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End event

An End Event is a BPMN flow element that terminates a process instance or a token. It indicates where and how a process flow ends.

Key characteristics​

  • Terminates the process or token: when reached, the End Event finishes the active token and may end the process instance.

  • No outgoing sequence flows: by definition, it cannot have outgoing connections because it stops the flow.

  • Multiple end events allowed: a process can contain multiple End Events to indicate different termination points or results.

  • Types of end events:

    • None: (normal termination) terminates the process or token without any special behavior. The simplest form of End Event used for regular process completion. Plain end event completes the process instance only if it is the only execution token left for that instance.

    • Error: throws an error that can be caught by an Error Boundary Event on an enclosing scope (subprocess, process). Used to signal abnormal termination within error handling flows.

    • Terminate: (stops the entire process) immediately terminates the entire process instance, regardless of active tokens or subprocesses. Terminate end event completes the process instance and cancels all subscriptions, jobs, incidents and all other execution tokens of that instance.

    • Message: sends a message to another process or external system when the End Event is reached. Enables process-to-process communication and integration scenarios.

    • Signal: broadcasts a signal that can be caught by Signal Boundary Events, Signal Intermediate Events, or Signal Start Events in other processes or the same process. Useful for cross-process signaling and event broadcasting.

    • Escalation: escalates an escalation that can be caught by an Escalation Boundary Event on an enclosing scope. Typically used to bubble up issues for higher-level handling within nested scopes.

    • Compensation: triggers compensation of activities in the current scope. Used in compensation workflows to undo or reverse previous actions.

    • Cancel: used only within a Transaction Subprocess. Cancels the transaction and triggers any defined compensation handlers.

    • Multiple: represents multiple triggers in one End Event (logical OR). Any one of the triggers can complete the event.

    • Parallel Multiple: represents multiple triggers in one End Event (logical AND). All triggers must occur to complete the event.

Graphical notation​

End event usage example

A bold single-line circle (solid thick outline).

XML Definition​

<bpmn:endEvent id="EndEvent_1" name="End" />

Current Implementation​

Currently, normal end events, terminate end events, and message end events are supported.