BPMN Notation Cheat Sheet: The 10 Symbols BAs Use Most
You don't need all of BPMN to model most business processes. Draw the ten symbols business analysts use most, each one once, in one small online shop order process in the free bpmn.io modeler.
Step by step
Ten symbols
- BPMN cheat sheet. You don't need every BPMN symbol. This cheat sheet uses the 10 symbols business analysts use most. Each appears once, in one small online shop order process.
Events and tasks
- Start event. Start a new diagram in bpmn.io. Symbol 1 is the thin circle, the start event. It shows what kicks the process off. Name it Order placed.
- Task, 3 - Flow. Click the start event and pick the rounded box from the small menu next to it. Symbol 2 is the task: a piece of work, named with a verb and a noun, here Check stock. The solid arrow joining them is symbol 3, the sequence flow. It shows the order of the work.
Task types
- Service task. The shop's system checks stock by itself. Click the wrench icon on Check stock and pick Service task. Symbol 4: the gears icon means software does the work and no person is involved.
Gateways
- Exclusive gateway. Symbol 5 is the exclusive gateway, a diamond shown here with an X. Only one path out of it is taken. Add it from the task's menu and name it with a short question: In stock? For the yes path, add a task from the gateway's menu, name it Pack order and label its arrow Yes.
- User task. A person packs the order at a screen, so click the wrench on Pack order and pick User task. Symbol 6: the person icon means a human does the work. Gears mean a system, a person means people.
Timer event
- Timer event. From Pack order's menu, add the double circle. This is an intermediate event, something that happens part way through the process. Name it Pickup time. Click the wrench, type timer and pick Timer intermediate catch event. Symbol 7: the clock means the process waits here until a set time comes.
End events
- End event. Symbol 8 is the thick circle, the end event, where a path finishes. Add it after the timer and name it after the result: Order shipped.
- Message end event. The no path needs an end too. From the gateway's menu, drag an end event into the space below the gateway. Name it Order cancelled and label its arrow No. Click the wrench, type message and pick Message end event. Symbol 9: the envelope means a message goes out as the path ends. Here, that's an email to the customer.
Notes
- Text annotation. Symbol 10 is the text annotation. Click the timer, pick the text annotation from its menu and type Courier comes at 4 pm. The dotted line shows it's a note, not a step.
- The cheat sheet. Click on empty canvas to see the whole cheat sheet: 10 symbols in one small order process, and both paths reach an end event.
Recap
- Ten symbols. In short: circles are events (thin to start, double in the middle, thick to end). Rounded boxes are work, diamonds are decisions, solid arrows show the order, and icons inside shapes add the detail.
Common mistakes
- Using plain tasks for everything. A plain task doesn't say who does the work. Change it to a Service task (gears) when a system does it, or a User task (person) when a human does it at a screen.
- A path that just stops. Every path out of a gateway must reach an end event, like Order shipped and Order cancelled here. Paths can also join back together and share one end. A path that stops at a task leaves readers asking what happens next.
- Unlabelled gateway arrows. Name the gateway as a short question, like In stock?, and label each arrow out of it with the answer, like Yes and No. Without labels, readers can't tell which path is which.
- Putting notes inside the flow as tasks. Details like Courier comes at 4 pm aren't work, so don't draw them as tasks. Use a text annotation. Its dotted line shows it's a note, not a step.
When a business analyst uses this
In a process workshop, a BA can draw the current order process live with these 10 symbols. Service tasks and user tasks show at a glance which steps are automated and which need staff. That makes it easy to agree on where the gaps are before the process map goes for sign-off.
Questions people ask
What is BPMN notation?
BPMN (Business Process Model and Notation) is a standard set of symbols for drawing business processes. Events are circles, tasks are rounded boxes, gateways are diamonds and sequence flows are solid arrows.
Which BPMN 2.0 symbols should a cheat sheet include?
Start with the start event, task, sequence flow, service task, exclusive gateway, user task, timer intermediate event, end event, message end event and text annotation. These 10 cover most business process diagrams.
What is the difference between a thin, double and thick circle in BPMN?
A thin circle is a start event, a double circle is an intermediate event part way through, and a thick circle is an end event. An icon inside, like a clock or an envelope, shows the type of event.
