In one embodiment, an optimization hint may be included in a business process flow. An executable process may be generated from the business process flow where the optimization hint is included in the executable process. While executing the executable process, the runtime engine encounters an optimization hint and determines an optimization to perform. The optimization hint may be related to an aspect of a business process being orchestrated by the business process flow. The optimization is then performed while executing the executable process. For example, the runtime engine may start pre-processing the branch while the condition is being evaluated. If the condition evaluates such that the pre-processed branch should be executed, then the runtime engine has already started processing of that branch. The processing is thus optimized in that the runtime engine is not sitting idle while waiting for the condition to be evaluated.