FORM 2
THE PATENTS ACT, 1970
(39 of 1970)
&
THE PATENTS RULES, 2003
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION
(See section 10, rule 13)
1. Title of the invention:
BUSINESS PROCESS TRACKING
2 Applicant(s)
1 NAME NATIONALITY ADDRESS
"TATA CONSULTANCY SERVICES Indian Nirmal Building, 9th Floor, Nariman Point,
LIMITED, Mumbai-400021, Maharashtra, India
3. Preamble to the description
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION
The following specification particularly describes the invention and the manner in which it
is to be performed.

TECHNICAL FIELD
[0001] The present subject matter, in general, relates to business processes and, in
particular, relates to tracking of business processes in business applications. BACKGROUND
[0002] Modern day business needs are fulfilled using business models. These business
models are usually implemented by organizations by using one or more business applications, such as computer implemented business applications. These business applications are configured according to the business model and the business needs.
[0003] In business applications, for example, banking applications, various business
processes are executed to carry out different transactions. A business process may comprise
one or more tasks. For example, a business process, like a loan process comprises various
tasks carried out at various time instances, such as, gathering customer information, loan
approval process, loan disbursement and finally repayment of loan by a customer. In addition,
each task may include one or more steps. For instance, gathering customer information may
include conforming to know your customer (KYC) compliance regulation, viewing account
information of the customer and other loan transactions of the customer.
[0004] Generally, in a business application, a graphical user interface (GUI) is
provided to help a user to carry out the business transactions. The GUI provides a visual
representation of each step of the tasks involved in the business process and the user can
navigate through the business application to complete the business transactions.
[0005] Various steps of a task of a business process, and therefore of the
corresponding business transaction, usually have a user screen or window associated with them. The user screen or window, hereinafter referred to as window, is rendered by the GUI. The user interacts with the system through one or more windows with the help of system peripherals to carry out the tasks. As one step is completed, the user is guided to the subsequent window for executing a next step. Further, contents displayed on a current window often contain links to one or more windows that may have information relevant for completion of a task of the business process.

[0006] The sequence of steps pertaining to each task of the business process is usually
referred to as screen flow of the business process or a task thereof. The screen flow is decided
and fixed during the development of the business application.
SUMMARY
[0007] The subject matter described herein relates to a system and method for tracking
business processes, which are further described below in the detailed description. This
summary is not intended to identify essential features of the claimed subject matter nor is it
intended to be used in determining or limiting the scope of the claimed subject matter.
[0008] The present subject matter discloses a system and method for tracking business
processes in a business application. In one implementation, a business process tracking
system is configured to provide a screen flow corresponding to various steps of a task of the
business process. The screen flow is provided in a display window. The display window is
independent of content of a current window, the current window being the window which is
being accessed by a user at a particular time. The display window indicates the status of the
business process thus allowing for tracking or review of the business process using the current
window.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0009] The above features and aspects and other features and aspects of the subject
matter will be better understood with regard to the following description, appended claims,
and accompanying figures. In the figures, the left-most digit(s) of a reference number
identifies the figure in which the reference number first appears. The use of the same
reference number in different figures indicates similar or identical items.
[0010] Fig. I illustrates an exemplary business process tracking system environment,
in accordance with one embodiment of the present subject matter
[0011] Fig. 2 illustrates an exemplary business process tracking system in accordance
with one embodiment of the present subject matter.
[0012] Fig. 3 illustrates a method for tracking business processes, in accordance with
one embodiment of the present subject matter.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0013] The present subject matter is directed to systems and methods for tracking
business processes.
[0014] A number of business processes are carried out in organizations on a day to
day basis. Computing systems are very commonly employed to assist in performing the business processes. For the purpose, a business application implementing the business processes in the computing system is usually developed and deployed. Numerous business transactions are carried out by executing a business process which may comprise a number of tasks.
[0015] Many transactions may be carried out with respect to a business process.
Consider an example, of a process of buying or selling shares. One or more tasks, such as, recording customer details and account creation may be involved in this business process. For each step of a task of the business process, a window hereinafter, is associated with the step and is presented to a user with the help of the GUI. Accordingly, in the above example of share trading, to create an account using the business application, the user may first be required to view customer details like number of accounts the customer holds and status of each account. The details, for example, may be available on a customer details screen or an accounts screen of the business application. Thus, the user may have to First access the customer details screen. Thereupon, the user may move to the next screen, i.e., the accounts screen where the user views details of customer's one or more accounts. In the subsequent step, the user may move to relevant screens where an order for purchase/sale of shares may be placed and executed. To complete a share trading transaction, all the tasks of the share trading process are required to be completed.
[0016] In conventional systems, the steps involved in completion of a task of a
business process are fixed during a development stage of the business application. Links that are used to access other steps of the task are incorporated within the contents displayed on the window associated with the task Moreover, the links of one or more subsequent windows associated with the task are hard-coded along with the contents of the window. Accordingly, in the above example, the link to the accounts screen may be embedded within the customer details screen, Hard-coding the links of the subsequent windows as a part of the content of a

window poses difficulty in managing the screen flow for the business process or any task
thereof. For example, if the content of the window is updated or changed, the developer needs
to recreate the links to the subsequent windows as a part of the new content. The additional
step of providing new links involves consumption of time and resources.
[0017] In general, in traditional systems to review the status of a business process or
any task thereof, the user has to surf through a plurality of windows to determine the stage at which the business process currently is. For example, in a business process, like a loan process where various tasks, such as, loan approval, loan disbursement and finally repayment of loan by the customer are carried out at various time instances, the status of the loan process may need to be inquired by a user at any point in time. Conventionally, it is not possible to view the status of the loan process in a single view. Thus, to determine whether the loan process is currently in the loan approval stage or the loan disbursement stage, a plurality of windows need to be viewed.
[0018] Further, in conventional systems, the navigation through the business process
is achieved by accessing each intermediate window from the first window to the last in a
predefined sequence, thereby restricting the navigability of the user through the various
windows of the business process. Often, such navigation is inconvenient to the user, for
example, in case some information from one window of the business process is to be used in
another window and the two windows are separated by a number of intermediate windows,
then the user has to access each intermediate window. For example, consider a business
transaction carried out by executing a business process BP1 having 10 steps illustrated by
windows W'l to W10. The user has to access the windows Wl to W10, in that order, to
complete the business transaction. Now, if the user is at window W3 and some information
from the window W3 is to be used at window W8, then the user has to navigate back and
forth between the windows W3 and W8, through the intermediate windows W4, W5, W6, and
W7, to retrieve and use the information to complete the business process BP1, Such
navigation is tedious, time-consuming, and altogether inconvenient to the user.
[0019] In addition, in conventional systems, the modification of a deployed business
application is achieved by interrupting the business application and disconnecting users from the business application. For example, if the steps in a particular business process are to be

modified, it becomes necessary to close the application at the server and modify the desired steps. Closing down of the business application is inconvenient to the users and may be disadvantageous to the organization. For example, in case of a banking application, the closing of the application may lead to loss of business.
[0020] To this end, disclosed herein is a system and method for tracking business
processes in a banking application.
[0021] According to the present subject matter a business process tracking system
handles the content of windows of a business process or any task thereof independently of a screen flow of windows. Further, status of a business process or any task thereof can be viewed in a single view
[0022] As explained above, various business processes are executed in the business
process tracking system to carry out different transactions. A business process may comprise one or more tasks. Completion of a task may involve navigating through a series of windows in a business application. A sequence of windows that are encountered in completion of a task may be referred to as a screen flow. Similarly, in completion of a business process, one or more screen flows may be involved to accomplish the various tasks therein. In the context of screen flows, it will be understood, that tasks and business processes have been interchangeably used.
[0023] Accordingly, the content of a window may be changed without having to
reconfigure the links to the subsequent screens. In one embodiment, of the present subject matter the business process tracking system includes a user interface that enables a user to view the complete screen flow of a business process in a display window allowing enhanced navigability to the user.
[0024] )n one embodiment of the present subject matter, the screen flow of the
windows is saved and maintained at a centralized location, for example, a repository on a server. The screen flow may be defined and updated using an update file, for example, an (XML) file, stored in the repository on the server. The data related to screen flow of windows is separated from data related to contents of the windows. As described earlier, this provides for the contents of any window of the business process to be updated without affecting the screen flow for windows of the business process and vice versa.

[0025] According to the present subject matter the sequence of steps of the business
process relevant to a business transaction is presented to the user in a display window. The display window is different from the current window which has all relevant data pertaining to the step being carried out. In other words, the content window contains all information about a step of the business process while the display window has information related to the screen flow of the business process.
[0026] In one embodiment, the display window presented to the user includes links of
the various windows and information linked to the business process. The whole business
process, along with its various steps, can be seen in the display window in a single view,
thereby enabling the user to understand and visualize the business process. The navigability of
the user for the business process is thus enhanced. In above embodiment a status of each task
of the business process is also indicated to the user. The status of the task shows the user
whether that particular task has been completed or not, for example, a tick mark may be
indicated against a completed task. In one embodiment of the present subject matter, the
status of the business process or any task thereof may be viewed after its completion.
[0027] According to the present subject matter, the change in the business application
is effected at a central" location, for example a server and any change made at the central location is reflected whenever a changed process or a changed step of the business process or any task thereof is accessed by a user. Consider a user carrying out a business process BP2 using a client device. If the business process BP2 needs to be updated, then updating of the business process BP2 is done at the central location. The updated business process BP2 is presented to the user dynamically through the display window. Therefore, the business process tracking system disclosed by the present subject matter enables updating screen flow for the business process or any task thereof independently of the window contents. Updating the screen flow independently of the contents of windows enable introducing updated business process in the business process tracking system without interrupting any running business application.
[0028J Hence, the present subject matter is capable of providing a user with a
seamless navigation experience and a developer an opportunity to dynamically define and introduce updated business processes in the existing system.

[0029] The following disclosure describes systems and methods for business process
tracking using a business process tracking system. While aspects of the described systems and methods can be implemented in any number of different computing systems, environments, and/or configurations, embodiments for the business process tracking system are described in the context of the following exemplary syste'm(s) and method(s).
[0030] Fig. 1 illustrates an exemplary network environment 100 implementing a
business process tracking system 102 for dynamically tracking and updating business processes, according to an embodiment of the present subject matter. The network environment 100 includes a plurality of user devices 104-1, 104-2...104-N, collectively referred to as user devices 104 and individually referred to as user device 104 hereinafter, in communication with the business process tracking system 102 through a network 106. Communication links between the user devices 104 and the business process tracking system 102 are enabled through a desired form of communication, for example, via dial-up modem connections, cable links, digital subscriber lines (DSL), wireless or satellite links, or any other suitable form of communication,
[0031] The network 106 may be a wireless network, a wired network, or a
combination thereof. The network 106 can also be an individual network or a collection of many such individual networks, interconnected with each other and functioning as a single large network, e.g., the Internet or an intranet. The network 106 can be implemented as one of the different types of networks, such as intranet, local area network (LAN), wide area network (WAN), the internet, and such. The network 106 may either be a dedicated network or a shared network, which represents an association of the different types of networks that use a variety of protocols, for example, Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP), Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP), Wireless Application Protocol (WAP), etc., to communicate with each other. Further, the network 106 may include network devices, such as network switches, hubs, routers, HBAs, for providing a link between the business process tracking system 102 and the user devices 104. The network devices within the network 106 may interact with the business process tracking system 102 and the user devices 104 through communication links.

[0032] Further, the user devices 104 may be one or more processor-driven computing
devices, such as desktop computer, laptop computer, network computer, online terminal, hand-held computer, or other similar equipment, which is compatible with the network 106. The business process tracking system 102 is also a processor-driven computing device, such as, a server computer, which may manage network resources and responds to commands from the user devices 104.
[0033] The business process tracking system 102 may be any computing device
connected to the network 106. For instance, the business process tracking system 102 may be implemented as mainframe computers, workstations, personal computers, desktop computers, hand-held devices, multiprocessor systems, personal digital assistants (PDAs), laptops, network computers, minicomputers, servers and the like. The business process tracking system 102 employs various modules for dynamically tracking and updating any business process of a business application.
[0034] In addition, the business process tracking system 102 may include multiple
servers to perform mirrored tasks for users, thereby relieving congestion or minimizing traffic. The user devices 104 and the business process tracking system 102 both include computer readable data storage media, such as hard disk drives and RAM memory, which store program instructions and data
[0035] The network environment 100 of the enterprise may also include application
servers (not shown in the figures). Such application servers implement one or more business
applications for various routine business activities. Such business activities utilize a large
volume of business related data, often referred to as business objects, which represent real
world information, such as information related to employees, customers, products, invoices,
and payments. Moreover, each business object may have hundreds of attributes associated
with it. For example, a payment type business object may have the following attributes: a
payment ID, a payment source, a payment amount, and a payment date.
[0036] The network environment 100 further comprises a database 110
communicatively coupled to the business process tracking system 102. The database may have any required data such as business object data 224 (shown in Fig. 2) stored for the functioning of the business process tracking system 102. Although the database 110 is shown

external to the business process tracking system 102, it will be appreciated by a person skilled
in the art that the database 110 may be internal to the business process tracking system 102.
[0037] As mentioned earlier, the business process tracking system 102 facilitates
tracking and updating of business processes of a business application. The business process
tracking system 102 is configured to receive details of a step of a business process being
executed by the user through the user device 104. In one example, the details of a step of a
business process are the details of a window corresponding to that step. Hereinafter, these
details of a step of a business process are referred to as 'window details' or 'details of a
window' and meaning of these phrases shall be construed accordingly. The window details
may comprise metadata of a window. In one embodiment, the window details comprise
linkage data which helps in identifying other steps of the business process.
[0038] Based on the window details received from a user interface, the business
process tracking system 102 determines the business process of which the window being
accessed is a part. More particularly, based on the window details, a screen flow of the
business process related to the window being accessed is identified. The identified screen
flow is sent to the user devices 104 through the network 106. The user device 104 displays
such details to the user through the display window as discussed above.
[0039] Further the business process tracking system 102 facilitates dynamic updating
of a business process of a business application. The business process is updated by updating business process data. The updating of business process is described in details with reference to Fig. 2 and Fig 3 below.
[0040] Fig. 2 illustrates the business process tracking system 102 in accordance with
one embodiment of the present subject matter. The business process tracking system 102 includes processor(s) 202, I/O interfaces 204, and a memory 206.
[0041] The processor(s) 202 can be a single processing unit or a combination of
multiple processing units. The processor(s) 202 can be implemented as one or more microprocessors, microcomputers, microcontrollers, digital signal processors, central processing units, state machines, logic circuitries, or any devices that manipulate signals based on operational instructions. Among other capabilities, the processor(s) 202 are

configured to fetch and execute computer-readable instructions and data stored in the memory 206.
[0042] The I/O interfaces 204 may include a variety of software and hardware
interfaces, for example, interface for peripheral device(s) such as a keyboard, a mouse, an
external memory, a printer, etc. Further, the I/O interfaces 204 may enable the business
process tracking system 102 to communicate with other computing devices, such as web
servers and external databases. The I/O interfaces 204 may facilitate multiple communications
within a wide variety of protocols and networks, such as the network 106, including wired
networks, e.g., LAN, cable, etc., and wireless networks, e.g., WLAN, cellular, satellite, etc.
The I/O interfaces 204 may include one or more ports for connecting the business process
tracking system 102 to a number of computing devices, such as the user devices 104.
[0043] The memory 206 can include any computer-readable medium known in the art
including, for example, volatile memory (e.g., RAM) and/or non-volatile memory (e.g., flash, etc.). The memory 206 includes module(s) 208, and data 210,
[0044] The modules 208 include a tracking module 108, a GUI module 212, a
configuration module 214, and other modules 216. The other module(s) 216 may include
programs that supplement applications implemented by the business process tracking system
102. The modules 208, in general, include routines, programs, objects, components, data
structures, etc., that perform particular task or implement particular abstract data types.
[0045] The data 210, on the other hand, include screen flow data 218, business
process data 220, business objects 224, and other data 226. The business object data 224 comprise data relating to customers, accounts, or employees of the bank. Business objects, in one embodiment, are defined and accessed using object oriented languages, such as C++ and Java. However, it will be appreciated by a person skilled in the art that other programming languages can also be used to define and access business objects.
[0046] In one embodiment of the present subject matter the data 210 may be present
on an external database ( shown in Fig. 1) instead of being present on the business process tracking system 102 (as shown in Fig.2)
[0047] In one embodiment of the present subject matter a business process is defined
by the business process data 220. The business process data 220 may be defined and saved

using an update file. The update file may be in any suitable format, for example in form of an
XML file. The update file is kept separate from data related to contents of a window. The
contents of the window may be defined and updated using business object data 224. In said
embodiment, the screen flow data 218 is obtained by processing of the business process data
220. The business process data 220, in one example, may change according to changes in the
business needs. The business process data 220 changed by an external agent is in raw form.
The external agent may be an administrator, a developer or another computing system.
[0048] In one embodiment of the present subject matter, the GUI module 212 interacts
with a user through a complementary module which might be present on the user devices 104, and provides an interface to the user to interact with the business process tracking system 102. The GUI module 212 captures window details of a current window from the complementary module present on the user devices 104, and sends the window details to the tracking module 108. The tracking module 108 queries the database 110 based on the window details. The window details may comprise metadata relating to the current window. The configuration module 214, being synchronized and configured with the database 110, in response to query sent to the database 110, identifies all the business processes relating to the current window. For example, a current window where a customer logs in to access his account may appear in two business processes such as a business for transferring funds and a business process for checking account balance. In one embodiment the business process tracking system 102 is capable of providing screen flows for all the business processes which might be associated with the current window.
[0049] A business process is defined in terms of a business process flow and is saved
and updated as business process data 220. If there is any business process that has been updated, the configuration module 214 converts the business process data 220 into screen flow data 218. The configuration module 214 identifies the changes in business process data 220 according to a set of rules, which may vary according to implementations of the business process data and the configuration module 214. The configuration module generates appropriate links between windows of a screen flow based on the updated business process data 220. The configuration module 214 checks the screen flow data 218 and identifies a screen flow related to the current window. The screen flow so identified is sent to the tracking

module 108. The tracking module 108 sends the screen flow data 218 to the GUI module 212. The GUI module 212 renders the screen flow data 218 on the user device 104 with the help of complementary GUI module(s) present on the user device 104, The user of the user device 104 is presented with the display window along with the contents of the window. The display window displays all steps of the transaction with the status of each step. Links to windows (corresponding to steps of the transaction) are also presented to the user. Consequently the user is able to seamlessly navigate through the transaction. In one embodiment of the present subject matter, the status of each step of the business process and the completed business process is stored in the business process data 220. Hence, the display window may display the status of the business process and of each step of the business process using the business process data 220.
[0050] In another embodiment of the present subject matter, the configuration module
214 checks all of the existing business processes and determines if any of the business
processes has been updated. Updating here include modifying or deleting an existing business
process, or introducing a new business process. If there is no updated business process then
the business process related to the current window is identified accordingly from the business
process data 220 and a corresponding screen flow is obtained from the screen flow data 218.
[0051] Fig. 3 illustrates a method 300 for business process tracking and updating by
the business process tracking system 102, according to one embodiment of the present subject matter.
[0052] At block 302, window details of a current window are obtained. In one
embodiment, the window details may be captured by the GUI module 212 and sent to the tracking module 108. In another embodiment, the window details may be captured by the tracking module 108.
[0053] At block 304, a database is queried for business processes related to the current
window. In one embodiment, the database, like the database 110 is queried based on the window details.
[0054] At block 306, it is determined whether there are any updated processes. In one
embodiment of the present subject matter, configuration module 214 checks the business process data 220 and identifies if there is any updated business process. If there is at least one

updated process, a process flow for each of the updated business processes is received at bock 308. The process flows may be received by the configuration module 214. The process flows are saved as business process data 220.
[0055] At block 310, a screen flow is generated for each of the received process flows.
In one embodiment the screen flow may be generated by the configuration module 214. The business process data 220 which includes the process flows is processed by the configuration module 214. The processing includes generating screen flow in a format recognized by the tracking module 112.
[0056] At block 312 all of the updated screen flows are stored at the database 110. In
one embodiment of the present subject matter the updated screen flows are saved in an update file which is saved and stored as screen flow data 218.
[0057] At block 314 one or more screen flow applicable to the current window from
all screen flows stored in the database is identified. In one embodiment the tracking module 108 identifies the applicable screen flow from a plurality of screen flows stored as screen flow data 218. The applicable screen flow is displayed on the user devices 104 at the block 316 through the display window along with the usual content window. The content window remains unaffected by the display window. If it is determined at block 306 that there are no updated business processes, then a business process related to the current window is identified at block 318. In one embodiment the tracking module 108 searches business process data 220 to determine the business process related to the current window. Based on the identified business process, a screen flow corresponding to the identified business process is searched in the screen flow data 218. At block 314 a screen flow applicable to the current window is selected from all the existing screen flows stored in screen flow data 218. The applicable screen flow is displayed on the user devices 104 at the block 316, through the display window along with the usual content window. The content window remains unaffected by the display window. In one embodiment the applicable screen flow is sent by the GUI module 212 to a user device 104 which may be desktop computer, a mobile device or a net book communicatively coupled to the business process tracking system 102.
[0058] The above description has been given in reference to a business process
tracking system 102 used for tracking and updating business processes used in banks but a

person skilled in the art would know that the business process tracking system 102 can be
conveniently used for tracking business processes used in fields other than the banking.
[0059] Although embodiments for business process tracking system 102 for tracking
and updating business processes have been described in language specific to structural features and/or methods, it is to be understood that the invention is not necessarily limited to the specific features or methods described. Rather, the specific features and methods are disclosed as exemplary embodiments for the business process tracking system 102 and methods.

I/We Claim:
1. A system for tracking business processes within a business application, the system comprising:
a processor (202); and
a memory (206) coupled to the processor (202), wherein the memory (206) comprises a tracking module (108) configured to provide a screen flow corresponding to at least one business process in a display window of the business application, such that the display window is independent of the content of a current window.
2. The system as claimed in claim 1, wherein display window indicates a status of the at least one business process in the display window to allow a review of the status in a single view.
3. The system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the display window comprises at least one of a graphical display window presenting data in form of icons or a display window having data in text format.
4. The system as claimed in claim 1. wherein the tracking module (108) is configured to provide the display window to a graphical user interface (GUI) module (212)
5. The system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the tracking module (108) determines the at least one business process based on window details of the current window.
6. The system as claimed in claim 5, wherein the window details comprises metadata of the current window.
7. The system as claimed in claim 1, wherein a configuration module (214) is configured to generate a screen flow for each of a plurality of business processes and wherein the screen

flow is generated based on a business process data (220) pertaining to each of the plurality of business processes.
8. The system as claimed in claim 7, wherein the configuration module (214) is configured to update the screen flow data (218) based on changes in the business process data (220).
9. The system as claimed in claim 8, wherein the updated business process data is saved in an update file.
10. The system as claimed in claim 9, wherein the update file comprises of an XML file.
11. The system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the business application is a banking application.
12. A computer implemented method for dynamically updating a business process in a business application, the method comprising:
updating at least one business process based on updated business process data; generating a screen flow based on the at least one updated business process; and providing screen flow for the at least one updated business process in the business application.
13. The method as claimed in claim 12, wherein the updating includes deleting, modifying of at least one existing business process or adding at least one new business process.
14. The method as claimed in claim 12, wherein the generating comprises identifying at least one updated business process.
15. A computer implemented method for tracking of a business process in a business application, the method comprising:
obtaining window details of a current window;

determining at least one business process based on the obtained window details; and
providing a screen flow in a single view in a display window corresponding to the at least one business process.
16. The method as claimed in claim 15, wherein the providing comprises sending the screen flow to a user device.
17. The method as claimed in claim 15, wherein the determining comprises generating the screen flow.
18. The method as claimed in claim 17, wherein the generating comprises:
updating at least one business process based on updated business process data; and identifying at least one updated business process.
19. The method as claimed in claim 18, wherein the identifying comprises selecting at least one updated business process.
20. The method as claimed in claim 18, wherein the updated business process data comprises of data used to define the at least one business process.