Supported BPMN Elements

The Image element enables the user to display a picture on the canvas, for example for documentation purposes.

Use a Start Event to start a BPMN model.

Timer Events are triggered by a defined timer. You can use the timer event in the Designer as an intermediate event or as a boundary event:

• Intermediate: You can use the object as an intermediate catching event. In this case, the event is a separate process step. When the execution arrives at the event, a timer is started. When the timer fires, the sequence flow exiting the timer is followed.
• Boundary: The timer is attached to an activity and works as a stopwatch and an alarm clock. When the execution reaches the activity, the timer is started. When the timer fires, for example after a defined interval, the activity is interrupted and the sequence flow exiting the timer is followed.

To set the duration of the timer, the event should be trigged by a persisted property of type integer or datetime. You have two options to set the timeout in the attributes panel:

• Integer: Define the number of seconds the event has to wait.
• Datetime: Define the absolute datetime when the event should fire.

A Timer Start Event allows you to start a BPMN model after a defined cycle or at a defined time. Every time the timer is triggered, the model will be started.

A User Task waits for an external trigger to arrive which is released by human action, for example after a form has been filled. If the process execution reaches a user task, the process stays in a wait state until a specific message is received by the engine, which triggers continuation of the process.

A Service Task is executed automatically when the process reaches it and the process continues to the next element when the execution ends. Use the execution pane to create the corresponding execution diagram defining the service task.

The relation connects two objects. The direction of the arrow marks the process flow.

Most relations are of regular type with the exception of outgoing flows of Exclusive Gateways.
For these you have two options to define the type of the sequence flow in the attributes panel:

• Regular
• Default sequence flow

A Receive Task waits for an external trigger to arrive which is released by an external system. If the process execution reaches a receive task, the process stays in a wait state until a specific message is received by the engine, which triggers continuation of the process.

The plain Event is able to catch signals. You can use the event in the Designer as an intermediate event or as a boundary event:

• Intermediate: You can use the object as an intermediate catching event. In this case, the event is a separate process step where the process must wait for a specific trigger.
• Boundary: The signal is associated with an activity. The event listens to a signal being fired while the associated activity is active.

Use the Parallel Gateway to model concurrency in a process. You can use the object to fork the process. The functionality of the object is based on the incoming and outgoing process flows.

• Forking the process flow: If you use the parallel gateway to fork the process, all outgoing process flows are followed in parallel.
• Joining process flows: You can also use the parallel gateway to join several process flows which means that the process flow is only continued if all previous flows have arrived at the gateway.

With a Message Start Event you can start a BPMN model. "Message" is not restricted to emails or calls: Every action that represents or contains information for a recipient is a message.

The Message Event waits for a message with a defined content. You can use the message event in the Designer as an intermediate event or as a boundary event:

• Intermediate: You can use the object as an intermediate catching event. In this case, the event is a separate process step where the process must wait for a specific trigger.
• Boundary: The signal is associated with an activity. The event listens to a signal being fired while the associated activity is active.

The Free Text element allows the user to create an additional text field on the canvas, e.g. to display additional descriptions or notes.

Use the Exclusive Gateway to model a decision in the process. The process will continue with the sequence flow where the defined condition is true. You can also define a default sequence flow (see Particularity).

The End Event marks the end of a process. If the process consists of several branches, all other open branches continue to run to their end. Every process branch needs its proper end event.

Use the lane element to design role-based processes. Assign one or multiple roles to a lane element and model all the steps that the assigned role(s) has/have to perform within that lane.