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