Subscription within workflow management systems

US6122633A · kind A · utility

Assignee

• International Business Machines Corporation · US

Inventors

• Frank Leymann · Aidlingen, DE
• Dieter Roller · Schenefeld, DE

Key dates

• Filing date: Apr 20, 1998
• Grant date: Sep 19, 2000
• Expiry date: Apr 20, 2018

Classification

• Technology area (CPC Y): Emerging Cross-Sectional Technologies
• CPC primary: Y10S707/99944
• WIPO field: IT methods for management
• WIPO sector: Electrical engineering

Abstract

The present invention relates to the area of workflow management systems (WFMS). More particularly the inventions extends WFMS by subscription means. The subscription means operate on an audit trail stored within a database. The subscription means may encompass a multitude of subscription monitors. Subscription monitors allow to subscribe to the audit trail, i.e. to formulate certain interests as subscription selectors on information entered into the audit trail. A subscription monitor autonomously checks the audit trail for subscribed audit records. If such audit records have been determined the subscription monitor executes a subscription actuator, i.e. a pre-defined program. The subscription actuator may inform the subscriber on the subscribed audit record or may start any type of program. The current invention teaches to implement the subscription monitors as database triggers of the database storing the audit trail. The subscription selectors are realized as search conditions of the database trigger. Finally the subscription actuator can be implemented according the current teaching as user-defined functions of the database.