Information processing device and program

Abstract

An information processing device according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a generation unit that generates information in which drawing information related to input of data is arranged and information in which drawing information related to output of data is arranged in a procedure for data processing including input and output of the data.

Description

Information processing device and program

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

[0002] Robotics Process Automation (RPA) has become widespread as a means of improving the efficiency of work performed on business terminals in companies. For example, using an RPA tool such as "WinActor (registered trademark)" that automates the operation of a computer such as a PC (personal computer), a user creates an RPA scenario that describes the specific operation of the RPA tool.

[0003] Relatively many of these RPA scenarios involve the transcription of information. This transcription involves reading a value from an input source, performing some processing on that value, and then writing it to another output destination. Note that there may be multiple input sources and multiple output destinations.

[0004] NTT Advanced Technology Corporation, "What is WinActor?", retrieved May 28, 2024, URL: https: / / winactor.biz / rpa / winactor.html

[0005] In RPA scenarios such as those described above that are intended for transcription, the flowcharts displayed on the RPA scenario edit screen of conventional RPA tools have a section describing the control structure for controlling the RPA scenario and a section describing the flow of data handled by the RPA scenario, such as parameters, from the input source to the output destination, all on the same layer. This makes it difficult for users to understand the data flow from the input source to the output destination, preventing them from intuitively understanding the contents of the RPA scenario.

[0006] The present invention has been made in light of the above circumstances, and its purpose is to provide an information processing device and program that make it easy to understand the procedures from data input to output.

[0007] An information processing device according to one aspect of the present invention includes a generation unit that generates information in which drawing information related to the input of data is arranged, and information in which drawing information related to the output of data is arranged, in a data processing procedure including the input and output of data.

[0008] According to the present invention, it is possible to easily understand the procedure from data input to output.

[0009] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an application example of an information processing device according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of an input layer, a control layer, and an output layer. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of the procedure of each process in the input layer, the control layer, and the output layer. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of the relationship between the input layer, the control layer, and the output layer when source data is associated with the input layer and a display screen is associated with the output layer. FIG. 5 is a diagram explaining an example of changing the correspondence relationship between input layer parameters and output layer parameters. FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing an example of the hardware configuration of an information processing device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0010] An embodiment of the present invention will be described below. Fig. 1 is a diagram showing an application example of an information processing device according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in Fig. 1, an information processing device 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention includes an RPA scenario reading unit 10, a layer generating unit 20, a drawing unit 30, and an RPA scenario executing unit 40.

[0011] The RPA scenario reading unit 10 reads an existing RPA scenario, in this case information indicating the procedure for information processing from input, control, and output of predetermined data related to RPA, from the input source, which is the storage device within the information processing device 100 or an external device. Note that when an RPA scenario is newly created, no processing is performed by the RPA scenario reading unit 10.

[0012] The layer generation unit 20 generates information in which drawing information for various processes is arranged on multiple types of layers for drawing, which are divided into RPA scenarios read by the RPA scenario reading unit 10 or newly created RPA scenarios, and which are composed of an input layer, an output layer, and a control layer in this case. Specific examples of processing in each layer will be described later.

[0013] 2 is a diagram showing an example of an input layer, a control layer, and an output layer. The input layer (reference symbol a in FIG. 2) is information in which drawing information for processing related to data input, for example, data reading, of the RPA scenario is arranged, and the contents of other types of layers, i.e., the control layer and the output layer, are not described.

[0014] When there are multiple input sources that provide data to the input layer, an input layer corresponding to each of the input sources is generated. That is, the number of generated input layers corresponds to the number of input sources. For example, when the number of input sources is three, as shown in FIG. 2, a first input layer (symbol a) corresponding to the first input source, a second input layer (symbol a1) corresponding to the second input source, and a third input layer (symbol a2) corresponding to the third input source are generated.

[0015] The control layer (symbol b in Figure 2) is information in which drawing information for control processing for controlling the RPA scenario is arranged, and the contents of other types of layers, i.e., the input layer and output layer, are not described.

[0016] The output layer (symbol c in Figure 2) is information in which drawing information for the process of writing data output from the RPA scenario, for example, data to be output based on data obtained by reading, or data to be output after processing by the control layer, to output information in a specified format, which is the output destination, is arranged; the contents of other types of layers, i.e., the input layer and control layer, are not described.

[0017] When the number of output destinations of data from the output layer is multiple, an output layer corresponding to each of the output destinations is generated. That is, the number of generated output layers corresponds to the number of output destinations. For example, when the number of output destinations is two, as shown in FIG. 2, a first output layer (code c) corresponding to the first output destination and a second output layer (code c1) corresponding to the second output destination are generated.

[0018] In this embodiment, drawing arrows such as those shown in Figure 2 are generated to indicate data exchange between each generated layer, i.e., between the input layer and the control layer, between the output layer and the control layer, or between the input layer and the output layer.

[0019] When a new RPA scenario is created, the layer generation unit 20 generates a predetermined format as an initial value that supports the description of the contents of data processing in the input layer, output layer, and control layer.

[0020] The drawing unit 30 draws various pieces of drawing information generated by the layer generation unit 20 on an RPA scenario display screen of a display device within the information processing device 100 or an external display device. The RPA scenario execution unit 40 executes each process described in the RPA scenario read by the RPA scenario reading unit 10. When an RPA scenario is newly created as described above, the RPA scenario execution unit 40 executes each process described in the created RPA scenario. In this embodiment, the RPA scenario is expressed by distinguishing it into multiple types of layers, making it possible to express the flow of data in a way that makes it easy for the user to follow.

[0021] 3 is a diagram showing an example of the procedures of each process in the input layer, control layer, and output layer. As shown in FIG. 3, the input layer has GUI (Graphical User Interface) components related to, for example, reading values ​​from an input source. The output layer has GUI components related to, for example, writing values ​​to an output destination. This writing includes, for example, direct input of values ​​into a text box, but is not limited to this, and can also include actions on GUI components, such as user operation of a check box.

[0022] The control layer contains GUI components related to processes other than those in the input layer and the output layer, such as conditional branching using IF statements, loop definitions using FOR statements, and conversion processes for values ​​read in the input layer.

[0023] The various layers may be represented in three dimensions as shown in FIG. 3, or may be displayed side-by-side in two dimensions.

[0024] Specifically, the various layers perform the following processing: when a user presses (S1) "Register new purchase history" on the system display screen (hereinafter simply referred to as the display screen) displayed on the information processing terminal operated by the user in the output layer (symbol c in FIG. 3), the input layer (symbol a in FIG. 3) reads (S2) the product name of a product purchased by a certain user, such as "pencil" or "notebook," from the new purchase history data that is the input source, and the output layer enters this read product name into the product name input field of the product information on the display screen (S3).

[0025] After S2, the input layer reads the purchase method of the purchased item from the input source (S4).Then, the control layer (symbol b in FIG. 3) determines whether the read purchase method is "in-store" or "electronic commerce (EC)" (S5).

[0026] If the result of the determination in S5 is that the read purchase method is "in-store" (Yes in S5), the output layer sets the "in-store" check box in the purchase method column of the product information on the display screen to on (S6).

[0027] If the result of the determination in S5 is that the read purchase method is "EC" (No in S5), the output layer sets the "EC" check box in the purchase method column on the display screen to on (S7).

[0028] After S6 or S7, the input layer reads the "customer ID" from the input source (S8), which is the identification information of the customer who purchased the product, and the output layer enters this read "customer ID" into the customer ID input field of the customer information on the display screen (S9).

[0029] FIG. 4 illustrates an example of the relationship between the input layer, control layer, and output layer when the input layer corresponds to the data from the input source and the output layer corresponds to the display screen. In the example shown in FIG. 4 , the layer generation unit 20 uses the actual data from the input source (reference symbol a in FIG. 4 ) for the input layer and a captured image of the actual display screen (reference symbol c in FIG. 4 ) for the output layer. The layer generation unit 20 generates drawing information by adding arrows indicating data exchange between layers to the data and the captured image. That is, the layer generation unit 20 generates information in which drawing information including information indicating a list of data read from the input source and information indicating a list of data written to the output information is arranged. The drawing unit 30 then draws this drawing information together on the RPA scenario display screen of the information processing terminal used by the user. In this case, the user can more intuitively handle RPA scenarios such as transcription.

[0030] The control layer is described between the input layer and the output layer, as shown in the box (symbol b in FIG. 4 ) in FIG. 4 . The RPA scenario display screen shown in FIG. 4 shows the correspondence between the data in the input layer and the output layer, including the correspondence between the product name in the input layer data (symbol m11 in FIG. 4 ) and the product name on the output layer display screen (symbol m12 in FIG. 4 ), the correspondence between the purchase method in the input layer data (symbol m21 in FIG. 4 ) and the purchase method on the output layer display screen (symbol m22 in FIG. 4 ), and the correspondence between the customer ID in the input layer data (symbol m31 in FIG. 4 ) and the customer ID on the output layer display screen (symbol m32 in FIG. 4 ). The arrows, which start on the input layer side and end on the output layer side, indicate the correspondence between the product information and customer information in the output layer of the RPA scenario display screen. Furthermore, the display screen for product information and customer information in the output layer of the RPA scenario display screen shows a confirm button (symbol m4 in FIG. 4 ) that is operated by the user to confirm the various pieces of information entered as described above.

[0031] Incidentally, the product information and customer information display screen in the output layer, which corresponds to symbol c in Figure 4, is the screen that is displayed by transitioning from this screen when the user selects "New purchase history registration" on the menu screen, which corresponds to symbol c11 in Figure 4.

[0032] When the display screen of the output layer transitions in this manner, in the example shown in Figure 4, the source and destination screens are displayed side by side horizontally, and when the user selects the desired screen from the source and destination screens, the input layer and control layer corresponding to the output layer related to this screen, i.e., the input layer and control layer that exchange data with the output layer, are drawn and displayed.

[0033] Furthermore, when a process that is repeated multiple times, such as an FOR statement, is defined in the control layer, in the example shown in Figure 4, the display screens for each process are displayed side by side, including the display screen for the most recent process according to the FOR statement (symbol c in Figure 4) and the display screen for the process immediately before the most recent process according to the FOR statement (symbol c12 in Figure 4), and when the user selects the display screen for the desired process, the corresponding input layer and control layer are drawn and the RPA scenario display screen is displayed. Also, the menu screen corresponding to symbol c13 in Figure 4 is the screen before transition when the product information and customer information display screen corresponding to symbol c12 in Figure 4 is the transition destination.

[0034] 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of changing the correspondence between input layer parameters and output layer parameters. In the example shown in Fig. 5, the correspondence between the parameters of the input layer and the output layer is represented by arrows connecting the layers and drawn on the RPA scenario display screen.

[0035] On this screen, the user can change the correspondence between the input layer parameters and the output layer parameters by shifting the start or end point of the arrow on the screen using drag and drop with the mouse, etc.

[0036] In the example shown in FIG. 5 , before the correspondence is changed by the drawing unit 30, an arrow indicating the correspondence between the product name of the input layer data (reference symbol m11 in FIG. 5 ) and the product name on the output layer display screen (reference symbol m12 in FIG. 5 ) is displayed on the RPA scenario display screen. Then, in response to a user operation, the layer generation unit 20 changes the end on the input layer side, which is the starting point of this arrow, from the product name of the input layer data (reference symbol m11 in FIG. 5 ) to the product ID of the input layer data (reference symbol m11-1 in FIG. 5 ). Following this change, in response to a user operation, the layer generation unit 20 changes the end on the output layer side, which is the end point of the above arrow, from the product name on the output layer display screen (reference symbol m12 in FIG. 5 ) to the product ID of the output layer display screen (reference symbol m12-1 in FIG. 5 ).

[0037] With this change, the drawing unit 30 will display an arrow on the RPA scenario display screen indicating the correspondence between the product ID (symbol m11-1 in Figure 5) of the input layer data and the product ID (symbol m12-1 in Figure 5) of the output layer display screen.

[0038] In this embodiment, as described above, by displaying the input layer and output layer of the RPA scenario separately, the user can intuitively grasp the correspondence between the parameters of the input layer and the output layer and modify this through operations.

[0039] Furthermore, in this embodiment, as described above, in addition to the correspondence of parameters between the input layer and the output layer, the correspondence between the processing of the input layer and the processing of the control layer, or the correspondence between the processing of the output layer and the processing of the control layer, can also be modified by user operation.

[0040] 6 is a block diagram showing an example of the hardware configuration of an information processing device according to an embodiment of the present invention. In the example shown in FIG. 6, the information processing device 100 according to the embodiment is configured, for example, by a server computer or a personal computer, and has a hardware processor 111A such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit). A program memory 111B, a data memory 112, an input / output interface 113, and a communication interface 114 are connected to this hardware processor 111A via a bus 115.

[0041] The communication interface 114 includes, for example, one or more wireless communication interface units, and enables transmission and reception of information to and from a communication network. As the wireless interface, for example, an interface that adopts a low-power wireless data communication standard such as a wireless LAN (Local Area Network) is used.

[0042] An input device 200 and an output device 300 attached to the information processing device 100 and used by a user or the like are connected to the input / output interface 113. The input / output interface 113 can take in operation data input by a user or the like through the input device 200 such as a keyboard, a touch panel, a touchpad, or the like, and can output and display output data to an output device 300 including a display device using a liquid crystal or an organic electroluminescence (EL) display, or the like. The input device 200 and the output device 300 may be devices built into the information processing device 100, or may be input devices and output devices of other information terminals that can communicate with the information processing device 100 via a network.

[0043] The program memory 111B is a non-transitory tangible storage medium that is a combination of a non-volatile memory that can be written to and read from at any time, such as a hard disk drive (HDD) or a solid state drive (SSD), and a non-volatile memory such as a read only memory (ROM), and can store programs necessary to execute various control processes, etc., according to one embodiment.

[0044] The data memory 112 is a tangible storage medium that is, for example, a combination of the above-mentioned nonvolatile memory and a volatile memory such as RAM (Random Access Memory), and can be used to store various data or information acquired and created during various processes.

[0045] An information processing apparatus 100 according to one embodiment of the present invention can be configured as an information processing apparatus having the units shown in FIG. 1 as software-based processing function units.

[0046] The information storage unit used as a work memory or the like by each unit of the information processing device 100 can be configured by using the data memory 112 shown in Fig. 6. However, these configured storage areas are not essential components within the information processing device 100, and may be areas provided in an external storage medium such as a USB (Universal Serial Bus) memory, or a storage device such as a database server located in the cloud.

[0047] The processing function units in each of the above units can be realized by reading and executing a program stored in the program memory 111B by the hardware processor 111A. Note that some or all of these processing function units may be realized in various other forms, including integrated circuits such as an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC) or a field-programmable gate array (FPGA).

[0048] The methods described in each embodiment can be stored as a program (software means) that can be executed by a computer on a recording medium such as a magnetic disk (floppy disk, hard disk, etc.), optical disk (CD-ROM, DVD, MO, etc.), or semiconductor memory (ROM, RAM, flash memory, etc.), and can also be distributed by transmitting it via a communication medium. The program stored on the medium also includes a configuration program that configures the software means (including not only execution programs but also tables or data structures) that the computer executes. The computer that realizes this device reads the program stored on the recording medium and, in some cases, configures the software means using the configuration program, and executes the above-mentioned processing by controlling the operation of this software means. The term "recording medium" as used herein is not limited to a storage medium for distribution, but also includes a storage medium such as a magnetic disk or semiconductor memory installed inside the computer or in a device connected via a network.

[0049] The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications can be made in the implementation stage without departing from the spirit of the invention. Furthermore, the embodiments may be implemented in appropriate combinations, in which case the combined effects can be obtained. Furthermore, the above-described embodiments include various inventions, and various inventions can be extracted by combining selected elements from the disclosed elements. For example, if the problem can be solved and the desired effect can be obtained even if some elements are deleted from all elements shown in the embodiments, the configuration from which these elements are deleted can be extracted as an invention.

[0050] 100... Information processing device 10... RPA scenario reading unit 20... Layer generation unit 30... Drawing unit 40... RPA scenario execution unit

Claims

1. An information processing device having a generation unit that generates information in which drawing information related to the input of data is arranged, and information in which drawing information related to the output of data is arranged, in a data processing procedure including the input and output of data.

2. The information processing device of claim 1, wherein the input of the data includes a process of reading the data, the output of the data includes a process of writing data to be output based on the data obtained by the reading into output information which is the output destination, and the generation unit generates information comprising drawing information in which symbols indicating a correspondence between the data to be read by the reading process and the data to be written into the output information by the writing process are placed.

3. The information processing device according to claim 2, wherein the data processing includes processing other than the reading processing and other than the writing processing, and the generation unit generates information comprising drawing information in which a symbol indicating that processing other than the reading processing and other than the writing processing will be performed on the data obtained by the reading processing, and a symbol indicating that processing will be performed to write the processed data into the output information, is placed.

4. The information processing device according to claim 2, wherein the generation unit generates information in which drawing information including at least one of information indicating a list of data obtained by the reading process and information indicating a list of data written to the output information by the writing process is arranged.

5. The information processing device of claim 2, wherein the generation unit changes the correspondence between the data to be read by the reading process and the data to be written to the output information by the writing process by performing an operation to change the display position of a symbol in the drawing information indicating the correspondence between the data to be read by the reading process and the data to be written to the output information by the writing process.

6. An information processing program that causes a processor to function as each part of the information processing device according to any one of claims 1 to 5.

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