You can specify a stereotype for a process. A stereotype provides additional information about the purpose or characteristics of a process. The default is no stereotype.

Specify a stereotype, and then click Apply.

iterative: Iterative processes are indicated by a circular arrow indicator at the bottom center of the process symbol.

parallel: Parallel processes are indicated by two parallel lines at the bottom center of the process symbol.

neither iterative nor parallel: No indicator is placed on the process symbol.

Ad Hoc: An ad hoc process is one whose activities are completely controlled by the performers of the activities, not by a process engine. The default is that the process is not ad hoc.

Select Ad Hoc to specify that the process is ad hoc. This is indicated by a squiggle indicator at the bottom center of the process symbol.

If a process is specified as Ad Hoc, then you must specify a Completion Condition. The Completion Condition property is located on the Analysis tab, and is described below.

Ad Hoc Processes are not executable, so Ad Hoc must be toggled off if the process is to be mapped to BPEL.

Completion Condition: If a process is specified as Ad Hoc, then you must specify a Completion Condition, which is a textual description that defines the conditions when the process will end.

You can specify that the Process definition is part of a Category. A category is a simple grouping mechanism, introduced by the BPMN 1.0 specification. Assigning a Process to a Category enables you to show a hierarchy of categories and the Processes that belong to them using a System Architect Decomposition diagram.

You can relate the process to other artifacts that it works upon, or that implement it. For example, a process might provide a function of the business, for example order processing. It might work on data, such as data objects or entities; for example, orders. From another view, the process might be enacted by an application, for example the Order System program. The process might be enabled by a type of technology, for example J2EE or .NET. From yet another view, the process might be performed by a role.

The Related Items list box is read-only from the definition dialog of the process. It is populated with artifacts through System Architect’s matrices. These definition types can be related to processes: Location, Entity, Application, Function, Technology, and Data Object.

To relate an artifact to a process, select View > Matrix Browser to launch the Matrix Browser. In the Business Enterprise tab, double click on the following matrices to open a matrix:

System Architect provides mapping of a BPMN Business Process diagram to a UML Use Case diagram (see Mapping business process diagrams to UML use case diagrams). This enables you to have Use Case models and Business Process Models that are integrated and traceable. You can link lowest-level business processes (tasks) to Use Cases, an in turn link the Use Cases to functional software components that carry them out. As the software develops and matures, the business justification for each software element and feature can be derived from or traced back to the BPMN Business Process diagram.

The properties in the Use Case Support group of a process are mapped to properties in a Use Case, as described below.

You can specify that the Use Case generated from the process reference a System Use Case.

The execution type specifies if and how a process is mapped to a Use Case of the same name. You must set the process to one of the following types for it to map to a UML Use Case of the same name:

You can also specify Process Steps for a process (see below), and map these to Use Case Steps. Only Process Steps marked Automatic are mapped to a corresponding Use Case Step.

A process whose Execution Type is specified as Automatic, therefore, should not have any nonautomatic steps. A process that is Automatic and Manual will have a set of Process Steps that are also mixed.

You can specify that the process is mapped to a use case with a Client, Supplier, or Web Service perspective.

Optionally specify the steps of the Business Process. These steps will be mapped to UML Use Case steps, as long as you specify them as Automatic, and the process itself has an Execution Type set to Manual, Automatic, or Automatic and Manual.