Creating the Business Process Components

You create BP components by dragging, dropping, and linking the available modeling elements in the Business Process Designer.

Perform the following steps to create the components of a BP.

• Adding Activities

• Adding Components from the Project Explorer

• Linking Modeling Elements

Adding Activities

There are several different kinds of activities you can include in a BP model. For more information about each of the different kinds of activities you can use and an illustration of their toolbar icons, see Business Process Activities.

To add activities

1. Do one of the following:

   • On the Business Process Designer toolbar, click the activity icon and drag it to the canvas.

   • For intermediate or branching activities, click Intermediate Events or Branching Activities on the Business Process Designer toolbar, click the activity you want to use, and then drag it to the canvas.

2. Click the activity name and type a new name for the activity. This is optional. You can accept the default name.

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   Note –

   The activity name must contain at least one character (A-Z, a-z, or 0-9), it must start with a letter or an underscore (_), and it can contain spaces.

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3. Add Java CAPS components from the Project Explorer as described in Adding Components from the Project Explorer (optional).

4. Link the activities as described in Linking Modeling Elements.

Adding Components from the Project Explorer

Elements from the Project Explorer can either be dropped directly onto the canvas or onto an activity. Many elements provide custom settings so you can model every detail of your process.

To add Project Explorer components

1. In the Project Explorer, expand the tree until the element you want to add is visible.

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   Note –

   Elements that can be added to a BP appear in the Project Explorer with a yellow rectangular icon, like the FileClient receive and write activities or Visual Page Designer show operations.

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2. Click the element and drag it to the Business Process Designer canvas.

3. Link the modeling elements as described in Linking Modeling Elements.

Linking Modeling Elements

Links indicate the flow of the BP by connecting activities together. BPM does not allow invalid links, ensuring the model is properly linked. Links can also accept business rules. A link with a business rule is marked with a blue icon.

To link a modeling element

1. Move your cursor over the connector portion of a modeling element.

2. Hold the cursor over the outside edge of the modeling element until it changes from the arrow pointer to a hand.

3. Drag a line from the first activity to the connector of the second activity, and then release the mouse.

4. To change the link style, right-click the BP in the Project Explorer, and then click Toggle Link Style.

5. Click Save.

6. Add business rules to the links, as described in Incorporating Business Rules below (optional).