1. In business process modeling notation, a gateway is like a fork in the road, allowing the flow to go one way or another. You can learn more about gateways in the Visible Analyst Glossary feature. Suppose, in your company, a key issue is whether a new product will be ready for release on June 1, or whether it will require further testing. If it is ready, Release Tasks can start. Otherwise, Testing Tasks must continue. Use Visible Analyst to create a simple business process model with a gateway that shows the two possible paths.
2. No modeling tool is perfect. For example, BPM easily shows gateways that depend on a condition, but most project management software does not have that built-in capability. Programmers can create macros or custom scripts to handle such situations, but that can be expensive and time-consuming. Some project managers have discovered that they can create an alternative task series by making certain tasks active or inactive, depending on a specific condition. In Microsoft Project Professional help, search for information about active tasks, and write a summary of your research. Then create a PERT segment that shows the business process model you created in Task 1.

As a part-time student assistant in the computer lab at your school, you were asked to evaluate various CASE tools. So far, you completed an overview and created a sample project called HOTEL, which includes a number of planning statements. As you continue your analysis, you want to see how the CASE tool handles business process modeling (BPM). You also decide to examine the relationship between BPM and project management software.