BPMN Activities and Gateways for Oracle BPM 11g

Activity Name Human? Description Activity Name Human? Description

Initiator Yes This is one of the ways that a new work item instance can be created Notification No
in a process and is how a human can initiate a work item instance. This is used to send notifications to users as human task,
Interactive
IM, SMS, voice or email. The user is simply notified
and they do not have to perform any action.
User Yes This represents a task in the process where work is performed by a
Interactive single end user. The work can be assigned using the default roles or Business Rule No This is used to invoke an Oracle business rule from inside the
specifically assigned. This is the most commonly used Interactive process.
activity.

FYI Interactive Yes The work item instance enters this activity and then sends a A developer uses this to transform data in the process from one
notification to the end user(s) designated. The work item instance
Script No
payload variable into another variable that has a different format.
immediately and automatically moves to the next activity in the
process.

This is used to get additional approvals up the management chain. Service No A developer uses this to invoke a web service exposed by a
Management Yes developer in the BPM project’s composite diagram.
Interactive The number of approval levels or the title of the final approver can be
passed into the activity as input.

Send No A developer uses this as one of the ways to send a message to a system
Group Vote Yes This single activity can be used to perform parallel tasks
or another process.
Interactive simultaneously sent to a group of people for a vote.

Receive No A developer uses this as one of the ways to receive a message sent
Complex Yes This is used to define a single activity that has a complex series of to the process from a system or another process. The instance in
Interactive end user interactions based on a mix of the above interactive activity the process waits in this activity until the message has been
patterns (e.g. a simple User task flowing to an FYI flowing to a received.
Management approval that flows to a Group Vote task).

This represents human work done outside of the automated process

Gateway Name Description
Manual Task Yes
once it has been activated (e.g. “Carry fax to the underwriter’s
desk”). This is similar to a decision diamond in a traditional flowchart. The
Exclusive Gateway instance in the process exits this through only one of the outgoing
sequence flows leaving this gateway.
Activity Yes This is used early in the process’s design as a placeholder for some
activity. This placeholder is replaced with an implementable activity This allows multiple parallel branches to be created between where it
once the implementation has been decided (e.g. an interactive, a Parallel Gateway splits and merges. All of the branches that leave the split point have
business rule, a service or a subprocess activity). copies of the instance flowing through them.

Call No This is used to invoke another process in the same project. The This allows one or more parallel branches to be created between
process invoked must be defined as a “Reusable” process Inclusive Gateway where it splits and merges. Only the branches that leave the split
point that have conditions that evaluate as true have copies of the
instance flowing through them.
Subprocess No Several activities in the process can be grouped together inside of a
subprocess activity. This simplifies the process. When the + icon Complex Gateway This is used by either the parallel or inclusive gateways. You can
inside the activity is clicked, the activity expands and displays the define logic in the complex join that allows an early release at the
merge point.
activities inside the Subprocess. This can be defined as a Loop
(an array is sequentially iterated through) or Multi-instance A developer uses this to define a point in the process and the branch
(instances are created simultaneously for each item in an array). Event Gateway taken depending on which downstream event fired (e.g. this could
This is also known as an Inline or Embedded Subprocess. branch to a timer and a message event – either it will time out or the
message will be received).
Event No This standalone activity catches incoming messages or signals or
Subprocess exceptions or to set a service level agreement for the process. When
its + icon is clicked, the activity expands and displays the activities inside.

Copyright © 2013, Avio Consulting, LLC. All rights reserved [email protected] v1.6
 BPMN Events for Oracle BPM 11g

Boundary Boundary
Event Name Description Event Name Description
Event? Event?
Start None No Starts a work item instance in the process and is the start event for Catch Timer Must be a On an activity’s boundary, once the specified time or time duration
either a reusable process invoked by a Call activity or an Inline elapses – a new instance automatically travels through the sequence
Non- Boundary
Subprocess. flow associated with it, but the original instance remains in the activity.
Interrupting Event
Start No Starts a work item instance in a process when a one-way web service
Message operation from a specific sender is received (the message received
might have been sent by (1) a web service call, (2) another process’s Catch Signal Yes – Can Inside the process, this receives a signal that thrown by a paired
End or Throw Message Event, or (3) another process’s Send Activity). be used as Throw Signal Event in a process or loosely coupled external published
signal.
Used in an Event Subprocess activity. Once the one-way web service
a Boundary
Start No
operation is received, the instance remains in the main process and a Event
Message
separate instance enters the Event Subprocess.
Non- Catch Error Must be a This must be a boundary event for an activity and is used to catch an
Interrupting Boundary exception thrown from inside the activity.

Starts a work item instance in a process when a signal is received that

Event
Start Signal No
thrown by a paired Throw Signal Event in a process or loosely coupled
external published signal. Throw No Inside the process, this sends a one-way web service operation to a
Message specific receiver (this might be received by a Start or Catch Message
Event, or a Receive Activity).
Start Timer No Used in an Event Subprocess activity to enforce a service level
Interrupting agreement for a work item instance in the process no matter where it Inside the process, this broadcasts a signal that can be caught by one
is in the process. The instance leaves the main process when this
Throw Signal No
or more paired Catch Signal Events in a process or loosely coupled
timer expires and enters the Event Subprocess. external subscribers for the published signal.
Start Timer No Used in an Event Subprocess activity to enforce a service level
Non- agreement for a work item instance in the process no matter where it End None No Indicates that the end of a path in a process or subprocess has been
is in the process. The instance remains in the main process when this reached.
Interrupting timer expires and a separate instance enters the Event Subprocess.
End Message No At the end of a path in a process or subprocess, this sends a one-way
Start Error No Start Error Events can only be used as one of Start Events for an web service operation to a specific receiver (this might be received by
Event Subprocess and is used to catch an exception thrown from a Start or Catch Message Event, or a Receive Activity).
inside the process. A process cannot begin with a Start Error Event.
Inside a sequence flow or on an activity’s boundary, this receives a End Signal No At the end of a path in a process, this broadcasts a signal that can be
Catch Yes – Can caught by one or more paired catch signal events in a process or
Message be used as one-way web service operation from a specific sender (the message
received might have been sent by (1) a web service call, (2) another loosely coupled external subscribers for the published signal.
Interrupting a Boundary process’s End or Throw Message Event, or (3) another process’s
Event Send Activity).
End Error No This is used to throw an exception as the instance leaves the process.
Catch Must be a On an activity’s boundary, this receives a one-way web service
Message Boundary operation from a specific sender (the message received might have
been sent by (1) a web service call, (2) another process’s End or End No Allows a path in the process to abort immediately. Use this with
Non- Event Throw Message Event, or (3) another process’s Send Activity). The
Terminate caution - End Terminates should not be used in a path in either a
Interrupting instance remains in the activity. Parallel or Inclusive Gateway.

Catch Timer Yes – Can Inside a sequence flow or on an activity’s boundary, once the specified
Interrupting be used as time or time duration elapses - the work item instance automatically
travels through the sequence flow associated with it. If used as a
a Boundary boundary event for an activity, this acts as a timeout for the activity. If
Event used inside a sequence flow, the work item instance is paused by this
event.

Copyright © 2013, Avio Consulting, LLC. All rights reserved [email protected] v1.6