Methods and Software for Creating Workflows

Abstract

A method comprising presenting to a user a plurality of input devices, each representing a data input mechanism of said smart device; receiving from the user a selection of one or more of said input devices; presenting to the user for selection a plurality of action devices, each representing a possible action to be taken by the smart device; receiving from the user a selection of one or more of said action devices, wherein each input device has one or more input device outputs and each action device has one or more action device inputs; and forming one or more input-action associations each comprising an input device output associated with an action device input. The software provides a system and method for operating a computer, allowing the user to create workflows linking different inputs and actions, while avoiding or reducing the need to switch between different applications and different contexts.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method of creating a workflow on a smart device, comprising:
 presenting to a user for selection a plurality of input devices, each representing a data input mechanism of said smart device;   receiving from the user a selection of one or more of said input devices;   presenting to the user for selection a plurality of action devices, each representing a possible action to be taken by the smart device;   receiving from the user a selection of one or more of said action devices, wherein each input device has one or more input device outputs, and wherein each action device has one or more action device inputs; and   forming one or more input-action associations each comprising a selected input device output associated with a selected action device input.   
     
     
         2 . The method as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein the user selects an input device output and an action device input to form at least one input-action association. 
     
     
         3 . The method as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein the input device outputs and the action device inputs have associated therewith a media type which identifies a type of content that will be produced on that output or that is required to be delivered to that input respectively. 
     
     
         4 . The method as claimed in  claim 3 , wherein the method automatically identifies an input device output and an action device input that can be paired by matching their respective media types. 
     
     
         5 . The method as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein a plurality of input-action associations are formed and wherein the method further comprises:
 allocating a dependency attribute to at least one input action association which identifies another input action association on which it depends.   
     
     
         6 . The method as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein a plurality of input-action associations are formed, and wherein the method further comprises:
 associating a plurality of input-action associations together to form an input-action combination.   
     
     
         7 . The method as claimed in  claim 6 , further comprising:
 allocating an input device priority attribute to one or more input-action associations within the input-action combination, said input device priority attribute identifying a preferred order in which input devices should be presented to the user for input data collection.   
     
     
         8 . The method as claimed in  claim 6 , further comprising:
 allocating an action device priority attribute to one or more input-action associations within the input-action combination, said action device priority attribute identifying a preferred order in which action devices should be processed.   
     
     
         9 . The method as claimed in  claim 6 , wherein the input-action combination has an input device instance attribute associated with each input-action association within the input-action combination, said input device instance attribute identifying an instance of the input device to which the input-action association relates. 
     
     
         10 . The method as claimed in  claim 6 , wherein the input-action combination has an action device instance attribute associated with each input-action association within the input-action combination, said action device instance attribute identifying an instance of the action device to which the input-action association relates. 
     
     
         11 . The method as claimed in  claim 6 , wherein a plurality of input-action combinations are formed and wherein the method further comprises:
 forming a sequence of a plurality of input-action combinations to form an input-action sequence.   
     
     
         12 . The method as claimed in  claim 11 , further comprising:
 allocating a sequence position attribute to each input action combination in the input action sequence identifying its position within the sequence.   
     
     
         13 . The method as claimed in  claim 12 , wherein the sequence position attribute comprises a relationship to the next and/or previous input action pair combination in the input action sequence. 
     
     
         14 . The method as claimed in  claim 11 , wherein each input-action association in an input-action sequence has a sequenced input device instance attribute that identifies an instance of the input device to which the input-action association relates. 
     
     
         15 . The method as claimed in  claim 11 , wherein each input-action association in an input-action sequence has a sequenced action device instance attribute that identifies an instance of the action device to which the input-action association relates. 
     
     
         16 . The method as claimed in  claim 11 , further comprising:
 storing details of the input-action associations, the input-action combinations and the input-action sequence as entries in a database.   
     
     
         17 . The method as claimed in  claim 1 , further comprising:
 forming a first input action association between a first input device and a first action device and forming a second input action association between said first input device and a second action device.   
     
     
         18 . The method as claimed in  claim 1 , further comprising:
 forming a first input action association between a first input device and a first action device and forming a second input action association between a second input device and said first action device.   
     
     
         19 . The method as claimed in  claim 1 , further comprising:
 forming a first input action association between a first output of a first input device and an input of a first action device and forming a second input action association between said first output of said first input device and an input of a second action device.   
     
     
         20 . The method as claimed in  claim 1 , further comprising:
 forming a first input action association between an output of a first input device and a first input of a first action device and forming a second input action association between an output of a second input device and said first input of said first action device.   
     
     
         21 . The method as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein at least one input device is selected from among: a text capture device, an image capture device, a video capture device, an audio capture device, a touch capture device, a speech capture device a location sensing device, an orientation sensing device, an acceleration sensing device, a monitoring device, a notification driven device, an event driven device, a time based device, or a connectivity sensing device. 
     
     
         22 . The method as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein at least one action device is selected from among: an email sending device, a short messaging device, a media messaging device, a social networking device, a blogging device, a notes device, a local storage device, a cloud storage device, an information reference device, a telecommunication device, a news reading device, a book reading device, a database device, a web browsing device, a web application device, an internet client application device, a mobile app launching device, a text processing device, an audio processing device, an image processing device, a vector drawing processing device, a numeric processing device, a touch processing device, a video processing device, a navigation device, a healthcare device, a payment device, a retail commerce device, a general processing device, a games device, a monitoring device, a notification device, an event generation device, or a media streaming device. 
     
     
         23 . A method of operating a workflow on a smart device, wherein the workflow comprises at least one input action association and wherein each input action association comprises an input device output associated with an action device input, the method comprising:
 creating instances of each input device required by the input action associations;   loading data into each input device instance;   creating instances of action devices; and   triggering transfer of the loaded data from each input device to the associated action device.   
     
     
         24 . The method as claimed in  claim 23 , wherein the workflow comprises at least one input action combination comprising a plurality of input action associations, and wherein the triggering comprises triggering all loaded data to be transferred from each input device to the associated action device for all input action associations within the input action combination. 
     
     
         25 . The method as claimed in  claim 23 , wherein the workflow comprises a plurality of input action combinations, each comprising at least one input action association, wherein the input action combinations each have a sequence attribute which identifies an order in which the input action combinations are to be executed, and wherein each input action combination undergoes a step of transferring loaded data from its associated input device to its associated action device, said transferring steps being executed in the order defined by the sequence attributes. 
     
     
         26 . The method as claimed in  claim 25 , wherein at least one input action combination in the sequence includes a decision device which, when executed, is capable of altering progression of the sequence. 
     
     
         27 . The method as claimed in  claim 23 , wherein at least one input action combination in the sequence includes a decision device which, when executed, is capable of transforming one or more of its inputs to produce its outputs or generating new outputs based on its inputs, internal logic and configurable decision criteria. 
     
     
         28 . The method as claimed in  claim 23 , wherein the transfer of loaded data from input devices to action devices is performed in groups, each group corresponding to one action device and the input devices that are associated with it via input action associations. 
     
     
         29 . The method as claimed in  claim 23 , wherein transferring data from one or more input devices to one or more action devices comprises transferring the data from the input devices to an intermediate data structure and then transferring the data from the intermediate data structure to the action devices. 
     
     
         30 . The method as claimed in  claim 29 , wherein the intermediate data structure comprises elements based on a media type of the input interfaces of the action devices. 
     
     
         31 . A software product comprising instructions which when executed by a computer cause the computer to:
 present to a user for selection a plurality of input devices, each representing a data input mechanism of said computer;   receive from the user a selection of one or more of said input devices;   present to the user for selection a plurality of action devices, each representing a possible action to be taken by the computer; and   receive from the user a selection of one or more of said action devices, wherein each input device has one or more input device outputs, wherein each action device has one or more action device inputs, and wherein the instructions of the software product further cause the computer to form one or more input action associations each comprising a selected input device output associated with a selected action device input.   
     
     
         32 . A method of manufacturing a software product which is in a form of a non-transitory computer-readable medium, comprising storing on the computer-readable medium instructions which when executed by a computer cause the computer to:
 present to a user for selection a plurality of input devices, each representing a data input mechanism of said computer;   receive from the user a selection of one or more of said input devices;   present to the user for selection a plurality of action devices, each representing a possible action to be taken by the computer; and   receive from the user a selection of one or more of said action devices, wherein each input device has one or more input device outputs, wherein each action device has one or more action device inputs, and wherein the instructions of the software product further cause the computer to form one or more input action associations each comprising a selected input device output associated with a selected action device input.   
     
     
         33 . A method of providing a software product to a remote location by transmitting data to a computer at that remote location, the data comprising instructions which when executed by the computer cause the computer to:
 present to a user for selection a plurality of input devices, each representing a data input mechanism of said computer;   receive from the user a selection of one or more of said input devices;   present to the user for selection a plurality of action devices, each representing a possible action to be taken by the computer; and   receive from the user a selection of one or more of said action devices, wherein each input device has one or more input device outputs, wherein each action device has one or more action device inputs, and wherein the instructions of the software product further cause the computer to form one or more input action associations each comprising a selected input device output associated with a selected action device input.