Business Process Modeling Notation (BPMN)

A standard notation for drawing business processes in a workflow, now maintained by the Object Management Group (OMG). BPMN aims to provide a notation understandable by all business stakeholders bridging the communication gap between business analysts and technical developers. The four basic categories of BPMN elements are:

Flow Objects:

• Events - a trigger or result represented by a circle, can be Start, Intermediate or End
• Activities - a task or sub-process represented by a rounded-corner rectangle
• Gateways - decisions or forking/merging of paths represented by a diamond shape

Connecting Objects:

• Sequence Flow - the order which Activites will take place represented by a solid line arrow
  Message Flow - messages between to participants represented by a dashed line with an open arrowhead
• Association - used to associate flow objects represented by a dotted line

Swimlanes:

• Pool - organises different activities into categories using a big rectangle
• Lane - organises activities more precisely as a sub-part of the pool

Artifacts

• Data Objects - shows what data is required or produced in an activity represented by a page with folded corner
• Group - used to group different activities with a rounded-corner rectangle and dashed lines
• Annotation - used to give the reader more understanding

Business Modeling & Integration Domain Task Force (BMI DTF)