BPMN Sub-Process in Visio: Hide the Detail, Keep the Big Picture
When one step of a BPMN process is a whole process on its own, use a collapsed sub-process. Learn what the plus marker means and when to use it, with an employee onboarding process in Visio.
Step by step
- BPMN sub-process. Some steps in a process are a whole process of their own. If you put all that detail on 1 page, nobody can read it. BPMN solves this with a sub-process.
- BPMN Shapes stencil. The diagram uses the BPMN shapes stencil in Visio's Shapes pane. Every shape below is dragged from there.
- The process. The example is employee onboarding. Drag a Start Event onto the page and label it Offer accepted. The process starts when the candidate accepts the offer. Drag a Task next to it and name it Sign contract. HR sends the contract, so this is a normal task. Connect Offer accepted to Sign contract with a Sequence Flow.
- Collapsed sub-process. Setting up IT access takes 8 steps and 3 teams, so it gets its own process. Drag a Collapsed Sub-Process onto the page and name it Set up IT access. It looks like a task, with a small plus sign at the bottom. Connect Sign contract to Set up IT access with a Sequence Flow, the same way you connect any task.
- The plus marker. The plus means there is a whole diagram inside. On this page, readers see 1 step. On its own page, the IT team sees every detail.
- The process. Next, drag a Task named Run induction. The manager runs it on the new starter's first day. Connect Set up IT access to Run induction with a Sequence Flow. Drag an End Event onto the page and label it Employee onboarded. The process ends here. Connect Run induction to Employee onboarded with the last Sequence Flow.
- Done. Click an empty part of the page to deselect everything and see the result: 5 shapes in a row, with 1 sub-process holding all the IT detail.
- When to use it. Use a sub-process when a step has many steps of its own, or when another team owns the detail. Name it like a task, with a verb and a noun, such as Set up IT access.
Common mistakes
- A plus marker with no detail behind it. The plus tells readers there is a diagram inside. Draw that diagram on its own page, with its own start and end events, so the IT team has something to review.
- Naming the sub-process after a team. A label like IT or IT team doesn't say what happens. Use a verb and a noun, like Set up IT access, the same way you name a task.
- Turning every step into a sub-process. If a step is a single action, like Sign contract, keep it as a normal task. Save sub-processes for steps with many steps of their own or detail owned by another team.
- Drawing flows into the hidden detail. On the main page, connect only to the sub-process box itself, like Sign contract to Set up IT access. The steps inside connect to each other on their own page.
When a business analyst uses this
In an onboarding process mapping workshop, HR and managers sign off the 1-page main flow, where IT access is a single collapsed sub-process. The IT team then reviews and signs off its own detailed page separately, so neither group has to read the other's detail.
Questions people ask
What does the plus sign mean in BPMN?
A small plus marker at the bottom of a task shape means it is a collapsed sub-process. There is a whole process inside it, usually drawn on its own page.
When should you use a sub-process in BPMN?
Use one when a step has many steps of its own, or when another team owns the detail. Single actions should stay as normal tasks.
What is the difference between a collapsed and an expanded sub-process?
A collapsed sub-process hides the detail behind a task-sized shape with a plus marker. An expanded sub-process is a larger shape that shows the inner steps on the same diagram.
