Practical Modeling and Case Studies

Too many teams default to BPMN for every workflow, only to struggle when cases become unpredictable. You’ve likely faced this: a rigid flowchart fails when customer issues require adaptation on the fly. This section addresses that exact challenge—not with theory, but by showing you how modeling the same scenario with both BPMN and CMMN reveals where each excels.

Over the past two decades, I’ve seen countless process diagrams that look correct but don’t reflect reality. Here, you’ll step into real business scenarios and compare two modeling approaches side by side. You’ll not only understand structural differences but also learn how to judge which notation offers better clarity, maintainability, and adaptability for your specific use case.

By the end, you’ll have a practical benchmark for decision-making—one grounded in real examples, not abstract principles.

What This Section Covers

Each chapter walks you through a real business process using both BPMN and CMMN, highlighting key differences in structure, flexibility, and ownership.

• Customer Onboarding: Flow vs Case Design – See how BPMN’s structured sequence handles predictable onboarding, while CMMN’s case plan adapts to missing documents or verification delays—without redesigning the whole process.
• Incident Management Across Departments – Compare BPMN’s fixed routing of incident reports with CMMN’s adaptive handling, where teams can trigger actions based on evolving conditions and evidence.
• Insurance Claim Handling End-to-End – Learn how hybrid modeling works in practice: BPMN manages automated validation, while CMMN oversees the investigation and settlement as a flexible case.
• Hands-On Exercise: Build, Compare, Evaluate – Practice creating both models in Visual Paradigm. You’ll learn to assess readability, change impact, and team alignment—key factors in real-world adoption.

By the end, you should be able to:

• Identify when a structured workflow (BPMN) is more appropriate than an adaptive case (CMMN).
• Construct and compare CMMN vs BPMN examples for common business scenarios.
• Recognize the benefits of hybrid modeling in complex, multi-step processes.
• Apply business modeling example techniques to real organizational challenges.
• Use tools like Visual Paradigm to generate and analyze both diagrams efficiently.
• Make informed decisions on which notation supports long-term process resilience.