The document provides a summary of a tutorial on business process modeling notation (BPMN). It includes an agenda that covers BPMN fundamentals like activities, loops, and communication between processes. It also describes a case study lab activity where students will model a library book lending process. The document concludes with references on common mistakes in BPMN modeling and resources for further learning.

1. ‫ط‬ ‫ا‬ ‫رو‬ ‫ا‬ ‫و‬ ‫ا‬ ‫أ د‬
The Palestinian eGovernment Academy
www.egovacademy.ps
Tutorial 1: Data and Business Process Modeling
Session 13-14
Modeling with Business Process Modeling Notation
Dr. Mahmoud H. M. Saheb
Palestinian Polytechnic University
Reviewed by
Prof. Marco Ronchetti, Trento University, Italy

2. About
This tutorial is part of the PalGov project, funded by the TEMPUS IV program of the
Commission of the European Communities, grant agreement 511159-TEMPUS-1-
2010-1-PS-TEMPUS-JPHES. The project website: www.egovacademy.ps
Project Consortium:
Birzeit University, Palestine
University of Trento, Italy
(Coordinator )
Palestine Polytechnic University, Palestine Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Belgium
Palestine Technical University, Palestine
Université de Savoie, France
Ministry of Telecom and IT, Palestine
University of Namur, Belgium
Ministry of Interior, Palestine
TrueTrust, UK
Ministry of Local Government, Palestine
Coordinator:
Dr. Mustafa Jarrar
Birzeit University, P.O.Box 14- Birzeit, Palestine
Telfax:+972 2 2982935 mjarrar@birzeit.edu

3. © Copyright Notes
Everyone is encouraged to use this material, or part of it, but should properly
cite the project (logo and website), and the author of that part.
No part of this tutorial may be reproduced or modified in any form or by any
means, without prior written permission from the project, who have the full
copyrights on the material.
Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike
CC-BY-NC-SA
This license lets others remix, tweak, and build upon your work non-
commercially, as long as they credit you and license their new creations
under the identical terms.
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4. Tutorial Map
Intended Learning Objectives
Topic Time
Module 1 (Conceptual Date Modeling)
Module I: Conceptual Data Modeling
A: Knowledge and Understanding
11a1: Demonstrate knowledge of conceptual modeling notations and concepts Session 0: Outline and Introduction
11a2: Demonstrate knowledge of Object Role Modeling (ORM) methodology. Session 1.1: Information Modeling 1
11a3: Explain and demonstrate the concepts of data integrity & business rules Session 1.2: Conceptual Data Modeling using ORM 1
B: Intellectual Skills Session 1.3: Conceptual Analyses 1
11b1: Analyze application and domain requirements at the conceptual level, Session 2: Lab- Conceptual Analyses 3
and formalize it using ORM. Session 3.1: Uniqueness Rules 1.5
11b2: Analyze entity identity at the application and domain levels. Session 3.2: Mandatory Rules 1.5
11b4: Optimize, transform, and (re)engineer conceptual models. Session 4: Lab- Uniqueness & Mandatory Rules 3
11b5: Detect &resolve contradictions & implications at the conceptual level. Session 5: Subtypes and Other Rules 3
C: Professional and Practical Skills Session 6: Lab- Subtypes and Other Rules 3
11c1: Using ORM modeling tools (Conceptual Modeling Tools). Session 7.1: Schema Equivalence &Optimization 1.5
Module 2 (Business Process Modeling) Session 7.2: Rules Check &Schema Engineering 1.5
A: Knowledge and Understanding Session 8: Lab- National Student Registry 3
12a1: Demonstrate knowledge of business process modeling notations and concepts.
Module II: Business Process Modeling
12a2: Demonstrate knowledge of business process modeling and mapping.
12a3: Demonstrate understand of business process optimization and re-engineering. Session 9: BP Management and BPMN: An Overview 3
B: Intellectual Skills Session 10: Lab - BP Management 3
12b1: Identify business processes. Session 11: BPMN Fundamentals 3
12b2: Model and map business processes. Session 12: Lab - BPMN Fundamentals 3
12b3: Optimize and re-engineer business processes. Session 13: Modeling with BPMN 3
C: Professional and Practical Skills Session 14: Lab- Modeling with BPMN 3
12c1: Using business process modeling tools, such as MS Visio. Session 15: BP Management & Reengineering 3
Session 16: Lab- BP Management & Reengineering 3
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5. Session ILOs
After completing this session students will be able to:
1. Demonstrate knowledge of BP modeling and
mapping.
2. Using BP modeling tools.
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6. Session Outline
Session 13 and 14 are video, discussions, and practical
activities related with modeling.
• BPMN
– Activities, LOOP Activities (slide 8)
– Communication with Other BPMN Processes and Services (slide19)
– Example
• Lab
– Case study: a library book lending process (slide 25)
– Purchasing process
• Most Common BP Mistakes in BPMN process Modeling
Dr. Tomislav Rozman
http://www.slideshare.net/tomirozman/eurospi2007trozman
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7. Video session
Video from Bizagi
•BPD Basic elements 15:00 (Previous session)
•BPMN complete set 22:00
•Gate Ways 16:00
•Gate ways animation: http://knowhow.visual-
paradigm.com/business-process-modeling/bpmn-
gateways/
Discussion
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8. Activity basics
Task
Sub Process
Call Activity

9. Loop activities
• The attributes of Tasks and Sub-
Processes will determine if they are
repeated or performed once.
• There are two types of loops:
Standard and Multi- Instance. A small
looping indicator will be displayed at
the bottom-center of the activity.
Condition is evaluated
after each loop.
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10. Sequence Flow Looping
• Loops can be created by connecting a
Sequence Flow to an “upstream”
object. An object is considered to be
upstream if that object has an outgoing
Sequence Flow that leads to a series
of other Sequence Flows, the last of
which is an incoming Sequence Flow
for the original object.
• Loop-until
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11. Multiple Instances
• The attributes of Tasks and Sub-Processes will
determine if they are repeated or performed once. A
set of three horizontal lines will be displayed at the
bottom-center of the activity for sequential Multi-
Instances (see lower figure to the right). A set of
three vertical lines will be displayed at the bottom-
center of the activity for Parallel Multi-Instances (see
lower figure to the left).
• The number is predefined as FOR Loop
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12. Task properties
• Task type: (non, service, receive, send, user,
script, abstract, manual, reference, …)
• Start quantity (see page 193)
• Completion quantity
• Loop type: (none, standard, MultiInstance)
• Loop counter
• MI condition: (hide, show)
• MI ordering: (parallel, sequential)
• MI flow condition: (none, one, all, complex)
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13. Types of Task Specialization
Abstract Used when first scoping out a process.
(Plain)
Service Indicates an automated process which calls a
external service to get work done.
Send A task which sends a message to a external entity
Receive A task which receives a message from an external
entity.
User A task involving both man and machine.
Manual Used to indicate non-automated task.
Business An atomic activity that is included within a
Rule Process.
Script Determines how task operates when (java script)
is specified.

14. • Service Task: is a Task that uses some
sort of service, which could be a Web
service or an automated application.
• Send Task: is a simple Task that is
designed to send a Message to an
external Participant (relative to the
Process). Once the Message has been
sent, the Task is completed.
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15. • Receive Task A Receive Task is a
simple Task that is designed to wait
for a Message to arrive from an
external Participant (relative to the
Process). Once the Message has
been received, the Task is
completed.
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16. • User Task A User Task is a typical “workflow” Task
where a human performer performs the Task with the
assistance of a software application and is
scheduled through a task list manager of some sort.
User Tasks need to be rendered on user interfaces
like forms
• Manual Task A Manual Task is a Task that is
expected to be performed without the aid of any
business process execution engine or any
application. An example of this could be a telephone
technician installing a telephone at a customer
location.
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17. • Business Rule Task: provides a mechanism for the
Process to provide input to a Business Rules Engine
and to get the output of calculations that the
Business Rules Engine might provide.
Business rule is a very specific type of service, often
maintained by business people instead of IT. Most BPM
systems have their own BRE (business rules engine) or
decision table system.
• A Script Task is executed by a business process
engine. The modeler or implementer defines a script
in a language that the engine can interpret. When the
Task is ready to start, the engine will execute the
script. When the script is completed, the Task will
also be completed.
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18. Sub Process tasks
A Sub-Process that represents a set of coordinated
Sub Process
activities carried out by independent, loosely-coupled
systems in accordance with a contractually defined
business relationship.
Results of tasks in a transaction to be, as a whole,
whether "all tasks are executed" or "none of them is
Transaction
executed." The tasks are tentatively executed first,
and if all the tasks are successfully completed, the
process continues. Otherwise, all of them are undone
and started over again.
This embedded sub-process is not instantiated by
Event Sub
Process normal sequence flow. It is triggered by an Event
but runs in context of Activity.
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19. Communication with Other BPMN Processes and Services
Synchronous Vs Asynchronous:
When you invoke a synchronous operation, you send a message
and then wait for an response before proceeding with the process
flow.
When you invoke an asynchronous operation, you send a message
but do not wait for an answer to proceed with the process flow.
The asynchronous operation receives the message and starts
running. You can obtain the answer of an asynchronous operation
by invoking a callback operation. If you invoke the callback
operation before the asynchronous operation finishes running, then
you must wait for it to complete before getting the answer.
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20. Communication with Other BPMN Processes and Services:
Asynchronous
BPMN provides multiple ways for BPMN processes to communicate with other processes
or services:
Messages
They enable you to invoke asynchronous services or asynchronous BPMN processes. You
can also use them to define the interface your process exposes to other processes or
services.
Send and Receive Tasks
They are very similar to message events. You can choose to use one or the other.
The only difference they have with message events is that they support boundary events.
They enable you to invoke asynchronous services or asynchronous BPMN processes. You
can also use them to define the interface your process exposes to other processes or
services. Don’t mix them with send receive message in one model if message event is not
a boundary event.
.
Signal Events
They enable you to broadcast a message to multiple process. The processes waiting for
that specific message react to it.
http://docs.oracle.com/cd/E14571_01/doc.1111/e15176/ipc_bpmpd.htm#BHBBFBHD
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21. Communication with Other BPMN Processes and Services:
Synchronous
Service tasks enable you to invoke synchronous operations in services
and BPMN processes.
When the BPMN Service Engine runs a service task, it invokes the
operation specified in the service task and waits for a response. The
BPMN Service Engine does not move the token to the next activity until it
receives a response from the synchronous service or BPMN process.
http://docs.oracle.com/cd/E14571_01/doc.1111/e15176/ipc_bpmpd.htm#BHBBFBHD
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22. Event Sub Process
(interrupting and non-interrupting)
(I/N)-Message - Event Sub-Process -
(I/N)- Timer - Event Sub-Process -
(I/N)- Conditional - Event Sub-Process -
(I/N)- Signal - Event Sub-Process -
(I/N)- Multiple - Event Sub-Process -
(I/N)- Parallel Multiple - Event Sub-Process -
(I/N)- Escalation Event Sub-Process -
(I)- Error - Event Sub-Process -
(I)– Compensation - Event Sub-Process -
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23. Event Sub process - Example
Understanding BPMN Release 2.0, Robert Shapiro
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24. Session 14: Lab Activity
• Demonstration for Workflow patterns (from Bizagi
resources and the BPMN equivalents of the of Workflow
Patterns research headed by Wil van der Aalst)
http://www.workflowpatterns.com/vendors/documentation/BPMN-pat.pdf
And www.diveintobpm.org
And http://www.workflowpatterns.com/patterns/control/index.php
• WP1: Sequence WP10: Synchronizing Merge
• WP2: Parallel Split WP11: Arbitrary Cycles
• WP3: Synchronization WP12: Implicit Termination
• WP4: Exclusive Choice WP13 to 16: Multiple Instances
• WP5: Simple Merge WP17: Deferred Choice
• WP6: Multi-Choice WP18: Interleaved Routing
• WP7: Multiple Merge WP19: Milestone
• WP8: Discriminator WP20: Cancel Activity
• WP9: N out M Join WP21: Cancel Case
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25. Case Study: a library book lending process
The Borrower requests a book from the Librarian, the Librarian gets
the book status using software; the book could have the following
status:
1- Book is on Loan: the librarian sends on loan reply, waits for the
following options:
•Cancel the request if he received decline hold from the borrower or
he did not receive any reply from the borrower.
•If he received a Hold request from the borrower then he will request
hold using the SW and sends a Hold reply for the borrower. After two
weeks he will check the status again
2-Book is available: the Librarian checkout the book then sends
checkout reply.
Draw BPMN, presentation and discussion
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26. Assignment 3
•Draw the Purchase process which is described in the
following link:
http://www.almohasb1.com/2009/04/purchasing-
procedures.html
•Draw one of the processes in your organization using
BizAgi or Bonita.
Presentation and discussion.
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27. Summary
• In this session we presented and discussed
• BPMN complete
• Gate Ways
• BPMN LOOP Activities, BizAgi video for loops with
examples
And the Most Common BP Mistakes in BPMN
process Modeling
• Next session will discuss the
– best practices for BPM and
– BP re-engineering.
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28. References
• Analysis of Most Common Process Modelling
Mistakes in BPMN Process Models
Dr.Tomislav Rozman
http://www.slideshare.net/tomirozman/eurospi2007trozman
• A heuristic method for detecting problems in
business process models
Volker Gruhn and Ralf Laue, DOI 10.1108/14637151011076485
• http://www.bpmn.org/
• Elearning.Bizagi.com
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29. Thanks
Dr. Mahmoud H. Saheb
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