BPMN shapes, now in SimpleDiagrams
Create your BPMN™ diagrams quickly, no stress.
Now in SimpleDiagrams v5.1: BPMN™ diagrams for clearer business processes
When a business process crosses departments, a written description can leave important questions unanswered. Who owns each step? Where does approval happen? What happens when something goes wrong?
The new BPMN library in SimpleDiagrams 5.1 helps you make those workflows visible, quickly. Using SimpleD, you can create business process diagrams in a MacOS-native desktop app, using BPMN-style events, tasks, gateways and connectors, all in the familiar SimpleDiagrams sketch-like style.
What is BPMN?
BPMN is maintained by the Object Management Group® (more here). It stands for Business Process Model and Notation, and it gives you a shared set of symbols for showing how a process works: what starts it, what happens next, where a decision gets made, and how it ends.
For business analysts, operations managers and team leads, that shared visual language helps turn a process discussion into something everyone can follow. A BMPN diagram gives people a concrete place to spot missing steps, unclear responsibilities and unnecessary handoffs.
However, polished diagrams often imply that a process is finished, and can't be iterated on or improved. If you want to keep people thinking and creative, you can use sketch-style shapes like the ones that come in SimpleDiagrams.
Map workflows across your company
The screenshot above shows an example of a BPMN diagram in SimpleDIagrams. It shows a small order fulfilment process, mapped with just a few shapes and some connectors. "Check the stock. If it's available, pick and pack the order and capture payment, then dispatch the parcel. If it isn't, notify the customer. Done." You're much smarter so I bet your diagram will be much more intelligent looking than this.
You'll be happy to know the BPMN library has message and timer events, different task types, and gateways for decisions and parallel work. It has pools and swimlanes to help show who does what. And it has the BPMN flow connectors give you the matching lines and arrowheads without having to set each one up yourself. The swimlanes, by the way, are nicely dynamic and have some UI flair to help you keep things organised when you resize or need to change labels.
You can view the entire library here: BPMN shapes
To get started: get yourself the download with a free 7-day trial (no card required, no signup required, no nuthin'). Open the BPMN library in SimpleDiagrams 5.1 (it comes baked in) and drag a few shapes onto the canvas. Add labels and connect them to sketch out your process.
As always, I'd love to hear what you're drawing and what's missing. Make contact and let me know what's up.