Unlocking Business Processes: What is BPMN and Why It Matters

Examine the main components of BPMN models and the ways in which business and IT teams can communicate with each other more effectively. The industry standard for business process modeling, which is an essential component of business process management, is Business Process Modeling and Notation (BPMN). Different stakeholders can visualize business processes with the help of BPMN diagrams, which facilitates the improvement of workflow effectiveness and efficiency. Business managers, developers, and analysts can all “speak the same language” and confidently adjust to changing conditions. One popular standard for modeling business processes is the Business Process Model and Notation (BPMN). It gives companies a common language to use when explaining processes clearly and consistently, which facilitates team understanding and process improvement.

What is BPMN?

Organizations may record, examine, and improve their workflows by operating a Business Process Model and Notation (BPMN), a standardized diagramming language that gives a graphical depiction of business processes. In contrast to conventional flowcharts, BPMN diagrams are abundant in particular symbols and notations that address the intricacies of contemporary business operations. 

This is how BPMN differs:

Standardization: BPMN is an internationally accepted standard that guarantees uniformity and understandability amongst different software tools and stakeholders.

Expressiveness: BPMN’s extensive symbol library enables it to depict intricate process dynamics, including decision gateways, events, and concurrent activities.

Versatility: It can be used by business stakeholders who need to understand procedures as well as technical users who create and implement them.

Although there are other process modeling languages, BPMN’s blend of expressiveness and simplicity accounts for its widespread use. It fills the void that exists between the business strategy directing processes and their technical implementation.

Very recent history of BPMN

The Business Process Management Initiative (BPMI) created the Business Process Modeling Notation, which has undergone numerous changes. The initiative was taken over by the Object Management Group (OMG) after that group amalgamated with it in 2005. OMG renamed the approach Business Process Model and Notation and released BPMN 2.0 in 2011. With a wider range of symbols and notations for Business Process Diagrams, it established a more comprehensive standard for business process modeling. Since BPMN doesn’t lend itself to decision flows naturally, a decision flow chart approach known as the Decision Model and Notation standard has been added to BPMN since 2014.

How is Business Process Modeling Notation used?

Fundamentally, BPMN consists of a set of symbols and guidelines for connecting them to depict a business process. One can diagram a public or private process using these diagrams, which are known as business process models. The BPMN specification was created to assist in bridging the transmission intervals that frequently occur between different departments within a company. Initiatives aimed at business process management often employ BPMN. Although BPMN is not associated with any particular workflow technology, it is frequently used to depict programmed processes in an easily understandable manner. For instance, using business process execution language (BPEL) in business orchestration software, a business analyst may produce the BPMN diagram that a programmer uses to construct a business process. After the process has been implemented, the software can produce a BPMN diagram for an executive to review.

What are the benefits of Business Process Modeling Notation?

BPMN and other graphical notations, such as Universal Process Notation, are useful in enterprise settings for a variety of reasons. Among BPMN’s advantages are the following:

Offers a common tongue: These graphics will be used by various groups of individuals to comprehend procedures. All business users, nontechnical groups, and technical users like developers, programmers, and other stakeholders may learn processes thanks to BPMN diagrams.

Increases clarity: A business process’s maximum amount of detail is captured in a BPMN diagram. It provides all the information required to finish a process from beginning to end and understandably simplifies complex process semantics.

Makes conversation easier: BPMN diagrams express specific tasks with well-defined objectives. Technical developers, business process execution teams, and decision-making stakeholders can exchange them in ways that improve communication.

A fantastic modeling notation for business processes is BPMN. It is easier to understand than UML Activity diagrams and provides more information than flowcharts. Additionally, it works better for process design and analysis. With the use of Kissflow BPM’s BPMN capability, your firm may map its business processes in a visual language that all stakeholders can understand and comprehend without difficulty. Business procedures are easy to see and record.  

Basic Categories of BPMN

The BPMN elements are divided into four basic types. Each one stands for a distinct facet of a business procedure.

• Swimlanes

These are visual containers that show who is involved in a process. They are separated into lanes and pools.

• Flow Elements

Workflows in business are created by connecting flow elements. They are made up of gateways, events, and activities that specify how a process behaves.

• Connecting Objects

These link the flow items together, forming a flow. They consist of associations, message flows, and sequence flows.

• Data

This is the data generated or required to carry out a business process. Data stores, data objects, data inputs, and data outputs are all included.

Types of BPMN diagrams

BPMN diagrams show both internal and external processes, and they can be primary or complicated. Here are a few examples of different diagram types:

• Collaboration diagrams (such as the one above for check-ordering) depict the interactions between two or more processes using multiple pools. The work completed by each pool is highlighted in the collaboration diagram, and each pool has the ability to communicate with the others. 
• Diagrams depicting choreography depict interactions between two or more people. A collaboration may incorporate the choreography diagram, which adds tasks and sequences that clarify the members’ interactions in greater detail.
• A cooperation diagram is condensed into conversation diagrams. They display a collection of connected message exchanges from a business procedure.

BPMN Elements And Symbols

We have clarified throughout this essay that BPMN is a comprehensive standard that includes an entire collection of artifacts. The whole list of artifacts is provided here:

Elements	Description	Notation
Event	Something “happens” during a process or choreography is called an event. These Events typically have a cause (trigger) or an impact (outcome) and affect the model’s flow. Events are open-centered circles with inside indicators that help identify different triggers or results. Depending on when they affect the flow, they are divided into three categories: start, intermediate, and end.
Activity	A corporation’s actions as a component of a process are collectively referred to as an activity. It may be non-atomic (compound) or atomic (atomic). Sub-Process and Task are the two categories of activities included in a process model. Activities are used in Choreographies as well as regular Processes.
Gateway	In a Process and a Choreography, a Gateway manages the convergence and divergence of Sequence Flows. It will, therefore, decide on path joining, merging, forking, and branching. Furthermore, the type of behavior control will be indicated via internal indications.
Sequence Flow	The order in which activities in a process and choreography are completed is shown using a sequence flow.
Message Flow	The flow of messages between two Participants who are prepared to send and receive them is shown in a message flow.
Pool	A Participant in a Collaboration is represented graphically as a Pool.
Sequence Flow Looping	By joining a Sequence Flow to an “upstream” object, loops can be constructed. The outgoing Sequence Flow of an upstream object gives rise to several consecutive Sequence Flows, the final of which is an incoming Sequence Discharge for the initial object.
Join	In BPMN, the combining of two or more parallel pathways into a single path is referred to as “joining.” A Parallel Gateway is utilized to show how several sequence flows are connected.
Event-Based	To receive messages, you have two choices: You can employ tasks of Type Receive (see figure top-right). You can utilize Intermediate Events of Type Message (see figure bottom-right).
Merging	In BPMN, the exclusive combination of two or more pathways into one path is referred to as a “merge” (also known as an OR-Join). The combination of multiple sequence flows is shown using a merging exclusive gateway (see upper figure to the right). There is no need for a gateway if every incoming flow is alternate. (View the lower-right figure).
Off Page Connector	This object indicates where a Sequence Flow ends on one page and begins on the next. It is usually used for printing. An off-page connector can be created using a Link Intermediate Event.

BPMN – A Larger Example

The True Aqua Distilled Water Company’s product line serves both residential and commercial needs. Since then, the True Aqua Distilled Water Company has set an ambitious aim to improve its market percentage from 5% to 10% in the next 12 to 18 months. They are also working to improve customer happiness and operational efficiency.

Entering the Task at hand as a business analyst tasked with this responsibility. You’ve learned a great deal about the True Aqua Distilled Water Company’s ordering procedure after speaking with them. Let’s examine the specifics.

The True Aqua Distilled Water Company’s business process diagram, which summarizes the distilled water supply process, is shown in the image below.

The ordering hotline and email are the two routes by which clients can place orders, as shown in the diagram. Currently, phone calls account for a considerable 90% of orders, with email accounting for the remaining 10%. A customer care agent takes over when an order is received. First, they have to confirm if the client is a new or current one. If the client is not familiar with the business, the assistant starts the process by making an account for the client. Delivery of distilled water is planned for every Wednesday morning.

To ensure smooth delivery coordination, the customer care representative gathers the orders and sends them to the logistics department. The manager of the logistics department is in charge of scheduling, assigning orders to employees, and printing required paperwork. Equipped with their directives, the employees handle client calls and carry out water deliveries on time.

Conclusion

Business Process Modeling (BPM) is a vital tool for companies looking to increase productivity, adaptability, and decision-making quality. Through the utilization of BPMN diagrams, organizations can acquire a comprehensive comprehension of their operations, pinpoint bottlenecks, simplify workflows, and maximize resource distribution. BPM helps stakeholders communicate effectively, synchronizes processes with strategic objectives, and promotes ongoing efforts at improvement. Business process modeling is still essential in a world that is always changing because it provides a mechanism to translate intricate business procedures into understandable, useful insights that open doors to achievement and long-term expansion.