BPMN11 — Gate is a common feature of Gateways

Doc: ptc/06-02-01
Date: February 2006
Version: Final Adopted Specification
Chapter: 9.5
Pages:
Nature: Editorial
Severity: minor

Description:

In 9.5.1 Common Elements of Gateways, the object type Gate is not documented. But Gate appears, with the same two attributes (Outgoing flow, Assignments) in every subtype of Gateway in 9.5, and once for each role of Gate in that kind of Gateway. Moreover, the initial text for its attributes in each occurrence is the same. Some of the specific roles of Gate have special requirements as well, and this must be puzzled out from the current tables for the Gateways.

The common concept Gate and the attributes of Gate with their common characteristics should be specified in 9.5.1, as a supporting object. Then in each of the subsections where the use of a Gate has special rules, only the special rules need to appear, and they should attach to the Gateway attribute that is the particular use/role of the Gate that imposes the constraint.

Recommendation:

In 9.5.1 add a subsection for Gate, e.g.

"Gate

"A Gate represents the point at which a Gateway is connected to an outgoing SequenceFlow. A given Gateway can have several Gates, one for each outgoing SequenceFlow. Each kind of Gateway imposes different constraints on the SequenceFlow, and some types of Gateway distinguish Gates with different kinds of constraints on the SequenceFlow.

"Table 9.xx Gate Attributes

"Outgoing SequenceFlow: SequenceFlow
Each Gate SHALL have one associated Sequence Flow. The constraints on the SequenceFlow depend on the kind of Gateway.

"Assignments (0..n): Assignment
One or more assignment expressions MAY be made for each Gate. The
Assignment SHALL be performed when the Gate is selected. The details of
Assignment is defined in the Section B.11.1, "Assignment," on page 268."

In table 9.27 (XOR Gateway attributes), delete the entries for Outgoing SequenceFlow and Assignments. Under the Gates attribute description, add a paragraph:
"For each Gate, the Outgoing Sequence Flow (See Table 9.xx on page xxx) SHALL have its Condition attribute set to None (there is no evaluation of a condition expression).
The attributes of a Sequence Flow can be found in Section 10.1.2,
"Sequence Flow," on page 100."

In table 9.28 (IOR Gateway attributes), delete both sets of entries for Outgoing SequenceFlow and Assignments.

Under the Gates attribute description, add a paragraph:
"For each Gate, except the DefaultGate, if any, the Outgoing Sequence Flow (See Table 9.xx on page xxx) SHALL have its Condition attribute set to Expression. The Outgoing Sequence Flow SHALL have a valid ConditionExpression, and the ConditionExpression SHALL be unique among all the Gates within the Gateway.
The attributes of a Sequence Flow can be found in Section 10.1.2,
"Sequence Flow," on page 100."

Under the DefaultGate attribute description, add a paragraph:
"For the Default Gate, the Outgoing SequenceFlow (See Table 9.xx on page xxx) SHALL have its Condition attribute set to Default. The SequenceThe
The attributes of a Sequence Flow can be found in Section 10.1.2,
"Sequence Flow," on page 100."

In table 9.29 (Complex Gateway attributes), delete the entries for Outgoing SequenceFlow and Assignments. Under the Gates attribute description, add a paragraph:
"For each Gate, the Outgoing Sequence Flow (See Table 9.xx on page xxx) SHALL have its Condition attribute set to None.
The attributes of a Sequence Flow can be found in Section 10.1.2,
"Sequence Flow," on page 100."

In table 9.30 (Parallel Gateway attributes), delete the entries for Outgoing SequenceFlow and Assignments. Under the Gates attribute description, add a paragraph:
"For each Gate, the Outgoing Sequence Flow (See Table 9.xx on page xxx) SHALL have its Condition attribute set to None.
The attributes of a Sequence Flow can be found in Section 10.1.2,
"Sequence Flow," on page 100."

see above