# 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.

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## 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.

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## 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. |

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## 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                  |

ℹ️

**Draw the happy path first, then add events.** BPMN diagrams that start with boundary events tend to end up unreadable.

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## 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.

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## Related

[Approval workflowReviewers, rejections and escalation paths.](https://help.gocapable.com/diagrams/approval-workflow.html)

[Data flow diagramProcesses, stores and what moves between them.](https://help.gocapable.com/diagrams/data-flow-diagram.html)

[ExamplesWorking diagrams you can copy.](https://help.gocapable.com/diagrams/examples.html)

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_Draw the unhappy path too._