Gateways are the decision-makers of BPMN — controlling how your process flows, splits, and joins. In Flowable, mastering gateways ensures your process behaves exactly as expected… no surprises, no chaos.
Here’s a set of practical tips from real-world usage to help you get the most out of gateways in Flowable.
🔀 Types of BPMN Gateways You Should Know
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Exclusive Gateway (XOR) 🔓
Only one path is taken based on conditions.
✅ Use it for if-else decisions. -
Inclusive Gateway (OR) 🔄
One or more paths may be taken.
✅ Use when multiple conditions can be true. -
Parallel Gateway (AND) ⚡
All outgoing paths are executed in parallel.
✅ Use for synchronous tasks. -
Event-Based Gateway 📬
Waits for external triggers or events before continuing.
✅ Use for message/timer-based decisions.
🔥 Gateway Usage Tips from Experience
1. Never Leave Conditions Blank
For Exclusive or Inclusive gateways, always define conditions. If multiple branches have no condition, Flowable may throw an error — or worse, choose the wrong path.
✔️ Use expressions like:
${amount > 1000}
2. Use Default Flows
Always define a default path to handle unexpected or unmatched conditions.
<sequenceFlow id="flow3" sourceRef="gateway1" targetRef="taskDefault" flowable:default="true" />
🔒 This prevents process errors and ensures fallback logic.
3. Don’t Use Gateways as Logic Engines
Gateways should route the flow, not contain complex business logic.
Move rule evaluation to a DMN decision table or Service Task, then route based on the result.
4. Watch Out for Inclusive Gateway Joins
When using inclusive gateways to merge paths, make sure each outgoing path will eventually reach the join — otherwise, your process could get stuck waiting forever.
5. Parallel Gateway ≠ Fast
Parallel means simultaneous, not necessarily faster. It increases resource usage and needs all branches to finish before continuing.
🧠Use only when tasks are truly independent.
6. Event-Based Gateways Are Powerful but Tricky
They are ideal for scenarios like:
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Waiting for user response or timeout
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Receiving external events
⚠️ Make sure only one event will happen, or model carefully using intermediate catch events.
🛠Real Examples We Use
✅ Exclusive Gateway to choose between “manual” or “automated” handling
✅ Inclusive Gateway for multi-channel notifications (email, SMS, push)
✅ Parallel Gateway to run data extraction + validation in sync
✅ Event Gateway to choose between “payment success” and “timeout”
🎯 Pro Tip:
Gateways are flow controllers, not logic containers.
Keep them clean, condition-driven, and supported by clear variable evaluation upstream.
Do you use gateways creatively in Flowable? Share your tips or issues in the comments!
#Flowable #BPMN #WorkflowDesign #AutomationTips #Gateways #DecisionLogic #BusinessProcess #AKITI #LowCode
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