BPMN process examples

A process can be defined as a sequence of actions to be performed in a certain order in order to obtain a specific result.

One of the first definitions of the term “process” was coined in 1776 by Adam Smith, a Scottish economist. He details an example of a business process implemented in a pin factory. His idea is to break down pin manufacturing into smaller steps.

“One man draws out the wire, another straights it, a third cuts it, a fourth points it, a fifth grinds it at the top for receiving the head; to make the head requires two or three distinct operations; to put it on, is a peculiar business, to whiten the pins is another; it is even a trade by itself to put them into the paper; and the important business of making a pin is, in this manner, divided into about eighteen distinct operations, which, in some manufactories, are all performed by distinct hands.”

From this sample process, Smith realized that by creating a process and assigning the steps to unique specialists, productivity increased by more than 20,000%.
A single worker can perform an end-to-end pin manufacturing process alone, but assigning tasks to different people who are specialized is 200 times more efficient.

Years later, Henry Ford applied this process example to the Model T manufacturing plant. With this new approach, Ford reduced assembly time from 12 hours and 30 minutes to just 2 hours.

Since then, these process examples have revolutionized industries and different organizational methods. Today, the various processes are divided into three categories: management processes, operational processes and support processes.