Information processing system and information processing program

Abstract

An information processing system and an information processing program are provided that recognize the following relationships of tasks and create information about DFG (Directly-Follows Graphs) diagrams that can recognize the relationships of tasks. [Solution] Information on a BPMN flowchart created based on the Business Process Modeling Notation, in which the start point and end point are placed at different positions on the X-axis of an XY coordinate system, and activities corresponding to tasks and gateways indicating flow branching or joining are placed between the start point and end point on the X-axis, and the activities and gateways are connected by directed lines to show business processes, is referenced to create information on a BPMN flowchart that shows task transitions.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to an information processing system and an information processing program. [Background technology]

[0002] DFGs (Directly-Follows Graphs) have been used to analyze business processes that include multiple tasks (see, for example, FIG. 5 of Patent Document 1). DFG diagrams are formed from multiple nodes corresponding to tasks in business processes extracted from event logs, and directed edges that connect tasks and indicate the context of the tasks. DFG diagrams can extract context of tasks from event logs and show the context of all tasks with directed edges, allowing users to easily recognize the context of tasks. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2005-135211 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] However, in DFG diagrams created by conventional information processing systems, although the task tracking relationships can be easily recognized, the placement relationships of each node are meaningless, so even if there is a relationship between multiple tasks, for example, in the nature of the processing (e.g., parallel processing, alternative processing), the user is unable to recognize it.

[0005] One of the objectives of the present disclosure is to provide an information processing system and an information processing program that can create information regarding a DFG diagram that allows the relationships between multiple tasks to be recognized at a glance, while maintaining the benefit of being able to recognize the tracking relationships between multiple tasks. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] An information processing system according to the present disclosure is capable of generating information relating to a diagram visualizing a business process having multiple tasks. The information processing system includes a processing unit. The processing unit references information relating to a BPMN flowchart created based on Business Process Modeling Notation, in which a start point and an end point are located at different positions along the X-axis of an XY coordinate system, and multiple activities corresponding to multiple tasks and multiple gateways indicating flow branching or joining are located between the start point and the end point along the X-axis to represent the business process, and the activities and the gateways are connected by multiple directed lines to represent the business process, thereby generating information relating to a DFG diagram showing the transitions of the multiple tasks. The processing unit generates, as the information relating to the DFG diagram, information relating to the DFG diagram in which a start node and an end node are located at different positions along the Y-axis of the XY coordinate system, and multiple nodes corresponding to the multiple tasks are located between the start node and the end node along the Y-axis, and the nodes are connected by directed edges indicating the antecedent relationships between the multiple tasks to represent the transitions of the tasks. In the information about the DFG diagram, the positional relationship in the Y-axis direction of the plurality of nodes is determined according to the positional relationship in the X-axis direction of the plurality of activities in the BPMN flowchart.

[0007] An information processing program according to the present disclosure is an information processing program for causing one or more processors to execute information processing steps for creating information relating to a diagram that visualizes a business process having a plurality of tasks, the information processing steps being information relating to a BPMN flowchart created based on a business process modeling notation, in which a start point and an end point are arranged at different positions in an X-axis direction in an XY coordinate system, and a plurality of activities corresponding to a plurality of the tasks and a plurality of gateways indicating branching or joining of flows are arranged between the start point and the end point in the X-axis direction, and the business process is shown by connecting the plurality of activities and the plurality of gateways with a plurality of directed lines. and creating information about a DFG diagram showing transitions of the plurality of tasks by referring to information about a process flow, the processing step creating information about the DFG diagram in which a start node and an end node are placed at different positions in a Y-axis direction in an XY coordinate system, a plurality of nodes corresponding to the plurality of tasks are placed between the start node and the end node in the Y-axis direction, and the plurality of nodes are connected by directed edges that indicate a chronological relationship between the plurality of tasks, and the information about the DFG diagram shows transitions of the tasks, and the positional relationship of the plurality of nodes in the Y-axis direction corresponds to the positional relationship of the plurality of activities in the BPMN flowchart in the X-axis direction. [Effects of the Invention]

[0008] According to the information processing system and information processing program disclosed herein, it is possible to create information relating to a DFG diagram that allows the relationships among multiple tasks to be recognized at a glance, while maintaining the advantage of being able to recognize the follow-up relationships among multiple tasks. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0009] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an information processing system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 2]FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of an example of a basic DFG diagram created by an information processing system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 3] FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of an example of a DFG diagram created by an information processing system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of an example of information related to a system log used in an information processing system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 5] FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of an example of a BPMN flowchart created by an information processing system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 6] FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of an example of a process tree created by an information processing system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 7] FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing an example of the operation of the information processing system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 8] FIG. 8 is a block diagram of an information processing system according to a modified example. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0010] [Description of the embodiments of the present disclosure] (1) An information processing system disclosed herein is capable of creating information related to a diagram visualizing a business process having multiple tasks. The information processing system includes a processing unit. The processing unit references information related to a BPMN flowchart created based on Business Process Modeling Notation, in which a start point and an end point are located at different positions along the X-axis of an XY coordinate system, and multiple activities corresponding to multiple tasks and multiple gateways indicating flow branching or joining are located between the start point and the end point along the X-axis to represent the business process, and the activities and the gateways are connected by multiple directed lines to represent the business process, thereby creating information related to a DFG diagram showing the transitions of the multiple tasks. The processing unit creates, as the information related to the DFG diagram, information related to the DFG diagram in which a start node and an end node are located at different positions along the Y-axis of the XY coordinate system, and multiple nodes corresponding to the multiple tasks are located between the start node and the end node along the Y-axis, and the multiple nodes are connected by directed edges indicating the antecedent relationships between the multiple tasks to represent the transitions of the tasks. In the information about the DFG diagram, the positional relationship in the Y-axis direction of the plurality of nodes is determined according to the positional relationship in the X-axis direction of the plurality of activities in the BPMN flowchart.

[0011] In the information processing system of the present disclosure, the positional relationships along the X-axis of multiple BPMN activities can be reflected in the positional relationships of nodes in a DFG diagram, making it possible to create information about a DFG diagram that makes it easy to recognize the relationships between multiple tasks at a glance.In other words, the information processing system of the present disclosure makes it possible to create information about a DFG diagram that makes it easy to recognize the relationships between multiple tasks at a glance, while maintaining the benefit of being able to recognize the follow-up relationships between multiple tasks.

[0012] (2) In (1) above, the processing unit may refer to a process tree including a plurality of leaf activities corresponding to a plurality of the tasks, operators indicating relationships among two or more of the leaf activities, and edges connecting the leaf activities to the operators, and adjust the positional relationships in the Y-axis direction of the plurality of nodes in the information about the DFG diagram. By doing so, even if the information about the DFG diagram contains an error in the positional relationships of the nodes or if a deadlock or the like occurs in the BPMN flowchart, it is possible to create information about a DFG diagram having nodes arranged in appropriate positional relationships.

[0013] (3) In the above (2), the positional relationship in the Y-axis direction of the plurality of nodes may be adjusted according to the operator. In this way, the logic of the operator can be reflected in the DFG diagram, and information about the DFG diagram having nodes arranged in a more appropriate positional relationship can be created.

[0014] (4) In any of (1) to (3) above, the system further includes a receiving unit that receives input of information related to an event log. The processing unit may include a BPMN creation unit 24 that creates information related to the BPMN flowchart from the information related to the event log received by the receiving unit, a coordinate acquisition unit that acquires, from the information related to the BPMN flowchart, coordinate information that is information related to the distance from the start point to each of the activities in the X-axis direction, and a DFG creation unit that determines the positional relationship in the Y-axis direction of the multiple nodes and creates information related to the DFG diagram based on the information related to the event log received by the receiving unit and the coordinate information extracted by the coordinate acquisition unit. This allows information related to the DFG diagram to be created through simple processing, thereby reducing the processing load when creating information related to the DFG diagram.

[0015] (5) In the above (4) including the above (2), the processing unit may further include a process tree creation unit that creates information about the process tree from information about the event log received by the reception unit, and a node position adjustment unit that extracts, from the information about the process tree created by the process tree creation unit, a relationship between the operator and the leaf activity connected by the edge, and adjusts the positional relationship in the Y-axis direction of the plurality of nodes in the information about the DFG diagram created by the DFG creation unit. In this way, it is possible to create information about a DFG diagram having nodes arranged in a more appropriate positional relationship.

[0016] (6) In any of (1) to (5) above, an output processing unit may be further provided that outputs information about the DFG diagram created by the processing unit to a display unit, thereby making it easier for a user to utilize the information about the DFG diagram.

[0017] (7) An information processing program disclosed herein is an information processing program for causing one or more processors to execute information processing steps for creating information about a diagram that visualizes a business process having multiple tasks. The information processing steps refer to information about a BPMN flowchart created based on Business Process Modeling Notation, in which a start point and an end point are located at different positions along the X-axis of an X-Y coordinate system, and multiple activities corresponding to multiple tasks and multiple gateways indicating flow branching or joining are located between the start point and the end point along the X-axis, and the business process is represented by connecting the multiple activities and the multiple gateways with multiple directed lines. The processing steps create information about the DFG diagram, in which a start node and an end node are located at different positions along the Y-axis of an X-Y coordinate system, and multiple nodes corresponding to multiple tasks are located between the start node and the end node along the Y-axis, and the multiple nodes are connected by directed edges indicating the antecedent relationships between the multiple tasks, thereby representing the task transitions. In the information about the DFG diagram, the positional relationship in the Y-axis direction among the plurality of nodes corresponds to the positional relationship in the X-axis direction among the plurality of activities in the BPMN flowchart.

[0018] In the information processing program disclosed herein, the positional relationships in the X-axis direction of multiple BPMN activities can be reflected in the positional relationships of nodes in a DFG diagram, allowing a processor to create information about a DFG diagram that makes it easy to recognize the relationships between multiple tasks at a glance. In other words, according to the information processing program disclosed herein, a processor can create information about a DFG diagram that makes it easy to recognize the relationships between multiple tasks at a glance, while maintaining the benefit of being able to recognize the follow-up relationships between multiple tasks.

[0019] [Details of the embodiment of the present invention] Next, an embodiment of an information processing system 10 according to the present disclosure will be described below with reference to the drawings. In the following drawings, the same or corresponding parts are designated by the same reference numerals, and description thereof will not be repeated.

[0020] (Overview of Information Processing System 10) 1 is a block diagram showing an outline of an information processing system 10 according to the present embodiment. The information processing system 10 can create information related to a Directly-Follows Graph (DFG) diagram, which is a diagram that visualizes a business process having multiple tasks.

[0021] 2 shows a typical DFG diagram (hereinafter referred to as a basic DFG diagram 60) that is generated in the process of creating a DFG diagram 6 that can be created by the information processing system 10 according to this embodiment. As shown in FIG. 2, the basic DFG diagram 60 is formed from a plurality of nodes 61, 62, and 63, and a plurality of directed edges 64 that indicate the anterior-posterior relationships of the plurality of nodes 61, 62, and 63. In other words, conventional DFG diagrams generally show only the follow-up relationships between the nodes 61, 62, and 63. One of the advantages of conventional DFG diagrams is that all follow-up relationships between nodes can be recognized at a glance by the directed edges, making it easy to recognize task transitions in a business process.

[0022] The processing unit in the information processing system 10 according to this embodiment refers to information relating to a flowchart in BPMN created based on Business Process Modeling Notation (hereinafter referred to as a BPMN flowchart 4), and can create a new DFG diagram 6 as shown in Fig. 3, in which multiple nodes 61, 62, and 63 in a basic DFG diagram 60 are hierarchically displayed according to the relationships between the nodes 61, 62, and 63. The new DFG diagram 6 makes it possible to recognize the relationships among multiple tasks at a glance, while maintaining the benefit of being able to recognize the follow-up relationships between multiple tasks.

[0023] 1, an information processing system 10 according to this embodiment includes a server 2 and a client terminal 1. The server 2 and the client terminal 1 are connected to each other via a communication network N1 so as to be able to communicate with each other wirelessly or via a wired connection. Examples of the communication network N1 include a local area network (LAN), a wide area network (WAN), the internet, and an intranet. The information processing system 10 may include a plurality of client terminals 1.

[0024] In the information processing system 10, the server 2 can display various types of information on the display unit 13 of the client terminal 1 in response to a user's operation of the client terminal 1. The client terminal 1 can control the display on the display unit 13 based on transmission data sent from the server 2, or can control the display on the display unit 13 by referring to various types of information stored in the server 2.

[0025] In the information processing system 10 according to the present embodiment, a server-client system is configured by a server 2 and a client terminal 1. The server 2 can execute various processes in response to instructions from the client terminal 1 in response to user operations.

[0026] (Client terminal 1) The client terminal 1 is a computer having an input unit 11, a control unit 12, a display unit 13, and a communication I / F 14. The client terminal 1 may be, for example, a portable information processing device such as a smartphone, a tablet terminal, a wearable terminal, or a laptop computer, or may be a stationary information processing device such as a desktop computer.

[0027] The input unit 11 outputs a signal according to a user operation to the control unit 12. Examples of the input unit 11 include user interfaces such as a keyboard, a touch panel, a mouse, a trackball, a pen tablet, and a joystick. The input unit 11 may also be a voice input device that accepts input of various information by voice recognition.

[0028] The control unit 12 executes various processes in the client terminal 1. The control unit 12 mainly comprises a computer system having one or more processors such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit) and one or more memories such as a ROM (Read Only Memory) and a RAM (Random Access Memory).

[0029] Display unit 13 presents images to the user on a screen. The images include images, figures, photographs, text, and videos. Examples of display unit 13 include display devices such as a liquid crystal display, an organic EL display, and a head-up display.

[0030] The communication I / F 14 is an interface for performing data communication with the server 2 via the communication network N1 in accordance with a predetermined communication protocol.

[0031] (Server 2) The server 2 (also referred to as an information processing device) is a device capable of creating information related to the DFG shown in FIG. 6. As shown in FIG. 1, the server 2 includes a reception unit 21, a processing unit (hereinafter referred to as a generation processing unit 22), a storage unit 31, a display processing unit 30, and a communication I / F 35.

[0032] The server 2 according to this embodiment is primarily composed of a computer system having one or more processors and one or more memories. The one or more processors in the computer system execute programs recorded in one or more memories to realize functions such as the reception unit 21, generation processing unit 22, storage unit 31, and display processing unit 30. In other words, the programs executed by the one or more processors in the computer system are information processing programs that cause the information processing device and client terminal 1 to function as the information processing system 10. This program may be pre-recorded in one or more memories, or may be provided by being recorded on a computer-readable non-transitory recording medium such as a memory card, or provided via a telecommunications line.

[0033] (Reception Department 21) The receiving unit 21 receives various information input in response to a user's operation of the client terminal 1. The receiving unit 21 can receive, for example, information related to the event log 7 transmitted from the client terminal 1.

[0034] 4 is a schematic diagram showing an example of the event log 7. Information in the event log 7 includes a case ID, a task (referred to as "activity" in FIG. 4), and an occurrence time (referred to as "timestamp" in FIG. 4). In the event log 7, a task and an occurrence time are recorded in association with a case ID.

[0035] A task refers to a single unit of work in a business process. There are no particular restrictions on tasks, but examples include pick item (receiving a product), pay order (payment), reorder item (reorder), place order (order), and confirm order (confirmation of an order). A task is preferably the smallest unit of work, but does not necessarily have to be the smallest unit. The occurrence time refers to the date and time when the corresponding task occurred. The occurrence time includes the hour and minute. The occurrence time may also include information about seconds in addition to the hour and minute.

[0036] (Generation processing unit 22) The generation processing unit 22 executes a DFG creation process that creates information about a DFG diagram 6. As shown in FIG. 1, the generation processing unit 22 includes a preprocessing unit 23, a BPMN creation unit 24, a coordinate acquisition unit 25, a process tree creation unit 26, a basic DFG creation unit 27, a DFG creation unit 28, and a node position adjustment unit 29.

[0037] The preprocessing unit 23 performs preprocessing on the information related to the event log 7 to convert it into a data format suitable for the DFG diagram creation process when the generation processing unit 22 executes the process. Specifically, the preprocessing includes, for example, extracting necessary data, cleaning, data cleansing, and chronologically arranging tasks according to the time of occurrence of the information related to the event log 7. Data cleansing means integrating duplicate data and standardizing data with variations in notation, thereby preparing the data so that it can be used in the diagram creation process.

[0038] The BPMN creation unit 24 executes a BPMN creation process that automatically creates information about a flowchart in BPMN (Business Process Model and Notation) from information about the event log 7 (here, information after execution of preprocessing). Through the BPMN creation process, the BPMN creation unit 24 can draw and store a BPMN flowchart 4 in the storage unit 31 (here, the BPMN storage unit 32).

[0039] Here, the BPMN flowchart 4 is a flowchart created based on the Business Process Modeling Notation conforming to ISO / IEC 19510:2013. The BPMN flowchart 4 shows a business process that displays the flow or procedures of multiple tasks. As shown in FIG. 5, the BPMN flowchart 4 is formed from a start point 41, an end point 42, multiple nodes, and multiple directed lines 45 that are edges. The multiple nodes in the BPMN flowchart 4 are made up of multiple activities 43 and multiple gateways 44. In this embodiment, it is assumed that the BPMN flowchart 4 is created in an XY coordinate system. For convenience of explanation, FIG. 5 shows an imaginary line K1 parallel to the Y axis, but this does not have to be drawn in the actual BPMN flowchart 4.

[0040] The start point 41 means the point at which an event occurs in the BPMN flowchart 4. The start point 41 is also called a start event. The end point 42 means the end point of an event in the BPMN flowchart 4. The end point 42 is also called an end event. The start point 41 and the end point 42 are located at both ends of the BPMN flowchart 4 in the X-axis direction of the XY coordinate system, that is, they are located at different positions in the X-axis direction. The start point 41 and the end point 42 may be located at different positions or the same position in the Y-axis direction.

[0041] An activity 43 corresponds to each task in the business process. A task (e.g., "pick item") extracted from the event log 7 is written in a box representing the activity 43. Multiple activities 43 are arranged at intervals between a start point 41 and an end point 42 in the X-axis direction.

[0042] A gateway 44 indicates the branching or joining of flows. Examples of gateways 44 include exclusive gateways, parallel gateways, inclusive gateways, complex gateways, and exclusive event gateways. An exclusive gateway indicates that a flow branches exclusively or that branched flows join. A parallel gateway indicates that a flow branches in parallel or that flows that were processed in parallel join synchronously. An inclusive gateway indicates that all defined conditions are evaluated and all matching branches are executed. A complex gateway is used to perform complex branching processing that cannot be expressed by the three types of gateways: exclusive, inclusive, and parallel. An exclusive event gateway indicates that the flow of the first received event is selected from multiple subsequent received events. Multiple gateways 44 are arranged at intervals between the start point 41 and the end point 42 in the X-axis direction.

[0043] The BPMN creator 24 analyzes information about the event log 7, and can select and place an appropriate gateway 44 in the flow from the information about the event log 7.

[0044] As shown in FIG. 5, the BPMN creator 24 places multiple gateways 44 and multiple activities 43 so that they are located on one of multiple virtual straight lines K1 that are parallel to the Y axis and spaced apart on the X axis. Here, the distance from the start point 41 to the immediately adjacent node is defined as L1. In this case, the distance from the start point 41 to any element in the group consisting of multiple gateways 44 and multiple activities 43 in the X axis direction (i.e., the distance from the start point 41 to any node in the X axis direction) can be expressed as L1×n (n is a natural number). In the present disclosure, the start point 41 is defined as the origin in the X axis direction, and information regarding the distance from the origin to each node may be referred to as "coordinate information."

[0045] The directed line 45 means a line segment with a direction. The directed line 45 can connect a pair of activities 43, connect a pair of gateways 44, or connect any one of a plurality of activities 43 to any one of a plurality of gateways 44.

[0046] A BPMN flowchart 4 can be created using, for example, the Inductive Miner algorithm. The Inductive Miner algorithm is an algorithm based on the following procedure. Explained roughly, first, the event log 7 is analyzed, division points (structures such as sequential, parallel, concurrent, and loop) within the log are detected, and the log is recursively divided to create sub-logs. Next, processing is recursively performed on the sub-logs until a simple process that cannot be divided any further is created. Finally, the business process is expressed using a gateway 44 defined in BPMN. This allows the BPMN creation unit 24 to create data related to a BPMN flowchart. However, an algorithm other than Inductive Miner may be used as long as it can create a BPMN flowchart 4.

[0047] The coordinate acquisition unit 25 acquires coordinate information for each of the multiple activities 43 in the BPMN flowchart 4. In the BPMN flowchart 4 according to this embodiment, for example, the same value is input as coordinate information for an activity 43A called "confirm order" and coordinate information for an activity 43B called "pay order." The coordinate information extracted by the coordinate acquisition unit 25 is associated with each activity 43 and recorded in the BPMN storage unit 32.

[0048] Process tree creation unit 26 reads information about event log 7 and executes a process tree creation process that automatically creates information about process tree 5 from the information about event log 7. By executing the process tree creation process, process tree creation unit 26 can draw and store process tree 5 in storage unit 31 (here, process tree storage unit 33).

[0049] 6, the process tree 5 is formed from a plurality of leaf activities 51, a plurality of operators 52, and edges 53 connecting the leaf activities 51 and the operators 52. The process tree 5 allows the logical connections between the leaf activities 51 to be recognized.

[0050] Each leaf activity 51 corresponds to a task in the business process. A task (e.g., "create package," "send package," or "package delivered") extracted from the event log 7 is written in the box representing the activity 43.

[0051] The operator 52 indicates the relationship between two or more leaf activities 51. Examples of the operator 52 include "seq," "xor," "xor loop," and "and." "seq" is an operator 52 that indicates that multiple leaf activities 51 connected at a lower level are executed one by one in sequence. "xor" is an operator 52 that indicates an exclusive selection, that is, selecting one of multiple leaf activities 51 connected at a lower level. "xor loop" is an operator that repeats processing based on a condition. "and" is an operator that indicates parallel processing. For example, in part A in Figure 6, the three leaf activities 51, "create package," "send package," and "package delivered," branch off from the operator 52, "seq." This indicates that the three tasks, "create package," "send package," and "package delivered," should be executed one by one in order.

[0052] The basic DFG creation unit 27 reads information related to the event log 7 and executes a basic DFG creation process that automatically creates information related to the basic DFG diagram 60 from the information related to the event log 7. The basic DFG creation unit 27 can create information related to the basic DFG diagram 60 that shows only the tracking relationships among multiple nodes 63, without considering the positional relationships among the individual nodes 63. By executing the basic DFG creation process, the basic DFG creation unit 27 can draw and store the basic DFG diagram 60 in the memory unit 31 (here, the basic DFG memory unit 34).

[0053] As shown in Figure 2, the basic DFG diagram 60 is formed from multiple nodes 61, 62, and 63 and multiple directed edges 64. Each of the nodes 61, 62, and 63 corresponds to a task in a business process. The first node among the multiple nodes 61, 62, and 63 is called the "start node 61," and the last node is called the "end node 62." The start node 61 and the end node 62 are located at opposite ends in the Y-axis direction, i.e., they are located at different positions in the Y-axis direction.

[0054] A directed edge 64 means a line segment with a direction. A directed edge 64 connects a pair of nodes 63. In the event log 7, the follow-up relationship between tasks can be obtained from the occurrence time (timestamp) of the task (activity), and thus a directed edge 64 can be formed.

[0055] The DFG creation unit 28 converts the position of the node 63 in the basic DFG diagram 60 into a hierarchical positional relationship and executes a node position change process to create data related to the DFG diagram 6. The node position change process reads information related to the basic DFG diagram 60 from the storage unit 31, and then refers to the coordinate information recorded in the BPMN storage unit 32 to change the position of the node 63 on the basic DFG diagram 60 while maintaining the connection between the nodes 61, 62, and 63 by the directed edge 64.

[0056] As shown in FIG. 3 , the DFG diagram 6 is formed from multiple nodes 61, 62, and 63 and multiple directed edges 64, similar to the basic DFG diagram 60. However, the arrangement of each node 63 differs from that of the basic DFG diagram 60. The position of the node 63 in the Y-axis direction is determined based on coordinate information acquired from the BPMN flowchart 4. That is, the positional relationship of the multiple nodes 63 in the Y-axis direction is determined based on the positional relationship of the multiple nodes 63 in the X-axis direction in the BPMN flowchart 4. For convenience of explanation, FIG. 3 shows an imaginary line K2 parallel to the X-axis, but this does not need to be drawn in the actual DFG diagram 6. In this embodiment, in the Y-axis direction, multiple nodes 61, 62, and 63 located on one imaginary line K2 may be referred to as "located in the same hierarchical level," and locations on different imaginary lines K2 may be referred to as "located in different hierarchical levels."

[0057] As shown in FIG. 5, in the BPMN flowchart 4, the activity 43A indicating "confirm order" and the activity 43B indicating "pay order" have the same value as their position coordinates. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 3, in the DFG diagram 6, the node 63A indicating "confirm order" and the node 63B indicating "pay order" are changed to be positioned at the same position along the Y axis. Furthermore, in the BPMN flowchart 4, the activity 43C indicating "pick item", the activity 43D indicating "create package", the activity 43E indicating "reorder item", the activity 43F indicating "failed delivery", and the activity 43G indicating "item out of stock" all have the same value as their position coordinates. Therefore, in the DFG diagram 6, the node 63C indicating "pick item", the node 63D indicating "create package", the node 63E indicating "reorder item", the node 63F indicating "failed delivery", and the node 63G indicating "item out of stock" are all changed to be positioned at the same position along the Y axis.

[0058] In this way, the DFG creation unit 28 can create information related to the DFG diagram 6. According to the DFG diagram 6 created by the DFG creation unit 28, tasks that have a relationship in terms of the nature of their processing (a conceptual or operational parallel relationship) can be arranged in the same hierarchy, making it possible to recognize the relationship between multiple tasks at a glance. In other words, according to the DFG diagram 6 of this embodiment, it is possible to recognize the relationship between multiple tasks at a glance while maintaining the advantage of being able to recognize the follow-up relationship between multiple tasks.

[0059] The node position adjustment unit 29 executes an adjustment process for adjusting the positional relationships in the Y-axis direction of a plurality of nodes 63 in the DFG diagram 6. The adjustment process is a process for adjusting the positional relationships between the nodes 63 to the correct positions when there is an error in the positional relationships between the nodes 61, 62, and 63 in the DFG diagram 6 created by the DFG creation unit 28, or when there is a deadlock in the flow in the BPMN flowchart 4. The node position adjustment unit 29 refers to information about the process tree 5, and in accordance with the operators 52, checks the positional relationships between the nodes 63 and adjusts the positional relationships of the nodes 63 so that they are in the correct positions.

[0060] For example, as shown in FIG. 6, the process tree 5 has a leaf activity 51 branched by the operator 52 "Seq" (part A). Based on the operator 52, it can be read that the three tasks "create package," "send package," and "package delivered" are tasks that should be executed one by one in order, as described above. In the DFG of FIG. 6 created by the DFG creation unit 28, if the three nodes 63 representing "create package," "send package," and "package delivered" are positioned at the same position along the Y-axis, the nodes 63 representing "create package," "send package," and "package delivered" can be adjusted to be positioned at different levels along the Y-axis based on the operator 52 of the process tree 5. The node position adjustment unit 29 can also adjust the nodes 63 positioned at different levels so that they are positioned at the same level based on the operator 52 of the process tree 5.

[0061] Other operators 52 are adjusted, for example, as follows: "xor" is an operator 52 indicating exclusive selection, so it can be read that any one of the multiple tasks hanging from the operator 52 is the task to be executed. Therefore, the multiple tasks hanging from this operator 52 are adjusted to be located at the same hierarchical level because they have a conceptual parallel relationship. "xor loop" is an operator that repeats processing based on a condition, so the multiple tasks hanging from the operator 52 are adjusted to be located at the same hierarchical level because they have a conceptual parallel relationship. "and" is an operator that indicates parallel processing, so the multiple tasks hanging from the operator 52 are adjusted to be located at the same hierarchical level.

[0062] (Storage unit 31) The storage unit 31 is a non-volatile memory that stores various types of information. Examples of the storage unit 31 include an HDD, an SSD, and a flash memory. As described above, the storage unit 31 stores an information processing program. The storage unit 31 has a BPMN storage unit 32 that can store information about a BPMN flowchart 4, a process tree storage unit 33 that can store information about a process tree 5, and a basic DFG storage unit 34 that can store information about a basic DFG diagram 60.

[0063] (Display processing unit 30) The display processing unit 30 outputs information about the DFG drawing 6 created by the generation processing unit 22 to the display unit 13, and executes a display process to display the DFG drawing 6 on the display unit 13. By executing the display process, the user can view the DFG drawing 6 displayed on the display unit 13.

[0064] (DFG creation process) The information processing steps (DFG creation processing) executed by the generation processing unit 22 in the information processing system 10 will be described below with reference to Fig. 7. The order of execution of each step in the information processing steps may be different as long as the same operational effect is achieved.

[0065] (Step S1 to Step S2) First, in step S1, the generation processing unit 22 reads information about the event log 7 input from the client terminal 1 and executes preprocessing. The preprocessing is executed by the preprocessing unit 23 in the generation processing unit 22.

[0066] (Step S3) Next, in step S3, the generation processing unit 22 executes a BPMN creation process to create information about a BPMN flowchart 4. By the BPMN creation process, a BPMN flowchart 4 such as that shown in FIG. 5 is automatically created in accordance with a predetermined algorithm. Information about the BPMN flowchart 4 created in the BPMN creation process is stored in the BPMN storage unit 32. The BPMN creation process is executed by the BPMN creation unit 24 in the generation processing unit 22.

[0067] (Step S4) Next, in step S4, the generation processing unit 22 analyzes information about the BPMN flowchart 4 generated in step S3 and obtains coordinate information of each activity 43 in the BPMN flowchart 4. The coordinate information obtained by the generation processing unit 22 is stored in the BPMN storage unit 32.

[0068] (Step S5) Next, in step S5, generation processing unit 22 executes a process tree creation process to create information about process tree 5. By the process tree creation process, a process tree 5 such as that shown in FIG. 6 is automatically created in accordance with a predetermined algorithm. Information about process tree 5 created in the process tree creation process is stored in process tree storage unit 33. The process tree creation process is executed by process tree creation unit 26 in generation processing unit 22.

[0069] (Step S6) Next, in step S6, the generation processing unit 22 executes a basic DFG creation process that creates information about the basic DFG. By the basic DFG creation process, a basic DFG diagram 60 such as that shown in FIG. 2 is automatically created in accordance with a predetermined algorithm. Information about the basic DFG diagram 60 created in the basic DFG creation process is stored in the basic DFG storage unit 34. The basic DFG creation process is executed by the basic DFG creation unit 27 in the generation processing unit 22.

[0070] (Step S7) Next, in step S7, the generation processing unit 22 executes a node position change process to change the position of the node 63 in the basic DFG diagram 60. By the node position change process, information relating to the DFG diagram 6 as shown in Fig. 3 is created. The node position change process is executed by the DFG creation unit 28 in the generation processing unit 22.

[0071] (Step S8) Next, in step S8, the generation processing unit 22 analyzes information about the process tree 5 generated in step S5, and executes adjustment processing for adjusting the positional relationships in the Y-axis direction of multiple nodes 63 in the DFG diagram 6. In the DFG diagram 6 created in step S7, the generation processing unit 22 checks whether the corresponding nodes 63 are placed in the correct positions according to the operators 52 in the process tree 5, and if they are not in the correct positions, repositions them to the correct positions. Furthermore, if a deadlock occurs in the BPMN flowchart 4, it is highly likely that the corresponding nodes 63 are not placed in the correct positions, so the generation processing unit 22 repositions the corresponding nodes 63 to the correct positions according to the operators 52.

[0072] (Step S9) The information about the DFG drawing 6 created by the generation processing unit 22 in step S8 is displayed on the display unit 13. That is, in step S9, the display processing unit 30 executes a display process to display the information about the DFG drawing 6 on the display unit 13.

[0073] (Variation) The information processing system 10 according to the above embodiment is realized using a server-client system in which the server 2 and the client terminal 1 are connected via a communication network N1. However, for example, as shown in Fig. 8, the functions of the information processing device may be integrated into one housing or one location. Also, unlike Fig. 8, the information processing system 10 may not have the display unit 13 and the input unit 11, and the information processing device itself may be the information processing system 10. Also, at least some of the functions of the information processing system 10 may be realized by the cloud (cloud computing) or the like.

[0074] In the information processing system 10 according to the above embodiment, the generation processing unit 22 creates information relating to the BPMN flowchart 4, information relating to the process tree 5, and information relating to the basic DFG diagram 60, but the information relating to the BPMN flowchart 4, information relating to the process tree 5, and information relating to the basic DFG diagram 60 may also be received from the outside, and the generation processing unit 22 may create the DFG diagram 6 based on this information.

[0075] The BPMN flowchart 4 in the present disclosure may be divided into lanes along the Y axis, each divided according to a role.

[0076] In the above embodiment, the X-axis direction is the horizontal direction and the Y-axis direction is the vertical direction in the XY coordinate system, but the X-axis direction may be the vertical direction and the Y-axis direction may be the horizontal direction. Also, when comparing the XY coordinate system in the BPMN flowchart with the XY coordinate system in the DFG figure 6, the X-axis direction and the Y-axis direction may be different.

[0077] In the above embodiment, when creating the DFG diagram 6, the DFG diagram 6 is created by referring to the BPMN flowchart 4, and then the placement relationship of the nodes 61, 62, and 63 is adjusted in accordance with the operator 52 of the process tree 5. However, this is not limiting, and the DFG diagram 6 may be created by simultaneously referring to the BPMN flowchart 4 and the operator 52 of the process tree 5. This case also falls within the scope of the adjustment processing by the generation processing unit 22.

[0078] In the above embodiment, coordinate information from the start point 41 to each activity 43 in the BPMN flowchart is obtained, but obtaining coordinate information also includes obtaining the distance between each activity 43.

[0079] It should be understood that the embodiments disclosed herein are illustrative in all respects and are not limiting in any respect. The scope of the present invention is defined not by the above description but by the claims, and it is intended to include all modifications within the meaning and scope of the claims. [Explanation of symbols]

[0080] 10 Information processing system, 1 Client terminal, 11 Input unit, 12 Control unit, 13 Display unit, 14 Communication I / F, 2 Server, 21 Reception unit, 22 Generation processing unit, 23 Preprocessing unit, 24 BPMN creation unit, 24, 25 Coordinate acquisition unit, 26 Process tree creation unit, 27 Basic DFG creation unit, 28 DFG creation unit, 29 Node position adjustment unit, 30 Display processing unit, 31 Memory unit, 32 BPMN memory unit, 33 Process tree memory unit, 34 Basic DFG memory unit, 35 Communication I / F, N1 Communication network, 4 BPMN flowchart, 41 Start point, 42 End point, 43 Activity, 44 Gateway, 45 Directed line, 5 Process tree, 51 Leaf activity, 52 Operator, 53 Edge, 6 DFG diagram, 60 Basic DFG diagram, 61 Start node, 62 End node, 63 Node, 64 Directed edge, 7 event log, K1 virtual line, K2 virtual line.

Claims

1. An information processing system capable of creating information relating to a diagram that visualizes a business process having multiple tasks, a processing unit that creates information on a DFG diagram showing transitions of a plurality of tasks by referencing information on a BPMN flowchart created based on Business Process Modeling Notation, the BPMN flowchart having a start point and an end point located at different positions in an X-axis direction in an XY coordinate system, with a plurality of activities corresponding to a plurality of tasks and a plurality of gateways indicating branching or joining of flows being located between the start point and the end point in the X-axis direction, and the business process being shown by connecting the activities and the gateways with a plurality of directed lines, The processing unit includes, as information about the DFG diagram, a start node and an end node are arranged at different positions in the Y-axis direction in an XY coordinate system, a plurality of nodes corresponding to a plurality of the tasks are arranged between the start node and the end node in the Y-axis direction, and the plurality of nodes are connected by directed edges that indicate the ante-post relationships of the plurality of tasks, thereby creating information regarding the DFG diagram, which shows the transition of the tasks; the processing unit has a DFG creation unit that arranges the plurality of nodes in the information about the DFG diagram, which correspond to the plurality of activities at the same position in the X-axis direction in the BPMN flowchart, at the same position in the Y-axis direction in the information about the DFG diagram, Information processing system.

2. the processing unit further includes a node position adjustment unit; the node position adjustment unit refers to a process tree including a plurality of leaf activities corresponding to a plurality of the tasks, operators indicating relationships among two or more of the leaf activities, and edges connecting the plurality of leaf activities and the operators, and adjusts the positional relationships in the Y-axis direction of the plurality of nodes in the information about the DFG diagram created by the DFG creation unit; The information processing system according to claim 1 .

3. The adjustment of the positional relationship in the Y-axis direction among the plurality of nodes is performed in accordance with the operator. The information processing system according to claim 2 .

4. further comprising a reception unit that receives input of information related to the event log; The processing unit a BPMN creation unit that creates information about the BPMN flowchart from information about the event log received by the reception unit; a coordinate acquisition unit that acquires coordinate information, which is information about a distance from the start point to each of the activities in an X-axis direction, in the information about the BPMN flowchart; the DFG creation unit determines a positional relationship in the Y-axis direction among the plurality of nodes and creates information about the DFG diagram based on the information about the event log received by the reception unit and the coordinate information extracted by the coordinate acquisition unit. The information processing system according to any one of claims 1 to 3.

5. The processing unit a process tree creation unit that creates information about the process tree from information about the event log received by the reception unit, the node position adjustment unit extracts the relationship between the operator and the leaf activity connected by the edge from information about the process tree created by the process tree creation unit, and adjusts the positional relationship in the Y-axis direction of the plurality of nodes in the information about the DFG diagram created by the DFG creation unit.

5. The information processing system according to claim 4, which recites claim 2.

6. further comprising an output processing unit that outputs information about the DFG diagram created by the processing unit to a display unit. The information processing system according to claim 1 .

7. An information processing program for causing one or more processors to execute an information processing step of creating information relating to a diagram that visualizes a business process having a plurality of tasks, The information processing step includes: a step of creating information on a DFG diagram showing transitions of a plurality of tasks by referencing information on a BPMN flowchart created based on Business Process Modeling Notation, wherein a start point and an end point are located at different positions in the X-axis direction of an XY coordinate system, and a plurality of activities corresponding to a plurality of tasks and a plurality of gateways indicating branching or joining of flows are located between the start point and the end point in the X-axis direction, and the business process is shown by connecting the plurality of activities and the plurality of gateways with a plurality of directed lines; The information processing step includes the following as information about the DFG diagram: a start node and an end node are arranged at different positions in the Y-axis direction in an XY coordinate system, a plurality of nodes corresponding to a plurality of the tasks are arranged between the start node and the end node in the Y-axis direction, and the plurality of nodes are connected by directed edges that indicate the ante-post relationships of the plurality of tasks, thereby creating information regarding the DFG diagram, which shows the transition of the tasks; the information processing step includes a step of executing a node position change process for arranging a plurality of the nodes in the information about the DFG diagram, which correspond to a plurality of the activities at the same position in the X-axis direction in the BPMN flowchart, at the same position in the Y-axis direction in the information about the DFG diagram. Information processing program.

8. The information processing step further includes a step of referring to a process tree including a plurality of leaf activities corresponding to a plurality of the tasks, an operator indicating a relationship between two or more of the leaf activities, and an edge connecting the plurality of leaf activities and the operator, and performing an adjustment process to adjust the positional relationship in the Y-axis direction of a plurality of the nodes in the information about the DFG diagram created by the step of performing the node position change process. The information processing program according to claim 7.

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