Core business process modeling notation
There are many process notations that have been used over the years to represent more complex process flows. The one that has the most support today is Business Process Model and Notation (BPMN, Version 2.0), which was developed by representatives of the leading business process modeling vendors under the auspices of the Business Process Management Initiative, the business process interest group of the Object Management Group (OMG), an international standards organization. BPMN comes in two versions: a core notation set that can be used by business people, and an extended notation set that provides the details to represent processes for automation. In BPTrends classes we only use the core BPMN symbol set. This core set is identical to OMG’s unified modeling language activity diagram notation and nearly identical to the Rummler-Brache notation, and is thus as close to a universal notation as exists today.
Overview of a BPMN Diagram Used for Business Process Analysis and Redesign
The core BPMN symbols are as follows:
An Activity
A generic term for work that a company performs. Activities take time. Activities can be composed of activities. Complex activities include value chains, processes, and subprocesses. Specific activities include tasks.
An Event
An event is something that happens during the course of a business process. An event is a point in time. Events include triggers that start processes, messages that arrive that disrupt processes and the final production of products, services or data that result in the end or termination of a process or subprocess. In extended notation, symbols can be placed within the circle to specify things about the nature of the event.
A Gateway
A gateway is used to show the divergence or convergence of a sequence flow. This might indicate forking or merging activities, or it might indicate a decision that determines which of two or more subsequent flows is to be followed. In extended notation, symbols are placed within the diamond to specify things about the gateway. They might indicate, for example, that all preceding activities need to be done before the next activity occurs.
A Sequence Flow
An arrow is used to show the order that activities will be performed in a process. A sequence arrow does not imply that physical output, information, or people move from one activity to the next, although they may. It simply suggests that a subsequent activity is performed next in the normal course of accomplishing the process. Labels can be associated with the flow arrows to indicate when decision paths are being followed or when things or information is flowing along the arrow.
If useful, you can write the name of what is flowing via a particular arrow above or below the arrow.
If there is more than one flow from a given activity you can use a slash to indicate which flow is the main or default flow path.
A Message Flow
A dotted arrow is used to show flows between activities in separate pools. (This is misnamed, since the flow can be a message or a thing like a product or a service.)
A Data Object
Data objects are artifacts that do not have a direct effect on the sequence flow or the message flow of processes. They provide information that activities require to produce what they produce.
An Association
An association is used to associate text or other annotations to activities or arrows on a diagram.
A Pool With Swimlanes
A pool provides a context for a set of activities. Departments, roles, or participants are described in the boxes on the left. Activities and flows are indicated in the rectangles on the left. The top swimlane is normally reserved for the customer of the process.
Two pools are used to indicate the organizations or individuals within separate organizations that are coordinating their work on a common process.
In extended BPMN some of the elements in the core notation are “extended” to provide more information. Some graphical examples follow.
A Few Extensions of the Activity Rectangle
A Few Extensions of the Event Circle
A Few Extensions of the Gateway Diamond
Some Other Notations That We Occasionally Use
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