Business Process Model and Notation (BPMN): is a graphic notation that allows the modeling of business processes in a standard and flexible format of flowcharting, which in turn allows to paint the movement and workflow. The important characteristic of this notation is that it is used as a unified standard that makes easier the process modeling for every company and for every professional related to these areas, worldwide:
The primary goal of the BPMN effort was to provide a notation that is readily understandable by all business users, from the business analysts that create the initial drafts of the processes, to the technical developers responsible for implementing the technology that will perform those processes, and finally, to the business people who will manage and monitor those processes. BPMN will also be supported with an internal model that will enable the generation of executable BPEL4WS. Thus, BPMN creates a standardized bridge for the gap between the business process design and process implementation (White, s.f. https://www.omg.org/bpmn/Documents/Introduction_to_BPMN.pdf ).
This notation is based on four elements that can be used to build process of hich complexity. These basic elements are Flow Objects, Connecting Objects, Swimlanes and Artifacts. From them, the complete business operation can be desind in a process model, which is “a network of graphical objects, which are activities (i.e., work) and the
flow controls that define their order of performance” (White, s.f. https://www.omg.org/bpmn/Documents/Introduction_to_BPMN.pdf).
BPMN was initially developed by Business Process Management Initiative (BPMI), and is currently maintained by Object Management Group (OMG) after the fusion of those organizations in 2005.