How each example is built
Story, diagram, elements, file.
Each page starts with people and a trigger, not with symbols. The diagram comes second, so that the shapes have something to refer to. Then the elements are listed one by one, the waiting points are named, and the model is available as a file.
ALL EIGHT MODELS ARE FICTIONAL EXAMPLE MODELS · BPMN 2.0 · THREE TO FOUR LANES EACH
The library
Eight examples, four fields.
Insurance: claims handling and policy onboarding. Banking: KYC onboarding and credit approval. Manufacturing: order-to-delivery and supplier onboarding. Cross-industry: invoice approval and employee onboarding.
BPMN example: claims handling
A motor claim from first notice to payout or decline across customer, claims handler and underwriter. Three lanes, one gateway, one control step.
Open the example →BPMN example: policy onboarding
A new policy from application to issued document, with a four-eyes review for risks outside the standard. Four lanes, two gateways, one control step.
Open the example →BPMN example: KYC onboarding
Opening an account for a new customer, from identity check through sanctions screening to the account in core banking. Four lanes, two gateways, one control step.
Open the example →BPMN example: credit approval
A loan request from the first document to disbursement, with a second vote for larger loans and a contract the customer signs. Four lanes, two gateways, one control step.
Open the example →BPMN example: order-to-delivery
A customer order from order entry to the delivered goods, with a stock decision, production and a quality release before shipping. Four lanes, one gateway, one control step.
Open the example →BPMN example: supplier onboarding
A new supplier from nomination to the vendor master record, with a quality audit and a due diligence check running in parallel. Four lanes, a parallel pair and one decision gateway, one control step.
Open the example →BPMN example: invoice approval
An incoming invoice from capture to the scheduled payment, with a three-way match, an approval limit and a release by the approver. Three lanes, three gateways, two control steps.
Open the example →BPMN example: employee onboarding
From the signed contract to the completed onboarding, with HR, the manager and IT working in parallel and an approval of access rights before day one. Four lanes, a parallel pair, one control step.
Open the example →Reading
How to read the diagrams.
The diagrams use a small, consistent subset of BPMN 2.0. Four conventions are enough to read all eight.
Pools and lanes
Each diagram is one pool, the organisation, divided into horizontal lanes, one per role: customer, claims handler, underwriting, IT. A task sits in the lane of the role that does it. Every line that crosses a lane border is a hand-over.
Gateways
A diamond with a cross is an exclusive gateway: one question, one path taken, with yes and no on the outgoing flows. A diamond with a plus is a parallel gateway: all paths run at once, and a second plus diamond waits for all of them.
Control steps in blue
A blue task is a control step: a four-eyes review, a sanctions screening, a quality release. It marks a step the organisation has decided must not be skipped. In the .bpmn file the step carries the documentation "Control step".
Systems under a task
Small capitals under a task, such as ERP, CRM or CORE BANKING, name the system that step uses. Two different names on two neighbouring tasks show where data has to be carried from one tool to the next.
Fictional, on purpose
Example models, not customer processes.
Lanes, tasks, gateways, start and end events, the control step marked in the documentation, the system name per task, and the diagram layout, so that the file opens with the same arrangement of lanes and steps you see on the page; colours and captions follow the tool. Files are sent by email on request; nothing is downloaded from this site.
None of the eight models describes a real organisation. They are written from the shape that these processes typically have, reduced to what fits in three or four lanes and six to nine steps. A real process in the same field carries more roles, more exceptions and more systems; the examples keep the parts a reader needs to recognise the shape.
That makes them safe to reuse. Request a file, open it in a BPMN tool, rename the lanes and tasks to match your own organisation, and you have a starting point for a workshop rather than a blank page. The BPMN 2.0 XML opens in standard tools such as Camunda Modeler, Signavio or ADONIS.
Next
From reading to your own process.
The examples show what a finished model looks like. The guide explains the symbols, and the product pages show how a model like this is drafted from a conversation, with the people who do the work.
BPMN guide
Events, tasks, gateways, pools and lanes, data objects, and the common mistakes that make a diagram hard to read.
Read more →BPMN with AI
How a diagram is generated from an interview, a document or a meeting, and what you still decide.
Read more →How patchley works
From live audio, text, a document or a meeting to the BPMN 2.0 diagram, the analyses per step and the deck.
Read more →