Step numbering

Since a step name need not to be unique within a process the only unique identifier of the step is its number. Step numbers are generated automatically each time you add, delete, paste or move steps.

For a sequential process the numbering goes from left to right starting from 1 that is assigned to the Start step. If there are branches in the process we need a rule specifying how the steps in the branches will be numbered.

Two such rules are currently available in Engage Process Modeler.

Select the File tab, and press Process settings. Click the Step numbering combo box and select one of the options:

The Option 1 implements the rule First child first. This means that if there is a branching in the diagram all steps in the first branch will be numbered before the steps in the second and the next ones.

This is rather simple rule but is has some drawbacks. The natural order from left to right is kept only in the first row. In the example above, the step 8 is on right hand side of the step 11 in the second row. Moreover, the order of steps in the Fork-Join construct is strange because the step 11 is followed by the step 4 there. One can also expect that the Stop steps should have the highest numbers because they are the last ones executed in the process.

The Option 2 of step numbering implements the rule First child follower last that tries to overcome these drawbacks. The rule is as follows. If there is a branching in the process then the next number is given to the first step in the first branch, next all other branches are numbered and only then the follower of the first step of the first branch is numbered. Additionally, all Stop, Sink and Exit steps get the highest numbers.

This sophisticated rule guarantees the increasing order of steps in all rows (excluding the Stop steps) as well as the increasing order of first steps in branches. As a result the number of the Join step is always bigger than the numbers of steps in the corresponding parallel branches.The negative effect of such numbering is that the subsequent steps do not necessarily have the subsequent numbers. For example, the step number 3 is immediately followed by step number 6 in the example above.