Patent Publication Number: US-2013231973-A1

Title: Business analysis design support device, business analysis design support method and non-transitory computer-readable medium containing business analysis design support program

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION(S) 
     The present application claims priority upon Japanese Patent Application No. 2012-45752 filed on Mar. 1, 2012, which is herein incorporated by reference. 
     BACKGROUND 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates to a business analysis design support device, a business analysis design support method and a non-transitory computer-readable medium containing a business analysis design support program, and more specifically relates to a technology that efficiently maintains the consistency between deliverables in a business analysis design. 
     2. Related Art 
     In an upstream process of business system development, the current state of a target business is analyzed, and a new business design is performed. As typical deliverables in this business analysis design, a business function hierarchy and a business flow are produced. The business function hierarchy is data obtained by dividing an entire business into functions ranging from a large function to a small function and structuring the functions, and clarifies what business functions the business is formed with. The business flow is data that illustrates an order relationship among business functions, and clarifies in what order the business functions need to be performed. 
     On the other hand, the details of business functions equal to or smaller than a small function are described in text. As one of the text description formats, there is a method of utilizing a business use case description. The business use case description is data in which a mutual relationship with others that is required for a business worker to perform a small function of business functions is regarded as a business use case, and in which the behavior of actors (persons involved in the use case such as the business worker and the others) required for realizing the business use case is described in simple text lines. 
     As described above, the business function hierarchy, the business flow and the business use case description produced in a business analysis design are related to each other, and their consistency needs to be maintained. As a technology for maintaining this consistency, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication No. 2008-129858 corresponding to U.S. Patent Application Publication No. US2008/0120581 proposes a design/verification support program in which “either of a use case diagram or an activity diagram is provided to automatically generate the other diagram, and thus it is possible to acquire the consistency between both diagrams.” 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     In a conventional technology, a relation between use cases needs to be previously defined as a use case diagram. Since the relation between the use cases is related to the behavior of actors described in use case descriptions that are details of the use cases, it is necessary to acquire the consistency between the relation between the use cases and the use case descriptions. In order to acquire this consistency, it is necessary for a person to read the text of the use case descriptions and grasp the relation between the use case descriptions. When a target for an analysis design is wide, and thus the number of use case descriptions is increased or when use case descriptions are often modified in an initial stage of an analysis design, it is likely that, in order to maintain the consistency described above, a large amount of time and efforts are taken. 
     Here, the business use case is one type of use case specialized in business description. Hence, the same problem as described above is encountered in the consistency between the relation between the business use case descriptions and a business use case flow expressing the order relationship between the business use cases. In particular, in the stage of a business analysis design, since the current business is analyzed and then a new business design is performed, the details of deliverables (such as a business use case description and a business use case flow) are highly likely to be finely modified. Hence, it is highly likely that, in order to maintain the consistency between the deliverables, a large amount of time and efforts are taken, and this is more likely to become a factor for preventing the original operation of the business analysis design. 
     An object of the present invention is therefore to provide a technology that efficiently maintains the consistency between deliverables in a business analysis design. 
     To solve the above problem, according to the present invention, there is provided a business analysis design support device including: a storage device that includes: a business function hierarchy storage unit that stores information on a business function hierarchy where an entire business is structured in a stepwise manner and information on a business use case which is an element of a lowermost layer of the business function hierarchy; and a business use case description storage unit that stores a business use case description forming the business use case; and a computation device that performs: processing of reading the business use case description from the business use case description storage unit, searching a concatenation of predetermined words defined in each of the business use case descriptions among the business use case descriptions, specifying a relation among the business use cases to associate the business use cases with each other, and generating a business use case flow according to the association; processing of specifying a business function which is a higher-level of each of the business use cases included in the business use case flow with the information on the business function hierarchy in the business function hierarchy storage unit, specifying a concatenation of the business use cases extending across different business functions in the business use case flow, and associating the business functions with each other according to the concatenation to generate a business flow; and processing of displaying the business use case flow or the business flow generated on a display device. 
     According to the present invention, there is provided a business analysis design support method, where a computer, which includes a storage device including a business function hierarchy storage unit storing information on a business function hierarchy where an entire business is structured in a stepwise manner and information on a business use case which is an element of a lowermost layer of the business function hierarchy, and a business use case description storage unit storing a business use case description forming the business use case, performs: processing of reading the business use case description from the business use case description storage unit, searching a concatenation of predetermined words defined in each of the business use case descriptions among the business use case descriptions, specifying a relation among the business use cases to associate the business use cases with each other, and generating a business use case flow according to the association; processing of specifying a business function which is a higher-level of each of the business use cases included in the business use case flow with the information on the business function hierarchy in the business function hierarchy storage unit, specifying a concatenation of the business use cases extending across different business functions in the business use case flow, and associating the business functions with each other according to the concatenation to generate a business flow; and processing of displaying the business use case flow or the business flow generated on a display device. 
     According to the present invention, there is provided a non-transitory computer-readable medium containing a business analysis design support program, causing a computer, which includes a storage device including a business function hierarchy storage unit storing information on a structured business function hierarchy and information on a business use case which is an element of a lowermost layer of the business function hierarchy, and a business use case description storage unit storing a business use case description forming the business use case, to perform: processing of reading the business use case description from the business use case description storage unit, searching a concatenation of predetermined words defined in each of the business use case descriptions among the business use case descriptions, specifying a relation among the business use cases to associate the business use cases with each other, and generating a business use case flow according to the association; processing of specifying a business function which is a higher-level of each of the business use cases included in the business use case flow with the information on the business function hierarchy in the business function hierarchy storage unit, specifying a concatenation of the business use cases extending across different business functions in the business use case flow, and associating the business functions with each other according to the concatenation to generate a business flow; and processing of displaying the business use case flow or the business flow generated on a display device. 
     According to the present invention, it is possible to efficiently maintain the consistency between deliverables in a business analysis design. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a diagram showing an example of a hardware configuration of a business analysis design support device according to the present embodiment; 
         FIG. 2  is a diagram showing an example of a functional block of the business analysis design support device according to the present embodiment; 
         FIG. 3  is a diagram showing an example of a configuration of a business function hierarchy table included in the business analysis design support device according to the present embodiment; 
         FIG. 4  is a diagram showing an example of a configuration of a business use case table included in the business analysis design support device according to the present embodiment; 
         FIG. 5  is a diagram showing an example of a configuration of a business use case description table included in the business analysis design support device according to the present embodiment; 
         FIG. 6  is a diagram showing an example of a configuration of a verb table included in the business analysis design support device according to the present embodiment; 
         FIG. 7  is a diagram showing an example of a configuration of a business use case relation table included in the business analysis design support device according to the present embodiment; 
         FIG. 8  is a diagram showing an example of a configuration of a business function relation table included in the business analysis design support device according to the present embodiment; 
         FIG. 9  is a flow diagram showing a processing procedure example 1 of a business analysis design support method according to the present embodiment; 
         FIG. 10  is a flow diagram showing a processing procedure example 2 of the business analysis design support method according to the present embodiment; 
         FIG. 11  is a diagram showing an example of a configuration of a business function hierarchy edition screen included in the business analysis design support device according to the present embodiment; 
         FIG. 12  is a diagram showing an example of a configuration of a business use case description edition screen included in the business analysis design support device according to the present embodiment; 
         FIG. 13  is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of the business function hierarchy edition screen included in the business analysis design support device according to the present embodiment; 
         FIG. 14  is a diagram showing an example of a business use case flow display according to the present embodiment; 
         FIG. 15  is a diagram showing a business flow display example 1 according to the present embodiment; and 
         FIG. 16  is a diagram showing a business flow display example 2 according to the present embodiment. 
     
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENT 
     —An Example of a Configuration of a Device— 
     An embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to accompanying drawings.  FIG. 1  is a diagram showing an example of the hardware configuration of a business analysis design support device  100  according to the present embodiment;  FIG. 2  is a diagram showing an example of the system configuration of the business analysis design support device  100  according to the present embodiment. Like reference numerals refer to like constituent elements. This business analysis design support device  100  is a computer system that efficiently maintains the consistency between deliverables in a business analysis design. 
     As shown in  FIG. 1 , the business analysis design support device  100  is a calculator system that includes: a CPU  201  which is a computation device; a main storage device  202  which is formed with a volatile storage device such as a RAM; an input device  203  which receives a key input or a sound input from a user; a display device  204  such as a display for displaying processing data; an external storage device  205  (storage device) which is formed with an appropriate nonvolatile storage device such as a hard disk drive; and an I/O interface  206  which exchanges data between the input device  203  and the display device  204  and the CPU  201 . 
     The I/O interface  206  mounts: an input interface circuit unit that receives an input signal from the input device  203  and delivers it to the CPU  201 ; and an output interface circuit unit that delivers an output signal from the CPU  201  to the display device  204 . The business analysis design support device  100  can couple, in addition to the elements described above, other output devices such as various printers. 
     As shown in  FIG. 2 , the external storage device  205  stores computer programs that function as a business function hierarchy edition unit  120 , a business use case description edition unit  122 , a business use case flow generation unit  124  and a business flow generation unit  126 , which will be described later. In addition, the external storage device  205  stores databases as a business function hierarchy storage unit  110 , a business use case description storage unit  112  and a flow information storage unit  114 . The external storage device  205  may be provided separately from the business analysis design support device  100  or may be formed integrally with the business analysis design support device  100 . 
     The programs forming the business function hierarchy edition unit  120 , the business use case description edition unit  122 , the business use case flow generation unit  124 , the business flow generation unit  126  described above and a business flow display unit  128  are read by the CPU  201  from the external storage device  205 , are expanded to the main storage device  202  formed with a memory, for example, such as a RAM and are executed by the CPU  201 , thereby realizing the functions. 
     —An Example of a Structure of Data— 
     Next, an example of the structure of data used by the business analysis design support device  100  of the present embodiment will now be described. The business function hierarchy storage unit  110  will first be described. As described above, the business function hierarchy storage unit  110  includes: a business function hierarchy table  700  that is the database stored in the external storage device  205 , that is produced in the business function hierarchy edition unit  120  described later, that is a constituent element of a business function hierarchy  102  and that stores data indicating a hierarchy relationship between business functions; and a business use case table  300  that stores data on the business use case which is an element in the lowermost layer of the business function hierarchy  102 . 
     The above-mentioned tables  300  and  700  stored in the business function hierarchy storage unit  110  will be described below in turn.  FIG. 3  shows an example of the business function hierarchy table  700 . In the business function hierarchy table  700 , a business function ID  702  is data that identifies record data on the business function hierarchy table  700 . Likewise, a business function name  704  indicates the name of a business function forming a business, and a higher-level business function ID  706  is a pointer for a record indicating a higher-level business function of a business function defined in the record. 
       FIG. 4  shows an example of data defined in the business use case table  300 . In the business use case table  300 , a business use case ID  302  is data that identifies record data on the business use case table. Likewise, an actor  304  is data that indicates a main operational body performing a business whose details are defined in the business use case description or a business worker. Likewise, a business use case  306  is data that indicates the name of the business use case. Likewise, a higher-level business function ID  308  is a pointer for a record indicating a higher-level business function of a business use case defined in the record, and the business function ID  702  stored in the business function hierarchy table  700  enters the higher-level business function ID  308 . 
     Subsequently, the business use case description storage unit  112  will now be described. As described above, the business use case description storage unit  112  is configured to include: a business use case description table  400  that is a database stored in the external storage device  205 , that is produced in the business use case description edition unit  122  described later and that stores data on a business use case description  104  defining the content of the business use case; and a verb table  500  that stores pattern data on syntaxes and verbs necessary for defining the business use case description  104 . 
     The tables stored in the business use case description storage unit  112  will be described below in turn.  FIG. 5  shows an example of data defined in the business use case description table  400 . In the business use case description table  400 , a business use case ID  402  corresponds to a business use case description defined by the record, and is a pointer of a record indicating a business use case defined in the business use case table  300  and the business use case ID  302  stored in the business use case table  300  enters the business use case ID  402 . 
     Likewise, a step number  404  is data for ordering steps within a business use case description identified by the same business use case ID  402 . Likewise, a sender  406  is data that indicates an actor which is a source of an operation prescribed by a verb specified by a verb ID  414 . Likewise, a receiver  408  is data that indicates an actor which is a receiver of the operation prescribed by the verb specified by the verb ID  414 . Likewise, an input  410  indicates data that is necessary for the operation of the actor. Likewise, an output  420  indicates data that is generated by the operation of the actor. Likewise, a verb ID  502  in the verb table  500  storing verbs indicating operations enters the verb ID  414 . Whether or not data enters the items of the sender  406 , the receiver  408 , the input  410  and the output  412  is judged by verbs specified by the verb ID  414 . Likewise, data indicating a condition for transition to another step operation in an order defined by the step number  404  as a result of the operation enters a branch condition  416 , and a transition destination under this condition is specified by a branch destination business use case ID  418 . When “-” enters the branch destination business use case ID  418 , this means the completion of the business. 
       FIG. 6  shows an example of data defined in the verb table  500 . In the verb table  500 , the verb ID  502  is data that identifies record data on the verb table. Likewise, a sender  504  is data that indicates an actor which is a source of the operation. Likewise, a receiver  506  is data that indicates an actor which is a receiver of the operation. Likewise, an input  508  indicates data that is necessary for the operation. Likewise, an output  510  indicates data that is generated by the operation of the actor. Likewise, a verb  512  indicates the name of a verb. Likewise, a sentence example  514  is a template of a step sentence expressed by a verb. When the value of the sender  504 , the receiver  506 , the input  508  or the output  510  is “-”, this means that, in the verb, the actors of the sender and the receiver cannot make data enter the input and the output. 
     The flow information storage unit  114  will now be described. As described above, the flow information storage unit  114  includes: a business use case related table  600  that is a database stored in the external storage device  205  and that stores order relationship data between business use cases in a business use case flow  106  generated in the business use case flow generation unit  124  described later; and a business function related table  800  that is generated in the business flow generation unit  126  described later and that stores order relationship data between business functions which are higher-levels of the business use case. 
     The tables stored in the flow information storage unit  114  will be described below in turn.  FIG. 7  shows an example of data defined in the business use case related table  600 . In the business use case related table  600 , a business use case related ID  602  is data that identifies record data on the business use case related table. With a use case relevant source  606  and a relevant destination  610 , it is possible to indicate a relation between the business use cases. An actor  604  indicates an actor of the business use case that enters the relevant source  606 ; an actor  608  indicates an actor of the business use case that enters the relevant destination  610 . Likewise, data  612  indicates data that is exchanged between the actor  604  and the actor  608 . Likewise, a relation type  614  is data that indicates a type of a relation between business use cases defined by the relevant source  606  and the relevant destination  610 ; any one of “within the actor” that indicates a relation within the same actor, “among the actors” that indicates a relation among separate actors and “branch” that indicates a relation produced by the branch destination business use case ID  418  in the business use case description table  400  enters the relation type  614 . The name of the relation such as the branch condition enters a relation label  610 . 
       FIG. 8  shows an example of data defined in the business function related table  800 . In the business function related table  800 , a business function related ID  802  is data that identifies record data on the business function related table. Likewise, a dependent business function ID  804  indicates to which business function the relation between the business functions defined in the business function related table  800  belongs, and the business function ID  702  stored in the business function hierarchy table  700  enters the dependent business function ID  804 . The business function ID  702  stored in the business function hierarchy table  700  enters each of a relevant source  806  and a relevant destination  808 , and they indicate the relation between the related business functions. 
     —An Example of Processing— 
     The actual procedure of a business analysis design support method according to the present embodiment will be described below with reference to accompanying drawing. Various operations corresponding to the business analysis design support method, which will be described below, are realized by a program that is read in the main storage device  202  or the like and executed by the business analysis design support device  100 . This program is formed with a code for performing various operations, which will be described below. Here, the processing content for generating the business use case flow  106  and a business flow  108  from the business function hierarchy  102  and the business use case description  104  will first be described with reference to not only  FIG. 2  but also the related figures. 
     The business function hierarchy  102  is data that is produced through a business function hierarchy edition screen  1100  shown in  FIG. 11  by the reception of an input value of the user with the input device  203  by the business function hierarchy edition unit  120 . The business function hierarchy edition unit  120  stores the produced date on the business function hierarchy  102  in the business function hierarchy storage unit  110  as the record data of the business function hierarchy table  700  and the business use case table  300 . The data on the business function hierarchy edition screen  1100  is previously stored in the external storage device  205  (or the main storage device  202 ) of the business analysis design support device  100 , and can be read as necessary. The same is true for other screens which will be described below. 
     The example of the edition of the business function hierarchy  102  discussed above will be described with the business function hierarchy edition screen  1100  shown in  FIG. 11 . In this case, when the user edits the business function hierarchy, the user is assumed to input the name of the business function hierarchy in an input form  1102  and to press down an edition button  1104 . Here, the business function hierarchy edition unit  120  searches whether or not the business function hierarchy  102  specified by the name input into the input form  1102  is already stored as the record data of the business function hierarchy table  700  in the business function hierarchy storage unit  110 . Specifically, the record data in which the name input into the input form  1102  is present as a stored business function name  704  and in which its higher-level business function ID  706  is “-” is searched for. This is because the business function whose higher-level business function ID  706  is “-” indicates the highest-level business function in the business function hierarchy, and is data representing the business function hierarchy. For example, a record  750  corresponds to such data. 
     When the corresponding business function has been found by the search described above, the business function hierarchy edition unit  120  searches the business function hierarchy table  700  in the business function hierarchy storage unit  110  for the business function belonging to the business function found by the search and specifies it. Specifically, the business function hierarchy edition unit  120  searches for the business function having, in the higher-level business function ID  706 , the same value as the business function ID  702  of the business function found by the search. For example, a record  752  and a record  754  correspond to it. When the corresponding business function has been found by the search, the business function hierarchy edition unit  120  further searches for the business function having, in the higher-level business function ID  706 , the same value as the business function ID  702  of this business function, and repeats this search processing until no corresponding business function is found. For example, a record  756  and a record  758  correspond to it. 
     Then, the business function hierarchy edition unit  120  searches whether or not a business use case having, in the higher-level business function ID  308 , the same value as the business function ID  702  of the business function found so far by the search of the processing described above is stored as the record data of the business use case table  300  in the business function hierarchy storage unit  110 . For example, a record  350 , a record  352 , a record  354 , a record  356 , a record  358  and a record  360  correspond to this. In this way, the business function hierarchy edition unit  120  reads the data in the business function hierarchy  102  of the name input into the input form  1102 . The result of the reading is, as shown in the example of  FIG. 11 , displayed in a lower frame  1101  of the business function hierarchy edition screen  1100  output to the display device  204 . In the example of  FIG. 11 , the business functions and the business use cases are represented by rectangular symbols and oval symbols, respectively, and the relation between them is represented by drawing a line between the symbols, and thus the business function hierarchy is represented. 
     When the corresponding business function has not been found in the search processing described above, the business function hierarchy edition unit  120  newly generates a business function hierarchy in which the name input into the input form  1102  is the highest-level business function. Specifically, the newly generated business function ID  702  and a new record in which the name input into the input form  1102  is a business function name  704  and the high business function ID  706  is “-” is added to the business function hierarchy table  700 . 
     When the business function and the business use case are added or deleted, the business function hierarchy edition unit  120  receives the selection of a predetermined icon or the like with the input device  203  from the user to display a menu  1108 , receives a selection of the user from the menu  1108  and starts processing. For example, when the user performs a click or the like on the symbol  1110  of a business function “reception” to select it, the business function hierarchy edition unit  120  displays the menu  1108  on the display device  204 . Then, for example, when “business function addition” is selected from this menu  1108 , the business function hierarchy edition unit  120  adds a new business function (example: “proposal” or the like) in the same hierarchy separately from the reception  1110 . For example, when “business use case addition” is selected from the menu  1108 , the business function hierarchy edition unit  120  adds a new business use case (example: “proposal appointment” or the like) to the hierarchy immediately below the reception  1110 . For example, when “deletion” is selected from the menu  1108 , the business function hierarchy edition unit  120  deletes the business function of the selected symbol (in the above example, the “reception  1110 ”) or a business use case belonging to the business function. The business use case is the lowermost layer element in the business function hierarchy, and it is impossible to add the business function and the business use case to below the business use case. 
     In this way, it is possible to produce, in the business function hierarchy edition unit  120 , the business function hierarchy  102  having the business use case as the lowermost layer element. 
     On the other hand, in order for the user to edit the business use case description  104  that is the details of the business use case, the user selects the symbol of the corresponding business use case in the input device  203  to display the menu  1108  described above. In this case, the business function hierarchy edition unit  120  receives the selection of the symbol of the corresponding business use case on the screen  1100  to display the menu  1108 , and receives the selection of “business use case description edition” in the menu  1108 . When this selection is performed, the business analysis design support device  100  displays a business use case description edition screen  1200  on the display device  204 , and receives an edition operation by the user through the business use case description edition unit  122  described below. For example, when a business use case “expected customer registration”  1112  is selected, the business analysis design support device  100  displays the business use case description edition screen  1200  shown in  FIG. 12  on the display device  204 . 
     The business use case description edition unit  122  receives, in the input device  203 , an input from the user through the business use case description edition screen  1200  shown in  FIG. 12  and a business use case step edition screen  1300  shown in  FIG. 13 , and thus the business use case description  104  is produced. The produced business use case description  104  is stored in the business use case description storage unit  112  by the business use case description edition unit  122  as the record data of the business use case description table  400 . 
     An example of the edition of the business use case description  104  discussed above will be described using the business use case description edition screen  1200  shown in  FIG. 12  and the business use case step edition screen  1300  shown in  FIG. 13 . In order for the user to edit the business use case description  104 , the corresponding business use case is selected on the above-described business function hierarchy edition screen  1100 , then “business use case description edition” is indicated on the menu  1108  and the business use case description edition screen  1200  on the corresponding business use case is displayed on the display device  204 . On the other hand, the business use case description edition unit  122  receives such an indication from the user to display the business use case description edition screen  1200  on the display device  204 . 
     When the user wants to edit the business use case name on the business use case description edition screen  1200 , the user inputs the business use case name into an input form  1204  whereas, when the user wants to edit an actor that is the main operational body of the business use case, the user inputs the actor name into an input form  1206 . On the other hand, the business use case description edition unit  122  acquires the value of the business use case name through the input form  1204 , and acquires the value of the actor that is the main operational body of the business use case through the input form  1206 . 
     As described above, the business use case description edition unit  122  receives the specification and the input on the business use case description  104  from the user, and displays the content thereof on the lower frame  1201  of the business use case description edition screen  1200 . In this case, specifically, the business use case description edition unit  122  acquires a record in the business use case description table  400  from the business use case description storage unit  112 , further acquires a record in the verb table  500 , combines these pieces of information to generate and display the content of the business use case description. 
     For example, when on the business function hierarchy edition screen  1100 , the business function hierarchy “expected customer registration” having a value of “UC002” in the business use case ID  302  is selected, the business use case description edition unit  122  acquires a record having “UC002” in the business use case ID  402  among records in the business use case description table  400 . Then, the business use case description edition unit  122  acquires a record in the verb table  500  having the same verb ID  502  as the verb ID  414  of the acquired record, combines, in the template of the use case step given by the sentence example  514 , data on the sender  406 , the receiver  408 , the input  410  and the output  412  and combines a business use case step sentence. For example, when the business use case description edition unit  122  acquires a record  450  in the business use case description table  400 , the business use case description edition unit  122  acquires a record  550  in the verb table  500  because the verb ID  414  is “V007”, finds that the “inquiry” of an input “inquiry, existing customer” in the record  450  corresponds to “A” and the “existing customer” corresponds to “B” because the “A” and “B” of “judge whether A is B” given by the sentence example  514  correspond to the input  508  and can combine and generate a use case step sentence  1216  displayed on the business use case description edition screen  1200  as in “judge whether the inquiry is the existing customer.” 
     In each business use case step displayed in the lower frame  1201  of the business use case description edition screen  1200 , a step number  1214  indicates that, in its order, an operation described in the business use case step sentence has been performed. The business use case step sentence  1216  is an item that can be edited by the pressing down of an edition button  1210  by the user. A branch condition  1218  is a condition when processing is branched immediately after the business use case step sentence  1216  is performed. When the branch condition  1218  is satisfied, a branch destination  1220  indicates a business use case that is the transition destination thereof. For example, the branch condition  1218  “it is the existing customer” and the branch destination  1220  “inquiry content understanding” in the figure indicate transition to the business use case “inquiry content understanding” in the case of “it is the existing customer.” 
     The business use case step sentence  1216  states that edition by the user is received by the pressing down of the edition button  1210 . When the user presses down the edition button  1210 , the business use case description edition unit  122  displays, on the display device  204 , the business use case step edition screen  1300  shown in  FIG. 13 . On the business use case step edition screen  1300 , a verb list  1302  is a unit configured to receive the user selection of a verb indicating an operation performed by the corresponding actor; for example, a list of selectable verbs is displayed in a pull down menu format. The selectable verbs are record data stored in the verb table  500 . Here, a description will be given as an example with the assumption that a verb  550  “judge” is selected in the verb list  1302 . 
     In the business use case step edition screen  1300 , a sentence example  1304  indicates the sentence example  514  (the verb table  500 ) of the verb selected in the verb list  1302 . Likewise, a sender  1310  corresponds to the sender  504  (the verb table  500 ), a receiver  1312  corresponds to the receiver  506  (the verb table  500 ), an input  1314  corresponds to the input  508  (the verb table  500 ) and an output  1315  corresponds to the output  510  (the verb table  500 ). In the sender  504 , the receiver  506 , the input  508 , and the output  510 , data which is “-” indicates that it is impossible to input the data. For example, in the case of the record  550  in the verb table  500 , the input  508  is “A, B” and thus it is found that only the input  1314  can be input by the user; in the example, “customer, existing customer” is input into the input  1314 . A business use case step sentence  1316  is data obtained by automatically replacing part of the sentence example 1304 with a character line or a value input in the sender  1310 , the receiver  1312 , the input  1314  and the output  1315 ; it is impossible for the user to input it. 
     It is assumed that the user presses down a determination button  1320  on the business use case step edition screen  1300 . In this case, the business use case description edition unit  122  displays the business use case step sentence  1316  on the business use case description edition screen  1200  as the use case step sentence  1216 . Here, the business use case step sentence  1316  is displayed as the business use case step sentence  1216  in the left column of the corresponding edition button  1210  according to the pressing down of the edition button  1210  on the business use case description edition screen  1200  that is a starting point of the edition operation of the business use case step sentence. 
     On the other hand, when an edition completion button  1208  is pressed down on the business use case description edition screen  1200 , the business use case description edition unit  122  stores the result of the edition described above as a record in the business use case description table  400 . 
     As described above, in the business use case description edition unit  122 , the verbs (described in the verb table  500 ) defining possible patterns taken by the sender and the receiver of the operation and the input and the output of the data are utilized to produce the steps of the business use case, and thus it is possible to edit the content of the business use case description  104  of the steps. 
     Then, the generation processing of a business use case flow in the business use case flow generation unit  124  will be described according to a processing flow shown in  FIG. 9 . This processing is started by receiving the pressing down of a business flow generation button  1106  on the business function hierarchy edition screen  1100  by the user. 
     In this case, in step  902 , the business use case flow generation unit  124  reads data on the business use case description  104  edited by the business use case description edition unit  122  from the business use case description storage unit  112 . Specifically, when the business flow generation button  1106  on the business function hierarchy edition screen  1100  is pressed down, a record in the business use case table  300  and a record in the business use case description table  400  included in the displayed business function hierarchy are read. 
     Then, in step  904 , the business use case flow generation unit  124  derives the order relationship between business use case steps within the same actor from the relationship of the output and the input between the business use case steps, and registers its result in the flow information storage unit  114  as a record in the business use case related table  600 . Simultaneously, the business use case flow generation unit  124  analyzes a branch condition between use cases, and registers its result as a record in the business use case related table  600 . Here, as a target of the business use case step to be analyzed, a record in the business use case description table  400  in which the sender  406  and the receiver  408  are empty is a target. 
     For example, in a record  446  in the business use case description table, “inquiry” is output, in a record  448 , “existing customer” is output and in a record  450 , “inquiry” and “existing customer” are input. Hence, from the relationship between these outputs and inputs, the business use case flow generation unit  124  recognizes that there is a relation among the business use case step indicated by the record  446 , the business use case step indicated by the record  450 , the business use case step indicated by the record  448  and the business use case step indicated by the record  450 . 
     Since what is desired to be clarified here is a relation between business use cases, and the relation between the business use case step indicated by the record  446  and the business use case step indicated by the record  450  is a relation extending across business use cases from “customer inquiry reception” to “expected customer registration”, the business use case flow generation unit  124  registers a record  650  in the business use case related table  600 . 
     Since this record  650  is a record in which the business use case related ID  602  newly generated in the record registration is a key, and, in the business use case step specified by the record  446  of the relevant source, its actor is “inquiry receptionist” ( FIG. 3 ), this is set as the actor  604 ; since the business use case including such a step is “customer inquiry reception” ( FIG. 3 ), this is set as the relevant source  606 ; since in the business use case step specified by the record  450  of the relevant destination, its actor is “inquiry receptionist” ( FIG. 3 ), this is set as the actor  608 ; since the business use case including such a step is “expected customer registration” ( FIG. 3 ), this is set as the relevant destination  610 ; since it is found that both actors of “customer inquiry reception” and “expected customer registration” are “inquiry receptionist”, and it is a relation within the same actor, the relation type  614  is generated as “within the actor.” 
     The business use case flow generation unit  124  recognizes, in the record  450  in the business use case description table  400 , from the branch condition  416  and the branch destination use case ID  418 , a branch relation to a business use case “inquiry content understanding”, and generates a record  654  in the business use case related table  600 . 
     Since this record  654  is a record in which the business use case related ID  602  newly generated in the record registration is a key, and, in the business use case step specified by the record  450  of the relevant source, its actor is “inquiry receptionist” ( FIG. 3 ), this is set as the actor  604 ; since the business use case including such a step is “expected customer registration” ( FIG. 3 ), this is set as the relevant source  606 ; furthermore, since in the business use case step specified by the record  450  of the relevant destination, its actor is “inquiry receptionist” ( FIG. 3 ), this is set as the actor  608 ; the business use case including such a step “inquiry content understanding” ( FIG. 3 ) is set as the relevant destination  610 ; since the relation is caused by a branch, the relation type  614  is set as “branch”; the branch condition  416  is generated as a relation label  616 . 
     Then, in step  906 , the business use case flow generation unit  124  derives the order relationship between business use case steps differing in actor from the relationship of the input and the output and the receiver and the sender between the business use case steps, and registers its result in the flow information storage unit  114  as a record in the business use case related table  600 . Here, as a target of the business use case step to be analyzed, a record in business use case description table  400  in which the sender  406  and the receiver  408  are not empty is a target. 
     For example, in a record  452  in the business use case description table  400 , the sender  406  is “DB” and the output  412  is “appointment result.” Hence, in this case, the business use case flow generation unit  124  sets the actor  604  as “DB.” The business use case flow generation unit  124  sets, in the business use case step specified by the record  452 , the business use case including this “proposal appointment” ( FIG. 3 ) as the relevant destination  610 , and simultaneously sets its actor “inquiry receptionist” ( FIG. 3 ) as the actor  608 . Moreover, the business use case flow generation unit  124  recognizes, from the value of the output  412 , that the exchanged data is “appointment result”, and sets this as the data  612 ; since the exchange is performed between different actors, the relation type  614  is set as “between the actors”, and a record  660  is registered in the business use case related table  600 . 
     Moreover, in a record  454  in the business use case description table  400 , as the receiver  408 , two persons “customer, agent sales” are present, and the input  410  is “appointment result.” Hence, in this case, the business use case flow generation unit  124  first sets the actor  608  as the first actor at “customer”, and sets, in the business use case step indicated by the record  454 , the business use case “proposal appointment” including this as the relevant source  610 , and simultaneously sets its actor “inquiry receptionist” as the actor  604 ; since the exchanged data is found to be “appointment result” from the input  410 , this is set as the data  612 ; since the relation type  614  is exchange between different actors, a record  662  that is set as “between the actors” is registered in the business use case related table  600 . 
     Then, the business use case flow generation unit  124  sets the actor  608  as the second actor at “agent sales”, and sets, in the business use case step indicated by the record  454 , the business use case “proposal appointment” including this as the relevant source  610 , and simultaneously sets its actor “inquiry receptionist” as the actor  604 ; since the exchanged data is found to be “appointment result” from the input  410 , this is set as the data  612 ; since the relation type  614  is exchange between different actors, this is set as “between the actors”; since, from the receiver  408  “agent sales” and the input  410  “appointment result” of the record  454  and the sender  406  “inquiry receptionist” and the output  412  “appointment result” of a record  456 , in the business use case step specified by the record  456 , a relation with the business use case “proposal appointment confirmation” including this is found, a record  664  in which the relevant destination  610  is set as “proposal appointment confirmation” is registered in the business use case related table  600 . 
     In this way, the business use case flow generation unit  124  analyzes the business use case description  104 , and thereby can generate the business use case flow  106 . Consequently, as will be described later, it is possible to obtain, for example, a business use case flow shown in a lower frame  1401  of a business flow display screen  1400  shown in  FIG. 14 . 
     Then, generation processing of a business flow in the business flow generation unit  126  will be described according to a processing flow shown in  FIG. 10 . This processing is started after the processing in the business use case flow generation unit  124 . In this case, in step  1002 , the business flow generation unit  126  first reads the business function hierarchy  102  edited in the business function hierarchy edition unit  120  and the business use case flow  106  generated in the business use case flow generation unit  124 . As a method of reading the business function hierarchy  102 , the same method as the method of reading the existing business function hierarchy  102  with the business function hierarchy edition unit  120  is used. 
     Since, from step  1004  to step  1010 , the business functions of the business function hierarchy  102  read above are scanned from the lower-level to the higher-level, the processing is performed on every few business functions having the same higher-level business functions, from the lower-level business function. For example, in the case of the business function hierarchy shown in the lower frame  1101  in  FIG. 11 , “reception” and “proposal” having “sales” as a higher-level business function are first processed, and then “sales” and “contract management” having “insurance business” as a higher-level business function are processed. 
     Here, an example of generating the business flow of “reception” and “proposal” having “sales” as a higher-level business function is first shown. In step  1004 , the business flow generation unit  126  scans the business function hierarchy  102 , and determines that “reception” and “proposal” having “sales” as a higher-level business function are targets to be processed. Then, in step  1006 , the business flow generation unit  126  searches a business function or a business use case as a lower-level of “reception” and “proposal” determined to be the targets to be processed in step  1004  described above. For example, since the business use case exists in the lower-level of “reception” is present, the business flow generation unit  126  first searches a record in the business use case table  300 . Specifically, the business flow generation unit  126  obtains information on the business use cases “customer inquiry reception”, “expected customer registration”, “inquiry content understanding” and “proposal appointment” having, in the higher-level business function ID  308 , the business function ID “BF011” of “reception.” Likewise, the business flow generation unit  126  first searches a record in the business use case table  300  for the business use cases existing in the lower-level of “proposal.” Specifically, the business flow generation unit  126  obtains information on the business use cases “proposal appointment confirmation” and “product description” having, in the higher-level business function ID  308 , the business function ID “BF012” of “proposal.” 
     Then, in step  1008 , the business flow generation unit  126  generates a business flow based on the information on the business use cases obtained in step  1006  described above. For example, the business flow generation unit  126  obtains a record in the business use case related table  600  that has, as the relevant source  606  or the relevant destination  610 , the business use cases “customer inquiry reception”, “expected customer registration”, “inquiry content understanding”, “proposal appointment”, “proposal appointment confirmation” and “product description” obtained in step  1006  described above. The business flow generation unit  126  utilizes this result to specify the relation extending across “reception” and “proposal.” For example, in the business use case related table  600 , the values of the relevant source and the relevant destination of a record  664  are a business use case “proposal appointment” belonging to “reception” and a business use case “proposal appointment confirmation” belonging to “proposal.” The business flow generation unit  126  registers the above-described form in which the relevant source  606  and the relevant destination  610  extend between the business use cases as the relation from “reception” to “proposal” and as a record  850  in the business function related table. As will be described later, by utilizing this relation information, it is possible to obtain a business flow shown in a lower frame  1501  of the business flow display screen shown in  FIG. 15 . 
     Then, in step  1010 , the business flow generation unit  126  performs processing continuation determination. Specifically, whether or not all the business functions other than the highest-level business function have been processed in the business function hierarchy  102  is judged. In the case of the example described above, since processing on the business function “contract management” is left ( 1010 : Yes), the business flow generation unit  126  returns the processing to step  1004 . In this step  1004 , the business flow generation unit  126  scans the business function hierarchy again, and determines that “sales” and “contract management” having “insurance business” as a higher-level business function are targets to be processed. 
     Then, in step  1006 , the business flow generation unit  126  searches a business function or a business use case existing in the lower-level of “sales” and “contract management” determined to be the targets to be processed in step  1004 . For example, since the business function exists in the lower-level of “sales”, the business flow generation unit  126  first searches a record in the business function hierarchy table  700 . Specifically, the business flow generation unit  126  obtains information on the business functions “reception” and “proposal” having, in the higher-level business function ID  706 , the business function ID “BF001” of “sales”; furthermore, as in the first step  1006 , the business use cases “reception” and “proposal” are obtained. Although, likewise, the business flow generation unit  126  searches a business function existing in the lower-level of “contract management”, in the example of the present embodiment, it is assumed that there is no business function hierarchy. Naturally, when there is a business function in the lower-level of “contract management”, the business flow generation unit  126  obtains a business use case as in “sales” described above. 
     Then, in step  1008 , the business flow generation unit  126  generates a business flow based on the information on the business use case obtained in step  1006  described above. However, since there is no business function or business use case in the lower-level of “contract management”, the business flow generation unit  126  judges that there is no relation between “sales” and “contract management.” Consequently, as will be described later, it is possible to obtain the business flow  108  shown in a lower frame  1601  of a business flow display screen shown in  FIG. 16 , for example. 
     Then, in step  1010 , the business flow generation unit  126  performs the processing continuation determination. However, in the case of the example described above, since there is no business function that is left as an analysis target, the business flow generation unit  126  judges that the processing is completed ( 1010 : No). 
     In this way, the business flow generation unit  126  can generate the business flow  108  from the business function hierarchy  102  and the business use case flow  106 . Consequently, as will be described later, it is possible to obtain the business flow  108  shown in the lower frames  1501  and  1601  of the business flow display screen shown in  FIGS. 15 and 16 . 
     Then, the business flow display unit  128  will be described. The business flow display unit  128  displays the business use case flow  106  generated in the business use case flow generation unit  124  or the business flow  108  generated in the business flow generation unit  126 . An example of the display of the business use case flow  106  will be described using the business flow display screen  1400  shown in  FIG. 14 . An example of the display of the business flow  108  will be described using business flow display screens  1500  and  1600  shown in  FIGS. 15 and 16 . 
     First, when the user selects a business function represented by a rectangular symbol on the business function hierarchy edition screen  1100 , the business analysis design support device  100  displays the menu  1108 . When the user selects “flow display” in the menu  1108 , the business flow display unit  128  performs display processing in the business use case flow  106  or the business flow  108 . 
     For example, when the “reception”  1110  is selected on the business function hierarchy edition screen  1100 , the flow displayed on the display device  204  is the use case flow  106  shown on the business flow display screen  1400  of  FIG. 14 . In this case, the business flow display unit  128  displays the name of the “reception”  1110  selected by the user as a business function name  1402  on the business flow display screen  1400 . 
     Here, the business flow display unit  128  specifies, in the record in the business use case table  300 , the business use case  306  “customer inquiry reception”, “expected customer registration”, “inquiry content understanding” and “proposal appointment” in which the business function ID “BF011” of “reception” is in the higher-level business function ID  308 , and specifies a record in the business use case related table  600  including the relevant source  606  or the relevant destination  610  having the same name as the specified business use case  306 . 
     The business flow display unit  128  specifies, from the record specified above, a record in which the relation type  614  is “within the actor”, and assembles, for each actor, the order among the business use cases from the relation between the relevant source  606  and the relevant destination  610 . In the business use case flow ordered for each actor, for example, as in a use case flow  1403 , a symbol (in the example of the figure, a black circle) indicating the start is coupled to the business use case in the front and a symbol (in the example of the figure, a double circle whose internal circle is black) indicating the completion is coupled to the business use case in the tail end. 
     Then, the business flow display unit  128  specifies, in the business use case related table  600 , a record in which the relation type  614  is “branch”, couples the business use case in the relevant source  606  and the business use case in the relevant destination  610  and displays the content of the relation label  616  above the coupling line. In the example of the use case flow  1403  of  FIG. 14 , for example, “expected customer registration” and “inquiry content understanding” are coupled with a line, and the content of the relation label  616 , “existing customer”, is displayed above the line. 
     Then, the business flow display unit  128  specifies, in the business use case related table  600 , a record in which the relation type  614  is “within the actor”, utilizes, for each actor, the relevant source  606  or the relevant destination  610  and the data  612  and displays data flows  1404 ,  1405  and  1406 . In the example of  FIG. 14 , data on the business use case flow  1403  about “inquiry receptionist” is exchanged. The dealt data on “customer”, “DB” and “agent sales” and the corresponding business use cases in the use case flow  1403  are coupled with broken lines. 
     As another example, when the “sales”  1120  is selected on the business function hierarchy edition screen  1100 , the flow displayed on the display device  204  is the business flow  108  shown on the business flow display screen  1500  of  FIG. 15 . In this case, the business flow display unit  128  displays the name of the “sales”  1120  selected by the user as a business function name  1502  on the business flow display screen  1500 . 
     Here, the business flow display unit  128  specifies, in a record in the business function hierarchy table  700 , “reception” and “proposal” having the business function ID “BF001” of “sales” as the higher-level business function ID  706 , and specifies, in a record in the business function related table  800 , the record  850  having the business function ID “BF001” of “sales” as the dependent business function ID  804 . The business flow display unit  128  assembles the order of “reception” and “proposal” specified in this way. In the business flow that is the ordered business functions, a symbol representing the start is coupled to the business function in the front, and a symbol representing the completion is coupled to the business function in the tail end (the same symbols as in  FIG. 14 ). 
     As yet another example, when the “insurance work”  1122  is selected on the business function hierarchy edition screen  1100 , the flow displayed on the display device  204  is the business flow  108  shown on the business flow display screen  1600  of  FIG. 16 . In this case, the business flow display unit  128  displays the name of the “insurance business”  1122  selected by the user as a business function name  1602  on the business flow display screen  1600 . 
     Here, the business flow display unit  128  specifies, in the record in the business function hierarchy table  700 , “sales” and “contract management” having the business function ID “BF000” of “insurance work” as the higher-level business function ID  706 , and specifies, in the record in the business function related table  800 , the record  850  having the business function ID “BF000” of “insurance business” as the dependent business function ID  804 . Thus, the business flow display unit  128  assembles the order of “reception” and “proposal” specified above. In the present embodiment, it is assumed that, since there is no corresponding record in the business function related table  800 , the order of “reception” and “proposal” does not matter, and a symbol representing the start and a symbol representing the completion for both “business” and “proposal” are coupled. 
     In this way, in the business flow display unit  128 , it is possible to display the business use case flow  106  and the data flow related thereto and the business flow  108 . 
     Although the preferred embodiment and the like for practicing the present invention have been specifically described above, the present invention is not limited to these; various modification are possible without departing from the spirit thereof. 
     In the present embodiment described above, the business use case description is analyzed, and the order relationship among the business use cases is determined, and thus the business use case flow is generated. Furthermore, the order relationship among the business functions existing in the higher-level of the business use case is determined from the generated business use case flow and the business function hierarchy, and thus the business flow is generated. Hence, it is possible to reduce time and efforts for maintaining the consistency between deliverables in the business analysis design. Moreover, even if an addition or a modification is made in the business use case description, it is possible to immediately reflect them on the business use case flow and the business flow. 
     It is therefore possible to efficiently maintain the consistency between deliverables in the business analysis design. 
     The description of the present specification clarifies at least the following. Specifically, the computation device in the business analysis design support device described above may be a device that receives, with the input device, produced data on the business use case which is an element in the business function hierarchy and the lowermost layer of the business function hierarchy or an input of the edition data, and that performs, with the business function hierarchy storage unit, the registration and the edition processing of the business function hierarchy or the business use case. 
     The storage device in the business analysis design support device described above may be a device that stores a table where possible patterns on the sender and the receiver of the operation in the business use case description and the input and the output of data are defined; the computation device may be a device that reads the pattern from the table to display it on the display device, that receives, with the input device, setting values on the sender and the receiver of the operation and the input and the output of data according to the pattern, that generates the business use case steps of the business use case description corresponding to the pattern, that generates the business use case description formed with the business use case steps and that performs processing stored in the business use case description storage unit. 
     The computation device in the business analysis design support device described above may be a device that reads, in the processing for generating the business use case flow, the business use case description from the business use case description storage unit, that searches the concatenation of the setting values on the sender and the receiver of the operation defined in each of the business use case descriptions and of the setting of the input and the output of data between the business use case descriptions, that specifies a relation between the business use cases to associate the business use cases with each other and that produces the business use case flow according to the association. 
     The computation device in the business analysis design support device described above may be a device that specifies, in the processing for displaying the generated business use case flow or the business flow on the display device, the start and the completion of the business use case flow and the business flow using a predetermined setting value in the business use case description as a key and that displays the business use case flow and the business flow on the display device. 
     The computation device in the business analysis design support device described above may be a device that specifies, in the processing for displaying the generated business use case flow or the business flow on the display device, the concatenation of the input and the output of data on the business use case flow in the business use case description and that produces a display on the display device according to the business use case flow, using the concatenation of the data as a data flow.