Process Orchestration
Model the work.
Run the work.
Touchpoints turns BPMN process diagrams into executable workflows. Each lane becomes an actor, each task becomes a step someone completes, and the Elixir runtime orchestrates the flow — no separate workflow engine needed.
BPMN 2.0
Standard notation, portable XML
Actors
Lanes become Elixir processes
Tokens
Track execution position in real time
Connectors
Email, Slack, LLM — built in
From diagram to running process in four steps.
The same BPMN diagram your team already understands becomes the executable definition. No translation layer, no YAML, no separate runtime.
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Draw the process
Use the built-in BPMN editor to model lanes, tasks, gateways, and events. The diagram is stored as standard BPMN 2.0 XML — import from or export to any compatible tool.
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Assign personas to lanes
Each lane maps to a persona — Citizen, Case Worker, Supervisor. Personas determine who can complete tasks in that lane and how notifications route. The system validates all lanes are assigned before execution.
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Configure connectors
Service tasks can trigger email notifications, Slack messages, or LLM inference. Connector metadata lives in BPMN extension elements — the XML stays portable, and no secrets are stored in the diagram.
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Start the workflow
Click “Start process” and a token is placed on the start event. It advances automatically through events and gateways, pausing at user tasks for human action. Complete tasks, and the token moves forward until the process ends.
Every lane is an actor.
Touchpoints maps BPMN collaboration semantics onto Elixir’s actor model. Each lane becomes an independent process with its own state machine. Send tasks deliver messages between lane actors. Receive tasks wait for them. The Erlang VM provides the concurrency, fault tolerance, and message-passing infrastructure that BPMN semantics require — no bolted-on workflow engine.
This draws from Stafford Beer’s cybernetic vision: a populace linked into governance via real-time feedback loops — keeping workers, managers, and policymakers in the same system without centralizing control.
Process instance runtime
Everything a process needs
From visual modeling to runtime execution, connectors, and audit logs.
Visual BPMN editor
Draw processes with the bpmn-js modeler. Lanes, tasks, gateways, and events — drag, drop, and connect. The diagram is the definition.
Persona-based lanes
Assign a persona to each lane. The system enforces role-based task assignment — only the right actor can complete a task in their lane.
Gateway routing
Exclusive gateways evaluate conditions and pick one path. Parallel gateways fork tokens into concurrent branches and synchronize them at the join.
Service connectors
Attach email, Slack, Discord, or LLM connectors to service tasks. Connector metadata lives in BPMN extension elements — the XML stays valid and portable.
Audit trail
Every token placement, task completion, gateway decision, and connector outcome is recorded in an append-only event log. Full process replay for compliance and debugging.
Standard XML
Import diagrams from Camunda, Signavio, or any BPMN 2.0 tool. Export to share with teams who use different platforms. Custom connector metadata is stored in a Touchpoints namespace extension, invisible to other tools.
Forms trigger workflows.
Workflows trigger forms.
Link a Touchpoints form to any task node. When a citizen submits an application, the workflow starts automatically. When the process reaches a review step, the assigned persona sees the task in their queue and the linked form opens with the submission data.
This closes the loop between data collection and service delivery — feedback and intake flow directly into the processes that act on them.
Processes that should run themselves
- Permit and license applications
- Citizen submits, case worker reviews, supervisor approves. Each handoff is a message between lane actors. Status is always visible.
- Intake triage
- Incoming feedback or complaints flow through classification (an LLM connector), routing (an exclusive gateway), and assignment (persona-based task) automatically.
- Content review and publishing
- Draft → review → approve → publish. Parallel gateway lets legal and editorial review simultaneously. The join waits for both before publishing.
- Cross-agency coordination
- Model collaboration between agencies as separate pools. Message flows between pools map to API calls or Slack notifications. Each agency manages its own lanes and personas.
“We modeled our permit process in 20 minutes. A week later it was running live — same diagram, zero translation.”
— Operations lead, municipal services pilot
Connector catalog
Stop describing processes. Start running them.
Model your first workflow, assign your team, and let the system handle the handoffs.