In BPMN, there is a set of core elements that has been defined in a business process diagram, allowing users to start creating the essential gist of a process. These core elements can be further elaborated to take care of the complexities, while still maintaining the standard look and feel of the diagrams.
Core elements are subdivided into five categories, each of which contains a specific set of elements:
Flow objects
Events
Activities
Gateways
Connecting objects
Sequence flows
Message flows
Associations
Data associations
Data
Data objects
Data inputs
Data outputs
Data stores
Swimlanes
Pools
Lanes
Artifacts
Groups
Text annotations
Flow objects consist of the backbone elements in a business process diagram and are used to represent the basic behavior of any process. These elements are events, activities, and gateways.
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Events |
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Activities |
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Gateways |
 Figure 1: BPMN flow objects |
Events represent the various states relevant for the business process, such as the start of the process, wait...