Event Based Exclusive Gateway

The event driven gateway is one of the most useful symbols that I know of in BPMN. Yet it’s often overlooked as a solution to common problems. It is a compound symbol, inheriting attributes of other BPMN shapes. First of all, it’s a gateway that is used to split sequence flow paths. The gateway is the diamond symbol. Inside this diamond shape you will see the intermediate event shape, which is the double thin line circle. Inside the intermediate event shape there is the pentagon, which is a symbol for multiple events. So when you put all of this together we have a gateway that deals with multiple intermediate events.

BPMN version 1.1 and higher

In all of my classes I tend to get more questions about the event based gateway than any other shape in BPMN. This is probably because there are so many use cases for it, and its pattern to many people appears to be drawn backwards. Most beginners in BPMN tend to draw the pattern with the intermediate event shapes to the left of the gateway. Let’s start by looking at the basic pattern and then discuss some of the potential business scenarios where you could use this notation.

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There are many ways to accomplish loops in the BPMN specification. Flowcharts only offer one way to cause a loop back, but BPMN offers 4 explicit ways, and potentially dozens of ways to create a loop implicitly. Often my students ask the question “so, aren’t they all the same thing?” Technically, yes, and no. Sorry to say it, but there is no right answer according to the specification. This is up to you to figure out. The specification does however offer many options that can be used to express certain situations. But to a newcomer to BPMN, the challenge is always which one should you use, when, and why.

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Often I see process models that represent the same basic business concept but are modeled with completely different styles. Technically the BPMN lane and pool shapes are both a swimlane. But which one do I use, when, and more importantly – why?

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Of the many BPMN shapes, I seem to get the most questions about the BPMN signal event. There seems to be 3 use cases that are the most common. But first let’s take a look at what the OMG BPMN 1.2 specification says about signal event:

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Often I hear from people that are looking to implement a new “workflow application” in their organization. This always gives me a reminder that we (the IT community) have not yet broken through that boundary yet to where everyone understands what is a process and what is an application. Read more »

The new release of the Intalio 5.2 process modeler includes the BPMN 1.1 notation. This modeling tool is a free download, and runs on Windows, Mac, and Linux. Read more »

I am proud to announce the release of The Microguide to Process Modeling in BPMN on Amazon.com on July 16, 2008. Tom Debevoise and I have been working on this project since September, 2007. You might wonder why this book is so short for such a complex topic. We wanted to make the BPMN language accessible to everyone.

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I’ve heard that most book projects never reach completion. After the first book is completed, most people either stop at one, or continue writing all their lives. As for myself, I’ve started working on book number 2. I expect a release date sometime around January 2009.

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Rick Geneva and Tom Debevoise have completed the book titled The Microguide to Process Modeling in BPMN. This book was designed to make the BPMN specification more accessible to those that choose not to read boring technical speak. It provides real-world examples in simple terms that is easy to understand.