Modeling your process

Design your process once and run it at scale. The BPMN designer turns business steps into an executable flow. Add events, tasks, and gateways. Connect elements to define the path. Validate the logic. Hand the model off for implementation and testing. The result is a diagram your stakeholders can read, and your team can run.

On this page:

• 30-second quick start
• Build the flow
• Navigate and select efficiently
• Validate before hand-off
• Accelerate with Autopilot (optional)
• Take it further
• Tips and patterns
• UI elements

Link elements between that with connectors , in a way that is meaningful to your flow. Then you can add, link, and remove other available elements. Double click on any element to name it.

Use the marquee tool to select elements in the designer (click and drag) and the hand tool to navigate inside the canvas (Space key, then click and drag).

To hide the canvas background, right-click anywhere on the canvas and select Hide background grid. You can show the grid again by selecting Show background grid.

30-second quick start

1. Drag a Start event, then a Task, then an End event onto the canvas.
2. Use the element toolbar to append the next step in a single click.
3. Connect steps with a sequence flow and rename each element in place.
4. Open the Validation panel, fix any errors, and save.

Build the flow

Add the right building blocks

• Events to start, wait, or finish (e.g., message received, timer, end states).Tasks for human or system work (approvals, API calls, sub-processes).Gateways to branch or merge paths (exclusive, parallel, inclusive).Participants & data when you need clear ownership or documented inputs/outputs.

Connect and label clearly

• Draw sequence flows to set execution order.
• Name tasks and gateways in business language (“Review request”, “Amount > 5000?”).
• Add labels to flows where decisions aren’t obvious (“Yes”, “No”).

Keep it readable as you go

1. Append actions from the element toolbar to keep spacing tidy.
2. Align and distribute selected nodes; keep parallel branches parallel.
3. Reroute connectors to avoid line crossings; prefer gentle elbows over zig-zags.

Navigate and select efficiently

• Pan and zoom:: Use the mouse/trackpad or mini-map; fit to screen for quick overviews.
• Multi-select: Use the marquee (drag a box) to move related steps together.
• Hand tool: Hold the spacebar or the middle mouse button to pan without changing selection.
• Nudge: Use the arrow keys to fine-tune element placement.

Validate before hand-off

1. Open the Validation panel to jump to errors and warnings.
2. Errors block deployment; warnings highlight readability or non-blocking issues.
3. Common fixes:
   • Unconnected start/end means that you should add missing flows.
   • Gateway split/merge mismatch means that you should add the correct merge or remove stray branches.
   • Dead-end task means that you should connect to an end event or next step.

Note: Re-run validation after each fix; aim for zero errors and minimal warnings.

Accelerate with Autopilot (optional)

• Generate a first pass from a prompt or an image of a whiteboard diagram.
• Ask for suggestions to simplify a decision cluster or add missing end states.
• Use Autopilot to append common patterns (e.g., approval with escalation).

Take it further

When your model reads cleanly and validates, move on to implementation to bind steps to automations, agents, and human actions, then test and publish.

Tips and patterns

• One clear start, explicit ends. Avoid multiple implicit terminations.
• Name for intent. Task names should read like steps in a playbook.
• Balance branches. Every split gets a matching, explicit merge (where appropriate).
• Model the “waits.” Use timer/message events for real-world delays and handoffs.
• Keep lanes purposeful. Use lanes when they clarify ownership, not as decoration.

Read more about BPMN patterns and practices.

UI elements

The left toolbar

Every agentic process starts by default with a Start Event element added to the designer. You can add other elements to your project from the left toolbar.

The left toolbar contains a wide range of BPMN elements, grouped under these categories:

• Gateways
• Tasks
• Events
• Data
• Participants

To model your agentic process, select an element in the left toolbar and drag it into the designer. You can start from the list of commonly-used elements, or select the More options button at the bottom of the toolbar to see the full list of supported BPMN elements.

The element toolbar

The element toolbar is a horizontal menu that contains the actions that you can perform when selecting an element in the designer:

• Change element - Opens the Change element panel, where you can modify the selected element to a different element.
• Add end event - Appends an End event element to the selected element.
• Add exclusive gateway - Appends an Exclusive gateway element to the selected element.
• Add task - Appends a Task element to the selected element.
• Add intermediate event - Appends an Intermediate event element to the selected element.
• Add text annotation - Appends a text annotation to the selected element.
• Delete - Deletes the selected element.
• Connect - Brings up the connector tool, with the selected element as the source step.

The toolbar also appears when you select a connection, with the following options:

• Add text annotation - Appends a text annotation to the selected connection.
• Delete - Deletes the selected connection.

The edges toolbar

The edges toolbar contains actions that you can perform after selecting a certain edge.

• Add text annotation: append text annotation to the selected edge with preview.
• Delete: delete the selected edge.
  
  
  
  

The context menu

The context menu appears when you right-click the designer or an element in the designer.

The following options are available when right-clicking the designer:

• Organize connections - Automatically rearranges all connections in the designer to improve readability.
• Hide background grid - Hides the canvas background. You can show the grid again by selecting Show background grid.
• Show / hide validation errors - Controls the visibility of validation errors.

The following options are available when right-clicking an element:

• Rename - Renames the element.
• Copy - Copies the element.
• Cut - Removes the element from the designer and stores it in the clipboard.
• Remove - Deletes the element from the designer.

The Start Event element contains these additional options:

• Test - Tests the entire agentic process.
• Test step-by-step - Tests each element in the agentic process one at a time.

The validation panel

The validation panel is a rules engine that validates the agentic process with BPMN rules and best practices. You can access the validation panel from the bottom left of the designer. The panel shows the number of validation issues found in the process. Selecting a warning or error within the panel directs you to the affected element in the designer.

There are two types of validation issues:

• Warnings: Marked with yellow, they show a validation issue, and offer suggestions.
• Errors: Marked with red, they allow you to test your agentic process, but prevent you from deploying it.

After you select an error, you get extra context, as well as a button that directs you to the source of the warning or error.

The mini map

You can use the mini map in the bottom right of the designer to quickly navigate inside your agentic process. Dedicated buttons enable you to:

• Zoom in - Focus on a specific part of your process.
• Zoom out - Expand your view of the process.
• Fit to view - Automatically adjusts the size and position of the process.

Inside the mini map, you can also click and drag to pan inside the process, and use the mouse wheel to zoom in and out.