In a Business Process Diagram, the “Message” symbol represents the exchange of information or communication between two or more elements of the process. It is depicted as an envelope.
The Message symbol can be used to show communication between different parts of a process, such as between activities or between different lanes or pools. It can also be used to show communication between different processes or systems.
In a business process diagram, the symbol “Lane” is used to represent a participant or role in the process. It is a visual element that can be used to organize and classify different activities in the process based on the roles or participants responsible for them.
The Lane symbol is typically represented as a vertical or horizontal partition in the process diagram, with a label or title that identifies the participant or role associated with it. Each lane can contain its own set of activities, decisions, and events, indicating the different steps or stages in the process that are associated with that particular participant
Data Objects provide information about what Activities require to be performed and/or what they produce, Data Objects can represent a singular object or a collection of objects. Data Input and Data Output provide the same information for Processes.
In BPMN, a Data Object is considered an Artifact and not a Flow Object. They are considered an Artifact because they do not have any direct effect on the Sequence Flow or Message Flow of the Process, but they do provide information about what the Process does. That is, how documents, data, and other objects are used and updated during the Process. While the name Data Object may imply an electronic document, they can be used to represent many different types of objects, both electronic and physical.
In general, BPMN will not standardize many modeling Artifacts. These will mainly be up to modelers and modeling tool vendors to create for their own purposes. However, equivalents of the BPMN Data Object are used by Document Management oriented workflow systems and many other process modeling methodologies. Thus, this object is used enough that it is important to standardize its shape and behavior.
As an Artifact, Data Objects generally will be associated with Flow Objects. An Association will be used to make the connection between the Data Object and the Flow Object. This means that the behavior of the Process can be modeled without Data Objects for modelers who want to reduce clutter. The same Process can be modeled with Data Objects for modelers who want to include more information without changing the basic behavior of the Process.
In other cases, the same Data Object will be shown as being an input, then an output of a Process. Directionality added to the Association will show whether the Data Object is an input or an output. Also, the state attribute of the Data Object can change to show the impact of the Process on the Data Object.
State is an optional attribute that indicates the impact the Process has had on the Data Object. Multiple Data Objects with the same name MAY share the same state within one Process. Examples of state could be: initiated, logged, registered.
The Uses Parameter field can be used to define specific parameters, values, or conditions that must exist to permit the DataObject to be created or used as input to a process/activity.
The Required for Start checkbox in QualiWare can specify whether or not the DataObject MUST exist for the Activity to start.
The Produced at Completion checkbox can be checked if the DataObject is output of an Activity and produced at the completion of the work associated with the Activity.
A Pool represents a Participant in the Process. A Participant can be a specific business entity (e.g, a company) or can be a more general business role (e.g., a buyer, seller, or manufacturer).
Graphically, a Pool is a container for partitioning a Process from other Pools, when modeling business-to-business situations, although a Pool need not have any internal details (i.e., it can be a “black box”). ° A Pool is a square-cornered rectangle that MUST be drawn with a solid single black line. One, and only one, Pool in a diagram MAY be presented without a boundary. If there is more than one Pool in the diagram, then the remaining Pools MUST have a boundary.
To help with the clarity of the Diagram, A Pool will extend the entire length of the Diagram, either horizontally or vertically. However, there is no specific restriction to the size and/or positioning of a Pool. Modelers and modeling tools can use Pools (and Lanes) in a flexible manner in the interest of conserving the “real estate” of a Diagram on a screen or a printed page.
A Pool acts as the container for the Sequence Flow between activities. The Sequence Flow can cross the boundaries between Lanes of a Pool, but cannot cross the boundaries of a Pool. The interaction between Pools, e.g., in a B2B context, is shown through Message Flow.
Another aspect of Pools is whether or not there is any activity detailed within the Pool. Thus, a given Pool may be shown as a “White Box,” with all details exposed, or as a “Black Box,” with all details hidden. No Sequence Flow is associated with a “Black Box” Pool, but Message Flow can attach to its boundaries.
For a “White Box” Pool, the activities within are organized by Sequence Flow. Message Flow can cross the Pool boundary to attach to the appropriate activity.
All BPDs contain at least one Pool. In most cases, a BPD that consists of a single Pool will only display the activities of the Process and not display the boundaries of the Pool. Furthermore, a BPD may show the “main” Pool without boundaries. In such cases there can be, at most, only one invisibly-bounded pool in the diagram and the name of that pool SHALL be the same as the diagram. Consequently, the activities that represent the work performed from the point of view of the modeler or the modeler’s organization are considered “internal” activities and need not be surrounded by the boundaries of a Pool, while the other Pools in the Diagram must have their boundary.
In QualiWare, the user can specify if the Pool is of a scope of Private (Internal), Abstract (Public), or Collaborative (Global).
The Participant field identifies the role associated with the Pool, or the process that is being executed within the Pool. Since there can be multiple Pools in one BusinessProcessDiagram in QualiWare, it is sometimes important to define the role that is being fulfilled within the Pool.
The Uses Parameter field in QualiWare, on the Pool tab of the Pool Object Editor, permits the user to specify if there is some specific parameter or value essential to the execution of the process that the Pool contains.
The Included in Service field allows the user to specify if there is a unique service associated with the process that is contained in the Pool.
The Target Namespace field allows the QualiWare user to define the scope of the process that is contained in the Pool.