Business Process Modeling Notation (BPMN)

The Enterprise Process Center® (EPC) uses BPMN to graphically depict the end-to-end flow of business activities.

BPMN – or Business Process Modeling Notation – is the most widely-accepted process documentation methodology in the world. Developed by the Business Process Management Initiative (www.bpmi.org) in association with the Object Management Group® (www.omg.org), BPMN allows both technical and business users to quickly and easily model processes.

With BPMN, modeling processes simply involves modeling the event that triggers the process and then mapping all of the activities or events (represented by rectangles) that occur until an outcome is reached. Decisions and alternatives are mapped using gateways (represented by lozenges), and all of the process shapes are then linked. The resulting process map closely resembles a flowchart that can be intuitively understood by non-technical business users.