Granted Patent B2

US 12,405,772 · App. 18/722,782 · Granted Sep 2, 2025

Inventor: Sean Ryan (The Hague, NL)

Assignee: Mendix Technology B.V.

G06F8/34G06F3/0486

Abstract

Claims (63)

1. Computer-implemented method of creating an app, wherein a computer system is configured to execute the following steps of the method:

providing, by at least one processor, an app development user interface (UI) to a user for developing the app;

displaying, by the app development UI at least two workflow artifacts of a workflow of the app to the user;

capturing, by the app development UI, an intent of the user to insert an additional workflow artifact into the workflow in response to user interactions with the app development UI;

inserting, by the at least one processor, the additional workflow artifact into the workflow according to the captured user's intent;

determining, by the at least one processor, an overlap of at least two of the at least two workflow artifacts caused by the inserted workflow artifact;

determining, by the at least one processor, a flow direction of the workflow from a preceding workflow artifact to a following workflow artifact, the preceding workflow artifact and the following workflow artifact preceding and following the inserted workflow artifact, respectively;

determining, by the at least one processor, at least one workflow artifact of the workflow which needs to be moved along the determined flow direction to avoid the determined overlap;

determining, by the at least one processor, an updated workflow by moving the determined workflow artifact along the determined flow direction at least until the determined overlap is removed;

displaying, by the app development UI, at least the preceding workflow artifact, the inserted workflow artifact, and the following workflow artifact to the user;

developing, by the at least one processor, the app through the app development UI by using the updated workflow;

determining, by the at least one processor, a moving borderline the workflow, wherein the moving borderline intersects the preceding workflow artifact and is perpendicular to the determined flow direction;

determining, by the at least one processor, an updated workflow by only moving one or more workflow artifacts which are arranged in the workflow at the same side of the moving borderline as the inserted artifact or a removed workflow artifact; and

deploying and running the developed app comprising the updated workflow for implementation in a runtime of the developed app in a respective target device.

2. The Computer-implemented method according to claim 1 , further comprising:

determining, by the at least one processor, at least one position in the workflow at which to insert the additional workflow artifact using the captured user's intent and a trained function.

3. The Computer-implemented method according to claim 2 , further comprising:

displaying, in the app development UI, the determined at least one position to the user; and

capturing, with the app development UI, the user's intent to approve at least one of the determined at least one position in response to user interactions.

4. The Computer-implemented method according to claim 1 , further comprising:

moving, by the at least one processor, the workflow artifacts of the workflow following the inserted artifact along the determined flow direction at least until the determined overlap is removed.

5. The Computer-implemented method according to claim 1 , further comprising:

determining, by the at least one processor, the overlap of at least two of the workflow artifacts caused by a previously moved workflow artifact;

determining, by the at least one processor, the flow direction of the workflow from the preceding workflow artifact to the following workflow artifact, the preceding workflow artifact and the following workflow artifact preceding and following the previously moved workflow artifact, respectively;

determining, by the at least one processor, at least one workflow artifact of the workflow which needs to be moved along the determined flow direction to avoid the determined overlap; and

determining, by the at least one processor, the updated workflow by moving the determined workflow artifact along the determined flow direction at least until the determined overlap is removed.

6. The Computer-implemented method according to claim 1 , further comprising:

capturing the user's intent to remove a selected workflow artifact from the workflow in response to user interactions with the app development UI;

removing the selected workflow artifact from the workflow according to the captured user's intent;

determining, by the at least one processor, a gap between the preceding workflow artifact and the following workflow artifact, the preceding workflow artifact and the following workflow artifact preceding and following the removed workflow artifact, respectively;

determining, by the at least one processor, the flow direction of the workflow from the preceding workflow artifact to the following workflow artifact; and

determining, by the at least one processor, the updated workflow by moving the following workflow artifact in opposite direction to the determined flow direction until the determined gap is closed.

7. The Computer-implemented method according to claim 1 , wherein the inserted workflow artifact is inserted into a loop of workflow artifacts, the loop having a loop size and a loop border, the method further comprising:

determining, by the at least one processor, an overlap of a workflow artifact comprised by the loop and the loop border, the overlap being caused by the workflow artifact inserted into the loop; and

determining, by the at least one processor, the updated workflow by expanding the loop size of the loop along the determined flow direction at least until the determined overlap is removed.

8. The Computer-implemented method according to claim 7 , further comprising:

determining, by the at least one processor, an overlap of the expanded loop and the workflow artifact following the loop;

determining, by the at least one processor, the flow direction of the workflow from the expanded loop to the workflow artifact following the loop; and

determining, by the at least one processor, the updated workflow by moving the workflow artifact following the loop along the determined flow direction at least until the determined overlap is removed.

9. The Computer-implemented method according to claim 1 , wherein the preceding workflow artifact is a split artifact starting partial flows of the workflow, the method further comprising:

determining, by the at least one processor, the flow direction of the workflow from the following workflow artifact to the workflow artifact following the following workflow artifact; and

determining, by the at least one processor, the updated workflow by arranging the inserted artifact at an initial position of the following artifact and by moving the following workflow artifact along the determined flow direction at least until the determined overlap is removed.

10. The Computer-implemented method according to claim 1 , wherein the following workflow artifact is a merge artifact merging partial flows of the workflow, the method further comprising:

determining, by the at least one processor, the flow direction of the workflow from the workflow artifact preceding the preceding workflow artifact to the preceding workflow artifact;

determining, by the at least one processor, the updated workflow by moving the preceding workflow artifact in the opposite direction to the determined flow direction at least until the determined overlap is removed.

11. The Computer-implemented method according to claim 1 , wherein the workflow intersects the determined moving borderline at least twice, and wherein the workflow includes a U-shape, an S-shape, or a Z-shape.

12. The Computer-implemented method according to claim 1 , further comprising:

applying, by the at least one processor, the updated workflow of the developed app to input data to generate output data; and

analyzing, monitoring, and/or controlling the respective target device, or a device connected to the respective target device using the generated output data and/or analyzing and/or monitoring the respective target device's user using the generated output data.

13. A non-transitory computer-readable medium including machine-readable instructions stored therein that when executed by a computer system, cause the computer system configured to execute the following steps to:

provide an app development user interface (UI) to a user for developing the app;

display at least two workflow artifacts of a workflow of the app to the user in the app development UI;

capture the user's intent to insert an additional workflow artifact into the workflow in response to user interactions with the app development UI;

insert the additional workflow artifact into the workflow according to the captured user's intent;

determine an overlap of at least two of the at least two workflow artifacts caused by the inserted workflow artifact;

determine a flow direction of the workflow from a preceding workflow artifact to the following workflow artifact, the preceding and the following workflow artifact preceding and following the inserted workflow artifact, respectively;

determine at least one workflow artifact of the workflow which needs to be moved along the determined flow direction to avoid the determined overlap;

determine an updated workflow by moving the respective, determined workflow artifact along the determined flow direction at least until the determined overlap is removed;

display at least the preceding workflow artifact, the inserted workflow artifact, and the following workflow artifact to the user in the app development UI;

develop the app through the app development UI by using the updated workflow;

determine a moving borderline in the workflow, wherein the moving borderline intersects the preceding workflow artifact and is perpendicular to the determined flow direction;

determine an updated workflow by only moving one or more workflow artifacts which are arranged in the workflow at the same side of the moving borderline as the inserted artifact or the removed workflow artifact; and

deploy and run the developed app comprising the updated workflow for implementation during runtime on a respective target device.

Assignments (2)

Continuity (1)

References Cited (23)