, when the final approver gives approval (i.e., decision) (YES in step S270), the workflow management server 10 next registers payment information (step S290) if the subject of the approval request is an invoice payment (YES in step S280). Specifically, a new record is inserted in the payment information management table 1519 and the corresponding values ​​are set. The payment information is obtained based on the approval information.

[0089] In this example, it is also possible to output a list of approval requests in which the user is included as an approver. Fig. 21 illustrates an example of an approval request list screen 80 output on the user terminal 30. As shown in the figure, the screen 80 has a workflow designation area 81 for designating an approval workflow to be the subject of the list display of approval requests, a status designation area 82 for designating the status of the approval request case to be included in the list display, and a list display area 84.

[0090] The workflow designation area 81 is configured so that an arbitrary workflow can be selected from among a plurality of approval workflows (managed in the workflow information management table 1515) of the corresponding company.

[0091] The status designation area 82 has an unapproved button 821, an approved button 822, and a rejected button 823. When any of these buttons 821 to 823 is selected (it is also possible to select multiple buttons at the same time), approval requests with the corresponding status (unapproved, approved, or rejected) become the subject of a list display in the list display area 84.

[0092] The list display area 84 displays a list of approval requests corresponding to the approval workflow specified via the workflow specification area 81, which include the corresponding user as an approver, and which correspond to one or more statuses specified via the status specification area 82. The information displayed in the list includes, for example, the applicant, the application date, and the number of days since the approval request was made to the corresponding user. If the number of days passes equals or exceeds a threshold, an alert notification may be sent to the user. Also, instead of or in addition to approval requests that include the corresponding user as an approver, approval requests that include the organization to which the corresponding user belongs as an approving organization may be displayed in a list.

[0093] In this example, it is also possible to output a list of payment information. Fig. 22 shows an example of a payment information list screen 90 output on the user terminal 30. As shown in the figure, the screen 90 has a status designation area 92 for designating the status of the payment information to be included in the list display, and a list display area 94.

[0094] The status designation area 92 has an unpaid button 921 and a paid button 922. When these buttons 921-922 are selected (multiple buttons can be selected at the same time), payment information with the corresponding status (unpaid or paid) becomes the subject of a list display in the list display area 94.

[0095] The list display area 94 displays a list of payment information for the corresponding company that corresponds to one or more statuses specified via the status specification area 92. The information displayed in the list includes, for example, the business partner (payee), scheduled payment date, amount, status, link to contract data, link to invoice data, responsible department, etc.

[0096] In the above example, the contract data attached to the request for approval for contract conclusion and the invoice data attached to the request for approval for invoice payment may be associated based on the similarity between the contents of these data. For example, a combination of invoice data and contract data whose cosine similarity is equal to or greater than a threshold value is managed in a table included in various tables 151. For example, in the case of a subscription contract, multiple invoice data are associated with one contract data. As a result, it becomes possible to appropriately manage the association between invoice data and contract data.

[0097] In the above example, in response to receiving a message to the approval application proxy account, approval information is generated based on the text included in the attachment of the message, but instead of or in addition to this, the applicant may directly input approval information, and the approval information may be generated in response to instructions from the applicant.Furthermore, the applicant may directly input (upload) an electronic file (contract data, invoice data, etc.), and approval information may be generated based on the text included in the electronic file.

[0098] In the above example, the approval workflow rules are input as sentences, but the rules may be input in a format other than sentences. In this case, instead of acquiring the setting information via a large-scale language model, the approval workflow setting information may be generated via a rule-based mechanism.

[0099] The workflow management server 10 according to the present embodiment described above acquires organizational position information in a company and approval workflow rule information, and automatically generates approval workflow setting information based on this information, so that a user can set up an approval workflow by simply preparing organizational position information and rule information. In other words, the workflow management server 10 supports easy workflow setting.

[0100] In another embodiment of the present invention, some or all of the functions of the workflow management server 10 in the above-described embodiment can be realized by cooperation between the workflow management server 10 and the user terminal 30, or can be realized by the user terminal 30. In other words, the system of the present invention can be configured not only by the workflow management server 10, but also by the workflow management server 10 and the user terminal 30, or can be configured by the user terminal 30.

[0101] The processes and procedures described herein may be realized by software, hardware, or any combination thereof, other than those explicitly described. For example, the processes and procedures described herein may be realized by implementing logic corresponding to the processes and procedures in a medium such as an integrated circuit, a volatile memory, a non-volatile memory, or a magnetic disk. In addition, the processes and procedures described herein may be implemented as a computer program corresponding to the processes and procedures, and executed by various computers.

[0102] Although processes and procedures described herein are described as being performed by a single device, software, component, or module, such processes or procedures may be performed by multiple devices, software, components, and / or modules. Also, the software and hardware elements described herein may be realized by combining them into fewer components or breaking them down into more components.

[0103] In this specification, even if a component of the invention is described as either singular or plural, or described without limitation to either singular or plural, the component may be either singular or plural unless the context requires otherwise. [Explanation of symbols]

[0104] 10 Workflow Management Server 11. Computer Processors 112 Management function control section 114 Workflow setting registration section 116 Approval Information Management Department 15. Storage 151 Various Tables 1511 User Information Table 1512 Company Information Table 1513 Organization Information Table 1514 Job Title Information Table 1515 Workflow Information Management Table 1516 Workflow Stage Information Management Table 1517 Approval Management Table 1518 Approval Information Management Table 1519 Payment Information Management Table 30 User terminal 40 Server-side programs 42 Terminal side program 50 Rule input screen 60 Approval workflow details screen 70 Stage information change screen 80 Approval list screen 90 Payment information list screen 200 Approval application request message 210 Approval information confirmation message 220 Approval Request Message

Claims

1. 1. A system for managing a workflow, comprising: one or more computer processors, the one or more computer processors comprising: acquiring organization and position information relating to organizations and positions in a company; obtaining rule information regarding rules of an approval workflow for obtaining approval in the company; generating setting information for the approval workflow based on the organizational position information and the rule information; and registering the setting information. system.

2. the setting information includes a plurality of stages in the approval workflow and approver condition information regarding conditions for approvers at each of the plurality of stages; The approver condition information includes conditions regarding the approver's organization and / or position. The system of claim 1.

3. The one or more computer processors further perform the steps of obtaining employee information regarding a plurality of employees at the enterprise, the employee information including an organization and a job title of each of the plurality of employees; The step of acquiring the organizational position information acquires the organizational position information based on the employee information. The system of claim 1.

4. The rule information describes the rules of the approval workflow in text form, The step of generating setting information includes: generating a prompt for instructing a language model to output the setting information based on the organizational position information and the rule information; and inputting the prompt to the language model and obtaining the configuration information based on information output from the language model. The system of claim 1.

5. the prompt instructs output of the setting information to which an organization and a position in the company based on the organization position information is applied to a rule of the approval workflow. The system of claim 4.

6. The prompt comprises a plurality of prompts; the plurality of prompts include a first prompt for instructing output of a plurality of stages in the approval workflow, and a second prompt for instructing output of approver condition information regarding conditions for approvers in each of the plurality of stages, among the setting information; The system of claim 4.

7. The one or more computer processors further include: A step of generating approval information in association with the setting information; and controlling approval of the approval request information based on the setting information. The system of claim 1.

8. The step of generating the approval information includes generating the approval information by associating setting information of one approval workflow included in a plurality of approval workflows; The step of controlling the approval of the request information includes controlling the approval of the request information based on setting information of the one approval workflow associated with the request information, among setting information of each of the plurality of approval workflows. The system of claim 7.

9. The step of generating the approval information generates the approval information based on information input by an applicant. The system of claim 7.

10. The step of generating the approval information includes generating the approval information based on information included in a message addressed to a predetermined account. The system of claim 7.

11. The one or more computer processors further perform the steps of obtaining employee information regarding a plurality of employees at the enterprise, the employee information including an organization and a job title of each of the plurality of employees; The step of controlling the approval includes identifying approvers at each of a plurality of stages in the approval workflow based on the setting information and the employee information, and notifying the identified approvers of an approval request for the request information. The system of claim 7.

12. The one or more computer processors further include: managing approvers and approval statuses at each of a plurality of stages of a corresponding approval workflow in association with each of a plurality of pieces of approval information; presenting a list of approval information associated with a specific approver or an organization to which the approver belongs; The system of claim 7.

13. The one or more computer processors further execute a step of obtaining payment information based on contract information and / or invoice information associated with the decision-making information. The system of claim 7.

14. The one or more computer processors further execute a step of associating and storing the contract information and the invoice information based on a similarity between the contract information associated with the first decision-making information and the invoice information associated with the second decision-making information. The system of claim 7.

15. 1. A method for managing a workflow, executed by one or more computers, comprising: acquiring organization and position information relating to organizations and positions in a company; obtaining rule information regarding rules of an approval workflow for obtaining approval in the company; generating setting information for the approval workflow based on the organizational position information and the rule information; and registering the setting information. method.

16. A program for managing a workflow, comprising: acquiring organization and position information relating to organizations and positions in a company; obtaining rule information regarding rules of an approval workflow for obtaining approval in the company; generating setting information for the approval workflow based on the organizational position information and the rule information; and registering the setting information. program.

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