# Build a BPMN process

Build the happy path first, all the way to an end event, and only then add gateways, boundary events and exception paths. Processes built the other way round tend to become unreadable.

The editor will lay out an imported process automatically, so a pasted BPMN file arrives tidy rather than stacked in a corner.

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## What this is for

* Modelling a process for the first time.
* Turning an existing flowchart into real BPMN.
* Restructuring a process without redrawing every flow.

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## How it works

| **Action** | **How**                                                                              |
| ---------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ |
| 1          | Place a start event, then append tasks along the happy path.                         |
| 2          | Append an end event. You now have a valid, if optimistic, process.                   |
| 3          | Insert gateways where the path splits, using the wrench to convert a task if needed. |
| 4          | Add boundary events for timeouts and errors.                                         |
| 5          | Add pools and lanes if more than one participant is involved.                        |
| 6          | Name everything. An unnamed gateway is a question with no question on it.            |

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## A few things that catch people out

* Convert rather than redraw. The wrench keeps the flows attached.
* Every exclusive gateway needs a default path, or the process can stall with no valid route.
* Layout runs automatically on import, so pasted processes do not need manual tidying first.

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## Related

[BPMN properties panelEverything the canvas does not show.](https://help.gocapable.com/diagrams/bpmn-properties-panel.html)

[Camunda properties in BPMNExecution details, for processes that will run.](https://help.gocapable.com/diagrams/camunda-properties-in-bpmn.html)

[BPMN editorBack to the editor overview.](https://help.gocapable.com/diagrams/bpmn-editor.html)

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_Simulate it before you publish it._