IBM BPM, V8.0.1, All platforms > Create processes in IBM Process Designer > Modeling processes > Modeling events

Modeling message events

Use a message event to represent a point in your process where an incoming message is received or where an outgoing message should be sent.

Incoming messages can originate from a message event in a process, from invoking an undercover agent in a service, from a web service created, or from a message that you post to the JMS Listener.

If you want to create web services to initiate inbound requests from external systems, see Publishing IBM BPM web services.

If you want to post a message to the JMS Listener, the Event Manager has a defined XML message structure that it must receive from an external system. See Posting a message to IBM BPM Event Manager for more information about the required message structure.

Outgoing messages can be received by a message event in a process, can be sent to call an external service, or can be received by the start event in another process or processes. To learn how to configure message events to send messages, see Use intermediate message events and message end events to send messages.

You can include the following types of message events in your BPDs:

Available types of message events
Event type Implementation When to use
Start event Message configured to receive (Start events can only receive messages) Use to model the start of a process if you want an incoming message event to kick off the process. A BPD can include more than one start message event.

Use as the start event for an event subprocess when you want the event subprocess to be triggered upon receipt of a message.

Intermediate event Message configured to receive Use to receive a message event. Intermediate events can be attached to activities within your BPDs or they can be included in the process flow, connected with sequence flows.
Intermediate event Message configured to send Use to send a message event. Intermediate events can be included in the process flow, connected with sequence flows.
End event Message configured to send (End events can only send messages) Use to send a message event at the end of a path.

When you create a message event, you can cut and paste or copy and paste that message event within the same BPD or from one BPD into another BPD.

Before including any type of message event in a BPD, you should be aware of the following:

Modeling events


Related tasks:
Modeling event subprocesses