Method of developing and using a tool, and the resulting tool, for automating complex processes

Abstract

A computer implemented tool for automating a process having a workflow program document having rows and columns, where each row represents one of a plurality of paths through a portion of the process to an outcome of the portion of the process, and where each column represents a human readable label used to describe a component of the process; software programming code, developed in a linear programming language, programmed to filter the rows and columns of the workflow program document so as to direct a portion of the process along one of the plurality of paths to an outcome, depending on the content of the human readable labels in the columns; and an existing visual programming framework for displaying on a user interface a visual representation of a flowchart of a process to be automated, using pre-built visual representations of workflow components, and the existing visual programming framework also includes the software programming for carrying out functionality associated with such visual representations of workflow components, where the workflow program document, through the operation of the filtering software, directs the workflow components of the visual programming framework to carry out automated tasks according to the human readable labels.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A computer implemented tool for automating a process comprising:
 d) a workflow program document comprising rows and columns, where each row represents one of a plurality of paths through a portion of the process to an outcome of the portion of the process, and where each column represents a human readable label used to describe a component of the process;   e) first software programming code programmed to filter the rows and columns of the workflow program document so as to direct a portion of the process along one of the plurality of paths to an outcome, depending on the content of the human readable labels in the columns; and   f) an visual programming framework for displaying on a user interface a visual representation of a flowchart of a process to be automated, using pre-built visual representations of workflow components, and wherein the visual programming framework also includes second software program code for carrying out functionality associated with such visual representations of workflow components, wherein the workflow program document, through the operation of the filtering software, interacts with the workflow components of the visual programming framework to carry out automated tasks according to the human readable labels.   
     
     
         2 . The computer implemented tool of  claim 1 , wherein a path through a portion of the process starts with a first label in a first column of the workflow program document, designating a name for the portion of the process, and, along the path, across the columns, has a label in an actor column identifying a particular actor for carrying out the portion of the process, a label in an action step column identifying a particular action step to be carried out by the actor as part of the portion of the process, and a label in an outcome column identifying an outcome of the portion of the process, and a next step label indicating a first label for a next portion of the process to be carried out. 
     
     
         3 . The computer implemented tool of  claim 2 , wherein one of the action steps identified in the action step column is a function which is carried out under the direction of the execution of the software programming included in the visual programming framework. 
     
     
         4 . The computer implemented tool of  claim 2 , wherein one of the action steps identified in the action step column is a function which is carried out under the direction of the execution of the software programming code developed in a linear programming language separate from the visual programming framework. 
     
     
         5 . The computer implemented tool of  claim 2 , wherein the software programming code at b), is developed such that a first filter is designed to identify all rows having a first label matching a first value, and a second filter is designed to identify all rows which are output from the first filter and which have a label matching a second value. 
     
     
         6 . The computer implemented tool of  claim 2 , wherein another column has a label indicating an output of an action step, and which indicates a value of one of a plurality of outputs of the action step. 
     
     
         7 . The computer implemented tool of  claim 1 , wherein the linear programming language is C Sharp. 
     
     
         8 . The computer implemented tool of  claim 1 , wherein the existing visual programming framework is the Contract Lifecycle Management product from DocuSign. 
     
     
         9 . The computer implemented tool of  claim 1 , wherein the workflow program document is a spreadsheet. 
     
     
         10 . The computer implemented tool of  claim 2 , wherein one of values of the next step label is a value indicating an exception, meaning that a corresponding action step for a current portion of the process has failed to complete, and, the next step label indicates a next portion of the process, following the current portion of the process, to be an exception handling portion. 
     
     
         11 . The computer implemented tool of  claim 2 , wherein another column has a label indicating an outcome of the portion of the process, wherein the label indicates such outcome of the portion of the process as being a success or a failure. 
     
     
         12 . The computer implemented tool of  claim 2 , wherein, the tool prompts the actor to provide input to the tool, to complete the action step. 
     
     
         13 . The computer implemented tool of  claim 12 , wherein the prompt is generated by software code included in the existing visual programming framework. 
     
     
         14 . The computer implemented tool of  claim 12 , wherein the prompt is generated by software programming code developed in the linear programming language. 
     
     
         15 . The computer implemented tool of  claim 6 , wherein the value of the output of the action step is selected by the actor amongst a choice of a plurality of such values. 
     
     
         16 . The computer implemented tool of  claim 1 , wherein at least one of the first and second software program code is user editable, at least in part. 
     
     
         17 . A method of developing a tool for automating a process, the method comprising steps of:
 a) developing a workflow program document comprising rows and columns, where each row represents one of a plurality of paths through a portion of the process to an outcome of the portion of the process, and where each column represents a human readable label used to describe a component of the process;   b) developing software programming code in a linear programming language, programmed to filter the rows and columns of the workflow program document so as to direct a portion of the process along one of the plurality of paths to an outcome, depending on the content of the human readable labels in the columns; and   c) selecting an existing visual programming framework for displaying on a user interface a visual representation of a flowchart of a process to be automated, using pre-built visual representations of workflow components, and the existing visual programming framework also includes the software programming for carrying out functionality associated with such visual representations of workflow components, wherein the workflow program document, through the operation of the filtering software, directs the workflow components of the visual programming framework to carry out automated tasks according to the human readable labels.   
     
     
         18 . A method of using a tool for automating a process, the method comprising
 a) using a workflow program document comprising rows and columns, where each row represents one of a plurality of paths through a portion of the process to an outcome of the portion of the process, and where each column represents a human readable label used to describe a component of the process;   b) using software programming code developed in a linear programming language, programmed to filter the rows and columns of the workflow program document so as to direct a portion of the process along one of the plurality of paths to an outcome, depending on the content of the human readable labels in the columns; and   c) using an existing visual programming framework for displaying on a user interface a visual representation of a flowchart of a process to be automated, using pre-built visual representations of workflow components, and the existing visual programming framework also includes the software programming for carrying out functionality associated with such visual representations of workflow components, wherein the workflow program document, through the operation of the filtering software, directs the workflow components of the visual programming framework to carry out automated tasks according to the human readable labels.