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Business Rule Task

A Business Rule Task is a BPMN flow element that provides a mechanism for invoking business rules. It allows processes to delegate complex decision logic to rule engines, enabling dynamic and maintainable business logic execution.

Key characteristics​

  • Rule engine integration: Business Rule Tasks invoke a business rule decision, which may be implemented using external or embedded rule engines or decision services to evaluate business rules against provided data.

  • Input and output parameters: Tasks can receive input data from the process and return decision results back to the process instance.

  • Decision automation: Enables automated decision-making based on predefined business rules, reducing manual intervention and ensuring consistency.

  • Rule versioning and management: Supports integration with rule management systems for versioning, testing, and deployment of business rules.

  • Error handling: Errors during rule evaluation can be handled using BPMN error or escalation boundary events when the evaluation fails or returns unexpected results.

Usage patterns​

  • Decision automation Use when complex business logic needs to be evaluated automatically, such as credit scoring, eligibility checks, or policy enforcement.

  • Rule-based routing Combine with gateways to route process flows based on rule evaluation results.

  • Dynamic calculations Apply business rules for pricing, risk assessment, or other computational decisions.

Graphical notation​

Business rule task usage example

A rounded rectangle with the business rule marker (grid icon) in the top-left corner.

XML Definition​

<bpmn:businessRuleTask id="BusinessRuleTask_1" name="Evaluate Credit Score">
  <bpmn:incoming>Flow1</bpmn:incoming>
  <bpmn:outgoing>Flow2</bpmn:outgoing>
</bpmn:businessRuleTask>

Current Implementation​

Supported through internal dmn engine.