Beyond BPMN: How LFS Workflow's 5 Vertex Types and Flexible Engine Solve Problems 'Off-the-shelf' Solutions Can't Handle.

Any IT director knows: a real-world business process rarely fits neatly into a tidy BPMN diagram. There are always exceptions, unforeseen conditions, and complex logic that force developers to find workarounds or hear from a vendor, 'this is impossible to implement in our system.'

The problem with many 'off-the-shelf' BPM solutions is that they are merely visualizers, not true process engines. LFS Workflow is built on a different philosophy: to provide developers with powerful, low-level tools to build logic of any complexity.

Building Blocks for the Real World: 5 Vertex Types

Standard 'AND' (parallel execution) and 'OR' (exclusive choice) vertices are just the beginning. The true flexibility of LFS Workflow is revealed in its unique vertex types:

• 'Directive Choice': Allows a user to manually select the next step from several possible options during the process. Indispensable for situations requiring expert judgment.
• 'Breakthrough': Provides the ability to instantly interrupt all parallel branches of a process and move to the final stage. Ideal for urgent escalations or rejecting an application at any stage.
• 'Smart' Vertex: This is your 'Swiss Army knife.' You can embed any PHP code into this vertex, which will be executed when this step is reached. This allows for integration with complex legacy systems, performing complex calculations, and implementing non-standard business rules.

More Than Just a Flow: The Flexible Execution Engine

In addition to flexible design, the LFS Workflow core provides unique control capabilities:

• Universal Performers: A task can be assigned not only to a person but also to a bot—an external system, microservice, or RPA script that will call the API, take the task, execute it, and return the result.
• Dynamic Roles: The performer of the next step can be determined not statically ('Accountant' role), but dynamically based on data from the process (e.g., 'the direct manager of the employee specified in the `employee_id` field').
• Constructors and Destructors: You can attach PHP scripts to the moment of process creation (constructor) or completion (destructor) to perform preparatory or final actions.

Conclusion

LFS Workflow is not just a tool for drawing diagrams. It is a powerful framework for developers that provides the fundamental building blocks to solve real, complex business challenges. Where 'off-the-shelf' solutions say 'no,' LFS Workflow gives you the tools to say 'yes.'