Category Archives: Business Process Modeling

Tutorials on business process modeling notation (BPMN) or other articles related to process modeling.

BPMN Deadlock

By Scott Sehlhorst | September 20th, 2006

One danger of using a precise language like BPMN to describe business processes is that you can precisely get yourself into trouble. Deadlock (in BPMN) is a condition used to describe a process that can’t be completed. By designing (or describing) the wrong business process, you can create a process that never finishes.

Before And After – A Rule For Improving Processes

By Scott Sehlhorst | September 19th, 2006

Nils proposes his rule of three boxes as a consideration when developing software or software features to improve business processes. In short, make sure that you can actually execute the new process. It isn’t enough to create a good “replacement process” – you have to be able to transition to the new process and then back out of it. The new process is plugged into a business ecosystem, and it must coexist with the existing processes.

Posted in Business Process Modeling, Requirements | Tagged business process reengineering, managing data, migration project requirements, migration projects, process improvement | 2 Comments

BPMN Compensation Event Correction

By Scott Sehlhorst | September 18th, 2006

One of our readers (thank you!) pointed out that another blogger was critiqueing one of our earlier business process modeling notation (BPMN) diagrams. Turns out we made a couple mistakes. Here’s a more detailed look at the compensation end event.

Posted in Business Process Modeling | Tagged bpmn, bpmn example, bpmn symbols, business process modeling example, compensation end event, compensation intermediate event, end compensation event, intermediate compensation event, managing data | 8 Comments

BPMN Diagrams – Sequence Flow

By Scott Sehlhorst | September 14th, 2006

BPMN Diagrams don’t use the term control flow to describe processes. They use the terms sequence flow and message flow. Within sequence flow, there are four classifications of flow.

Posted in Business Process Modeling | Tagged bpmn, bpmn symbols, business process modelling, exception flow, managing data, modeling exceptions, modeling flows, modelling exceptions, modelling flow, sequence flow | 1 Comment

BPMN Diagrams – Intermediate Multiple Events

By Scott Sehlhorst | September 13th, 2006

We can simplify BPMN Diagrams with intermediate multiple events. These events are combinations of different intermediate events, much like complex gateways combine different gateways.

Posted in Business Process Modeling | Tagged bpmn, bpmn intermediate event, bpmn intermediate multiple event, bpmn multiple, bpmn multiple intermediate event, bpmn symbols, intermediate event, intermediate multiple event, managing data, multiple intermediate event, process modeling | 5 Comments

BPMN Diagrams – Hit the Links With Intermediate Events

By Scott Sehlhorst | September 11th, 2006

Drawing business process diagrams can be tricky. Just getting the layout on the page to look good can be tricky. Intermediate link events can be used to clean up diagrams. They can also be used to jump from a specified point in one process to a specific point in another process.

Posted in Business Process Modeling | Tagged bpmn, bpmn example, bpmn symbol, bpmn tutorial, classical flowchart, example, flowchart, intermediate link event, intermediate link example, link intermediate event, managing data | 4 Comments

BPMN Diagrams – Intermediate Rule Events

By Scott Sehlhorst | September 8th, 2006

Business process modeling is rarely applied to simplistic processes. Real world business processes often embody complex decision making. Complex decisions imply choices of action. Rule intermediate events, in BPMN, are designed to express these hard ideas with easy to read diagrams.

Posted in Business Process Modeling | Tagged bpmn, bpmn example, bpmn symbols, classical flow charting, complex flowchart, flowchart, intermediate rule, intermediate rule event, intermediate rule example, intermediate rules, managing data, rule intermediate event | 3 Comments

BPMN Diagrams – Make It Right With Intermediate Compensation Events

By Scott Sehlhorst | September 5th, 2006

Sometimes we can’t undo our actions. Water under the bridge. But we can make it right by doing something else to compensate. BPMN allows us to use intermediate events to compensate for mistakes in the past. A classic example is cancellation of a purchase. Our example is a little more fun.

Posted in Business Process Modeling, Requirements, Requirements gathering | Tagged bpmn, bpmn symbols, business process modeling symbols, business process modeling technique, compensation, compensation event, compensation intermediate event, intermediate compensation event, intermediate event, managing data | Leave a comment

BPMN Diagrams – Stop The Presses! With Intermediate Cancel Events

By Scott Sehlhorst | September 4th, 2006

Business processes often need to be cancelled. An error condition can cause a process to terminate, or an incoming message can cause a process to be terminated. Error conditions occur within transactional subprocesses and a cancel intermediate event is used to describe any special cancellation steps.

Posted in Business Process Modeling, Requirements, Requirements gathering | Tagged bpmn, bpmn cancel event, bpmn end process, bpmn intermediate events, bpmn stop process, bpmn symbols, business process modeling cancel, cancel intermediate event, classic flowchart, classical flowchart, classical flowcharting, flowchart, intermediate event, managing data | Leave a comment

BPMN Diagrams – Play Catch With Intermediate Errors

By Scott Sehlhorst | September 1st, 2006

Business Processes might start out as easy-to-diagram simple processes. Over time, these processes get more complex, as they have to deal with real-world considerations and unanticipated situations. Things can go wrong. Classical flow diagramming gets complex when dealing with errors or exceptions in a process, while BPMN modeling keeps things simple.