BPMN Quick Reference Guide
- Activities
- Gateways
- Lanes and Pools
- Data
- Events
- BPMN Examples
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A Task is a unit of work, the job to be performed
A Looping Task is a Task which continues to repeat its action(s)
A Sub-Process is an activity that can be broken down further into further granular tasks and process flows
A Looping Sub-Process is a Sub-Process which continues to repeat its process flow
A Parallel Multiple Instances Task is a Task that has multiple instances that occur in parallel
A Sequential Multiple Instances Task is a Task that has multiple instances that occur in sequence – i.e. one after the other
A Service Task is a task that uses some sort of service. This is generally used to represent services such as a web service or automated application
A Send Task is a task that is used to automatically send some data on execution of the task
A Receive Task is a Task that will wait for a message to arrive from an external participant. Once the message has been received, the task is completed. A Receive Task can be linked to the source participant via Message Flows and is commonly used to start a process
A User Task is a typical workflow task where a human performs the task with the assistance of a software application and is scheduled through a task list manager of some sort
A Manual Task is a Task that is expected to be performed without the aid of any system. A Manual Task is commonly used to represent activities that require manual effort such as a physical activity
A Business Rule Task provides input into a Business Rules Engine to evaluate and make a decision based on the business rules stored within the engine
A Script Task allows a script to be executed by a business process engine once the task is ready to start. The task is completed once the script has finished execution
An Exclusive Gateway is used to create alternative paths within a process flow. Only one path branching out from an Exclusive Gateway can be followed. The use of the ‘X’ in the Gateway symbol is recommended to help remind readers of the diagram that the flow leading out of the gateway is exclusive
An Exclusive Gateway can also be represented by an empty diamond shape.
An Inclusive Gateway is also used to create alternative paths within a process flow but allows for one or more output paths to continue a flow
A Parallel Gateway is used to create parallel process flows of two or more flows that lead out from the gateway. They are also used to synchronise process flows when the flows join (lead into) a Parallel Gateway
A Complex Gateway can be used to model complex synchronisation behaviour
An Event-Based Gateway represents a branching point of a process flow where the alternative paths that follow the gateway are based on events that occur as opposed to being based on an evaluation of expressions as in an exclusive gateway
A Pool is a graphical representation of a participant group in a process flow and is used as a visual container to group the activities and process flow that a participant group is responsible for. An example of a Pool may be an Organisation
A Lane is a graphical representation of a more granular participant in a process flow and is used as a visual container to group the activities and process flow that the granular participant is responsible for. An example of a Lane is a Job Role. Lanes are used as a way to sub-group activities within Pools
A Data Object is used to represent some item of data or information and can be reused throughout a process map to represent the same piece of data. An instance of a Data Object may be repeated to simplify visually linking the data to multiple Activities
A Data Input is a Data Object that is used to represent inputs into a top-level process
A Data Output is a Data Object that is used to represent outputs from a process
A Start Event indicates the start of a process flow
An End Event indicates the end of a process flow
An Intermediate Event indicates where some event will occur between the start and the end of a process flow. They can be used to show where messages are sent or received, delays in a process, disruptions in a process, etc.
An Intermediate Catch Message Event is used to receive a message
An Intermediate Throw Message Event is used to send a message
An Intermediate Timer Event is used as a delay mechanism based on a specific time-date or specific cycle that can be set to trigger an event
An Intermediate Catch Link Event is used to join two sections of a process flow and is commonly used as off-page connectors or to keep diagrams tidy. The Catch Link indicates the start of a continuation of a flow
An Intermediate Throw Link Event is used to join two sections of a process flow and is commonly used as off-page connectors or to keep diagrams tidy. The Throw Link indicates the end of a flow that continues elsewhere as indicated by a corresponding Catch Link Event
An Intermediate Catch Signal Event is used to receive signals within and across process levels, pools and between process diagrams
An Intermediate Throw Signal Event is used to send signals within and across process levels, pools and between process diagrams
(View in landscape mode to see entire diagram)
The BPMN Quick Reference Guide has been created as a tool for business professionals involved in creating, designing, reviewing or interpreting business process maps that use the BPMN 2.0 standard.
This app has been created based on the BPMN 2.0 standard as managed and released by the Object Management Group Inc.
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