Program, method, and information processing apparatus

Abstract

To provide a technique for smoothly proceeding with a workflow for approving document data between a sender and a receiver of the document data.SOLUTION: A storage unit holds operation histories of approval operation of each user made in the procedure for each user to approve document data, the operation histories including non-approval operations for the document data. A program causes a processor to execute the steps of: referring to the operation histories to evaluate the users regarding the possibility that the document data is to be approved, based on the history of non-approval operation; and presenting information according to the evaluation result of the possibility of each user being approved.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] As mentioned above, there are systems in place for electronic contracts, internal approvals, etc. However, there is a certain percentage of approval requests that are rejected even as they progress through the workflow. This results in repeated procedures and a heavy workload, making it necessary to further reduce the operational costs leading up to approval.

[0007] For example, an approval request procedure may be rejected or returned due to a specific person.

[0008] Therefore, there is a need for a technique that allows workflows for approving document data and the like to proceed more smoothly between the sender and receiver of the workflow. [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 processor, wherein a memory unit stores an operation history of each user's approval operation in a procedure for each user to approve document data, and the operation history also includes operations to disapprove the document data, and the program causes the processor to execute the steps of: referring to the operation history, and evaluating each user regarding the possibility that the document data will be approved based on the history of disapproval operations; and presenting information according to the evaluation result of each user's possibility of approval. [Effects of the Invention]

[0010] According to the present disclosure, when a workflow for approving document data or the like is advanced, the workflow sender and recipient can proceed more smoothly. [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 approval probability database 214. [Figure 8] FIG. 8 is a diagram showing the flow of processing for calculating, for each user, an approval likelihood score that indicates the likelihood that document data will be approved. [Figure 9] FIG. 9 is a diagram showing the flow of processing for accepting an operation to request approval of document data while displaying to the sender user possible reasons why the approval request for document data may be rejected. [Figure 10] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing the flow of processing for accepting an operation to approve document data while displaying to the approver user possible reasons for rejecting the approval request for document data. [Figure 11] FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of a screen for accepting an operation from a sender user to send an approval request for document data. [Figure 12] FIG. 12 is a diagram showing an example of a screen for accepting an operation to approve a request for approval of document data from an approver user. [Figure 13] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of a screen displaying the time-series change in the approval likelihood score for each user. 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 contract conclusion and document management service server 20, a user terminal 10, a business support (approval) service server 92, a large-scale language model service server 95, a personnel management service server 96, a UI design service server 97, 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 includes a communication IF 22 , an input / output IF 23 , a memory 25 , a storage 26 , and a processor 29 .

[0026] The communication IF 22 is an interface for inputting and outputting signals so that the server 20 can communicate with external devices.

[0027] 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.

[0028] 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).

[0029] The storage 26 is for storing data, and is, for example, a flash memory or a hard disk drive (HDD).

[0030] 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.

[0031] The business support (approval request) service server 92 is a server that provides a service to support business operations such as applying for approval in an organization (such as a business company) that conducts business activities. The business support (approval request) service server 92 provides a service to a user that enables the user to design a workflow for obtaining budget approval among multiple users, for example.

[0032] 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.

[0033] 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.

[0034] 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.

[0035] The UI design service server 97 is a server that provides a service that cooperates with other services to design operation guides and the like and provide them to end users of the other services. For example, the UI design service server 97 cooperates with a contract conclusion service using electronic contracts to display an operation guide using a tutorial superimposed on the operation screen of the contract conclusion service to support user operations.

[0036] <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.

[0037] The communication unit 201 performs processing for the server 20 to communicate with external devices.

[0038] The storage unit 202 stores various databases such as a user database 211, a contract management database 212, a document management database 213, and an approval possibility database 214.

[0039] The user database 211 is a database for managing users.

[0040] 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.

[0041] 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.

[0042] 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.

[0043] The approval possibility database 214 is a database that manages scores indicating the likelihood of each user approving document data in a workflow in which the user approves the document data. Details will be described later.

[0044] 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 performs 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, and a user evaluation module 2047.

[0045] The reception control module 2041 controls the process by which the server 20 receives signals from external devices in accordance with a communication protocol.

[0046] The transmission control module 2042 controls the process in which the server 20 transmits signals to external devices in accordance with a communication protocol.

[0047] 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.

[0048] 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.

[0049] 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).

[0050] The user evaluation module 2047 identifies a score indicating the likelihood of a user approving based on the history of operations (approval operations, rejection operations, etc.) performed by the user in the workflow for approving document data, and updates the approval likelihood database 214.

[0051] <1.3 Configuration of Terminal 10> FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the configuration of the terminal 10. As shown in FIG.

[0052] 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.

[0053] 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.

[0054] 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.

[0055] 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.

[0056] 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.

[0057] 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.

[0058] 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.

[0059] 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.

[0060] 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.

[0061] The motion sensor 170 includes an acceleration sensor, an angular velocity sensor, etc., and detects the movement of the terminal 10 .

[0062] 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.

[0063] 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.

[0064] 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.

[0065] 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.

[0066] 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.

[0067] 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.

[0068] The storage control unit 195 controls the storage of data in the storage unit 180 .

[0069] 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, user evaluation information 182, and the like.

[0070] 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.

[0071] The user evaluation information 182 is information of a score indicating the possibility that a user will approve document data in a workflow in which the user approves the document data.

[0072] <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," and "Date of Resignation."

[0073] The item "user ID" is information that identifies each user.

[0074] The item "business operator ID" is information that identifies each business operator.

[0075] The item "Name" is information about the user's name.

[0076] The item "email address" is information that serves as the user's contact information.

[0077] The item "department" is information about the user's department.

[0078] 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.

[0079] The item "Date of joining" is information about the date on which a user joined an organization.

[0080] The item "Retirement Date" is information about the date on which the user retired from the organization.

[0081] 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," an item "status," an item "rejection / cancellation operation," and an item "rejection / cancellation reason."

[0082] The item "contract ID" is information that identifies each contract conclusion procedure.

[0083] 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.

[0084] The item "sender ID" is information for identifying the party who will be the sender when the party approves document data.

[0085] 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.

[0086] The item "recipient ID" is information for identifying the party who will be the recipient when the party approves document data.

[0087] 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.

[0088] The item "data to be concluded" is document data to be approved by the parties.

[0089] Specifically, the item "data to be concluded" indicates data (files such as PDF) of transaction documents such as contracts, applications, and estimates.

[0090] 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.

[0091] Specifically, the item "first email address" is the email address of the user who performs the operation to send document data as the sender.

[0092] 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.

[0093] 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.

[0094] The item "transmission date and time" is information on 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.

[0095] 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.

[0096] The item "conclusion completion date and time" is information about the date and time when the conclusion of the contract was completed.

[0097] The item "status" is information indicating the stage at which the contract conclusion work is currently underway.

[0098] 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. The item "rejection / cancellation operation" is information indicating the history of operations performed by a user to reject or cancel a request for approval of document data.

[0099] Specifically, the item "rejection / cancellation operation" includes information for identifying the user who performed the rejection or cancellation, and information on the date and time when the user performed the operation.

[0100] The item "Reason for rejection / cancellation" is information indicating the reason when a user rejects or cancels a request for approval of document data.

[0101] Specifically, the item "Reason for Rejection / Cancellation" includes the result of accepting an operation specifying the reason from the user who rejected or canceled. Possible reasons for rejection or cancellation include the following: Incorrect address - The order of recipients (circulation order) is incorrect - The explanation of the reasons and circumstances for requesting approval is insufficient (e.g., the explanation lacks logical development) Note that the recipient may unilaterally reject a request without providing a reason for the rejection or cancellation. In this case, the user may not specify a reason in the "Reason for Rejection / Cancellation" field.

[0102] 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."

[0103] The item "document management ID" is information for identifying each document data being managed.

[0104] The item "contract ID" is information that identifies each contract conclusion procedure that the parties have performed to approve the document data.

[0105] 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.

[0106] The item "document title" is information about the title of the document data being managed.

[0107] 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.

[0108] The item "contract start date" is information indicated as the start date of the contract in the document data.

[0109] 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."

[0110] The item "contract expiration date" is information indicated as the contract expiration date in the document data.

[0111] 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.

[0112] 7 is a diagram showing the data structure of the approval possibility database 214. The approval possibility database 214 includes an item "user ID", an item "score as sender", an item "score as approver", an item "score calculation range", and an item "aggregation period".

[0113] The item "user ID" is information that identifies each user.

[0114] Specifically, the item "user ID" may be associated with user information (user ID) managed in the user database 211.

[0115] The item "sender score" is a score that evaluates the possibility that approval will be rejected or cancelled when the user is the sender (approval requester) in an approval workflow.

[0116] Specifically, the item "sender score" includes scores calculated in the following manner. · Number of rejected senders · Number of returned - Calculate a score based on whether or not the user has a history of referring to the operation guide provided by the service itself or the server 97 of the UI design support service (e.g., if a user tends to make mistakes but does not refer to the operation guide, the score may be weighted to be low. A user who frequently refers to the operation guide after making a mistake may be weighted to be high in score). - Identify the sender's score depending on the reason for rejection (for example, if the reason is incorrect address, evaluate the sender's circumstances as likely to result in rejection) The item "score as approver" is a score that evaluates the possibility that approval will be rejected or canceled when the user is a recipient (approver) in an approval workflow.

[0117] Specifically, the item "score as approver" includes scores calculated in the following manner. · Number of recipients rejected · Number of recipients returned - Calculate a score based on whether or not the user has a history of referring to the operation guide provided by the service itself or the server 97 of the UI design support service (e.g., if a user tends to make mistakes but does not refer to the operation guide, the score may be weighted to be low. A user who frequently refers to the operation guide after making a mistake may be weighted to be high in score). - Identify the recipient's score depending on the reason for rejection (for example, if the recipient rejects due to lack of reason, evaluate the likelihood of rejection due to the recipient's circumstances) The item "score calculation range" is information indicating the range of data types for which a score is to be determined for which approval is to be rejected or cancelled.

[0118] Specifically, the item "score calculation range" may include the following information as the range of the type of data for which the score is to be determined. Workflow with external users (contract signing, etc.) Workflow with internal users (approval applications, etc.) Both external and internal The item "aggregation period" is information indicating the range of the period of data for which the score for which approval will be rejected or cancelled is to be identified.

[0119] Specifically, the item "aggregation period" includes information about the period of the workflow for which the score is to be determined, based on information about the date and time when the workflow was started, or the date and time when the workflow was rejected, canceled, or completed.

[0120] <3 operations> FIG. 8 is a diagram showing the flow of processing for calculating, for each user, an approval likelihood score that indicates the likelihood that document data will be approved.

[0121] In step S821, the server 20 refers to the operation history of each user in the agreement management database 212, evaluates each user's likelihood of approving the document data based on the history of non-approval operations (rejection, cancellation), and updates the approval possibility database 214.

[0122] The server 20 evaluates the possibility that the document data will not be approved and will be rejected or canceled, as the evaluation of the possibility that the document data will be approved.

[0123] The server 20 may evaluate each user for the possibility of approving document data for each fixed period based on the history of disapproval operations.

[0124] In step S811, the terminal 10 accepts an operation to access a service provided by the server 20.

[0125] In step S823, the server 20 refers to the approval likelihood database 214 and presents the score of each user to the user. For example, the score of each user may be displayed in a list format. The scores may also be displayed in a ranking format in order of score (lowest approval likelihood or highest approval likelihood).

[0126] The server 20 may display the extraction result of extracting users who are more likely than a certain level to be rejected or canceled.

[0127] The server 20 may provide information on the reasons for rejection or cancellation for each user.

[0128] The server 20 may present the time series transition of information according to the evaluation result of the possibility of each user being approved.

[0129] In step S813, the terminal 10 displays the score of each user.

[0130] The terminal 10 receives a designation from the user as to whether or not to provide each user's score to an external system such as a server 96 for a personnel management service, a server 97 for a UI design service, or a server 92 for a business support (approval) service.

[0131] In step S825, the server 20 refers to the approval probability database 214 and provides information on the time series transition of each user's score to the external system.

[0132] The server 20 provides information on the time series transition of information according to the evaluation result of the possibility of approval for each user to an external system that manages user information.

[0133] The server 20 may provide information on the evaluation results of the possibility of approval for each user to an external system that provides an operation screen for the user, and the external system may adjust the operation screen to be provided to the user according to the information on the user's evaluation result. For example, if the user is operating without referring to the operation guide, the server 97 of the UI design service may further enhance the operation guide and provide a UI that prompts the user to confirm, or if the user refers to the operation guide and reduces the number of destination errors, the server 20 may simplify the UI and not display the guide.

[0134] FIG. 9 is a diagram showing the flow of processing for accepting an operation to request approval of document data while displaying to the sender user possible reasons why the approval request for document data may be rejected.

[0135] In step S921, the server 20 presents a screen for accepting an operation to transmit an approval request for document data.

[0136] In step S911, the terminal 10 accepts the designation of a user to whom the approval request is to be sent. The server 20 refers to the agreement management database 212 and transmits the reason why the document data is rejected or canceled by the user to the terminal 10. The terminal 10 displays possible reasons why the document data is rejected or canceled in accordance with the information received from the server 20.

[0137] The terminal 10 presents a screen to the first user who is the sender, which accepts an operation to specify a second user (receiver, approver) to whom approval of the document data is to be requested, and an operation to send a request for approval of the document data to the specified second user.

[0138] The terminal 10 may display on the screen possible reasons why the document data of the first user may be rejected or cancelled, depending on the evaluation result of the possibility that the document data of the first user may be approved.

[0139] The terminal 10 may display possible reasons why document data may be rejected or canceled, such as that the order of approval by the destination users is incorrect, or that the destination users who approve the data are different depending on the type of document data.

[0140] The terminal 10 may display, on the above screen, possible reasons why the document data of the second user may be rejected or cancelled, depending on the evaluation result of the possibility that the document data of the second user may be approved.

[0141] The terminal 10 may display possible reasons why the document data may be rejected or cancelled, such as an insufficient explanation of the circumstances for which approval is sought, an insufficient logical development of the circumstances for which approval is sought, or a tendency for the second user, who is the receiving party, to unilaterally reject or cancel the data without explaining the reasons.

[0142] This allows the first user who will be the sender to be prompted to take measures such as providing a sufficient explanation of the reason (limiting the number of characters to a certain number) before sending the approval request, thereby reducing the possibility of the approval request being rejected or canceled.

[0143] In step S913, the terminal 10 transmits a request for approval of the document data.

[0144] In step S923, in response to the approval request for the document data, the server 20 updates the agreement management database 212. The server 20 transmits the approval request for the document data to the user of the approver.

[0145] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing the flow of processing for accepting an operation to approve document data while displaying to the approver user possible reasons for rejecting the approval request for document data.

[0146] In step S1021, the server 20 notifies the user who will be the approver that a request for approval of the document data has been made, and presents a screen for accepting an approval operation to the user.

[0147] In step S1011, the terminal 10 displays a screen for accepting an operation to approve the document data. The terminal 10 displays possible reasons why the document data may be rejected or canceled to the second user who is the approver.

[0148] Specifically, terminal 10 presents a screen to a second user who has been asked to approve the document data, allowing the second user to check the document data and approve it, and on that screen, it may display possible reasons why the document data may be rejected or canceled, depending on the evaluation results of the possibility that the document data of the first user who performed the operation to request approval and send the document data will be approved.

[0149] The terminal 10 may display on the screen possible reasons why the document data may be rejected or canceled, depending on the evaluation results of the possibility that the document data for the first user and the second user will be approved.

[0150] In step S1013, the terminal 10 accepts an operation to approve or reject the document data, and transmits the operation content.

[0151] In step S1023, the server 20 updates the conclusion management database 212 in response to the user's operation. The server 20 executes a process in response to the approver's operation, and progresses the process of concluding the contract.

[0152] <4 Screen example> FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of a screen for accepting an operation from a sender user to send an approval request for document data.

[0153] A screen 1100 is an operation screen for requesting approval of document data.

[0154] The account display area 1111 is an area for displaying information about the account of a user who is logged in to a service provided by the server 20.

[0155] The sending operation receiving area 1120 is an area that receives the specification of document data to be requested for approval and the specification of the approver user to be the destination, and displays a score indicating the possibility of approval.

[0156] The contract data 1121 is an area that displays details of the document data to be approved by the parties.

[0157] The upload receiving unit 1122 is an operation member that receives, from the user, an operation to acquire document data to be approved by the parties to the server 20 by uploading or the like.

[0158] The destination 1123 is an area for displaying the destination (email address) of the user designated as the approver.

[0159] The destination adding section 1124 is an operating member that accepts an operation to add an approver user.

[0160] The sending message 1126 is a message (which can be arbitrarily set by the sender's user) that is attached when the sender sends an approval request to the approver.

[0161] The approval possibility score display area 1127 is an area that displays the score of the possibility that the document data will be approved for each user.

[0162] The approval possibility score display unit 1127 corresponds to the processing of steps S823, S921, S911, and the like.

[0163] The rejection cancellation reason display area 1128 is an area that displays the reasons for each user regarding the possibility that the approval request will be rejected.

[0164] The rejection cancellation reason display unit 1128 corresponds to the processing of steps S823, S921, S911, and the like.

[0165] The request operation receiving unit 1129 is an operation member that receives, from a user who is to be a sender, an operation for sending an approval request for document data to a user designated as a destination.

[0166] FIG. 12 is a diagram showing an example of a screen for accepting an operation to approve a request for approval of document data from an approver user.

[0167] A screen 1200 is an operation screen for receiving a request for approval of document data and for the approver to give approval.

[0168] The approval operation receiving area 1220 is an area for displaying document data for which an approval request has been received, displaying the score of the possibility of approval, and receiving a user operation to reject or approve the document data.

[0169] The agreement to be approved 1221 is an area for displaying details of the document data to be approved by the parties.

[0170] Sender information 1223 is an area that displays information about the user who is the sender (including the email address to contact).

[0171] The approver information 1224 is an area that displays information about the user designated as the approver (including the email address to be contacted).

[0172] The received message 1226 is a message that is attached when the sender sends an approval request to the approver.

[0173] The rejection cancellation operation receiving unit 1225 is an operation member that receives an operation to reject or cancel document data related to an approval request without approving it.

[0174] The rejection cancellation operation receiving unit 1225 corresponds to the processing of steps S1013, S1023, and the like.

[0175] The approval operation receiving unit 1229 is an operation member that receives an operation to approve document data related to an approval request.

[0176] The approval operation receiving unit 1229 corresponds to the processes of steps S1013, S1023, and the like.

[0177] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of a screen displaying the time-series change in the approval likelihood score for each user.

[0178] A screen 1300 displays details about the possibility of each user approving the document data.

[0179] The score display area 1320 is an area that displays the time series transition of the likelihood of a specific user approving document data.

[0180] The user display section 1321 is information indicating the user whose score details are to be displayed.

[0181] The score display range 1322 is an area for accepting designation of whether the target for displaying the score details is each user or the organization to which the user belongs.

[0182] In the illustrated example, the score display range 1322 can be switched to display or not display scores by department, etc. For example, when displaying scores by department, the approval possibility database 214 is referenced to display the progress of scores over time for users in the same department who are managed in the user database 211. This makes it possible to check the progress of scores by user, and to easily check whether the possibility of approval being rejected is being reduced for the entire department.

[0183] The counting period 1323 is information indicating the period for which the scores are counted.

[0184] The score calculation range 1324 is information indicating the range of the type of data for which a score is to be determined for which approval is to be rejected or cancelled.

[0185] As shown in the figure, the score calculation range 1324 can be switched to indicate whether or not the score is calculated for in-house workflows only.

[0186] The time series transition 1325 is an area for plotting a graph of the time series transition of the possibility of approval being rejected for a user or department, etc., designated as a target for score calculation.

[0187] As shown in the figure, the time series transition 1325 displays a score calculated according to the actual number of workflows rejected or cancelled for each fixed period within the collection period.

[0188] The rejection reason ranking 1326 is an area that displays a list (for example, in a ranking format) of reasons why approval is rejected for a user or department, etc., designated as a target for score calculation.

[0189] The external service cooperation reception unit 1327 transmits the score of the possibility that the approval will be rejected, calculated for the specified user or department, to an external service (for example, a server of a human resources management service). 96), and also to a certain level of users who are managers within the company.

[0190] <Modification> In addition to the aspects described in the above embodiment, the following may be adopted.

[0191] In the above embodiment, it has been described that each business provides a service using each device, such as the business support (approval request) service server 92, the large-scale language model service server 95, and the human resources management service server 96. However, a single business may provide multiple services. For example, a single business may provide a contract signing service, a document management service, and a business support (approval request) service. In the above embodiment, an example has been described in which the score of the possibility of rejection is evaluated in a workflow for concluding a contract and the score of each user is displayed. Alternatively, the possibility of rejection in a workflow for requesting approval may be evaluated as a score, and the score may be determined based on the history of approvals or rejections of approval requests.

[0192] 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.

[0193] 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.

[0194] 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.

[0195] 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.

[0196] <Additional Notes> The matters explained in the above embodiment will be supplemented below.

[0197] (Appendix 1) A program for operating a computer having a processor, the program storing in a memory unit an operation history of each user's operation of approving document data in a procedure for each user to approve the document data, the operation history also including operations of not approving the document data, the program causing the processor to execute the steps of: referring to the operation history, and evaluating each user regarding the possibility of the document data being approved based on the history of operations of not approving the document data; and presenting information according to the evaluation result of the possibility of approval for each user.

[0198] (Appendix 2) A program as described in Appendix 1, in which, in the evaluating step, the likelihood that the document data will be approved is evaluated as the likelihood that the document data will not be approved and will be rejected or canceled, and in the presenting step, the program displays the extraction results of users who are more likely to be rejected or canceled than a certain level.

[0199] (Appendix 3) A program as described in any of appendices 1 to 2, in which, in a procedure for each user to approve document data, in the event of an operation that is not approved, the program accepts from the user the specification of the reason for not approving, rejecting, or canceling the operation, and in a memory unit, stores information on the reason for rejection or cancellation in association with the operation that is not approved, and in a presentation step, presents information on the reason for rejection or cancellation for each user.

[0200] (Appendix 4) The program according to Appendix 3, wherein in the presenting step, a screen is presented to the first user that accepts an operation to designate a second user to whom approval of the document data is to be requested and an operation to send a request for approval of the document data to the designated second user, and the screen displays possible reasons for rejecting or canceling the document data depending on the evaluation result of the possibility that the first user's document data will be approved.

[0201] (Appendix 5) The program described in Appendix 4, wherein in the presenting step, the program displays possible reasons why the document data may be rejected or canceled, including displaying at least one of the following: the order of approval by the destination users is incorrect; or the destination of the approving users differs depending on the type of document data.

[0202] (Appendix 6) A program according to any one of appendices 3 to 5, wherein in the presenting step, a screen is presented to the first user that accepts an operation to designate a second user to whom approval of the document data is to be requested and an operation to send a request for approval of the document data to the designated second user, and the screen displays possible reasons for rejecting or canceling the document data depending on the evaluation result of the possibility that the second user's document data will be approved.

[0203] (Appendix 7) The program described in Appendix 6, wherein in the presenting step, the program displays possible reasons why the document data may be rejected or canceled, including displaying at least one of the following: insufficient explanation of the circumstances for which approval is sought; insufficient logical development of the circumstances for which approval is sought; and a tendency for the second user, who is the receiving party, to unilaterally reject or cancel the document without explaining the reasons.

[0204] (Appendix 8) A program described in any of Appendices 3 to 7, wherein in the presenting step, a screen is presented to a second user who is asked to approve the document data, allowing the second user to check the document data and accept the operation to approve it, and the screen displays potential reasons for rejecting or canceling the document data depending on the evaluation result of the possibility that the document data will be approved for the first user who performed the operation to request approval and send the document data.

[0205] (Appendix 9) A program as described in Appendix 8, in which, in the presenting step, potential reasons for rejecting or canceling the document data are displayed on the screen depending on the evaluation results of the likelihood that the document data for the first user and the second user will be approved.

[0206] (Appendix 10) A program according to any one of appendices 1 to 9, wherein in the evaluating step, each user is evaluated for the possibility that document data will be approved at regular intervals based on the history of disapproval operations, and in the presenting step, the program presents a time series of information corresponding to the evaluation results of the possibility of approval for each user.

[0207] (Appendix 11) The program described in Appendix 10, further causing the processor to execute a step of providing information on the time series changes in information corresponding to the evaluation results of each user's likelihood of being approved to an external system that manages user information.

[0208] (Appendix 12) A program described in any of Appendices 1 to 11, further causing the processor to execute a step of providing information on the evaluation results of each user's likelihood of approval to an external system that provides an operation screen to the user, and in the external system, adjusting the operation screen provided to the user according to the information on the user's evaluation results.

[0209] (Appendix 13) A method for operating a computer having a processor, wherein a storage unit stores an operation history of each user's approval operation in a procedure for each user to approve document data, and the operation history also includes operations to disapprove the document data, and the method executes the steps of: referring to the operation history, and evaluating each user regarding the possibility of the document data being approved based on the history of disapproval operations; and presenting information according to the evaluation result of each user's possibility of approval.

[0210] (Appendix 14) An information processing device, wherein a storage unit stores an operation history of each user's operation of approving document data in a procedure for each user to approve the document data, and the operation history also includes operations of not approving the document data, and a control unit of the information processing device executes the steps of: referring to the operation history, and evaluating each user regarding the possibility of the document data being approved based on the history of operations of not approving the document data; and presenting information according to the evaluation result of the possibility of each user being approved.

Claims

1. A program for operating a computer having a processor, The storage unit stores data of a concluded contract including the terms agreed upon between the parties, The program causes the processor to: evaluating each clause of the contract data; and presenting the results of evaluating each clause to users of the contract data.

2. The storage unit manages information about the contract period of the contract, 2. The program according to claim 1, wherein in the presenting step, the results of evaluation of each clause are presented to the user in response to the expiration of the contract period.

3. In the step of evaluating, for each clause, whether confirmation by the user is required due to at least one of the following reasons: the need to review the content of the agreement set forth in the clause; and a change in the circumstances of the parties.

3. The program according to claim 2, wherein, in the presenting step, for contracts whose contract period is about to expire, among the data of one or more of the contracts stored in the memory unit, those that require the user's confirmation and those that do not are displayed separately depending on the results of the evaluation in the evaluating step.

4. In the step of evaluating, the content of the agreement stipulated in the clause is evaluated as to whether or not the terms are unfavorable to the user who is a party to the agreement; 3. The program according to claim 2, wherein the step of presenting presents, as a result of evaluating each clause, a result of evaluating whether or not the clause is an unfavorable condition.

5. In the step of evaluating, the evaluation of each clause is performed by comparing the terms agreed upon when the parties concluded the contract with the terms at the time of comparison to evaluate whether any changes have occurred; 3. The program according to claim 2, wherein the step of presenting comprises presenting a result of evaluating each clause to see whether the change has occurred.

6. In the step of evaluating, the evaluation of each clause is performed by comparing the conditions agreed upon when the parties concluded the contract with the criteria for the conditions at the time of comparison to evaluate whether or not the conditions meet the criteria for the agreement; 3. The program according to claim 2, wherein the step of presenting comprises presenting a result of evaluating each clause as to whether it meets a standard for agreement.

7. In the step of evaluating, whether or not there has been a change in the information of the parties to the contract between the time the contract was concluded and the time of comparison is evaluated; 3. The program according to claim 2, wherein the step of presenting presents a result of evaluating whether or not there has been a change in the information of the parties to the contract.

8. In the step of evaluating, it is evaluated whether the parties to the concluded contract are specific organizations, businesses, etc. that may be subject to anti-social clauses; 8. The program according to claim 7, wherein in the presenting step, the results of an evaluation of whether or not the contract may be subject to the anti-social clause are presented as a change in the information of the parties to the contract.

9. In the step of evaluating, the parties to the concluded contract are evaluated as to whether there is doubt about the continuity of the business or whether there is a certain level of possibility of bankruptcy; The program described in claim 7, wherein in the presenting step, an assessment result is presented indicating that there is a change in the information of the parties to the contract, which raises doubts about the continuity of the business or indicates that there is a certain level of risk of bankruptcy.

10. In the step of evaluating each clause of the contract data, the evaluation includes: importance, which indicates the degree to which the evaluated perspective is important; whether the conditions set out in the clause are favourable or unfavourable; Evaluate whether there are any missing clauses, In the step of presenting, a result of evaluating each clause is presented, Whether it is important or not, Whether the conditions are favorable or unfavorable Depending on whether there are any missing clauses, 3. The program according to claim 2, wherein the program presents a result of evaluation of whether to renew the contract without changing the contents of each clause or to renew the contract with changes to the contents of each clause.

11. The program further causes the processor to Regarding the above contract, Renew the contract without changing the contents of each clause, Renew the contract by changing the contents of each clause, or Terminate the contract without renewing it, 11. The program according to claim 10, further comprising: receiving a designation from a user; and causing the storage unit to store the designation.

12. In the step of evaluating each clause of the contract data, a revision proposal for each clause is output according to the evaluation result of each clause; 11. The program according to claim 10, wherein the step of presenting includes presenting a result of evaluating each clause and a proposed modification for each clause.

13. The program according to claim 12 , wherein, when an operation by the user to confirm the proposed amendment is accepted, a process for concluding the contract by electronic contract is executed with the parties to the contract as the destination.

14. 1. A method for operating a computer having a processor, comprising: The storage unit stores data of a concluded contract including the terms agreed upon between the parties, The method further comprises: evaluating each clause of the contract data; and presenting the results of evaluating each clause to a user of the contract data party.

15. An information processing device including a control unit, The storage unit stores data of a concluded contract including the terms agreed upon between the parties, The control unit evaluating each clause of the contract data; and presenting the results of evaluating each clause to users who are parties to the contract data.

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