JP2000172770A - System cooperation apparatus and method - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] [Problem] To realize real-time cooperation between different business support systems. SOLUTION: A workflow management system 1010 and E
Application system 1020 such as RP system
Are converted using the data conversion rule database 1080 and the operation conversion rule database 1090 created in advance, and re-issued in the format of the receiver. Also, monitoring items are set, and the data items are stored in the workflow management system 10.
When the change is made in one of the application system 10 and the application system 1020, the change is notified to the other and automatically updated.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to different business support systems, for example, a workflow management system for automating the flow of document-based business and controlling the circulation of digitized documents, and an application system for integrated management of corporate management resources. And a method for linking with.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Various types of systems exist as software for supporting business. For example, a workflow management system defines a document-based business process and automatically controls circulation of digitized documents according to the definition. Electronic documents are forms, slips, materials,
A document such as a design document is digitized. JP-A-08-
Japanese Patent Publication No. 153068 discloses an example of such a workflow management system.

[0003] In addition, ERP (Enterprise Resource Plan)
The ning) system is intended to support all core operations in the back office such as ordering and inventory management, and to prevent duplication of data from being held and changed while maintaining data consistency, thereby supporting the operations.

Conventionally, as a method of linking such a workflow management system and a different business support system such as an ERP system, there has been a cooperation method using batch processing. This cooperation method is, for example, one
The update data for the day is transferred to the system of the cooperation destination by batch processing, and the database of the cooperation destination system is updated, thereby realizing the cooperation between the two systems.

[0005]

However, in the above-mentioned prior art, since the update data is transferred in batches, the data cannot be updated in real time. Also, it was not possible to issue an operation online and exchange data with a partner system.

An object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus and a method for exchanging data with a partner system and updating data in real time without being aware of differences between systems in cooperation between different business support systems. Is to provide.

[0007]

An inter-system linking apparatus according to the present invention is an apparatus for linking a first business support system and a second business support system. Examples of the business support system include a workflow management system that controls the circulation of digitized documents, an ERP system that manages data necessary for corporate management, and an SFA (Sale) that supports sales operations.
s Force Automation) system.

[0008] Of the data items of the first database of the first business support system and the data items of the second database of the second business support system,
A monitoring item database that manages data items having a predetermined relationship (for example, logically related data items) as a pair of monitoring target items, a data format of the monitoring target item in the first database, and a second database A data conversion rule database that manages conversion rules between the data formats of the monitored items of the first database and the equivalent operations of the operations on the monitored items of the first database and the operations on the monitored items of the second database An operation conversion rule database that manages the operations in association with each other, converts an operation issued by one of the first and second business support systems into an operation for the other business support system, and issues the operation The first and second business support systems If the data is passed to the other one of the business support system from one, and converting the data into a data format in the other business support systems.

Further, the second inter-system linking apparatus according to the present invention is a system for storing data items of a first database of a first business support system and data items of a second database of a second business support system. Among them, a monitoring item database that manages data items having a predetermined relationship as a pair of monitoring target items, a data format of the monitoring target item of the first database, and a data format of the monitoring target item of the second database. A data conversion rule database that manages conversion rules between, and an operation conversion rule that associates and manages equivalent operations among operations on a monitoring target item of the first database and operations on a monitoring target item of the second database. Database and a first and second business support system When detecting a change in the monitored item Re or in one, with respect to the other operational support system,
An operation for updating a corresponding monitoring target item is issued.

[0010] The inter-system cooperation method according to the present invention is a first method.
This is a method of linking the second business support system with the second business support system. When an operation is issued from one of the first and second business support systems to the other business support system, the operation in the other business support system equivalent to the operation is read from the operation conversion rule database. If the data is transferred from one of the first and second business support systems to the other business support system when the operation is issued, the other operation is performed. In the business support system, a data format having a predetermined relationship with the data is searched from the data conversion rule database, and the data value converted into the acquired data format is transferred.

[0011] Further, a second inter-system cooperation method according to the present invention is characterized in that a data item of the first database provided in the first business support system and a data item of the second database provided in the second business support system are provided. Among them, a data item having a predetermined relationship is set as a pair of monitoring target items, and when the set monitoring target item is changed in one of the first and second databases, the data item of the other paired database is changed. It is characterized in that a data item is updated.

A business support system according to the present invention is a business support system that can cooperate with another business support system, and includes a first database that manages data relating to its own system, and inter-system cooperation means. Then, the inter-system linking means sets a data item having a predetermined relationship among a data item of the first database and a data item of the second database of another business support system as a pair of monitoring target items. A monitoring item database to be managed; a data conversion rule database to manage conversion rules between the data format of the monitoring target item in the first database and the data format of the monitoring target item in the second database; It has an operation conversion rule database for managing equivalent operations among the operations for the items to be monitored and the operations for the items to be monitored in the second database, and performs one of the own system and another business management system. The operation issued by the other business support If the data is transferred from one of the own system and another business support system to the other business support system when the operation is issued, the data is converted to the other business support system. It is characterized in that it is converted into a data format.

[0013] In the second business support system according to the present invention, the inter-system linking means may include a data item of the first database and a data item of the second database of the second business support system. A monitoring item database that manages a data item having a predetermined relationship as a pair of monitoring target items, and a data format of the monitoring target item of the first database and a data format of the monitoring target item of the second database. A data conversion rule database that manages the conversion rules of the above, and an operation conversion rule database that manages the equivalent operations of the operations on the items to be monitored in the first database and the operations on the items to be monitored in the second database in association with each other And any of the first and second databases When detecting a change in the monitored item or in one, with respect to the other database, and issues a corresponding operation to update the monitored item.

According to the present invention, since operations and data are automatically converted and transferred between different business support systems to the format at the cooperating destination, additional programs can be developed even when the formats of the operations and data are different. It is possible to perform cooperation without performing.

Further, according to the present invention, in the first and second databases, items having a predetermined relationship are set as items to be monitored, so that changes in one of the databases are transferred to the other. Is reflected and updated in real time, so that there is no need to duplicate the update work.

In the above case, in order to support the creation of the monitoring item database and the like, the data items of the first and second databases are displayed on the screen, and the predetermined relationship which the user has interactively selected and entered is displayed. The stored data items may be stored in the monitoring item database. Also,
A request message of a conversion rule between the data format of the monitoring target item of the first database and the data format of the monitoring target item of the second database is displayed on the screen, and the data conversion determined and input interactively by the user The rules may be stored in a data conversion rule database. Further, the operation for the monitoring target item of the first database and the operation for the monitoring target item of the second database are extracted and displayed on the screen, and equivalent operations interactively associated by the user are compared with each other in the operation conversion rule database. May be stored.

[0017]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a diagram for explaining a cooperation system of different business support systems according to the present invention. Here, a method in which the workflow management system 1010 and the application system 1020 are linked by the link component 1050 will be described.

The workflow management system 1010 controls circulation of the digitized document 6010, and is a database (hereinafter, referred to as a workflow DB) 1 for managing data used by the workflow management system 1010.
030.

The application system 1020 includes:
It manages inventory parts and has a database (hereinafter referred to as an application DB) for managing data used by the application system 1020. As shown in FIG.
Reference numeral 40 designates “part name”, “unit price”,
It manages “stock quantity” and so on.

The coordination component 1050 is software between the workflow management system 1010 and the application system 1020 for coordinating the two. As shown in FIG.
Reference numeral 50 denotes a monitoring item database (hereinafter, referred to as a monitoring item DB) 1070, and a data conversion rule database (hereinafter, referred to as a monitoring item database).
Data conversion rule DB) 1080 and operation conversion rule database (hereinafter referred to as operation conversion rule DB) 1090.

The monitoring item DB 1070 stores the workflow D
It is a database that manages database items that are logically related by B1030 and the application DB 1040 as monitoring target items. Note that the logically related data items are, for example, when certain data is changed, such as the “delivery quantity” updated with the delivery of ordered parts and the “stock quantity” to which the delivery quantity is added, Along with this, it refers to a data item that has a relationship to be updated.

The data conversion rule DB 1080 is a database that manages the data format of the items to be monitored in the workflow DB 1030 and the application DB 1040, and the conversion rules between them.

The operation conversion rule DB 1090 is
It is a database that manages the correspondence of equivalent operations among the operations on the monitoring target items in the workflow DB 1030 and the operations on the monitoring target items in the application DB 1040.

The definition means 1060 stores the management item DB 107
0, which is used when creating the data conversion rule DB 1080 and the operation conversion rule DB 1090. The definition means 1060 includes display means for presenting necessary information to the user and displaying a definition screen for prompting necessary input, and input means for inputting necessary information.

The user uses the definition means 1060 to
Workflow DB 1030 and application DB1
Of the data items (attributes) in 040, logically related items are set as monitoring target items, and among operations for inquiring and updating data values, equivalent operations are associated with each other. , And data conversion rules.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of a hardware configuration of a system in which the cooperative system according to the present invention is implemented. The workflow management system 1010 includes a network 100
It runs on the workflow server 10010 and the workflow client 10030 connected at 50.
The workflow server 10010 is a server machine that provides necessary services to the workflow client 10030 in the workflow management system 1010. The workflow client 10030 uses the service provided by the workflow server 10010 in the workflow management system 1010 to
This is a client machine that circulates the digitized document 6010.

On the other hand, the application system 102
0 runs on the application server 10020 and the application client 10040 connected by the network 10051. application·
The server 10020 is the application system 10
At 20, the application client 100
40 is a server machine that provides necessary services.
The application client 10040 is a client machine that performs a predetermined process using a service provided by the application server 10020 in the application system 1020.

Cooperative component server 10060
Is a server machine on which the cooperative component 1050 operates, and is connected to the network 10052.
The cooperative component server 10051 includes a display device such as a CRT display and an input device such as a keyboard, and also functions as the definition unit 1060.

The networks 10050 and 1005
1, 10052 are connected by appropriate means. Needless to say, the connection form of each hardware component is not limited to this, and for example, the connection component server 10060 may be connected to the network 100
50 or the network 10051 may be connected.

The workflow server 10010, the workflow client 10030, the application
Server 10020, application client 1
0040, the cooperative component server 10060
For example, a normal personal computer (PC),
It is composed of a computer system such as a workstation (WS).

Next, the operation of the workflow management system 1010 shown in FIG. 1 will be described. The workflow management system 1010 controls circulation of the digitized document 6010 based on the business process definition 6020.

The business process definition 6020 includes the node 60
The processing content and the order (business process) of the digitized document 6010 are defined by the arrow 30 and the arrow 604. Node 6
030 is the processing content of the digitized document in each step.
It describes the user in charge of processing and the like. Arrow 604
0 orders the processing indicated by each node 6030.

The business process definition 6020 shown in FIG.
This is a simplified flow of a part purchase sequence.
As shown in the figure, the business process definition 6020 is composed of five nodes 6030 of “quotation request”, “quotation”, “approval”, “order placement”, and “delivery”. A document flow 6050 shows a state of a change in a data item accompanying circulation of the digitized document 6010. Each node 6030
Is defined as follows.

(1) Request for quote: A digitized document 6010 in which the “part name” and “quantity” of the part to be purchased are entered is issued.

(2) Estimation: If the contents of the request of the digitized document 6010 issued by the previous node are examined and an estimate is made, the total estimated price is calculated, and the calculated amount is converted to the digitized document 6.
Fill in “Price” of 010 and send it to the next node.
When calculating the estimated total cost,
The system 1020 is queried for the "unit price" of the component.

(3) Approval: The contents of the estimate of the digitized document 6010 are examined, and if OK, it is transmitted to the next node.

(4) Ordering: An electronic document 6010 is transmitted to an external manufacturer to perform an ordering operation.

(5) Delivery: It is checked whether or not the ordered parts have been delivered without mistake, the digitized document 6010 is stored, and the business process is terminated. The “quantity” of the delivered parts is reflected in the “stock number” of the application DB 1040.

The data items “part name”, “quantity”, and “price” of the digitized document 6010 circulated by the workflow management system 1010 are all data items stored in the workflow DB 1030 and referenced by the circulation destination. The workflow DB 1030 has an area for storing these. On the other hand, detailed information of the parts to be purchased is stored in the application DB 1040, and the workflow management system 1010 uses data of the application system 1020 as necessary.

The workflow DB 103 logically related to the data items in the application DB 1040
When the data item in 0 is changed, the data item in the application DB 1040 is also changed in real time.

In order to realize the above-described processing, the workflow management system 1010 and the application system 1020 exchange operations or data via the cooperation component 1050.

Next, the operation of the cooperation component 1050 will be described. The main operation of the cooperation component 1050 is roughly classified into the following two.

(I) Workflow management system 1010
The application and the application system 1020 convert the operation and the data format according to the recipient, and pass it to the recipient.

(Ii) When there is a change in one of the workflow DB 1030 and the application DB 1040 for the monitoring target item, an operation for updating the other database is automatically issued.
Automatically reflect one change to the other.

In order to realize such an operation, the cooperative component 1050 uses a monitoring target item DB 1070, a data conversion rule DB 1080, and an operation conversion rule DB 1090.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a configuration example of the monitoring item DB 1070. As shown in FIG.
0 is “monitoring target item NO” 2010, “workflow DB item” 2020, and “application DB item”
It has 2030 three fields.

The monitoring target item number field 2010 stores an identifier (monitoring target item number) automatically given to a pair of logically related data items.
In the workflow DB item field 2020 and the application DB item field 2030, the item name of the workflow DB 1030 and the application DB10
Forty item names are stored.

In the example of FIG. 3, for example, a workflow DB
The “quantity” of the application DB 1030 and the “stock” (monitoring item number 2) of the application DB 1040 are logically related, and the “price” of the workflow DB 1030 and the “unit price” of the application DB 1040 (monitoring item number 3) ) Are logically related.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a configuration example of the data conversion rule DB 1080. As shown in the figure, the data conversion rule DB 1080 stores “monitoring target item number” 2010,
"Workflow DB data format" 3010, "Application DB data format" 3020 and "conversion rule" 3
030 has four fields.

The monitored item number field 2010 stores the aforementioned monitored item number. The monitoring target item number corresponds to the monitoring target item in the monitoring item DB 1070. The workflow DB data format field 3010 stores the data format of the monitoring target item in the workflow management system 1010. Application DB data format field 302
In 0, the data format of the monitoring target item in the application system 1020 is stored. The conversion rule field 3030 includes the workflow management system 101
For a monitoring target item having a different data format between 0 and the application system 1020, a data conversion rule between the two is stored.

In the example of FIG. 4, for example, a workflow DB
The data format of “price” (monitoring item number 3) of 1030 is “numerical value (￥)”, and the application DB 1040
The data format of “unit price” (monitoring target item number 3) is “numeric value (＄)”, and the conversion rule of both is “$ 1.00 =
$ 140 ".

FIG. 5 shows the operation conversion rule DB 10
FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a configuration example of a 90. As shown in the figure, the operation conversion rule DB 1090 stores “monitoring target item N
O "2010," Workflow DB operation "4
010 and “Application DB operation” 4
020.

The monitoring target item number field 2010 stores the above monitoring target item number. The monitoring target item number corresponds to the monitoring target item of the monitoring item DB 1070, the data format of the data conversion rule DB 1080, and the like. Workflow DB operation
The field 4010 stores the operation in the workflow management system 1010 for the corresponding monitoring target item. The application DB operation field 4020 stores the operation in the application system 1020 for the corresponding monitoring target item. In the workflow DB operation field 4010 and the application DB operation field 4020, equivalents are stored in one record.

In the example of FIG. 5, for example, a workflow DB
The operation for “price” (monitoring item number 3) in 1030 is “get_unit_price”, and the operation for “unit price” (monitoring item number 3) in the application DB 1040 is “get_value”.

Next, at the time of creating these three databases, the cooperation component 1050 and the definition means 106
The operation of 0 will be described.

FIG. 6 shows a monitoring item DB 1070, a data conversion rule DB 1080, and an operation conversion rule DB.
10 is a flowchart illustrating a procedure for creating a 1090.
As shown in the figure, this procedure is performed in processing step S5010.
To S5120.

The coordination component 1050 first has a workflow DB 1030 and an application DB 104
0 (for example, workflow D)
B1030 “parts name”, “quantity”, “price” and application DB 1040 “parts name”, “unit price”, “stock quantity”) are displayed on the definition means 1060 as workflow DB items and application DB items ( S
5010).

Then, the user selects logically related data items from the workflow DB items and the application DB items on the definition screen, and interactively determines them as a pair.

On the other hand, the cooperation component 105
0 writes this pair of items in one record of the monitoring item DB 1070. Then, for the pair of written items, a monitoring target item number for uniquely identifying the item pair is automatically issued for the same record, and stored in the monitoring target item NO field 2010. A complete record is generated (S5020).

Next, it is checked whether or not other data items having a logical relationship with each other remain (S503).
0), while such data items remain (S50).
30: Yes), the registration work of S5010 to S5020 is repeatedly performed. When the registration process is completed for all necessary data items (S5030: No),
The creation of the monitoring item DB 1070 is completed.

When the creation of the monitoring item DB 1070 is completed, the coordination component 1050 executes the workflow DB 1 for each record of the created monitoring item DB 1070.
030, the data format of the monitoring target item is checked, and the corresponding workflow DB in the data conversion rule DB 1080 is checked.
Write to the data format field 3010. Similarly, the coordination component 1050 is the application DB1
The data format of the monitoring target item in 040 is checked and written in the corresponding application DB data format field 3020 in the data conversion rule DB 1080 (S50).
40).

Then, the cooperation component 1050
The data format is compared between the data in the workflow DB 1030 and the data in the application DB 1040 (S5050), and if the data formats are the same (S505).
0: Yes), “unnecessary” in the conversion rule field 3030
And register.

For example, in the first record (first row of the table) in FIG. 4, since both the data format in the workflow DB 1030 and the data format in the application DB are “alphabet character strings”, the conversion rule field 3030 contains "Unnecessary" is registered.

On the other hand, if the data format of the monitoring target item is not equal between the workflow DB 1030 and the application DB 1040 (S5050: No), the definition unit 10
60, the monitoring target item is displayed, and the user is inquired of the data format conversion rule (S5060).

For example, in the third record in FIG.
The data format of the workflow DB 1030 is “numerical value (￥)”, the data format of the application DB 1040 is “numerical value (＄)”, and both are numerical values representing currency. Rules are required.

When the user inputs the requested conversion rule by the definition means 1060, the content is registered in the conversion rule field 3030 of the data conversion rule DB 1080 (S5070).

For example, in the example of FIG.
A conversion rule is required for the record and the user
When input is made as "1.00 = $ 140", the content is registered in the conversion rule field of the third record.

As described above, the conversion rule field 3
030, the data conversion rule DB 108
One record is generated in 0.

Next, it is determined whether or not a record has been generated in the data conversion rule DB 1080 for all records in the monitoring item DB 1070 (that is, for all monitoring target items) (S 5080). If there is any that has not been generated (S5080: Yes), the operations of steps S5040 to S5070 described above are repeated. When all necessary records are generated (S508)
0: none), and ends the creation of the data conversion rule DB 1080.

As described above, the data conversion rule DB1
When the creation of the 080 is completed, the cooperation component 105
0, for each record of the monitoring item DB 1070, extract the operation for the monitoring target item of the workflow DB 1030 and the operation for the monitoring target item of the application DB 1040 from the workflow management system 1010 and the application system 1020, and define them It is displayed on 1060 (S5090).

The user selects operations for performing equivalent processing from the operations for the workflow DB items and the operations for the application DB items displayed by the definition means 1060, and interactively designates them as a set of pairs. On the contrary,
The cooperation component 1050 registers the operation pair in one record of the operation conversion rule DB 1090 (S5100).

Since a plurality of operations may exist for one monitoring target item, it is next determined whether or not an equivalent operation pair remains for the monitoring target item to be processed. Yes (S511
0). As a result of the determination, if an equivalent operation remains (S5110: Yes), the process of step S5100 is repeated until all equivalent operations are associated with each other.

For example, in FIG. 5, two or more equivalent operation pairs are registered for the record whose monitoring target item number is “1”. That is, as the operation for acquiring the part name, “get_part_name” of the workflow DB operation and the application DB
The operation “get_name” is associated with equivalent operations, and similarly, as an operation to change the part name, “change_part_name”
And "change_name" are associated as equivalent operations.

When the processing is completed for all equivalent operation pairs (S5110: No), next, for all records in the monitoring item DB 1070,
It is determined whether a record has been generated in the operation conversion rule DB 1090 (S5120). If there is any that has not been generated yet (S5120: Yes),
The operations of steps S5090 to S5110 described above are repeated. When all records are generated (S51)
20: No), the operation of creating the operation conversion rule DB 1090 ends.

As described above, the monitoring item DB 107
0, a data conversion rule DB 1080, and an operation conversion rule DB 1090.

Next, the workflow management system 1010
The operation of the cooperative component 1050 when the application and the application system 1020 operate will be described.

The cooperative component 1050 operates when an operation or data is exchanged between the workflow management system 1010 and the application system 1020. Hereinafter, the operation of the cooperative component 1050 in the “estimate” node and the “delivery” node of the workflow management system 1010 in which the operation or data transfer occurs will be described.

First, the operation of the cooperative component 1050 in the “estimate” node will be described. When the estimation is started at the “estimate” node, the workflow management system 1010 inquires the application system 1020 about the unit price of the component necessary for calculating the item “price” in the digitized document 6010. That is, an operation for inquiring the unit price of the component A described in the “component name” of the digitized document 6010 is issued.

The cooperative component 1050 receiving this
Converts the operation into a unit price inquiry in the application system 1020 and passes it to the application system 1020. FIG. 1 shows the flow of an inquiry from the workflow management system 1010 to the application system 1020.

The application system 1020 that has received the unit price inquiry operation returns “unit price” data (FIG. 1) as the return value of the operation.
In the example, “2.00 (「) ”) is returned to the cooperation component 1050. Cooperative component 10 receiving this
50, the data is stored in the workflow management system 10;
The data is converted into a data format of 10 and passed to the workflow management system 1010. FIG. 1 shows an application system 1020 to a workflow management system 1010.
The flow of return of the return value to is shown.

FIG. 7 shows a workflow management system 101.
0 issues an operation before the application
FIG. 14 is a diagram showing a flow of processing of a cooperative component 1050 until a system 1020 receives an operation.

First, the workflow management system 1010
Issues an operation "get_unit_price" to obtain the price per part required for price calculation,
The cooperation component 1050 searches the operation conversion rule DB 1090 for a record including the issued operation “get_unit_price”, and monitors the monitoring target item number “3” and the application DB operation “get_va
lue ”(S7010).

The coordination component 1050 then proceeds
From the monitoring item DB 1070, the monitoring target item number is “3”
The application DB item "unit price" is acquired (S7020). And the acquired application D
The operation “get_value” acquired in step S7010 is issued for the B item “unit price” (S703).
0). Then, the application system 1020 receives the operation.

As described above, the operation issued by the workflow management system 1010 is received by the application system 1020.

FIG. 8 shows that after the application system 1020 obtains a return value for a received operation, the return value is returned to the workflow management system 101.
FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a flow of processing of the cooperative component 1050 until it is transferred to 0.

The application system 1020
Return value “2.00” for operation “get_value” issued by the coordination component 1050
(＄) ”, it is the linked component 10
Passed to 50.

The coordination component 1050 converts the conversion rule “{1.00 =}
140 ”from the data conversion rule DB 1080 (S8010). Then, the acquired conversion rule “$ 1.0
0 = $ 140 is applied to the return value "2.00 ($)" to obtain the value "280 ($)" (S8020).

Next, the workflow DB item of the record whose monitoring target item number is “3” is searched from the monitoring item DB 1070, and the obtained workflow DB item “price” is retrieved.
Is passed to the workflow management system 1010 as the destination of the value “280 ($)” (S8030). When the delivery is completed, the operation of the cooperation component 1050 ends.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, operations and data can be exchanged between the workflow management system 1010 and the application system 1020, so that the business status in the cooperation destination system can be grasped. It is also possible to do. Furthermore, the exchange of operations and data between systems is automatically converted into operations and data in accordance with the format of the partner system, respectively, so that users can exchange these operations without being aware of the differences between the systems. It is possible to establish.

Next, the operation of the cooperation component 1050 in the “delivery” node will be described. In the present embodiment, when a part ordered to an external maker is delivered and the work in the “delivery” node is completed in the workflow management system 1010, the result of the work performed in the workflow management system 1010 is notified to the application DB 1040. Will be reflected.

FIG. 1 shows the relation between the update of the workflow DB 1030 for the “number” of delivered parts,
The flow of data automatically transferred to update the “stock number” of the application DB 1040 is shown.

FIG. 9 shows data values to be updated from the end of the work in the “delivery” node in the application DB 104.
FIG. 14 is a diagram showing a flow of processing of the coordination component 1050 until the notification to 0.

When the “delivery” node ends, the “number” of the delivered parts is notified to the cooperation component 1050. The cooperation component 1050 that has received the notification,
A record including “quantity” in the workflow DB item field 2020 is searched from the monitoring item DB 1070, and the monitoring target item number “2” and the application DB item “stock quantity” are acquired (S9010).

Subsequently, the conversion rule for the data whose monitoring target item number is “2” is obtained from the conversion rule field 3030 of the data conversion rule DB 1080 (S9020). Then, the obtained conversion rule is transferred to the workflow management system 1
It is applied to the “number” data value received from 010 (S9030) and converted to the data format of the application DB 3020. Here, since there is "unnecessary", the data format is not converted.

Similarly, an appropriate application DB operation for updating data is stored in the application DB operation field 40 of the record whose monitoring target item number is “2” in the operation conversion rule DB 1090.
20.

Then, the necessary converted data value is notified to the application system 1020 by using a data update operation in the application system 1020, and the cooperative component 1050 is notified.
Ends the operation.

As described above, in the present embodiment, when a monitoring target item is changed in the workflow DB 1030, the change is automatically reflected in the application DB 1040. Disappears.

In the above description, the workflow management system 1010 inquires of the application system 1020 about data from the workflow management system 1010 or notifies the application system 1020 of changes in the workflow DB 1030 and updates them. Was taken as an example,
An application mainly using the application system 1020 is also possible.

In this case, for example, the application DB
If the number of parts in stock drops below a certain value in 1040,
The workflow management system 1010 notifies the workflow management system 1010 of the component name, and receives the notification.
0 means that the business process for ordering parts is automatically started, and the workflow management system 1010
It is also possible to grasp the status of the work performed in the office and quickly prepare and proceed with the work in the back office.

[0101]

As described above in detail, according to the present invention, operations can be issued and data can be exchanged between different business support systems. Therefore, operations can be issued from one business support system side. It is also possible to inquire about the status of work in the other work support system.

Further, at the time of cooperation, since the operation and the data value are automatically converted according to the system of the cooperation destination, the cooperation can be realized without being conscious of the difference in the operation and the data format between the two systems. .

Further, according to the present invention, when data is changed in one of the databases of each business support system, logically related data is automatically updated in the cooperation destination system. Eliminates the need to duplicate work.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram for explaining a cooperation method according to the present invention between a workflow management system 1010 and an application system 1020.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a hardware configuration of a system that implements a cooperation method according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a configuration example of a monitoring item database 1070.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a configuration example of a data conversion rule database 1080.

FIG. 5 is an operation conversion rule database 109.
FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of a zero.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing a procedure for creating a monitoring item database 1070, a data conversion rule database 1080, and an operation conversion rule database 1090.

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an operation flow of a cooperation component 1050 in an “estimate” node.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an operation flow of a cooperation component 1050 in an “estimate” node.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an operation flow of a cooperation component 1050 in a “delivery” node.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1010 Workflow management system 1020 Application system 1030 Workflow database 1040 Application database 1050 Cooperation component 1070 Monitoring item database 1080 Data conversion rule database 1090 Operation conversion rule database

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuing on the front page (72) Inventor Toshiaki Sakaguchi 1099 Ozenji Temple, Aso-ku, Kawasaki City, Kanagawa Prefecture Inside Hitachi, Ltd.System Development Laboratory (72) Inventor Masato Tamaki 5030 Totsuka-cho, Totsuka-ku, Yokohama City, Kanagawa Prefecture F-term (reference) in Hitachi, Ltd. Software Division 5B049 AA02 CC05 CC21 CC27 CC31 DD01 EE05 FF09 GG04 5B075 KK07 ND20 NR03 NR20 UU40

Claims (6)

[Claims] An apparatus for linking a first business support system and a second business support system, wherein a data item of a first database and a second business support system of the first business support system are provided. A monitoring item database that manages data items having a predetermined relationship as a pair of monitoring target items among the data items of the second database, and a data format of the monitoring target item of the first database;
A data conversion rule database that manages conversion rules between the data formats of the monitored items of the database, and an equivalent operation among the operations on the monitored items of the first database and the operations on the monitored items of the second database. An operation conversion rule database for managing operations in association with each other, and converting an operation issued by one of the first and second business support systems into an operation for the other business support system; Is issued, when data is transferred from one of the first and second business support systems to the other business support system, the data is converted into a data format in the other business support system. Inter-system linking device. 2. An apparatus for linking a first business support system and a second business support system, wherein a data item of a first database and a second business support system of the first business support system are provided. A monitoring item database that manages data items having a predetermined relationship as a pair of monitoring target items among the data items of the second database, and a data format of the monitoring target item of the first database;
A data conversion rule database that manages conversion rules between the data formats of the monitored items of the database, and an equivalent operation among the operations on the monitored items of the first database and the operations on the monitored items of the second database. An operation conversion rule database for managing operations in association with each other, and when a change in a monitoring target item in one of the first and second business support systems is detected, the other business support system An inter-system cooperation apparatus for issuing an operation for updating a corresponding monitoring target item. 3. A method for linking a first business support system and a second business support system, wherein the first business support system and the second business support system include:
When an operation is issued to the other business support system, an operation equivalent to the operation in the other business support system is searched from the operation conversion rule database, converted into an acquired operation and issued, and the operation is executed. At the time of issuance, if data is passed from one of the first and second business support systems to the other business support system,
A system cooperation method comprising: searching a data conversion rule database for a data format having a predetermined relationship with the data in the other business support system; and transferring a data value converted to the obtained data format. 4. A method for linking a first business support system and a second business support system, wherein a data item of a first database of the first business support system and a second business support system are provided. The data items having a predetermined relationship among the data items of the second database are set as a pair of monitoring target items, and the set monitoring target item is changed in one of the first and second databases. In this case, a method of inter-system cooperation characterized by updating a data item of the other database to be paired. 5. A business support system which can cooperate with another business support system, comprising: a first database for managing data relating to the own system; and inter-system cooperation means, wherein the inter-system cooperation means comprises: A monitoring item database that manages a data item having a predetermined relationship among a data item of one database and a data item of a second database of another business support system as a pair of monitoring target items; Data format of the monitored item of the database and the second
A data conversion rule database that manages conversion rules between the data formats of the monitored items of the database, and an equivalent operation between the monitored item of the first database and the monitored item of the second database. An operation conversion rule database for managing operations in association with each other, and converting an operation issued by one of the own system and another business management system into an operation for the other business support system; When data is passed from one of its own system and another business support system to the other business support system at the time of issuance, the data is converted into the data format of the other business support system Support system. 6. A business support system that can cooperate with another business support system, comprising: a first database that manages data relating to the own system; and inter-system cooperation means, wherein the inter-system cooperation means comprises: Of the data items of the first database and the data items of the second database of the second business support system,
A monitoring item database for managing data items having a predetermined relationship as a pair of monitoring target items; a data format of the monitoring target items in the first database;
A data conversion rule database that manages conversion rules between the data formats of the monitored items of the database, and an equivalent operation between the monitored item of the first database and the monitored item of the second database. An operation conversion rule database for managing operations in association with each other, and when a change in a monitoring target item in one of the first and second databases is detected, a corresponding monitoring target A business support system for issuing an operation for updating an item.