Information processing device and information processing program

Abstract

To provide an information processor and an information processing program for defining hierarchic structure of a plurality of channels which are in parallel relationships to each other in a communication service according to the hierarchic structure of a plurality of activity elements defined by an activity management service.SOLUTION: A plurality of activity elements having a hierarchic structure are defined in an activity management service. A plurality of channels which are in parallel relationships to each other not having the hierarchic structure are defined in a communication service. An association unit 38 of a service cooperation device 18 associates activity element ID for discriminating an activity element of an activity management service with a channel ID for discriminating a communication service channel, and stores them to related information DB34.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 4

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an information processing device and an information processing program. [Background technology]

[0002] Patent Document 1 discloses a workflow system including a workflow management system for managing workflows and a bulletin board system, which recommends to users bulletin boards having a similar disclosure level to an activity based on the disclosure range of the activity defined in the workflow management system. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2007-108827 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] In the past, activity management services have been proposed in which multiple activity elements are defined in a hierarchical relationship and the relationships between the activity elements are presented to the user. In such activity management services, electronic documents related to each activity element can be registered, and the user may be shown whether or not electronic documents related to each activity element can be registered. In this specification, the electronic documents to be registered for each activity element are called "evidence."

[0005] One example of an activity management service is a business process management service for managing a business process consisting of a series of tasks. As described above, business activity elements (hereafter referred to as business elements) have a hierarchical relationship, and for example, for a business case (hereafter referred to as a business case), which is a higher-level business element, one or more steps (hereafter referred to as business steps) required to execute the business case are defined as lower-level business elements. In this case, the evidence indicates an electronic document that needs to be registered at each business step. For example, an estimate document is defined as evidence at the estimate step. Of course, the activity management service is not limited to this.

[0006] Meanwhile, a communication service has been proposed in which multiple users can post messages in a pre-created channel. When one of the multiple users posts a message in a channel, other users who access the channel can view the message. In such a communication service, multiple channels can be defined, and each user can freely define a channel for the user group to which he or she belongs.

[0007] Unlike the above-mentioned activity management service, the multiple channels defined in the conventional communication service do not have a hierarchical structure and are in a parallel relationship with each other. On the other hand, for each activity element defined in the activity management service, there are cases where people involved in that activity element want to communicate using the channels provided by the communication service.

[0008] An object of the present invention is to define a hierarchical structure of a plurality of channels in a parallel relationship in a communication service in accordance with a hierarchical structure of a plurality of activity elements defined in an activity management service. [Means for solving the problem]

[0009] The invention according to claim 1 includes a processor, and the processor associates each of activity element identifiers, which identify a plurality of activity elements in different hierarchical levels of an activity management service in which a plurality of activity elements having a hierarchical structure are defined, with each of channel identifiers, which identify the channels of a communication service in which a plurality of channels in a parallel relationship with each other are defined. hand Store in memory R , It is characterized by: Activity management services provides a user with an activity management screen showing a hierarchical structure of the plurality of activity elements; , A message window including a usage screen of the channel associated with the activity element selected by the user is displayed within the activity management screen, and the message windows of the channels corresponding to the activity elements are displayed hierarchically in accordance with a hierarchical structure of the activity elements. The present invention is an information processing device. The invention of claim 2 is the information processing device described in claim 1, characterized in that the activity management service is a process management service in which an activity process and one or more steps required to carry out the activity process are defined as a higher-level activity element and a lower-level activity element, respectively. The invention according to claim 3 is the information processing device according to claim 2, characterized in that the process management service defines electronic documents that need to be registered in the step, and manages the registered electronic documents. 。 request request 4 The invention relates to an information processing device as described in any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that in the activity management service, for each activity element, an activity element user who can use the activity element is defined, and the processor sets the activity element user of the activity element as a channel user who can use the channel. Claim 5 The present invention relates to a computer that associates each of activity element identifiers, which identify a plurality of activity elements in different hierarchical levels of an activity management service in which a plurality of activity elements having a hierarchical structure are defined, with each of channel identifiers, which identify a plurality of channels in a parallel relationship with each other, of a communication service in which a plurality of channels are defined. hand Store in memory R , It is characterized by: Activity management services provides a user with an activity management screen showing a hierarchical structure of the plurality of activity elements; , A message window including a usage screen of the channel associated with the activity element selected by the user is displayed within the activity management screen, and the message windows of the channels corresponding to the activity elements are displayed hierarchically in accordance with a hierarchical structure of the activity elements. The information processing program is characterized in that Effect of the Invention

[0010] Claim 1, 2, 3, or 5 According to the present invention, a hierarchical structure of a plurality of channels in a parallel relationship in a communication service can be defined in accordance with a hierarchical structure of a plurality of activity elements defined in an activity management service. 。 request According to the invention of claim 4, an activity element user defined in an activity element can be defined as a channel user for a channel corresponding to the activity element. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0011] [Figure 1] 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating a configuration of a service collaboration system according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 2] 13 is a diagram showing an example of an activity management screen provided to a user terminal by an activity management service. FIG. [Diagram 3] FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of a message screen provided to a user terminal by a communication service. [Figure 4] 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating a configuration of a service collaboration device according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 5] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a first example of a screen on which a channel creation button for each activity element is displayed. [Figure 6] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of a channel availability setting window. [Figure 7] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a second example of a screen on which a channel creation button for each activity element is displayed. [Figure 8] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of a screen on which channel use buttons for activity elements for which channels are defined are displayed. [Figure 9] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of a screen on which a message window of a channel of a communication service is displayed within a screen of an activity management service. [Figure 10] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of a screen on which message windows for a plurality of channels are displayed hierarchically. [Figure 11] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of a message input window. [Figure 12] 4 is a flowchart showing a flow of processing in the service collaboration system according to the embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0012] 1 is a schematic diagram of a service collaboration system 10 according to the present embodiment. The service collaboration system 10 includes one or more user terminals 12, an activity management service providing device 14, a communication service providing device 16, and a service collaboration device 18 as an information processing device. The user terminals 12, the activity management service providing device 14, the communication service providing device 16, and the service collaboration device 18 are communicatively connected via a communication line 20 such as a LAN or the Internet.

[0013] The user terminal 12 is a terminal used by a user who uses the activity management service provided by the activity management service providing device 14 and the communication service provided by the communication service providing device 16. The user terminal 12 is, for example, a personal computer, a smartphone, a tablet terminal, or other terminal. The user terminal 12 includes a communication interface constituted by a network adapter or the like, a hard disk, a memory constituted by a RAM or a ROM, a display constituted by a liquid crystal display or the like, an input interface constituted by a mouse, a keyboard, a touch panel, or the like, and a processor constituted by a CPU, a microcomputer, or the like.

[0014] The activity management service providing device 14 is, for example, a server computer. Specifically, the activity management service providing device 14 includes a communication interface constituted by a network adapter or the like, a hard disk, a memory constituted by a RAM or a ROM or the like, and a processor constituted by a CPU or a microcomputer or the like. The activity management service providing device 14 provides the activity management service to users. Specifically, a user can use the activity management service after registering with the activity management service and being authenticated by the activity management service (logging in). Since the activity management service can provide the activity management service to a large number of users, a tenant is defined for each user group (e.g., corresponding to a company) consisting of one or more users. This allows, for example, a user belonging to a certain user group (e.g., company A) to access only tenant A corresponding to company A.

[0015] The activity management service is a service that manages the activities of a user. The activities are not limited to these, but may be various activities such as work, club activities, or personal activities. In the activity management service, the user defines a plurality of activity elements in advance, and the activity management service manages the user's activities for each of the defined plurality of activity elements. For example, when the activity management service is a business management service that manages business, each activity element is a business element that represents, for example, one business unit. Also, when the activity management service is a club activity management service that manages club activities, each activity element represents, for example, one activity unit of a club activity (for example, practice, game, etc.). Also, when the activity management service is an individual activity management service that manages an individual's activities, each activity element represents, for example, one activity unit of an individual (for example, studying, planning, etc.).

[0016] In an activity management service, multiple activity elements are defined with a hierarchical structure. For example, when the activity management service is a business process management service that manages business processes, a business process is defined for a business case, which is a higher-level activity element. Then, below that business case, one or more business steps are defined as activity elements that make up the business case (in other words, necessary to carry out the business process). By having activity elements with a hierarchical structure and displaying this to the user, the user can easily understand the relationship between multiple activity elements. For example, the user can easily understand that to complete a certain business case, it is necessary to complete multiple business steps defined below that business case.

[0017] In this way, in an activity management service, when there is a set of activities (i.e., an activity process) in which one or more steps are defined, each step corresponds to a lower-level activity element, and the activity process that groups them together corresponds to a higher-level activity element, but this type of hierarchical structure is merely one example. As another example, in the case of a business management service, for example, a higher-level category that groups together similar business cases may be defined, and individual business cases may be defined below that, or in the case of a club activity management service, a higher-level category called "match" may be defined, and individual matches such as "XX match" and "XX match" may be defined below that.

[0018] In the activity management service, electronic documents that need to be registered can be defined for each activity element. As described above, an indication of such an electronic document is called a trail. Multiple trails may be defined for one activity element. A trail can also be considered as one of the activity elements in an activity process. In this case, a trail as an activity element indicates an electronic document that needs to be registered for an activity element at a higher level. A user can register electronic documents as each trail in association with each activity element, and the activity management service manages the electronic documents registered by the user. In this specification, an electronic document registered as a trail is called a "trail document."

[0019] For each activity element, a user who can use the activity element may be defined. For example, in an activity process, a higher-level activity element (e.g., a business case) may be available only to a user in a more responsible position (e.g., a manager), and a lower-level activity element (e.g., a business step) may be available not only to users who can use the higher-level activity element, but also to users (e.g., a person in charge) in charge of the lower-level activity element. Based on the hierarchical structure between each activity element, a user who can use a higher-level activity element may be able to use the lower-level activity element unconditionally. Note that being able to use an activity element means being able to view the activity element and / or being able to register evidence related to the activity element.

[0020] The above-mentioned definitions regarding the activity management service are made by a user who is in a position to manage activities (for example, a superior, a project manager, or a department head).

[0021] In the activity management service, an activity process ID that identifies an activity process, an activity element ID as an activity element identifier that identifies multiple activity processes included in the activity process, a trail ID that identifies the trails defined for each activity element, hierarchical information that indicates the hierarchical structure of multiple activity elements in the activity process, information that indicates the activity element users for each activity element, and trail documents registered as each trail are stored in association with each other.

[0022] In the following description of the present specification, an example will be described in which the activity management service is a business process management service that manages a business process, however, as described above, the activity management service is not limited to this.

[0023] Fig. 2 is a diagram showing an example of an activity management screen provided to the user terminal 12 by the activity management service. When a user logs in to the activity management service, an activity management screen as shown in Fig. 2 is displayed on the display of the user terminal 12. On the activity management screen, a plurality of activity elements in each activity process defined in the activity management service are displayed in a manner showing their hierarchical structure. On the activity management screen, only activity elements available to the user may be displayed.

[0024] In this embodiment, a business case is defined as the top activity element in one business process, and the business steps included in the case are defined as the activity elements one level lower. For example, a top activity element called "XX building construction case" is defined, and the activity elements below it are "estimate step", "order step", and "construction step". Of course, other business steps may be defined as lower activity elements. Also, although not shown in FIG. 2, a step group that groups together multiple business steps may be defined as an activity element located at an intermediate level between the business case and the business steps. For example, a step group "decoration step group" is defined below the business case "XX building construction case", and the business steps "exterior step" and "interior step" are defined below it.

[0025] As shown in Fig. 2, the activity management screen displays the hierarchical relationships of multiple activity elements in each of multiple activity processes in a manner that allows the user to grasp them. Specifically, within a frame E1 representing the top-level activity element ("XX building construction project"), frames E11, E12, and E13 representing its lower-level activity elements ("Estimate step", "Order step", "Construction step") are displayed. When more lower-level activity elements (business steps) are defined, frames representing further business steps may be displayed, for example, by scrolling horizontally.

[0026] Furthermore, in this embodiment, one or more trails are defined for each business step. In this example, the trails indicate the types of electronic documents that need to be registered to complete each business step. In this example, the trails "Estimated settlement slip" and "Estimate" are defined for the "Estimate step", the trails "Contract" and "Order" are defined for the "Order receiving step", and the trails "Construction plan", "Drawing", "Site photo", and "Instruction manual" are defined for the "Construction step".

[0027] As shown in Fig. 2, on the activity management screen, the evidence defined for each business step is displayed in a manner that allows the user to grasp it. Specifically, within a box E11 representing a business step, character strings E111 and E112 representing the evidence defined for that business step are displayed. The same is true for boxes E12 and E13 representing other business steps. As mentioned above, a trail can be considered as one of the activity elements, so the display manner can also be seen as a hierarchical structure in which the evidence, which is a lower activity element, is displayed in relation to the business step, which is a higher activity element.

[0028] In addition, the activity management screen allows the user to know whether each trail document is registered or not. In this embodiment, a trail icon I is displayed near a character string representing a trail for which a trail document has been registered. The trail icon I is not displayed near a character string representing a trail for which a trail document has not been registered. Of course, the presence or absence of a trail document may be indicated by other display modes. In the example of FIG. 2, in the "XX building construction project", the trail icon I is attached near the character string representing the trail "Estimated settlement document" and the trail "Estimate" in the "Estimate step", and the trail "Contract" in the "Order step", and the trail icon I is not attached near the character string representing the other trails. This allows the user to easily understand that in the "XX building construction project", the trail document has been registered in the trail "Estimated settlement document" and the trail "Estimate" in the "Estimate step", and the trail "Contract" in the "Order step", and that the trail document has not been registered in the other trails.

[0029] Returning to FIG. 1, the communication service providing device 16 is, for example, a server computer. Specifically, the activity management service providing device 14 is configured to include a communication interface configured with a network adapter or the like, a hard disk, a memory configured with a RAM or a ROM, and a processor configured with a CPU or a microcomputer or the like. The communication service providing device 16 provides a communication service to a user. Specifically, a user performs user registration for the communication service, and becomes able to use the communication service when authenticated by the communication service (when logging in). The provider of the activity management service and the provider of the communication service are different parties. Note that the communication service can provide communication services to a large number of users, so a tenant is defined for each user group (e.g., corresponding to one company) configured with one or more users. As a result, for example, a user belonging to a certain user group (e.g., company A) can access only tenant A corresponding to company A.

[0030] In the communication service, a user can create (define) a channel. A plurality of channels can be defined by a plurality of users. A channel is, so to speak, a "place" where a plurality of users post messages. A plurality of users can post messages to the created channel, and the posted messages can be viewed by other users who access the channel. In addition, a user can post an electronic document stored in user terminal 12 to a channel as an attachment. The posted attachment is transmitted to communication service providing device 16 and stored there. The posted attachment can be downloaded by other users who access the channel.

[0031] For each channel, a channel user who can use the channel may be defined. Note that being able to use a channel means being able to view messages or attachments posted to the channel and / or being able to post messages or attachments to the channel.

[0032] In the communication service, a channel ID serving as a channel identifier for identifying a channel, messages and attachments posted to the channel, and information indicating users who can use each channel are stored in association with one another.

[0033] FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of a message screen provided to the user terminal 12 by the communication service. When a user logs in to the communication service, a message screen as shown in FIG. 3 is displayed on the display of the user terminal 12. A list of channels defined in the communication service is displayed in a channel selection area CH of the message screen. Only channels available to the user may be displayed in the channel selection area CH. When the user selects a desired channel, messages posted to the selected channel are displayed in the main area MA of the message screen. Furthermore, a message input field IN is displayed in the main area MA. That is, the main area MA can be said to be a usage screen for using the channel. A user can post a message to the channel by inputting a message in the message input field IN and pressing a post button. Also, an electronic document can be posted to the channel by inputting an electronic document as an attachment in the message input field IN.

[0034] In the communication service, a user can define a plurality of channels, but the channels in the communication service do not have a hierarchical structure and are in a parallel relationship with each other.

[0035] 4 is a schematic diagram of the configuration of the service collaboration device 18. The service collaboration device 18 is configured by, for example, a server computer. Furthermore, the functions of the service collaboration device 18 described below may be realized by a plurality of devices (for example, a plurality of server computers). Furthermore, in this embodiment, the activity management service providing device 14 and the service collaboration device 18 are separate devices, but the activity management service providing device 14 and the service collaboration device 18 may be the same device. Furthermore, the functions of the service collaboration device 18 described below may be functions possessed by the activity management service.

[0036] The communication interface 30 includes, for example, a network adapter, etc. The communication interface 30 performs a function of communicating with other devices, for example, the activity management service providing device 14 and the communication service providing device 16, via the communication line 20.

[0037] The memory 32 includes, for example, a hard disk, a solid state drive (SSD), a ROM, or a RAM. The memory 32 may be provided separately from a processor 36 described below, or at least a part of the memory 32 may be provided inside the processor 36. The memory 32 stores an information processing program for operating each unit of the service collaboration device 18. In addition, as shown in FIG. 4, the memory 32 stores a related information DB 34.

[0038] The related information DB 34 is a database in which activity element IDs for identifying activity elements defined in the activity management service and channel IDs for identifying channels defined in the communication service are stored in association with each other. The association between the activity element IDs and the channel IDs is performed by an association unit 38 of the processor 36, which will be described later.

[0039] The processor 36 refers to a processing device in a broad sense, and includes at least one of a general-purpose processing device (e.g., a central processing unit (CPU)) and a dedicated processing device (e.g., a graphics processing unit (GPU), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field programmable gate array (FPGA), or a programmable logic device). The processor 36 may be configured not by a single processing device, but by the cooperation of a plurality of processing devices located at physically separate locations. As shown in FIG. 4, the processor 36 exerts the functions of an association unit 38 and a cooperation processing unit 40 by an information processing program stored in the memory 32. In the following description, the association unit 38 and the cooperation processing unit 40 may intervene in the processing of the activity management service and execute various processes. These processes are executed by the activity management service according to instructions from the association unit 38 and the cooperation processing unit 40.

[0040] Based on an instruction from the user, the associating unit 38 associates each of the activity element IDs that identify multiple activity elements in different hierarchical levels defined in the activity management service with each of the channel IDs that identify multiple channels in a parallel relationship defined in the communication service, and stores the associated information in the associated information DB 34. The processing of the associating unit 38 will be described in detail below.

[0041] First, the associating unit 38 associates a tenant defined in the activity management service with a tenant defined in the communication service based on a user instruction. In this embodiment, the user accesses the activity management service and inputs login information (such as a tenant ID and a password for identifying a tenant of the communication service (obviously, a tenant accessible to the user)) required for logging in to the communication service to the activity management service. The activity management service performs authentication processing for the communication service based on the input login information and acquires a tenant ID for identifying the tenant of the user in the communication service. Then, the tenant ID for identifying the tenant of the user in the activity management service and the tenant ID for identifying the tenant of the acquired communication service are transmitted to the service cooperation device 18. The associating unit 38 associates the two received tenant IDs and stores them in the memory 32.

[0042] This associates the tenant of the activity management service with the tenant of the communication service, enabling mutual communication between the two services. Two-way, interactive processing between the activity management service and the communication service is performed using a WebAPI publicly available from each service. The communication may be communication using a security token or the like, taking security into consideration. The two services may be associated by a user accessing the communication service and inputting login information required to log in to the activity management service. In the following description, the activity elements of the activity management service and the channels of the communication service that are associated with each other are the activity elements in the tenant of the activity management service and the channels in the tenant of the communication service that are associated as described above.

[0043] As described above, when a user logs in to the activity management service, an activity management screen is displayed on the display of the user terminal 12, and the association unit 38 displays a channel creation button in association with each activity element on the activity management screen, as shown in FIG. 5. In the example of FIG. 5, the association unit 38 displays a channel creation button CB1 in a frame E1 indicating a business case ("XX building construction case"), which is the top activity element in the activity process. In addition, the association unit 38 displays channel creation buttons CB11, CB12, and CB13 in frames E11, E12, and E13 indicating each business step ("Estimate step", "Order step", and "Construction step"), which are lower activity elements of the business case, respectively. This allows the user to easily understand the relationship between each activity element and each channel creation button.

[0044] By operating one of the channel creation buttons, the user can create a channel in the communication service that corresponds to the activity element corresponding to that channel creation button. For example, by operating the channel creation button CB1, the user can create a channel that corresponds to the "XX building construction project," and by operating the channel creation button CB11, the user can create a channel that corresponds to the "quote step." Although not shown in FIG. 5, each trail can also be considered an activity element, so a channel creation button may be displayed in association with each trail. By operating the channel creation button, the user can create a channel that corresponds to each trail.

[0045] When the user operates one of the channel creation buttons (here, the channel creation button CB11 associated with the "Estimate Step"), a channel availability setting window UW is displayed as shown in Fig. 6. In the channel availability setting window UW, the user can set users who can use the channel corresponding to the "Estimate Step" to be created.

[0046] When the user sets channel users in the channel user setting window UW and operates the "Create" button, the activity management service transmits an activity element ID that identifies the activity element corresponding to the channel creation button operated by the user and a channel creation instruction to the service collaboration device 18. The association unit 38 transfers the channel creation instruction to the communication service, whereby a new channel is created (defined) in the communication service. In addition, information indicating the set channel users is transmitted from the activity management service providing device 14 to the communication service providing device 16, and the users are defined as channel users of the new channel in the communication service. The communication service transmits a channel ID that identifies the newly created channel to the service collaboration device 18.

[0047] The associating unit 38 associates the activity element ID, which indicates the activity element associated with the channel creation button operated by the user, with the channel ID, which indicates the newly created channel received from the communication service, and stores them in the associated information DB 34. This associates the activity element in the activity management service with the channel in the communication service.

[0048] In this way, each channel, which does not have a hierarchical structure in relation to other channels and is in a parallel relationship with each other, is associated with each activity element that has a hierarchical structure in relation to other activity elements, so that each channel has a hierarchical structure according to the hierarchical structure of each activity element. In other words, according to this embodiment, even if the communication service side cannot define the hierarchical structure of each channel, it is possible to define the hierarchical structure of each channel.

[0049] As described above, in the activity management service, activity element users who can use each activity element may be defined. When an activity element user is defined for an activity element associated with a channel creation button operated by a user, the association unit 38 may set the activity element user of the activity element as the channel user of the channel to be created without displaying the channel user setting window UW. In this case, the association unit 38 causes the activity management service to transmit information indicating the activity element user of the activity element to the communication service. Alternatively, the activity element user may be set as the initial value of the channel user of the channel to be created, and then the above-mentioned channel user setting window UW may be displayed to allow the user to edit the channel user.

[0050] The associating unit 38 can also associate a plurality of activity elements across a plurality of activity processes with one channel. FIG. 7 is a diagram showing another example of the activity management screen. In the example of FIG. 7, a common task step (such as a "construction step") is defined for a plurality of business cases ("XX building construction case", "XX building construction case", "●X building construction case"). In such a case, the associating unit 38 can associate a plurality of task steps across a plurality of business cases, i.e., across a plurality of activity processes, with one channel. Specifically, the associating unit 38 displays a channel creation button CBa associated with a "construction step" that is a task step across a plurality of business cases, and the user can create a channel corresponding to a plurality of task steps across a plurality of business cases by operating the channel creation button CBa.

[0051] 7 shows a step group ("decorative step group") that groups together multiple steps. Since a step group is also an activity element, the association unit 38 can of course display a channel creation button CBb associated with the step group. The user can create a channel corresponding to the step group by operating the channel creation button CBb.

[0052] 4, the link processing unit 40 executes processing for linking the activity elements of the activity management service and the channels of the communication service that have been linked by the associating unit 38.

[0053] As shown in Fig. 8, the cooperation processing unit 40 displays channel use buttons in association with activity elements associated with channels of a communication service on an activity management screen provided by the activity management service. In the example of Fig. 8, channel use buttons CU11 and CU12 are displayed in frames E11 and E12 representing the business steps "Estimate step" and "Order receiving step" of a business case "XX building construction case", respectively. That is, channels of a communication service are associated with the "Estimate step" and "Order receiving step". On the other hand, in the example of Fig. 8, since no channel is associated with the business case "XX building construction case" and its business step "Construction step", a channel creation button CB1 continues to be displayed in frame E1 representing "XX building construction case", and a channel creation button CB13 continues to be displayed in frame E1 representing "XX building construction case", and a channel creation button CB13 continues to be displayed in frame E1 representing "Construction step".

[0054] By operating a channel usage button, the user can use a channel in the communication service that corresponds to the activity element that corresponds to the channel usage button. For example, by operating the channel usage button CU11, the user can use a channel that corresponds to the "Estimate Step" of the "XX Building Construction Project." Since each channel usage button is displayed in association with each activity element, it can be said that the user's operation of the channel usage button is synonymous with the user selecting an activity element. Therefore, it can be said that by the linkage processing unit 40 displaying the channel usage button, the user can select an activity element on the activity management screen and use the channel associated with the selected activity element.

[0055] When the user operates any of the channel usage buttons (here, the channel usage button CU11 associated with the "Estimate Step"), the activity management service transmits an activity element ID that identifies the activity element corresponding to the channel usage button operated by the user and a channel usage instruction to the service collaboration device 18. The collaboration processing unit 40 refers to the related information DB 34, identifies a channel ID associated with the received activity element ID, and transmits the identified channel ID and a channel usage instruction to the communication service. The communication service transmits channel information (e.g., posted messages, etc.) related to the channel indicated by the received channel ID to the activity management service.

[0056] Based on the received channel information, the activity management service displays a message window MW including a usage screen for using the channel, as shown in Fig. 9, within the activity management screen on the display of the user terminal 12. In this embodiment, of the above-mentioned message screens that the communication service displays on the user terminal 12, the main area MA (see Fig. 3) is displayed in the message window MW. The message window MW allows the user to view messages that have been posted to the channel associated with the "quotation step". Furthermore, the message input field IN displayed in the message window MW allows the user to post a message or an electronic document as an attachment to the channel.

[0057] As described above, the activity management screen clearly shows the hierarchical structure of multiple activity elements, and according to this embodiment, the user can select an activity element displayed on the activity management screen to use a channel associated with that activity element. Therefore, the user can use a channel after understanding where the channel is located in the hierarchical structure of multiple channels (corresponding to the hierarchical structure of multiple activity elements).

[0058] A plurality of channels having a hierarchical structure enables the following processing, for example. First, the users of a channel corresponding to a certain business step are limited to those involved in that business step, and messages and attached documents related to that business step are exchanged on that channel. An electronic document whose contents are finalized during that exchange may be registered as an evidence document in the evidence for that business step. On the other hand, the users of a channel corresponding to a business case that is higher than each business step may be all those involved in that business case, and messages related to topics that span multiple business steps or messages such as reports to superiors may be posted on that channel.

[0059] In addition, in cases where a supervisor wants to post a message to everyone involved in a work case, a message posted to a higher-level channel (e.g., a channel corresponding to a work case) may be posted to all channels below that channel (e.g., multiple channels corresponding to multiple work steps).

[0060] Furthermore, since the message window MW is displayed within the activity management screen provided by the activity management service, the user can use the communication service from the activity management service without having to access a separate communication service.

[0061] When a user selects multiple channel use buttons on the activity management screen, the cooperation processing unit 40 may display message windows MW of multiple channels corresponding to multiple activity elements in parallel (in other words, simultaneously) on the activity management screen. In this case, it is preferable that the multiple message windows MW corresponding to the multiple channels are displayed hierarchically in a manner that allows the user to grasp the hierarchical structure of the multiple channels. This allows the user to more appropriately grasp the hierarchical structure of the multiple channels. For example, as shown in FIG. 10, a message window MW1 of a channel corresponding to a higher-level business case ("XX building construction case") is displayed at the top of the screen, and message windows MW11 and MW12 of channels corresponding to lower-level business steps ("quotation step" and "order receiving step") are displayed at the bottom of the screen. Of course, the display manner of the multiple message windows MW for showing the hierarchical structure of the channels is not limited to this.

[0062] When a user operates a channel usage button, the linkage processing unit 40 may display a message input window IW, as shown in Fig. 11, in the activity management screen instead of the message window MW. The message input window IW is a window dedicated to posting messages and electronic documents as attachments to a channel corresponding to an activity element associated with the operated channel usage button. The message or electronic document as attachment input in the message input window IW is posted to the corresponding channel.

[0063] The process flow of the service collaboration system 10 will be described below with reference to the flowchart shown in Fig. 12. At the start of the flowchart in Fig. 12, it is assumed that a user's tenant in the activity management service and the user's tenant in the communication service are already associated. In the flowchart in Fig. 12, steps S10 to S18 are steps related to the process of associating an activity element in the activity management service with a channel in the communication service, and step S20 and onwards are steps related to the process of using a channel in the activity management service.

[0064] In step S10, the user operates a channel creation button displayed in association with each of a plurality of activity elements displayed hierarchically on the activity management screen (see FIG. 5) displayed on the user terminal 12. As a result, an activity element ID for identifying the activity element corresponding to the operated channel creation button and a channel creation instruction are transmitted from the user terminal 12 to the activity management service providing device 14.

[0065] In step S12, the activity management service providing device 14 transfers the received activity element ID and the channel creation instruction to the service collaboration device 18.

[0066] In step S14, the associating unit 38 of the service collaboration device 18 transfers the received channel creation instruction to the communication service providing device 16.

[0067] In step S16, the communication service providing device 16 creates a new channel in response to the received channel creation instruction, and transmits to the service collaboration device 18 a channel ID for identifying the created channel.

[0068] In step S18, the associating unit 38 of the service collaboration device 18 associates the activity element ID received in step S12 with the channel ID received in step S16, and stores them in the associated information DB 34.

[0069] In step S20, the user operates a channel usage button displayed in association with each of a plurality of activity elements displayed hierarchically on the activity management screen (see FIG. 8) displayed on the user terminal 12. As a result, an activity element ID for identifying the activity element corresponding to the operated channel usage button and a channel usage instruction are transmitted from the user terminal 12 to the activity management service providing device 14.

[0070] In step S22, the activity management service providing device 14 transfers the received activity element ID and channel use instruction to the service collaboration device 18.

[0071] In step S24, the cooperation processing unit 40 of the service cooperation device 18 refers to the related information DB 34 to identify the channel ID associated with the received activity element ID, and transmits the identified channel ID to the communication service providing device 16 and transfers a channel use instruction to the communication service providing device 16.

[0072] In step S26, the communication service providing device 16 transmits channel information relating to the channel indicated by the received channel ID to the activity management service providing device 14 in response to the received channel use instruction.

[0073] In step S28, the activity management service providing device 14 that has received the channel information transmits to the user terminal 12 a display instruction to display the channel information.

[0074] In step S30, the user terminal 12, based on the received display instruction, displays a message window MW (see FIG. 9) based on the channel information within the activity management screen originally displayed on the display. After that, when the user posts a message or an electronic document as an attachment within the message window MW, the message or electronic document is transmitted to the communication service providing device 16, and the channel information of the channel is updated in the communication service providing device 16 based on the information. The updated channel information is transmitted to the activity management service providing device 14, and the activity management service providing device 14 updates the display contents of the message window MW based on the updated channel information.

[0075] Although the embodiment of the present invention has been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and various modifications are possible without departing from the spirit of the present invention. [Explanation of symbols]

[0076] 10 service collaboration system, 12 user terminal, 14 activity management service providing device, 16 communication service providing device, 18 service collaboration device, 20 communication line, 30 communication interface, 32 memory, 34 related information DB, 36 processor, 38 association unit, 40 collaboration processing unit.

Claims

1. A processor is provided. The processor, storing in a memory, in association with each other, an activity element identifier for identifying a plurality of activity elements in different hierarchical levels of an activity management service in which a plurality of activity elements having a hierarchical structure are defined, and a channel identifier for identifying a plurality of channels in a communication service in which a plurality of channels in a parallel relationship are defined; It is characterized by: the activity management service provides a user with an activity management screen showing a hierarchical structure of the plurality of activity elements; A message window including a usage screen of the channel associated with the activity element selected by the user is displayed within the activity management screen; According to a hierarchical structure of the plurality of activity elements, the message windows of the plurality of channels corresponding to the plurality of activity elements are displayed hierarchically.

23. An information processing apparatus comprising:

2. The activity management service is a process management service in which an activity process and one or more steps required to carry out the activity process are defined as a higher-level activity element and a lower-level activity element, respectively.

2. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1,

3. the process management service defines electronic documents that need to be registered in the step, and manages the registered electronic documents; 3. The information processing apparatus according to claim 2.

4. In the activity management service, for each of the activity elements, an activity element user who can use the activity element is defined; The processor, The activity element user of the activity element is set as a channel user who can use the channel.

4. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the information processing apparatus is a computer.

5. On the computer, storing in a memory, in association with each other, an activity element identifier for identifying a plurality of activity elements in different hierarchical levels of an activity management service in which a plurality of activity elements having a hierarchical structure are defined, and a channel identifier for identifying a plurality of channels in a communication service in which a plurality of channels in a parallel relationship are defined; It is characterized by: the activity management service provides a user with an activity management screen showing a hierarchical structure of the plurality of activity elements; A message window including a usage screen of the channel associated with the activity element selected by the user is displayed within the activity management screen; According to a hierarchical structure of the plurality of activity elements, the message windows of the plurality of channels corresponding to the plurality of activity elements are displayed hierarchically.

2. An information processing program comprising:

Images