11.2. What Comprises a Business Process

A business process is a graph that describes the order in which a series of steps need to be executed using a flow chart. A process consists of a collection of nodes that are linked to each other using connections. Each of the nodes represents one step in the overall process, while the connections specify how to transition from one node to the other. A large selection of predefined node types have been defined.
A typical process consists of the following parts:
  • The header part that comprises global elements such as the name of the process, imports, and variables.
  • The nodes section that contains all the different nodes that are part of the process.
  • The connections section that links these nodes to each other to create a flow chart.
This image shows the steps of Self Evaluation through the Project Manager and HR Manager.

Figure 11.1. A Business Process

Processes can be created with the following methods:
  • Using the Business Central or JBoss Developer Studio with BPMN2 modeler
  • As an XML file, according to the XML process format as defined in the XML Schema Definition in the BPMN 2.0 specification.
  • By directly creating a process using the Process API.

Note

The JBoss Developer Studio Process editor has been deprecated in favor of BPMN2 Modeler for process modeling as it is not being developed any more. However, you can still use it for limited number of supported elements.

11.2.1. Process Nodes

Executable processes consist of different types of nodes which are connected to each other. The BPMN 2.0 specification defines three main types of nodes:
Events

Event elements represent a particular event that occurs or can occur during process runtime.

Activities

Activities represent relatively atomic pieces of work that need to be performed as part of the Process execution.

Gateways

Gateways represent forking or merging of workflows during Process execution.

11.2.2. Process Properties

Every process has the following properties:
  • ID: The unique ID of the process
  • Name: The display name of the process
  • Version: The version number of the process
  • Package: The package (namespace) the process is defined in
  • Variables (optional): Variables to store data during the execution of your process
  • Swimlanes: Swimlanes used in the process for assigning human tasks

11.2.3. Defining Processes Using XML

You can create processes directly in XML format using the BPMN 2.0 specifications. The syntax of these XML processes is defined using the BPMN 2.0 XML Schema Definition.
The process XML file consists of:
  • The "process" element
    This is the top part of the process XML that contains the definition of the different nodes and their properties. The process XML consist of exactly one <process> element. This element contains parameters related to the process (its type, name, id and package name), and consists of three subsections: a header section (where process-level information like variables, globals, imports and lanes can be defined), a nodes section that defines each of the nodes in the process, and a connections section that contains the connections between all the nodes in the process.
  • The "BPMNDiagram" element
    This is the lower part of the process XML that contains all graphical information, like the location of the nodes. In the nodes section, there is a specific element for each node, defining the various parameters and, possibly, sub-elements for that node type.
The following XML fragment shows a simple process that contains a sequence of a Start Event, a Script Task that prints "Hello World" to the console, and an End Event: 
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?> 

<definitions id="Definition"

             targetNamespace="http://www.jboss.org/drools"

             typeLanguage="http://www.java.com/javaTypes"

             expressionLanguage="http://www.mvel.org/2.0"

             xmlns="http://www.omg.org/spec/BPMN/20100524/MODEL"Rule Task

             xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance"

             xsi:schemaLocation="http://www.omg.org/spec/BPMN/20100524/MODEL BPMN20.xsd"

             xmlns:g="http://www.jboss.org/drools/flow/gpd"

             xmlns:bpmndi="http://www.omg.org/spec/BPMN/20100524/DI"

             xmlns:dc="http://www.omg.org/spec/DD/20100524/DC"

             xmlns:di="http://www.omg.org/spec/DD/20100524/DI"

             xmlns:tns="http://www.jboss.org/drools">



  <process processType="Private" isExecutable="true" id="com.sample.hello" name="Hello Process" >



    <!-- nodes -->

    <startEvent id="_1" name="Start" />

    <scriptTask id="_2" name="Hello" >

      <script>System.out.println("Hello World");</script>

    </scriptTask>

    <endEvent id="_3" name="End" >

        <terminateEventDefinition/>

    </endEvent>



    <!-- connections -->

    <sequenceFlow id="_1-_2" sourceRef="_1" targetRef="_2" />

    <sequenceFlow id="_2-_3" sourceRef="_2" targetRef="_3" />



  </process>



  <bpmndi:BPMNDiagram>

    <bpmndi:BPMNPlane bpmnElement="com.sample.hello" >

      <bpmndi:BPMNShape bpmnElement="_1" >

        <dc:Bounds x="16" y="16" width="48" height="48" />

      </bpmndi:BPMNShape>

      <bpmndi:BPMNShape bpmnElement="_2" >

        <dc:Bounds x="96" y="16" width="80" height="48" />

      </bpmndi:BPMNShape>

      <bpmndi:BPMNShape bpmnElement="_3" >

        <dc:Bounds x="208" y="16" width="48" height="48" />

      </bpmndi:BPMNShape>

      <bpmndi:BPMNEdge bpmnElement="_1-_2" >

        <di:waypoint x="40" y="40" />

        <di:waypoint x="136" y="40" />

      </bpmndi:BPMNEdge>

      <bpmndi:BPMNEdge bpmnElement="_2-_3" >

        <di:waypoint x="136" y="40" />

        <di:waypoint x="232" y="40" />

      </bpmndi:BPMNEdge>

    </bpmndi:BPMNPlane>

  </bpmndi:BPMNDiagram>

</definitions>