Business Process Modeling Notation (BPMN)

Business Process Modeling Notation (BPMN) 2.0 from the Object Management Group (OMG) is a standardized graphical notation for modeling business processes. It is intended to provide a notation that is readily understandable by all business users (including business analysts, technical developers, and those who will manage and monitor the processes after implementation) and to create a standardized bridge between business process design and XML-based business execution languages.

Note: Support for BPMN v1 is deprecated.

BPMN 2.0 provides the following diagrams:

Conversation diagrams - which provide an overview of the communications between participants.
Choreography diagrams - which focus on the detail of the conversation between two or more participants, and which are often linked to specific conversation nodes.
Collaboration diagrams - which focus on the messages that pass between participants. You can show participants as black boxes or with processes inside them. PowerDesigner supports collaboration diagrams as standard business process diagrams with a BPMN-specific toolbox.
Process diagrams - which focus on the sequence flow in a single process in a participant. PowerDesigner supports process diagrams as standard business process diagrams with a BPMN-specific toolbox.

Note: When creating reports for your BPMN 2.0 models, we recommend that you start from one of the BPMN 2.0 report templates, which provide a framework for organizing all the extensions in logical groups.

We recommend that you perform a model check on your completed model (or after major changes) to verify the validity of your diagrams.

Conversation Diagrams (BPMN)
A conversation diagram focuses on the communications between participants. You cannot create or display processes or choreographies in this diagram.
Choreography Diagrams (BPMN)
A choreography diagram is used to analyze how participants exchange information to coordinate their interactions. A choreography diagram can be used to expand and analyze in detail the exchange of messages associated with a conversation node in a conversation diagram.
Collaboration and Process Diagrams (BPMN)
A collaboration diagram analyzes the sequence flow of processes and the exchange of messages between participants (represented as swimlanes and pools). Each pool contains an implicit process with a start event and one or more end events. A process diagram analyzes the sequence flow in a single process in a participant (which can be shown or implicit). PowerDesigner supports collaboration diagrams and process diagrams as standard business process diagrams with a BPMN-specific toolbox.
Participants and Lanes (BPMN)
Participants represent companies, departments, or roles who are involved in a collaboration. Participants are represented as swimming pools in collaboration and process diagrams and lanes as swimlanes inside a pool. Participants also appear in conversation diagrams as square node and in choreography diagrams, where they do not have a separate symbol but are displayed on the top or bottom band of the choreography task symbol.
Conversation Nodes (BPMN)
A conversation node is a hexagon symbol in a conversation diagram that links two participants and regroups a set of message exchanges that share the same correlation.
Choreography Tasks (BPMN)
A choreography task represents an interaction, a set of message exchanges between two participants. The name of the choreography task and each of the participants are displayed in the various bands of the its symbol
Events and Event Definitions (BPMN)
An event is something that happens during the course of a process. Events include the start and end of an activity, and any other intermediate happening (such as a change of state or receipt of a message) which will affect its sequence or timing. You can create events in collaboration, process, and choreography diagrams.
Gateways (BPMN)
Gateways control the sequence flow of the process, and can merge or split the flow as dictated by the gateway conditions. You can create gateways in collaboration, process, and choreography diagrams.
Activities (BPMN)
Activities are work that is performed within a process. You can create activities in collaboration and process diagrams.
Data and Data References (BPMN)
Data are physical or information items that are created, manipulated, or otherwise used during the execution of a process. Data references are objects that reference data objects for reuse. You can create data objects and references in collaboration and process diagrams.
Correlation Keys and Correlation Properties (BPMN)
Correlation keys are sets of correlation properties used to associate a message to a particular instance of a process.
Messages (BPMN)
A message represents the content of a communication between two participants, and is passed along a message flow. In choreography diagrams, an initiating message is automatically colored white, and a non-initiating message is automatically colored grey.
Item-Aware Elements (BPMN)
Item-aware elements are variables used to store or convey information during process execution. You can associate these elements with processes, activities, and events.
Flows and Links (BPMN)
BPMN provides various kinds of flows and links to connect objects in collaboration, conversation, and choreography diagrams.
Importing and Exporting BPMN2 Files
PowerDesigner can import and export BPMN2 files, with a particular emphasis on supporting SAP® NetWeaver® BPM v7.3 and higher, SAP® StreamWork® tools, and the Eclipse BPMN2 Modeler. The import and export supports business process diagrams only; conversation and choreography diagrams and their objects are not supported.

Parent topic: Process Language Definition Reference