BPMN
BPMN
BPMN
Contents
1 Overview
2 BPMN Topics
2.1 Scope
2.2 Elements
2.3 Flow objects and connecting objects
2.4 Swimlanes and artifacts
2.5 Types of Business Process Diagram
2.6 BPMN 2.0
3 Uses of BPMN
4 Weaknesses of BPMN
5 See also
6 References
7 Further reading
8 External links
Overview
The Business Process Modeling Notation (BPMN) is a standard for business process modeling, and
provides a graphical notation for specifying business processes in a Business Process Diagram (BPD)[3],
based on a flowcharting technnique very similar to activity diagrams from Unified Modelling Language
(UML)[4]. The objective of BPMN is to support business process management for both technical users
and business users by providing a notation that is intuitive to business users yet able to represent
complex process semantics. The BPMN specification also provides a mapping between the graphics of
the notation to the underlying constructs of execution languages, particularly Business Process Execution
Language[5].
The primary goal of BPMN is to provide a standard notation that is readily understandable by all
business stakeholders. These business stakeholders include the business analysts who create and refine
the processes, the technical developers responsible for implementing the processes, and the business
managers who monitor and manage the processes. Consequently, BPMN is intended to serve as common
language to bridge the communication gap that frequently occurs between business process design and
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implementation.
Currently there are several competing standards for business process modeling languages used by
modeling tools and processes.[6] Widespread adoption of the BPMN will help unify the expression of
basic business process concepts (e.g., public and private processes, choreographies), as well as advanced
process concepts (e.g., exception handling, transaction compensation).
BPMN Topics
Scope
BPMN will be constrained to support only the concepts of modeling that are applicable to business
processes. This means that other types of modeling done by organizations for non-business purposes will
be out of scope for BPMN. For example, the modeling of the following will not be a part of BPMN:
Organizational structures
Functional breakdowns
Data models
In addition, while BPMN will show the flow of data (messages), and the association of data artifacts to
activities, it is not a data flow diagram.
Elements
The modeling in BPMN is made by simple diagrams with a small set of graphical elements. It should
make it easy for business users as well as developers to understand the flow and the process. The four
basic categories of elements are as follows:
Flow Objects
Events, Activities, Gateways
Connecting Objects
Sequence Flow, Message Flow, Association
Swimlanes
Pool, Lane
Artifacts (Artefacts)
Data Object, Group, Annotation
These four categories of elements give us the opportunity to make a simple business process diagram
(BPD). It is also allowed in BPD to make your own type of a Flow Object or an Artifact to make the
diagram more understandable.
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Flow objects are the main describing elements within BPMN, and consist of three core elements (Events,
Activities, and Gateways):
Event
An Event is represented with a circle and denotes something that happens (rather than Activities
which are something that is done). Icons within the circle denote the type of event (e.g. envelope
for message, clock for time). Events are also classified as Catching (as in, they might catch an
incoming message to Start the process) or Throwing (as in, they might throw a message at the End
of the process).
Start event
Acts as a trigger for the process; indicated by a single narrow border; and can only be Catch,
so is shown with an open (outline) icon.
End event
Represents the result of a process; indicated by a single thick or bold border; and can only
Throw, so is shown with a solid icon.
Intermediate event
Represents something that happens between the start and end events; is indicated by a
tramline border; and can Throw or Catch (using solid or open icons as appropriate) - for
example, a task could flow to an event that throws a message across to another pool and a
subsequent event waits to catch the response before continuing.
Activity
An Activity is represented with a rounded-corner rectangle and describes the kind of work which
must be done.
Task
A task represents a single unit of work that is not or cannot be broken down to a further level
of business process detail without diagramming the steps in a procedure (not the purpose of
BPMN)
Sub-process
Used to hide or reveal additional levels of business process detail - when collapsed a sub-
process is indicated by a plus sign against the bottom line of the rectangle; when expanded
the rounded rectangle expands to show all flow objects, connecting objects, and artefacts.
Has its own self-contained start and end events, and sequence flows from the parent process
must not cross the boundary.
Transaction
A form of sub-process in which all contained activities must be treated as a whole, i.e., they
must all be completed to meet an objective, and if any one of them fails they must all be
compensated (undone). Transactions are differentiated from expanded sub-processes by
being surrounded by a tramline border.
Gateway
A Gateway is represented with a diamond shape and will determine forking and merging of paths
depending on the conditions expressed.
Flow objects are connected to each other using Connecting objects, which consist of three types
(Sequences, Messages, and Associations):
Sequence Flow
A Sequence Flow is represented with a solid line and arrowhead and shows in which order the
activities will be performed. The sequence flow may be also have a symbol at its start, a small
diamond indicates one of a number of conditional flows from an activity while a diagonal slash
indicates the default flow from a decision or activity with conditional flows.
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Message Flow
A Message Flow is represented with a dashed line, an open circle at the start, and an open
arrowhead at the end. It tells us what messages flow across organisational boundaries (i.e.,
between pools). A message flow can never be used to connect activities or events within the same
pool.
Association
An Association is represented with a dotted line. It is used to associate an Artifact or text to a Flow
Object, and can indicate some directionality using an open arrowhead (toward the artifact to
represent a result, from the artifact to represent an input, and both to indicate it is read and
updated). No directionality would be used when the Artifact or text is associated with a sequence
or message flow (as that flow already shows the direction).
Swim lanes are a visual mechanism of organising and categorising activities, based on cross functional
flowcharting, and in BPMN consist of two types:
Pool
Represents major participants in a process, typically separating different organisations. A pool
contains one or more lanes (like a real swimming pool). A pool can be open (i.e., showing internal
detail) when it is depicted as a large rectangle showing one or more lanes, or collapsed (i.e., hiding
internal detail) when it is depicted as an empty rectangle stretching the width or height of the
diagram.
Lane
Used to organise and categorise activities within a pool according to function or role, and depicted
as a rectangle stretching the width or height of the pool. A lane contains the Flow Objects,
Connecting Objects and Artifacts.
Artifacts allow developers to bring some more information into the model/diagram. In this way the
model/diagram becomes more readable. There are three pre-defined Artifacts and they are:
Data Objects
Data Objects show the reader which data is required or produced in an activity.
Group
A Group is represented with a rounded-corner rectangle and dashed lines. The Group is used to
group different activities but does not affect the flow in the diagram.
Annotation
An Annotation is used to give the reader of the model/diagram an understandable impression.
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A Process with Normal Discussion Cycle E-Mail Voting Process Collect Votes
Flow
Within and between these three BPMN sub-models, many types of Diagrams can be created. The
following are the types of business processes that can be modeled with BPMN (those with asterisks may
not map to an executable language):
BPMN is designed to allow all the above types of Diagrams. However, it should be cautioned that if too
many types of sub-models are combined, such as three or more private processes with message flow
between each of them, then the Diagram may become too hard for someone to understand. Thus, we
recommend that the modeler pick a focused purpose for the BPD, such as a private process, or a
collaboration process.
BPMN 2.0
The Business Process Model and Notation is the name of the working proposal for BPMN 2.0[7] The
vision of BPMN 2.0 is to have one single specification for a new Business Process Model and Notation
that defines the notation, metamodel and interchange format but with a modified name that still preserves
the "BPMN" brand. The proposed features include
Aligning BPMN with the business process definition meta model BPDM to form a single
consistent language
Enabling the exchange of business process models and their diagram layouts among process
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The recommendation for the new BPMN is scheduled to be ready within 2008. There are two different
groups working on competing drafts of the specification[8]. The first group, including e.g. EDS and
MEGA, aims at incorporating BPDM directly into the BPMN specification. The second group, including
e.g. SAP, IBM and Oracle, does not want to include BPDM directly, but instead provide a mapping
between both standards. Since July 2008, both groups discuss how to merge both drafts to come up with
a single specification.
Uses of BPMN
Business process modeling is used to communicate a wide variety of information to a wide variety of
audiences. BPMN is designed to cover this wide range of usage and allows modeling of end-to-end
business processes to allow the viewer of the Diagram to be able to easily differentiate between sections
of a BPMN Diagram. There are three basic types of sub-models within an end-to-end BPMN model:
Private (internal) business processes, Abstract (public) processes, and Collaboration (global) processes:
Weaknesses of BPMN
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See also
Business Process Modeling
Business Process Management
BPEL
Event-driven Process Chains
Function model
Functional Software Architecture
System Architect
XPDL
YAWL
Workflow
Workflow patterns
References
1. ^ "BPMN Information". http://www.bpmn.org/Documents/FAQ.htm. Retrieved on 2008-11-02.
2. ^ "BPMN FAQ". http://www.BPMNforum.com/FAQ.htm. Retrieved on 2008-11-02.
3. ^ An XML Representation for Crew Procedures, Richard C. Simpson (2004), Final Report NASA Faculty
Fellowship Program (Johnson Space Center)
4. ^ Process Modeling Notations and Workflow Patterns, paper by Stephen A. White of IBM Corporation
(2006)
5. ^ Business Process Modeling Notation, specification of BPMN v1.0 by Stephen A. White (3 May 2004), for
Business Process Management Initiative (BPMI)
6. ^ "Business Process Modeling FAQ". http://www.BPModeling.com/faq/. Retrieved on 2008-11-02.
7. ^ OMG. "Business Process Model and Notation". http://www.omg.org/cgi-bin/doc?bmi/2007-6-5. Retrieved
on 2008-05-09.
8. ^ Sebastian Stein. "Where is BPMN heading to?". http://www.arisblog.com/2008/04/24/where-is-bpmn-
heading-to/. Retrieved on 2008-08-19.
Further reading
White, Stephen A, and Miers, Derek (2008 August 28). BPMN Modeling and Reference Guide.
Future Strategies Inc.. ISBN 978-0-9777-5272-0.
Debevoise, Neilson T, et. al (2008 July 4). The MicroGuide to Process Modeling in BPMN.
BookSurge Publishing. ISBN 978-1-4196-9310-6.
Briol P. (2008 April 12). BPMN, the Business Process Modeling Notation Pocket Handbook.
LuLu. ISBN 978-1-4092-0299-8.
Grosskopf, Decker and Weske. (2009 Feb 28). The Process: Business Process Modeling using
BPMN. Meghan Kiffer Press. ISBN 978-0929652269.
External links
BPMN Information Home Page OMG information page for BPMN.
BPMN 1.1 Poster - Poster showing all BPMN constructs
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