10 Process
10.1 General
NOTE: The content of this clause is REQUIRED for BPMN Process Modeling Conformance or for BPMN Complete Conformance. However, this clause is NOT REQUIRED for BPMN Process Choreography Conformance, BPMN Process Execution Conformance, or BPMN BPEL Process Execution Conformance. For more information about BPMN conformance types, see page 1.
A Process describes a sequence or flow of Activities in an organization with the objective of carrying out work. In BPMN a Process is depicted as a graph of Flow Elements, which are a set of Activities, Events, Gateways, and Sequence Flows that define finite execution semantics (see Figure 10.1). Processes can be defined at any level from enterprise-wide Processes to Processes performed by a single person. Low-level Processes can be grouped together to achieve a common business goal.
Figure 10.1 – An Example of a Process
Note that BPMN uses the term Process specifically to mean a set of flow elements. It uses the terms Collaboration and Choreography when modeling the interaction between Processes.
The Process package contains classes that are used for modeling the flow of Activities, Events, and Gateways, and how they are sequenced within a Process (see Figure 10.2). When a Process is defined it is contained within
Definitions.
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Figure 10.2 – Process class diagram
A Process is a CallableElement, allowing it to be referenced and reused by other Processes via the Call Activity construct. In this capacity, a Process MAY reference a set of Interfaces that define its external behavior.
A Process is a reusable element and can be imported and used within other Definitions.
Figure 10.3 shows the details of the attributes and model associations of a Process.
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Figure 10.3 – Process Details class diagram
The Process element inherits the attributes and model associations of CallableElement (see Table 10.24) and of FlowElementContainer (see Table 8.45). Table 10.1 presents the additional attributes and model associations of the Process element:
Table 10.1 – Process Attributes & Model Associations
Attribute Name |
Description/Usage |
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processType: ProcessType = none |
The processType attribute Provides additional information about the |
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{ None | Private | Public } |
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level of abstraction modeled by this Process. |
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A public Process shows only those flow elements that are relevant to |
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external consumers. Internal details are not modeled. These |
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Processes are publicly visible and can be used within a |
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Collaboration. Note that the public processType was named |
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abstract in BPMN 1.2. |
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A private Process is one that is internal to a specific organization. |
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By default, the processType is “none,” meaning undefined. |
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Table 10.1 – Process Attributes & Model Associations
isExecutable: boolean [0..1] |
An optional Boolean value specifying whether the Process is execut- |
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able. |
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An executable Process is a private Process that has been modeled for |
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the purpose of being executed according to the semantics of Clause |
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14. Of course, during the development cycle of the Process, there will |
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be stages where the Process does not have enough detail to be “exe- |
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cutable.” |
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A non-executable Process is a private Process that has been modeled |
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for the purpose of documenting Process behavior at a modeler-defined |
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level of detail. Thus, information needed for execution, such as formal |
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condition expressions are typically not included in a non-executable |
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Process. |
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For public Processes, no value has the same semantics as if the value |
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were false. The value MAY not be true for public Processes. |
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auditing: Auditing [0..1] |
This attribute provides a hook for specifying audit related properties. |
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monitoring: Monitoring [0..1] |
This attribute provides a hook for specifying monitoring related proper- |
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ties. |
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artifacts: Artifact [0..*] |
This attribute provides the list of Artifacts that are contained within the |
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Process. |
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IsClosed: boolean = false |
A boolean value specifying whether interactions, such as sending and |
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receiving Messages and Events, not modeled in the Process can |
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occur when the Process is executed or performed. If the value is true, |
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they MAY NOT occur. If the value is false, they MAY occur. |
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supports: Process [0..*] |
Modelers can declare that they intend all executions or performances |
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of one Process to also be valid for another Process. This means they |
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expect all the executions or performances of the first Processes to also |
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follow the steps laid out in the second Process. |
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properties: Property [0..*] |
Modeler-defined properties MAY be added to a Process. These |
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properties are contained within the Process. All Tasks and Sub- |
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Processes SHALL have access to these properties. |
resources: ResourceRole [0..*] |
Defines the resource that will perform or will be responsible for the |
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Process. The resource, e.g., a performer, can be specified in the form |
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of a specific individual, a group, an organization role or position, or an |
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organization. |
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Note that the assigned resources of the Process does not determine |
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the assigned resources of the Activities that are contained by the |
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Process. See more details about resource assignment on page 152. |
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