Sometimes it is desirable to make decisions or track quantitative information that requires the use of variables and attributes. You may recall that a variable is a placeholder for a value that may be evaluated or changed in logic you define anywhere in the model. An attributes, on the other hand, is essentially a variable that is attached to an entity (like the size tag on a shirt) and can only be changed and evaluated when that specific entity is being processed.
If you plan to use both variables and attributes in a model it is a good idea to prefix variables with the letter ‘v’ (e.g., vExitCount, vLastExitTime, etc.) and attributes with the letter ‘a’ (e.g., aBatchSize, aStartTime, etc.). That way you, or someone else who looks at your model, won’t get confused.
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