A Practitioner’s Guide to BPMN 2.0 as a Process Improvement Tool

The “Text Annotation” Element (or shape) within the BPMN 2.0 standard is the unsung hero of Process Mapping. Using this shape, a skilled Process Modeler can resolve conflict and inspire innovation from Process Owners, Executives, and front-line employees alike. In the real-life examples that follow, we will explore uses for this simple shape, and discover how it has been used to elevate Process Flow Diagrams from a simple documentation tool into a true process improvement tool.

Text Annotations as Described in the BPMN 2.0 Standard

The formal BPMN 2.0 standard is maintained and governed through the Object Management Group. The standard defines what the Annotation shape is intended to accomplish:

Too often in Project Management roles, we experience a sense of deja-vu: the unshakeable feeling that we’ve been here before and we’ve done this already. After we successfully complete projects, we charter new ones with a never-ending focus on continuous improvement. However, astute Project Managers often start to notice that these new projects are re-runs of the same patterns. Teams face the same obstacles, solve the same problems, and even re-trace the footsteps of earlier projects that didn’t “stick” after the previous project team had declared victory.

The conversation between friends that follows below will be familiar to Project Managers who recognize these patterns. I hope that by sharing our conversation about Business Process Management, you will also have success in disrupting the deja-vu problem we faced.