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To start with, my question is related (a follow-up) to this older question: Multiple instances on a lanes BPMN

I'm interested in the topic of the above-referenced question, but as I read it from the referenced OMG BPMN 2.0(.2) standard, this multiplicity possibility for a Participant only applies to Pools, and not to Lanes.

Furthermore, my modeling tool (Sparx EA v15) also doesn't give me any option to set multiplicity for a Lane.

Does anyone know how to correctly (according to the BPMN 2.0(.2) standard) model multiplicity for Lanes?

Example modeling challenge: Several different employees (different resources/persons), with the same internal role (Technical Advisor), need to assess a document and handover an assessment report before the document can become final. If these technical advisors where external to the main Pool (=PartnerEntity = division within a big organisation) an external pool called 'Technical Advisor' (=PartnerRole) could be modeled as multi-instance (participantMultiplicity = true) to obtain the desired outcome. The challenge however is that the persons/resources fulfilling the 'technical advisor' role are all internal to the main Pool (are an employee within the division), and thus need to be modeled as (a) Lane(s). Because the number of involved technical advisors can differ between process instances, it is not preferable to model more than 1 Lane for this, and it appears very much preferable to model it very similar to the 'multi-instance' possibility that can be modeled for (external) Pools.

I hope anyone can help me with this modeling challenge, this would be very much appreciated!

DEN

P.S.1 Follow-up information regarding Gerd's 'Nested Pool' suggestion, see image underneath. BPMN LaneSet Multiplicity Test 1 (Nested Pool) - Sequence Flow Across Pool Boundary Modeling Attempt Message

DEN
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1 Answers1

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I am not quite sure how to interpret the BPMN standard at this point but would assume that the modeling tool is correct in not letting you set a multiplicity on a lane. However, both Sparx EA and bpmn.io do allow you to nest elements (see also this thread on the bpmn.io forum with an example with nested lanes).

So my idea would be to model the technical advisor role as a pool (rather than a lane) inside the main pool. Then you can set the multiplicity on that internal pool like this:

enter image description here

Gerd
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  • Hi Gerd, Thanks for your answer! In the forum link you shared I can however not find the 'nested pools' item you mention in your answer. The link does mention a sort of 'nested lanes' (LaneSets), is that what you mean? And if so, I do not see any information there about (the possibility of) multiplicity (or multi-instance) of these LaneSets. Could you perhaps clarify a bit more? Thanks in advance! DEN – DEN Jul 22 '22 at 10:10
  • Yes, the forum indeed talks about lanes, so my description was not precise about this. However, you can also model nested pools with EA and put a multiplicity on those. Edited my answer and added an example, too. – Gerd Jul 22 '22 at 13:12
  • Hi Gerd, thanks for your follow-up information! I however tested your suggestion in my modeling tool (Sparx EA v15), and if I attempt model a Sequence Flow from a Lane in Pool1 to the nested Pool2 the modeling tool gives a message this is not possible (see the image added to my original question). How would you suggest to model the sequence/communication between the main pool (Pool1) and the nested pool (Pool2)? Furthermore, I doubt if this way of modeling is compliant to the BPMN standard (it appears to be nowhere mentioned within it). Somebody reading this with knowledge about that? Thanks! – DEN Jul 25 '22 at 06:21
  • As the error message says, you cannot have a single sequence flow across several pools. Instead, you can model communication and synchronization between pools using messages and events ([example here](https://sparxsystems.com/enterprise_architect_user_guide/14.0/model_simulation/message_event_(startevent__intermediateevent__endevent).html)). If this is not an option for you and you do need a sequence flow to or from the techical advisors, my approach will not work. – Gerd Jul 26 '22 at 06:33
  • Hi Gerd, thanks again for your follow-up information! Nice to know this is a possibility. For now, however, our metamodel doesn't allow us to use Pools for internal roles, and only allows Lanes for this. So no solution for me right now, but thanks for the insight! Kind regards, DEN – DEN Aug 04 '22 at 15:31