Applying transformations and refactorings
When creating the next example process Handle Signed Contract, you will
use two more patterns and some of the transformations and refactorings
provided by the accelerators.
In the Exercise process catalog, create a new process and name it
Handle Signed Contract. Create the
following tasks:
-
Receive Signed Contract
-
Verify Necessary Signatures
-
Contact Employee and Complete Data
-
Obtain Social Security Information
-
Check Work Permit Status
Place the tasks and the start and terminate events on the drawing
canvas as shown in Figure 23. Note that we placed three of the tasks
in an approximate row, and the other two tasks in an approximate
column with sufficient extra white space between the column and the
tasks in the row. Imagine that a gateway could be placed there.
Figure 23. Tasks in the
Handle Signed Contract process
Invoke Transform > Autolink Elements or click on the  icon in the palette. Control-flow connections are
automatically added to your model. Apply the Auto-Layout, name the
decision
All Documents Filled In and Signed? and
name its output branches Yes and
No. Then save your model. It should look
similar to Figure 24.
Figure 24. Applying the
AutoLink Elements transformation
The Autolink Elements transformation automatically connects tasks based
on their geometric position on the drawing canvas. It also inserts
decision and merge gateways when you indicate alternative branches by
placing tasks in a column and leaving sufficient white space before
and after a column of tasks. You can also apply this transformation to
only a selected set of model elements and thereby use it to create
complex models. This means that you can autolink a few elements, place
additional elements on the canvas, autolink them again with the
already linked process fragment, and so on. Refer to Part 3 of this
series for further details.
The process model is not as accurate as we would like it to be. For
example, we only need to check the work permit status of foreigners,
but for non-foreigners we obtain their social security information. To
change the process accordingly, press SHIFT and select the Obtain
Social Security Information and Check Work Permit Status tasks. Invoke
Transform > Convert to Alternative Compound or click
on the  icon with both tasks selected. Apply the Auto-Layout. Your
process fragment will change (Figure 25).
Figure 25. Applying the
Convert to Alternative Compound transformation
The two selected tasks are placed on two different branches opened by a
decision and closed by a merge. Change the name of the decision to
Foreign National?. Enter
No as the name of its upper output branch
and Yes as the name of its lower output
branch.
The Convert to Alternative Compound transformation allows you to
quickly reorder sequences of tasks such that they are placed on
different alternative branches of your process model. Refer to Part 3
of this series for further details.
The next editing step introduces an additional branch to obtain work
permits in case the Check Work Permit Status task reveals that a
foreign national needs a work permit. Press SHIFT and select the
outgoing connection of the Check Work Permit Status task first, then
select the outgoing connection of the Obtain Social Security
Information task as shown in Figure 26.
Figure 26. Adding a branch
to the process using the Alternative Branch pattern
Invoke Pattern > Alternative Branch or click on the  icon in the palette. Apply the Auto-Layout. A new
decision-merge branch is added to your model (Figure 27).
Figure 27. The new
decision-merge branch
Name the new decision Work Permit Holder?.
Name its upper branch Yes, and its lower
branch No. Then select the lower branch as
shown in Figure 28.
Figure 28. Selecting the
lower branch
Invoke Pattern > Insert Task or click on the  icon in the palette. A new task is added to the
No branch of the
Work Permit Holder? decision. Name this
task
Request Work
Permit.
Figure 29. Using the
Insert Task pattern
To make your process model tidier, select the two merge gateways and
invoke Transform > Merge Elements or click on the  icon.
Figure 30. Applying the
Merge Elements transformation
The two selected gateways are merged into a single gateway and the
control flow is properly reconnected. The process model is now changed
as shown in Figure 31. If your model shows incoming connections into
the merge that cross each other, try Refactor >
Automatically Order Branches or click on the  icon in the palette. The Automatically Order Branches
refactoring can help to improve the layout of your model if a slight
repositioning of the merge gateway on the canvas does not have the
desired effect.
Figure 31. Applying the
Automatically Order Branches refactoring
Finally, select the incoming connection of the terminate event and
apply the Sequence pattern to add two more tasks
Create Employee
Record
and Prepare Welcome Package at the end of
the process.
Figure 32. Adding two new
tasks
Figure 33. The process
flow for the new tasks
Your process is now completely modeled. Recall that we applied the
Autolink Elements transformation, followed by the Convert to
Alternative Compound transformation, followed by the Alternative
Branch and Insert Task patterns. Then we applied the Merge Elements
transformation, followed optionally by the Automatically Order
Branches refactoring. Finally, we applied the Sequence pattern. With
these 7 accelerators, we modeled a quite complex process in a fast and
accurate manner. To verify that your process has no control flow
errors, run the Control-Flow Analysis. It will confirm that your
process is correct.
Figure 34. Result of the
control-flow analysis
It is a recommended modeling practice to use subprocesses to obtain a
better structure for large process models. A subprocess encapsulates a
connected fragment of the process containing tasks and gateways and is
properly connected to the surrounding parent process. The accelerators
help you to quickly add subprocesses to your model while properly
restoring the control flow between the new subprocess and the parent
process.
Select the process fragment that starts in the Foreign National?
decision and ends before the terminate event as shown in Figure 35. To
keep this fragment selected when you invoke the next refactoring,
purposefully position the cursor on one of the selected elements in
order to preserve your selection.
Figure 35. Selecting a
process fragment
Invoke Refactor > Extract Subprocess or click on the  icon. A new subprocess is created and opened on the drawing
canvas. The selected process fragment is moved into this subprocess.
The Handle Signed Contract process now contains a subprocess as shown
in Figure 36.
Figure 36. The extracted
subprocess
Name this subprocess
Create Work Documents.
Now, add data flow to the Handle Signed Contract process model. When
doing traditional modeling, you have to select each connection and
invoke Associate Data … Select the last connection in
the process model connecting the Create Work Documents subprocess to
the terminate event. Use the traditional Associate Data… to
associate the connection with the Employee Record business item.
Imagine that you had to do this for each connection in your process
model. This would be quite cumbersome.
With the new Associate Data transformation, you can now easily
associate data with multiple connections through one single operation.
Select all the other connections of your process model by pressing and
holding the left button of your mouse and pulling it over the fragment
of the process model that begins with the start event and ends with
the connection leading to the Create Work Documents subprocess. Note
that the subprocess itself is not selected (Figure 37).
Figure 37. The connections
to be selected
Now invoke Transform > Associate Data … or click on the
 icon making sure to preserve your selection. A window opens
to allow browsing to all available business items. Click the
Complex type radio button and select the Contract business
item as shown in Figure 38. Then click OK.
Figure 38. Associating the
Contract business item
Data flow is assigned to the Handle Signed Contract process. With this
last transformation, you have completed the model of this process.
Figure 39. The completed
process model for Handle Signed Contract
To add data flow to the Create Work Documents subprocess, open this
subprocess in a new page and apply the Associate Data …
transformation as desired. To match the data flow in the Handle
Signed Contract process, the Create Work Documents subprocess should
take a Contract as input and provide an Employee Record as output. You
can achieve this by applying the Associate Data …
transformation twice.
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