Simulated Workflow Navigation for Non-Enabled Tasks
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing workflow systems do not allow users to effectively navigate and enable non-enabled tasks within a workflow without performing intermediate tasks, limiting user interaction and insight into task states.
Innovation Solution
A system generates a simulated workflow as a Petri net, enabling users to navigate through a state where selected non-enabled tasks are enabled, by determining suitable states based on identified enabled tasks and allowing navigation through the simulated workflow, which includes context-specific help and direct access to non-enabled tasks.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If users access only enabled tasks in the actual workflow, then system reliability is maintained, but user interaction and insight into task states are limited
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates a simulated workflow that is a copy of the actual workflow, allowing users to explore non-enabled tasks in the simulation without affecting the integrity of the actual workflow. The simulated workflow mirrors the structure and tasks of the actual workflow but permits navigation to states that would otherwise be inaccessible.
Solution Approach 2:
The simulated workflow acts as an intermediary between the user and the actual workflow. It provides a safe environment for users to explore task states and understand workflow behavior without directly manipulating the actual workflow, thus maintaining reliability while enhancing adaptability.
2Ease of operation
If users perform intermediate tasks to reach non-enabled tasks, then workflow integrity is maintained, but navigation efficiency and user convenience deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The system pre-generates the simulated workflow with all possible task states and transitions already defined. This preliminary preparation allows users to navigate directly to any task state in the simulation without having to perform intermediate tasks, as the navigation paths are pre-computed and validated.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of requiring users to forward-progress through intermediate tasks to reach non-enabled tasks (the normal workflow direction), the simulated workflow allows reverse navigation and direct access to any task state, inverting the traditional sequential execution model to prioritize user convenience.
3Adaptability or versatility
If the workflow allows direct access to non-enabled tasks, then user convenience improves, but system complexity and state management difficulty increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the workflow into two distinct components: the actual workflow that maintains strict state integrity and the simulated workflow that provides flexible exploration. This segmentation isolates the complexity of state management to the simulation layer, where it can be handled without risking the actual workflow's reliability.
Solution Approach 2:
The simulated workflow serves as an intermediary layer that absorbs the complexity of managing multiple task states and transitions. It handles the state management challenges of allowing direct access to non-enabled tasks while protecting the actual workflow from these complexities through a one-way mapping relationship.
Data Source
AI summary
An enabled task accessed by a user within a workflow is identified. The workflow is expressed as a Petri net and includes enabled tasks and non-enabled tasks. A non-enabled task selected by a user is identified, and a suitable state that enables the non-enabled state is determined based on the identified enabled task. A simulated workflow for the selected non-enabled task is generated based on the determined suitable state. The simulated workflow is expressed as a Petri net. The user is enabled to navigate through the simulated workflow.