Professional Documents
Culture Documents
College Automation Project
College Automation Project
A PROJECT REPORT
Submitted by
B. V. M. ENGINEERING COLLEGE,
VALLABH VIDYANAGAR-388120
i
WORKFLOW AUTOMATION SYSTEM 17CP308
APPROVAL SHEET
Date:
Place:
ii
WORKFLOW AUTOMATION SYSTEM 17CP308
CERTIFICATE
This is to certify that Project Work embodied in this project report titled
“WORKFLOW AUTOMATION SYSTEM" was carried out by “HINGU
DHAVAL KISHANBHAI with ID No (17CP308)” (which was carried out
at Kothari InfoTech Pvt. Ltd.) under the course CP446, Full Semester
External Project for the partial fulfillment for the award of the degree of B.
Tech. (Computer Engineering). Followings are the supervisors at the
institute.
Date:
Place:
iii
WORKFLOW AUTOMATION SYSTEM 17CP308
DECLARATION OF ORIGINALITY
I hereby certify that we are the sole authors of this report under the course CP446 Full
Semester External Project and that neither any part of this report nor the whole of the report
has been submitted for a degree to any other University or Institution.
I certify that, to the best of our knowledge, the current report does not infringe upon
anyone’s copyright nor violate any proprietary rights and that any ideas, techniques,
quotations or any other material from the work of other people included in our report,
published or otherwise, are fully acknowledged in accordance with the standard referencing
practices. Furthermore, to the extent that we have included copyrighted material that
surpasses the boundary of fair dealing within the meaning of the Indian Copyright
(Amendment) Act 2012, we certify that we have obtained a written permission from the
copyright owner(s) to include such material(s) in the current report and have included
copies of such copyright clearances to our appendix.
I declare that this is a true copy of report, including any final revisions, as approved by
report review committee.
I have checked write up of the present report using anti-plagiarism database and it is in
allowable limit. Even though later on in case of any complaint pertaining of plagiarism, we
are sole responsible for the same and we understand that as per UGC norms, University can
even revoke the degree conferred to the student submitting this report.
Date:
iv
WORKFLOW AUTOMATION SYSTEM 17CP308
v
WORKFLOW AUTOMATION SYSTEM 17CP308
Contents
AB STRACT ......................................................................................................viii
ACKNO WLED GEM ENT ................................................................................ix
List of Figures ........................................................................................................x
List of Tables ........................................................................................................xi
ABBREVIATIONS................................................................................................1
CHAPTER 1 INRODUCTION ............................................................................2
1.1 Project Overview………………………………………………………………………………………….2
1.2 Objective…………………………………………………………………………………………………..2
1.3 Scope……………………………………………………………………………………………………….3
1.4 Tools and Technology Used………………………………………………………………………….3
CHAPTER 2 PROJECT MANAGEMENT………………………………………5
2.1 Project Planning…………………………………………………………………………………………...5
2.1.1 Project Development Approach and Justification………………………………………………5
2.2 Project Work Scheduling………………………………………………………………………………6
2.2.1 Gantt Chart Representation………………………………………………………………………..6
CHAPTER 3 SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS STUDY & ANALYSIS...................8
3.1 User characteristics……………………………………………………………………………………..8
3.1.1 Use Case Diagram…………………………………………………………………..8
3.2 Hardware and Software Requirements…………………………………………………………….9
3.3 Assumption and Constraints…………………………………………………………..10
3.4 Study of Existing System…………………………………………………………………………….10
3.5 Limitation of Existing System………………………………………………………………………..10
3.6 Requirements of Proposed System…………………………………………………………………..11
3.6.1 Functional Requirements…………………………………………………………...11
3.6.2 Non-Functional Requirements……………………………………………………...13
3.7 System Workflow……………………………………………………………………………………….14
3.8 Class Diagram…………………………………………………………………………………………….15
3.9 Activity Diagram………………………………………………………………………………………….16
3.10 Sequence Diagram……………………………………………………………………………………..17
vi
WORKFLOW AUTOMATION SYSTEM 17CP308
vii
WORKFLOW AUTOMATION SYSTEM 17CP308
ABSTRACT
Continuous evaluation of the workflow also help to recognize patterns and derive
knowledge with which quality decisions can be made.
viii
WORKFLOW AUTOMATION SYSTEM 17CP308
ACKNOW LEDGEMENT
Here we gladly present this project report on “ Workfow Auotmation System ” as part of the
8th semester B.Tech in Computer Science and Engineering. At this time of submitting this
report we use this opportunity to mention those people who with us along the work. We take
this occasion to thank God, almighty for blessing us with his grace and taking our endeavor to
a successful culmination. We extend our sincere and heartfelt thanks to our esteemed guide,
Prof. Bhavesh Tanawala & Prof. Mahasweta Joshi for providing us with the right guidanc e
and advice at the crucial junctures and for showing us the right way. We extend our sincere
thanks to our respected Head of the Department Dr. Darshak Thakore for allowing us to use
the facilities available. I also express my sincere gratitude to Mr. Alpesh Kaswala from
Kothari Infotech Pvt Ltd, Surat for constantly guiding and supporting me during the duration
of the project.
We would like to thank the other faculty members also, at this occasion. Last but not
the least; we would like to thank friends for the support and encouragement they have given
us during the course of our work.
ix
WORKFLOW AUTOMATION SYSTEM 17CP308
List of Figures
x
WORKFLOW AUTOMATION SYSTEM 17CP308
List of Tables
xi
WORKFLOW AUTOMATION SYSTEM 17CP308
ABBREVIATIONS
PA – Postal Agent
1
WORKFLOW AUTOMATION SYSTEM 17CP308
CHAPTER 1 INRODUCTION
The advent of digital technologies opened up possibilities of interacting with the customers
even before the production has started. Customers through these interactions are making
customization choices for the products before they are produced for them. Therefore, there
is a need of a workflow apparatus that is not only dynamic in nature but also adaptable to
changing needs of the customer centric manufacturing, which can also meet the
requirement of the changing landscape of manufacturing.
To achieve all the above needs, Workflow Automation System is developed. It relates to
an apparatus and method for automating the workflow processes related to manufacturing
or management using a data file containing the workflow data and information,
configurable end points of Process stages and network of digital Postal agents. It also
provides method and apparatus for the user to define his/her own workflow process and the
means to interface with the existing data sources like ERP etc, at both the terminal ends.
At the starting point to source the data for the workflow from the data sources and at the
terminating point to store the outcome back into the data sources. Thus, WAS not only
simplifies the operations, but also reduce the skill required to operate.
1.2 Objective
The basic objective of Workflow Automation System is to simply and automate the
production workflows for businesses of all sizes. To achieve this following objectives needs
to be met.
2
WORKFLOW AUTOMATION SYSTEM 17CP308
1.3 Scope
WAS is developed to improve the productivity and quality by enforcing best practices in
workflow processes involved in manufacturing as well as management. It allows to define
the workflow process from the data fetched from the data sources and the network location
of the various stages at which the execution of that particular stage is performed and job
ticket is generated accordingly. The system is able to move the job ticket automatically
without any intervention of any external factor. Also the user is able to have a visual display
of status of any job ticket at any point of time. The system is also adaptable to changes at a
particular stage.
Editor :
- Visual Studio 2012 : It provides the facilities to develop, compile, debug, and run
any MFC application as well as C++ programs.
Technologies :
i. Programming Purpose :
- MFC (Microsoft Foundation Classes): It provides a C++ object-oriented wrapper
over Win32 for rapid development of native desktop applications.
- C++ : It provides the basic object oriented concepts which are essential for building
an efficient and flexible application
ii. Interaction Purpose :
- JavaScript: It is used to allow the interaction with web.
3
WORKFLOW AUTOMATION SYSTEM 17CP308
- XML (Extensible Markup Language): It is used to store the order data and also is
able to extend itself when necessary.
XSD (XML Schema): It specifies how to formally describe the elements in XML
document.
4
WORKFLOW AUTOMATION SYSTEM 17CP308
For developing the Workflow System, we followed Iterative Process Model. This model
focuses on an initial, simplified implementation, which then progressively gains more
complexity and a broader feature set until the final system is complete. After an initial
planning phase, a small handful of stages are repeated over and over, with each completion
of the cycle incrementally improving and iterating on the software.
The reason behind choosing Iterative Process Model for developing Workflow Automation
System is because all the requirements were not cleared at the starting phase. The first
prototype is build according to the initial requirements and as and when new requirements
were identified, changes were made accordingly in the system and new prototype is
developed and the cycle repeats.
5
WORKFLOW AUTOMATION SYSTEM 17CP308
Requirements
Gathering
Analysis
Design
Coding
Testing
Correction
6
WORKFLOW AUTOMATION SYSTEM 17CP308
7
WORKFLOW AUTOMATION SYSTEM 17CP308
The users of this system can be any manufacturing industry or management organization
who has a step by step process execution and also there is a need for the workflow apparatus
that is dynamic in nature and also adaptable to changing needs.
The system is more useful for industries moving towards customer centric manufacturing
and automated manufacturing.
A use case diagram is a graphic depiction of the interactions among the elements of a
system. A use case is a methodology used in system analysis to identify, clarify, and
organize system requirements
8
WORKFLOW AUTOMATION SYSTEM 17CP308
In the above figure, there are 5 actors in the system which interacts with each other and
completes the execution of the system.
Hard Disk: Hard Drive with SATA interface and 1 TB free disk space. Solid state drives
are recommended for better performance.
Monitor: SVGA or better with resolution of 1280 x 1024 or better. 32 bits or more color
support recommended.
Processor: Requires a PC based on Intel i7 quad core (3.3 GHz) or higher processor.
Hard Disk: Solid state Hard Drive with SATA interface and 1 TB free disk space.
Monitor: SVGA or better with resolution of 1280 x 1024 or better. 32 bits or more color
support recommended.
9
WORKFLOW AUTOMATION SYSTEM 17CP308
Software: Visual studio 2012, GIMP, Internet Explorer, Access ODBC driver.
User process should be divided into set of particular task (step by step process execution)
The systems in the organization or industry should be part of network.
Conventional Systems :
ERP and MIS systems are also used to track business and make weighted operational and
management decision.
There are some software for Automation such as Kissflow that is a cloud-based forms
automation solution that automates business processes and track performance.
Conventional Systems :
10
WORKFLOW AUTOMATION SYSTEM 17CP308
ERP and MIS systems typically serviced the requirements of workflows that were
defined largely with static boundaries and implemented as organization wide practices.
This would also mean that there was a little scope for experimentation outside of the
box.
Other Workflow Systems are general purpose systems for managing the workflow, but
WAS is a system designed specifically for a Customer i.e any Printing Industry
System has been designed to manage the production workflows and simplify them.
Description: Fetch the data from the data sources and convert into a particular format.
Input: User entered data
Output: Fetch the data into desired format
Description: From the data fetched from data sources, Xml Ticket Generator will
map it with fields of the schema of Workflow, define a process and stages and the
location associated with that stages and generate the job ticket
Input: Data fetch from the data sources
11
WORKFLOW AUTOMATION SYSTEM 17CP308
Description: It will move the job ticket from one location to another by reading the
tracking information available in the job ticket.
Input: Tracking information of job ticket
Output: Updated job ticket (After the completion of task the job ticket is updated
which defines that a particular task is completed and its needed to be move to its next
destination)
12
WORKFLOW AUTOMATION SYSTEM 17CP308
Input: Program script defined by the user, a simple port connection to transfer the
Job data, a call to another process to handle the processing, WebSockets, HTTP
transfer, Internet of Things (IOT) protocol etc
Description: Display status of the Jobs in the system at any given time. Jobs can not
only be monitored for its progress but also can be canceled, paused or rescheduled in
case of error.
13
WORKFLOW AUTOMATION SYSTEM 17CP308
Extensibility- New features can be added to it in the future without many changes
Security- The deployment is on the local network, therefore data privacy and
security is maintained
The diagram below shows the how the each component in the system is connected and how
the system works
14
WORKFLOW AUTOMATION SYSTEM 17CP308
In XML Ticket Generator, the module I had been Working on required 4 classes as
mentioned below in the figure.
15
WORKFLOW AUTOMATION SYSTEM 17CP308
Activity Diagram focuses on the execution and the flow of the behavior of the system.
16
WORKFLOW AUTOMATION SYSTEM 17CP308
17
WORKFLOW AUTOMATION SYSTEM 17CP308
State Chart Diagram is used to model the dynamic nature of the system.
18
WORKFLOW AUTOMATION SYSTEM 17CP308
The data in the workflow automation system are the transient data which are transferred
from one stage to another through the xml file so there is no need to store that data in
database.
This system does not use any permanent data. The data is just moved from one location to
other as per defined by the user.
The data which are being transferred from one location to other is store in the xml format
and the validation of the fields of the xml file is by the xml schema.
The below figure defines the Script Builder which is used to write and run the Scripts.
19
WORKFLOW AUTOMATION SYSTEM 17CP308
Print Automation Setting is used to define the location where the job ticket will be stored
after the job is done or after an error occurred during the process.
20
WORKFLOW AUTOMATION SYSTEM 17CP308
General Database Connector provides the connection with different types of databases.
21
WORKFLOW AUTOMATION SYSTEM 17CP308
Field Mapping provides the functionalities to map the data fields from data sources with
the data fields define by the schema.
22
WORKFLOW AUTOMATION SYSTEM 17CP308
Job Sheet provides functionality to create the job sheet and store it in a location.
23
WORKFLOW AUTOMATION SYSTEM 17CP308
Tracking Stages allows to create the process by defining the stages and their corresponding
locations.
24
WORKFLOW AUTOMATION SYSTEM 17CP308
Tracking Panel provides the visual display of the status of the job ticket in any particular
point of time
25
WORKFLOW AUTOMATION SYSTEM 17CP308
The module which I had worked on is XML Ticket Generator so following is the pseudo
code for the same.
26
WORKFLOW AUTOMATION SYSTEM 17CP308
Data Connector
Automation Agent
Generic Server
Client Terminal
End Point Configuration
The system is developed using the object oriented technology so the name of the classes
and its data members should be appropriate.
The names of each variable should be meaningful and according to the context.
27
WORKFLOW AUTOMATION SYSTEM 17CP308
Write a proper justification and purpose in comments before adding new class or
function.
Give the proper understanding of the function by explaining its arguments it will
receive and the return type of the function.
Testing Paradigm
Before making changes in actual environment, the system is deployed in the local
server and functionality are tested and analyzed.
If all the functionalities are executed perfectly and changes or additions are made
as desired, then all the components are pushed towards actual environment. If any
disruption and outage is observed, then root cause and other factors are listed and
accordingly the programming has been corrected.
Testing Methods
But the common functionalities which are checked are whether the software runs
properly in different systems and each component of the software individually
performs it task efficiently and also when all the components are run together.
28
WORKFLOW AUTOMATION SYSTEM 17CP308
29
WORKFLOW AUTOMATION SYSTEM 17CP308
30
WORKFLOW AUTOMATION SYSTEM 17CP308
WAS is a system build for a specific client which is a printing industry but it can be used
by other industries or client by doing necessary changes.
31
WORKFLOW AUTOMATION SYSTEM 17CP308
5.2 Conclusion
The Functionalities of “Workflow Automation System” have been developed following all
customer requirements and has been delivered after thorough code review and testing. I
believe that all the functionalities will serve the purpose developed for and will be helpful
for the users to get better way for managing their workflow.
Understanding the project idea and the purpose of the building such system was the
main task and finding the answer of the questions was the main challenge.
Also designing the interface and making the best use of object oriented concepts
was quite difficult
.
Thinking of the best methods which can make the system more efficient, user
friendly and adaptable to changes when required.
32
WORKFLOW AUTOMATION SYSTEM 17CP308
WAS is directed to an apparatus for developing a process flow to allow an user to execute
a manufacturing process, the apparatus comprises:
A Data Connector for allowing data connections between the apparatus and various
associated input resources sequentially disposed including mapping between the
data fetched and a Job Ticket derivable from the order data, the job ticket comprises
various data sections applicable to the process for manufacturing
A Job Ticket Generator for allowing user interaction with the input resources to
carry out a plurality of task
A Process Creator to define and create the process Stages for the Process execution
based on transformed data from the input resources.
One Postal Agent for moving a job ticket to its next destination based on tracking
of information available inside the job ticket and updates the current status of the
job and transmits to a control panel in every step.
One Job Ticket Server making available the applicable job ticket for execution of
task, to a particular stage in the process;
One Processing Client present at a processing stage for initiating a call to an End
Point, along with the job related data.
33
WORKFLOW AUTOMATION SYSTEM 17CP308
A control panel for displaying the status of the process flow development at any
given point of time.
34
WORKFLOW AUTOMATION SYSTEM 17CP308
References
35