BPMN Tutorial: How to Use BPMN Data Object?

The state of a data object may keep changing throughout a process or processes. Just take an invoice as an example. Typically, an invoice will undergo states like open, canceled, unpaid, pending, paid, overpaid, and underpaid. In this tutorial, we will show you how to create a data object in a BPD and how to define its states. You will also learn how to reuse a data object in a process, with different states selected for different instances.

Creating a Data Object with State

1. Download Tutorial.vpp. You can also find this file at the bottom of this tutorial.
2. Open the downloaded .vpp file in Visual Paradigm. To open a project, select Project > Open from the application toolbar.
3. Open the business process diagram Inspection. You should see the diagram below:
   
4. Let's create a data object from the task Perform Inspection. Move your mouse pointer over the task. Click on the Resource Catalog icon and drag it out.
   
5. Release the mouse button and select Data Object from the Resource Catalog.
   
6. Enter Inspection Order as the name of the data object and press Enter to confirm.
   
7. Let's set the state of the Inspection Order. Right-click on it and select State > Create... from the popup menu.
   
8. In the Create State dialog box, enter Created as the (state) name and then click OK.
   
   You should see the name of the data object appear, like this:
   

Reusing a Data Object

1. Let's continue with the remaining flow of the diagram. Let's say after the task Approve Inspection, the Inspection Order will be in an 'approved' state. Let's represent this. First, create a data object from the task Approve Inspection and name it Inspection Order, which is the same as the previously created data object.
   
2. Press Enter and you will be prompted to confirm the reuse of the data object. Click Yes.
   
   You can see the data object is created with the letter 'a' appearing at the top left, while the original data object (shape) has an 'M' appearing at the same position. The letter 'a' stands for auxiliary view, while 'M' stands for master view. Each model element can have one master view and an unlimited number of auxiliary views. The placement of the element in the model hierarchy is controlled by the master view.
   
3. Let's create a state for Inspection Order. Right-click on it and select State > Create... from the popup menu. By the way, in the popup menu you can see the state Created available for selection. In case you need to represent a state that has been created before, you can simply select the state there.
   
4. In the Create State dialog box, enter Approved as the (state) name and then click OK.
   
5. Repeatedly reuse Approve Inspection on other parts of the business process diagram, with different states selected. Finally, your diagram should look like this: