BPMN

BPMN Call Activities
A BPMN Call Activity references an Activity defined in a process that is external to the current process definition. It allows you to create a reusable process definition that can be reused in multiple other process definitions.

The figure below shows a BPMN Call Activity example. It consists of a Call Activity Register that references the Register task defined in a global process.

BPMN Sub-Processes
In BPMN, a sub-process is a compound activity that represents a collection of other tasks and sub-processes. Generally, we create BPMN diagrams to communicate processes with others. To facilitate effective communications, we really do not want to make a business process diagram too complex. By using sub-processes, you can split a complex process into multiple levels, which allows you to focus on a particular area in a single process diagram.

BPMN specifies five types of markers for Sub-Processes.

BPMN Tasks
A BPMN task is an atomic activity within a process flow. You create a task when the activity cannot be broken down to a finer level of detail. Generally, a person or applications will perform the task when it is executed.

In BPMN 2.0, there are different types of tasks identified for use in representing more specific behavior that tasks might represent. Here is a list of BPMN 2.0 task type:

Service Task
Send Task
Receive Task
User Task
Manual Task
Business Rule Task
Script Task

In the following sections we will go over each of these BPMN task types by providing you with an example for each of them.

What is BPMN?
BPMN, short for Business Process Modeling Notation, is widely used modeling language for creating process workflows or business process flowcharts. BPMN introduces a set of graphical notations that can be easily understood by everyone, from technical people such as business analysts, software developers, and data architects to business stakeholders such as the end users and other business stakeholders. This helps people communicate process workflow design ideas effectively.

Activities are critical components of BPMN – All business processes are primarily formed by different kinds of BPMN activities. With Visual Paradigm, you can draw your own BPMN diagram by using different kinds of activities. In this article, we will explain the different kinds of BPMN 2.0 activities you can use in modeling a business process with BPMN.

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Boundary vs Interrupting vs Non-Interrupting vs Catching vs Throwing Events
A boundary event is an event shown on an activity boundary that can be triggered or thrown at any time while the associated task or activity is being performed.  In other words, a boundary event is a type of intermediate event.

In the example below, a Timer boundary event is shown.  Some boundary events are time-based while others are based on a condition which must resolve to ‘True’ in order for that branch of the flow to proceed.

Types of Event
Events that occur at the beginning of the process are called Start events(thin narrow line) – and every process starts with an event.
Events that occur in the middle of the process (between activities) are called Intermediate events (thin double line).
Events that occur at the end of the process are called End events(thick single line) and every process has at least one end event.

Simple BPMN Diagram Example

Boundary vs Interrupting vs Non-Interrupting vs Catching vs Throwing Events
A boundary event is an event shown on an activity boundary that can be triggered or thrown at any time while the associated task or activity is being performed.  In other words, a boundary event is a type of intermediate event.

In the example below, a Timer boundary event is shown.  Some boundary events are time-based while others are based on a condition which must resolve to ‘True’ in order for that branch of the flow to proceed.

Interrupt vs Non-Interrupt Event
Introduced in BPMN 2.0 is the concept of non-interrupting events.   Interupting and non-interupting events are only relevant to intermediate events, especially boundary intermediate events. Boundary events can further be divided into two types: interrupting and non-interrupting, as a boundary events are associated with flow elements and can be configured to interrupt their usual behavior. They are illustrated with a solid line and a dashed line respectively.

An interrupting event (solid line) is more common that a non-interrupting event (dashed line). As the name implies, once triggered, the current task stops and the flow of control continues along the new path.
A non-Interrupting Timer Event attached at the boundary of the subprocess A will not be interrupted. Subprocess A will complete and the flow will continue on to subprocess B while a parallel flow will continue from the Non-Interrupting Timer Event onto the Handle Timeout subprocess.

Catching vs Thowing Event in BPMN
In BPMN there are three types of events. Start Events, Intermediate Events, and End Events. All of these can be catching and throwing events.

Catching events are events with a defined trigger. They are started once the trigger has activated or fired.
Throwing events are triggers for catching events and are triggered by the process.

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Draw BPMN diagrams online
Business Process Model and Notation (BPMN) provides a graphical representation of business workflows that anyone can easily understand; aiding in business process analysis and business process improvements. You can now draw business workflow with Visual Paradigm’s online BPMN diagram tool.

Need some inspiration? We’ve put together some BPMN Business Process Diagram examples below to help you get started. Click on a process diagram to view it, or click the edit button to start editing. More BPMN examples and templates are available in the online drawing tools of Visual Paradigm Online.

Pizza Order Process