BPMN 2.0 Reference

LoyJoy is based on the BPMN 2.0 modeling standard and implements a BPMN 2.0 process engine. In the following all LoyJoy BPMN 2.0 modeling elements are described.

Business Process Model And Notation (BPMN)

Business Process Model And Notation (BPMN) is a standard for modeling business processes in form of flowchart diagrams. BPMN basically is a way to specify business processes with a standardized diagram representation, which e.g. in a simple form could be a vacation approval process. LoyJoy is based on BPMN and extends it using a standardized BPMN extension mechanism, ensuring that all LoyJoy experiences are in fact standardized BPMN process models.

The BPMN specification is maintained by the Object Management Group (OMG), which also with the Unified Modeling Language (UML) maintains one of the most important modeling languages in computer science. This goes so far that BPMN actually is specified with help of UML, applying UML as a meta-modeling language.

BPMN Process Engine

The goal of BPMN is to provide a process modeling language, that can be understood by business users, and at the same time is able to represent complex process semantics. By representing complex process semantics, it is possible to automatically execute BPMN process modules with a BPMN process engine.

LoyJoy implements such a BPMN process engine. When you create a chat experience in LoyJoy Manager, you actually create a BPMN process model, which is extended with LoyJoy-specific process module semantics. When you add a process module to your chat experience, effectively you create a BPMN subprocess in the BPMN process model, and add LoyJoy-specific attributes to the subprocess. E.g. in case of the Email process module, you specify in this BPMN subprocess that an email should be sent, and who should be the recipient.