Task management apparatus, program, task management method, and task management system

Abstract

To provide a technique for allowing one or more persons in charge to efficiently manage tasks.SOLUTION: A task management apparatus includes: a trigger information acquisition unit which acquires trigger information indicating a request from a client; a task determination unit that determines a task related to a service to be provided to the client, based on the trigger information; a task step extraction unit which extracts one or more task steps from the task determined by the task determination unit; a person-in-charge determination unit which refers to member information in which person-in-charge candidates are associated with their skills, and determines a person in charge for each task step on the basis of a skill required by the task step; and a task management unit which detects completion of each task step and manages the progress of the task.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a task management device, a program, a task management method, and a task management system. [Background technology]

[0002] With the development of information processing technology, there is a need to improve management techniques when multiple people are in charge of tasks requested by customers.

[0003] The project management system disclosed in Patent Document 1 breaks down project tasks and searches for the necessary person in charge based on information in a profile database that associates information such as the tasks assigned to the person, the number of tasks subordinate to the assigned task, the depth of the hierarchy, and the number of people in charge of the subordinate tasks. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2010-33425 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] The project management system disclosed in Patent Document 1 accepts the specification of experience values ​​and keywords such as "planning" and "research," outputs candidates according to the specification, and accepts the selection of the person to be in charge of the work. Therefore, when deciding who will be in charge of the work, it is necessary to specify values ​​and keywords to be used in the search, which is inefficient.

[0006] The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and has as its object to provide a technology for efficiently managing work by one or more staff members. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] The present application includes a number of means for solving the above problems, examples of which are as follows.

[0008] In order to solve the above problem, a task management device according to one embodiment of the present invention is characterized by comprising: a trigger information acquisition unit that acquires trigger information indicating a client's request; a task determination unit that determines a task related to a business to be provided to the client based on the trigger information; a task step extraction unit that extracts one or more task steps from the task determined by the task determination unit; a person in charge determination unit that refers to member information that associates candidate persons with the skills they possess and determines a person in charge for each task step based on the skills required for the task step; and a task management unit that detects the completion of each task step and manages the progress of the task.

[0009] The person in charge determination unit may be characterized by notifying the candidate person in charge who has the skills required by the task step in the member information, and determining the person in charge from among the candidate person in charge who responds based on the timing of the response.

[0010] The task management unit may be characterized in that, upon detecting the end of the task step, it notifies a person in charge of another task step that uses the end of the task step as a processing start condition.

[0011] The task management device may be characterized by including a task step execution unit that executes a predetermined process in a second task step, which is a specific task step, and when executing a first task step among the task steps excluding the second task step, the task management unit notifies a person in charge of the first task step, and when executing the second task step, causes the task step execution unit to execute the process.

[0012] The person in charge determination unit may determine the person in charge of the first task step and suppress determination of the person in charge of the second task step.

[0013] The task determination unit may refer to information associating the trigger information with the tasks, identify the task corresponding to the trigger information acquired by the trigger information acquisition unit, and, if a plurality of pieces of trigger information associated with a common task are acquired within a predetermined period, determine one of the tasks corresponding to the plurality of pieces of trigger information.

[0014] The trigger information acquisition unit may store information indicating a method for acquiring the trigger information in association with the acquired trigger information, and the task determination unit may determine the one task when a plurality of pieces of trigger information relating to a predetermined acquisition method are acquired within the predetermined period.

[0015] A program according to another aspect of the present invention is a program that causes a processing unit of a computer to execute a task management method, and is characterized by executing the following: a trigger information acquisition procedure that acquires trigger information indicating a client's request; a task determination procedure that determines a task related to a business to be provided to the client based on the trigger information; a task step extraction procedure that extracts one or more task steps from the task determined in the task determination procedure; a person in charge determination procedure that refers to member information that associates candidate persons with the skills they possess and determines a person in charge for each task step based on the skills required by the task step; and a task management procedure that detects the completion of each task step and manages the progress of the task.

[0016] A task management method according to another aspect of the present invention is a task management method using a task management device, characterized in that it comprises: a trigger information acquisition procedure for acquiring trigger information indicating a client's request; a task determination procedure for determining a task related to a business to be provided to the client based on the trigger information; a task step extraction procedure for extracting one or more task steps from the task determined in the task determination procedure; a person in charge determination procedure for determining a person in charge for each task step based on the technology required by the task step by referring to member information that associates candidate persons with the skills they possess; and a task management procedure for detecting the completion of each task step and managing the progress of the task.

[0017] Another aspect of the present invention provides a task management system having a client-side terminal device owned by a client, a staff member terminal device owned by a staff member, and a task management device connected to the client-side terminal device and the staff member terminal device so that they can communicate with each other. The task management device comprises: a trigger information acquisition unit that acquires trigger information indicating a request from the client using information sent from the client-side terminal device; a task determination unit that determines tasks related to business operations to be provided to the client based on the trigger information; a task step extraction unit that extracts one or more task steps from the tasks determined by the task determination unit; a staff member determination unit that references member information that associates staff candidate candidates with the skills they possess and determines a staff member for each task step based on the skills required by the task step; and a task management unit that detects the completion of each task step and manages the progress of the task. The staff member terminal device comprises a communication unit that receives notifications indicating the task steps for which the staff member is responsible from the task management device. [Effects of the Invention]

[0018] According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a technology for efficiently managing work by one or more staff members.

[0019] Problems, configurations, and effects other than those described above will become apparent from the following description of the embodiments. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0020] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of an overview of a task management system. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of functional blocks of a task management system. [Figure 3] 3A and 3B are diagrams showing examples of the data structure of task information, member information, and task step information, respectively. Fig. 3A shows an example of the data structure of task information, Fig. 3B shows an example of the data structure of member information, and Fig. 3C shows an example of the data structure of task step information. [Figure 4] FIG. 2 illustrates an example of a hardware configuration of a task management device. [Figure 5] 10 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a task execution process. [Figure 6] 6A and 6B are diagrams illustrating an example of a step definition information display screen and a person in charge definition information display screen, respectively. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0021] An example of an embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of an overview of a task management system 1. In the task management system 1, a series of operations generated in response to a client request is treated as a "task." A task management device 10 monitors the progress of a task in order to manage the task from start to finish. Each person in charge of the task management system 1 uses a dedicated application installed on a person in charge terminal device 40 (described later) to check the assigned work and report completion.

[0022] The task management system 1 includes a client terminal device owned by a client, a task management device 10, and a person in charge terminal device 40 (described later). The client terminal devices include a client terminal device 20 and a client system management device 30.

[0023] First, trigger information indicating some kind of request is sent from the client terminal device to the task management device 10. The task management device 10 acquires the trigger information using one of a number of different acquisition methods. As an example, a client person operates the client terminal device 20 and inputs information indicating a request to a portal site on a browser. The input information is treated as trigger information, and the task management device 10 acquires the trigger information from the client terminal device 20. Trigger information based on input to the portal site will be described as a portal trigger. The task management device 10 treats selections from options displayed on the portal site and input character strings as trigger information.

[0024] As another example, the task management device 10 acquires trigger information when a client person in charge calls a telephone number managed by the task management system 1. Trigger information input directly or indirectly by telephone will be described as a telephone response trigger. The task management device 10 acquires information input in response to an automated voice message using a telephone input reception system (not shown) and treats it as trigger information. The task management device 10 may also treat information input by a system person who understands the content of the call as trigger information.

[0025] As another example, the task management device 10 acquires trigger information by receiving an email from a client system management device 30 or an email from a client terminal device 20. Trigger information based on input via an email system will be described as an email trigger. For example, the task management device 10 handles a character string entered in an email as trigger information.

[0026] As another example, the client system management device 30 calls the task management device 10 via an API (Application Programming Interface), causing the task management device 10 to acquire trigger information. Trigger information acquired via the API will be described as an API trigger. The task management device 10 handles information received from a client-side terminal device via the API as trigger information.

[0027] As another example, the task management device 10 schedules a predetermined process to be performed at a predetermined timing in response to an input operation by a system administrator. Trigger information including the timing to start the process and the process content will be described as a schedule trigger. Each piece of trigger information can be identified by a trigger ID.

[0028] When the task management device 10 acquires trigger information by any of the acquisition methods, it determines a task related to the business to be provided to the client. The task management device 10 divides the determined task and extracts one or more task steps. The task management device 10 determines a person in charge of executing the task step and executes processing related to the task. The task management device 10 manages the execution processing of each task step and provides the business related to the task to the client.

[0029] In the example shown in FIG. 1, the task management device 10 determines a "trouble reception task" as a task related to a business to be provided to a client based on trigger information acquired by any of the acquisition methods. The task management device 10 extracts the following task steps from the "trouble reception task," namely, "Task 1: Work," "Task 1: Check," "Email creation: Work," "Email creation: Check," and "Email transmission." The task management device 10 determines the person in charge of "Task 1: Work" to be "Mr. A" and the person in charge of "Task 1: Check" to be "Mr. B" using the skills required for each task step and the skills possessed by the candidate person. The task management device 10 also determines the person in charge of "Email creation: Work" to be "Mr. C" and the person in charge of "Email creation: Check" to be "Mr. D." The task management device 10 does not determine the person in charge of "Email transmission."

[0030] The task management device 10 manages the progress of the processing of each task step, and when the start conditions of a certain task step are met, sends a notification to the person in charge of that task step.

[0031] In this embodiment, each person in charge checks the assigned work using the dedicated application described above. Similarly, the task manager uses the dedicated application to manage the progress of each task step. The dedicated application is not limited to an application installed on each person in charge terminal device 40. For example, the task management device 10 may provide a web application with the same functions as the dedicated application, and the person in charge of the person in charge terminal device 40 may operate the web application via a browser.

[0032] 2 is a diagram showing an example of functional blocks of the task management system 1. The task management system 1 includes a task management device 10, a client terminal device 20, a client system management device 30, and a person in charge terminal device 40. The task management device 10, the client terminal device 20, the client system management device 30, and the person in charge terminal device 40 are connected to each other via a network N so that they can communicate with each other.

[0033] The task management device 10 is an information processing device such as a server computer or a PC (Personal Computer), and is operated by a task management service provider that uses the task management system 1, for example.

[0034] The task management device 10 comprises a processing unit 110, a storage unit 120, an input unit 130, an output unit 140, and a communication unit 150. The processing unit 110 performs overall control of the task management device 10. The storage unit 120 stores information required for processing by the processing unit 110. The input unit 130 accepts information input to the task management device 10 using an input device. The output unit 140 outputs information stored in the task management device 10 to an output device. The communication unit 150 mediates the transmission and reception of information to and from the client terminal device 20, the client system management device 30, or the person in charge terminal device 40.

[0035] The processing unit 110 includes a trigger information acquisition unit 111, a task determination unit 112, a task step extraction unit 113, a person in charge determination unit 114, a task management unit 115, and a task step execution unit 116. The trigger information acquisition unit 111 acquires trigger information indicating a client request from the client terminal device 20 or the client system management device 30. The trigger information acquisition unit 111 identifies a method for acquiring the trigger information and stores the method in association with the acquired trigger information. Note that the trigger information acquisition unit 111 may acquire the trigger information based on an input operation via the input unit 130 by a person in charge who receives a call from a client, or may acquire trigger information related to a schedule trigger that starts processing at a predetermined timing.

[0036] The task determination unit 112 determines a task related to a business to be provided to a client based on the trigger information. The task determination unit 112 determines a task corresponding to the acquired trigger information as a task related to a business to be provided to a client by referring to information indicating the correspondence between the trigger information and task information 121, which is stored in an area (not shown) of the storage unit 120. The task step extraction unit 113 extracts one or more task steps from the task determined by the task determination unit 112. For example, the task step extraction unit 113 refers to task information 121 (described later) to extract task steps related to the task determined by the task determination unit 112.

[0037] The person in charge determination unit 114 refers to member information 122 (described below) in which candidate persons are associated with the skills they possess, and determines a person in charge for each task step based on the skills required for the task step. For example, the person in charge determination unit 114 notifies candidate persons who have the skills required for the task step in the member information 122, and determines a person in charge from among the candidate persons who respond, depending on the timing of the response. Note that the person in charge determination unit 114 determines a person in charge for a first task step (described below), and suppresses the determination of a person in charge for a second task step.

[0038] The task management unit 115 manages the progress of tasks by detecting the completion of execution of processing for each task step. In the example shown below, the task steps are classified into first task steps, in which processing is executed by an input operation by a person in charge, and second task steps, in which processing is executed by the task step execution unit 116 described below. The first task step is a task step that requires an input operation by a person in charge at some point in time, while the second task step is a task step that is executed automatically without requiring an input operation by a person in charge.

[0039] If the progress of the task satisfies the start condition of the first task step, the task management unit 115 notifies the person in charge of the first task step. If the progress of the task satisfies the start condition of the second task step, the task management unit 115 causes the task step execution unit 116 (described later) to execute the processing of the second task step.

[0040] The task step executing unit 116 executes a predetermined process in the second task step, which is a specified task step. The task step executing unit 116 receives a signal indicating an execution command that specifies the process from the task management unit 115, and executes the process related to the command. Note that the task step executing unit 116 may notify an administrator defined in the task information 121 (described later) when the process of the second task step is completed.

[0041] The storage unit 120 stores task information 121, member information 122, and task step information 123. The task information 121 is information about a task that is activated by a trigger ID that identifies trigger information. The member information 122 is information that associates the skills possessed by each candidate person managed by the task management device 10. The task step information 123 is information that associates, for each task step, information indicating the content of the processing to be performed, the required skills, job position, etc.

[0042] The client terminal device 20 is a terminal device operated by a client staff member, and is, for example, an information processing device such as a PC, smartphone, PDA (Personal Digital Assistant), or tablet terminal. The client terminal device 20 includes a processing unit 210, a storage unit 220, an input unit 230, an output unit 240, and a communication unit 250. The processing unit 210 comprehensively controls the entire client terminal device 20. The storage unit 220 stores information required for processing by the processing unit 210. The input unit 230 accepts information input to the client terminal device 20 using an input device. The output unit 240 outputs information stored in the client terminal device 20 to an output device. The communication unit 250 mediates the transmission and reception of information to and from the task management device 10, the client system management device 30, or the staff member terminal device 40.

[0043] The processing unit 210 includes a trigger information output unit 211. The trigger information output unit 211 outputs trigger information to the task management device 10 based on an input operation by a client person in charge. The trigger information output unit 211 may output predetermined trigger information when executing a predetermined process that does not require an input operation by a client person in charge. The trigger information output unit 211 transmits, for example, information input to a portal site to the task management device 10 as trigger information.

[0044] The client system management device 30 is a terminal device owned by a client, such as a server computer or an information processing device such as a PC, and manages the client's business system. The client system management device 30 includes a processing unit 310, a storage unit 320, an input unit 330, an output unit 340, and a communication unit 350. The processing unit 310 not only controls the entire client system management device 30, but also executes predetermined business-related processes in the client system management device 30.

[0045] The storage unit 320 stores information necessary for processing by the processing unit 310. The input unit 330 accepts information input to the client system management device 30 using an input device. The output unit 340 outputs information stored in the client system management device 30 to an output device. The communication unit 350 mediates the transmission and reception of information to and from the task management device 10, the client terminal device 20, or the person in charge terminal device 40.

[0046] The processing unit 310 includes a trigger information output unit 311. When a command to output trigger information is executed by the processing unit 310 in a predetermined process related to a business, the trigger information output unit 311 outputs trigger information to the task management device 10. For example, when the execution of the predetermined process is stopped, the trigger information output unit 311 outputs trigger information indicating an error.

[0047] The person in charge terminal device 40 is a terminal device owned by a person in charge of executing a task managed by the task management device 10, and is, for example, an information processing device such as a PC, smartphone, PDA (Personal Digital Assistant), or tablet terminal. The person in charge terminal device 40 includes a processing unit 410, a storage unit 420, an input unit 430, an output unit 440, and a communication unit 450. The processing unit 410 comprehensively controls the entire person in charge terminal device 40 and executes predetermined processing related to task steps based on input operations by the person in charge. The storage unit 420 stores information necessary for processing by the processing unit 410. The input unit 430 accepts information input to the person in charge terminal device 40 using an input device. The output unit 440 outputs information stored in the person in charge terminal device 40 to an output device. The communication unit 450 mediates the transmission and reception of information between the task management device 10, the client terminal device 20, or the client system management device 30.

[0048] 3A and 3B are diagrams showing examples of the data structures of task information 121, member information 122, and task step information 123. Fig. 3A is a diagram showing an example of the data structure of task information 121, Fig. 3B is a diagram showing an example of the data structure of member information 122, and Fig. 3C is a diagram showing an example of the data structure of task step information 123.

[0049] Task information 121 is information about a task that is started by a trigger, and is information in which information indicating one or more task steps and an administrator are associated with a task ID. The task ID is identification information that identifies a task. The information indicating task steps is information that identifies the processing of each task step obtained by dividing the processing of a task. Note that in task information 121, information indicating one or more task steps is associated with one task ID so that the processing order can be identified. The administrator is identification information that identifies the administrator of the task.

[0050] As shown in FIG. 3(B), member information 122 is information in which position information and information identifying one or more skills are associated with a member ID. The member ID is identification information that identifies a candidate person who can execute the processing in the first task step. Position information is information that identifies the position of the candidate person. Information that identifies one or more skills is information that identifies the skills possessed by the candidate person. Skills include, for example, certification qualifications, skills such as compatible programming languages, compatible OSs (Operating Systems), and past experience in handling tasks. Note that member information 122 does not necessarily have to include position information.

[0051] As shown in FIG. 3(C), task step information 123 is information in which a task step ID is associated with a step type, a technique, a processing content, a job title, an operation content, and a remark. The task step ID is identification information that identifies the task step. The technique is information indicating the skill required to execute the processing in the task step. The step type is information indicating whether the task step is a first task step or a second task step. The processing content is information indicating the content of the processing executed in the task step. The job title is information indicating the job title required of the person in charge if the task step is a first task step. For example, the job title indicates whether the task step is executed by a person in charge, a reviewer, or an approver. The operation content is information indicating the content of the operation executed by the person in charge, a reviewer, or an approver if the task step is a first task step. The remark is information indicating special notes regarding the task step.

[0052] 4 is a diagram showing an example of the hardware configuration of task management device 10. Task management device 10 includes a processing unit 11, a memory 12, an external storage device 13, an input IF (Interface) 14, an output IF 15, and a communication IF 16, and these components are connected by a bus.

[0053] The arithmetic device 11 is a arithmetic device such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit), and executes processing in accordance with a program recorded in the memory 12 or the external storage device 13. In the task management device 10, processing is performed by the arithmetic device 11 that operates in accordance with a program read onto the memory 12 or the external storage device 13. Each processing unit constituting the processing unit 110 realizes its respective function by the arithmetic device 11 executing a program.

[0054] The memory 12 is a storage device such as RAM (Random Access Memory) or flash memory, and functions as a storage area from which programs and data are temporarily read. The external storage device 13 is a writable and readable storage medium and storage media drive, such as an HDD (Hard Disk Drive), CD-R (Compact Disc-Recordable), or DVD-RAM (Digital Versatile Disk-Random Access Memory). The functions of the storage unit 120 are realized by the memory 12 or the external storage device 13. Note that the functions of the storage unit 120 may also be realized by a storage device connected via the communication IF 16.

[0055] The input IF 14 is an interface for receiving input operations from an operator, and is connected to input devices such as a touch panel, keyboard, mouse, microphone, etc. The output IF 15 is an interface for outputting information to a display device such as an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) display built into the task management device 10.

[0056] The communication IF 16 is an interface for connecting the task management device 10 to the network N and a bus, and is connected to a communication device such as a LAN (Local Area Network) card. The functions of the communication unit 150 are realized by the communication IF 16. The task management device 10 may also have a storage medium drive device (not shown) and input / output information from portable media.

[0057] The processing of each component of task management device 10 may be executed by one piece of hardware or by multiple pieces of hardware. Furthermore, the processing of each component of task management device 10 may be realized by one program or by multiple programs.

[0058] The hardware configurations of the client terminal device 20, the client system management device 30, and the person in charge terminal device 40 are the same as those of the task management device 10, and therefore a description thereof will be omitted.

[0059] 5 is a flowchart illustrating an example of task execution processing. The processing of this flowchart is executed by the task management device 10.

[0060] First, the trigger information acquisition unit 111 acquires trigger information (step S11). Specifically, the trigger information acquisition unit 111 acquires trigger information due to a portal trigger, a telephone response trigger, or an email trigger output from the trigger information output unit 211 of the client terminal device 20. Alternatively, the trigger information acquisition unit 111 acquires trigger information due to an email trigger or an API trigger output from the trigger information output unit 311 of the client system management device 30. Alternatively, the trigger information acquisition unit 111 acquires trigger information due to a telephone trigger or a schedule trigger input from an input device via the input unit 130. The trigger information acquisition unit 111 associates information indicating a method for acquiring the acquired trigger information with the trigger information and stores it in an area (not shown) of the storage unit 120.

[0061] Next, the task determination unit 112 identifies a corresponding task (step S12). Specifically, the task determination unit 112 identifies the task information 121 corresponding to the trigger information acquired in step S11 by referring to information indicating the correspondence between the trigger information and the task information 121, which is stored in an area (not shown) of the storage unit 120.

[0062] Next, the task determination unit 112 determines whether or not the same task has already been identified within a predetermined period (step S13). Specifically, the task determination unit 112 determines whether or not the same task as the task identified in step S12 has already been identified within the predetermined period. In other words, the task determination unit 112 determines whether or not input of multiple pieces of trigger information related to a common task has been received within the predetermined period.

[0063] If the task determination unit 112 determines that the same task has already been identified within the specified period (if "YES" in step S13), it assumes that the request for the task has already been accepted by the task management device 10, and ends the processing of this flowchart.

[0064] If the task determination unit 112 determines that the same task has not been identified within a predetermined period of time ("NO" in step S13), it determines the identified task as the task to be processed (step S14). That is, the task determination unit 112 determines the task identified in step S12 as the task to be processed.

[0065] Next, the task step extraction unit 113 extracts task steps (step S15). Specifically, the task step extraction unit 113 refers to the task information 121 and extracts one or more task steps corresponding to the task ID of the task determined in step S14.

[0066] Next, the task management unit 115 determines the task step to be processed (step S16) in accordance with the processing order of the task information 121. The task management unit 115 determines the task step to be processed from among the unprocessed task steps by referring to the processing order of the task information 121.

[0067] Next, the task management unit 115 determines the type of task step to be processed (step S17). The task management unit 115 determines whether the task step determined to be the processing target in step S16 is a first task step or a second task step.

[0068] If the task management unit 115 determines that the task step to be processed is the first task step (if "first" in step S17), the person in charge determination unit 114 extracts person in charge candidates who have the required job titles (step S18). Specifically, the person in charge determination unit 114 identifies the first task step determined to be the processing target in step S16 and the job titles associated in the task step information 123. The person in charge determination unit 114 references the member information 122 and extracts person in charge candidates who have the identified job titles. Note that if there is no need to limit the job titles of the people who will execute the processing in the first task step, the record in the task step information 123 does not include information indicating the job titles. In that case, the processing in this step is omitted.

[0069] Next, the person in charge determination unit 114 extracts the necessary techniques (step S19). Specifically, the person in charge determination unit 114 extracts one or more techniques associated with the first task step determined to be the processing target in step S16 in the task step information 123.

[0070] Next, the person in charge determination unit 114 notifies the person in charge candidates who have the extracted skills (step S20). Specifically, the person in charge determination unit 114 refers to the member information 122 and extracts one or more person in charge candidates who have all of the skills extracted in step S19 from the person in charge candidates extracted in step S18. The person in charge determination unit 114 sends a notification indicating the content of the work related to the task step to the extracted person in charge candidates, and receives a response as to whether or not they will take on the work.

[0071] Next, the person in charge determination unit 114 determines the person in charge candidate who responds most quickly as the person in charge (step S21). Specifically, the person in charge determination unit 114 receives a response from the person in charge terminal device 40 to the notification output in step S20. The person in charge determination unit 114 determines the person in charge as the person in charge who is the person in charge candidate who transmitted the fastest response among the responses indicating that he / she will take on the job.

[0072] The person in charge determination unit 114 may determine a person in charge according to the timing of the response, and the determined person in charge is not limited to the person who sent the earliest response. For example, the person in charge may be a person in charge candidate who has responded within a predetermined response period and who satisfies a predetermined condition associated with the task step.

[0073] Next, the task management unit 115 notifies each candidate person in charge (step S221). Specifically, the task management unit 115 sends information indicating that a candidate person has been selected to the candidate person's terminal device 40. The task management unit 115 also sends a notification to the candidate person's terminal device 40, which the candidate person selected as the candidate person has, to prompt the candidate person to start processing. The notification sent to the candidate person includes information indicating the processing content of the first task step. The candidate person who receives the notification performs an input operation to execute the processing of the first task step that is the target of processing. In other words, when the task management unit 115 detects the end of a task step, it sends a notification to the candidate person in charge of other task steps that require the end of the task step as a processing start condition.

[0074] Next, the task management unit 115 detects the end of the work (step S23). Specifically, the task management unit 115 detects the end of the first task step executed in the person in charge terminal device 40 as a result of the notification in step S22. For example, when the task management unit 115 receives a notification indicating the end of the first task step from the person in charge terminal device 40, it considers this to be the detection of the end of the work.

[0075] If the task management unit 115 determines that the task step to be processed is the second task step (if "second" in step S17), the task step execution unit 116 executes the process (step S24). Specifically, the task step execution unit 116 executes the process predetermined in the task information 121 for the second task step determined to be the process target in step S16.

[0076] The process executed in step S25 is similar to the process executed in step S23, and therefore a description thereof will be omitted.

[0077] After the process of step S23 or step S25 is completed, the task management unit 115 determines whether or not there are any unprocessed task steps (step S26). Specifically, the task management unit 115 determines whether or not there are any task steps among the task steps extracted in step S15 that have not been determined as processing targets in step S16.

[0078] If the task management unit 115 determines that an unprocessed task step exists (YES in step S26), the process proceeds to step S16. That is, the process from step S16 onwards is executed for one of the unprocessed task steps.

[0079] If the task management unit 115 determines that there are no unprocessed task steps ("NO" in step S26), it notifies a predetermined person in charge (step S27). Specifically, the task management unit 115 refers to the task information 121, identifies the manager associated with the task to be processed, and transmits information indicating that the processing has ended. Note that this processing is not essential and may be omitted. The processing unit 110 then ends the processing of this flowchart.

[0080] As described above, according to this embodiment, tasks requested by a client can be efficiently allocated to one or more personnel who possess the required skills. Furthermore, when trigger information is acquired using multiple acquisition methods, as in this embodiment, the task management device 10 may acquire multiple pieces of trigger information for the same event. Even in such a case, if multiple pieces of trigger information related to a common task are acquired within a predetermined period, one task corresponding to the multiple pieces of trigger information is determined, thereby preventing the same task from being executed multiple times, which is efficient.

[0081] In addition, in this embodiment, when multiple pieces of trigger information received within a predetermined period are associated with a common task, the task determination unit 112 determines one task and does not determine tasks related to other pieces of trigger information as processing targets. When multiple pieces of trigger information received within a predetermined period are associated with a common task, the task determination unit 112 may treat multiple pieces of trigger information as having been received for the same event only if the trigger information was acquired by a predetermined acquisition method. In other words, when multiple pieces of trigger information received within a predetermined period are associated with a common task and all of the multiple pieces of trigger information were acquired by a predetermined acquisition method, the task determination unit 112 determines only one corresponding task as processing target.

[0082] More specifically, when the task determination unit 112 determines in step S13 that the same task has already been identified within a predetermined period, it determines whether the method of acquiring the trigger information of the already identified task and the method of acquiring the trigger information of the task identified in step S12 are predetermined acquisition methods. For example, if the acquisition methods of two pieces of trigger information related to a common task are "email trigger" or "API trigger," the task determination unit 112 treats the acquired pieces of trigger information as multiple pieces of trigger information for the same event. That is, in step S13, the task determination unit 112 determines that the same task has already been identified within a predetermined period of time ("YES" in step S13) for the subsequently acquired trigger information, and terminates the processing of this flowchart.

[0083] On the other hand, if at least one of the acquisition methods of two pieces of trigger information related to a common task is a "portal trigger," a "telephone answer trigger," or a "schedule trigger," the task determination unit 112 does not treat the pieces of trigger information as having been acquired for the same event. That is, in step S13, the task determination unit 112 determines that the later acquired trigger information has not already identified the same task within a predetermined period of time ("NO" in step S13), and moves the process to step S14. Note that the predetermined acquisition method used for the determination is not limited to this example.

[0084] This makes it possible to determine whether or not the trigger information has arisen from the same event using the method of acquiring the trigger information, thereby enabling more flexible task determination in response to client requests.

[0085] Furthermore, when the task determination unit 112 acquires a plurality of pieces of trigger information output from a predetermined terminal device, the task determination unit 112 may determine that the plurality of pieces of trigger information are related to the same event and determine a single task. For example, the task determination unit 112 determines whether the plurality of pieces of trigger information acquired within a predetermined period are related to a common task and are output from a predetermined terminal device. The task determination unit 112 determines that the plurality of pieces of trigger information that satisfy these conditions are trigger information output for the same event.

[0086] For example, if two pieces of trigger information acquired within a predetermined period of time are both output from the client system management device 30, the task determination unit 112 determines that the pieces of trigger information are output for the same event. On the other hand, if one of the pieces of trigger information acquired within a predetermined period of time is not output from the client system management device 30, the task determination unit 112 treats it as not being trigger information output for the same event, and determines the task corresponding to each piece of trigger information as the processing target.

[0087] The person in charge terminal device 40 owned by the task manager can display the process content of each task step extracted from the task and the person in charge on the display screen of a dedicated application.

[0088] In the above example, in step S20, the person in charge candidate who has all of the skills extracted in step S19 is extracted and a notification is sent, and the person in charge candidate who responds first is selected as the person in charge. Alternatively, in step S20, the person in charge determination unit 114 may notify the person in charge candidate who has at least some of the skills extracted in step S19, and select a person in charge from among the notified person in charge candidate using any method. As one example, the person in charge determination unit 114 selects the person in charge candidate who responds first from among the person in charge candidate who has at least some of the extracted skills. As another example, the person in charge determination unit 114 sends a notification to the person in charge candidate who has the most skills extracted in step S19, and selects the person in charge candidate if there is a response. As another example, the person in charge determination unit 114 sends a notification to the person in charge candidate who has a predetermined number of the extracted skills, and selects a person in charge from among the person in charge candidate who responded using any method. As another example, the person in charge determination unit 114 sends notifications in descending order of the person in charge candidate who has the most extracted skills. In this case, for example, if a candidate for the person in charge is not selected as the person in charge, a notification is sent to the next candidate for the person in charge.

[0089] Fig. 6 is a diagram showing an example of a step definition information display screen 461 and a person in charge definition information display screen 462. Fig. 6(A) shows an example of the step definition information display screen 461, and Fig. 6(B) shows an example of the person in charge definition information display screen 462.

[0090] The step definition information display screen 461 is displayed on the manager's terminal device 40. As an example, the step definition information includes a "step code" that is identification information for identifying the task step, a "step name" that is the name of the task step, a "type" that indicates whether the task step is a first task step or a second task step, and a "skill tag code" that indicates the skill required to execute the task step. The step definition information may also include information indicating the required position. The processing unit 110 of the task management device 10 uses the task step information 123 to identify information necessary to display the step definition information and transmits it to the manager's terminal device 40.

[0091] The person in charge definition information display screen 462 is displayed on the person in charge terminal device 40 of the manager. As an example, the person in charge definition information display screen 462 includes a "person in charge code" that is identification information for identifying the person in charge, a "contact information" that indicates the contact address for the person in charge, and a "skill tag code" that indicates the skills possessed by the person in charge. The processing unit 110 of the task management device 10 uses the member information 122 to identify information necessary for displaying the person in charge definition information display screen 462 and transmits it to the person in charge terminal device 40.

[0092] 6(A) includes "001" as the "Step Code," "First Task Step" as the "Type," and "XYZ01" as the "Skill Tag Code." In other words, a task step with a "Step Code" of "001" is a "First Task Step" that requires input operations by a person in charge, and requires the skill identified by "XYZ01."

[0093] 6(B), the person in charge definition information display screen 462 includes "b0011" as the "person in charge code" and "XYZ01" as the "skill tag code." The person in charge determination unit 114 of the task management device 10 sends a notification to "b0011," a candidate person who has the required skill "XYZ01," as a candidate person for the first task step whose "step code" is "001."

[0094] As described above, according to this embodiment, task processing can be performed efficiently, particularly when task step processing is performed by multiple people in charge, or when a task including a first task step performed by a person in charge and a second task step performed without the need for input operation by the person in charge is performed.

[0095] Although the above describes each embodiment of the present invention, the present invention is not limited to the above-described exemplary embodiment and includes various modifications. For example, the above-described exemplary embodiment has been described in detail to facilitate understanding of the present invention, and the present invention is not limited to an embodiment including all of the components described herein. Furthermore, part of the components of one exemplary embodiment can be replaced with the components of another exemplary embodiment. Furthermore, the components of another exemplary embodiment can be added to the components of one exemplary embodiment. Furthermore, part of the components of each exemplary embodiment can be added, deleted, or replaced with other components. Furthermore, some or all of the above-described components, functions, processing units, processing means, etc. may be implemented in hardware, for example, by designing them as integrated circuits. Furthermore, the control lines and information lines in the figures are only those considered necessary for explanation, and not necessarily all of them are shown. It can be assumed that almost all components are interconnected.

[0096] Furthermore, the functional configurations of the above-described task management device 10, client terminal device 20, client system management device 30, and person in charge terminal device 40 are categorized according to the main processing content for ease of understanding. The classification method and names of the components do not limit the present invention. As described above, the configurations of the task management device 10, client terminal device 20, client system management device 30, and person in charge terminal device 40 can be categorized into more components according to the processing content. Furthermore, a single component can be categorized to perform even more processing. [Explanation of symbols]

[0097] 1: Task management system, 10: Task management device, 11: Arithmetic unit, 12: Memory, 13: External storage device, 14: Input IF, 15: Output IF, 16: Communication IF, 20: Client terminal device, 30: Client system management device, 40: Person in charge terminal device, 110, 210, 310, 410: Processing unit, 111: Trigger information acquisition unit, 112: Task determination unit, 113: Task step extraction unit, 114: Person in charge determination unit, 115: Task Management unit, 116: task step execution unit, 120, 220, 320, 420: memory unit, 121: task information, 122: member information, 123: task step information, 130, 230, 330, 430: input unit, 140, 240, 340, 440: output unit, 150, 250, 350, 450: communication unit, 211, 311: trigger information output unit, 461: step definition information display screen, 462: person in charge definition information display screen, N: network

Claims

1. a trigger information acquisition unit that acquires trigger information indicating a request from a client; a task determination unit that determines a task related to a business to be provided to the client based on the trigger information; a task step extraction unit that extracts one or more task steps from the task determined by the task determination unit; a person in charge determination unit that refers to member information in which person in charge candidates are associated with the skills they possess, and determines a person in charge for each task step based on the skills required for the task step; a task management unit that detects the completion of each task step and manages the progress of the task.

2. 2. The task management device according to claim 1, A task management device characterized in that the person in charge determination unit notifies the candidate person in charge who has the skills required by the task step in the member information, and determines the person in charge from among the candidate person in charge who responds depending on the timing of the response.

3. 3. The task management device according to claim 1, The task management device is characterized in that, when the task management unit detects the end of the task step, it notifies a person in charge of another task step that uses the end of the task step as a processing start condition.

4. 3. The task management device according to claim 1, a task step executing unit that executes a predetermined process in a second task step that is a predetermined task step; A task management device characterized in that when executing a first task step among the task steps, excluding the second task step, the task management unit notifies the person in charge of the first task step, and when executing the second task step, causes the task step execution unit to perform processing.

5. 5. The task management device according to claim 4, The task management device, wherein the person in charge determination unit determines the person in charge of the first task step and suppresses the determination of the person in charge of the second task step.

6. 3. The task management device according to claim 1, the task determination unit refers to information associating the trigger information with the task, and identifies the task corresponding to the trigger information acquired by the trigger information acquisition unit; A task management device characterized in that, when a plurality of pieces of trigger information related to a common task are acquired within a predetermined period, one of the tasks corresponding to the plurality of pieces of trigger information is determined.

7. 7. The task management device according to claim 6, the trigger information acquisition unit stores information indicating a method for acquiring the trigger information in association with the acquired trigger information; The task management device is characterized in that the task determination unit determines the one task when a plurality of pieces of trigger information relating to a predetermined acquisition method are acquired within the predetermined period.

8. A program for causing a processing unit of a computer to execute a task management method, a trigger information acquisition step for acquiring trigger information indicating a client request; a task determination procedure for determining a task related to a business to be provided to the client based on the trigger information; a task step extraction step of extracting one or more task steps from the task determined in the task determination step; a person-in-charge determination procedure for determining a person in charge for each task step based on the skills required for the task step by referencing member information in which the person-in-charge candidates are associated with the skills they possess; a task management procedure for detecting the completion of each task step and managing the progress of the task.

9. A task management method by a task management device, a trigger information acquisition step for acquiring trigger information indicating a client request; a task determination procedure for determining a task related to a business to be provided to the client based on the trigger information; a task step extraction step of extracting one or more task steps from the task determined in the task determination step; a person-in-charge determination procedure for determining a person in charge for each task step based on the skills required for the task step by referencing member information in which the person-in-charge candidates are associated with the skills they possess; a task management procedure for detecting the completion of each task step and managing the progress of the task.

10. A task management system having a client-side terminal device owned by a client, a person in charge's terminal device owned by a person in charge, and a task management device communicably connected to the client-side terminal device and the person in charge's terminal device, The task management device a trigger information acquisition unit that acquires trigger information indicating a request from the client using information transmitted from the client-side terminal device; a task determination unit that determines a task related to a business to be provided to the client based on the trigger information; a task step extraction unit that extracts one or more task steps from the task determined by the task determination unit; a person in charge determination unit that refers to member information in which person in charge candidates are associated with the skills they possess, and determines a person in charge for each task step based on the skills required for the task step; a task management unit that detects the completion of each task step and manages the progress of the task; The task management system is characterized in that the person in charge terminal device includes a communication unit that receives a notification indicating the task step for which the person in charge is in charge from the task management device.

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