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It is not really necessary to understand every tiny detail of the process diagram shown above. It is more important to understand the different dynamic case management concepts behind it: Phase, Task/Activity, Milestone, Precondition. These concepts are discussed below.

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Phases

One of the aspects of the process design shown here, is that on the highest level, we speak of phases rather than processes. A phase resembles a period of time within the entire process when you are free to perform a lot of tasks that are applicable in that phase and contribute to the goal of the phase. The goal of the phase is called a milestone (in this diagram depicted by a diamond ). Whether a milestone is reached or not is merely a decision, based on availability of data and artifacts.

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In the design shown above, a row is reserved for the roles that participate in each phase. Although absolutely necessary in business process modeling, it is left out of scope in this article.

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An example of a process with four phases is given below.

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