Creating Elements in the Diagram View (Evaluation Guide)
Go Up to Session 3: Creating a Business Process Model Diagram (Evaluation Guide)
You can build a business process model diagram by placing elements in the Diagram View directly from the Business Process palette. The diagram we are going to create shows the business flow of filling an order in a warehouse for shipping.
- 1 The first step in this process is to select the element you want to place in a diagram. To do this, expand the Business Process Objects palette and click the drop-down arrow next to the Start Event icon (Error creating thumbnail: File missing) on the Business Process palette.
- 2 Click the Message Start Event icon (
) and then click once on the left-hand portion of the Diagram View. Once created, this message event indicates that the process must receive a message from an outside source before the event can start.
- Note: The cursor is in multi-drop mode (
) allowing you to place as many elements as you need. Press ESC to exit the multi-drop mode or click the right mouse button. The cursor changes from to 
. You can disable the multi-drop option by going to Windows -> Preferences -> Diagrams and deselect the Enable multi-drop on object creation option.
- In the Business Process Modeling Notation specification, all business process diagrams must contain at least one pool. A pool and lane with an invisible boundary were created when you created a new diagram. The pool with the invisible boundary is indicated by the icon in the Model View tree. In EA/Studio, when you place an object in the diagram, that object is placed in this invisible pool/lane. This invisible pool becomes visible when you drag it on to another diagram.
- The start event is shown as a presentation element under the Diagram node (this is indicated by an arrow symbol placed on the icon
).
Error creating thumbnail: File missing
- The pool with the invisible boundary that you named at the time of the new workspace creation appears in the Model View hierarchy. In this case it is called Order Picking Pool.
- A lane is created with the new name you gave it in the Create New Workspace dialog. This lane contains the start event with the information that it is a message event trigger.
- 3 You have the option to display labels on elements. Right-click the start event on the diagram and select Show Name from the shortcut menu. Your start event is now labeled in the diagram. You can also set a display option preference for each element that automatically shows the label when you create an element.
- To open the Formatting Preferences dialog, do the following:
- From the main menu select Windows > Preferences.
- Expand the Formatting node and select Business Process Modeling.
- Select the element you want to set the preference for in the list box, in this instance the Start Event.
- Under the Display Options section, select “Show name on creation” and click Apply.
- 4 Click the Task element (
) on the Business Process Objects toolbar and place four tasks in the Diagram View as shown in the following graphic.
- 5 Next we will label the tasks. You can select a task element and then immediately start typing your label. Label each task as follows:
- Task = Check Order
- Task1 = Check Inventory
- Task2 = Confirm Order Pull
- Task3 = Handle Fault
Once you have placed and named your tasks, you can align the elements in the Diagram View.