What does BPMN mean?
BPMN is the abbreviation for Business Process Model and Notation, also referred to as Business Process Model and Notation. BPMN is a specification language utilized in the fields of business informatics and Business Process Management for modeling and documenting business processes and workflows.
BPMN serves as a unified, standardized representation and offers numerous possibilities to depict the sequence of business activities and the necessary information flows in a detailed and comprehensible manner. Individuals tasked with implementing a business process receive the required information for successful execution through BPMN. BPMN plays a central role in business process management, as it enables processes to be better understood, monitored, and continuously optimized.
Classification of BPMN Graphical Elements
The graphical elements of BPMN can be categorized into the following notation objects:
Flow Objects:
These are nodes in business process diagrams that can be subdivided into Activities, Gateways, and Events:
- Activities are tasks that must be performed by individuals or systems within the process. They can be divided into Tasks (elementary activities) and Subprocesses (complex activities). Activities are represented as rectangles with rounded corners.
- Gateways are decision points or points where decision flows converge. They can adjust the process path based on conditions or events. A Gateway is represented as a diamond. Whether the Gateway represents, for example, an AND, OR, or XOR conjunction is indicated by symbols within the diamond.
- Events are occurrences that can happen within the business process – for instance, the receipt of an invoice. Events are represented as circles and can be categorized into Start, Intermediate, and End Events, among others.
Pools and Swimlanes:
Process participants are represented by the Pool.
The Pool is subdivided by a Lane. This Lane represents who is responsible for which parts of the process.
Connecting Objects:
They connect edges in business process diagrams. These include Sequence Flows and Message Flows:
- Sequence Flows indicate the order in which Activities are executed. They are represented as a solid line with an arrowhead.
- Message Flows indicate where information is exchanged between Lanes and Pools. They are represented as dashed lines with an arrowhead.
Artifacts:
These are additional pieces of information:
- Annotations are comments provided for a more precise explanation of the elements.
- Data Objects are entities (documents, datasets, or even physical objects) that are processed by or required for the business process.
- Groups serve to aggregate specific activities without affecting the diagram flow.
If a process comprises not only structured but also unstructured, variable process parts, it is advisable to combine BPMN and CMMN.