BPMN

BPMN is the Business Process Modeling standard

What is BPMN?

Business Process Modeling Notation (BPMN) is a graphical representation used to specify business processes in a workflow.

The Business Process Modeling Notation (BPMN) is a standard for business process modeling that provides a graphical notation for specifying business processes in a Business Process Diagram (BPM), based on a flowcharting technique very similar to that used in UML activity diagrams. The objective of BPMN is to support business process management for both technical and business users, while still being able to represent complex process semantics. The BPMN specification also provides a mapping between the graphics of the notation and the underlying constructs of the execution languages, particularly BPEL (Business Process Execution Language).

Modelio's Support for BPMN

Modelio provides wide support of modeling, covering the entire scope from enterprise vision through software implementation, including Enterprise Architecture and business process modeling. Modelio integrates all the necessary modeling techniques within one consistent modeling tool.

In particular, Modelio is one of the very rare tools to integrate UML2 and BPMN2 support in a single metamodel, allowing smooth and consistent modeling across the entire modeling scope.

Modelio also provides process map modeling, with dedicated diagrams showing an overview of existing business processes, which are then modeled in detail using BPMN.

History of BPMN

BPMN was originally developed by Business Process Management Initiative (BPMI), which has since merged with the Object Management Group (OMG). The most recent version of BPMN is BPMN2.0, now supported by many tools. However, BPMN1.2 was very popular and most tools are still at BPMN1.2 level.

Objectives of BPMN

The primary goal of BPMN is to provide a standard notation that is readily understandable by all business stakeholders. These stakeholders include business analysts who create and refine processes, technical developers responsible for implementing processes, and business managers who monitor and manage processes. Consequently, BPMN is intended to serve as a common language to bridge the communication gap that frequently occurs between business process design and implementation.

BPMN supports only those modeling concepts that are applicable to business processes. This means that other types of modeling carried out by organizations for non-business purposes will be outside the scope of BPMN. For example, the modeling of organizational structures, functional breakdowns and datamodels will not be a part of BPMN.

Examples of BPMN

BPMN models

Modeling BPMN business process maps