BPMN notation
Business Process Model and Notation (BPMN 2.0) is a standard for modeling processes. See the full specifications.
The BPMN standard relies on symbols that we use to describe the NewStore processes in Business process models . The following sections introduce the common elements of BPMN that are used in the NewStore documentation.
Activities
An activity represents some work that happens as part of a process. An activity can include sub-processes.
| Element | Notation |
|---|---|
| Activity | |
| Collapsed sub-process | |
| Expanded sub-process |
Events
Events happen before, during, or at the end of a process. An event can have a cause (trigger) or an impact (result).
The events that trigger a process are called catching events, and the events that are a result of a process are called throwing event.
There are three types of events based on when they occur: Start, Intermediate, and End. Intermediate events are placed on the edge of an activity .
A type of intermediate event called non-interrupting can happen during an activity but does not interrupt it, and is represented by a dashed-line circle.
Events based on flow sequence
| Element | Notation |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| Intermediate | |
| End |
Events based on type
| Event Type | Catching | Throwing | Non-Interrupting |
|---|---|---|---|
| Message | |||
| Timer | |||
| Error |
Gateways
Gateways control the convergence or divergence of the flow of a process. NewStore uses three types of gateways for process modeling:
| Element | Notation |
|---|---|
| Exclusive (XOR) | |
| Inclusive (OR) | |
| Parallel |
Sequence flows
Sequence flows represent the order in which activities are performed. An exception flow occurs based on an intermediate error event attached to the boundary of an activity.
| Element | Notation |
|---|---|
| Sequence Flow | |
| Exception Flow |
Message flows
Message flows are used to determine the flow of a message between two participants that are prepared to send and receive them.
| Element | Notation |
|---|---|
| Message Flow |
Multiple instances
A set of three vertical lines displayed at the bottom-center of the activity determines the execution of parallel instances of the activity.
| Element | Notation |
|---|---|
| Parallel Instances |
Swimlanes
Swimlanes are containers that represent participants of a process. A pool is a type of swimlane that represents a participant in a collaboration of processes. A lane is a sub-partition of processes that happen in a pool. NewStore uses pools to show the interaction of the NewStore platform with other software such as ERP or WMS.
| Element | Notation |
|---|---|
| Pools | |
| Lanes |
Related links