Method and apparatus for creating and managing complex business processes

US7689435B2 · kind B2 · utility

Assignee

• International Business Machines Corporation · US

Inventors

• Mitchell A. Cohen · Yorktown Heights, US
• Titania Gupta · Hawthorne, US
• Laurent Hasson · New York, US
• John Houston · Hopewell Junction, US
• Jianren Li · Valhalla, US
• Rakesh Mohan · Somers, US
• Jakka Sairamesh · New York, US
• Josef Schiefer · Scarsdale, US
• Revathi Subramanian · San Diego, US

Key dates

• Filing date: Sep 11, 2001
• Grant date: Mar 30, 2010
• Expiry date: May 9, 2028

Classification

• Technology area (CPC G): Physics
• CPC primary: G06Q50/188
• WIPO field: IT methods for management
• WIPO sector: Electrical engineering

Abstract

A method and apparatus are disclosed for managing composite business processes that include multiple trading mechanisms, such as requests for quotes (RFQs), auctions and contracts, or repeat passes through a single trading mechanism. The independence of the individual business processes that manage each trading mechanism is maintained, while each individual business process can be connected to other business processes to form a composite business process. Each individual business process that may be followed by another business process to form a composite process must have at least one state labeled as a conversion state with a conversion transition to another business process. A conversion transition spans the gap between an end state of one business process and the start state of another subsequent business process. When a conversion state is entered by an object, a determination is made as to whether the object is being managed by a composite flow, and if so, what business process to use next. Conversion transitions execute any necessary steps to create a new object of the type required by the next business process in the composite process.