Case Editor

The Case Editor is the primary means to graphically create a case in Case Management Model and Notation (CMMN) using simple drag-and-drop commands.

User Interface

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The Case Editor interface is roughly divided into four areas:

• The menu bar on top, just below the navigation bar

• The palette on the left side

• The canvas in the middle

• The attribute bar on the right side

The following sub-chapters describe each area in detail.

Menu Bar

The menu bar offers a number of actions, some of them only affecting the currently opened model while others have a more global impact.

Group	Icon	Description
Save		Saves the currently opened model.
		Saves all opened models.
Validate		Validates the currently opened model.
Edit		Copy the selected element.
		Pastes the contents of the clipboard.
		Cuts the currently selected element.
Protocol		Undoes the previous action.
		Redoes the most current action.
Layout		Activates spacer tool.
Locking		Locks the current model, see model locking
		Unlocks the current model to allow all user to get the lock.
Model		Opens the Data Model Viewer.
		Configure data contracts with data dictionaries.
		Opens the Revision Editor, see model versioning.
		Searches for an attribute value within the currently opened model.
Export		Exports the currently opened model in the saved state.
		Exports the currently opened model in the saved state as a picture.
Publish		Publish an app, see publishing apps.

Drawing Criteria

Often you want to add entry of exit criteria to tasks or other case item. To do this, drag an entry or exit criterion shape from the Sentries group of elements and drop it on the task or item that needs to react to the sentry. While you are dragging the shape and hover over a task or item, the items outline changes to a green to indicate it is an allowed target for the criterion. Drop the criterion shape and a diamond representation of the sentry is added to the task or item.

If the entry of exit criterion is to be defined as an expression, the Condition attribute of the criterion can be used to enter the expression. You can also connect the criterion to another case item by clicking on the criterion diamond shape and access the connector tool from the item’s tools to drag a connection.

What is CMMN?

The Case Management Model and Notation (CMMN) is a standard notation and formal specification of the Object Management Group for representing cases. It can be used for capturing work methods that are based on the handling of cases requiring various activities that may be performed in an unpredictable order in response to evolving situations. Using an event-centered approach and the concept of a case file, CMMN expands the boundaries of what can be modeled with BPMN, including less structured work efforts and those driven by knowledge workers. Using a combination of BPMN and CMMN allows users to cover a much broader spectrum of work methods. It provides a standard, common language for all stakeholders, whether technical or non-technical: business analysts, case workers, managers and technical developers, as well as external teams and consultants. Ideally, it bridges the gap between process intention and implementation by providing sufficient detail and clarity into the sequence of business activities.

In addition, CMMN in its current version was designed with automatic execution in mind. This means that a case can be stored as a file and can then be used to automatize case management using a so called CMMN engine such as Flowable.

Purpose of CMMN

CMMN is targeted at participants and other stakeholders involved in case work to gain understanding through an easy-to-understand visual representation of the case model.

Case Plan Model

The Case plan model represents the case itself. It is the top-most parent stage for all model elements of the case.

Attributes

Group	Attribute	Description
General	ID	A unique ID for the element. The ID is used to refer to a model element from outside of the diagram (for example, from a CMMN Action button in a form or when referring to a model element, such as plan item ID, in a CMMN REST call). For convenience, this ID can be edited.
	Name	The name of the element. This is the name displayed in the diagram. If no run-time name is specified, this name is also used in the running case.
	Creation date	This defines the date on which the diagram was created.
	Modification date	This defines the date on which the diagram was last modified.
	Documentation	Documentation intended to explain concepts of its use for future reference.
	Security policy	The security policy associated with this element.
	Folder path for uploaded content items	The folder path where uploaded content items for this case are uploaded.
	Description	The description attribute additionally adds a description to the component.
Details	Version	This defines the version number of the case.
	Author	This holds the name of the author of the case.
	Initiator variable name	The user that can start the case instance.
	Target namespace	Target namespace of the case model. This allows you to group models according to your own criteria.
Visual	Label expression	Replaces the label of all activities with the provided expression. For instance, ${id} would display the ID of elements as the label in the element.
	Font weight	The font weight of the element in the diagram.
	Font size	The font size of the element in the diagram.
	Font color	The font color of the element in the diagram.
	Font style	The font style of the element in the diagram.

Stages

Stages are used to structure cases. They are often used to represent the different phases of a case or to logically group plan items. It is possible to nest stages.

Attributes

Group	Attribute	Description
General	ID	A unique ID for the element. The ID is used to refer to a model element from outside of the diagram (for example, from a CMMN Action button in a form or when referring to a model element, such as plan item ID, in a CMMN REST call). For convenience, this ID can be edited.
	Name	The name of the element. This is the name displayed in the diagram. If no run-time name is specified, this name is also used in the running case.
	Description	The description attribute additionally adds a description to the component.
	Documentation	Documentation intended to explain concepts of its use for future reference.
Details	Required	Select this option to mark the element as required (exclamation mark decorator). Required plan items must either be in the state COMPLETED, TERMINATED or DISABLED for their parent stage to complete.
	Repetition	Select this option to mark the element as repeatable (number sign decorator). By default, only one instance of a plan item is created at runtime. Repeatable plan items do not have that limitation. The combination of this property, Manual activation, and no entry sentry has a special meaning called Automatic repetition: As a previous instance of the plan item completes, a new instance is automatically created and set into state 'Enabled'.
	Repetition counter variable	The name of the repetition counter variable.
	Completion neutral	Completion neutral influences the plan item’s parent stage completes. Plan items in the state AVAILABLE may prevent the parent stage (or case) from automatically completing. By checking this property, the plan item behaves neutral with respect to the completion of the parent container.
	Auto complete	A stage with this option set to true completes more eagerly, even if there are pending non-required children in states 'Available' or 'Enabled'. In other words: With the option set to true, a Stage completes even if it has children in states 'Available' or' Enabled' (unless they are Required). With this option set to false, a Stage only completes if all child elements are one of the states: 'Completed', 'Terminated', or 'Disabled'.
	Show state	A flag indicating whether the state of this Stage is displayed at run-time. The standard Case template includes a status bar showing the states of Stages and Milestones. When set to true, the Stage is displayed in the status bar with colors reflecting its state: light gray for 'Available'/'Enabled'/'Terminated', red for active, dark gray for 'Completed'.
	Display order	An integer value (negative, zero or positive) denoting the display order of the Stage’s state indicator relative to other elements in the status bar (see attribute 'Show state'). The smaller the number, the more to the left.
Activation	Manual activation	Select this option to mark the element to have Manual activation (right arrow 'play' decorator). Plan items with Manual activation move from state AVAILABLE to state ENABLED once they trigger. A plan item in state ENABLED exposes an action button that allows the user to start the plan item manually.
More	Lifecycle listeners	It allows you to define lifecycle listeners for a plan item. Lifecycle listeners allow you to execute an expression, a delegate expression or a class when a plan item transitions from one state to another.
Visual	Font weight	The font weight of the element in the diagram.
	Font size	The font size of the element in the diagram.
	Font color	The font color of the element in the diagram.
	Font style	The font style of the element in the diagram.
	Background color	The background color of the element in the diagram.
	Border color	The border color of the element in the diagram.

Tasks

In essence, tasks are the elements that do something in a case. There are a number of predefined tasks:

• Human Task
• Case Task
• Process Task
• Untyped Task
• Service Task
• Script Task
• Decision Task
• HTTP Task
• Flowable Work Activities
  • Initialize Variable Task
  • Generate Document Task
  • Merge Documents Task
  • Generate Sequence Task

Sentries

• Entry Criterion
• Exit Criterion

Events

• Event Listener
• User Event Listener
• Timer Event Listener

Other Elements

• Connector
• Plan Fragment
• Milestone