Chapter 4 Building an Analysis Business Process Model

Message Formats (BPM)

A message format defines the format of a piece of information exchanged between business processes. The format depends on the nature of the exchanged piece of information and allows objects to find an agreement to communicate. Business processes exchange information using resource flows and process flows. You can have a flow without any message format if no information is exchanged.

For more information about resource flows, see section Resource Flows (BPM).

The message format is displayed in the diagram only in association with the flow that uses it. As you create a message format from the flow property sheet, its symbol is linked to the flow symbol, and is displayed centered on the flow line as shown below:

If you move the flow, the message format moves accordingly.

A message format can be an XML document, for which you will have to specify the DTD (Document Type Definition) or the XML schema, or parameters of a procedure call. For these parameters, you will have to specify the list of exchanged parameters with their data types, the parameter names and the in/out information. An administrative form can also represent a message format.

The message format can be decomposed into message parts that specify its contents.

For more on message parts, see section Message Parts (BPM).

In an executable BPM, a message format can also be used to specify the format of the message associated with a fault or with Request-Response and Solicit-Response operations.

For more information, see section Validation rules on message formats in an executable BPM in chapter Building an Executable BPM: Working with Service Description Objects.

You cannot copy a message format symbol, and if you delete its symbol in the diagram, the message format value is set to None in the Message Format box of the flow property sheet.

For more information about message format options, see section Defining BPM options in chapter Getting Started with the Business Process Model.