57 lines
8.1 KiB
Markdown
57 lines
8.1 KiB
Markdown
# Learn the Basics
|
||
|
||
## BPMN and SpiffWorkflow
|
||
|
||
Business Process Model and Notation (BPMN) is a diagramming language for specifying business processes. BPMN links the realms of business and IT, and creates a common process language that can be shared between the two.
|
||
|
||
BPMN describes details of process behaviors efficiently in a diagram. The meaning is precise enough to describe the technical details that control process execution in an automation engine. SpiffWorkflow allows you to create code to directly execute a BPMN diagram.
|
||
|
||
When using SpiffWorkflow, a client can create the BPMN diagram and still have their product work without a need for you to edit the Python code, improving response and turnaround time.
|
||
|
||
|
||
## BPMN Elements
|
||
BPMN (Business Process Model and Notation) elements are the building blocks used to model business processes visually. They represent different aspects of a process, such as tasks, events, gateways, and flows, and are used to describe the flow of activities, decisions, and data within a process.
|
||
|
||
### Events
|
||
Events, represented with circles, describe something that happens during the course of a process. There are three main events within business process modeling: start events, intermediate events, and end events.
|
||
|
||
| **Event** | **Symbol**| **Description** |
|
||
|-----------|-----------|-----------------|
|
||
| Start Event | | Signals the first step of a process |
|
||
| Intermediate Event |  | Represents any event that occurs between a start and end event. |
|
||
| End event |  | Signals the final step in a process. |
|
||
|
||
### Gateways
|
||
Gateways represent decision points in a process. They determine which path the process will take based on certain conditions or rules. There are different types of gateways:
|
||
|
||
| **Gateway** | **Symbol**| **Description** |
|
||
|---------------|-----------|-----------------|
|
||
| Exclusive gateway | | Evaluates the state of the business process and, based on the condition, breaks the flow into one or more mutually exclusive paths |
|
||
| Event-based gateway |  | An event-based gateway is similar to an exclusive gateway both involve one path in the flow. In the case of an event-based gateway, however, you evaluate which event has occurred, not which condition has been met. |
|
||
| Inclusive gateway |  | An inclusive gateway breaks the process flow into one or more flows. |
|
||
| Complex gateway |  | Complex gateways are only used for the most complex flows in the business process. They use words in place of symbols and, therefore, require more descriptive text. |
|
||
|
||
### Tasks
|
||
Tasks represent activities or work that needs to be performed as part of a process. They can be manual tasks that require human intervention or automated tasks that are executed by systems or applications.
|
||
|
||
| **Task** | **Symbol** | **Description** |
|
||
|---------------|------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|
||
| Service |<div style="height:50px;width:50px">  | Task that uses a Web service, an automated application, or other kinds of service in completing the task. |
|
||
| Send | | Task that sends a Message to another pool. The Task is completed once the Message has been sent. |
|
||
| Receive |  | A Receive Task indicates that the process has to wait for a message to arrive in order to continue. The Task is completed once the| message has received. |
|
||
| User |  | A User Task represents that a human performer performs the Task with the use of a software application. |
|
||
| Manual |  | A Manual Task is a Task that is performed without the aid of any business process execution engine or any application. |
|
||
| Business Rule || Business Rule Task provides a mechanism for a process to provide input to a Business Rules Engine and then obtain the output provided by the Business Rules Engine. |
|
||
| Script |  | A Script Task defines a script that the engine can interpret. |
|
||
| Call Activity |  | A call activity allows you to call and invoke another process as part of this process.processes. |
|
||
| Sub-Process |  | Sub-processes allow you to collapse and expand tasks to quickly convey information. |
|
||
|
||
### Artifacts
|
||
Artifacts are used to provide additional information or documentation within a process. They include data objects (representing information or data needed for the process), annotations (providing explanatory or descriptive text), and groups (used to visually group related elements).
|
||
| **Artifact** | **Symbol** | **Description** |
|
||
|---------------|------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|
||
| Data Object |<div style="height:50px;width:50px">  | Data objects can represent data placed to the process, data resulting from the process, data that needs to be collected |
|
||
| Data Storage | | Data storage provides the ability to store or access data that is associated with a business model. If your process outputs any data, it will become necessary to store that data. |
|
||
| Group | <div style="height:50px;width:50px">  | Groups organize tasks or processes that have significance in the overall process. |
|
||
| Annotation | <div style="height:50px;width:50px">  | Annotations allow you to describe the business process and flow objects in more detail. |
|