KosmosBOS Technologies > AutoTasks overview

This application is about "task assignment in a company". The requirement on the application is to automate the "procedure" of "task assignment and completion". This means that the successive "steps" of the procedure are automatically forwarded from one employee to another without any kind of "manager" intervention. At any time the manager has the ability to see on what tasks (steps) the employs are engaged. After a certain period of time the manager has a complete report on what tasks each employee has been assigned, when has started and when has finished the tasks.

The requirements, put on the application from the coordination of "task assignment and completion", are the following:

"Every employee can put a "task" to another employee (by name) or to a role. The "task" contains a title, possibly a final date, name of employee or role to assigned-to and a description. The assignee works on the "task" (by writing more notes on the available memo). After finishing the "task" returns to the assigner. The assigner can accept the "task" as competed (and put it in a finished state). Otherwise returns the "task" to the same assignee or to another. The cycle continues until the "task" put in a finished state. That's all."

All of the above requirements are put on a coordinator agent. The action_code of the agent's is the following:

start_action

call bpm_setprocedureowner("JOHN") {.....set the procedure owner}

callwait bpm_assign_job ( "new task" , __activation_user , "" , 0) {....start the new task}

task_id = bpm_getrecid(1,__au_step) {......subactivity, activity}

comm = LookUp("TASK","TASK",task_id,"DESCR","")

call bpm_setprocedurecomment(comm) {.....set the procedures comment}

for i = 1 to 1000

user = LookUp("TASK","TASK",task_id,"TOUSER","")

pos = LookUp("TASK","TASK",task_id,"TOPOSITION","")

finished = LookUp("TASK","TASK",task_id,"FINISHED","")

if (finished = 1) then

i = 1000

else

if (user <> "") then {...the user works on the task}

callwait bpm_assign_job ( "working on task" , user , "" , 0 , task_id )

endif

if (pos <> "") then {...the users with position works on the task}

callwait bpm_assign_job ( "working on task" , "" , pos , 0 , task_id )

endif

{.....the task issuer examines if the task is completed, or reassinges it again (to the same or different person}

callwait bpm_assign_job ( "check the task work" , __activation_user , "" , 0 , task_id )

endif

end_action

We can see the callwait and if keywords. Those keywords give the opportunity to the agent to wait (until a job has been finished) or to have exclusive process code execution. Those are capabilities that are not presented every day in a programming language (ok script!). Notice that the callwait "calls" the user's activity as it would be a "program's subroutine". Notice also the mixing of conventional code (database handling, for loops) with process management code.

We have to admit that the effect (coordination and historic data collection of the order procedure) is far too big for the lines of code that are written by the application programmer. To be precise the code is a little bigger (the agent contains the code that "describes" the task (activities) assigned to employees). The complete agent (code and declarations) is given bellow:

{-----------------------------------------------------------------------

' procedure for the taskmanager

'----------------------------------------------------------------------------------}

{....................................AGENT INFO..............................................}

start_agent_info

AgentName = "TASKMANAGER"

AgentDescr = ""

AgentLanguage = ""

__timer_interval = 0

__is_registered = 1

__delete_on_termination = 0

end_agent_info

{....................................PRODUCTION CODE..................................................}

{..............................................................................new task}

start_bpm_activity "new task"

start_bpm_subactivity "new task to assign"

rec = bpm_getrecid()

if (rec = 0) then

call OpenForm("ptAppend","TASK_E01.FM","WORK.TASK",1,"?=TASK")

else

expr = strcat(rec,"=TASK")

call OpenForm("ptEdit","TASK_E01.FM","WORK.TASK",1,expr)

endif

end_bpm_subactivity

start_bpm_validation

result = 1

rec = bpm_getrecid(1)

if (rec = 0) then

call message("You havent created a new task!")

result = 0

endif

if (rec > 0) then

user = LookUp("TASK","TASK",rec,"TOUSER","")

pos = LookUp("TASK","TASK",rec,"TOPOSITION","")

if (user = "") and (pos = "") then

call message("The task must be assigned to a user or to a position!")

result = 1

endif

if (user <> "") and (pos <> "") then

call message("The task has been assigned to a user AND to a position!")

result = 1

endif

end_bpm_validation

end_bpm_activity

{..................................................................................working on task}

start_bpm_activity "working on task"

start_bpm_subactivity "task elements"

rec = __params[1]

expr = strcat(rec,"=TASK")

call OnOpenForm_DisableAllFields()

call OnOpenForm_EnableField("COMM")

call OpenForm("ptEdit","TASK_E02.FM","WORK.TASK",1,expr)

end_bpm_subactivity

end_bpm_activity

{..................................................................................check the task work}

start_bpm_activity "check the task work"

start_bpm_subactivity "task elements"

rec = __params[1]

expr = strcat(rec,"=TASK")

call OnOpenForm_DisableField("DESCR")

call OpenForm("ptEdit","TASK_E01.FM","WORK.TASK",1,expr)

end_bpm_subactivity

start_bpm_validation

result = 1

rec = bpm_getrecid(1)

if (rec = 0) then

call message("You have not examined the task!")

result = 0

endif

if (rec > 0) then

user = LookUp("TASK","TASK",rec,"TOUSER","")

pos = LookUp("TASK","TASK",rec,"TOPOSITION","")

if (user = "") and (pos = "") then

call message("The task must be assigned to a user or to a position!")

result = 1

endif

if (user <> "") and (pos <> "") then

call message("The task has been assigned to a user AND to a position!")

result = 1

endif

end_bpm_validation

end_bpm_activity

{.....................................CONTROL CODE......................................................}

{.................................ACTION CODE................................................

Every user can activate a new task.

The task can be assigned to another user, position into the the company

or to himself.

The task goes for completion to the user or position assigned.

After that returns to the task issuer.

The task issuer can repassing again the task util its completed (by checking the "Finished" check box)

}

start_action

call bpm_setprocedureowner("JOHN") {.....set the procedure owner}

callwait bpm_assign_job ( "new task" , __activation_user , "" , 0) {....start the new task}

task_id = bpm_getrecid(1,__au_step) {......subactivity, activity}

comm = LookUp("TASK","TASK",task_id,"DESCR","")

call bpm_setprocedurecomment(comm) {.....set the procedures comment}

for i = 1 to 1000

user = LookUp("TASK","TASK",task_id,"TOUSER","")

pos = LookUp("TASK","TASK",task_id,"TOPOSITION","")

finished = LookUp("TASK","TASK",task_id,"FINISHED","")

if (finished = 1) then

i = 1000

else

if (user <> "") then {...the user works on the task}

callwait bpm_assign_job ( "working on task" , user , "" , 0 , task_id )

endif

if (pos <> "") then {...the users with position works on the task}

callwait bpm_assign_job ( "working on task" , "" , pos , 0 , task_id )

endif

{.....the task issuer examines if the task is completed, or reassinges it again (to the same or different person}

callwait bpm_assign_job ( "check the task work" , __activation_user , "" , 0 , task_id )

endif

{------------------------------------ end of procedure ---------------------------------------------}

end_action

The agent (agent prototype precisely) can be viewd form Right Mouse Click on Application's Background->Popup Menu->Developer->Resources->Agent Prototypes. The system creates, for every "order" requested, a new "alive" agent that starts to execute his action_code.

Another issue is that the jobs are assigned to users (employees) not only by name but also (and mainly) by their roles into the company. The users and roles as they are defined into the application can be found at Menu->System->Users/Positions.

A "new therapy appointment" can be activated on the application from Menu->Files->NEW TASK. In order the users see the activities (jobs) that are assigned to them exit the demo application and logon as the user in question. The same can be run in debug mode from Menu->Files->NEW TASK (DEBUG). The programmer has to press (F8) in order the agent continues the execution. In debug mode also the activities are not forwarded to the employees (users) but are presented to the programmer in order to complete the forms with data and forward them to the next step.

Every user has the "incoming activities" window. This window refreshes itself every 30 seconds (it can be changed) and contains all the activities that the agent has assigned to the user either directly (by user name) or (frequently) indirectly (by role that the user has). Notice that the same activity is send to all users that happen to have the same role into the company or organization. When the user "completes" the data that the activity required, he/she "forwards" the completed activity to the next step. Then the activity disappears from the window.

In order a user to see activities that assigned to him for today or are uncompleted from yesterday he/she has to activate Menu->Personal Secr->Activities for today. For activities that are assigned to user for future time (for example pending appointments) the user has to activate Menu->Personal Secr->Activities that Pending.

By activating Menu->Personal Secr->Activities In Progress we see every activity (job) that is assigned at the time and is in phase of completion, i.e. presented to users "incoming activities" and are worked by them.

Every window that presents "user activities" has a button captioned as "History". By activating it we see the steps that have completed (with date and time data) by user and role. The steps that are "finished" are flagged by (1) while those that are unfinished by (0). Near the button "History" there is the button "Flowchart". By activating it we have automatically a picture as below. By "red" are colored the finished activities, by "green" the activities that are assigned and worked now and by "blue" the activities that are going to follow as next steps.

When we activate Menu->System->Users we can see a button captioned "Have Done". By activating it we get all the activities that the user (employee) has finished and by witch role. The time of staring and completing for each activity is also available. This way the real effort that the user has given to the company can be estimated.

The demo application comes with "Developer" capabilities. That means we have the opportunity to change the database schema (Right Click->Developer->Resources->Database Manager->Edit Schema). We can also change the forms (Right Click over a form->Designing).

We described above that to "emulate" multi user behavior we have to exit and login the application with a different user name. In order to run the application in real multi user configuration (over TCP/IP breaking thus the barriers of the local area network) we have to replace the "kosmos.exe" with a real multi user server (starting from 3 users). For this reason see the "Products" page in our site. We have also to install clients (any number). For this reason see the "Downloads" page in our site.