Default Start Events for Process Patterns and Subprocesses Defining How a Process Instance is Triggered

Modeling Business Processes with Oracle BPM 6-7 In this example, the process instance is created by the Enter Quote user task. This user task is implemented using the Initiator pattern.

6.2.2.2 Data Associations

The none start event does not accept process input arguments.

6.2.3 Introduction to the Message Start Event

The message start event triggers a process instance when a message is received. This message can be sent from another BPMN or BPEL process or from a service. Messages are types of data used for of exchanging information between processes. Just as data objects are used to define the data used within a project, messages are used to define the data used between processes or between a process and a service. Figure 6–5 shows the default notation of the message start event. Figure 6–5 The Message Start Event The message start event is represented by a single circle with a yellow envelope icon in the middle. Like other start events, the message start event cannot have incoming sequence flows. Message start events require a default outgoing sequence flow. You can exposed a BPMN process as service which enables other processes and applications to invoke the process. To expose a process as a service, your process must begin with a message start event. For more information see Communicating with Other BPMN Processes and Services in the Oracle Fusion Middleware Modeling and Implementation Guide for Oracle Business Process Management.

6.2.3.1 The Message Start Event in Context

Figure 6–6 shows a modified version of the Sales Quote process. Here, the process begins with a message start event which initiates the process instance. Figure 6–6 The Message Start Event within the Sales Quote Example Process This figure shows an example of a message start event. It shows two separate flow objects: a message start event which initiates the process instance script task which is used to initialize the values of data objects passed to the process. 6-8 Modeling and Implementation Guide for Oracle Business Process Management

6.2.3.2 Using Process Input and Output Arguments

The message start event enables you to specify input and output arguments to a process. These arguments define the message that other processes or services must send to the process during invocation.

6.2.4 Introduction to the Signal Start Event

The signal start event is similar to a message start event in that it is based on communication from another process or service. However, the message start event responds to a message sent to a specific process. In contrast, the signal start event is a response to a signal broadcast to multiple processes. Signals can be broadcast from a BPMN process using the signal throw event. Using a combination of signal throw and signal start events, you can invoke multiple processes simultaneously. The signal start and throw events are generally added to a process by process developers. For information on implementing the signal throw event, see Introduction to Communicating Between Processes Using Signal Events in the Oracle Fusion Middleware Modeling and Implementation Guide for Oracle Business Process Management. Figure 6–7 shows the default notation for the signal start event. Figure 6–7 The Signal Start Event The signal start event is represented by a single circle with a triangle in the middle.

6.2.4.1 The Signal Start Event in Context

The signal start and throw events are generally added to a process and implemented by process developers.

6.2.5 Introduction to the Timer Start Event

The timer start event triggers the creation of a process instance based on a specific time condition. You can configure the timer start event to trigger a process instance based on the following: ■ A specific date and time. For example, a process could be triggered on December 31, at 11:59 PM. ■ A recurring interval. For example, a process could be triggered every 10 hours, 5 minutes, 32 seconds. Figure 6–8 shows the default notation for the timer start event. Figure 6–8 The Timer Start Event