Everything you need to know about business process modeling and analysis

Sometimes, even when your team is working really hard, deadlines still get pushed, costs start creeping up, and everyone seems to be juggling ten tasks at once. Corporate life memes illustrate this moment pretty well — it looks like a scene from a war zone.

But why?

Many companies fall victim to this reality because their processes aren’t as clear or efficient as they think. Business process modeling and analysis help bridge that gap. By visually mapping out each step, you gain a clearer view of your operations, spot bottlenecks, and find areas to improve. In this post, we’ll cover all you need to know, from the top benefits to practical steps to help you build a more streamlined, frustration-free workplace.

What is business process modeling and analysis?

Business process modeling and analysis is a systematic approach to visualizing, understanding, and improving an organization's workflows and processes. Let’s break down the "modeling" and "analysis" parts to make it simple:

• Business process modeling (BPM) means creating a visual representation of a process using a flowchart or diagram. These models help to outline the sequence of tasks, roles, and decisions, making it easier to understand how work flows through the organization.
• Business process analysis evaluates these models to identify inefficiencies and bottlenecks. It involves assessing how well current processes meet organizational goals and determining where adjustments can improve performance and productivity.

In a nutshell, you combine modeling and analysis to find the "why" behind project delays and constant miscommunication among team members. It helps you identify solutions without overwhelming people or wasting time and resources to complete tasks.

Related: Check our guide to improving processes at work

Defining a business process model and notation (BPMN)

Business process model and notation (BPMN) is a graphical representation of the steps and flow of processes within your organization. Think of it as a map of your business operations, which helps stakeholders understand and analyze workflows.

In any typical business process model example, you'll notice these key elements represented by symbols:

• Events: Shown as circles, they indicate the start, end, or intermediate points in a process
• Activities: Represented by rounded rectangles, they illustrate the tasks to be completed
• Gateways: Identified as diamonds, they indicate decision points that affect the flow of the process
• Connecting objects: The arrows in any map represent the sequence and flow between different elements in the process
• Swimlanes: These are visual divisions that organize activities by roles or departments, clarifying responsibilities
• Data objects: Shown as documents or database symbols, they inform the input or output from activities

These elements work together to create a comprehensive view of your organization’s processes, keeping everyone aligned with the same concepts. But remember that BPMN can represent complex processes, so beginners benefit from a business process model diagram template.

Related: Never designed a process in your life? Get started with our process flowchart template. 

Benefits of business process modeling and analysis

Combining modeling and analysis gives you a better view of your operations. It shows you how tasks flow and highlights potential issues that affect productivity and team engagement.

The result? Some benefits of business process modeling and analysis include:

• A better understanding of processes: Business modeling lets everyone grasp how each task connects to the larger picture. For example, a team that works on Agile projects can see how feedback loops help them complete projects more efficiently while delivering high-quality products for their customers. 
• Easier training and onboarding: Imagine a designer joining your team without knowing who approves their material. Instead of causing panic in the poor colleague, letting them review the collaborative design process would help them quickly get up to speed.
• More efficient operations: Identifying bottlenecks is much easier with business process modeling tools. With a visual representation of workflows, you eliminate redundancies, reduce cycle times, and ultimately lower costs.
• Stronger collaboration and alignment: Grammarly's 2024 State of Business Communication shows that 51% of workers reported increased stress caused by poor communication. With clear models in place, teams can have more productive discussions about process improvements, enhancing teamwork and alignment.

Related: Discover 5 best practices for better group communication

How to create a business process model and analyze it

With some guidance and the right tools and templates, creating a business process model is easier. Here's how:

1. Set the goals

Think about what you want to achieve, whether it's shortening project timelines, reducing costs, or understanding team effectiveness. Before starting a flowchart, open an online whiteboard and organize your thoughts for goal-setting. This is the moment to bring in the right team members — those who directly impact or understand the process — and align everyone from the start.

2. Collect information

Building accurate models requires an understanding of the ins and outs of the current workflow. Gather insights from all departments involved — those who create, review, and approve. 

Selecting business process model software with a flowchart creator will make your life much easier. Mural, for example, has templates with "cheat sheets," so you can easily check what each symbol represents. You can also use the platform to conduct interviews or surveys and organize input directly on the board to see connections and common pain points.

3. Map the current process

Here’s where the model takes shape. Start by mapping each task, decision point, and approval stage. If you don't want to create a diagram from scratch, go with one of these templates:

• Workflow template: To design a new workflow, this option is a lifesaver. Use it to streamline existing workflows, clarify roles, or document processes.  
• Swimlane diagram template: This option divides each step of a process into lanes assigned to specific members of the team or departments, showing who is responsible for each part of the process. Use it to identify handoffs and potential bottlenecks between teams.
• UML diagram template: UML stands for unified modeling language — a type of diagram commonly used in software engineering to design the components of a system. You can use it for processes with detailed modeling, such as documenting the steps involved in project management or mapping a customer service workflow.

Related: Learn 9 steps and best practices to document a process

4. Analyze the process

It’s time to dig into your model and see where things can improve. Look for bottlenecks, redundant steps, or points of miscommunication. 

Share your diagram with the team to mark problematic areas or highlight steps that cause delays. In collaborative platforms like Mural, participants with access to your board can add comments, add sticky notes, or even vote to bring insights quickly to the surface.

5. Create an improvement and implementation plan

With your analysis in hand, it’s time to plan the changes. Based on your stakeholders' feedback, map out the updated workflow and set up an implementation timeline. Project collaboration software helps assign tasks to team members directly on the platform, so everyone on the team can view the new diagram, ask questions, and contribute to the new process.

Start mapping with the best business process modeling software

Business process models don't need to be that complex. With a visual work platform like Mural, creating new business workflows and processes can be actually… fun!

Our online process mapping software enables you to centralize your process goals, documentation, and feedback in a visual way. You can brainstorm with the whole team — and they'll love to try Mural features like mapping, voting and chatting to add images and share inputs about new workflows.

Enjoy Mural's library of templates with lots of models to save you time and help you add elements to your flowcharts in real time. And with our integrations, you connect your murals with project management tools, communication platforms, and video conferencing apps. This way, you streamline your processes and reduce the time spent switching between apps.

Sign up for Mural today and see how to simplify business process modeling and analysis with our visual collaboration workspace.