Business Process Management Software

International association responsible for publishing the BPM CBOK, the main reference guide for the business process management discipline.

Study of a process to identify bottlenecks, redundancies, and opportunities for improvement. Central stage of the BPM lifecycle, executed after mapping the current state.

Hierarchical structure that organizes an organization's processes into levels (macroprocesses, processes, subprocesses), creating a view of how processes relate to each other.

Element that represents a unit of work performed by people or systems. In BPMN, it can be a simple task or a subprocess, represented by a rounded rectangle.

Automated execution strategy for tasks in a closed cycle of modeling, execution, and measurement; it is the operational layer of what BPM defines.

Representation of the process in its current state, before any improvement intervention. Contrasts with the To-Be model, which describes the desired future state.

Continuous and strategic approach to define, execute, monitor, and optimize an organization's processes end-to-end, combining people, technology, and methods.

International graphical standard maintained by the OMG for representing processes with standardized symbols. The current version is BPMN 2.0.

Software that allows modeling, executing, automating, monitoring, and optimizing business processes. It is the technological layer that enables BPM practice in organizations.

Business Process Management Common Body of Knowledge. Guide published by the ABPMP that consolidates the essential body of knowledge for the professional practice of BPM.

Statement that defines or constrains an aspect of the process, such as approval conditions or deadlines. Guides automated decisions within the execution flow.

Set of strategic activities that an organization performs to deliver value to the customer (Michael Porter's concept). In BPM, it is a reference for identifying which processes are critical to the business.

Measure of a process's ability to produce results within specified limits. Evaluates whether the process is predictable, stable, and capable of meeting defined requirements.

Certification issued by the ABPMP that validates competencies in process management. It is the main certification in the BPM area recognized in the global market.

Phases that make up continuous process management: planning, analysis, modeling, implementation, monitoring, and refinement. Represents the iterative nature of the discipline.

Degree to which the actual execution of a process follows the modeled flow. Measured by Process Mining tools. Indicates deviations that require correction or redesign.

Mechanisms that ensure process execution as modeled, within expected parameters. Includes alerts, escalations, and monitoring dashboards.

Stage of the BPM lifecycle where the future process is designed based on opportunities identified in the As-Is analysis, defining how it should work in an optimized way.

OMG standard for business decision modeling. Compliments BPMN by visually representing decision rules (such as decision tables) that govern process behavior.

Formally responsible for the performance and continuous improvement of an end-to-end process. Strategic role in BPM, acting as the main accountable person for the process's success.

Relationship between delivered results and consumed resources. Efficient processes produce expected results with the least waste of time, effort, and cost.

Integrated business management system. In BPM, it is integrated into the BPMS so that automated processes can read and write data in modules such as finance, inventory, and HR.

Ability of a process or BPMS platform to grow in volume without loss of performance. Scalable processes are standardized and replicable.

An occurrence that affects the flow of a process. Can be start, intermediate, or end events, represented by circles in BPMN.

Deviation from the standard flow of a process. Exception handling ensures that atypical cases are managed in a controlled manner, without compromising the main process.

Logical sequence of activities, decisions, and events that make up a process. In BPMN, the Sequence Flow indicates the execution order of activities.

Set of sequential steps that define who does what, when, and in what order. It is the operational representation of a process modeled in BPM.

Digital interface for data collection and user interaction with a running process instance. Configured in the BPMS for each human activity of the process.

Point in the process where the flow is slowed down by insufficient capacity, queues, or dependencies. Eliminating bottlenecks is one of the main objectives of process analysis in BPM.

Element that represents decision, merging, or branching points in the flow. Controls how the process splits (parallel or exclusive) or converges. Represented by diamonds in BPMN.

Policies, roles, and control mechanisms that guide how processes are defined, managed, and improved. Ensures strategic alignment and consistency in execution.

Transfer of an activity or responsibility between participants in a process. Poorly managed handoffs are a frequent source of delays and loss of information.

Individual execution of a process. Each instance has its own history, data, and status—created every time a process is started.

Ability of the BPMS to connect to corporate systems via APIs or Web Services, allowing automated processes to consume and generate data across different platforms.

Evolution of the BPMS that incorporates artificial intelligence, machine learning, and predictive analysis to make processes more adaptive and intelligent.

Subdivision of a Pool that represents a role, department, or system responsible for specific activities. Allows visual identification of who performs each stage of the process.

Paradigm that allows building and modifying processes with little or no code. Modern BPMS platforms adopt this approach to accelerate implementation by business users.

Visual documentation of the stages, actors, systems, and information flows of a process. It is the starting point of any analysis and improvement initiative in BPM.

Central principle of BPM which assumes that processes must be constantly reviewed, measured, and enhanced. Directly related to PDCA and Lean Six Sigma.

Creation of a formal representation of a process using standardized notation, such as BPMN. Visually describes activities, events, decisions, and participants.

Business Activity Monitoring. Real-time tracking of running process instances, with alerts issued when parameters go outside established limits.

Standardized set of symbols to represent processes graphically. BPMN is the most adopted standard in the market, ensuring common understanding among analysts, developers, and managers.

Element that represents information (documents or records) produced or consumed by activities. Makes data dependencies explicit within the process flow.

Centralized coordination of services, systems, and participants to execute an end-to-end process. Assumes a central controller—usually the BPMS.

Actions to improve the performance of an existing process, reducing costs, cycle time, and errors. Driven by monitoring data and process analysis.

BPMN element that represents an autonomous participant in a collaborative process (company, system, or organization). Delimits processes under the responsibility of a single entity and can contain Lanes.

Technique that uses system event logs to discover and monitor real processes. Allows identification of deviations between the modeled process and the one effectively executed.

Set of activities that transform inputs into outputs with value for an internal or external customer. It is the fundamental unit of management in BPM.

Complete view of a process that crosses different areas and systems, from start to the final result. BPM adopts this perspective to avoid fragmented management by silos.

Degree of adherence of process results to established requirements. Monitored by indicators and audited by execution trails, ensuring compliance and predictability.

Deep review of a process with the objective of creating a To-Be model significantly different from the As-Is. Implies rethinking the process from its fundamental premises.

Centralized database where process models are stored, versioned, and made available. Essential for the governance and traceability of organizational processes.