Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
BPMN 2.0 elements
Now, we will explain all the different components that the BPMN 2.0 standard defines for
process modeling and execution. We will also mention how jBPM6 adheres to this stand-
ard. For the full specification of BPMN Version 2.0, you can visit
http://www.omg.org/
In the next section, we will use those concepts to define example processes that will help us
fully understand how all the concepts work together.
The specification divides elements in the process definition as follows:
• Flow elements
• Connecting elements
• Data
• Swimlanes
• Artifacts
Flow elements
Flow elements are one of the most important elements, as they are in charge of defining be-
havior. The specification defines three types of different flow elements: events, activities,
and gateways. Each is in charge of very different kinds of steps, and therefore all very ne-
cessary to define a complete business process.
Events
Events represent a capture of a particular occurrence that interests the process. They are
usually caused by an external cause or trigger. They're represented with a circle and, de-
pending on the type of the border and its contents, the behavior that events expect to trig-
ger. In the following diagram, we see an example of different BPMN events with types and
subtypes:
There are three main types of events:
