BPMN Subprocess vs Call Activity – What’s the Difference and When to Use Which?
Introduction While designing BPMN workflows, one of the most common and important modeling questions is: ❓ Should I use a Subprocess or a Call Activity? Although both help organize process logic, they are NOT interchangeable . Choosing the wrong one can lead to: Tight coupling Poor reusability Difficult maintenance Unexpected runtime behavior This blog explains the difference clearly and visually , with: Definitions BPMN diagrams Real-world use cases Best practices What Is a BPMN Subprocess? A Subprocess is a process embedded inside a parent process . It is part of the same BPMN model It cannot run independently It shares the same process instance and variables đź”· BPMN Subprocess – Diagram 4 How to read this diagram The subprocess is inside the parent process No new process instance is created All variables are shared automatically The subprocess ends when the parent ends Visual identification Rounded rectangle Small plus (+) icon if collapsed When to Use a Subprocess ✔ Logic i...