Working with Sub-Processes

If a process diagram becomes very complex and has many activities, it can be difficult to visualize. Sub-processes enable you to group activities within the same pool and collapse them into a single shape, thereby making the entire process diagram easier to read. The sub-processes can be expanded and collapsed quickly and easily with the mouse.

NOTE: Sub-processes are also used to model transactions and exceptions. For more information, see Working with Failure and Exceptions.

Figure 1 - Process diagram with and without sub-processes

 

 

This section describes:

• Creating a Sub-Process
• Expanding and Collapsing Sub-Processes
• Accessing Sub-Process Properties
• Setting a Timeout Value for a Sub-Process

Creating a Sub-Process

You can create a sub-process from an empty state, in which you design activities inside one of the provided Sub-Process tasks from the Palette or from modeling assistant or from a set of existing activities, which you select and then group together.

Creating a Sub-Process from an Empty State

To create a sub-process from an empty state:

1. Place the mouse pointer on the pool.

2. Notice the “Modeling Assistant” pop-up window available that displays the shapes that can be added onto the pool where the mouse is placed.

 

NOTE: For more information about sub-process objects, see Sub-Process Properties.

3. Click on the Sub-process icon then sub-process will be available onto a pool in a process design in the Process Window.

NOTE: The Sub-Process objects all share the same set of properties. The different shapes simply have different properties preset for your convenience.

By default, the added sub-process displays in the expanded mode.

Figure 2 - Adding a sub-process to a Diagram



1. Inside the expanded sub-process shape, design the sequence as desired.

Design the sequence as you would any sequence outside a sub-process, using the appropriate flow connectors icons.

2. Using sequence flow connectors, include the sub-process in the process:
   • From the process object preceding the sub-process, place the mouse on the right edge of the sub-process
   • Drag the sequence flow icon from the right edge of the sub-process to the next object in the process flow.

   NOTE: You cannot draw a sequence flow connector from an object outside the sub-process to and an object inside the sub-process, and vice versa.

   Figure 3 - Expanded subprocess with flow connectors

   
   

3. To nest a sub-process within a sub-process, simply adding sub-process from modeling assitant into an existing sub-process.

Figure 4 - Nested sub-process

Creating a Sub-Process from Existing Activities

To create a sub-process from existing activities:

1. In the process diagram, select sequential activities in a common pool.

You can shift-click to select multiple objects or click outside the pool and draw a marquee around the objects to be grouped together into a sub-process.

NOTE: You must select all the objects in a common sequence, or an invalid process will result.

On the tool bar, click the Group tool or select Group from the View menu.

The selected objects are transformed into sub-process.

Figure 5 - Combining selected objects into a sub-process

Expanding and Collapsing Sub-Processes

Expanding and collapsing sub-processes enables you to show or hide the activities contained in the sub-process.

You can expand or collapse by toggling the + or - sign icon that displays in the sub-process shape in the process diagram, as shown below.

Figure 6 - Expanding and collapsing sub-processes

 

 

Accessing Sub-Process Properties

To access the properties of a specific sub-process:

1. Select the sub-process by click the end of the activity.
2. Open the Properties panel.
   • Label - The name of the sub-process as it appears in the process diagram.
   • Transactional - Specifies if the sub-process is transactional. To use processes to compress the process diagram, leave False. If you intend to configure a transaction, see Chapter 1 - Working with Failure and Exceptions.

   NOTE: For more information, Sub-Process Properties.

The modifiable properties are:

Setting a Timeout Value for a Sub-Process

You can use a Timer event to set a timeout value for a sub-process:

1. Open the Palette and select the Intermediate Events tab pane.
2. Drag-and-drop the Timer event onto the bottom edge of the sub-process shape in the process diagram.

The Timer event will attach to the sub-process.

Figure 7 - Timer event attached to a sub-process




3. Select the Timer event and set the properties as described in Timing and Scheduling Activities.

NOTE: Normally the TimeCycle and TimeDate elements indicate when a process should continue; in this case, however, the elements indicate a complete-by value that marks the point of timeout.