Purchase order approval (BPMN)

Updated
View as text
Open in Confluence
Open in ChatGPT Open in Claude

Approval processes are mostly about what happens when the answer is no, or when nobody answers at all. Both are drawn here.

Purchase Order Approval

#What this example shows

  • An exclusive gateway on the approval threshold.

  • A rejection loop back to the requester.

  • A timer escalation when a reviewer does not respond.

#How to build it

Step

What you do

1

Start event: Purchase requested.

2

User task: Line manager review.

3

Exclusive gateway on the decision, with the default path set.

4

Second exclusive gateway on the value threshold, routing to finance above it.

5

Timer boundary event on each review task, escalating after three days.

6

End events: Approved and Rejected, drawn separately.

#Making it your own

  • Set a default path on every exclusive gateway, or the process can stall.

  • Use a business rule task and a DMN table if the threshold logic grows.

  • Draw the escalation. It is what people actually complain about.

Build the happy path first. Always.