Learn in the textbookBusiness Modeling and Business Improvement / Automation
DefinitionBPMN is a standard notation for drawing the flow of business processes with common symbols agreed internationally.
ExplanationArrows connect events, which mark happenings such as the start or end, activities, which are tasks, and gateways, which split or merge the flow, to show the order of work. Dividing the diagram into sections called lanes also shows which department or person does each task. The activity diagram of UML, the standard notation for software design, is another diagram used to draw business flows.
AnalogyJust as road signs keep the same shapes across borders, fixing what each symbol means lets anyone read a diagram the same way, even one drawn by another company or department.
Memory hookThe final N is Notation: an agreement on how to write things down.