Is Case Management Model and Notation Right for you?
Over the years, the OMG consortium has published three complementary standards, BPMN, CMMN, and DMN, for modeling and managing different aspects of business processes and decisions.
They are often referred to as the “triple crown” of process improvement standards. Each serves a unique purpose in process modeling and management, but for this discussion, we focus on CMMN (Case Management Model and Notation).
To answer the question from the title, one must consider a couple of things:
- What is CMMN, how am I supposed to use it, and do I need it?
- What platform to use for CMMN?
What platform to use for CMMN?
The latter question is more technical and we will not focus on in through this article. However, it is an important question and deserves all the attention it can get, especially with Camunda (open source BPM platform) dropping CMMN support even in version Camunda 7.x , while it’s nowhere to be found in Camunda 8.x.
We will discuss in future articles whether you should stay with Camunda 7.x, see what Flowable is offering (another Activiti fork), take an interest in WKS Platform, or take another approach.
BPMN, CMMN, and DMN explained
BPMN stands for Business Process Model and Notation, DMN for Decision Model and Notation and, CMMN for Case Management Model and Notation. If we take these definitions and run them through our extensive experience, we can state the following:
- BPMN is used for highly structured and well-defined business processes
- DMN is used for business decisions and rules
- CMMN is used for case management when handling unpredictable events
DMN (Decision Model and Notation)
DMN is an open-and-shut case, so let’s get that out. If you need to design decision models for any kind of decision-making, you will use this functionality. You can use it independently or integrate it with BPMN and CMMN. You can even think of DMN as a lightweight Drools alternative.
We’re using Camunda’s DMN implementation to describe the functionality. It allows you to specify various input values, write or configure rules, and follow low-code principles to ultimately achieve desired output values.
BPMN (Business Process Model and Notation)
BPMN is designed to model and represent business processes in a graphical notation. It provides a comprehensive and standardized way to describe processes, including the sequence of tasks, decision points, events, and interactions. BPMN is the most common standard so that we won’t dive deep into it. Let’s see what CMMN is all about and finally answer the question.
CMMN for Case Management Model and Notation
CMMN is supposed to deal with cases, which, broken down, implies that it is utilized for handling unpredictable events within case management scenarios. It thus provides a way to model and manage cases not easily defined by standard (BPMN) processes, enabling flexibility and adaptability in handling complex and dynamic situations.
Have you noted the „easily“ part of the last sentence? With the growing number of available BPMN elements most of the CMMN use cases can be achieved with BPMN as well. One may argue that it’s more complicated and somewhat ugly, but it can be done (check out this Camunda article for advice).
To CMMN or not?
Well, it depends on the actual use case. But be aware of limited number of platforms supporting CMMN and a growing support so BPMN standard.
When to Use CMMN:
➡️ Unstructured Processes:
If your business processes are highly flexible, unstructured, or unpredictable, CMMN is suitable. Unlike BPMN (Business Process Model and Notation), which is designed for well-defined, predictable processes, CMMN handles cases where the workflow can change based on the context.
➡️ Case Management:
When managing cases that require human judgment and have many potential paths or outcomes. This is common in healthcare, legal, insurance, and customer support industries.
➡️ Dynamic Decision Making:
If your processes involve a lot of dynamic decision-making and need to adapt to changing circumstances or data inputs, CMMN provides the flexibility to model these scenarios.
➡️ Compliance and Auditing:
In scenarios where tracking and documenting processes for compliance and auditing purposes is crucial, CMMN can capture the details of how cases were handled and decisions were made.
Before making a decision, assess your specific needs, the nature of your processes, and the capabilities of your team and tools.
If you are still determining, over 100 experts can assist you. Contact us to discuss your business scenario!
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