Chapter 9. Domain-Specific Processes

9.1. Domain-Specific Service Nodes

Domain-specific processes extend default process constructs with domain-specific extensions. Because domain-specific languages are targeted to one application domain, they can offer constructs that are closely related to the problem the user is trying to solve, making the process easier to understand and to a degree, self-documenting. Domain-specific work items (or service nodes) represent atomic units of work that need to be executed by specifying what needs to be executed in the context of the process in a declarative manner.
Domain-specific service nodes should be:
  1. Declarative (they describe what, not how)
  2. high-level (no code)
  3. Adaptable to the context
Users can define their own domain-specific service nodes and integrate them into the process language. The image below provides an example of a process in a health care context. The process includes domain-specific service nodes for ordering nursing tasks: measuring blood pressure, prescribing medication, and notifying care providers.

Example 9.1. Ordering Nursing Tasks

Example domain-specific service node.