Pools and Lanes Usage

The Stardust Process Workbench Modeler provides you with the option to structure and organize your model by using Pools and Lanes.

Diagram Settings

Before you start working with pools and lanes, you can choose specific settings for your process or model diagrams:

Drawing Mode

To work with pools and lanes, you have to choose a special drawing mode, the BPMN mode. There is a default drawing mode setting for your workspace, which you can change in the preferences settings, as described in the section Default Drawing Mode of the Setting Process Manager Preferences chapter.

To enable or disable the drawing mode for a process diagram:

Drawing Mode Option
Figure: Drawing Mode Option

Note, that this is only possible before creating the first pool or lane in your diagram.

Orientation

Before creating the first lane in your diagram, you can choose the modeling direction:

Modeling Direction
Figure: Setting the Modeling Direction

The default modeling direction is "vertical". You can change the default value in the Preferences dialog (see chapter Setting Process Manager Preferences).

Modeling Direction Horizontal
Figure: Lanes displayed in horizontal Modeling Direction

Modeling Direction Vertical
Figure: Lanes displayed in vertical Modeling Direction

Note that changing the modeling orientation is only possible in empty pools. Once you added elements or lanes to the pool, the modeling orientation is fixed.

Pools

A pool serves as a graphical container. It must at least include one lane. In the Stardust Process Workbench a process diagram automatically represents a default pool. The default pool is demarcating the diagram boundaries. It is not possible to create other pools in a process diagram or to associate Participants.

Pool
Figure: Representation of the Default Pool in a Diagram

Lanes

Lanes are used to organize and categorize activities within a pool. Lanes can only be drawn in process diagrams, not in model diagrams.

You can use lanes as assignment of participants or just to serve for the inner structuring of pools. They can be drawn directly in process diagrams.

This section covers the following topics:

Creating a Lane

A pool can have more than one lane and lanes can be nested within other lanes, as described in the section Nesting Lanes.

This section describes how to create lanes and what has to be considered when integrating them into the process definition. It covers the following topics:

Create a Lane in a Diagram

To create a lane:

Drawing a lane
Figure: Drawing a Lane on the Process Diagram

To use the functionality of lanes, there should exist at least two lanes. Thus a second lane will be created automatically in case the created lane is the first one in the parent lane or pool and elements exist already in the container.

Newly Created Lanes
Figure: Newly Created Lanes

Double-click the lane to open the properties dialog and set the ID and Name of the created lane. In the Participant list choose the participant the lane will be assigned to.

Please refer to the section Participant Assignment for detailed information.

Symbols in Lanes

All symbols of model elements, like activities, applications, data and participants, are tied to lanes. Their entire bounding box fit into lanes. Newly created symbols are created in a lane. Existing symbols can be dragged into lanes, as described in the section Drag and Drop of Symbols between Lanes.

If a symbol or symbol group is placed in a lane whose boundaries are smaller then the bounding box of the symbols, the lane is resized accordingly.

Lane Title Bar

A title bar is provided for lanes on the left of the lane for horizontal drawing direction and on the top for vertical drawing direction. The title bar contains buttons for collapse and expand as well as the name of the lane and the name and ID of the associated participant if such an association exists.

Lane Title Bar
Figure: Lane Title Bar

Nesting Lanes

Theoretically lanes can be nested unlimited. A lane is inserted into another lane by selecting the corresponding palette symbol and selecting a position within an existing lane.

Nested Lanes
Figure: Nested Lanes

If the parent pool or lane already contains symbols, a second lane is created in addition to the newly inserted lane and all existing symbols are put into this second lane. This second lane is not bound to a participant, it serves as a graphical help. The second lane is positioned left to the newly inserted lane when the drop position is in the right half of the lane and vice versa.

For example:

Right Drop Position
Figure: Right Drop Position

Positioning of Lane with Symbols after Right Drop
Figure: Positioning of Lane with Symbols after Right Drop

Deleting Lanes

Note that when deleting a lane, all symbols residing in this lane will be removed from the diagram, but the according elements still exist in the model or process definition.

Handling Lanes

This section covers the following topics:

Resizing Lanes

Newly created lanes have a default width and height depending on the drawing directions. The containing lanes or pools are resized accordingly. Stretching or shrinking lanes in drawing direction stretches or shrinks the entire pool or lane containment hierarchy. A lane cannot be smaller then the boundary box of all contained symbols.

Handles to resize lanes are displayed for a selected lane:

Resizing a Lane
Figure: Resizing a Lane

Shrink to Fit

To obtain a better overview you can shrink a lane or the default pool to the smallest possible size according to the symbols and sub-lanes it contains. Only the lanes and sub-lanes will be shrunk, which contain at least one model element.

Choose the Shrink to Fit Option.
Figure: Choose the Shrink to Fit Option.

Lanes after Shrinking.
Figure: Lanes after Shrinking.

Drag and Drop of Symbols between Lanes

Symbols - single symbols or groups - can be dragged between arbitrary lanes in the diagram and this way associated with the new lane. If a group of selected symbols is dragged, they all will be positioned in the target lane. The boundary of the target lane adapts to the size of all containing lanes.

Moving an interactive activity into a lane will associate the lane performer, if existent.

Drag and Drop of Lanes

Lanes can be dragged in their surrounding lane or pool or even across the boundaries of those similar to the mechanisms of lane insertion. This way a lane may also change its level in a lane hierarchy.

Dragging lanes in a containing lane or pool can be used to reorder lanes. When a lane is dragged and dropped, all symbols will be moved with the lane. Links across the boundaries of the lane will be rerouted. The positioning of the existing symbols in the parent lane, where it will be dropped, follows the same procedure as for nesting lanes, as described in the section Nesting Lanes.

Collapsing and Expanding

Lanes can be collapsed and expanded via a corresponding button on the right side of the title bar. A collapsed lane does not display contained symbols. All links from these symbols to symbols outside of the lane are ending at appropriate positions on the lane border.

When a lane is collapsed, the containing lane or pool size is adapted according to the containment principle. Expanding a collapsed lane restores the size of the lane on collapse and the position of the symbols in the lane.

Select Collapsing Button
Figure: Select Collapsing Button

A Lane after Collapsing
Figure: A Lane after Collapsing

Participant Assignment

Lanes may be associated with participants. Activities automatically get the participant assignment of the lane they are residing in.

When a lane is associated with a participant, this is indicated in the title box of the lane by a different color. The title bar of a lane with an associated participant is colored dark grey, whereas the title bar of a lane without associated participants has a light grey:

Lanes with and without participant assignment
Figure: Lanes with and without participant assignment

You can set or change the default participant of a lane explicitly or in the properties dialog.

Setting the Participant explicitly

Right-click the lane and select Set Default Participant. In the Default Lane Participant dialog choose the participant to assign the lane to. Only those participants compliant with the participant and lane hierarchy are listed for this association.

Choosing the participant assigned to the lane
Figure: Choosing the Participant to assign the Lane to.

Note that it is not possible to assign a participant to a lane, when the child lane already has a participant assigned. In this case the option Set Default Participant is not provided for the parent lane.

Setting the Participant in the Properties Dialog

Double-click the lane to open its properties dialog. In the Participant list choose the participant the lane will be assigned to.

Lane Properties Dialog
Figure: Setting the Properties of the Lane.

To remove the assignment of a participant from a lane, click the None button.

Remove an assigned Participant
Figure: Remove the Assignment of a Participant.

Note that it is not possible to assign a participant to a lane, when the child lane already has a participant assigned. In this case the proposed participants list will be empty and the following warning will appear in the properties dialog:

Participant Assignment Warning
Figure: Participant Assignment Warning

Behavior of Participant Assignment

A participant can also be assigned to an activity by selecting the Connect option in the diagrams toolbar. To avoid conflicts between the assignment via lane and the manual assignment, the assignment behavior while positioning an activity in a lane is the following:

A warning in the Problems View indicates the case that an activity resides in a lane with a performer other than the one of the activity, e.g.:

! Tip: To directly edit the property dialog of the according activity, double-click on the warning entry.

Association Restrictions during Lane Movements

Lanes associated to an organization cannot be nested inside lanes or moved to lanes associated to a subordinate organization or role. For example:

Restriction of Moving Lanes
Figure: Restriction of Moving Lanes to Lanes with Subordinate Participants

The options for the participant selection in the property page of the inserted lane are restricted to subordinate organizations or roles.

Restriction of Moving Lanes
Figure: Property Page with Participant Options after Moving the Lane