JP3928338B2 - Collaborative work support device - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
  The present invention provides a collaborative work support device.In placeIn particular, a collaborative work support apparatus in which a plurality of users share information in units of tasks via an information processing apparatus connected via a network.In placeRelated.
[0002]
[Prior art]
A conventional collaborative work support system such as a workflow system divides work, and realizes management of the flow of information and assignment of workers with each work by a computer.
[0003]
By the way, in such a workflow system, it is necessary to notify each user of a summary of the work contents so that the work can be smoothly executed. Conventionally, the user can understand the work contents in a short time. As a summary display, only the method disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 7-306814 exists.
[0004]
However, there are electronic conference systems that support a conference, which is a kind of collaborative work, using a computer, such as the electronic conference system disclosed in JP-A-7-56826, which has a function of summarizing the content of a conference. It was.
[0005]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, the electronic conferencing system is intended to reduce geographical and temporal constraints or to enhance content by transmitting conversations and messages sent by workers to other workers through a computer. There was a problem that it was not possible to generate summaries about collaborative work other than electronic conferences and personal work that was the background of collaborative work.
[0006]
In addition, the user can quickly understand the contents of the electronic conference meeting by reading the summary of the electronic meeting, but the user can manually provide information on other collaborative work and the work status of the worker. There was also a problem that a great deal of labor was required.
[0007]
Furthermore, the collaborative work support system disclosed in JP-A-7-306814 has work summary means and work commentary means. However, since the summary or explanation means of this system generates summaries and explanations in a single way for the work, if the collaborative work handled by the system is diverse, the summaries and explanations provided by them will be There was a problem of not being able to deal with diversity. As a result, not only the output results are displayed in a fixed form regardless of the type of work, but also there is a problem that information necessary for summarization and explanation is not displayed or unnecessary information is displayed. As described above, in the present invention, when a user reads a summary or a commentary in order to quickly understand the work contents, the work contents are written in order to spend unnecessary time by reading unnecessary information or to obtain necessary information. There was a problem that it took time to read a large amount of work records.
[0008]
  The present invention has been made in view of these points, and provides a collaborative work support device that enables summarization of work contents flexibly corresponding to a variety of work.PlaceThe purpose is to provide.
[0009]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
  In the present invention, in order to solve the above problem, in a cooperative work support apparatus in which a plurality of users share information in units of tasks via an information processing apparatus connected via a network,Task information storage means for storing attribute values of multiple task attributes including task types in association with tasks, and when a summary request is made, the order of summarizing multiple task attributes according to the task type of the task to be summarized Task attribute summarization order management means for managing the task attributes, a plurality of task attribute summarization means for generating summaries based on the attribute values of the task attributes corresponding to individual task attributes, and the summarization order indicated by the task attribute summarization order management means , Task attribute summary switching means for instructing the corresponding task attribute summary means to generate a summary for the task attribute of the task to be summarized based on the attribute value stored in the task information storage means, and task attribute summary switching means The tasks that compose the summary document are arranged according to the summary order indicated by the task attribute summary order management means. And a summary document configuration means,There is provided a collaborative work support device characterized by comprising:
[0010]
  here,The task information storage means stores attribute values of a plurality of task attributes including a task type in association with tasks. When a summary request is made, the task attribute summarization order management means manages the summarization order of a plurality of task attributes according to the task type of the task to be summarized. The plurality of task attribute summarizing means generates a summary based on the attribute value of the task attribute corresponding to each task attribute. The task attribute summary switching means follows the summary order indicated by the task attribute summary order management means and, based on the attribute value stored in the task information storage means, displays the summary for the task attribute of the task to be summarized and the corresponding task attribute summary means. Instruct to generate. The task summary document composing means arranges a plurality of summaries generated by the instruction of the task attribute summary switching means according to the summarizing order indicated by the task attribute summarizing order managing means, and composes a summary document.
[0011]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration example of an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in this figure, the cooperative work support system according to the present invention includes a cooperative work support device 1, a network 2, terminal devices 3 and 4, and a file server 5.
[0012]
The collaborative work support device 1 is configured by, for example, a workstation, and supplies tasks in a summarized manner in response to requests from the terminal devices 3 and 4.
The network 2 is configured by, for example, a LAN (Local Area Network), and transmits information between the cooperative work support device 1, the terminal devices 3 and 4, and the file server 5.
[0013]
The terminal devices 3 and 4 are configured by, for example, a personal computer, receive information from each user, and receive and display the summary generated by the collaborative work support device 1.
[0014]
The file server 5 is configured by a workstation or the like, and stores files such as documents created by the user.
FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a detailed configuration example of the cooperative work support apparatus 1 illustrated in FIG. 1. In this figure, a task information repository 10 is a repository for storing information related to tasks, and can be configured by combining, for example, a relational database and a file server.
[0015]
3 to 6 are diagrams illustrating examples of data stored in the task information repository 10.
Here, FIG. 3 is an example of a table (task data storage table) in which information on each task is stored. As shown in this figure, the task data storage table includes a “task ID” as a serial number assigned to each task, a “task name” that is a name assigned to the task, and a status of the task at that time , “Progress” indicating the progress of the task, “Parent task” indicating the task that is the parent of the task, and “Task type” indicating the type of the task. For example, when the second task ID is “102”, the task name is “each module development”, the state is “completed '99 / 8/16”, and the progress is “100”. % ”, The parent task is“ 101 ”immediately above, and the type is“ intellectual work ”.
[0016]
FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of a table (worker storage table) that stores workers involved in a task. In this example, the task ID, the worker who performs the work for the task, and the selection of the worker for the task are stored in association with each other. For example, in the case of the last item, the task ID is “106”, the worker is “Mr. C”, and the selection is “function addition required”.
[0017]
FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of a related file storage table that stores files related to each task. In this example, “task ID”, “file path” of a file related to the task, and “file type” of the file are stored in association with each other. For example, in the case of the first item, the task ID is “101”, the file path is “c: ¥ document ¥ 101 ¥ specification.doc”, and the file type is “result document”. .
[0018]
Returning to FIG. 2, the task attribute identification unit 11 identifies the attribute of the corresponding task when a task summary request is made by the user. Here, the task attributes are at least “task type”, “progress”, “task state”, “selection”, “number of reports”, “latest information”, “achievement document”, or “related” It is configured by any of “tasks”. The attribute values corresponding to these attributes do not necessarily explicitly exist as database items like the “type” of the task shown in FIG. In the present embodiment, when the task attribute identification unit 11 extracts the attribute value of a specific task, the items in the database of FIG. 3 are stored for “task type”, “progress”, and “task state”. Use as is. However, “selection”, “number of reports”, “latest information”, “result document”, and “related task” are automatically calculated by the following means.
[0019]
First, the attribute “selection” uses a set of selection items of workers engaged in each task in the worker storage table shown in FIG. 4 as an attribute value.
The attribute “number of reports” uses a log of the number of writes or reads in the file associated with the task in the related file storage table shown in FIG. 5 as an attribute value.
[0020]
The attribute “latest information” uses the file name of the file written last among the files associated with the task in the related file storage table shown in FIG. 5 as the attribute value.
[0021]
The attribute “achievement document” has a set of attributes whose file type is “achievement document” in the related file storage table shown in FIG.
The attribute “related task” includes a task given as a parent task in the task data storage table shown in FIG. 3 and a set of tasks given as a parent task of the task focused on in the database in FIG. An attribute value expresses a parent-child relationship explicitly expressed. For example, the attribute value of the attribute “related task” of the task whose task ID is “102” is given by the following expression.
[0022]
[Expression 1]
{(Parent, 102), (child, 103), (child, 104)} (1)
That is, a child task having task IDs “103” and “104” is connected to a parent task having a task ID “102”.
[0023]
Note that the means for obtaining each task attribute and its attribute value is not limited to the method described here.
When a task summary request is made, the task summary unit 12 summarizes and outputs the corresponding task.
[0024]
Here, the task summary unit 12 includes a task attribute summary order management unit 13, a task attribute summary control unit 14, and a task summary document configuration unit 17.
[0025]
The task attribute summarization order management means 13 specifies the order of summarizing each attribute when summarizing tasks for each type. In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 6, the execution order is specified by the type of task. That is, the attribute is “selected” for each of the cases where the task type is “n selection”, “sequential report”, “progress report”, “intelligent work”, “simple work”, “abstract”, “other”. The order of task summaries, which is “number of reports”, “latest information”, “result document”, “degree of progress”, and “task status”, is determined in advance. Specifically, when the task type is “intellectual work”, task summarization is executed in the order of “task state”, “result document”, “number of reports”, and “progress”.
[0026]
The task attribute summary control unit 14 includes a task attribute summary switching unit 15 and task attribute summary units 16-1 to 16-n. The task attribute summary control unit 14 summarizes and outputs the task attributes in an order determined for each task type. .
[0027]
Here, the task attribute summary switching means 15 selects the task attribute summary means 16-1 to 16-n according to the order indicated by the task attribute summary order management means 13, and generates a task attribute summary.
[0028]
FIG. 7 is an example of a table showing the correspondence between task attributes and task attribute summarizing means 16-1 to 16-n that summarize the attributes. As shown in this figure, for example, when the task attribute is “selected”, the task attribute summarizing means 16-1 is selected to summarize the task attribute.
[0029]
Task attribute summarizing means 16-1 to 16-n are prepared for the number of attributes of the task to be processed, and summarize and output the attributes of the corresponding task.
The task summary document composition means 17 rearranges the task attributes summarized by the task attribute summary control means 14 according to the order given by the task attribute summary order management means 13 to compose a document, and outputs it as a task summary. .
[0030]
Next, the operation of the above embodiment will be described.
When a summary request for a predetermined task is made from the terminal device 3, the task attribute identification unit 11 receives this and acquires the task type of the corresponding task. For example, if a summary request is made for the task with the task ID “101”, the task attribute identification unit 11 acquires “abstract”, which is the task type with the task ID 101, from the task data storage table shown in FIG. To the task attribute summary order management means 13.
[0031]
The task attribute summary order management unit 13 refers to the task type supplied from the task attribute identification unit 11 and the table shown in FIG. 6, and determines the order in which the attributes are summarized. For example, when the task type is “progress report”, the order of “task state”, “latest information”, and “result document” is acquired.
[0032]
The task attribute summary switching means 15 obtains the processing order related to the attributes from the task attribute summary order management means 13, and causes the task attribute summary means 16-1 to 16-n to create task attribute summaries according to this order.
[0033]
For example, when the task attribute is “selection”, the task attribute summary switching unit 15 refers to the table shown in FIG. 7 and selects the task attribute summary unit 16-1 to generate a summary. The task attribute summarizing means 16-1 aggregates the items in the worker storage table shown in FIG. 4 which are attribute values of the attribute “selection”, generates a table as shown in FIG. 8, and outputs it as a summary. In this figure, the selection contents of Mr. A, Mr. B, and Mr. C and the total value are shown.
[0034]
If the task attribute is “number of reports”, the task attribute summary switching means 15 selects the task attribute summary means 16-2 with reference to the table shown in FIG. The task attribute summarizing means 16-2 writes the number of reports as shown in FIG. 9 from the write or read log to the file (determined by FIG. 5) that is the attribute value of the attribute “number of reports”. Generate and output a graph showing the transition. In the example of this figure, the transition of the number of writes and the number of reads by month is shown as a graph.
[0035]
If the task attribute is “latest information”, the task attribute summary switching means 15 selects the task attribute summary means 16-3 with reference to the table shown in FIG. The task attribute summarizing means 16-3 refers to the file name of the file or the file from the file most recently edited among the files associated with the task, which is the attribute value of the attribute “latest information”. If the file type is a message, or if the file type is a message, the first 100 characters of the body content are output as a summary.
[0036]
In addition, although the case where the file linked | related with the task is not a document but a figure and a table | surface is assumed, in that case, those charts are output as a summary. Further, when summarizing a message, various modes such as extracting a portion where important words frequently appear can be considered instead of extracting the first 100 characters of the text.
[0037]
Next, when summarizing the task attribute “result document”, the task attribute summary switching means 15 refers to the table shown in FIG. 7 and selects the task attribute summary means 16-4. The task attribute summarizing means 16-4 uses the file name of the file from the document group whose file type is “result document” in the related file storage table shown in FIG. 5 which is the attribute value of the attribute “result document”. A list of pointers to refer to the file is output as a summary.
[0038]
Further, when summarizing the task attributes “progress” and “task state”, the task attribute summary switching means 15 refers to the table shown in FIG. 7, and the task attribute summary means 16-5 and the task attribute summary means 16- 6 is selected. The task attribute summarizing means 16-5 and the task attribute summarizing means 16-6 output the corresponding attribute values as they are.
[0039]
Thus, when the summary for each attribute is generated by the task attribute summarizing means 16-1 to 16-n, these summaries are supplied to the task summary document composition means 17, where task attribute summary order management is performed. They are edited in the order specified by the means 13 and output as a summary.
[0040]
FIG. 10 shows an example of a summary obtained by the above processing when the task type is “sequential report”. In this example, first, “task state” and its attribute value “running” are shown corresponding to the order shown in FIG. Subsequently, the “number of reports” is shown as a graph. Furthermore, “latest information” and its attribute value are displayed as a file name “c: \ document \ 101 \ message1.txt” and a part of the message “The bug report seems to be settled soon”. ing.
[0041]
As described above, according to the present embodiment, it is possible to generate a summary even for a task including various contents, and it is possible to smoothly perform a cooperative work.
[0042]
Next, an example of processing executed when a user makes a summary request for a predetermined task in the above embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. When this flowchart is started, the following processing is executed.
[S1] The task attribute identification unit 11 refers to the task information repository 10 and identifies the task type of the task that is the subject of the summary request.
[S2] The task attribute summary order management means 13 refers to the table shown in FIG. 6 and specifies the order of attribute processing.
[S3] The task attribute summary switching means 15 initializes a variable i for counting the number of processings with a value of 1.
[S4] The task attribute summary switching means 15 refers to the table shown in FIG. 6 and identifies the i th attribute to be processed.
[0043]
[S5] The task attribute summary switching means 15 specifies the task attribute summary means corresponding to the attribute specified in step S4 with reference to the table shown in FIG.
[S6] The task attribute summarizing means specified in step S5 executes task summarization processing.
[S7] The task attribute summary switching means 15 increments the value of the variable i by 1.
[S8] The task attribute summary switching means 15 determines whether or not there is an unprocessed attribute. If it exists, the process returns to step S4. Otherwise, the process proceeds to step S9.
[S9] The task summary document construction unit 17 rearranges all the summaries generated in step S6 in the order specified in step S2, generates a summary document, and outputs it.
[0044]
According to the above processing, it is possible to generate a summary according to the embodiment described above.
Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described.
[0045]
FIG. 12 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration example of the second exemplary embodiment of the present invention. In this figure, portions corresponding to those in FIG. 2 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof is omitted.
[0046]
In the second embodiment of the present invention, as compared with the case of FIG. 2, a related task patrol means 30 is newly added, and the configuration of the task summarizing means is partially different. Further, the task summary document construction unit 17 is replaced with a related task summary integration unit 35.
[0047]
Further, as a task attribute stored in the task information repository 10, a “related task” indicating another task related to a certain task is newly added. The other parts are the same as in FIG.
[0048]
The related task circulation unit 30 refers to the “related task” that is the attribute of the task to be processed, and generates a summary of the related task using the process shown in FIG. When the flowchart shown in this figure is started, the following processing is executed.
[S20] The task summarizing means 32 summarizes the target task.
[S21] The task attribute identification unit 11 identifies the attribute of the task of interest.
[S22] The task attribute identification unit 11 supplies the attribute of the identified task to the related task circulation unit 30.
[S23] The related task circulation means 30 specifies a task group to be next visited from the attribute “related tasks” of the task specified by the task attribute identification means 11.
[S24] It is determined whether or not there is a task to be processed, and if there is, the process returns to step S20 to recursively execute the same processing as described above for each of the obtained task groups. Otherwise, the process ends.
[0049]
The related task patrol control means 31 limits the tasks to be acquired. As a task restriction method, a child task in the attribute “related task” is given as a task to be visited only when the “task type” that is an attribute of the task of interest is “abstract”, or More simply, when the recursion depth of the algorithm described above reaches a certain level, it can be executed by a method in which a task to be visited next is not given.
[0050]
The task summarizing means 32 selects and switches the task type summarizing means 34-1 to 34-n corresponding to the “task type” which is the attribute of the given task with reference to the table shown in FIG. .
[0051]
The task type summarizing units 34-1 to 34-n collectively generate the summaries of documents associated with the most appropriate task attributes and tasks in accordance with the “task type” that is an attribute. For example, when the task type is “sequential report”, as shown in FIG. 14, the task type summarizing means 34-2 supports, so the attributes “task state”, “number of reports”, “ For example, the summary shown in FIG. 10 is generated using the summarizing means for the “latest information”.
[0052]
The related task summary integration unit 35 expresses the recursive control structure of the flowchart shown in FIG. 11 as a document structure, and inserts a summary of each task therein. For example, there is a method in which the document structure is set as a chapter, and each recursive call is associated with a chapter, a section, a term, and a paragraph each time the recursive call is deepened.
[0053]
Next, the operation of the above embodiment will be described.
Assuming that a summary request is made for the task with ID “101” shown in FIG. 3, the task attribute identification unit 11 refers to the task information repository 10 to identify the type of the requested task and The task circulation means 30 is notified.
[0054]
The related task circulation unit 30 acquires a task related to the supplied task with reference to the attribute “related task”. At this time, the related task patrol control means 31 limits the quantity of related tasks to be acquired. Then, the acquired related task is notified to the task summary unit 32.
[0055]
The task summarizing means switching means 33 of the task summarizing means 32 selects an optimum task type summarizing means according to the type of task supplied from the related task circulating means 30, and generates a task summary.
[0056]
The related task summary integration unit 35 rearranges and outputs the summary for each task in a structure corresponding to the dependency relationship between the tasks.
FIG. 15 is an example of a summary actually obtained as a result of the above processing. In this example, as described above, since the generation of the summary for “soft A development” is requested, “soft A development” is listed first, and then “each module development” and “ "Bug report" is listed as a major item. In addition, “module a development” and “module b subcontract” which are children of “each module development” are listed as sub-items of “each module development”.
[0057]
As described above, according to the second embodiment of the present invention, when a summary generation for a predetermined task is requested, a summary of related tasks is also generated together. It becomes possible to easily know the progress status of other related tasks, and it is possible to further facilitate the cooperative work.
[0058]
Finally, the above processing functions can be realized by a computer. In this case, the processing contents of the functions that the cooperative work support apparatus should have are described in a program recorded on a computer-readable recording medium. By executing this program on the computer, the above processing is performed by the computer. Realized. Examples of the computer-readable recording medium include a magnetic recording device and a semiconductor memory. When distributing to the market, store the program in a portable recording medium such as a CD-ROM (Compact Disk Read Only Memory) or floppy disk, or store it in a computer storage device connected via a network. In addition, it can be transferred to another computer through the network. When executed by a computer, the program is stored in a hard disk device or the like in the computer, loaded into the main memory and executed.
[0059]
【The invention's effect】
  As described above, in the present invention,Task information storage means for storing attribute values of multiple task attributes including task types in association with tasks, and when a summary request is made, the order of summarizing multiple task attributes according to the task type of the task to be summarized Task attribute summarization order management means for managing the task attributes, a plurality of task attribute summarization means for generating summaries based on the attribute values of the task attributes corresponding to individual task attributes, and the summarization order indicated by the task attribute summarization order management means , Task attribute summary switching means for instructing the corresponding task attribute summary means to generate a summary for the task attribute of the task to be summarized based on the attribute value stored in the task information storage means, and task attribute summary switching means The tasks that compose the summary document are arranged according to the summary order indicated by the task attribute summary order management means. And a summary document configuration means,So that variousIncludes contenttaskResponded flexibly to the diversitySince it is possible to easily generate a summary, it is possible to smoothly proceed with the cooperative work.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a detailed configuration example of the cooperative work support device illustrated in FIG. 1;
FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of a task data storage table.
FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of an operator storage table.
FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of a related file storage table.
FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a relationship between a task type and an attribute summarization order;
FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a relationship between task attributes and corresponding task attribute summarizing means.
FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of a summary result of an attribute “selection”.
FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating an example of a summary result of an attribute “number of reports”;
FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of a processing result when the task type is “sequential report”.
FIG. 11 is a flowchart for explaining an example of processing executed in the embodiment shown in FIG. 2;
FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of a second embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 13 is a flowchart for explaining an example of processing executed in the second embodiment shown in FIG. 12;
FIG. 14 is a diagram showing a relationship between task types and corresponding task type summarizing means.
FIG. 15 is a diagram illustrating an example of a processing result of the second exemplary embodiment illustrated in FIG.
[Explanation of symbols]
1 Collaborative work support device
2 network
3,4 terminal equipment
5 File server
10 Task information repository
11 Task attribute identification means
12 Task summary means
13 Task attribute summary order management means
14 Task attribute summary control means
15 Task attribute summary switching means
16-1 to 16-n Task attribute summarizing means
17 Task summary document composition means
30 Related task patrol means
31 Related task patrol control means
32 Task summary means
33 Task summary means switching means
34-1 to 34-n Summary by task type
35 Related Task Summary Integration Method

Claims (4)

In a collaborative work support apparatus in which a plurality of users share information in units of tasks via an information processing apparatus connected via a network,
A task information storage means for storing attribute values of a plurality of task attributes including a task type in association with a task;
When a summary request is made, task attribute summary order management means for managing the summary order of a plurality of task attributes according to the task type of the task to be summarized,
A plurality of task attribute summarizing means for generating a summary based on an attribute value of the task attribute corresponding to each task attribute;
In accordance with the summarization order indicated by the task attribute summarization order management means, based on the attribute value stored in the task information storage means, the corresponding task attribute summarization means is instructed to summarize the task attributes of the task to be summarized. Task attribute summary switching means for generating
A task summary document configuration unit configured to arrange a plurality of summaries generated by an instruction from the task attribute summary switching unit according to a summary order indicated by the task attribute summary order management unit, and configure a summary document;
A collaborative work support device characterized by comprising: The plurality of the tasks attribute, Susumu Gyodo, task status, selection, number of reports, date information, outcome, at least one of the associated task is characterized in that further includes the claim 1, wherein Collaborative work support device.   The plurality of task attributes further include a related task indicating a relationship with the related task,
  The related tasks of the tasks to be summarized are sequentially traced, the related tasks are collected with reference to the task information storage means, and the collected task summary is requested to the task attribute summary order management means. Means,
  The summary task for the task to be summarized and the summary document for the related task configured by the task summary document configuration means are integrated so as to have a structure corresponding to the relationship indicated by the attribute value of the related task, and the related task is made into one summary document. Summary integration means;
  The cooperative work support apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:   4. The cooperative work support apparatus according to claim 3, further comprising related task patrol control means for performing control for limiting a task to be collected by the related task patrol means to a certain range.

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