Inclusive Decision
Choose one or more paths based on conditions.
Instead of many similar conditions through Exclusive Decisions, to check which outcome should be executed, a single Inclusive Decision shape can be used to create multiple alternative branches to your Process.
What is Inclusive Decision?
Inclusive Decision shape can be used to create complex set of rules and multiple branches in a Process, where each branch will have its own condition, which if evaluated to true, will be executed. Unlike Exclusive Decision, Inclusive Decision allows executing more than one path, as long as the conditions evaluate to true.
A branch in Inclusive Decision can be marked as default branch, which will be taken if none of the conditions is fulfilled. The default branch is not mandatory in this case, and an implicit default branch of no action will be used, if none of the branches are executed.
Usage
Inclusive Decision can be used when multiple conditional executions are needed in a Process. To use it, add the shape to Process Canvas and connect it to an earlier shape in your Process by a Sequence flow. You can then connect the Inclusive Decision shape to one or more branches in your Process, continuing from the Inclusive Decision shape. These branches must join together at the same point in the Process, and cannot end in a Return shape.
Once added to your Process, a condition should be entered to each branch continuing from the Inclusive Decision as a C# code expression that result in boolean values (true or false). The conditions on each of the branch are used to decide if the branch will be executed or not.
One of the connected branches can be assigned as default branch, denoted by a small slash in the Sequence flow arrow. The default branch will be executed if none of the other branches were executed. By selecting a non-default branch of the Inclusive Decision, it can be changed to be the default branch instead, changing which branch is executed if the other conditions were not executed. The non-default branches will be executed if their condition evaluates to true.
Unlike Exclusive Decision, more than one branch can and will be executed as long as their individual condition evaluates to true.
Default branch is not necessary to be assigned for an Inclusive Decision. In case default branch is not assigned and none of the other conditions evaluates to true, an implicit branch of no action taken will be followed until the branches join.
Branches of Inclusive Decision can be any of the following designs:
Execution path in the Process, containing various shapes, including other Inclusive Decisions, joining back to the standard single execution path of the Process
Empty path in the Process, which joins back to the standard execution flow in the Process at a later stage
Execution path in the Process, that can contain various other shapes, before ending to a Throw shape
Configuration
To set up a Inclusive Decision shape, add it to your Process canvas and connect it to your Process flow using a Sequence flow. After this, you can configure the shape to required type and values.
You also have to connect the shape to one or more further branches in the Process.
The following configuration parameters exist for Inclusive Decision shape.
Display name
Shapes can be given a display name in Frends Processes to distinquish them from each other. Shape's display name has no technical purpose and is only for documentational and visual purposes only. For shapes returning a #result reference value, the display name can be used to specify which result is meant.
Display name is given to the shape by double-clicking it on the canvas or through its configuration parameters.
Each branch of the Inclusive Decision must be given a unique name to distinquish them from each other. The name can be given by double-clicking the branch on the canvas, or from the branch's parameters.
Expression
C# expression field in Inclusive Decision shape's branches, which must evaluate into a boolean (true or false) value. This expression will be used to decide, if the branch will be executed after the shape.
Default branch
Branches continuing from the Inclusive Decision shape contains an option to select which of the branches is the default branch. Default branch will be executed, if none of the conditions evaluate to true value.
If no branch is selected as default branch, an implicit no action branch will be followed until the branches join.
Reference values
This shape does not provide any reference values, and its result cannot be referenced later in the Process.
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