Diagram for Business Object States

State diagrams in Innovator for Business Analysts describe the behavior of a business object. States and transitions between these states are used for this and shown for business object states in the diagram.

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Definition

The diagram for business object states describes the behavior of a business object based on UML state diagrams. States and transitions between these states are used for this and shown as state sequences. A state sequence visualizes the life cycle of a business object and has technical characteristics. A diagram can contain the state sequences of multiple business objects.

The icon is of a diagram with a final state in it.

Owner Hierarchy/Prerequisites

A diagram for business object states can show the state sequences of any number of business objects.
The business object already needs to exist in the diagram to be able to create states for it.
The state diagram always shows modeled states of a business object in full.

Use

The diagram for business object states can be added to a whiteboard diagram as a node.

Dependencies between states and elements from other diagrams are shown in the whiteboard diagram.

Assumption

The business object is in precisely one state at one certain point in time.
The transition from a state to the next one occurs with no time delay.

Constraints Compared to UML

The behavior of a business object and not a classifier is described.
Initial, final and simple states are supported.
Composite states or pseudo states are not supported.
Hierarchies are not supported.
Transitions can only have one condition.
Triggers and behaviors are not supported for states and transitions.

Diagram Elements

The following model elements can be shown as nodes and edges in diagrams for business object states:

Tables: Node and Edge Types
Icon	Element	Brief Description
	Business Object	Business objects are abstract or concrete objects which are relevant to a business process, i.e. are created or simply required by the editors of the process. A business object can be reused outside of the process boundaries. Examples of uses include data objects and data stores. If the business object shows an information object, it is possible to assign a data structure to it. The business object can also be shown in a whiteboard diagram as a relationship between the existence in the process and the structures.
	Initial State	An init state shows the starting point for the order of states. The business object already needs to exist in the diagram.
	Final State	A final state shows the end point of the order of states. The state sequence stops once this point is reached. The final state takes in the business object and does not leave it.
	State	A state is used to model a situation; it executes a relatively long-lasting task. The object is in the name giving state once the task has been processed. The following rules apply for states: A state is entered if a transition which has the state as the final point is run through. A state is left if a transition which leads away from the state is run through. A state is active as soon as it is entered. The state becomes inactive once it is left. The name of the state is unique within a state sequence.
	Transition	A transition is a directed relationship between one source and one target state. Transitions can be used for moving from one state to another. The source state is inactive for this and the target state is active. You can enter a condition for a transition if required. The transition will then only be run through if the condition is met at the time of the evaluation. Unlike transitions in UML, triggers and behaviors in Innovator for Business Analysts are not supported.

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