彪悍的人生不需要解释

1
Introduction to BPMN
Stephen A. White, IBM Corporation
Abstract
This paper is intended to provide a high-level overview and introduction to the Business Process
Modeling Notation (BPMN). The context and general uses for BPMN will be provided as a
supplement to the technical details defined the BPMN 1.0 Specification, which has been recently
completed and released to the public. The basics of the BPMN notation will be discribed—that is,
the types of graphical objects that comprise the notation and how they work together as part of a
Business Process Diagram. Also discussed will be the different uses of BPMN, including how levels
of precision affect what a modeler will include in a diagram. Finally, the value in using BPMN as a
standard notation will be defined and the future of BPMN outlined.
What Is BPMN?
The Business Process Management Initiative (BPMI) has developed a standard Business Process
Modeling Notation (BPMN). The BPMN 1.0 specification was released to the public in May, 2004.
This specification represents more than two years of effort by the BPMI Notation Working Group.
The primary goal of the BPMN effort was to provide a notation that is readily understandable by all
business users, from the business analysts that create the initial drafts of the processes, to the
technical developers responsible for implementing the technology that will perform those
processes, and finally, to the business people who will manage and monitor those processes. BPMN
will also be supported with an internal model that will enable the generation of executable
BPEL4WS. Thus, BPMN creates a standardized bridge for the gap between the business process
design and process implementation.
BPMN defines a Business Process Diagram (BPD), which is based on a flowcharting technique
tailored for creating graphical models of business process operations. A Business Process Model,
then, is a network of graphical objects, which are activities (i.e., work) and the flow controls that
define their order of performance.
BPMN Basics
A BPD is made up of a set of graphical elements. These elements enable the easy development of
simple diagrams that will look familiar to most business analysts (e.g., a flowchart diagram). The
elements were chosen to be distinguishable from each other and to utilize shapes that are familiar to
most modelers. For example, activities are rectangles and decisions are diamonds. It should be
emphasized that one of the drivers for the development of BPMN is to create a simple mechanism
for creating business process models, while at the same time being able to handle the complexity
inherent to business processes. The approach taken to handle these two conflicting requirements
was to organize the graphical aspects of the notation into specific categories. This provides a small
set of notation categories so that the reader of a BPD can easily recognize the basic types of
注释小结：Microsoft Word - BPMN
Introductory White Paper.doc
页面：1
作者：Administrator
主题：附注
日期：2006-8-10 11:10:42
摘要：
本文目的在于提供一份关于BPMN的概括性介绍。包括BPMN的来历，应用，基本概--念-在BPD图中元素各自的意义，和彼此的关系。同时
也包括针对不同的应用，对图形元素的使用量水平也有一个水平界定。最后，使B用PMN的价值和BPMN未来前景。
作者：Administrator
主题：附注
日期：2006-8-10 11:10:42
BPMI开发的BPMN。1.0规范已经与2004.5发布。大约是2年的努力。主要目的是提供一个统一的概念，而这个概念可以让所有的用户都
理解，包括工作流程设计者，开发者，使用B者PM。N有一个内部模拟高兴，可以产生可执行的BPEL4WS.总之，BPMN为流程设计和实现搭建
了一个标准的桥梁。
作者：Administrator
主题：附注
日期：2006-8-10 11:10:42
BPMN定义了一个BPD，这是一个用来表示工作流的图形化模型。一个工作流定义，因此，使一个诸多图形元素的网络图，每一个元素描述
一个工作实体，关系代表了执行顺序等流程控制。
Introduction to BPMN
2
elements and understand the diagram. Within the basic categories of elements, additional variation
and information can be added to support the requirements for complexity without dramatically
changing the basic look-and-feel of the diagram. The four basic categories of elements are:
􀁸 Flow Objects
􀁸 Connecting Objects
􀁸 Swimlanes
􀁸 Artifacts
Flow Objects
A BPD has a small set of (three) core elements, which are the Flow Objects, so that modelers do not
have to learn and recognize a large number of different shapes. The three Flow Objects are:
Event
An Event is represented by a circle and is something that
“happens” during the course of a business process. These
Events affect the flow of the process and usually have a
cause (trigger) or an impact (result). Events are circles
with open centers to allow internal markers to
differentiate different triggers or results. There are three
types of Events, based on when they affect the flow:
Start, Intermediate, and End (see the figures to the right,
respectively).
Activity
An Activity is represented by a rounded-corner rectangle
(see the figure to the right) and is a generic term for work
that company performs. An Activity can be atomic or nonatomic
(compound). The types of Activities are: Task and
Sub-Process. The Sub-Process is distinguished by a small
plus sign in the bottom center of the shape.
Gateway
A Gateway is represented by the familiar diamond shape
(see the figure to the right) and is used to control the
divergence and convergence of Sequence Flow. Thus, it
will determine traditional decisions, as well as the forking,
merging, and joining of paths. Internal Markers will
indicate the type of behavior control.
Table 1: Core BPD Flow Objects
页面：2
作者：Administrator
主题：附注
日期：2006-8-10 11:10:42
一个BPD是由一个图形元素的集合组成的一个图。这些图形化元素对大多数工作流设计者非常熟悉。使用这些元素建立工作流将非常
容易。不同种类的元素以不同的图形区别表示。比如工作实体是一个矩形。判断时一个菱形。有一点强调下：BPMN的开发就是要简化
工作流模型的创建，而同时又要可以能处理工作流本身的复杂性。鱼和熊掌兼得的解决之道即为这些图形元素分类。这样，基于很少的
图形元素分类，一个BPD的读者能够很容易地识别理解工作流图。有了基本分类，对图形的额外信息补充也会保持整体感。4种基本分类：
作者：Administrator
主题：附注
日期：2006-8-10 11:10:42
BPD有3个核心对象，建模者甚至无须去了解更多对象。
作者：Administrator
主题：附注
日期：2006-8-10 11:10:42
event用一个圈表示，代表在流程中发生的事件。event影响工作流程。通常有一个trigger(触发原因)和impact（结果），在圈中间可以做些
内部标记来区分。基于何时影响工作流，有3种event分别代表开始，中间，结束。
作者：Administrator
主题：附注
日期：2006-8-10 11:10:42
一个工作实体由一个圆角矩形代表。指具体某一个工作环节。可以使原子性，也可以是复合式。又分为两类：任务，子流程。子流程在底
部中央以+标记。
作者：Administrator
主题：附注
日期：2006-8-10 11:10:42
gateway使用菱形代表，用来描述分支或汇总。因此，用来表示决定，分支，汇总，联结。可做内部标记来区别。
Introduction to BPMN
3
Connecting Objects
The Flow Objects are connected together in a diagram to create the basic skeletal structure of a
business process. There are three Connecting Objects that provide this function. These connectors are:
Sequence Flow
A Sequence Flow is represented by a solid line with a
solid arrowhead (see the figure to the right) and is used
to show the order (the sequence) that activities will be
performed in a Process. Note that the term “control flow”
is generally not used in BPMN.
Message Flow
A Message Flow is represented by a dashed line with an
open arrowhead (see the figure to the right) and is used
to show the flow of messages between two separate
Process Participants (business entities or business roles)
that send and receive them. In BPMN, two separate Pools
in the Diagram will represent the two Participants.
Association
An Association is represented by a dotted line with a line
arrowhead (see the figure to the right) and is used to
associate data, text, and other Artifacts with flow objects.
Associations are used to show the inputs and outputs of
activities.
Table 2: BPD Connecting Elements
For modelers who require or desire a low level of precision to create process models for
documentation and communication purposes, the core elements plus the connectors will provide
the ability to easily create understandable diagrams (see Figure 1).
Figure 1: An Example of a Simple Business Process
For modelers who require a higher level of precision to create process models, which will be subject
to detailed analysis or will be managed by Business Process Management System (BPMS), additional
details can be added to the core elements and shown through internal markers (see Figure 2).
页面：3
作者：Administrator
主题：附注
日期：2006-8-10 11:10:42
flow object们被这里的connecting object们连接起来描述整个工作流框架。有3类connecting object：
作者：Administrator
主题：附注
日期：2006-8-10 11:10:42
sequence flow用实线箭头表示，描述了工作实体在流程中的执行顺序。
作者：Administrator
主题：附注
日期：2006-8-10 11:10:42
message flow一个虚线箭头表示，描述流程参与者间的信息传递。在BPMN中，两个分离的Pool将代表两个参与者。
作者：Administrator
主题：附注
日期：2006-8-10 11:10:42
association用来对flow object来进行data,text,或其他Artifacts的关联。用来显示工作实体的输入输出。
作者：Administrator
主题：附注
日期：2006-8-10 11:10:42
对于低水平的应用，这两类元素足够了。
作者：Administrator
主题：附注
日期：2006-8-10 11:10:42
对于高水平的，则可以再添加细节。
Introduction to BPMN
4
Figure 2: A Segment of a Process with more Details
Swimlanes
Many process modeling methodologies utilizes the concept of swimlanes as a mechanism to organize
activities into separate visual categories in order to illustrate different functional capabilities or
responsibilities. BPMN supports swimlanes with two main constructs. The two types of BPD
swimlane objects are:
Pool
A Pool represents a Participant in a
Process. It is also acts as a
graphical container for partitioning
a set of activities from other Pools
(see the figure to the right),
usually in the context of B2B
situations.
Lane
A Lane is a sub-partition within a
Pool and will extend the entire
length of the Pool, either vertically
or horizontally (see the figure to
the right). Lanes are used to
organize and categorize activities.
Table 3: BPD Swimlane Objects
Pools are used when the diagram involves two separate business entities or participants (see Figure
3) and are physically separated in the diagram. The activities within separate Pools are considered
self-contained Processes. Thus, the Sequence Flow may not cross the boundary of a Pool. Message
Flow is defined as being the mechanism to show the communication between two participants, and,
thus, must connect between two Pools (or the objects within the Pools).
页面：4
作者：Administrator
主题：附注
日期：2006-8-10 11:10:42
许多流程建模方法使用swimlanes
这个概念来以图的形式划分工作实体，以此描述功能或责任者划分。BPMN在两方面支持这个概念：
作者：Administrator
主题：附注
日期：2006-8-10 11:10:42
pool代表一个工作流程中的参与者划分。
作者：Administrator
主题：附注
日期：2006-8-10 11:10:42
lane是pool的子划分，可能因而扩展了pool的长度或高度。用来划分工作实体。
作者：Administrator
主题：附注
日期：2006-8-10 11:10:42
当需要划分描述不同工作或参与者时使用pool。在一个pool的实体被认为是自包含的工作流程。因此sequence flow不能跨越边界。而
message fow则可以跨越。
Introduction to BPMN
5
Figure 3: An Example of a BPD with Pools
Lanes are more closely related to the traditional swimlane process modeling methodologies. Lanes
are often used to separate the activities associated with a specific company function or role (see
Figure 4). Sequence Flow may cross the boundaries of Lanes within a Pool, but Message Flow may
not be used between Flow Objects in Lanes of the same Pool.
Figure 4: A Segment of a Process with Lanes
页面：5
作者：Administrator
主题：附注
日期：2006-8-10 11:10:42
而lane则更接近于传统的机制。常被用来划分一个具体的功能或角色。sequence flow可以跨越边界，但是message flow可能就用不着
了。
Introduction to BPMN
6
Artifacts
BPMN was designed to allow modelers and modeling tools some flexibility in extending the basic
notation and in providing the ability to additional context appropriate to a specific modeling
situation, such as for a vertical market (e.g., insurance or banking). Any number of Artifacts can be
added to a diagram as appropriate for the context of the business processes being modeled. The
current version of the BPMN specification pre-defines only three types of BPD Artifacts, which
are:
Data Object
Data Objects are a mechanism to show how
data is required or produced by activities.
They are connected to activities through
Associations.
Group
A Group is represented by a rounded corner
rectangle drawn with a dashed line (see the
figure to the right). The grouping can be used
for documentation or analysis purposes, but
does not affect the Sequence Flow.
Annotation
Annotations are a mechanism for a modeler
to provide additional text information for the
reader of a BPMN Diagram (see the figure to
the right).
Table 4: BPD Artifact Elements
Modelers can create their own types of Artifacts, which add more details about how the process is
performed—quite often to show the inputs and outputs of activities in the Process. However, the
basic structure of the process, as determined by the Activities, Gateways, and Sequence Flow, are
not changed with the addition of Artifacts in the diagram; as you can see by comparing Figure 4 and
Figure 5.
页面：6
作者：Administrator
主题：附注
日期：2006-8-10 11:10:42
上面提到的BPMN的灵活扩展性在这里体现。就是artifact可以任意加入到这个流程图中来。BPMN的目前版本预定义了3种：
作者：Administrator
主题：附注
日期：2006-8-10 11:10:42
data object用来描述工作实体需要或产生了什么数据的。用association连接。
作者：Administrator
主题：附注
日期：2006-8-10 11:10:42
一个虚线围成的矩形，用来生成文档或辅助分析等，并不影响实际流程。
作者：Administrator
主题：附注
日期：2006-8-10 11:10:42
annotation用来添加文本信息，以帮助reader来看图。
作者：Administrator
主题：附注
日期：2006-8-10 11:10:42
建模者可以随意加些自定义类型的actifacts---常常用来描述工作实体的输入输出。但是，工作流程不会受影响。