BPMN: Flow connection to Process

[ThommyG]

Hi,

since we are describing some business processes, I thought, why not use the BPMN (v.1.3) add in.

I have to admitt, I haven't read OMG's specs in detail; but I encounter a problem, when I want to draw a flow connection from a decision "Gate" to a "Sub-Process" (BusinessProcess, composite). It simply doesn't work. I can, however, connect the "Gate" to an "Activity" (by sequence flow) and from that "Activity" the "BusinessProcess" is connected by a control flow.


Then there is another issue: the guard expression isn't displayed, however I can use the Condition Expression. Shouldn't this be the same?

tnx, Thomas

[«Midnight»]

How did you create the diagram in the first place? Did you do it through the context menu for the add-in, or did you just use an ordinary EA diagram?

[ThommyG]

It is a BPMN diagram. And I only use elements from the BPMN core toolbox. (And I've upgraded to build 804)

However, I want to connect to a BusinessProcess.



And I might have found the reason, why it is not working:
The 'BPMN specification' only mentions (collapsed) sub-processes, but no processes in its Sequence Flow Rules (chapter 8.4.1. p.27).

Probably because, "The types of activities that are a part of a Process Model are: Process, Sub-Process, and Task. Tasks and Sub-Processes are rounded rectangles. Processes are either unbounded or a contained within a Pool." (Table 8.1 'Core Modeling Elements', p.16)

And finally: 8.4.2 Message Flow Rules doesn't list any "Gateway" in the "From"-column.


Which leaves me to the question, how to place a connection to a process of its own, which is linked to a BPMN-diagram and can be accessed by double-clicking.

thanks, Thommy

[KP]

I think BusinessProcess1 and BusinessProcess2 in your diagram ought to be replaced with Activity elements with the "ActivityType" tagged value set to "Sub-Process". This will add the "plus-in-a-box" icon to the activity shape. You will want to right-click each activity and use the "Advanced > Composite Element" command to create a child diagram linked to the activity.