Like any diagramming process, there are various flavors of this document, but any work flow must cover six essential aspects per process:
- When does the process begin? (If preceded by a specified process, indicate the name of that process.)
- What happens during the process?
- What determines that the process has ended?
- What determines that the process has not ended successfully?
- What is the next step in the process when completed successfully?
- What is the next step when the process has not completed successfully?
The Work Flow Diagram should not contain a lot of detail, after all this is a diagram, and those boxes are just so large. - Ok, you can make them bigger, but why should it take the developer or stakeholder a half-hour or so, using a magnifying glass, to read the content of your boxes. Save the detail for your Use Cases. Keep your content brief.
Finally, here's a quick word on the difference between a Workflow Diagram and an Activity Diagram. Workflow Diagrams are fairly flexible and easy to read. They don't have a UML specification. Most companies seem to prefer such diagrams over Activity Diagrams. Non-technical persons have no problem reading these diagrams. However, even if a particular diagram is not defined by a UML standard, it adds a lot to the consistency of your work if you format non-standard diagrams according to UML specifications as much as it makes sense.
If, however, you are contracting with a client, such as the US Government who generally embraces UML standards, then I would still use the Workflow Diagram to get sign-off on the business process and then create the Activity Diagram as a way to begin the solution architecture. Activity Diagrams are more geared toward the developer and tend to be a bit harder for non-technical business persons to comprehend. They are defined by a UML specification.
Articles & Additional Resources
- These links should give you a solid overview of what a Workflow Document is and offer some helpful patterns.
- Wikipedia article on the Workflow Diagram
- Brief Wikipedia article on Business Process Modeling
- Repository for Workflow Modeling Patterns
- Windows Workflow Foundation
