Processes (BPM)

A process is a manual or automated action, such as "Process order", or "Send a mail". Processes are the core object in the BPM. Processes can be atomic (without subprocesses) or decomposed/composite (containing subprocesses). Each decomposed process contains its own business process diagram, which shows its subprocesses as part of its control flow.

Processes can be created in models targeting any language, and are commonly used as the basis for other objects in languages other than Analysis.

In the following example, the Order Goods process is decomposed in a process hierarchy diagram (see Process Hierarchy Diagrams (Analysis)) into four subprocesses and the Receive Goods process is, in turn, decomposed into two subprocesses:

The Order Goods process contains a business process diagram (see Business Process Diagrams (Analysis)), modeling its control flow, which passes from one or more starts to one or more ends (see Business Process Diagrams (Analysis)). When the process gains control, it performs its actions and then, depending on the result of the action, the flow is passed to another process. PowerDesigner allows you a great deal of flexibility in your analysis of your processes. You can simply link processes together to show the high-level control flow, or refine your model by specifying their implementation (see Implementing Processes):

The Receive Goods process is decomposed, and so its symbol displays a small plus sign overlay and it contains its own business process diagram to model the control flow of its subprocesses

• Creating a Process
  You can create a process from the Toolbox, Browser, or Model menu.
• Process Properties
  To view or edit a process's properties, double-click its diagram symbol or Browser or list entry. The property sheet tabs and fields listed here are those available by default, before any customization of the interface by you or an administrator.
• Implementing Processes
  You can add additional detail to your processes by specifying the type of implementation required for their execution. Depending on the implementation type, additional fields or tabs may be displayed, allowing you to specify a process, event, expression, operation, or data transformation upon which the implementation acts.
• Decomposing Processes
  You can decompose processes into subprocesses to analyze them in more detail. The decomposed process has its own sub-diagram, which models the control flow or data flow between its sub-processes. Sub-processes can be further decomposed until you reach a sufficient level of detail or atomic tasks that cannot be further decomposed.
• Data and Resource CRUD Matrices
  A CRUD matrix is a table that allows you to observe and modify the actions (Create, Read, Update, or Delete) your processes perform on data or resources. Once you have created at least one process and one resource or data object, you can open the relevant matrix by selecting Tools > Resource CRUD Matrix or Tools > Data CRUD Matrix.