Business process diagram
A business process diagram in BPMN 2.0 means something specific: pools, lanes, gateways, and events with defined semantics. A tool that understands BPMN can validate it, and in some cases execute it.
Capable ships a real BPMN editor, so what you draw is a valid BPMN file rather than a picture of one.
#When to reach for one
Processes that will be handed to a BPM or workflow engine later.
Regulated processes where the notation itself is part of the requirement.
Anywhere an event, a timer or a message boundary genuinely matters.
#How to draw it in Capable
Route | Use when |
|---|---|
BPMN editor | Always, for real BPMN. It validates as you draw. |
draw.io | A quick sketch of a process where the notation is not the point. |
#Pools, lanes and gateways
Element | What it means |
|---|---|
Pool | A participant in the process, often a whole organisation |
Lane | A role or system within a pool |
Exclusive gateway | Exactly one path is taken |
Parallel gateway | Every path is taken, and all must complete |
Message event | Something arrives from outside the pool |
Draw the happy path first, then add events. BPMN diagrams that start with boundary events tend to end up unreadable.
#A few things that catch people out
BPMN is a standard with real meaning. A message event and a timer event are not decoration.
The file is portable: what you draw here opens in other BPMN tools.
If you find yourself fighting the notation, you may want a plain flowchart instead.
#Related
Draw the unhappy path too.
