A Timer Event can be set to activate on an exact date and time. This is like setting an alarm clock. When the clock hits the designated time, the Timer Event is triggered. For instance, a monthly system backup could be initiated using a Timer Event set for the first day of each month at 2:00 AM.
- **2023-12-25T09:00:00Z** - This would set the timer to trigger at 9:00 AM (UTC) on December 25, 2023.
- **2024-01-01T00:00:00-05:00** - This would set the timer to trigger at midnight (Eastern Time) on January 1, 2024, accounting for the time zone offset.
**Duration-based Trigger:** This isn't a fixed point in time but a period that is often defined in the format of 'PnYnMnDTnHnMnS', (where P indicates the period, T separates date and time elements, and Y, M, D, H, M, S represent years, months, days, hours, minutes, and seconds, respectively). It's analogous to using a stopwatch. Once the task or process starts, the Timer Event begins counting, and after the predefined duration (say, 48 hours), it activates.
An example scenario might be an e-commerce platform setting a Timer Event to automatically cancel unprocessed orders after 72 hours.
- **PT72H** - Represents a period of 72 hours.
- **P2D** - Equates to a period of two days.
- **P3DT12H30M** - Corresponds to a period of three days, twelve hours, and thirty minutes.
**Recurring Trigger:** Advanced uses of Timer Events can involve recurring time patterns, like activating a process every 8 hours for 3 cycles. This pattern-based time definition can manage repetitive tasks without needing individual Timer Events for each occurrence. The R denotes recurrence, followed by the number of recurrences, and PT8H is the duration of 8 hours.
**Timer Start Event:** Consider a company that sends out a newsletter on the first of every month. To achieve this, they could set up a 'Start Timer Event' named 'Monthly Newsletter Timer' with a cyclic timer to activate on the first day of each month.
**Timer Start Event (interrupting):** In a different setting, let's imagine an organization that allows proposal submissions but sets a deadline for a specified date. Here, a 'Start Timer Event' can be used to automatically close the proposal submission form after this date, ensuring no entries are accepted post-deadline.
Taking a more customer-centric example, envision an online shopping platform. While a customer browses and adds items to the cart, they might get distracted and forget to check out. To address this, the platform can trigger a 'Non-Interrupting Timer Event' coupled with a subprocess. If the cart remains unattended for an hour, this timer triggers the subprocess, sending an email to the customer reminding them of their abandoned cart. The advantage is that it doesn't disrupt the customer's current session, providing a seamless experience.
An Intermediate Timer Event acts as a pause or delay within the flow of a process.
The process flow will only continue after the set time has been reached or elapsed.
Furthermore, as a Boundary Event, it can be linked to specific tasks or sub-processes, potentially interrupting or delaying those tasks based on timing constraints.
The intermediate timer event dictates the timing between stages of a process.
For example, in the context of baking, once a cake is removed from the oven, it's essential to let it cool properly before decorating.
This cooling phase ensures that the icing doesn't melt off the hot cake.
To manage this, an 'Intermediate Timer Event' can be set, signaling a baking process to wait for a standard duration of two hours post-baking before decorating.
Transitioning to a logistics scenario, let's consider a company that processes multiple orders throughout the day.
They might spend hours collecting items, packaging, and preparing them for shipment.
However, rather than dispatching each order individually, they follow a batch process strategy, consolidating all orders for a one-time dispatch.
An 'Intermediate Timer Event' can be configured here to accumulate the day's orders and trigger a batch processing subprocess at a specific time, ensuring efficient and streamlined delivery operations.
Imagine an online examination system where students have exactly 1 hour to complete the exam.
A task labeled "Take Exam" will have a timer boundary event attached to it.
If the exam isn't completed within 60 minutes, the timer boundary event activates, automatically submitting whatever has been completed by the student and ending the exam.
On an e-commerce platform, a product is available at a flash sale price for just 24 hours.
When customers add this item to their cart, a timer boundary event of 24 hours is set.
If they don't purchase within this time frame, the timer activates, removing the limited offering.
A company prides itself on responding to customer support queries within 12 hours.
When a new query is logged, a task named "Respond to Customer" is initiated.
This task has a timer boundary event set for 12 hours.
If the customer support team hasn't addressed the query within this time frame, the timer boundary event triggers a notification subprocess to alert the team lead or manager about the overdue response.
Just remember to have a mechanism in place to eventually break out of the loop after a certain number of retries or if another condition is met.
## Timer Event Configuration
| 💻 Form | ⌨ Field Input | 📝 Description |
| --- | --- | --- |
|  | **Name:** Cancel Order | A descriptive name given to the element, providing a human-readable label or title. |
|  | **ID:** Example - cancel_order | An identifier used to uniquely identify the element within the BPMN model. |
|  | **Type:** Duration **Value:** PT48H | Choose the type of trigger you want to set: Specific Date/Time, Duration, or Cycle Trigger. |
