# BPMN groups and annotations

Groups and text annotations are purely visual. They can span pools, they change nothing about execution, and they are the right place for anything the notation cannot express.

Use them freely; they are the reason a strict notation stays readable.

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## When it matters

* Marking phases, or drawing attention to a region of the diagram.
* Recording assumptions, SLAs and exceptions the notation cannot show.

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## The symbols

| **Symbol**      | **Means**                                        |
| --------------- | ------------------------------------------------ |
| Group           | Dashed rounded rectangle. Visual grouping only.  |
| Text annotation | Bracket with text. Attached with an association. |
| Association     | Dotted line linking an annotation to an element. |

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## A few things that catch people out

* Groups have no execution meaning at all, which is why they may cross pools.
* Annotate the timeouts and the assumptions. Those are what readers actually query.
* If you need many annotations to explain the flow, the flow probably needs redrawing.

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## Related

[BPMN eventsCircles: something happens.](https://help.gocapable.com/diagrams/bpmn-events.html)

[BPMN tasks and activitiesRounded rectangles: work being done.](https://help.gocapable.com/diagrams/bpmn-tasks-and-activities.html)

[BPMN notation referenceBack to the full symbol reference.](https://help.gocapable.com/diagrams/bpmn-notation-reference.html)

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_Sequence flow stays inside the pool._