Method and apparatus for process design

Details Method and apparatus for process design Method and apparatus for process design

2001-06-25

2004-07-27

Metjahic, Safet (Department: 2171)

Data processing: database and file management or data structures

Database design

Data structure types

Reexamination Certificate

active

06768984

ABSTRACT:

FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention pertains to a computerized method and database for process design.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Tracking business processes traditionally is a data-oriented activity. This makes sense: processes are all about manipulating data, so orienting the process around how the data are tracked is an intuitive solution. For example, consider an organization chart. As shown in
FIG. 1
, organization chart
105
typically includes a chief executive officer
110
, along with other officers not shown in FIG.
1
. Eventually, somewhere down the hierarchy, are the departments.
FIG. 1
shows three departments: Department A
115
, Department B
120
, and Department C
125
. Each department includes some employees, shown by employee lists
130
,
135
, and
140
, respectively.
Now consider what happens when an employee changes department. For example, consider Employee
5
moving from Department A
115
to Department B
120
, as shown by arrow
145
. Traditionally, Employee
5
is deleted from employee list
130
and added to employee list
135
.
But what if Employee
5
was the only employee who worked on a project assigned to Department A
115
when Employee
5
was with Department A
115
? If the project is assigned back to Employee
5
, it will be associated with Department B
120
, which does not have any familiarity with the project. The wrong department (Department B
120
) will be working on the project.
Data changes, such as moving Employee
5
from Department A
115
to Department B
120
, typically requires authorization. If authorization and the data change process are tracked at all, the information about the data change is stored as part of the data object. For example, the employee information can store who authorized a promotion or additional training for an employee. But data changes are tracked only in very limited cases, requiring special-purpose implementation every time such information is to be stored. Additionally, the data change information is usually incomplete. Finally, typically the lifecycle of the data change authorization is not tracked.
The present invention addresses these and other problems associated with the prior art.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The above disconnect created by Employee
5
's move to Department B
120
occurs because the traditional model for process management ignores a critical dimension: time. As time passes, the data change. Changes traditionally are not tracked: the database only stores the most current information.
To complete the history, the data change information is retained for all data changes in the system. But the data change information is not stored with the data objects themselves. Instead, the changes are stored separately. The type of information stored about data changes varies little, even if the types of data objects that are changing can vary greatly. For example, whether the data object is an employee or a piece of equipment, the process of changing data about the object still goes through a sequence of steps, such as requesting a change, approving the change, and making the change.
The invention includes an apparatus managing process design in a computer. A computer, including a memory, stores a base and a control operable on the base. When the base needs to be updated, the control is used to revise the base.
The invention also includes a method for managing process design. A future revision of a base is created using a control operable on the base. Data are input into the control and inserted into the future revision. The future revision is then changed to a current revision, making an earlier current revision historic.
The foregoing and other features, objects, and advantages of the invention will become more readily apparent from the following detailed description, which proceeds with reference to the accompanying drawings.


REFERENCES:
patent: 4325120 (1982-04-01), Colley et al.
patent: 5204897 (1993-04-01), Wyman
patent: 5787444 (1998-07-01), Gerken et al.
patent: 5903720 (1999-05-01), Stokes
patent: 6012152 (2000-01-01), Douik et al.
patent: 6073109 (2000-06-01), Flores et al.
patent: 6349238 (2002-02-01), Gabbita et al.
patent: 6377993 (2002-04-01), Brandt et al.

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