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Enterprise Architecture Languages o Gateway – A decision point that can adjust the path based on
Business Process Modeling Notation (BPMN) conditions or events. A gateway can be exclusive or inclusive, parallel,
• This was originally developed by the Business Process Management complex, or based on data or event.
Initiative (BPMI). In 2005, the Object Management Group took over the
initiative (Lucid Software Inc., n.d.).
• This is also known as Business Process Model and Notation.
• The goal of BPMN is to support business process modeling by providing
a comprehensive standard notation to business users, while representing
the complex process semantics for technical users. Figure 3. Notation of gateways in BPMN.
• It is intended to be used by stakeholders who design, manage, and realize Source: https://www.lucidchart.com/pages/bpmn
business processes (BP). • Connecting Objects
• It has an easy to use flowchart-like notation that is independent of any o Sequence flow – This shows the order of activities to be performed.
particular implementation environment. o Message flow – This depicts messages that flow across pools, or
• It creates a standardized bridge for the gap between the business process organizational boundaries such as departments. It should not connect
design and process implementation (Object Management Group, n.d.). events or activities within a pool.
• This helps with communication leading to Extensible Markup Language o Association – This associates an artifact or text to an event, activity,
(XML). or a gateway.
Element Types in Business Process Diagrams (Lucid Software Inc., n.d.) • Swimlanes
• Flow Objects o Pool – It represents major participants in a process. A different pool
o Event – A trigger that starts, modifies, or completes a process. Event may be in a different company or department but still involved in the
types include message, timer, error, compensation, signal, cancel, process.
escalation, link, etc. An event can be classified as either "throwing" or o Lane – It is a sub-part of a pool. It shows the activities and flow for a
"catching," depending on their function. certain role or participant, defining the accountability within the
processes.

Figure 1. Notation of events in BPMN.

Source: https://www.lucidchart.com/pages/bpmn
o Activity – A particular task performed by a person or system. It can
include sub-processes, loops, multiple loops, and compensations.
Figure 4. Notation of swimlanes in BPMN.
Source: https://www.lucidchart.com/pages/bpmn
• Artifacts
o Data object – This shows the necessary data for an activity.
Figure 2. Notation of different activities in BPMN. o Group – This shows a logical grouping of activities, but does not
Source: https://www.lucidchart.com/pages/bpmn change the diagram's flow.

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o Annotation – This provides further explanation to a part of the • Object – This concept involves class diagrams, which describes the
diagram. structure of a system in terms of objects, attributes, associations, and
operations.
• Dynamic – This concept involves interaction diagrams, state machine
diagrams, and activity diagrams, which are used to describe internal
behavior of the system.
Types of UML Diagrams (SmartDraw, LLC, n.d.)
• Structural UML Diagrams
o Class diagram – It describes the static structure of a system.
Figure 5. Notation of artifacts in BPMN. o Package diagram – It is a subset of a class diagram used to organize
Source: https://www.lucidchart.com/pages/bpmn
elements of a system into related groups.
Sub-Models Within A BPMN Diagram (Lucid Software Inc., n.d.)
o Object diagram – It describes the static structure of a system at a
• Private BP – This involves internal processes to a specific organization particular time, and can be used to test class diagrams for accuracy.
and do not cross pools or organizational boundaries. o Component diagram – This describes the organization of physical
• Abstract BP – This occurs between a private BP and an external software components, including source codes, run-time code, and
participant or process. This does not show the private BP itself. executables.
• Collaborative BP –This shows the interactions between two or more o Composite structure diagram – This diagram shows the internal
business entities. parts of a class.
o Deployment diagram – This depicts the physical resources in a
Unified Modeling Language (UML) system, including nodes, components, and connections.
• This was created to establish a common, semantic, and syntactical visual • Behavioral UML Diagrams
modeling language for the architecture, design, and implementation of o Activity diagram – This illustrates the dynamic nature of a system by
complex software systems both structurally and behaviorally (Lucid modeling the flow of control from activity to activity.
Software Inc., n.d.). o Communication diagram – This describes the interactions among
• This is currently the most important industry-standard language for classes in terms of an exchange of messages over time.
specifying, visualizing, constructing, and documenting software systems. o Use case diagram – This models the functionalities of a system using
• It emerged from the combination of three (3) existing practices namely, the actors and use cases, and can be considered as a simplified version
Booch Method, Object-Modeling Technique (OMT), and Objectory of a collaboration diagram introduced in UML 2.0.
(Lankhorst, 2017). o State machine diagram – This describes the dynamic behavior of a
• This is commonly used by programmers, but not generally used by system in response to external stimuli.
database developers. o Sequence diagram – It models the interactions between
• The Object Management Group (OMG) oversees the definition and objects in sequence.
maintenance of the UML specifications, which provides engineers and o Interaction overview diagram – It is a combination of an activity and
programmers the ability to use one language for different purposes during a sequence diagram, which models a more complex interaction.
all phases of the software lifecycle, for all system sizes (Lucid Software o Timing diagram – It is an interaction UML diagram that focuses on
Inc., n.d.). processes that take place during a specific period of time, wherein
Modeling Concepts Specified by UML (Lucid Software Inc., n.d.) time is shown to increase from left to right.
• Functional – This concept involves use case diagrams, which describes
system functionality from the point of view of a user. Architecture Description Language (ADL)

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• It is a general term referring to different formal languages used in enabling

formalization, description, specification, modeling and reasoning of
software architectures (Vac, 2017).
• A good ADL must be capable of providing adequate abstractions in
modeling large systems.
• A wide variety of ADLs exist, with several differences in the exact concepts
it offer, and are mainly suitable for users with technical background
(Lankhorst, 2017).
• Some examples of ADLs are UniCon, Wright, and Acme.
Important Properties of ADLs
o Ability to represent components along with property assertions,
interfaces, and implementations
o Ability to represent connectors along with protocols, property
assertions, and implementations
o Component and communication abstraction and encapsulation
o Ability to accommodate analysis tools openly
o Limiting communication to those components connected to each other
architecturally
o Ability to model dynamic architectures
o Ability to reason about causality and time
o Hierarchical refinement support
o Ability to check conformance

References:
Lankhorst, M. et al. (2017). Enterprise Architecture at Work Modeling, Communication and
Analysis (4th ed.). Berlin, Germany: Springer Nature
Lucid Software Inc. (n.d.). What is Business Process Modeling Notation?. Retrieved from
https://www.lucidchart.com/pages/bpmn on December 17, 2019
Lucid Software Inc. (n.d.). What is Unified Modeling Language?. Retrieved from
https://www.lucidchart.com/pages/what-is-UML-unified-modeling-language on December
18, 2019
Object Management Group. (n.d.). Graphical Notations for Business Processes. Retrieved from
https://www.omg.org/bpmn/ on December 17, 2019
SmartDraw, LLC. (n.d.). UML Diagram. Retrieved from https://www.smartdraw.com/uml-
diagram/ on December 18, 2019
Vac, G. (2017). Architecture Description Languages. Today Software Magazine Issue 55.
Retrieved from https://www.todaysoftmag.com/article/2241/architecture-description-
languages on December 19, 2019

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