GLOSSARY

Process mapping glossary

Short, plain-English definitions of the diagrams and notations used to map business processes. Each entry has a worked example, when to use it, and how it differs from the others.

BPMN diagram

A standardised visual language for business processes — circles for events, rounded rectangles for tasks, diamonds for gateways, organised into pools and lanes by who does what.

BPMN gateway

The diamond-shaped element that controls how the flow branches: exclusive gateways pick one path, parallel gateways run several at once, and inclusive/event-based gateways cover the in-between cases.

Pool and lane

The two BPMN container types that say who is doing the work: pools represent separate participants (e.g. Customer vs Bank), lanes split a single pool by role or team.

SIPOC diagram

A scoping table — Suppliers, Inputs, Process, Outputs, Customers — used at the start of a process-improvement project to align stakeholders on boundaries before any BPMN is drawn.

Swimlane diagram

A process map organised into horizontal or vertical lanes, each lane showing the work done by one role or system — the canonical way to assign accountability in a BPMN diagram.

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