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Model Interchange – Roundtrip

Model Interchange

Experience the complete roundtrip

Process Modeler now supports XPDL 2.1, BPEL 2.0 and BPMN 2.0 XML Serialization

Process Modeler has been designed to support XML serialization for all relevant open standards:

BPMN 2.0 Mode

  • BPMN 2.0 serialization by the Object Management Group (OMG)

BPMN 1.2 Mode

  • XPDL (currently XPDL 2.1) by the Workflow Management Coalition (WfMC)
  • BPEL (currently BPEL 2.0) by the OASIS consortium
  • XLANG/s by Microsoft

Process Modeler supports BPMN 2.0 export (XML de- and serialization), as well as XPDL, BPEL and XLANG/s roundtrip engineering.

XPDL Roundtrip with BPMN 1.2

  • Design in BPMN, exporting and reimporting XPDL files
  • Design in BPMN 

Design your process with Process Modeler in BPMN as usual. You can call BPMN as a superset of XPDL. The difference has to be respected by designing in BPMN. Process Modeler Professional supports the user with a choosable XPDL 1.0 and 2.x validation modul. If this modul is “switched on”, Process Modeler detects syntax errors which would make a correct export in a logical XPDL file impossible.

Exporting and reimporting a XPDL file 

The export of a BPMN diagram, which shows no more errors by passing the XPDL validation, will be done as shown below. Besides a specific Process Modeler XML format as well as a BPEL format, a .xpdl file can be exported directly. The exported files are ready to be used in process server environments which supports XPDL 1.0 and XPDL 2.x.

Reimport of outside changed XPDL files will be supported directly by Process Modeler, Professional Edition.

BPMN2-XML Roundtrip

  • Modeling in BPMN 2.0, export and re-import of BPMN files
  • Modeling with BPMN 2.0

Model the process as usual with Process Modeler. Process Modeler holds all model data in BPMN 2.0 meta-model (the internal object model) and allows the saving of the model as a BPMN2 XML file. With the validation module, syntax errors are detected, which would produce an erroneous BPMN2 export a XML file.

  • Re-import BPMN 2.0  XML files

Here successfully validated BPMN diagrams are exported. The so-exported files can now be used as is with the process server of your choice, provided it support BPMN 2.0.

To close the loop and to allow improvements to the BPMN model, BPMN2 XML files, which for example were changed by a BPMN 2.0 compatible process engine outside of Process Modeler, can be re-imported directly into Process Modeler. Process Modeler completes this process with graphical and tabular reconciliation of all the re-imported BPMN 2.0 data.

What does "roundtrip engineering" mean?

Once a process flow has been modeled with BPMN (graphical representation) it needs to be made executable. The picture above shows the process life cycle which implies that process maps can be made executable and will work as services within a company. Depending on whether processes are more workflow based or service based, it is necessary to choose a fitting execution environment or architecture (for instance, a pure SOA approach). This kind of infrastructure is referred to as a “process engine”.  Process engines offer a rich set of functions and concepts. To optimize business processes you need to obtain the runtime data from these engines in order to learn the truth about your key performance indicators. These values allow business analysts to optimize the process maps at the right spots.

Process Modeler for Microsoft Visio fits perfectly into this roundtrip: For every interface it is possible to obtain or produce an appropriate output.

BPMN2- XML Roundtrip

Export to XML

BPMN als XML exportieren
XML Export