Automated process guidance system and method
A system and method for guiding a user through a complex process having a plurality of steps is provided. The system may permit a user with little or no knowledge of the process to complete the process. The guidance system may include a logical structure which models the process steps within the process and guidance pages which provide the user with additional information about how to proceed through the process. The guidance pages may have one or more page fragments and each page fragment may be dynamically generated based on certain preconditions so that the guidance pages are easily customizable.
1. A memory of a database server for storing data accessed by a process guidance system being executed on a computer system, comprising:
a data structure stored in the memory, the data structure including information resident in a database used by said database server and including:
a logical structure for representing the steps of the process, each node of the structure representing a step in the process and one or more of the steps presenting alternatives to the user requiring the user to make a decision; and
one or more page fragments each having an associated fragment precondition comprising one of a jurisdiction precondition, an effective date precondition, a site precondition and a union precondition, the page fragment being placed within a guidance page when the precondition is met wherein each guidance page is generated based on the page fragments with met preconditions.
2. A computer system for guiding a user through a complex process having a plurality of steps at each of which the user is required to make a decision, the computer system comprising:
a database having a knowledge management system;
the database further comprising a logical structure for representing the steps of the process, wherein the logical structure has one or more nodes, each node of the logical structure representing a step in the process and one or more of the steps presenting alternatives to the user requiring the user to make a decision and one or more guidance pages attached to each node of the logical structure, the guidance pages providing the user of the system with guidance about how to make decision at the current step of the process; and
wherein the knowledge management system further comprises instructions that display information about a process step based on the current step of the process and instructions that recommend an action to the user based on the current step of the process.
3. The system of claim 2 , wherein each guidance page further comprises one or more page fragments which include fragment data and a fragment precondition, a page fragment being shown to the user of the system only if the fragment precondition is met.
4. The system of claim 2 , wherein the structure comprises a decision tree having one or more nodes which represent each step of the process.
5. The system of claim 2 , wherein the structure comprises a decision matrix.
6. The system of claim 3 , wherein the process comprises a human resources process.
7. The system of claim 6 , wherein the process comprises an attendance management process.
8. The system of claim 6 , wherein the process comprises a compensation planning process.
9. A computer implemented process guidance system, comprising:
a computer system;
a database server connected to the computer system having a database, the database further comprising a logical structure for representing the steps of the process, wherein the logical structure has one or more nodes and each node of the logical structure representing a step in the process, the steps of the process further comprising at least providing information to the user about the process, providing a guidance page to the user to provide advice about a process decision of the user and recommending an action to be taken by the user based on the process; and
wherein the computer system generates the process guidance user interface based on the nodes of the logical structure to guide a user through the process.