Chapter 4: Advanced Process Modeling

Contents
1. More on Rework and Repetition
2. Handling Events
3. Handling Exceptions
4. Processes and Business Rules
5. Recap
 Process Modeling in the BPM Lifecycle

Management Processes

Process Define Vision Develop Strategy Implement

Strategy
Manage Risk

identification Core Processes

Procure Procure Market Deliver

Manage
Customer
Materials Products Products Products
Service

Support Processes

Examples for BPM lifecycle and process mining Process architecture Manage Personnel
Manage
Information Manage Assets

35h B 30h
15h

A
D
E
Conformance and Process As-is process
5m 3m 5m 10m 30m 2h 10m
performance
C discovery model
15m 1.5h 10min insights

A B C D E

Process Process
monitoring analysis

Executable Insights on
process weaknesses and
model their impact

Process Process
implementation To-be process redesign
model
Chapter 4: Advanced Process Modeling

Contents
1. More on Rework and Repetition
2. Handling Events
3. Handling Exceptions
4. Processes and Business Rules
5. Recap
More on rework and repetition

XOR-join: entry XOR-split: exit point

point

Structured
cycle (SESE
fragment)

SESE = Single Entry Single Exit fragment, i.e. a fragment delimited by a single entry
node and a single exit node (there are no other incoming arcs into the fragment or
outgoing arcs from the fragment)
Block-structured repetition: Loop Activity

BPMN also provides the loop activity construct to allow the repetition of a task or
sub-process

Task Sub-process
Loop Loop
Example: block-structured repetition
Completion
condition
Until Response is approved

Finalise
Assign Investigate
Ministerial
Ministerial Ministerial
Response
Enquiry Enquiry
Ministerial Ministerial
Enquiry Enquiry
received finilized

Prepare Review
Ministerial Ministerial
Response Response
Enquiry Response
investigated reviewed

Must have a
decision activity
Loop Activity or (Arbitrary) Cycle?
Arbitrary Cycles

Arbitrary = unstructured, i.e. it can have multiple entry and exit nodes (non-SESE).

entry point entry point exit point

A B C D

exit point

8
Exercise 4.1

▪ Identify the entry and exit points that delimit the unstructured cycles in the process
model shown below. What are the repetition blocks?
Exercise 4.1

▪ Identify the entry and exit points that delimit the unstructured cycles in the
process model shown below. What are the repetition blocks?
▪ Model the business process shown below using a loop activity.
11

Example: multi-instance activity

Procurement
In procurement, typically a quote is to be obtained from all preferred
suppliers (assumption: five preferred suppliers exist). After all quotes
are received, they are evaluated and the best quote is selected. A
corresponding purchase order is then placed.
12

Solution: without multi-instance activity

Procurement
Obtain Quote
from Supplier A

Obtain Quote
from Supplier B

Obtain Quote Select best ...

... Place PO
from Supplier C quote

Obtain Quote
from Supplier D

Obtain Quote
from Supplier E
13

Parallel repetition: multi-instance activity

Provides a mechanism to indicate that an activity is executed multiple

times concurrently

Multi-Instance Multi-Instance
Task Sub-process

Useful when the same activity needs to be executed for multiple entities
or data items, such as:
▪ Request quotes from multiple suppliers
▪ Check the availability for each line item in an order separately
▪ Send and gather questionnaires from multiple witnesses in the context of an
insurance claim
14

Solution: with multi-instance activity

Procurement

cardinality
For each supplier

... Select best ...

Obtain Quote Place PO
quote
15

Further example: multi-instance activity

Motor insurance claim lodgement

After a car accident, a statement is sought from the witnesses that were
present, in order to lodge the insurance claim. As soon as the first two
statements are received, the claim can be lodged to the insurance
company without waiting for the other statements.
Solution: multi-instance activity
Motor insurance claim lodgement
Multi-instance pool
Data collection denotes multiple
denotes a set of data participants of the
objects of the same type same type
(determines cardinality of
multi-instance activity)

Completion
condition indicates
minimum number of
instances required to
complete
(≤ cardinality)
17

Our order-to-cash example…

now with pools, messages and MI markers
Exercise 4.2

Model the following process fragment.

After a car accident, a statement is sought from two witnesses out of

the five that were present in order to lodge the insurance claim. As
soon as the first two statements are received, the claim can be
lodged with the insurance company without waiting for the other
statements
Uncontrolled Repetition: Ad-hoc sub-process

Contains activities to be executed in arbitrary order and number of times

May define order of sub-set of activities by sequence flow

Completion
Can be used in an early version of a process diagram condition
when the order of execution is still unknown
Until all KPIs reviewed
Example: Ad-hoc sub-process

20
21

Exercise 4.3: Army recruitment

Model the following process snippet.

A typical army selection process starts by shortlisting all candidates’ applications.
Those shortlisted are then called to sit the following tests: drug and alcohol, eye,
color vision, hearing, blood, urine, weight, fingerprinting and doctor examination.
The color vision can only be done after the eye test, while the doctor examination
can only be done after color vision, hearing, blood, urine and weight have been
tested. Moreover, it may be required for some candidates to repeat some of
these tests multiple times in order to get a correct assessment, e.g. the blood
test may need be repeated if the candidate has taken too much sugar in the
previous 24 hours. The candidates that pass all tests are asked to sit a mental
exam and a physical exam, followed by an interview. Only those that also pass
these two exams and perform well in the interview can be recruited in the army.
Chapter 4: Advanced Process Modeling

Contents
1. More on Rework and Repetition
2. Handling Events
3. Handling Exceptions
4. Processes and Business Rules
5. Recap
23

How do we model this scenario?

PO handling
A Purchase Order (PO) handling process starts when a PO is received.
The PO is first registered. If the current date is not a working day, the
process waits until the following working day before proceeding.
Otherwise, an availability check is performed and a PO response is sent
back to the customer.
24

Events handling

In BPMN, events model something instantaneous happening during the execution

of a process

They affect the process flow:

▪ Start
▪ Intermediate
▪ End
25

BPMN event types

Start Intermediate End

Untyped Event – Indicates that an instance of the

process is created (start) or completed (end),
without specifying the cause for creation/completion Catching

Start Message Event – Indicates that an instance

of the process is created when a message is
received

End Message Event – Indicates that an instance of

the process is completed when a message is sent

Intermediate Message Event – Indicates that an

event is expected to occur during the process. The
event is triggered when a message is received or
sent
Example: message events

Court
Administra-
tion

P&E Court Listings For all Judges

Check P&E Judge Availability

Check Court Request Court Calendar Change P&E

Change Request
Calendar Sittings List Schedules
Court Calendar Sittings List Yearly
Received Received Schedule
Sent

Judiciary

Start event Intermediate Resolve P&E End event

Judge
(receive) catching event Availability (send)
(receive)
Comparison with sending/receiving tasks

Invoice
= Receive
invoice

received

Invoice
= Send invoice

sent

Invoice
= Send invoice

sent

≠
Receive
invoice
Invoice
received
So, when to use what?

Use message events only when the corresponding activity would simply send or
receive a message and do nothing else
Typed or Untyped Event?
Exercise 4.4
Is there any other activity in the loan assessment model below that can be replaced
by a message event?
Temporal events

Start Intermediate End

Start Timer Event – Indicates that an instance of the

process is created at certain date(s)/time(s), e.g. start
process at 6pm every Friday

Intermediate Timer Event – Triggered at certain date(s)/

time(s), or after a time interval has elapsed since the
moment the event is enabled (delay)
Example: temporal events

In a small claims tribunal, callovers occur once a month to set down the
matter for the upcoming trials. The process for setting up a callover starts
three weeks prior to the callover day, with the preparation of the callover
list containing information such as contact details of the involved parties
and estimated hearing date. One week prior to the callover, the involved
parties are notified of the callover date. Finally, on the callover day, the
callover material is prepared and the callover is held.

Prepare
Prepare Contact Hold
callover
callover list parties callover
material
3 weeks prior 1 week prior callover day callover
to callover to callover held
day day
Start Intermediate Intermediate
event catching event catching event
Coming back to our scenario…

PO handling
A Purchase Order (PO) handling process starts when a PO is received.
The PO is first registered. If the current date is not a working day, the
process waits until the following working day before proceeding.
Otherwise, an availability check is performed and a PO response is sent
back to the customer.
Next working day
weekend/
holiday

weekday Check Send PO

Register PO
Availability Response
PO PO
Received fulfilled
Multiple start events

The first start event that occurs will trigger an instance of the process

PO Response
Received
Process PO
Response

Error Message
Received

Notify
Friday Purchasing
afternoon Officer
35

Exercise 4.4: Internet Service Provider

Model the billing process of an Internet Service Provider (ISP).

The ISP sends an invoice by email to the customer on the first working day of
each month (Day 1). On Day 7, the customer has the full outstanding amount
automatically debited from its bank account. If an automatic transaction fails for
any reason, the customer is notified on Day 8. On Day 9, the transaction that
failed on Day 7 is re-attempted. If it fails again, on Day 10 a late fee is charged to
the customer’s bank account. At this stage, the automatic payment is no longer
attempted. On Day 14, the Internet service is suspended until payment is
received. If the payment is still outstanding on Day 30, the account is closed and
a disconnection fee is applied. A debt-recovery procedure is then started.
36

Racing events: Event-based decision

With the XOR-split gateway, a branch is chosen based on conditions

that evaluate over available data
→ The choice can be made immediately after the token arrives from
the incoming flow

Sometimes, the choice must be delayed until an event happens

→ The choice is based on a “race” among events

Two types of XOR split:

data-driven event-driven
XOR-split XOR split
Example: Event-based decision

37
Exercise 4.6: Stock replenishment

Model the following process.

A restaurant chain submits a purchase order (PO) to replenish its warehouses
every Thursday. The restaurant chain’s procurement system expects to receive
either a “PO Response” or an error message. However, it may also happen that
no response is received at all due to system errors or due to delays in handling
the PO on the supplier’s side. If no response is received by Friday afternoon or if
an error message is received, a purchasing officer at the restaurant chain’s
headquarters should be notified. Otherwise, the PO Response is processed
normally.
Matching choices in different business parties
Lead-to-Quote

Matching a
data-driven
choice at Client
19

What’s wrong with this collaboration diagram?

Auction creation
Solution
Auction creation
Exercise 4.7
Fix the following
collaboration diagram.
Recap: message and timer events

Start Intermediate End

Catching Throwing

Untyped: indicate start point,

state changes or final states.

Message: Receiving and

sending messages.

Timer: Cyclic timer events,

points in time, time spans or
timeouts.
Chapter 4: Advanced Process Modeling

Contents
1. More on Rework and Repetition
2. Handling Events
3. Handling Exceptions
4. Processes and Business Rules
5. Recap
45

Process abortion

Exceptions are events that deviate a process from its “normal” course

The simplest form of exception is to notify that there is an exception

(negative outcome)

This can be done via the Terminate end event: it forces the whole
process to abort (“wipes off” all tokens left behind, if any)
46

Example 1: terminate event

Signal the negative outcome…

47

Example 2: terminate event

Abort the process by removing all tokens…

Exercise 4.8

Revise the examples presented so far by using the terminate event

appropriately.
49

Exception handling

Handling exceptions often involves stopping a sub-process and performing a special activity

Types of exceptions for an activity (task/sub-process):

Internal: something goes wrong inside an activity, whose execution must

thus be interrupted. Handled with the Error event

External: something goes wrong outside the process, and the execution
of the current activity must be interrupted. Handled with the Message
event

Timeout: an activity takes too long and must be interrupted. Handled

with the Timer event

All these events are catching intermediate events. They stop the enclosing activity and
start an exception handling routine.
50

Internal exception: error event

Start Intermediate End

Error Event – Indicates an error: the end version generates an
error event while the catching intermediate version consumes it
when attached to the boundary of an activity

Must be attached to
the activity’s boundary
51

Example: internal exception

PO handling
Consider again our “PO Handling process” example with the following extension:
if an item is not available, any processing related to the PO must be stopped.
Thereafter, the client needs to be notified that the PO cannot be further
processed.
Handle PO
Next workingNext
day working day
weekend/ weekend/
holiday holiday

weekday weekday Check Check Send PO Send PO

Register PO
Availability Availability Response Response
PO PO PO PO
Response
Received Registered fulfilled fulfilled
sent
52

Solution: internal exception Throwing and catching

error events must have
the same label
PO handling
Handle PO
Handle PO
Nextworking
Next working day
day Items not
weekend/
weekend/ available
holiday
holiday

weekday
weekday Check
Check Send POSend PO
Register PO
Register PO Availability
Availability ResponseResponse
Items
PO
PO
PO available Response PO PO
Response
Received
Received Registered
Registered fulfilled
fulfilled
sentsent

Items not
available

Notification
sent

Must catch an error

event thrown from
within the same
activity
53

One more example: internal exception

Extend the claim handling process shown below as follows:

After checking the insurance policy, a possible outcome is that the
insurance is invalid. In this case, any processing is cancelled and a letter
is sent to the customer. In the case of a complex claim, this implies that
the damage checking is cancelled if it has not yet been completed.

simple or
complex
Check Policy
claim

Classify Claim
Claim Claim
received complex checked
Check Damage
claim
54

Solution: internal exception

Check insurance
Policy is
invalid invalid
policy

simple or simple or Policy

complex
Check Check Policy
complex claim
claim
valid
policy
Classify Claim
Claim Claim Claim Insurance Claim
received needs becomplex checked checked checked
complex
Check DamageCheck Damage
classified
claim claim

Policy is
invalid
Notify
Customer
Claim
rejected
55

Example: external exception

PO handling
A PO change request may be received anytime after the PO is registered.
This request includes a change in quantity or line items. When such a
request is received, any processing related to the PO must be stopped.
The PO change request is then registered. Thereafter, the process
proceeds as it would do after a normal PO is registered. Further, if the
customer sends a PO cancelation request after the PO registration, the
PO processing must be stopped and the cancelation request must be
handled.

Next working day

weekend/
holiday

weekday Check Send PO

Register PO
Availability Response
PO PO
Received fulfilled
Solution: external exception

PO handling

Handle PO
Next workingNext
day working day
weekend/ weekend/
holiday holiday

weekday weekday Check Check Send PO Send PO

Register PO Availability Response Response
Availability
PO PO PO PO
Response
Received Registered fulfilled fulfilled
sent

PO Change PO Cancel
received received
Handle PO
Cancelation
Register PO
PO
Change
canceled

8
Exercise 4.9

Model the following routine for accessing an Internet bank service.

The routine for logging into an Internet bank account starts once the credentials entered from
the user have been retrieved. First, the username is validated. If the username is not valid, the
routine is interrupted and the invalid username is logged. If the username is valid, the number
of password trials is set to zero. Then, the password is validated. If this is not valid, the
counter for the number of trials is incremented and if lower than three, the user is asked to
enter the password again, this time together with a CAPTCHA test to increase the security
level. If the number of failed attempts reaches three times, the routine is interrupted and the
account is frozen. Moreover, the username and password validation may be interrupted
should the validation server not be available. Similarly, the server to test the CAPTCHA may
not be available at the time of log in. In these cases, the procedure is interrupted after
notifying the user to try again later. At any time during the log in routine, the customer may
close the web page, resulting in the interruption of the routine.
Exercise 4.10: activity timeout

Order-to-transportation quote
Once a wholesale order has been confirmed, the supplier transmits this order to
the carrier for the preparation of the transportation quote. In order to prepare the
quote, the carrier needs to compute the route plan (including all track points that
need to be traversed during the travel) and estimate the trailer usage.
By contract, wholesale orders have to be dispatched within four days from the
receipt of the order. This implies that transportation quotes have to be prepared
within 48 hours from the receipt of the order to remain within the terms of the
contract.
Solution: activity timeout
Order-to-transportation quote
60

Example: Non-interrupting boundary events

PO handling Handle PO

Next working day Items not

weekend/ available
holiday

weekday Check Send PO

Register PO Availability Response
Items
PO PO available PO
Response
Received Registered fulfilled
sent

PO Change PO Cancel Items not

received received available
Handle PO
Cancelation
Register PO PO Notification
Change canceled sent

The customer may send a request for address change after the PO registration. When such
a request is received, it is just registered, without further action.
61

Non-interrupting boundary events

Sometimes we may need to trigger an activity in parallel to the normal

flow, i.e. without interrupting the normal flow.

This can be achieved by using non-interrupting boundary events

Must be attached to
the activity’s boundary
62

Solution: non-interrupting boundary events

PO handling
Handle PO

Next working day Items not

weekend/ available
holiday

weekday Check Send PO

Register PO Availability Response
Items
PO PO available PO
Response
Received Registered fulfilled
sent

PO Change PO Cancel Items not Address

received received available change
Handle PO received
Cancelation
Register PO Update
PO Notification
Change customer
canceled sent address

Customer
address
updated
Exercise 4.11
Consider the process for assessing loan applications below.
Exercise 4.11

Extend this process as follows.

An applicant who has decided not to combine the loan with a home insurance
plan may change its mind any time before the eligibility assessment has been
completed. If a request for adding an insurance plan is received during this
period, the loan provider will simply update the loan application with this request.
65

Complex Exceptions

PO handling
[…] Further, if the customer sends a PO cancelation request after the
PO registration,
PO registration, the
the request
PO processing must be stopped
is first assessed. andthe
Based on theprogress
change of
request
the orderneeds to be
handling handled.
(e.g. if items have already been fetched from
external warehouses) a penalty is determined and communicated to
the customer. The customer has 48 hours to accept the penalty and go
on with the cancelation or to stop the cancelation and continue with the
order handling.
Complex Exceptions: Signal event

• To send or receive a signal for synchronization purposes

• A signal is broadcasted without any specific target. Thus it can be
caught multiple times
• Signals are different than messages which are routed to a specific
target

Start Intermediate End

Catching Throwing

Can be attached to the

activity’s boundary
Solution: non-interrupting event + signal event
PO handling Handle PO

Next working day Items not

weekend/ available
holiday

weekday Check Send PO

Register PO Availability Response
Items
PO PO available PO
Response
Received Registered fulfilled
sent

PO
PO Broadcasts
Items not Address
a signal to all
PO Cancel
Cancel to be
received
received canceled available change
Handle PO catchingreceived
signal events
Cancelation bearing same label
Charge Handle PO Update
PO Notification
penalty cancelation customer
canceled sent
PO address
canceled

Request PO Customer
to stop to be address
received canceled updated
Determine Notify
cancelation penalty
penalty to customer
Request PO
to continue not
received canceled

48 hours
Event sub-process
To handle events that may not refer to a particular task/ sub-process within a
process
Event Sub-Process

Event
Sub-Process
+

▪ Placed into a process or subprocess

▪ Is activated when its start event is triggered
▪ It may or may not interrupt the parent process or sub-process, depending on
the type of its start event:
▪ Non-Interrupting:

▪ Interrupting:
Example: event sub-process
PO handling
Handle PO

Next working day Items not

weekend/ available
holiday

weekday Check Send PO

Register PO Availability Response
Items
PO PO available PO
Response
Received Registered fulfilled
sent

Handle PO
Cancelation
PO Cancel PO Items Notification
received canceled not available Only
sent receptiveof events
occurring during the
execution of the enclosing
Update
customer
sub-process
address
Address Customer
change received address updated

PO Change Handle
received PO
inquiry
PO PO Inquiry
Register PO Inquiry handled
Change received
Event sub-processes or boundary events?
Exercise 4.12

Model the following business process for reimbursing expenses.

After an expense report is received from an employee, the employee is notified of

the receipt of the report. Next, a new account must be created if the employee
does not already have one. The report is then reviewed for automatic approval.
Amounts under EUR 1,000 are automatically approved while amounts equal to or
over EUR 1,000 require manual approval. In case of rejection, the employee must
receive a rejection notice by email. In case of approval, the reimbursement is
deposited directly to the employee's bank account and an approval notice is sent
to the employee via email, with the details of the money transfer. At any time
during the review, the employee can send a request for amount rectification. In
that case the rectification is registered and the report needs to be reviewed again.
Moreover, if the report is not handled within 30 days, the process is stopped and
the employee receives a cancelation notice email so that he can resubmit the
expense report from scratch.
72

Example: activity compensation

PO handling
After a PO has been registered, checked, and a response has been sent
back, a payment sub-process and a fulfilment sub-process are started.
During these two sub-processes, a PO cancellation may be received
from the customer. In this case, both sub-processes are stopped, and
their effects are reverted (e.g. reimbursement and/or goods return may
need to occur).
73

Activity compensation

▪ Rollback of completed process activities

▪ May be used as part of an exception handling procedure

▪ Triggered by throwing Compensate event

▪ Compensation Handler (a catching Compensate event + a Compensate activity)

performs the rollback

Compensation
handler
74

Solution: activity compensation The compensate

activity can be a
PO handling
sub-process
Fulfil and Pay PO

Payment

Cancel PO
Re-
imbursement
Handle PO

PO Received + PO
Fulfillment fulfilled
and paid

Only one compensate

Cancel PO
activity must be linked
Goods return
from a catching
compensate event

PO Cancel received

Cancel PO
75

Compensate event

• Indicates that the enclosing activity must be compensated

• The “throwing intermediate” and the “end” version generate the
compensation event
• The “intermediate catching” version triggers the compensation when
attached to the boundary of an activity

Start Intermediate End

Catching Throwing
Compensate Event
compensated
generate the compensation event while
version consumes it

Must be attached to the

activity’s boundary
Exercise 4.13

Modify the model created in Exercise 4.13 as follows.

If the report is not handled within 30 days, the process is stopped, the
employee receives a cancelation notice email and must resubmit the
expense report. However, if the reimbursement for the employee’s expenses
had already been made, a money recall needs to be made, to get the money
back from the employee, before sending the cancelation notice email.
77

Recap: Events
Start Intermediate End

Boundary Non-
Interrupting

Interrupting
Boundary

Throwing
Catching
Untyped: indicate start point,
state changes or final states.

Message: Receiving and

sending messages.

Timer: Cyclic timer events,

points in time, time spans or
timeouts.
Signal: Signalling across
different processes. A signal
can be caught multiple times.

Error: Catching or throwing

named errors.

Compensate: Handling or
triggering compensation.

Terminate: Triggering the

immediate termination of a
process.
Chapter 4: Advanced Process Modeling

Contents
1. More on Rework and Repetition
2. Handling Events
3. Handling Exceptions
4. Processes and Business Rules
5. Recap
79

Processes and Business Rules

• Business rules implement organizational policies or practices

• Example: in an online shop platinum customers have a 20% discount

for purchases over EUR 250.

• In BPMN, business rules can be captured via:

• Decision activities

• Conditions on outgoing arcs of (X)OR-split

• Conditional events
Example: conditional event

Replenishment order

80
Exercise 4.14

Model the following business process snippet.

In a stock exchange, stock price variations are continuously monitored

during the day. A day starts when the opening bell rings and concludes when
the closing bell rings. Between the two bells, every time the stock price
changes by more than 10%, the entity of the change is first determined.
Next, if the change is high, a “high stock price” alert is sent, otherwise a “low
stock price” alert is sent.
Chapter 4: Advanced Process Modeling

Contents
1. More on Rework and Repetition
2. Handling Events
3. Handling Exceptions
4. Processes and Business Rules
5. Recap
Recap

1. Structured loops can be modelled with loop activities, but

arbitrary cycles cannot
2. Multi-instance activities model activities that need to be
executed multiple times without a-priori knowledge of their
number
3. Multi-instantiation extends to business objects and resources
4. Intermediate events can either be catching or throwing
5. Message events capture message exchange at the start,
during and at the end of a process
6. Timer events capture temporal events (absolute or periodic)
Recap (cont‘ed)

7. Exceptions can be technology or business based, and either internal,

external or activity timeouts
8. The simplest way to handle exceptions is via process abortion using
terminate events
9. Boundary error events capture internal extensions
10. Boundary message events capture external extensions
11. Boundary timer events capture activity timeouts
12. Signal events broadcast multiple messages and can be used to
capture complex exceptions
13. Compensation events are required to revert the effects of completed
activities
14. Conditional events are one way of capturing business rules