Modeling Business Processes

with BPMN

Andrea Marrella
marrella@dis.uniroma1.it
 Presentation Outline
• This seminar introduces business process modeling using the BPMN
(Business Process Model and Notation) standard.
• Visit http://www.bpmn.org/ for downloading the complete specification
of BPMN 2.0 and some interesting examples.
• Web site of the course : http://www.dis.uniroma1.it/~bpm
• Download slides at :
http://www.dis.uniroma1.it/~marrella/teaching.html
• Reference Books :
Marlon Dumas, Marcello La Rosa, Jan Mendling, Hajo Reijers
Fundamentals of Business Process Management
Stephen A. White PhD, Derek Miers
BPMN Modeling and Reference Guide
Thomas Allweyer
BPMN 2.0 - Introduction to the Standard for Business Process
Modeling 2
Topics

• Process Modeling
• BPMN Background
• Basic Concepts
• Advanced Concepts
• Conclusions

3
 Business Processes

• Business Process [1] : “A business process consists of a set of

activities that are performed in coordination in an organizational and
technical environment. These activities jointly realize a business goal”
– A business goal is the target that an organization aims to achieve by
performing correctly the related business process.
• Currently, business processes are the core of most information
systems:
– production line of a car manufacturer, procedures for buying tickets on-
line…
• This requires that organizations specify their flows of work for the
orchestration of participants, information and technology for the
realization of products and services.
• In order to manage Business Processes, they have to be described
and documented in terms of process models.
4
A first BPMN Example

Business process
concerning the book loans
service provided by a
library.

• A notation for business process modeling defines the

symbols for the various process elements, their correct
meaning as well as their possible combinations.
• Thus, a notation is a standardized language for the
description of business processes.
5
 The purpose of Process
Discovery is to capture the main
The Process Life-Cycle components of a process (how
the things have to be done) and
to document a process with
manuals, policies, procedures.

1. Process identification Process

2. Process discovery (as-is) Modeling
Tools
3. Process analysis
4. Process redesign (to-be)
5. Process implementation
Process
6. Process monitoring Management
Systems
After having documented the process,
there is the need to capture its essence, in
the form a business process diagram
(process model), and this can be done
through the Process Modeling activity.
6
 Purposes of Process High-level Models
including

Modeling Organizational
Communication,
simulation, activity-
Process models are Analysis
based costing…
important in various
AS IS
stages of the process life Process
cycle. Models

Process TO BE Detailed Models

Analysis & Design Process Models including
Improvement
Measures for

Data types, conditions, data

mappings, fault handling…
Integration, testing,
deployment…
Target Values

Process Process
Evaluation Implementation

Process Models
Executable

Process
Process The models produced will look
Metrics Enactment & quite differently depending on
Monitoring
the reason for modeling them in
the first place.
7
Executable Process
Models
• Executable Process Models carry the instructions on how work
should happen, who should do it, links to the other systems, etc.
• They provide a direct method of translating strategical and
tactical intent into operational processes.
• For being executed, process models have to meet very strict
demands, because they are not converted into a computer program
by a human being, but directly processed by a machine.
• Currently, many standards for executable process descriptions
have been established, such as:
– XPDL (XML Process Definition Language) [2]
– BPEL (Business Process Execution Language) [3]
…but such descriptions have no graphical notations, and the main
range of application is the definition of automatic processes.
• YAWL (Yet Another Workflow Language) [7] is a modeling
language that allows for a graphical representation of executable
process models. 8
Process Management
Systems
• Process Management System (PMS) [1] : “A PMS is a
generic software system that is driven by explicit
process representations to coordinate the enactment of
business processes ”.
It manages the
process routing

librarian
PMS
It takes a process
model as input It assigns tasks
to proper participants
system

– A PMS is driven by a specific business process model.

9
The Importance of
Process Modeling
• To model a process leads to a number of questions :
– Which steps are really necessary?
– Who should do them?
– Should they be kept in house or outsourced?
– How they should be done?
– What capabilities are needed?
– What results do we expect and how will they be monitored?
• While the answers to these questions are always
situation-specific…
• …without the backdrop of a commonly agreed
description of the business process in question, such
answers are often vague and wooly.

10
 Modeling Languages for
Business Processes
[7]
Repr. Capabilities (Data vs. Control Flow)

Artifact-centric
Business
Workflow Nets [5] [8]
Processes [4]

DECLARE [6]

11
Topics

• Process Modeling
• BPMN Background
• Basic Concepts
• Advanced Concepts
• Conclusions

12
Business Process Modeling
Notation(BPMN)
• BPMN is the OMG standard for representing business
processes.
– Other standards, such as activity diagrams of UML, were not accepted
for process modeling in practice, because their use is restricted to the
area of object-oriented software design.
• There are many tools for designing a BPMN process:
– Bizagi Process Modeller (it also provides an execution engine)
– JBPM (Eclipse plugin)
– Signavio
– TIBCO Business Studio (free download, quite large)
– IBM Websphere Business Modeler
– ARIS
– Oracle BPA
– Business Process Visual Architect (Visual Paradigm)
– Progress Savvion Business Modeller
13
Why BPMN?

• “The primary goal of BPMN is to provide a notation that

is readily understandable by all business users, from
the business analysts that create the initial draft of the
processes, to the technical developers responsible for
implementing the technology that will perform these
processes, and finally to the business people who will
manage and monitor those processes.”
• “The idea is to create a standardized bridge for the
gap between the business process design and
process implementation.” [BPMN 2.0 spec.]

14
 The vendors realized immediately there was
a need of a graphical representation for the
language oriented towards the needs of
The history of BPMN business users. Not a notation that directly
represents the precise execution language
under development.

In 2001 BPMI
(Business Process
Management Initiative) In 2004 BPMN 1.0 was In Feb.2008 BPMN 1.1
developed BPML as an released to the public was released to the BPMN 1.2 does not
XML process and in 2006 it was public, making the include any significant
execution language. adopted as OMG meaning of the graphical changes;
standard. notation more modifications were
explicit. merely editorial. 15
BPMN 1.2 vs BPMN 2.0

• BPMN 1.2 provides a mapping from a “valid” BPMN

diagram to BPEL, such that an engine can execute the
process.
– The 1.2 specification provides only contained verbal
descriptions of the graphic notations elements and modeling
rules. This leads to misleading and confusions in the translation
process.
• BPMN 2.0 beta 2 was introduced in June 2010.
– It represents the biggest revision of BPMN since its inception.
• BPMN 2.0 received a formal definition in the form of a
metamodel, that is a precise definition of the constructs
and rules needed for creating specific models.

16
What is a Metamodel?

17
 BPMN 2.0 Metamodel

• Metamodelling provides a
number of benefits :
– It formalizes the definition of
models and entities.
– It formalizes the relationship
between elements.
– It enables interoperability.
• The new version’s specification
document has got comprehensive
UML class diagram that
graphically show the features of
the different BPMN constructs and
their relationships.

18
 BPMN 1.2 vs BPMN 2.0

• The metamodel also has got additional language

constructs that cannot be represented in the graphic
models.
– Such constructs are required by process engines to capture the
necessary additional information for process execution.
• Moreover, the metamodel was the basis for the
development on an exchange format for BPMN models.
– Up to now, it was almost impossible to transfer BPMN models from one
tool into another.
– Some tools have got import and export interfaces for the exchange of
BPMN models by means of the XPDL format, but the use of XPDL for this
purpose is not widely accepted yet.
– Moreover, XPDL has not been implemented uniformly by all vendors, so
that in practice there are quite often problems with model exchange.
19
Current BPMN 1.2
problems

The absence of a formal

semantic makes the
translation process
misleading and confusing.

20
Solving BPMN 1.x
problems with BPMN 2.0

BPMN 2.0 has now its explicit

execution semantic, and it is
possible to directly execute
detailed BPMN models.

21
BPMN 2.0

• The typical modeler does not need to work with the

metamodel. Normally, s\he uses a modeling tool that
only allow the creation of models complying with the
specification, and thus with the metamodel.
• It is rather the vendors of modeling tools and process
engines who have to deal with the metamodel.
• BPMN 2.0 supports 3 different levels of process
modeling:
– Process Maps: simple flow charts of the activities.
– Process Descriptions: flow charts extended with additional
information, but not enough to fully define actual performance.
– Process Models: flow charts extended with enough information so that
the process can be analyzed, simulated, and/or executed.
22
Topics

• Process Modeling
• BPMN Background
• Basic Concepts
• Advanced Concepts
• Conclusions

23
BPMN Basic Elements

• 4 basic elements, that usually cover the 80% of

modeling needs.
It is an atomic
unit of work that
has a duration.

Events represent Arcs impose temporal Elements that

things that happen constraints between control the flow
instantaneously. flow objects. of execution of
the process.

24
 Connecting Activities
• The sequence flow defines the order of flow objects in a process (activities,
events and gateways). Each activity can have one or more incoming
sequence flow and one or more outgoing sequence flow.

Send Receive Accept

Invoice Payment Payment

• Typically, an activity tends to have a single incoming and a single outgoing

sequence flow.
• Each process must have always at least a start event (a circle with a thin
border), that shows where a process instance can start, and a end event (a
circle with a thick border), for indicating when a process instance completes.
• Starting from a process model, an organization runs a number of independent
instances of this process.

25
Activity Behaviour
• Once a process instance has been created, we use the notion of token to
identify the progress (or state) of that instance.
• A token is a “theoretical object” used to create a descriptive “simulation” of
the behavior associated to each BPMN element (it is not currently a formal
part of the BPMN specification).
• A token is created in the start event, traverses the sequence flow and is
destroyed in a end event. That is, there is no time associated with the token
travelling down a sequence flow.

26
 A first example: an order
management process These activities are
mutually
exclusives.

Activities
Start event End event.
Reject order BPMN adopts
Order
the implicit
rejected termination
Check stock semantics.
availability X Send invoice

Purchase
order
received
Confirm order + +
Order
Every start/end event fulfilled
should be labelled, in Exclusive Ship goods
order to communicate Gateways
what triggers an A process instance
instance of the completes only when
process or what is Parallel each token flowing in
the outcome when a Gateways These activities the model reaches
process instance can be executed an end event.
completes. concurrently.
27
 A bit more on gateways

• A gateway implies that there is a gating mechanism that

either allows or disallows passage of tokens through the
gateway.
• As tokens arrive at a gateway, they can be merged
together on input, or split apart on output depending on
the gateway type.
• A split gateway represents a point where the process
flow diverges, while a join gateway represents a point
where the process flow converges.
• Splits have one incoming sequence flow and multiple outgoing
sequence flows (representing the branches that diverge).
• Joins have multiple incoming sequence flows (representing the
branches to be merged) and one outgoing sequence flow.

28
 Types of gateways

• Exclusive Gateways (XOR)

– Indicates locations within a business process where the
sequence flow can take two or more alternative paths.
– Only one of the paths can be taken.
– Depicted by a diamond shape that may contain a marker
that is shaped like an “X”.
– We use a XOR-join to merge two or more alternative
branches that may have previously been forked with a
XOR-split.
• Parallel Gateways (AND)
– Provide a mechanism to synchronize parallel flows
(AND-join) and to create parallel flows (AND-split), with
activities that can be executed concurrently.
– Depicted by a diamond shape that must contain a marker
that is shaped like a plus sign. 29
Exclusive Gateways –
Splitting Behaviour
• Exclusive gateways are locations
within a process where there are
two or more alternative paths.
• The criteria for the decision, which
the exclusive gateway represents,
exist as conditions on each of the
outgoing sequence flow.
• When a token arrives at an
exclusive gateway, there is an
immediate evaluation of the
conditions that are on the gateway’s
outgoing sequence flow. One of
those conditions must always
evaluate to true.

30
Default Conditions

• One way for the modeler to

ensure that the process does
not get stuck at an exclusive
gateway is to use a default
condition for one of the
outgoing sequence flow.
• The default condition can
complement a set of standard
conditions to provide an
automatic escape
mechanism in case all the
standard conditions evaluate to
false.
The default condition has
the meaning of “otherwise”, • The default is chosen if all the
and it can be left unlabeled.
other sequence flow conditions
turn out to be false.
31
 Exclusive Gateways –
Merging Behaviour
• When a token arrives at the exclusive gateway, there is no evaluation of
conditions (on the incoming sequence flow), and immediately moves down
the outgoing sequence flow.

32
Exercise

• As soon as an invoice is received from a customer, it

needs to be checked for mismatches.

• The check may result in either of these three options:

– i) there are no mismatches, in which case the invoice is posted;
– ii) there are mismatches but these can be corrected, in which case
the invoice is re-sent to the customer; and
– iii) there are mismatches but these cannot be corrected, in which
case the invoice is blocked.

• Once one of these three activities is performed the

invoice is parked and the process completes.

33
Solution

34
Parallel Gateways –
Splitting Behaviour

• When a token arrives at a parallel gateway,

there is no evaluation of any conditions on
the outgoing sequence flow.

• The parallel gateway will create parallel

paths.

• This means that the gateway will create a

number of tokens that are equal to the
number of outgoing sequence flow. One
token moves down each of those outgoing
sequence flow.

35
Parallel Gateways –
Merging Behaviour
• To synchronize the flow, the parallel gateway will wait for a token to arrive
from each incoming sequence flow.
• When the first token arrives, there is no evaluation of a condition for the
incoming sequence flow, but the token is “held” at the gateway and does
not continue.
• When all the tokens are arrived, then they are merged and one token moves
down the outgoing sequence flow.

36
 Exercise

• Once the boarding pass has been received, passengers proceed

to the security check. Here they need to pass the personal
security screening and the luggage screening. Afterwards, they
can proceed to the departure level.

37
 Exercise
Only two of three paths will be
• Describe the behavior of this process. used at any one time. Thus, the
Process will be stuck waiting for
the third path.

38
Solution

39
 Inclusive gateways

• Inclusive Gateways (OR)

– Sometimes we may need to take one or more branches
after a decision activity.
– To model situations where a decision may lead to one or
more options being taken at the same time, we need to
use an inclusive (OR) split gateway.
– An OR-split is similar to the XOR-split, but the
conditions on its outgoing branches do not need to be
mutually exclusive, i.e., more than one of them can be
true at the same time.
– When we encounter an OR-split, we thus take one or
more branches depending on which conditions are true.

40
Inclusive Gateways –
Splitting Behaviour
• Inclusive gateways support decisions where
more than one outcome is possible at the
decision point.
• Inclusive gateway with multiple outgoing
sequence flows creates one or more paths
based on the conditions on those sequence
flow.
• In terms of token semantics, this means that
the OR-split takes the input token and
generates a number of tokens equivalent
to the number of output conditions that
are true.
• Every condition that evaluates to true will
result in a token moving down that sequence
flow.
• At least one of those conditions must
evaluate to true.
41
Inclusive Gateways –
Merging Behaviour
• When the first token arrives at the gateway, the
gateway will “look” upstream for each of the
other incoming sequence flow to see if there is a
token that might arrive at a later time.
• Thus, the gateway will hold the first token that
arrived in the upper path until the other token
from the lower path arrives.

• When all the expected tokens have arrived at

the gateway, the process flow is synchronized
(the incoming tokens are merged) and then a
token moves down the gateway’s outgoing
sequence flow.

42
Exercise

A company has two warehouses that store different

products: Amsterdam and Hamburg.

When an order is received, it is distributed across these

warehouses: if some of the relevant products are
maintained in Amsterdam, a sub-order is sent there;
likewise, if some relevant products are maintained in
Hamburg, a sub-order is sent there.

Afterwards, the order is registered and the process

completes.
 A first solution

Some activities represented in

the process model have to be
duplicated.
 A second solution

This process works also for

empty orders (i.e., for orders that
do not contain neither
Amsterdam nor Hamburg
products)
A third solution with OR
gateways
What type should we
assign to this join?

47
What type should we
assign to this join?
Let us try an AND-join to match the preceding AND-split.

We recall that an AND-join waits for a token to arrive from

each incoming branch. While the token from the branch with
activity “C” will always arrive, the token from the branch with
activities “B” and “D” may not arrive if this is routed to “E” by
the XOR-split.

So if activity “D” is not executed, the AND-join will wait

indefinitely for that token, with the consequence that the
process instance will not be able to progress any further.
This behavioral anomaly is called deadlock and should be
avoided.
48
What type should we
assign to this join?
Let us try an XOR-join. We recall that the XOR-join works as a
pass-through by forwarding to its output branch each token that
arrives through one of its input branches.

In our example this means that we may execute activity “F” once
or twice, depending whether the preceding XOR-split routes the
token to “E” (in this case “F” is executed once) or to “D” (“F” is
executed twice).

While this solution may work, we have the problem that we do not
know whether activity “F” will be executed once or twice, and we
may actually not want to execute it twice. Moreover, if this is
the case, we would signal that the process has completed twice,
since the end event following “F” will receive two tokens. And this,
again, is something we want to avoid. 49
What type should we
assign to this join?
The only join type left to try is the OR-join.

An OR-join will wait for all incoming active branches to complete. If

the XOR-split routes control to “E”, the OR-join will not wait for a token
from the branch bearing activity “D”, since this will never arrive.

Thus, it will proceed once the token from activity “C” arrives. On the
other hand, if the XOR-split routes control to “D”, the OR-join will wait for
a token to also arrive from this branch, and once both tokens have
arrived, it will merge them into one and send this token out, so that “F”
can be executed once and the process can complete normally.

50
When should we use
an OR-join?
Since the OR-join semantics is not simple, the presence of
this element in a model may confuse the reader.

Thus, we suggest to use it only when it is strictly required.

Clearly, it is easy to see that an OR-join must be used

whenever we need to synchronize control from a
preceding OR-split. Similarly, we should use an AND-join
to synchronize control from a preceding AND-split and an
XOR-join to merge a set of branches that are mutually
exclusive.
 Process Modelling Viewpoints
Organization
Who?

What?
Function When?
Process

Which?

Data / Service / Product

Organisational Elements in
Process Models
Two basic abstractions:
• Resource: Anything or anyone involved in the performance of
a process activity. It can be a human actor, an equipment (e.g.
a printer) or a software system.
– The resource perspective of a process is interested in active resources.
• Resource class: Set of resources with shared characteristics,
e.g. Clerks, Managers, Insurance Officers
A resource class may represent either a:
• Role (skill, competence, qualification)
Classification based on what a resource can do or is expected
to do (e.g., a clerk is a role).
• Group (department, team, office, organizational unit)
Classification based on the organization’s structure (e.g., the
administration department in an organization).
Resource Modelling in BPMN

• In BPMN, resource classes are captured using:

– Pools
• represent independent organizational entities in a collaborative
business process diagram, e.g., Customer is independent from
the Supplier.
• Independent means they do not share any common system that
allows them to communicate implicitly. Hence, they have to
communicate explicitly through the use of messages.
– Lanes
• represent multiple resource classes in the same organizational
space (i.e., in the same pool) and sharing common systems.
• The Sales Department and the Marketing Department of the same
company may be represented in the same pool, but in different
lanes. They can communicate directly.
• Clerks and Managers can be modelled in two separate lanes, but in
the same pool representing the bank.
– The clerk creates a new loan application...
– A manager evaluates the loan application...
 Pools act as containers for the flow objects of a
In practice, each Pool represents a specific set of resource classes and communicate

Lanes and Pools – Notation

distinct Process and each set of
resource classes has its own Pool.
by means of messages.(dotted lines).

In each pool we may have multiple lanes, often assumed to

represent internal business roles within a Process. Lanes
actually provide a generic mechanism for partitioning the objects
within a Pool.
55
 Message Flows
• Message flow defines the messages/communications between two
separate participants (shown as pools) of the diagram.
• Message flow must always occur between two separate pools and
cannot connect two objects within a single pool.

• Thus, message flow is only used in

collaborations diagrams with two or
more pools.

• Sequence flow cannot cross a pool

boundary - i.e., a Process is fully
contained within a pool.

56
Order Management
Process with Pools
Customer

Place
Make
purchase
payment
order

Invoice

Order Rejection Notification Shipment notification

Purchase Order confirmation

order notification Send invoice

Confirm order
Supplier

Check stock
Ship goods
availability

Reject order
Order Management Process
with Lanes
 Lanes
• Lanes create sub-partitions for the objects within a pool.
• These partitions are used to group process elements (showing how
they are related), or which roles have responsibility for carrying out
the activities.
• Lanes often represent organization
roles (e.g., Manager, Administration,
Associate, etc), but can represent any
desired classification (e.g., underlying
technology, organizational
departments, company products, etc).
• Sequence flow can cross Lane
boundaries.
• Message flow is not used within or
across lanes of a pool.
• Lanes can be nested.

59
 Pools – black box
• A pool is not required to contain a process. Known as a “black
box”, these pools do not show activities or sequence flow inside its
boundary.
• In this example, the “Customer” Pool is a black box (as far as
Mortgage Co is concerned, they have no knowledge of the Processes
of their Customer).

When the Pool is

black box, Message
Flow connects to its
boundary.

60
 Text annotations and groups do
not bear any semantics, thus they
Artifacts do not affect the flow of tokens
through the process model.

• Artifacts provide a mechanism to capture additional information

about a process. This information does not directly impact the flow
chart characteristics of a process.
• Three different kinds of artifacts are available : A Text Annotation provides
Groups, Text Annotations, Data Objects. the modeler with the ability
to add further descriptive
• Modelers and tool vendors can extend BPMN information or notes about a
through the addition of new types of artifacts. process or its elements.

Groups cannot be
interrupted by
Intermediate
Events

A Group is used to
surround a group of
flow objects in order
to highlight and/or
categorize them.
61
Data Artifacts

Data
• Data Objects are a mechanism to show
Object how data is required or produced by
activities.
– They are depicted by a rectangle that has its
upper-right corner folded over.
– Represent input and output of a process activity.

Data • Data Stores are containers of data objects

Store that need be persisted beyond the duration
of a process instance.
• Associations are used to link data objects
Directed association
and data stores with flow objects (e.g.
activities and, sometimes, events).
Undirected association • Directed associations are used to
understand when process activities can
read/write data objects from/to data stores.
 Data Objects
• Data objects are used to show how data and documents are used
within a Process as inputs and outputs of activities.
• Data objects may also have “states” that depict how the object
(document) is updated within the Process. The state is usually shown
under the name of the data object and is placed between brackets.
• By using the state of a data object and
placing it within multiple locations within
a diagram, the modeler can document
the changes that a data object will go
through during the Process.
• Data flow represents the movement of
data objects from into and out of
activities.
• In BPMN, data flow is decoupled from
the sequence flow.
63
Extending the Order Mgt Process

Send invoice
Purchase
Order
Confirm order

Check stock Set PO to approved

Ship goods
availability
Set PO to rejected

Reject order

• The Purchase Order document serves as an input to the stock

availability check. Based on the outcome of this check, the status of
document is updated, either to “approved” or “rejected”.
• Input data objects are required for an activity to be executed. Even
if a token is available on the incoming arc of that activity, the latter
cannot be executed until all input data objects are also available.
Exercise
Insert data objects in the following process
model :
Solution
Insert data objects in the following process
model :
Books DB

Book Information

Customer Info
New Data Objects in
BPMN 2.0

• A Collection Data Object represents a collection of

information, e.g., a list of order items.

• A Data Input is an external input for the entire process. A

kind of input parameter.

• A Data Output is data result of the entire process. A kind

of output parameter.

• A Data Store is a place where the process can read or

write data, e.g., a database or a filing cabinet. It persists
beyond the lifetime of the process instance.

67
BPMN Elements – Recap

Connections Swimlanes

Pool
Message Association

Lane
Flow

Flow Objects Artifacts

Text Annotation

Gateway
Activity Data
Object
Data
Event
Store
Topics

• Process Modeling
• BPMN Background
• Basic Concepts
• Advanced Concepts
• Conclusions

69
Categories of Processes

• BPMN 2.0 supports four main categories of Processes

1. Orchestration : They represent a specific business or organization’s
view of the process. It describes how a single business entity (i.e., a
process participant, such as a buyer, seller, shipper, or supplier) goes
about things. A BPMN diagram may contain more than one
orchestration. If so, each orchestration appears within its own pool.
Each orchestration can only represent one participant.
2. Collaboration : It is merely a collection of participants and their
interaction.
3. Choreography : They
represent the expected
behavior between two or
more business participants.
4. Conversation : The logical
relation of message
exchanges.
Specialized types of tasks
• There are 7 specialized types of tasks (with different
User
markers):
• None : A generic or undefined task.
Receive • User : A task where a human performer carries out the
task with the assistance of a software application.
• Receive : Waits for a message to arrive from an external
Send
participant (relative to the Business Process). Once
received, the Task is complete.
Service • Send : Dispatches a message to an external participant.
• Service : Links to some sort of service, which could be a
web service or an automated application.
Script
• Script : Performs a modeler-defined script.
• Manual : A non-automated task that a human performer
Manual undertakes outside of the control of the workflow or PMS
engine.
71
BPMN Activities

• An activity is work that is performed within a

business process.
• It can take some time to perform, and involves
Task
one or more resources from the organization.
• It usually requires some type of input and
produces some sort of output.
• An activity can be atomic (known also as a
task) or compound (non atomic, in the sense
Sub-Process
you can drill down to see another level of the
process below).
• A task is used when the work in the Process
A sub-process has a “plus is not broken down to a finer level of detail.
sign” placed in the lower
center of the shape, that
• The compound type of an Activity is called a
indicates it can be opened sub-process.
for more details.
72
Types of sub-processes

• Sub-processes enable hierarchical process

Collapsed development.
sub-process
• We refer to a Process that contains a Sub-
Process as the Parent Process for the Sub-
Process. Conversely, the Sub-Process is the
child Process of the Process that contains it.
• For an expanded version of a sub- process,
Manage
Payment the details (i.e., another process) are visible
within its boundary.
• There are two types of Sub-Processes:
Embedded and Independent

Expanded sub-process

Receive Include
credit Approval Standard
report Text

73
Embedded sub-processes
• A modeled process that is actually part of the Parent Process. Embedded
Sub-Processes are not reusable by other processes. All “process relevant
data” used in the parent process is directly accessible by the embedded
sub-process (since it is part of the parent).

• An important characteristic of an embedded sub-process is that it can only

begin with a None Start Event—i.e., without an explicit trigger such as a
message.
74
Independent
sub-processes
• A separately modeled process that could be used in multiple contexts (e.g.,
checking the credit of a customer). The “process relevant data” of the
parent (calling) process is not automatically available to the sub-process.
Any data must be transferred specifically, sometimes reformatted,
between the parent and sub-process.

• Transferring data from the parent Process to the reusable sub-process will
rely on a “mapping” between the data elements of the two levels.
• Just like an embedded sub-process, an independent sub-process must
have a None Start Event. Independent sub-processes maximize reuse.
Behaviour across
process levels
The sub-process is
active

The sub-process is
completed

76
Exercise. Identify sub-processes\1

77
Exercise. Identify sub-processes\2

78
Exercise. Identify sub-processes\3

We can simplify the model

by hidding the content of its
subprocesses. We are
collapsing the sub-
processes in compound
activities.

79
Looping
• On an activity, it is possible to define a loop condition
that determines the number of times to perform that
activity. There are two variations for activity looping :
– While Loop (or While-Do) - The loop condition is
checked before the activity is performed. If the loop
condition turns out to be true, then the activity is
performed. If not, the activity completes and the Process
continues (a token moves down the outgoing sequence
flow), even if the activity was never performed. The cycle
of checking the loop condition and performing the activity
continues until the loop condition is False.
– Until Loop (or Do-While) - The loop condition is
checked after the Activity is performed.

• Using activity attributes, it is possible to set the maximum number of loops

(loop maximum) for both while and until loops. After the activity has reached
the loop maximum, it will stop (even if the loop condition is still true).

80
Example

We can use an annotation to

specify the loop condition

81
Multi-Instance Activities

• Activity to be performed many

times concurrently with different
data sets.
• The value of the loop condition
attribute determines the number of
times that the activity is performed.
• The key point to understand that
the activity does not cycle
around; each activity execution
is distinct from the others.
• The individual instances of a Multi-
Instance Activity might occur in
parallel or in sequence. 82
Example

This is a collection of similar data objects (a list of

suppliers, in our case). When a collection is used as After all quotes have been
input to a multi-instance activity, the number of received, they are evaluated
items in the collection determines the number of and the best quote is
activity instances to be created. selected.

In a procurement process, a
quote is to be obtained from
all preferred suppliers.

83
Example

Basically, a multi –instance

activity can be modeled
through AND gateways.

There are two problems with

this model:
1) Readability
2) Updating

84
Exercise

After a car accident, a statement is required from two

witnesses out of the five that were present, in order to
lodge the insurance claim.

As soon as the first two statements are received, the claim

can be lodged with the insurance company without waiting
for the other statements.

85
Solution

86
Events

• An event is something that “happens

Start instantaneously” during the course
of a business process.
Intermediate • An event may affect the flow of the
Process and usually have a trigger
End or a result.
• They can start, delay, interrupt, or
end the flow of the process.
– Events are circles and the type of boundary
determines the type of Event.

87
Start Events

None • A Start Event shows where a Process can

begin.
Message • A Start Event is a small, open circle with a
single, thin lined boundary.
Timer
• There are different types of Start Events to
indicate the varying circumstances that can
trigger the start of a Process.
Conditional
• These circumstances, such as the arrival of a
message or a timer “going-off,” are called
Signal triggers.
• A Start Event can only have outgoing
Multiple
sequence flows.
• Trigger-based Start Events can only feature
Parallel in top-level processes (hence they are never
Multiple used in sub-processes).
88
Start Events Behaviour

• Start Events are where the flow of a

Process starts, and, thus, are where
tokens are created. When a Start
Event is triggered, the token is
generated.

• Immediately after the Start Event

triggers and the token generated,
the token will then exit the Start
Event and travel down the outgoing
Sequence Flow.

89
 Timer Start Event

• The Timer Start Event indicates that the Process is

started (i.e., triggered) when a specific time condition has
occurred.
– This could be a specific date and time (e.g., January 1, 2009 at
8am) or a recurring time (e.g., every Monday at 8am).

90
 Message Start Event
• The Message Start Event represents a situation where a
Process is initiated (i.e. triggered) by the reception of a
message.
• A message is a direct communication between two business
participants. These participants must be in separate pools
(they cannot be sent from another lane inside a single pool).

91
Signal Start Event

• It indicates that the Process is started (i.e. triggered) when a signal

is detected.
• This signal was a broadcast communication from a business
participant or another Process. Signals have no specific target or
recipient - i.e., all processes and participants can see the signal
and it is up to each of them to decide whether or not to react.
– Unlike messages, signals can operate within a Process (perhaps between a
Sub-Process and its parent calling Process).

92
Conditional Start Event

• The Conditional Start Event represents a situation where a Process

is started (i.e., triggered) when a pre-defined condition becomes true.
• A condition is used to define the details of the change in data that is
expected.
– The condition for the Event must become false and then true again
before the Event can be triggered again.

93
 Multiple and Parallel
Multiple Start Events
• The Multiple Start Event represents a collection of two
or more Start Event triggers. The triggers can be any
combination of messages, timers, conditions, and/or
signals.
– Any one of those triggers will instantiate the Process.
– If one of the other triggers occurs, or the same trigger occurs again,
then another Process instance is generated.
• For the Parallel Multiple Start Event a combination of
triggers is required before the process can be
instantiated.

94
End Events

• There are different types of End Events

None that indicate different categories of
results for the Process.
Message – A result is something that occurs at the end of
a particular path of the Process (for example,
a message is sent, or a signal is broadcast).
Signal – All End Events are throw results.
• Only incoming sequence flow is
Multiple permitted – (i.e. sequence flow cannot
leave from an End Event).
Terminate • A None End Event is always used to mark
the end of Sub-Processes (moving from one
level up to the next).

95
End Events Behaviour

• When a token arrives at an End

Event, the result of the event, if any,
occurs and the token is consumed.

• it is possible to have one or more

paths (threads) that continue even
after the token in one path has
reached an End Event and has been
consumed.
• If the Process still contains an
unconsumed token, then the Process
is still “active.” After all active paths
have reached an End Event, the
Process is then complete. 96
Terminate End Event

• The Terminate End Event will cause the immediate cessation of

the Process instance at its current level and for any Sub-
Processes (even if there is still ongoing activity), but it will not
terminate a higher-level parent Process.
When the lower path reaches the
Terminate End Event, the work of the
upper path will be stopped, thereby
stopping the infinite loop.

97
 Intermediate Events
Catching Throwing

• An Intermediate Event indicates where

None
something happens/occurs after a Process
has started and before it has ended.
Timer
• They may also interrupt the normal
processing of an activity.
Message
• Each type of Intermediate Events can either
Signal throw or catch the event.
• A catching Intermediate Event waits for
Conditional something to happen (i.e., wait for the
circumstance defined on the trigger).
Link • A throwing Intermediate Event
immediately fires (effectively creating the
Multiple circumstance defined on the trigger).

Parallel
Multiple 98
Catch Intermediate Events
Behaviour
• A token arriving at a catch
Intermediate Event would wait
until the trigger occurs. Then
the token would leave
immediately and move down the
outgoing Sequence Flow.
• A Catching Intermediate Event
(except than the Link Event) can
also be attached to the
boundary of an Activity.
• When the activity starts, so does the timer.
• If the activity finishes first, then it completes
normally and the Process continues normally.
• If the timer goes off before the Activity is
completed, the Activity is immediately
interrupted and the Process continues down the
sequence flow from the Timer Intermediate
Event. 99
Throw Intermediate Events
Behaviour
• A token arriving at a throw
Intermediate Event would
immediately fire the trigger. It
would then leave immediately
and travel down the outgoing
Sequence Flow.
• A Throwing Intermediate Event
can not be attached to the
boundary of an Activity.

100
 Intermediate Events
Behaviour
• When a token arrives at a catching
Message Intermediate Event, the
Process pauses until a message
arrives.

• When a token arrives at a Discuss

Confirmation
throwing Message Intermediate Confirmation
Event, it immediately triggers the
Event, which sends the message
to a specific participant. Discuss
Confirmation
Confirmation

If the token is waiting at the

Intermediate Event and the message
arrives, then the Event triggers.
101
An Example

102
 Link Intermediate Event
• Link Intermediate Events are always used in pairs, with a source and a target
Event. To ensure the pairing, both the source and target Link Events must
have the same label.
• Using a pair of Link Events creates a virtual Sequence Flow.
• There can be only one Target Link Event, but there may be multiple Source
Link Events paired with the same catching Link Event.

• Once the Source Link Event

is triggered (the throw), the
token immediately jumps to
the catching (Target) Link
Event.
• The arrival of the token at
the Target Link Event
immediately triggers the
Event..

103
Example of a
Multiple Intermediate Event

104
Gateways

• Gateways are modeling elements that

Exclusive control how the Process diverges or
converges.
• They represent points of control for the
Event
paths within the Process.
• They split and merge the flow of a
Parallel Process (through Sequence Flow).
• Since there are different ways of
controlling the Process flow, there are
Inclusive different types of Gateways.
• The type (splitting and merging) for a
single Gateway must be matched - i.e.
Complex a Gateway cannot be Parallel on the
input side, and Exclusive on the output
side.
105
Event-based Exclusive
Gateways
• Event-Based Exclusive Gateways represent
an alternative branching point where the
decision is based on two or more Events that
might occur, rather than data-oriented
conditions (as in an Exclusive Gateway).
• These Events, which must be of the catch
variety, are the first objects connected by
the Gateway’s outgoing Sequence Flow. The
tokens will wait there until one of the Events
is triggered.
• The Intermediate Events that are part of the
Gateway configuration become involved in a
race condition. Whichever one finishes first
(fires) will win the race and take control of
the Process with its token.
• Then the token will immediately continue
down its outgoing Sequence Flow, by
disabling the other paths. 106
 Complex Gateways –
Splitting Behaviour
• With a Complex Gateway, Modelers provide their own expressions that
determine the merging and/or splitting behavior of the Gateway.
• Complex Gateway uses a single outgoing assignment within the Gateway,
rather than a set of separate conditions on the outgoing Sequence Flow.
• An assignment has two parts: a condition and an action. When an assignment
is performed, it evaluates the condition and if true, it then performs the action
such as updating the value of a Process or Data Object property.
• The outgoing assignment may send a token down one or more of the
Gateway’s outgoing Sequence Flow. The outgoing assignment may refer to
data of the Process or its Data Objects and the status of the incoming
Sequence Flow.
• For example, an outgoing assignment may evaluate Process data and then
select different sets of outgoing Sequence Flow, based on the results of the
evaluation.
– However, the outgoing assignment should ensure that at least one of the outgoing
Sequence Flow will always be chosen.

107
 Complex Gateways –
Merging Behaviour
• There are many patterns that can be performed with the Complex Gateway,
such as typical Inclusive Gateway behavior, batching of multiple tokens,
accepting tokens from some paths but ignoring the tokens from others, etc.
• The Gateway looks the same for each of these patterns, so the modeler should
use a Text Annotation to inform the reader of the diagram how it is used.
• The Complex Gateway uses an incoming assignment when tokens arrive.
The condition may refer to Process or Data Object information and the status of
the incoming Sequence Flow.
– If the condition is false, nothing happens other than the token is held there.
– If the condition is true, then the action could be set to pass the token to the output
side of the Gateway, thereby activating the outgoing assignment, or the action could
be set to consume the token.

108
 Exercise
Design a a sample expense reimbursement process. This process provides for
reimbursement of expenses incurred by employees for the company. For
example buying a technical book, office supplies or software. In a normal day
there are several hundreds of instances of this process created. Concentrate on
the basic flow of the Process…
After the reception of a meeting remainder, a new account must
be created if the employee does not already have one. The report
is then reviewed for automatic approval. Amounts under $200 are
automatically approved, whereas amounts equal to or over $200
require approval of the supervisor. In case of rejection, the
employee must receive a rejection notice by email. The
reimbursement goes to the employee’s direct deposit bank
account. If the request is not completed in 7 days, then the
employee must receive an “approval in progress” email If the
request is not finished within 30 days, then the process is stopped
and the employee
109
Exercise - Solution

110
Further Advanced Concepts

• Error Events and Exception Handling

• Cancel Events, Compensation Events and
Transactions
• Ad Hoc Processes
• Conversation Diagrams
• Coreography Diagrams

111
 Error Events
• The Error Intermediate Event is used to
Error End Event – handle the occurrence of an error that
Catching needs the interrupting of an Activity (to
which it is attached).
Error Intermediate Event -
Throwing • An error is generated by applications or
systems involved in the work (which are
transparent to the Process) or by End
Events.
• The Error End Event is used to throw an error.
• The Error Intermediate Event can only be used when attached
to the boundary of an Activity, thus it can only be used to
catch an error.
• When an error occurs all work will stop for that Process.
• However, these Events do not interrupt the Activity since they
are only operational after an Activity has completed.
112
Exception Handling

• The error thrown by the Event will be

caught by an Intermediate Event at a
higher level.
• Errors have a specific scope of
visibility. An error can only be seen by
a parent Process. Other Processes at
the same level or within different Pools
cannot see the error.
• Errors only move upward in the
Process hierarchy.
• If there happens to be more than one
Process level higher than the Error
End Event, then first level that has a
catch Error Intermediate Event
attached to its boundary will be
interrupted, even if there are higher
levels that could possible catch the
same error. 113
 The token leaves the

Exception Handling
previous flow object and
arrives at the Activity with the
attached Intermediate Event.

The token enters the Activity and

starts the work of the Activity. At
the same time, another token is
created and resides in the
Intermediate Event on its boundary.

If the Activity finishes before the

trigger occurs, then the token
from the Activity moves down the
normal outgoing Sequence Flow
of the Activity and the additional
token is consumed.

However, if the attached

Intermediate Event triggers before
the Activity finishes, then the
Activity is interrupted (all work
stops). In this case, the token from
the Event moves down its outgoing
Sequence Flow. The token that
was on the Activity is consumed. 114
Transactions
A Process model (i.e.,
within one Pool), shows the
Activities of the Transaction• A Transaction is a set of
Sub-Process for just one of activities that logically belong
the participants.
together.
• In BPMN, a Transaction is a
formal business relationship
and agreement between two
or more participants.
• For a Transaction to succeed, all
parties involved have to perform
their own Activities and reach an
agreement point.
• If any one of them withdraws or
fails to complete, then the
Transaction cancels and all
parties need to undo all the work
that has completed.
115
 Transactions
• Transaction Sub-Processes have special behaviors.
• Firstly, they are associated with a Transaction Protocol. This means that the
companies involved in the Transaction must be able to send and receive all the
handshaking messages between the participants.
• Secondly, if the work of all the Activities in
the Transaction Sub-Process complete
normally and all the tokens reach an End
Event, the Sub-Process is still not complete.
• Thirdly, if a processing or technical error
occurs for one of the participants of the
Transaction, then there are two possibilities
for interrupting the Transaction Sub-Process:
– An attached Error Intermediate Event is triggered
(often called a hazard) and the Transaction Sub-
Process is interrupted.
– An attached Cancel Intermediate Event is triggered
and the Transaction Sub-Process is cancelled.

116
Cancel Events
• The Cancel Intermediate Event is designed to handle
a situation where a transaction is canceled.

• Cancel Intermediate Events can only catch a transaction

cancellation. The Cancel End Event throws the cancellation.
• The Cancel Intermediate Event can only be attached to the
boundary of a Transaction Sub-Process. It can be triggered by a
Cancel End Event within the Sub-Process, or through a cancellation
received through the transaction protocol assigned to the
Transaction Sub-Process.
• When triggered, the Transaction Sub-Process is interrupted (all
work stops) and the Sub-Process is rolled-back, which may result in
the compensation of some of the Activities within the Sub-Process.
• To cancel the Transaction Sub-Process, the Cancel End Event must
be contained within the Sub-Process or within a lower level child
Sub-Process.
117
 Compensation Events
• There are two types of Compensation
Intermediate Events: throwing and
catching - i.e. sending and receiving.
• The catch Compensation Intermediate Event can only be used by
attaching them to the boundary of an Activity. However, the throw
Compensation Intermediate Event is used in normal flow.
• The Compensation End Event indicates that the ending of a Process
path results in the triggering of a compensation.
• In the definition of the Compensation End Event the name of an Activity
can be identified as the Activity that should be compensated. The
Activity must be within the Process, either at the top-level Process or
within a Sub-Process.
• If the named Activity was completed and it has an attached
Compensation Intermediate Event, then that Activity will be
compensated.
118
 Hazard in a Transaction
Sub-Process
• When there is a hazard, a normal
cancellation and compensation are
not sufficient to fix the situation.
• The transaction is then interrupted.
• The error can happen within the
Transaction Sub-Process or within
a Process (unseen) of one the
other participants in the
transaction.
• The error from one of the other participants will be sent through the
transaction protocol.
• When Error Intermediate Event triggers, all work within the Sub-
Process is terminated immediately - there is no compensation.
• The token then is sent down the outgoing Sequence Flow of the Error
Event to reach Activities that will deal with the situation.
119
 Cancellation in a
Transaction Sub-Process
• a Transaction Sub-Process can be
cancelled through an Event
internal to the Sub-Process or
through a cancellation sent through
a transaction protocol.
• When a Transaction Sub-Process
is cancelled, the Cancel
Intermediate Event attached to its
boundary is triggered.
• The token will eventually continue down the Cancel Intermediate
Event’s outgoing Sequence Flow, but the behavior of the Transaction
Sub-Process involves more than just interrupting the work in the Sub-
Process.
• Indeed, all ongoing work within the transaction is cancelled.

120
Compensation in a
Transaction Sub-Process
• However, completed work (in the
Transaction Sub-Process) may
need to be undone, which requires
a “rolling back” before the parent
Process can continue.
• This means that each Activity in
turn, in reverse order, is checked to
see whether or not it requires
compensation. Compensation is
the undoing of work that has been
completed.
• A token can be used to trace this
rolling back as it travels backward
through the Process after a
Transaction Sub-Process has been
cancelled.
121
 Compensation in a
Transaction Sub-Process
• Compensation does not just
happen automatically. Another
Activity is required to undo the
work of the original Activity.
• The Compensation Activity links
to each Activity via the
Compensation Intermediate
Event attached to its boundary.
• The link between the normal Activity and the Compensation Activity is
done through an Association rather than a Sequence Flow.
• The Compensation Intermediate Event is never triggered during the
normal flow of the Process. It only can be triggered during the roll-
back of the Transaction Sub-Process. Only one Compensation Activity
can be associated with the Compensation Intermediate Event.
• When the reversal of the token reaches an Activity that has an attached
Compensation Intermediate Event, that Compensation Event fires and
the token is then sent to the associated Compensation Activity. 122
Compensation in a
Transaction Sub-Process
• When the Compensation Activity
has completed, the token
continues its backward journey
through the Transaction by
leaving the Activity whose work
was just undone.
• When all the Activities of the
Transaction Sub-Process have
been checked and, if necessary,
compensated, then the
cancellation of the Transaction is
completed.
• This allows the token in the
parent Process to travel down the
outgoing Sequence Flow of the
attached Compensation
Intermediate Event. 123
 Ad Hoc Processes
• The Ad Hoc Process represents Processes where the Activities might
occur in any order, and in any frequency- there is no specific ordering
or obvious decisions.
• Typically, the Activities in
an Ad Hoc Process involve
human performers who
make the decisions as to
what Activities to perform,
when to perform them, and
how many times.
• The Ad Hoc Process has a
non-graphical completion
condition attribute that is
used to determine if the
work of the Process is
complete.
124
Conversation Diagrams

125
Conversation Elements

126
Coreography Diagram

127
Coreography Elements

128
Topics

• Process Modeling
• BPMN Background
• Basic Concepts
• Advanced Concepts
• Conclusions

129
Conclusions

130
References

[BPMN 2.0 spec] OMG. BPMN 2.0 specification. (January 2011)

[1] M. Weske. Business Process Management: Concepts, Languages,
Architectures. Springer-Verlag (2007).
[2] Workflow Management Coalition. XPDL 2.1 Complete Specification
(2008).
[3] OASIS. Web Services Business Process Execution Language Version
2.0. http://docs.oasis-open.org/wsbpel/2.0/Primer/wsbpel-v2.0-Primer.pdf
(2007).
[4] R. Hull. Artifact-Centric Business Process Models: Brief Survey of
Research Results and Challenges. In Proceedings of the OTM 2008
Confederated International Conferences, CoopIS (2008).
[5] W.M.P .van der Aalst, C. Stahl. Modeling Business Processes A Petri Net
Oriented Approach. The Mit Press (2011).
[6] M. Pesic. DECLARE: Full Support for Loosely-Structured Processes.
In Proceedings at the 11th IEEE International Enterprise Distributed
Object Computing Conference (EDOC) (2007) .
131
References

[7] A.H.M. ter Hofstede, W. van der Aalst, M. Adams, N. Russell. Modern
Business Process Automation: YAWL and its Support Environment.
Springer-Verlag (2009).
[8] S. Christensen, N. Damgaard Hansen. Coloured Petri Nets: Basic
Concepts, Analysis Methods and Practical Use. Jensen (1997).

132
THANKS FOR THE ATTENTION