Patent ID: 7543276
Filing Date: 2009-06-02
Classification: G06F,G06Q

Abstract:
1. A method for testing and/or debugging runtime systems for solving problems in a Manufacturing Execution System (MES), comprising: providing a manufacturing execution system as a connecting element, vertically integrating an enterprise resource planning level and an automation level in an automated manufacturing process, the automation level providing process control in relation to a drive unit, an actuator and a sensor, wherein the manufacturing execution system includes a framework program to which a user workplace is connected via a bidirectional information path and to which a plurality of MES applications are connected via adapters to effect management and monitoring of the applications, and wherein the manufacturing execution system operates in a runtime system mode for temporal process control of the MES applications and in an engineering system mode for producing and editing programs that are executed in the runtime mode; providing activity diagrams each graphically describing on a display device of the user workplace a process according to a software module of the manufacturing execution system, each activity diagram visually depicted on the display device illustrating operation of an associated asynchronously cooperating state machine; enabling asynchronous communication between different ones of the software module processes that are graphically described on the display device; establishing an asynchronous communication relationship between the different ones of the software module processes that are graphically described on the display device by linking, on the display device, graphic elements between activity diagrams of the different software module processes such that the linking of such graphic elements on the display device effects establishment of the asynchronously communications relationship, wherein exchange of information in accord with the asynchronously communication relationship facilitates solving a problem relating to a business or production process and wherein processes relating to the problem being solved are fractionized into disjoint, sequentially operating sub-processes with synchronization and data transmission messages between the sub-processes, wherein the sub-processes operate on business objects that are defined by asychronously cooperating state machines and are themselves objects; performing in the engineering system mode a single test with one or more of the sub-processes during interaction by a step-by-step run through of the one or more sub-processes; during the step-by-step run through of the one or more sub-processes, visually activating an element displayed in an activity diagram; and controlling progress to a next step in the run through by the user, wherein steps can be repeated or skipped.