Patent ID: 8036860

Claim:
A computer implemented method for modeling homogeneous parallelism in a process, the method comprising: a processor identifying a fan-out point in the process, wherein the fan-out point occurs where the process splits a single incoming task thread into a variable number of homogenous parallel outgoing task threads, and wherein the homogeneous parallel outgoing task threads are created in accordance with a fan-out parameter that is part of the single incoming task thread and is used to determine the variable number of homogeneous parallel outgoing task threads, and wherein said single incoming task thread is configured to be fanned out by a first entity; the processor representing the fan-out point with a fan-out symbol in a process model; the processor identifying a fan-in point in the process, wherein the fan-in point occurs where a variable number of incoming task threads with homogeneous output are recombined into a single outgoing task thread, and wherein the fan-in point defines grouping criteria for incoming task threads and completion criteria for each group of task threads, wherein the completion criteria and external completion triggers determine when a group of task threads being fanned-in is complete, wherein said variable number of incoming task threads are configured to be recombined by a second entity, and wherein said single incoming task thread is a combination of human and automated tasks that execute a business process; the processor representing the fan-in point with a fan-in symbol in the process model; and the processor utilizing a unique disparate task thread identifier to identify which entity from the first entity and the second entity executes a disparate task thread that is identified by the unique disparate task thread identifier, wherein disparate task threads are executed by disparate process components by different entities, and wherein each of the different entities are one of a group consisting of an individual, an enterprise, an enterprise division, and a computer.