Decision

Intro

A decision is a point in a business process where flow branches to one or more alternative paths. It matters because clear decision logic ensures predictable routing and outcomes.

Key points:

• Represents conditional choices based on data or rules.
• Improves transparency by separating decision criteria from tasks.
• Common use cases: approvals (BPM), routing by risk score (Data/Apps), feature toggles (Tech).
• Pitfall: ambiguous or overlapping conditions that cause inconsistent paths.

Examples:

• Loan application routed by credit score thresholds.
• Service request escalated if SLA breach is imminent.
• Fraud check triggers manual review when rules match.

In practice:

Define mutually exclusive, complete conditions and document the logic alongside the process model.

Related terms: gateway; business-rules-engine; sequence-flow

FAQs:

Q: Is a decision the same as a gateway?
A: In BPMN, decisions are modeled with gateways that control branching.

Q: Where should decision logic live?
A: In documented rules, ideally centralized for reuse and governance.

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