Program, method, and information processing apparatus

Abstract

To satisfy a need for a technology that further facilitates a step of making a request for approval.SOLUTION: There is provided a program for causing a computer processor to execute the steps of: receiving input of document data related to the purpose of a request for approval; generating first information by analyzing the input document data, the first information indicating circumstances of the request for approval including at least one of a background, a purpose, and a matter for which approval is to be obtained and the first information being data to extract first information to be included in application data transmitted by the request for approval in an approval request system; and presenting the generated first information to a user.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 11

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a program, a method, and an information processing device. [Background technology]

[0002] In conducting business activities, various contracts are concluded and the concluded contracts are managed. Electronic contract services are also used to approve document data between the parties, and the approved document data is managed on the service. For example, there are witness and party-based electronic signature methods.

[0003] Patent Document 1 addresses the issue of "ensuring the conclusion and cancellation of a contract and storing electronic contracts," and describes a technology that "includes a contract application client that sends contract application information to a contract acceptance server via a communications network and receives contract information from the contract acceptance server, a contract acceptance server that receives application information from the client via the communications network, generates contract information from the contract application information, and sends the contract information to the client, and a contract storage server that obtains communication messages between the client and the contract acceptance server, attaches electronic signatures to the communication messages, and stores the communication messages and the electronic signatures."

[0004] According to the technology of Patent Document 1, this has the effect of "ensuring the conclusion and cancellation of a contract, allowing the storage of the contract, and also making it possible to detect any misconduct by the contract recipient in the conclusion of an electronic contract." [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0005] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2004-046590 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0006] Before the parties enter into a contract, they apply for approval to enter into the contract.

[0007] However, when submitting a request for approval, it is often necessary to enter various information, such as the background of the request, for the approver. Users who are not accustomed to submitting requests for approval may find it difficult to determine what to write. If submitting a request for approval becomes a burden, it may also affect the process of completing the work that follows the request for approval (for example, placing an order or concluding a contract).

[0008] Therefore, there is a need for technology that makes the process of submitting approval requests even easier. [Means for solving the problem]

[0009] According to one embodiment of the present disclosure, there is provided a program for operating a computer having a computer processor, the program causing the computer processor to execute the steps of: accepting input of document data related to the purpose of a request for approval; analyzing the input document data to generate first information to be included in application data sent by a request for approval in a request for approval application system, the first information indicating the circumstances of the request for approval including at least one of the background, purpose, and matters for which approval is sought; and presenting the generated first information to a user. [Effects of the Invention]

[0010] According to the present disclosure, the process of applying for approval can be made even easier. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0011] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the configuration of the system 1. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the configuration of the server 20. As shown in FIG. [Figure 3]FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the configuration of the terminal 10. As shown in FIG. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the data structure of the user database 211. As shown in FIG. [Figure 5] FIG. 5 is a diagram showing the data structure of the fastening management database 212. As shown in FIG. [Figure 6] FIG. 6 is a diagram showing the data structure of the document management database 213. As shown in FIG. [Figure 7] FIG. 7 is a diagram showing the data structure of the review history database 214. As shown in FIG. [Figure 8] FIG. 8 is a diagram showing the data structure of the approval request database 215. As shown in FIG. [Figure 9] FIG. 9 is a diagram showing the flow of a process of acquiring data related to a request for approval, generating information to be included in the request for approval, and accepting the request for approval. [Figure 10] Figure 10 shows an example of an operation screen for accepting approval requests. [Figure 11] FIG. 11 shows an example of an operation screen for accepting approval requests. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0012] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present disclosure will be described with reference to the drawings. In the following description, the same components are denoted by the same reference numerals. The names and functions of the components are also the same. Therefore, detailed descriptions thereof will not be repeated.

[0013] <Outline of embodiment> <1.1 Overall system configuration> FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the configuration of the system 1.

[0014] 1 includes a server 20 for approval application, contract conclusion, and document management services, a user terminal 10, a server 93 for a document review service, a server 94 for a business information provision service, a large-scale language model service server 95, a server 96 for a personnel management service, a server 98 for a legal consultation task service, a server 99 for a budget management service, and a user terminal 10A. These devices are connected to each other via a network 80.

[0015] In the illustrated example, terminals such as terminal 10 and terminal 10A are shown as terminals used by users of the contract conclusion and document management service provided by server 20, and each user operates their own terminal.

[0016] In this embodiment, each device (terminal device, server, etc.) can also be considered as an information processing device. That is, a collection of devices can be considered as one "information processing device," and system 1 can be formed as a collection of multiple devices. The way in which multiple functions required to realize system 1 according to this embodiment are allocated to one or multiple pieces of hardware can be determined appropriately in consideration of the processing capacity of each piece of hardware and / or the specifications required for system 1.

[0017] The terminal 10 is a device operated by a user. The terminal 10 is realized, for example, as follows. · Handheld devices such as smartphones and tablets Desktop PCs (Personal Computers), laptop PCs Wearable devices worn by users (wristwatches, glasses, etc.) The terminal 10 includes a communication IF (Interface) 12 , an input device 13 , an output device 14 , a memory 15 , a storage 16 , and a processor 19 .

[0018] The communication IF 12 is an interface for inputting and outputting signals so that the terminal 10 can communicate with an external device.

[0019] The input device 13 is a device for receiving input operations from a user (for example, a touch panel, a touch pad, a pointing device such as a mouse, a keyboard, etc.).

[0020] The output device 14 is a device (such as a display or speaker) for presenting information to the user.

[0021] The memory 15 is for temporarily storing programs and data to be processed by the programs, and is a volatile memory such as a DRAM (Dynamic Random Access Memory).

[0022] The storage 16 is for storing data, and is, for example, a flash memory or a hard disk drive (HDD).

[0023] The processor 19 is hardware for executing an instruction set written in a program, and is composed of an arithmetic unit, a register, a peripheral circuit, and the like.

[0024] Server 20 is a device that provides a service for electronically concluding contracts and a service for managing document data concluded through electronic contracts. In system 1, the contract conclusion service provided by server 20 and the document data management service may be provided by different devices or different businesses. For example, server 20 may provide a document management service and, in addition to data on electronically signed contracts, optically read paper contracts with stamps to extract information such as the contract period and whether the contract is automatically renewed, and manage this information together with the scanned data on the contract as management information. This allows users to be notified when the contract period expires.

[0025] The server 20 is a server that provides services to support operations such as applications for approval in organizations (business companies, etc.) that conduct business activities. The server 20 provides a service to users that enables them to design a workflow for obtaining budget approval among multiple users, for example.

[0026] The server 20 includes a communication IF 22 , an input / output IF 23 , a memory 25 , a storage 26 , and a processor 29 .

[0027] The communication IF 22 is an interface for inputting and outputting signals so that the server 20 can communicate with external devices.

[0028] The input / output IF 23 functions as an interface with an input device for receiving input operations from the user and an output device for presenting information to the user.

[0029] The memory 25 is for temporarily storing programs and data to be processed by the programs, and is a volatile memory such as a DRAM (Dynamic Random Access Memory).

[0030] The storage 26 is for storing data, and is, for example, a flash memory or a hard disk drive (HDD).

[0031] The processor 29 is hardware for executing an instruction set written in a program, and is composed of an arithmetic unit, registers, peripheral circuits, and the like.

[0032] The document review service server 93 is a service that supports document data reviews by accepting document data such as contracts and term sheets that specify contract terms and providing users with information such as whether each clause is favorable or unfavorable to the company, whether there are any missing clauses, and the importance of review items. The document review service server 93 provides a service that supports the above review using a rule base or a trained model. For example, a rule base may be used to review document data by previously associating specific wording or expressions with favorable or unfavorable conditions and explanations. Furthermore, the above review service can be provided by using data obtained by experts reviewing contracts, term sheets, etc. as training data to generate a trained model that responds with review results in response to input document data. The document review service server 93 can also summarize the contents of contracts and generate review comments using a large-scale language model and provide the results to users.

[0033] The business information service server 94 is a service that collects information on organizations and groups such as business companies and provides information related to the credibility of these organizations. Information related to the credibility of organizations is accumulated by collecting publicly available information such as news articles and IR information, and also by the operator of the business information service independently collecting information through interviews, etc. Server 94 provides the following information related to the credibility of organizations. Whether the organization is (or may be) a party that falls under the conditions for contract termination, such as being an anti-social force. For example, there may be publicly available information, such as a database or news article, that indicates that the organization falls under the above conditions. The reputation of a business company or other organization, such as when consumers have a negative reaction and the information is spread in the news, on social media, etc. For example, information may be spread on social media with a certain number of impressions along with negative keywords. Information about business performance, such as sales, revenue (profit amount, profit margin, etc.), and assessment results regarding business continuity (continued losses, possibility of bankruptcy, bond ratings, etc.). The large-scale language model service server 95 is a server that executes language processing tasks using a language model constructed by a learning process including artificial intelligence (AI). An LLM (Large Language Model) is a server that has previously learned a large amount of large-scale data (text data, etc.), for example, web content on the Internet, or a large amount of data stored in a specified database, and can execute various language processing tasks by giving the model a task.

[0034] The large-scale language model service server 95 accepts prompt inputs such as text, images, and voice, and generates and responds to the prompts. Examples of LLMs include GPT-3 and GPT-4 developed by OpenAI, and BERT developed by Google.

[0035] The personnel management service server 96 provides services to support recruitment, labor, and other operations for users such as the personnel department of an organization that conducts business activities. The personnel management service server 96, for example, manages a list of employees, and updates the employee list each time an employee joins or leaves the company. The personnel management service server 96 stores information for managing human resources, such as employee salaries and employee evaluations.

[0036] The legal consultation task service server 98 is a service for departments (such as legal departments) that handle the work of receiving and responding to legal consultations, and imports work requests (such as term sheets and contract reviews) via messaging tools, emails, etc., and enables management of the list as tasks. The legal consultation task service server 98 works in conjunction with the above-mentioned messaging tools, etc., and when a user responds on the legal consultation task service, it posts the response to an external messaging tool, etc.

[0037] The budget management service server 99 provides a service for formulating a budget for business activities and managing actual results against the budget based on deposit and withdrawal data such as invoices. The budget management service server 99 may also be provided as a function in an accounting service that supports accounting work by aggregating invoice data, bank deposit and withdrawal data, etc., and automatically journalizing accounting transactions.

[0038] <1.2 Functional configuration of server 20> 2 is a diagram showing the configuration of the server 20. As shown in FIG. 2, the server 20 functions as a communication unit 201, a storage unit 202, and a control unit 203.

[0039] The communication unit 201 performs processing for the server 20 to communicate with external devices.

[0040] The storage unit 202 stores various databases such as a user database 211, a contract management database 212, a document management database 213, a review history database 214, and an approval application database 215.

[0041] The user database 211 is a database for managing users.

[0042] The user database 211 contains information such as the user's name, employee number, etc., for using the services provided by the server 20. Details will be described later.

[0043] The contract conclusion management database 212 is a database that manages the contract conclusion process carried out by the electronic contract service provided by the server 20. Details will be described later.

[0044] The document management database 213 is a database for managing document data, and includes information for managing document data concluded through the electronic contract service provided by the server 20. Details will be described later.

[0045] The review history database 214 is a database that manages the history of reviews of document data such as contracts, etc. Details will be described later.

[0046] The approval request database 215 is a database that manages approval requests for concluding contracts, etc. Details will be described later.

[0047] The control unit 203 is realized by the processor 29 reading a program stored in the storage unit 202 and executing instructions included in the program. By operating in accordance with the program, the control unit 203 exhibits functions shown as a reception control module 2041, a transmission control module 2042, a user management module 2043, a conclusion processing module 2044, a document management module 2045, a review task processing module 2046, and an approval application processing module 2047.

[0048] The reception control module 2041 controls the process by which the server 20 receives signals from external devices in accordance with a communication protocol.

[0049] The transmission control module 2042 controls the process in which the server 20 transmits signals to external devices in accordance with a communication protocol.

[0050] The user management module 2043 is a module for managing information about each user who uses the system 1. Specifically, the user management module 2043 accepts registration of information about each user and updates the user database 211.

[0051] The conclusion processing module 2044 controls the process of the parties approving document data as a process for concluding a contract by electronic contract. Specifically, the conclusion processing module 2044 notifies each user who approves the document data, and updates the conclusion management database 212 in response to the operation of approving the document data.

[0052] The document management module 2045 controls the process of managing document data by referring to the document management database 213. Specifically, the document management module 2045 notifies the user whether to renew the contract when the contract period expires, based on the information about the contract period set in the document data, and updates the document management database 213 in response to the user's operation (such as renewal).

[0053] The review task processing module 2046 causes the document review service server 93 or the like to review the contract conditions set forth in the document data, and updates the review history database 214 according to the review results. The review task processing module 2046 accepts user comments and the like on the document data to be reviewed in accordance with user operations, and updates the review history database 214.

[0054] The approval request processing module 2047 receives an operation to apply for approval from a user and controls the process in which the approver approves the approval. Specifically, the approval request processing module 2047 notifies each user who approves the approval request, and updates the approval request database 215 in response to the operation to approve the approval.

[0055] <1.3 Configuration of Terminal 10> FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the configuration of the terminal 10. As shown in FIG.

[0056] As shown in FIG. 3, the terminal 10 includes multiple antennas (antenna 111, antenna 112), communication units (first communication unit 120, second communication unit 121) corresponding to the respective antennas, an input device 130 (including a touch-sensitive device 131), a display 132, an audio processing unit 140, a microphone 141, a speaker 142, a position information sensor 150, a camera 160, a motion sensor 170, a memory unit 180, and a control unit 190. The terminal 10 also has functions and configurations (e.g., a battery for storing power, a power supply circuit for controlling the supply of power from the battery to each circuit, etc.) that are not specifically shown in FIG. 3. As shown in FIG. 3, the blocks included in the terminal 10 are electrically connected by a bus or the like.

[0057] The antenna 111 emits a signal emitted by the terminal 10 as a radio wave. The antenna 111 also receives a radio wave from space and provides the received signal to the first communication unit 120.

[0058] The antenna 112 emits a signal emitted by the terminal 10 as a radio wave. The antenna 112 also receives a radio wave from space and provides the received signal to the second communication unit 121.

[0059] The first communication unit 120 performs modulation / demodulation processing and the like for transmitting and receiving signals via the antenna 111 so that the terminal 10 can communicate with other wireless devices. The second communication unit 121 performs modulation / demodulation processing and the like for transmitting and receiving signals via the antenna 112 so that the terminal 10 can communicate with other wireless devices. The first communication unit 120 and the second communication unit 121 are communication modules including a tuner, a received signal strength indicator (RSSI) calculation circuit, a cyclic redundancy check (CRC) calculation circuit, a high-frequency circuit, and the like. The first communication unit 120 and the second communication unit 121 perform modulation / demodulation, frequency conversion, and the like for wireless signals transmitted and received by the terminal 10, and provide the received signals to the control unit 190.

[0060] Input device 130 has a mechanism for accepting input operations by a user. Specifically, input device 130 is configured as a touch screen and includes touch-sensitive device 131. Touch-sensitive device 131 accepts input operations by a user of terminal 10. Touch-sensitive device 131 detects the user's touch position on the touch panel, for example, by using a capacitive touch panel. Touch-sensitive device 131 outputs a signal indicating the user's touch position detected by the touch panel to control unit 190 as an input operation.

[0061] The display 132 displays data such as images, videos, and text under the control of the control unit 190. The display 132 is realized by, for example, an LCD, an organic EL display, or the like.

[0062] The audio processing unit 140 modulates and demodulates audio signals. The audio processing unit 140 modulates a signal provided from the microphone 141 and provides the modulated signal to the control unit 190. The audio processing unit 140 also provides the audio signal to the speaker 142. The audio processing unit 140 is realized, for example, by a processor for audio processing. The microphone 141 accepts audio input and provides an audio signal corresponding to the audio input to the audio processing unit 140. The speaker 142 converts the audio signal provided from the audio processing unit 140 into audio and outputs the audio to the outside of the terminal 10.

[0063] The location information sensor 150 is a sensor that detects the location of the terminal 10, and is, for example, a GPS (Global Positioning System) module. The GPS module is a receiving device used in a satellite positioning system. The satellite positioning system receives signals from at least three or four satellites, and detects the current location of the terminal 10 equipped with the GPS module based on the received signals.

[0064] The camera 160 is a device that receives light with a light receiving element and outputs the received light as a captured image. The camera 160 is, for example, a depth camera that can detect the distance from the camera 160 to a subject being photographed.

[0065] The motion sensor 170 includes an acceleration sensor, an angular velocity sensor, etc., and detects the movement of the terminal 10 .

[0066] The storage unit 180 is configured with, for example, a flash memory, and stores data and programs used by the terminal 10. The various types of information stored in the storage unit 180 will be described later.

[0067] The control unit 190 controls the operation of the terminal 10 by reading a program stored in the storage unit 180 and executing instructions included in the program. The control unit 190 is, for example, an application processor. By operating in accordance with the program, the control unit 190 fulfills the functions of an operation reception unit 191, a transmission / reception unit 192, a data processing unit 193, a notification control unit 194, and a storage control unit 195.

[0068] Operation acceptance unit 191 performs processing to accept a user's input operation to an input device such as touch-sensitive device 131. Operation acceptance unit 191 determines the type of operation, such as whether the user's operation is a flick operation, a tap operation, or a drag (swipe) operation, based on information about the coordinates where the user has touched touch-sensitive device 131 with a finger or the like.

[0069] The transmitting / receiving unit 192 performs processing for the terminal 10 to transmit and receive data to and from an external device such as the server 20 in accordance with a communication protocol.

[0070] The data processing unit 193 performs calculations on data that the terminal 10 has received as input in accordance with a program, and outputs the calculation results to a memory or the like.

[0071] The notification control unit 194 performs processing for displaying a display image on the display 132, processing for outputting sound from the speaker 142, and processing for generating vibrations.

[0072] The storage control unit 195 controls the storage of data in the storage unit 180 .

[0073] A description will be given of various types of information stored in storage unit 180. In one aspect, storage unit 180 stores various types of information such as user information 181, contract condition information 182, document information 183 related to the business, and the like.

[0074] The user information 181 is information about a user who uses the services of the server 20. The user information 181 includes, for example, information such as the employee number and name of the user.

[0075] The contract terms information 182 is information indicating the contract terms related to the request for approval, such as contract data or term sheet data. The contract terms information 182 may be, for example, a contract that was previously concluded. This may be attached to the request for approval. The terminal 10 can obtain data on the contract that was previously concluded from the server 20.

[0076] The document information 183 relating to the business is information such as a business strategy document, a plan document, a product strategy document, a budget document, etc., which is the basis to be entered as the background of the approval request when applying for approval.

[0077] <2 Data Structure> 4 is a diagram showing the data structure of the user database 211. The user database 211 includes the following items: "User ID," "Business Operator ID," "Name," "Email Address," "Department," "Position," "Date of Employment," "Date of Resignation," and "Qualifications."

[0078] The item "user ID" is information that identifies each user.

[0079] The item "business operator ID" is information that identifies each business operator.

[0080] The item "Name" is information about the user's name.

[0081] The item "email address" is information that serves as the user's contact information.

[0082] The item "department" is information about the user's department.

[0083] Specifically, the item "department" may include the following as information about the department to which the user belongs: - Business departments, sales departments, etc. that do not primarily handle legal affairs Departments that primarily handle legal affairs, such as the legal department and intellectual property department The item "position" is information about the position of the user.

[0084] The item "Date of joining" is information about the date on which a user joined an organization.

[0085] The item "Retirement Date" is information about the date on which the user retired from the organization.

[0086] The item "Qualifications held" is information about qualifications held by the user.

[0087] Specifically, the item "Qualifications held" includes the following information as qualifications held by the user: Qualifications that are expected to give the knowledge to review contracts, such as a lawyer Qualifications that are expected to show knowledge of business activities, such as small and medium-sized enterprise management consultants Qualifications that are expected to have the necessary knowledge in accounting, tax, etc., such as certified public accountants and tax accountants 5 is a diagram showing the data structure of the agreement management database 212. The agreement management database 212 includes an item "agreement ID," an item "sender ID," an item "recipient ID," an item "data to be agreed upon," an item "first email address," an item "second email address," an item "sent date and time," an item "user signature date and time," an item "agreement completion date and time," and an item "status."

[0088] The item "contract ID" is information that identifies each contract conclusion procedure.

[0089] Specifically, the item "Conclusion ID" includes identification information issued by the server 20 when a new registration of a process for concluding an electronic contract by specifying an approver is accepted for document data to be approved by the parties.

[0090] The item "sender ID" is information for identifying the party who will be the sender when the party approves document data.

[0091] Specifically, the item "sender ID" may be associated with information about the business (business ID) or information about the user (user ID) managed in the user database 211.

[0092] The item "recipient ID" is information for identifying the party who will be the recipient when the party approves document data.

[0093] Specifically, the item "Receiver ID" is information that identifies the party designated by the sender's user as the receiver, and like the sender ID, may be associated with information about the business (business ID) or the user (user ID) managed in the user database 211.

[0094] The item "data to be concluded" is document data to be approved by the parties.

[0095] Specifically, the item "data to be concluded" indicates data (files such as PDF) of transaction documents such as contracts, applications, and estimates.

[0096] The item "primary email address" is an email address that serves as a contact point for the user who will be the sender in the process of concluding a contract by approving document data.

[0097] Specifically, the item "first email address" is the email address of the user who performs the operation to send document data as the sender.

[0098] The item "secondary email address" is an email address that serves as the contact address of the user who approves as a recipient in the process of concluding a contract by approving document data.

[0099] Specifically, the item "second email address" is the email address of the user who will approve the document data as the recipient. Note that there may be multiple users who approve the document data among the parties, and if the user who sends the document data specifies the email addresses of multiple users who will approve the document data, the specified email addresses are also managed in the agreement management database 212.

[0100] The item "transmission date and time" is information about the date and time when an operation to transmit document data was accepted from a user who will be the sender in order to request approval of the document data from each user.

[0101] The item "user signature date and time" is information on the date and time when the user performed an operation to approve the document data.

[0102] Specifically, the item "User Signature Date and Time" includes information on the timing when a user who has been requested to approve document data checks the document data, performs an operation to approve, and then digitally signs the document data by having the operation accepted by the server 20. The server 20 digitally signs the document data each time a user performs an operation to approve, and stores the timing information in the agreement management database 212.

[0103] The item "conclusion completion date and time" is information about the date and time when the conclusion of the contract was completed.

[0104] Specifically, when a contract is concluded using the electronic contract service provided by server 20, the item "Date and time of conclusion completion" stores the date and time information in the conclusion management database 212, assuming that the conclusion of the contract is completed when all users designated to approve the document data perform the approval operation.

[0105] The item "status" is information indicating the stage at which the contract conclusion work is currently underway.

[0106] Specifically, the item "status" may include the following as the stage of the contract conclusion process: Before sending: Indicates that the document data has been registered on the server 20 by the sender, but has not yet been sent to the recipient. - In Progress: Indicates that the document data has been sent and approval by each user has not yet been completed. Completed: Indicates that the contract has been concluded Rejected, returned: Indicates that the contract was not completed due to reasons such as the user not approving the document data, or a timeout occurring after a certain period of time had passed without approval being completed. 6 is a diagram showing the data structure of the document management database 213. The document management database 213 includes an item "document management ID," an item "contract ID," an item "document title," an item "contract start date," an item "contract expiration date," and an item "automatic renewal status."

[0107] The item "document management ID" is information for identifying each document data being managed.

[0108] The item "contract ID" is information that identifies each contract conclusion procedure that the parties have performed to approve the document data.

[0109] Specifically, the item "contract ID" may be associated with information (contract ID) that identifies each contract conclusion, which is managed in the contract management database 212.

[0110] The item "document title" is information about the title of the document data being managed.

[0111] Specifically, the item "document title" may be a word used as a type or name of a contract, such as a confidentiality agreement, a sales contract, or a license agreement.

[0112] The item "contract start date" is information indicated as the start date of the contract in the document data.

[0113] Specifically, the value of the item "contract start date" may be set as follows. When the contract is concluded, the server 20 reads the start date of the contract from the contract data. - Information entered by the user as the contract start date The same applies to the following items "Contract Expiration Date" and "Automatic Renewal Enabled."

[0114] The item "contract expiration date" is information indicated as the contract expiration date in the document data.

[0115] The item "automatic renewal" is information indicating whether the contract period is automatically extended (automatic renewal) when the contract period expires in the document data without the parties having to re-enter the contract.

[0116] 7 is a diagram showing the data structure of the review history database 214. The review history database 214 includes an item "review ID," an item "document data," an item "document management ID," an item "review date and time," an item "review user," an item "review content," and an item "review requester's evaluation."

[0117] The item "review ID" is information that identifies each review performed on document data.

[0118] The item "Document Data" is information about the document data to be reviewed.

[0119] The item "document management ID" is information for identifying each document data being managed.

[0120] Specifically, the item "document management ID" may be associated with information (document management ID) that identifies each piece of document data, which is managed in the document management database 213.

[0121] The item "review date and time" is information about the date and time when the review was performed.

[0122] The item "reviewer user" is information about the user who reviewed the item.

[0123] The item "review content" is information indicating the results of the review.

[0124] Specifically, the item "review content" may include the following as review results: - Review results by the document review service server 93 (advantages and disadvantages of the conditions, importance, proposed revisions, etc.) Comments and suggested corrections entered by users (including information about users who enter review comments) The item "rating of review requester" is information indicating the rating of the user who requested the review on the review content of the reviewer.

[0125] Specifically, the item "review requester's evaluation" includes the result of the user who requested the review evaluating the reviewer based on the operation performed on the review result, and the following are possible. The user who requested the review can set a score for the review result. The number of reactions, such as "likes," added to posts sent via messaging tools to contact users for reviews 8 is a diagram showing the data structure of the approval request database 215. The approval request database 215 includes an item "approval request ID," an item "applicant ID," an item "approver ID," an item "application date," an item "approval date," an item "application content," and an item "conclusion ID."

[0126] The item "approval request ID" is information that identifies each approval request.

[0127] The item "Applicant ID" is information that identifies the user who is the applicant for the approval request.

[0128] Specifically, the item "applicant ID" may be associated with user information (user ID) managed in the user database 211.

[0129] The item "Approver ID" is information that identifies the user who approves the approval request.

[0130] Specifically, the item "approver ID" may be associated with user information (user ID) managed in the user database 211.

[0131] The item "application date" is information about the date and time when an operation to transmit the approval request data was accepted from the applicant user in order to request each user to approve the approval request data.

[0132] The item "approval date" is information about the date and time when the user performed an operation to approve the data of the approval request.

[0133] The item "application content" is information indicating the content of the approval request.

[0134] Specifically, the item "application content" includes the content of the approval request, such as: Conclusion of contracts Budget approval Expense claim The item "contract ID" is information that identifies each contract conclusion procedure.

[0135] Specifically, the item "conclusion ID" may be associated with information (conclusion ID) that identifies each contract conclusion procedure, which is managed in the conclusion management database 212. This associates the data of the approval request in the approval request database 215 with the data of the contract conclusion in the conclusion management database 212.

[0136] <3 operations> FIG. 9 is a diagram showing the flow of a process of acquiring data related to a request for approval, generating information to be included in the request for approval, and accepting the request for approval.

[0137] In step S911, the terminal 10 accepts an operation to newly register an approval request.

[0138] In step S921, the server 20 presents the user with an operation screen for accepting an application for approval.

[0139] In step S913, the terminal 10 accepts input of document data related to the purpose of the approval request application.

[0140] For example, the server 20 accepts the following input as document data related to the purpose of the approval request. · Contract or term sheet showing the terms of the contract Transaction documents such as application forms, acceptance forms, purchase orders, receipts, quotations, invoices, and delivery notes Documents related to business activities such as business strategies, business plans, and product strategies The server 20 may acquire data relating to the circumstances of the approval request from a service other than the approval request application service provided by the server 20 in response to a user's operation on the terminal 10. For example, the server 20 acquires the following data relating to the circumstances of the approval request from another service. As another service, the contract data is input as document data from at least one of a contract review service and a contract creation service. As another service, it sends and receives data with the budget management system and accepts budget-related information for approval requests (whether it is within budget, outside budget, budget amount, etc.).

[0141] In step S923, the server 20 analyzes the input document data.

[0142] The server 20 analyzes the input document data and performs the following. Obtain at least one of the following information from the entered contract or term sheet: contract period, settlement amount, and contract party information If there is a contract of the same type as the input contract or term sheet that has been concluded in the past, the data of the request for approval relating to the conclusion of the concluded contract is identified by referring to the request for approval database 215. If there is data on a previously rejected request for approval of a contract or term sheet of the same type as the entered contract, identify the data on the rejected request. Obtain at least one of the following information from the entered transaction documents (application form, invoice, etc.): the contract period, settlement amount, and information on the parties to the contract - Obtaining budget and other monetary information from the entered data The server 20 may analyze documents relating to the business content and generate a description of the expected results.

[0143] The server 20 may obtain information about the parties in the input document data.

[0144] In step S925, the server 20 generates information to be included in the application data transmitted by the request for approval in the request for approval application system based on the analysis result of step S923, and presents the information to the user. With the generated information included in the application data, the server 20 presents an operation screen for accepting an operation to start the request for approval to the user.

[0145] The server 20 generates the following information to be included in the application data. For example, the acquired data may be input into a large-scale language model (the server 95 of the artificial intelligence service) while specifically specifying the information to be included in the request for approval, thereby generating the information to be included in the request for approval. Furthermore, specific keywords (and their synonyms) may be identified based on the acquired data, and extracted as information to be included in the request for approval. Information indicating the circumstances of the request, including at least one of the background, purpose, and items for which approval is sought The information acquired by the analysis in the processing of step S923 is considered to be the circumstances of the approval request. - Information extracted from the identified past request data as information to be included in the request data (information common to past request data, such as the parties involved and the background circumstances of the request) Cost-effectiveness explanations generated based on monetary information (e.g., using large-scale language models to generate cost-effectiveness explanations) - A description of the expected results generated by analyzing documents related to the business (for example, a large-scale language model service provided by the artificial intelligence service server 95 analyzes documents and generates a summary of specified items to be used in an approval application). The result of determining whether the parties to the contract are specific businesses subject to the conditions for contract termination (for example, the result of determining whether the contract does not fall under anti-social clauses based on information provided by the business information service server 94) The server 20 may present the data of the rejected request for approval to the user. This allows the user to apply for approval by referring to the data of past applications in which the request for approval was not approved.

[0146] The server 20 acquires contract data, budget information, etc. as information on the circumstances of the approval request from other systems such as a contract review system (server 93), a contract creation system, and a budget management tool (server 99), and generates information to be included in the application data. For example, the server 20 generates information to be included in the application data by analyzing contract data received from other systems.

[0147] The server 20 analyzes the document data acquired in step S913 to determine whether the document data is managed within the budget or outside the budget in the budget management system, and generates first information including the determination result. For example, when outsourcing work based on an outsourcing contract, if the outsourcing cost is registered in the budget management tool, it can be determined that the work is within the budget.

[0148] The server 20 receives an operation from a user to start a request for approval with the generated information included in the request data. The server 20 sets users related to the request for approval as, for example, a circulator or approver according to the generated information. For example, when data on a past request for approval is acquired (request for approval database 215), a user who was set as an approver or the like in the past request for approval can be set as an approver in a new request for approval.

[0149] In step S915, the terminal 10 displays the generated information to be included in the application data. The terminal 10 accepts an operation to start an application for approval.

[0150] In step S927, the server 20 starts the request for approval and updates the request for approval database 215. The server 20 starts the request for approval by accepting the user's operation in step S915. The server 20 sets the user set in step S925 as at least one of the approver and circulator of the request for approval, and starts the request for approval.

[0151] In step S929, the server 20 updates information on other systems. For example, the server 20 may transmit and receive data to and from a budget management system (server 99), and when an application for approval is made using application data (approval application database 215), the server 20 may update information on budget / actual management in the budget management system.

[0152] <4 Screen example> Figure 10 shows an example of an operation screen for accepting approval requests.

[0153] FIG. 11 shows an example of an operation screen for accepting approval requests.

[0154] A screen 1200 is an operation screen for accepting an application for approval.

[0155] The account display area 1210 is an area for displaying information about the account of a user who has logged in to a service provided by the server 20.

[0156] The new application receiving unit 1220 is an operation member that receives a new application for approval.

[0157] The new application receiving unit 1220 corresponds to the processing of step S911 and the like.

[0158] The related data display area 1230 is an area that accepts upload of data related to the request for approval and displays the results of extracting data to be included in the request for approval.

[0159] The related data receiving section 1231 is an operation member that receives, from the user, designation of data related to an application for approval.

[0160] In the illustrated example, when a file is uploaded, the related data receiving unit 1231 displays the file name. The server 20 may preview details of the uploaded document data in response to a user operation on the related data receiving unit 1231.

[0161] The analysis result display area 1232 is an area for displaying the results of analyzing the data specified by the user and generating data to be used in the approval request application.

[0162] The detail display area information 1233 is an area for displaying details of the results of generating data used in the approval request application.

[0163] The detailed display area information 1233 corresponds to the processing of step S925, etc. As shown in the figure, the information generated for the approval request application is displayed as information that can be read from the contract, such as the contract period, settlement amount, and information on the parties. In addition, the server 20 identifies similar contracts that have been concluded in the past (for example, the same contract type) (approval request database 215), and displays the results of extracting information to be included in the approval request, such as cost-effectiveness, from the approval request data for the conclusion of those contracts.

[0164] The past data viewing acceptance unit 1234 is an operating component that accepts operations to refer to the data of a past contract or a past request for approval for a contract when the server 20 identifies the data of the past contract or the past request for approval for that contract.

[0165] The past data viewing reception unit 1234 displays data of past approval requests in a preview or the like in response to a user operation.

[0166] The approval request start receiving unit 1235 is an operation member that receives an operation to start an approval request from a user.

[0167] The approval request start receiving unit 1235 corresponds to the processing of step S915 etc. In response to a user's operation on the approval request start receiving unit 1235, the server 20 confirms the contents and receives an operation to start an approval request application, as shown in FIG.

[0168] The system linkage receiving unit 1239 is an operation member that connects to other systems (such as a budget management tool) in response to a user operation and acquires data related to the request for approval.

[0169] The application operation area 1240 is an operation screen for accepting an application for approval by accepting settings such as circulation destinations while allowing the user to confirm the information generated to be included in the application for approval.

[0170] The circulation route setting area 1250 is an area that displays the data of the approval request (circumstances of the approval request such as background) and accepts the setting of users to whom the approval request is to be circulated.

[0171] In the illustrated example, the circulation route setting area 1250 sets a circulation route based on data (for example, data on past approval requests) acquired by the server 20 in the explanation of FIG.

[0172] The external tool linkage setting 1251 is an area for accepting linkage settings for linking with another system and updating data in the other system by submitting a request for approval.

[0173] The external tool linkage setting 1251 corresponds to step S929 in Fig. 9. For example, by linking with a budget management tool, it is possible to update the time when expenses are incurred.

[0174] The start operation receiving unit 1252 is an operation member that receives an operation from a user to start an application for approval based on the data of the application for approval through a set circulation route.

[0175] The start operation accepting unit 1252 corresponds to step S927 in FIG.

[0176] <Modification> In addition to the aspects described in the above embodiment, the following may be adopted.

[0177] In the above embodiment, it has been described that each business provides a service using each device, such as the business support system service server 92, the document review service server 93, the large-scale language model service server 95, and the human resources management service server 96. However, it is also possible for a single business to provide multiple services. For example, it is possible for a single business to provide a contract conclusion service, a document management service, and a business support (approval application) service.

[0178] In the above embodiment, the subject of the approval request has been mainly described as an example of an approval request for concluding a contract, but the present invention can also be applied to other approval requests.

[0179] Although several embodiments of the present disclosure have been described above, these embodiments can be embodied in various other forms, and various omissions, substitutions, and modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the invention. These embodiments and modifications are intended to be included in the scope of the inventions and their equivalents as defined in the claims, as well as in the scope and spirit of the inventions.

[0180] The functions performed by the components described herein may be implemented in circuitry or processing circuitry, including general-purpose processors, application-specific processors, integrated circuits, ASICs (Application Specific Integrated Circuits), a CPU (a Central Processing Unit), conventional circuits, and / or combinations thereof, programmed to perform the described functions. A processor includes transistors and other circuits and is considered to be circuitry or processing circuitry. A processor may also be a programmed processor that executes programs stored in memory.

[0181] In this specification, a circuitry, unit, or means is hardware that is programmed to realize or performs the described functions, which may be any hardware disclosed herein or any hardware known to be programmed to realize or perform the described functions.

[0182] If the hardware is a processor considered to be a type of circuitry, the circuitry, means, or unit is a combination of the hardware and software used to configure the hardware and / or processor.

[0183] <Additional Notes> The matters explained in the above embodiment will be supplemented below.

[0184] (Appendix 1) A program for operating a computer having a computer processor, the program causing the computer processor to: A step of accepting input of document data related to the purpose of the request for approval; A step of generating first information to be included in application data transmitted by an approval request in the approval request application system by analyzing the input document data, the first information indicating the circumstances of the approval request including at least one of the background, purpose, and matters for which approval is sought; and presenting the generated first information to a user.

[0185] (Appendix 2) In the receiving step, a contract or a term sheet indicating the terms of the contract is received as document data, The program described in Appendix 1, in which in the generating step, at least one of the contract period, settlement amount, and information on the parties to the contract is obtained from the contract or term sheet as analysis, and the information obtained by analysis is used as circumstances to generate first information to be used in applying for approval.

[0186] (Appendix 3) In the receiving step, a contract or a term sheet indicating the terms of the contract is received as document data, A program described in any of Appendices 1 to 2, wherein in the generating step, if there is a contract of the same type as the input contract or term sheet that has been concluded in the past, the program analyzes the data of a request for approval for the conclusion of the concluded contract and generates first information using the data of the identified request for approval.

[0187] (Appendix 4) In the generating step, if there is data on a request for approval for a contract of the same type as the input contract or term sheet that was previously submitted but rejected, the data on the rejected request for approval is identified, 4. The program according to claim 3, wherein in the presenting step, data on the request for approval to be rejected is presented to the user.

[0188] (Appendix 5) In the receiving step, input of transaction documents such as application forms, acceptance forms, purchase orders, receipts, quotations, invoices, and delivery notes is received as document data. A program described in any of Appendices 1 to 4, in which in the generation step, analysis is performed to obtain at least one of the contract period, settlement amount, and information on the parties to the contract from the input transaction documents, and the information obtained by analysis is used as circumstances to generate first information to be used in applying for approval.

[0189] (Appendix 6) A program described in any of Appendices 1 to 5, wherein in the generating step, the first information is generated by analyzing and obtaining monetary information such as a budget, and generating a cost-effectiveness explanation based on the monetary information.

[0190] (Appendix 7) In the receiving step, input of documents related to business content such as a business strategy document, a business plan document, a product strategy document, etc. is received as document data. An information processing device as described in Appendix 6, wherein in the generating step, the analysis involves analyzing documents related to the business content and generating an explanation of expected results, thereby generating an explanation of cost-effectiveness.

[0191] (Appendix 8) As described in any of Appendices 1 to 7, in the generating step, the analysis involves obtaining information about the parties in the document data, determining whether the parties are specific business operators that are subject to the conditions for termination of the contract, and generating first information that includes the results of the determination.

[0192] (Appendix 9) In the acceptance step, data on the circumstances of the approval request is obtained from a service other than the approval request system, According to any one of Appendices 1 to 8, in the generating step, first information is generated based on the acquired data regarding the circumstances of the approval request.

[0193] (Appendix 10) In the receiving step, input of contract data as document data is received from at least one of a contract review service and a contract creation service as another service, According to any one of appendices 1 to 9, in the generating step, the first information is generated by analyzing data of the accepted contract.

[0194] (Appendix 11) The computer sends and receives data to and from the budget control system as another service. According to any one of Appendices 1 to 10, in the generating step, the document data is analyzed to determine whether it is managed within budget or outside budget in the budget management system, and first information including the determination result is generated.

[0195] (Appendix 12) The program further causes the computer processor to: receiving, from a user, an operation to start an approval request application with the generated first information included in the request data; A program according to any one of appendices 1 to 11, which executes the step of initiating a request for approval by accepting an operation.

[0196] (Appendix 13) The program further causes the computer processor to: Executing a step of setting a user related to the request for approval according to the generated first information; A program as described in Appendix 12, in which, in the starting step, the user to be set is set as at least one of the approver or circulator of the request for approval, and the request for approval is started.

[0197] (Appendix 14) The computer sends and receives data to and from the budget control system. The program further causes the computer processor to: A program described in any of Appendices 1 to 13, which updates information on budget and actual management in a budget management system when a request for approval is made using application data including the first information.

[0198] (Appendix 15) 1. A computer-implemented method comprising a computer processor, the method comprising the computer processor: A step of accepting input of document data related to the purpose of the request for approval; A step of generating first information to be included in application data transmitted by an approval request in the approval request application system by analyzing the input document data, the first information indicating the circumstances of the approval request including at least one of the background, purpose, and matters for which approval is sought; presenting the generated first information to a user.

[0199] (Appendix 16) An information processing device including a control unit, A step of accepting input of document data related to the purpose of the request for approval; A step of generating first information to be included in application data transmitted by an approval request in the approval request application system by analyzing the input document data, the first information indicating the circumstances of the approval request including at least one of the background, purpose, and matters for which approval is sought; and presenting the generated first information to a user.

Claims

1. A program for operating a computer including a computer processor, the program causing the computer processor to: A step of accepting input of document data related to the purpose of the request for approval; A step of analyzing the input document data to generate first information to be included in application data transmitted by an approval request in the approval request system, the first information indicating the circumstances of the approval request including at least one of the background, purpose, and matters for which approval is sought; and presenting the generated first information to a user.

2. In the receiving step, an input of a contract or a term sheet indicating contract terms is received as the document data, 2. The program according to claim 1, wherein in the generating step, the analysis involves obtaining at least one of the contract period, settlement amount, and information on the parties to the contract from the contract or the term sheet, and generating the first information to be used in the request for approval using the information obtained by analysis as the circumstances.

3. In the receiving step, an input of a contract or a term sheet indicating contract terms is received as the document data, 2. The program according to claim 1, wherein in the generating step, the analysis involves, if there is a contract of the same type as the input contract or term sheet that has been concluded in the past, identifying data on a request for approval for the conclusion of the concluded contract, and generating the first information from the identified data on the request for approval.

4. In the generating step, if there is data on a request for approval for a contract of the same type as the input contract or term sheet that was previously submitted but rejected, the data on the request for approval related to the rejection is identified; The program according to claim 3 , wherein in the presenting step, data of the request for approval to be rejected is presented to the user.

5. In the receiving step, input of transaction documents such as an application form, a letter of acceptance, a purchase order, a receipt, an estimate, an invoice, and a delivery note is received as the document data, The program of claim 1, wherein in the generating step, the analysis involves obtaining at least one of the contract period, settlement amount, and information on the parties to the contract from the input transaction documents, and generating the first information to be used in the request for approval using the information obtained by analysis as the circumstances.

6. The program according to claim 1, wherein in the generating step, the first information is generated by acquiring information on amounts such as a budget and generating an explanation of cost-effectiveness based on the information on amounts.

7. In the receiving step, input of documents relating to business content such as a business strategy document, a business plan document, a product strategy document, etc. is received as the document data, The information processing device according to claim 6 , wherein in the generating step, the analyzing step analyzes documents relating to the business content to generate an explanation of expected results, thereby generating the explanation of cost-effectiveness.

8. According to claim 1, in the generating step, the analysis involves obtaining information about the parties in the document data, determining whether the parties correspond to specific business operators that are subject to the conditions for contract termination, and generating the first information including the results of the determination.

9. In the receiving step, data on the circumstances of the approval request is acquired from another service different from the approval request application system; The method according to claim 1 , wherein in the generating step, the first information is generated from the acquired data that constitutes the circumstances of the approval request.

10. In the receiving step, input of contract data is received as the document data from at least one of a contract review service and a contract creation service as the other service, The method according to claim 1 , wherein in the generating step, the first information is generated by analyzing the data of the accepted contract.

11. the computer transmits and receives data to and from a budget management system as the other service; According to claim 1, in the generating step, the document data is analyzed to determine whether the document data is managed within budget or outside budget in the budget management system, and the first information including the determination result is generated.

12. The program further causes the computer processor to: receiving, from a user, an operation to start a request for approval with the generated first information included in the request data; The program according to claim 1 , further comprising: a step of initiating the application for the approval by accepting the operation.

13. The program further causes the computer processor to: Executing a step of setting a user related to the request for approval according to the generated first information; 13. The program according to claim 12, wherein in the starting step, the user to be set is set as at least one of an approver or a circulator of the request for approval, and the request for approval is started.

14. the computer transmits and receives data to and from a budget control system; The program further causes the computer processor to: The program according to claim 1 , wherein when the request for approval is made using the application data including the first information, information on budget / actual management in the budget management system is updated.

15. 1. A computer-implemented method comprising a computer processor, the method comprising: A step of accepting input of document data related to the purpose of the request for approval; A step of analyzing the input document data to generate first information to be included in application data transmitted by an approval request in the approval request system, the first information indicating the circumstances of the approval request including at least one of the background, purpose, and matters for which approval is sought; and presenting the generated first information to a user.

16. An information processing device including a control unit, the control unit A step of accepting input of document data related to the purpose of the request for approval; A step of analyzing the input document data to generate first information to be included in application data transmitted by an approval request in the approval request system, the first information indicating the circumstances of the approval request including at least one of the background, purpose, and matters for which approval is sought; and presenting the generated first information to a user.

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