Model Business Processes
Question Answered
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What is a business process?
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What modeling approaches can I use?
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How do I create a BPMN-based process model with the process composer?
Introduction
A process can be defined as a specific order of events and activities that aim for a certain goal. These events and activities have strictly-defined inputs and outputs and are connected in a process and eventually produce a value.
As an SAP Business Process Management component the process composer enables you to create process models based on BPMN (Business Process Modeling Notation) easily and quickly.
You can create a simple outline of a process or a fine-grained model containing all detailed steps that is executable.
In the BPM concepts documentation, you can find more information about processes in general and processes in SAP BPM:
Process Modeling Approaches
Process modeling is based on different approaches. The process composer of SAP Business Process Management allows you to use each of the following approaches to model a process, depending on your business needs:
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Top-Down Process Modeling Approach
With this approach, you first model the process with the process steps and then create and import the business logic of the steps (tasks, Web services, rules).
More information: Top-Down Approach
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Bottom-Up Process Modeling Approach
This approach starts with defining the activities that stand at the base of the process model. With this approach, you first create and import the business logic of the process steps (tasks, Web services, rules) and then model the process with the process steps. The activities have tasks and Web services assigned to them.
More information: Bottom-Up Approach
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Inside-Out Process Modeling Approach
This is a horizontal approach. It consists in defining key processes in the overall process and then complementing them with other processes.
More information: Inside-Out Approach
In the at hand description, we use the top-down approach. We will add the business logic in a later step.
More information: Assemble Process and Configure for Process Execution
Activities
1. Before Starting Modeling
Depending on whether you start creating a process from Composite Designer or Process Development perspective, you need to create a different container for your process model.
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Process Composer: Launch the Process Development perspective and create a process composer project. This project is a kind of container for your process.
More information: Creating a Project
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Composite Designer: Launch the Composite Designer an add a new process element to the Process layer.
More information: Creating New Development Objects
2. Define the Process Participants
You define the process participants and the different roles in a process by creating pools and lanes.
More information: Creating a Process , Defining Process Participants Using Pools , and Defining Roles in the Process Using Lanes
3. Create a Start Point of the Process
You need a start point of your process. Therefore you define a start event.
More information: Modeling Events and Creating Reusable Event Triggers .
4. Define Process Steps
Process steps are different types of activities, such as human activities, which represent actions to be done by a human, whereas automated activities represent actions that are executed automatically. There are also other types of activities, which allow you to send messages from the process, or gather data for reporting purposes, for example. Gateways are used to merge or split your process flow. You can also define sub-processes and include them in your main process. You also connect the process steps to define the process flow with sequence and message flows. To define input and output data you use data objects. You can also include rules as a set of conditions, for example for a decision.
More information: Defining Process Steps - Tasks
5. Create an End Point of the Process
You need an end point of your process. Therefore you define an end event.
More information: Modeling Events
Next Steps
Before you can add the business logic to the process and make an executable process out of this process model you need to perform the following steps: