Business Process Modeling Notation

Business Process Modeling Notation (BPMN) is one of the current buzzwords. Does it hold its value? Will it last a long time? I think its a giant step in the right direction.

A BPMN diagram does two things.

1. A visual representation of the process that is easily understood
2. A mapping to BPEL (Business Process Execution Language)
   

The theory here is that you should be able to generate BPEL from a BPMN diagram.

Why should BPMN be more successful than other graphical modeling notations? The answer is simple. The BPMN diagrams are simple. Almost as simple as flowcharts discussed earlier.

BPMN uses four basic categories of elements:

1. Flow objects
2. Connecting objects
3. Swimlanes
4. Artifacts

There are three main flow objects that define the behaviour of a business process

• Events
• Activities
• Gateways

These flow objects are connected to each other by three possible types of connecting objects:

• Sequence flow
• Message flow
• Association

These objects and connections can be grouped in swimlanes using:

• Pools
• Lanes

Finally, the following artifacts can give additional details about the process:

• Data object
• Group
• Annotation

There you have it. A core set of 11 elements in four categories to describe a business process visually.

My recommendation is to keep the diagrams as simple as possible. As the author of the diagrams, do yourself a favour, and make it as easy as possible for you to explain the process to someone else.

For further information and a primer on BPMN visit DiveIntoBPMN.org.

References:

• Busiess Process Modeling Notation (version 1.2)