BPMN Guidelines (for Dummies)

I enjoy the opinion that my job is 50% Science, 50% Art and that neither Dysfunctional Beauty nor Awkward Technical Perfection is good enough. The room for movement in both the Science and Art of a solution is where the two come together and create something great (like the Anglepoise Lamp).

Here are some rules for BPMN models, you shouldn’t go too far wrong if you stick to them...

Activities are Verb Noun
Decisions are Concise Questions?
Decision Flows are Concise Answers
Events are Noun Verb
No Crossing Lines
(General) Flow Top-Left to Bottom-Right
Consistent and Meaningful use of Colour

I can’t stress enough how important it is to get your top level processes right. They form the bedrock of your entire BPM endeavours, they engage the business and they empower the developers.

You should strive for “process completeness" and, when you’re done, the end result should be worthy of a frame and a place on the wall.