BPMN 2.0

A Visual Guide to Streamlining Your Business Processes

Feeling overwhelmed by the complexity of your business processes? Managing multiple tasks, tracking various steps, and ensuring smooth operations can be challenging. This is where Business Process Model and Notation (BPMN) 2.0 comes in. BPMN 2.0 is a powerful tool that helps you visualize, understand, and streamline your business process management. By mapping out your workflows, you can identify inefficiencies, optimize processes, and improve overall efficiency.

What is BPMN 2.0?

Imagine a universal language for mapping business processes. That’s essentially what BPMN 2.0 is. Developed and maintained by the Object Management Group (OMG), it’s a standardized notation system that allows you to create clear and concise flowcharts of your business processes. The beauty of BPMN 2.0 lies in its vendor-neutral nature. This means that anyone, regardless of the software they use, can understand and interpret a BPMN 2.0 diagram.

Our SaaS process insights product uses BPMN 2.0 and combines process mining, process design, and process simulation to enhance business process management. With our software, you can monitor, analyze, and optimize your workflows, leading to significant improvements in efficiency and productivity.

Why Use BPMN 2.0?

The benefits of using BPMN 2.0 in process business management are numerous. Here are just a few:

• Improved Communication and Collaboration: BPMN 2.0 provides a common language for business analysts, developers, managers, and everyone else involved in a process. This fosters better communication and collaboration, leading to more efficient process management.
• Enhanced Process Clarity: By visualizing your processes with BPMN 2.0 diagrams, you can easily identify bottlenecks, redundancies, and areas for improvement. This newfound clarity allows you to optimize your processes for maximum efficiency.
• Streamlined Documentation and Analysis: BPMN 2.0 diagrams serve as a central source of truth for your business processes. This eliminates the need for lengthy text-based documentation and simplifies process analysis.
• Increased Efficiency and Reduced Errors: Clear and well-defined processes lead to fewer errors and increased efficiency. BPMN 2.0 helps you achieve this by providing a structured approach to process design and implementation.

Understanding the Building Blocks of BPMN 2.0 Diagrams

Think of a BPMN 2.0 diagram as a blueprint for your business process. This blueprint is built using a set of basic elements:

BPMN depicts these four types of elements for mapping a business process:

• Flow Objects: Events, Gateways, and Activities
• Connecting Objects: Sequence Flow, Message Flow, and Associations
• Swimlanes: Pools and Lanes
• Artifacts: Data Objects, Groups, and Annotations

Let’s examine the individual elements and their meanings.

Events

Events are triggers that initiate, modify, or complete a process. They are represented by circles containing symbols based on the event type.

• A start event is depicted as a circle with a thin border.
• An end event is depicted as a circle with a thick border.
• An intermediate event is depicted as a circle with a double-edged border.

Start Event

A BPMN diagram can feature multiple start events. Only the events linked to the relevant start event are activated. For example, consider an order placement process that depends on the mode of receipt, such as through a website, phone, or direct in-person submission. The corresponding start event will initiate the process.

End Event

An end event signifies the conclusion of a process. The process concludes once all the steps outlined in the diagram are executed, culminating at the end event. Given that a process may yield various results, such as success or failure, it is possible to use multiple end events to indicate different outcomes. For example, if an order is successfully processed, the process ends with a successful completion. Conversely, if the card details are incorrect, leading to a transaction failure, no receipt is generated, and the order is considered unsuccessful.

In this example, the final outcomes vary significantly even though both are categorized as end events. It is important to note that when a process includes multiple end events, each end event must be distinctly named to avoid confusion.

An intermediate event, positioned between the start and end points of the process, plays a role in either capturing or dispatching (“throwing”) information. The nature of the intermediate event, whether it is to catch or throw information, can be understood by examining the connecting element within the diagram.

In the diagram, the reception of a message triggers the start of the process. The next task checks if the item is in stock and sends out a confirmation link as soon as the item is available. This act of sending the confirmation link is facilitated by an intermediate event that dispatches the link. The process progresses to order processing only after the confirmation link has been successfully received, resulting in the completion of the order (end event).

Throughout the process, various symbols within the intermediate events signify different triggers that can influence the flow of events. These triggers are messages, timers, errors, compensations, conditional flows, signals, multiple events, escalations, and parallel processes. Each represents a specific type of interaction or condition within the process.

Activities

Activities represent the specific tasks that need to be completed within the process, such as verifying an order or shipping a product. These activities can be further detailed to indicate repetitive actions like loops.

Tasks

Tasks can be categorized based on the participants involved and the objects utilized, consumed, or generated throughout the process.

Generic Task

Generic tasks serve as a starting point for your process model. They can be quickly implemented and later refined into specific subtypes as needed.

Manual Task

Manual tasks are performed by individuals and do not directly interact with the process engine. Examples include organizing documents into folders, resolving invoice discrepancies via phone calls, and engaging with customers face-to-face at the service counter.

User Task

User tasks are performed by individuals and are specifically assigned by a process engine. This engine allocates tasks directly into each user’s task queue. Upon completion, the engine requires acknowledgment, often through data entry or clicking a button. User tasks are integral to Human Workflow Management systems.

Common examples include reviewing an invoice, approving a vacation request, and handling a support ticket.

Receive Task

Receive tasks model the receipt of a message as a distinct task within the process flow. This task type serves as an alternative to the message-catching event, represented in BPMN 2.0 by the symbol of an empty envelope.

Receive Task (Instantiating)

When a receive task is designated to initiate a process, effectively substituting the message start event, this is indicated by a small event icon located in the top left corner.

Send Task

Send tasks are technical tasks executed by the process engine, primarily used for invoking web services asynchronously via message queues.

Script Task

Script tasks are executed directly within the process engine and must be written in a language that the engine can interpret.

Service Task

Service tasks refer to operations performed by software applications, automatically executed as part of the process workflow. Typically, BPMN presupposes these functions are delivered via web services, although alternative implementations are possible. These tasks play a crucial role in process-oriented integration, aligning closely with the principles of Service-Oriented Architecture (SOA).

Business Rule Task

BPMN 2.0 introduces the business rule task, specifically designed for applying business rules within a process.

Other Activity Types

Additional types of activities include collapsed sub-processes, multi-instance tasks, and ad-hoc sub-tasks.

Collapsed Sub-Process

A collapsed sub-process encapsulates a series of tasks within the larger process for clarity and simplification. This sub-process represents the collective steps as a single entity, detailed separately in an expanded format in another section of the diagram.

Ad-hoc Sub-Process

Ad-hoc sub-processes are characterized by their flexible execution order, lacking a predetermined sequence. This flexibility allows tasks within these sub-processes to be performed in any order or even skipped, depending on the specific requirements.

Loop Task

Loop tasks are designed to repeat in a cycle, similar to a “do while” loop in programming. The task or sub-activities are executed once before the exit conditions are evaluated. If the condition is not met, the activity is repeated. Once the condition is satisfied, the process moves on to the subsequent activities.

Multi-instance

A multi-instance activity indicates that the task repeats for a specific number of objects or items, with the repetition frequency determined by the preset count of items. Multi-instance activities function similarly to a for-each loop, where a task or subprocess is carried out for every item in a collection. Each item is processed in its own instance, and the activity is considered finished only after all instances have been completed. Vertical lines indicate that items in the multi-instance loop are processed concurrently, meaning all items are executed in parallel. On the other hand, horizontal lines suggest that items are processed one after another, indicating sequential execution.

Compensation

Compensation tasks are designed to handle compensation events within a workflow. These tasks are always connected to the process diagram through associations, not sequence flows.

Compensation Combined

Compensation tasks can be combined with loops and multiple instances. In these scenarios, both the compensation marker and the loop/multiple instance marker are placed side-by-side. Additionally, compensation tasks can be integrated with any previously introduced task type. This flexibility allows for various scenarios, such as a manual compensation task that repeats until successful or one that executes repeatedly in parallel whenever possible.

Gateways

Gateways are crucial decision-making nodes within a process, directing the flow based on specific conditions or events. Represented by diamond shapes in BPMN diagrams, these gateways can take various forms, including inclusive, exclusive, parallel, and complex types. They may also operate based on data or event triggers.

Exclusive Gateway

Inclusive Gateway

Parallel Gateway

Event Gateway

Exclusive Gateway

Depicted as a diamond, either with an “X” inside or without it, the exclusive gateway directs the process flow to only one of the possible output paths.

Inclusive Gateway

Characterized by a diamond containing a circle, the inclusive gateway allows the process flow to diverge into multiple branches simultaneously. It requires all initiated paths to be completed before they can merge at a subsequent gateway.

Parallel Gateway

Represented by a diamond with a plus (”+”) sign inside, the parallel gateway activates all outgoing paths at once when dividing the flow. For converging paths, it ensures all incoming branches are completed before proceeding with the onward flow.

Event Gateway

The event gateway is depicted as a diamond with a double-edged circle leading to a hexagon inside, representing an event-based decision point. This gateway directs the workflow based on the first occurring event or task, such as a message reception or similar trigger.

Connecting Objects

Sequence Flow

Message Flow

Association

These elements depict various kinds of associations among gateways, events, artifacts, or simply convey extra details. There are three main types of connectors employed:

Sequence Flow

This represents the order in which tasks should be executed, depicted as a straight line ending with an arrowhead. It may indicate either a conditional or a default pathway.

Message Flow

The message flow connector illustrates communication between different pools or across organizational boundaries, such as departments. It is not intended for linking events or activities within the same pool. This connector is represented by a dashed line, starting with a circle and ending with an open arrowhead.

Association

This element is depicted as a dotted line, lacking both an arrowhead and a circle. It serves to link an event, activity, or gateway with an artifact.

Pools and Swimlanes

Pools represent major participant groups within a process, such as different companies or departments involved in the workflow. Swimlanes, organized within these pools, delineate specific activities and progressions tailored to distinct roles or participants, clarifying responsibilities for various actions in the process. A swimlane might represent a system rather than being limited to a department or role.

Collapsed Pool

In BPMN 2.0, a collapsed pool is a representation of an external participant or entity in a process, but its internal processes and activities are hidden or not shown in the diagram. A pool generally represents a participant (such as an organization, department, or system) involved in the process.

• Collapsed Pool: The internal flow of tasks and activities inside this pool is not displayed, only the pool’s boundary is visible. This is used when you don’t need to show the internal details of a participant, but want to acknowledge their involvement in the process.

• Use Case: A collapsed pool is typically used when you want to show interaction between multiple participants but don’t need to include or disclose the internal processes of some participants in your diagram.

In summary, a collapsed pool in BPMN 2.0 is useful when you’re focusing on the interactions between participants rather than the detailed tasks happening within each participant.

Artifacts

Artifacts in a BPMN diagram provide supplementary information crucial for participants to understand the process. There are three categories of artifacts: data objects, groups, and annotations.

Data Objects

These elements specify the data required for an activity. This category includes a data store, which acts as a repository where information can be gathered or deposited following certain activities, ensuring data preservation beyond the process’s conclusion. Furthermore, data collection is divided into Data Input and Data Output, with the former detailing the data needs and the latter documenting the data generated.

Group

This represents a logical categorization of activities without altering the flow of the diagram. It serves to enhance the clarity and comprehension of the diagram.

Text Annotation

Text annotations provide additional explanations or insights about specific parts of the diagram, helping to enhance understanding of its components.

Constructing a BPMN Diagram

The foundational principle of BPMN revolves around the concept of a process. To effectively draft a BPMN diagram, it is best to initially grasp the process in basic steps and then progressively incorporate additional details to flesh out the process.

Below is a recommended step-by-step guide for beginners to construct a BPMN, though there are various methodologies one might follow.

1. Identify Essential Steps: Begin by pinpointing the core steps, along with the start and end points. For instance, in a given diagram, when an order is placed, crucial actions such as receiving the order, verifying credit, fulfilling the order, and issuing an invoice should be identified.

2. Explore Alternative Paths: Next, investigate any potential alternative routes that may arise, leading to different outcomes like order completion. This involves integrating various gateways to facilitate alternative processes and directions.

3. Implement Pools and Swimlanes: This phase involves recognizing the key stakeholders, departments, and roles within each entity, and organizing the activities into respective pools and swimlanes to delineate responsibilities clearly.

4. Facilitate Message Communication: Introduce any necessary message exchanges between different pools or within the same pool to ensure smooth information flow.

5. Add Artifacts and Details: Incorporate relevant artifacts or details for each step, such as documents involved, descriptions, and actors. If certain steps encompass multiple smaller steps, these should be detailed as a subprocess.

6. Address Errors: Finally, identify and incorporate mechanisms for managing any potential errors that may occur as part of the process.

Summary

• Events: These represent the starting and ending points of a process, or significant occurrences within it (e.g., an order being placed or a payment being received).
• Activities: These are the specific tasks that need to be completed within the process (e.g., verifying an order or shipping a product).
• Gateways: These act as decision points, allowing the process to flow in different directions based on certain criteria (e.g., is the order amount above a certain threshold?).
• Sequence Flows: These arrows depict the sequence in which activities are performed within the process.
• Data Objects: These represent the information that is used or created throughout the process (e.g., customer information or order details).

By understanding these core elements and how they interact with each other, you can create BPMN 2.0 diagrams that effectively capture the essence of your business processes.

BPMN 2.0 is a powerful tool that can revolutionize the way you manage your business processes. By providing a standardized and visual approach to process modeling, BPMN 2.0 fosters better communication, improves process clarity, and ultimately leads to a more efficient and streamlined operation.

We encourage you to explore BPMN 2.0 further and see how it can benefit your organization. There are many resources available online, including the official BPMN website (https://www.bpmn.org/), to help you get started.

ProcessMind combines process mining, process design, and process simulation to enhance business process management. With our software, you can monitor, analyze, and optimize your workflows, leading to significant improvements in efficiency and productivity.

BPMN 2.0 Business Process Model and Notation

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