SIPOC diagram
A SIPOC diagram is a five-column scoping tool used in Lean Six Sigma and process improvement. Each column — Suppliers, Inputs, Process, Outputs, Customers — captures one face of the process so the team can agree its boundaries before drawing a detailed BPMN flow.
Use it when you're starting a new process-documentation project, auditing an existing workflow, or onboarding stakeholders who need to understand scope without reading a 20-step swimlane. A good SIPOC fits on one page. Industry sources recommend filling it in starting with the Process (5–7 high-level verbs), then working outward to Outputs, Customers, Inputs and Suppliers — not the left-to-right acronym order.
SIPOC example: incoming bank payment
A complete SIPOC filled in for an end-to-end bank payment process. Every entry is real, readable text — copyable, searchable, and accessible to screen readers. The six Process-column steps map 1:1 onto the BPMN in the next figure.
SIPOC diagram — incoming bank payment
A SIPOC diagram scoping an incoming bank payment process across five columns: Suppliers, Inputs, Process, Outputs, Customers. Use this structure to agree scope with stakeholders before drawing the detailed BPMN — the Process column (verify payment details → decision → process transaction or return funds → provide receipt) maps directly onto the bank-side flow in the two-pool bank-payment BPMN shown below.
- Suppliers: the payer, the payer's sending bank, the clearing house / SWIFT network, the sanctions-list provider, internal risk policy, the core banking system.
- Inputs: payment request, account and routing details, KYC / AML data, risk thresholds, sanctions-screening result.
- Process: verify payment details → (valid?) → process payment transaction or return funds → provide receipt.
- Outputs: verified payment request, payment processed or payment rejected outcome, transaction record, receipt.
- Customers: payer (receipt, outcome), payee (funds), payee's bank (settlement).
And here's what the Process column expands into
The same six Process-column steps — verify details, assess risk, check compliance, debit, credit, report — drawn as a BPMN 2.0 flow with swimlanes, events and gateways. Click the figure to open it in the BA Copilot editor with the identical XML pre-loaded.
Making a payment at a bank
Same six Process steps from the SIPOC above, now drawn as a BPMN 2.0 diagram with swimlanes, events and gateways — exactly what the AI BPMN generator produces from the Process column.
- Customer submits the payment — the Payment Initiated start event fires the Submit Payment task.
- A message flow carries the request to the Bank Teller pool, triggering the Payment Request Received start event.
- Bank Teller verifies the payment details, then the "Are payment details valid?" exclusive gateway decides the path.
- On the no path, Bank Teller returns the funds and the Bank Teller process ends at Payment Rejected.
- On the yes path, Bank Teller processes the payment transaction and provides a receipt, ending at Payment Processed.
- A second message flow delivers the receipt back to the Customer pool, where the Receive Receipt task runs and the Customer process ends at Payment Completed.
How to build a SIPOC diagram in 6 steps
1. Define the high-level Process
Write 5–7 process steps (verbs, not sub-steps) that describe what the process actually does. Stay at the scoping level — resist the urge to model gateways or detail here.
2. List the Outputs
For each process step, write down what it produces — documents, decisions, data, physical goods, funds. Outputs should be nouns; something you could point at.
3. Identify the Customers
For each Output, list every person, team, or system that receives it. This is where the process becomes customer-centric — if an Output has no Customer, it probably shouldn't be in the Outputs column.
4. List the Inputs
For each process step, list the information, materials, or decisions it consumes.
5. Identify the Suppliers
For each Input, name who provides it. Include external parties (customers, vendors, regulators) and internal teams / systems.
6. Expand the Process column into a BPMN
Take the Process column into a BPMN editor — the bank-payment figure above shows the Process steps expanded into a full BPMN 2.0 collaboration across two pools (Customer and Bank Teller) with a valid-details gateway and separate processed / rejected end events. Open that diagram in BA Copilot to edit it directly, or paste your own Process column into the AI generator to build a fresh one.
SIPOC vs BPMN: when to use each
A SIPOC scopes a process; a BPMN diagram executes one. The two are complements, not alternatives.
Use a SIPOC when you need to agree scope
Kick-off workshops, Six Sigma Define phase, audit scoping, digital-transformation discovery. SIPOC is deliberately high-level — it avoids arguing about sequencing or gateway logic until the boundaries are agreed.
Use a BPMN diagram when you need to model execution
Once scope is agreed, draw the BPMN: tasks with verb-first names, events (start / end / intermediate), gateways (exclusive / parallel), and swimlanes showing who does what. BPMN 2.0 is a standard — the same diagram can drive a process engine (Camunda, Signavio) as well as stakeholder docs.
Jump straight from SIPOC to BPMN with BA Copilot
The bank-payment figure above is already loadable in the editor — click it and the exact BPMN opens in BA Copilot, ready to adapt to your own process. For a fresh start from your own Process column, paste the 5–7 steps into BA Copilot's AI BPMN generator and the AI will expand them into a full BPMN 2.0 flow with gateways, events and swimlanes.
SIPOC diagram FAQ
What does SIPOC stand for?
SIPOC stands for Suppliers, Inputs, Process, Outputs, Customers — the five columns you fill in from left to right to scope a business process at a high level.
When should I use a SIPOC diagram?
Use a SIPOC at the start of a process-improvement, documentation, or digital-transformation project — before drawing a detailed BPMN or swimlane map. A SIPOC forces stakeholders to agree on scope (who supplies the process, what comes in, what goes out, and who receives it) in a single page, which prevents scope creep later.
What is the difference between a SIPOC and a BPMN diagram?
A SIPOC describes the scope of a process in five columns — it does not show sequencing, decision points, or parallelism. A BPMN 2.0 diagram models the execution of that process step-by-step using tasks, events, gateways, and swimlanes. You typically draft the SIPOC first to agree scope, then the BPMN to model flow.
How do I create a SIPOC diagram?
Industry sources (Asana, TechTarget, SixSigma.us) recommend starting with the Process, not the acronym order. Define the high-level Process (5–7 steps, verbs only), then the Outputs it produces, then the Customers who receive them, then the Inputs each step needs, and finally the Suppliers of those inputs. This P-O-C-I-S sequence (sometimes called "POCIS") keeps the scope grounded in what the process actually does.
Can I turn a SIPOC into a BPMN diagram automatically?
Sort of. The example above shows the pairing in one page — a SIPOC for an incoming bank payment, immediately followed by the same Process-column steps drawn as a two-pool BPMN 2.0 collaboration (Customer and Bank Teller) with a valid-details gateway. In your own work, paste the Process column (the 5–7 high-level steps) as a prompt into BA Copilot's AI BPMN generator. It doesn't parse SIPOC structure — it treats your process steps as the brief — so you'll get a full BPMN 2.0 flow back with tasks, events and decision gateways that you can refine in the drag-and-drop editor.
Is SIPOC a Six Sigma tool or a Lean tool?
Both. SIPOC originated in Total Quality Management and became a standard Define-phase deliverable in Six Sigma's DMAIC. Lean practitioners use it for value-stream scoping. Agile and digital-transformation teams use it to agree process boundaries before running a discovery workshop.
Open this bank-payment BPMN in BA Copilot
The full BPMN from the example above, pre-loaded in the editor. One free generation per browser, no sign-in needed.