Activiti (software)
| Company type | Open source software |
|---|---|
| Industry | Business process management software |
| Founded | March 2010 |
| Founder | Tom Baeyens, Joram Barrez |
| Products | Workflow engine, BPMN 2.0 process execution |
| Parent | Alfresco (supporter) |
Activiti is a Java-based open-source workflow engine designed to execute business processes specified using BPMN 2.0. It serves as the foundational component of Alfresco's Alfresco Process Services (APS), with Alfresco acting as its main supporter.
History
Activiti was established in March 2010 by Tom Baeyens and Joram Barrez, who were previously leading developers of jBPM at Red Hat. Although drawing on their experience with jBPM, Activiti was built from a fresh codebase while they worked at Alfresco. The first version released was 5.0, symbolizing a progression from their earlier jBPM versions 1 through 4.
In October 2016, Barrez, Tijs Rademakers (author of Activiti in Action), along with other contributors, departed from Alfresco to create a fork of Activiti's source code, resulting in the competing project known as Flowable.
By February 2017, a commercial variant of Activiti was introduced under the name Alfresco Process Services. Subsequently, version 6.0.0 was launched in May 2017, featuring enhancements such as ad hoc subprocess support and an updated user interface aimed at improving its suitability for enterprise-level BPM implementations.
Components
The Activiti ecosystem includes several integrated applications:
- Modeler: a web-based graphical tool for designing workflows
- Designer: an Eclipse plug-in tailored for workflow development
- Engine: the central processor that executes workflows
- Explorer: a web interface used to deploy process definitions, start process instances, and oversee workflow management
- Cycle: a web application that promotes collaboration between business stakeholders and developers
Alternative modeling GUI
The Yaoqiang BPMN Editor (licensed under FLOSS, GPLv3) offers an alternative graphical workflow design interface compatible with the Activiti engine, serving as a substitute for Activiti Modeler.
Additionally, the DocuBrain Workflow Editor is an independent BPMN 2.0-compliant tool that supports direct integration with Activiti and incorporates specialized features such as Camel Task and Mule Task.