ACCESS CONTROL FOR BUSINESS PROCESS DATA
Controlling access to business process data is disclosed. An instance of a first business process object configured to contain business process data of a business process is created. An instance of a second business process object configured to contain business process data of the business process is created. A first access control list is associated with the instance of the first business process object and a second access control list is associated with the instance of the second business process object.
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This application is a continuation of co-pending U.S. Patent Application No. 11/644,340 (Attorney Docket No. EMCCP173) entitled ACCESS CONTROL FOR BUSINESS PROCESS DATA filed Dec. 22, 2006 which is incorporated herein by reference for all purposes.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTIONBusiness Process Management (bpm) software allows businesses to automate their work flow. For example, the steps for requesting a vacation can be captured in a flow that runs on a business process computer system which takes a vacation request as input, calculates if the requested vacation time is available, routes it to the proper approving manager, and, once approved, notifies all relevant associated personnel and posts it on a group calendar. During the execution of the business process, a number of business objects may be created and stored in the computer system to store relevant business process data. In some cases, the different users that interact with the business process will control or have access to the entire process and all of the process's associated data. However, the data involved or associated with a given business processes may have different access requirements depending on the data's nature. For example, in a loan mortgage approval process, an appraiser should not be able to access all of the applicant's financial information despite being able to input the appraisal as part of the business process. It would be beneficial to have access to different business objects associated with a business process be able to be controlled individually for each business object.
Various embodiments of the invention are disclosed in the following detailed description and the accompanying drawings.
The invention can be implemented in numerous ways, including as a process, an apparatus, a system, a composition of matter, a computer readable medium such as a computer readable storage medium or a computer network wherein program instructions are sent over optical or communication links. In this specification, these implementations, or any other form that the invention may take, may be referred to as techniques. A component such as a processor or a memory described as being configured to perform a task includes both a general component that is temporarily configured to perform the task at a given time or a specific component that is manufactured to perform the task. In general, the order of the steps of disclosed processes may be altered within the scope of the invention.
A detailed description of one or more embodiments of the invention is provided below along with accompanying figures that illustrate the principles of the invention. The invention is described in connection with such embodiments, but the invention is not limited to any embodiment. The scope of the invention is limited only by the claims and the invention encompasses numerous alternatives, modifications and equivalents. Numerous specific details are set forth in the following description in order to provide a thorough understanding of the invention. These details are provided for the purpose of example and the invention may be practiced according to the claims without some or all of these specific details. For the purpose of clarity, technical material that is known in the technical fields related to the invention has not been described in detail so that the invention is not unnecessarily obscured.
Controlling access to business process data is disclosed. During the development of a business process, one or more business process objects that can hold business process data are specified. Each business process object is associated with a potentially different access control list (ACL). When an instance of the business process is created, e.g., upon submission of a vacation request by employee X for dates Y to Z, in the example described above, instances of the one or more business process objects are created and stored in a repository. For each such business process object instance, the corresponding access control list associated with that business process object at business process design time is associated with the business process object instance. Access to each instance of the one or more business process objects is controlled by the access control list that was associated with the business process object instance at the time the business process object instance was created. The access control list indicates a type of access that an application, a user, or a group of users is allowed.
Two different business processes can have associated with it the same type of business process object as another business process. However, each of the two different business processes can associate a potentially different access control list with said business process object, even though said business process object is of the same type for the two different business processes. For example, a vacation request business process may have associated with it an “employee” type of business object, and a purchase order request business process can have a business object of same type “employee” associated with it. In some embodiments, a different ACL may be associated, e.g., at business process design time, with the employee type object in the context of a vacation request than in the context of a purchase order request. For example, a purchasing department worker may be given “read” access to employee objects associated with a purchase order business process instance, but denied access to the same type of object created in the context of a vacation request business process instance. In some embodiments, business process objects associated with one or more business processes are stored in a repository comprising and/or associated with a content management system, and the repository and/or associated content management system manages the function of associating a business process object instance created by an instance of a business process an ACL associated with the business process object at the time the business process was defined (or some other time prior to instantiation of the current business process instance). In some embodiments, the repository and/or associated content management system controls access to the business process object instance, in accordance with the ACL.
In 202, the business process is executed. An instance of the business process is created and run. The instance of the business process creates a set associated business process objects that hold data.
In 306, a business process step is defined that may edit one or more instances of one or more business process objects. For example, a new DSL Service Business process includes steps to: 1) submit DSL service form; 2) assign work order to DSL technician (manual step); 3) wait for 10 business days for any complaints; 4) charge credit card; and 5) end business process. The DSL service form step of the business process includes entering customer information into a customer business process object, credit card information into a credit card business process object, and order details into an order details business process object. Each of these objects has different access control lists associated with them (as indicated during the development process). For example, the customer business process object may be read and written by a customer service representative, but only read by an installation technician; the credit card business process object may be read and written by a customer service representative, but no access is available for an installation technician; and, the order details business process object may be read and written by a customer service representative, and also read and written by an installation technician. In 308, it is determined if there are more steps. If there are, then control passes to 306. If not, then in 310 the business process development is completed. Completion includes building a business process or saving the business process.
Purchase order instance 602 includes information regarding a purchase request—for example, the purchase request date, the requested item, the purchase order number, order date, receive date, paid date, etc. Associated access control list A 606 includes access information indicating read/write/edit access for requesting employee, an accounting department, an ordering department, and a shipping/receiving department so that they can each read, enter, and modify entries of the purchase order.
Employee instance 604 includes information regarding an employee that requested the purchase order—for example, employee name, employee identification number, purchase authority level, etc. Associated access control list B 608 includes access information indicating read access for the ordering and shipping/receiving department so the requestor can be contacted if there are questions regarding the order and read/write/edit/delete access for the human resource department so that the department can modify the employee information.
Vendor instance 610 includes information regarding the vendor from whom the requested purchase is to be made. Associated access control list A 612 has the same specified access as the access control list A 612 associated with purchase order instance 602.
Vacation request instance 702 includes information regarding a vacation request—for example, the requested dates, potential conflicts, etc. Associated access control list C 706 includes access information indicating read/write/edit access for the requesting employee and read access for the employee's manager and the human resources department.
Employee instance 704 includes information regarding an employee that requested the vacation—for example, employee name, employee identification number, vacation accrual level, etc. Associated access control list D 708 includes access information indicating read access for the employee so that the requestor can know their own vacation levels available and read/write/edit/delete access for the human resource department so that the department can modify the employee information.
Although the foregoing embodiments have been described in some detail for purposes of clarity of understanding, the invention is not limited to the details provided. There are many alternative ways of implementing the invention. The disclosed embodiments are illustrative and not restrictive.
Claims
1. A method for controlling access to business process data, comprising:
- creating an instance of a first business process object configured to contain business process data of a business process;
- creating an instance of a second business process object configured to contain business process data of the business process; and
- associating with the instance of the first business process object with a first access control list, and associating the instance of the second business process object with a second access control list using a processor.
2. The method as in claim 1, further comprising storing the business process object instances in a repository configured to allow access to the stored business process object instances according to the associated access control list.
3. The method as in claim 2, wherein the repository is associated with a content management system.
4. The method as in claim 1, wherein each of the access control lists is determined at a time prior to an instantiation of the instance of the business process.
5. The method as in claim 1, wherein each of the access control lists is determined during a time of development of the business process.
6. The method as in claim 1, wherein each of the access control list indicates a type of access that an application, a user, or a group of users is allowed.
7. The method as in claim 6, wherein access includes a permission including one or more of the following: none, browse, read, relate, version, write, change location, change owner, change state, change permission, delete, execute, annotate, or approve.
8. The method as in claim 6, wherein access includes a restriction including one or more of the following: none, browse, read, relate, version, write, change location, change owner, change state, change permission, delete, execute, annotate, or approve.
9. The method as in claim 6, wherein access specifies a permission or a restriction for an application, a user, or a group of users.
10. The method as in claim 6, wherein access specifies that an accessing party be a specific application, a specific user, or a specific group of users.
11. The method as in claim 6, wherein access specifies that access is restricted if an accessing party is a specific application, a specific user, or a specific group of users.
12. A computer program product for controlling access to business process data, the computer program product being embodied in a computer readable non-transitory medium and comprising computer instructions for:
- creating an instance of a first business process object configured to contain business process data of a business process;
- creating an instance of a second business process object configured to contain business process data of the business process; and
- associating with the instance of the first business process object with a first access is control list, and associating the instance of the second business process object with a second access control list.
13. The computer program product as in claim 12, further comprising computer instructions for storing the business process object instances in a repository configured to allow access to the stored business process object instance according to the associated access control list.
14. The computer program product as in claim 13, wherein the repository is associated with a content management system.
15. The computer program product as in claim 12, wherein each of the access control lists associated with the business process object instance is determined at a time prior to an instantiation of an instance of the business process.
16. The method as in claim 12, wherein each of the access control lists is determined during a time of development of the business process.
17. A system for controlling access to business process data, comprising:
- a processor; and
- a memory coupled with the processor, wherein the memory is configured to provide the processor with instructions which when executed cause the processor to: create an instance of a first business process object configured to contain business process data of a business process; create an instance of a second business process object configured to contain business process data of the business process; and associate with the instance of the first business process object with a first access control list, and associating the instance of the second business process object with a second access control list.
18. The system as in claim 16, wherein the memory is configured to provide the processor with instructions which when executed cause the processor to: store the business process object instances in a repository configured to allow access to the stored business process object instance according to the associated access control list.
19. The computer program product as in claim 18, wherein the repository is associated with a content management system.
20. The computer program product as in claim 17, wherein each of the access control lists associated with the business process object instances is determined at a time prior to an instantiation of an instance of the business process.
21. The computer program product as in claim 17, wherein each of the access control lists is determined during a time of development of the business process.
Type: Application
Filed: Nov 22, 2011
Publication Date: Mar 22, 2012
Applicant: EMC Corporation (Hopkinton, MA)
Inventors: Kenwood Tsai (Palo Alto, CA), Harish Rawat (San Jose, CA), Xiaoting Tang (Santa Clara, CA), Payam Shahidi (San Jose, CA)
Application Number: 13/302,913
International Classification: G06F 17/30 (20060101);