Boundary Events vs Event Subprocess in BPMN — Complete Comparison
When modeling real workflows in BPMN, you often need to react to unexpected situations: User cancels request Timeout occurs SLA exceeded Payment failure Two BPMN constructs handle this: 👉 Boundary Events 👉 Event Subprocess Many developers confuse them — but they behave very differently. This guide explains when to use each with real scenarios. đź“Ś Quick Definition Boundary Event Attached to a specific activity (task). Event Subprocess Attached to the entire process scope. đź–Ľ️ Visual Difference 4 🧠Conceptual Understanding Think like this: Boundary Event → “Watch this task” Event Subprocess → “Watch the whole process” 🔥 Behavior Comparison Feature Boundary Event Event Subprocess Scope Single activity Entire process Trigger Only when task active Anytime during process Use Case Task-level exception Global business event Flow Connection Attached to task No incoming sequence Visibility Local Global đź› Real Scenario — Loan Approval Process: Submit Request → Manager Approval → Disbur...