Session 6 - April 9, 2026Hosted by Sebastian (solo)
Pools vs. Lanes - When to Separate External Stakeholders
When to use pools vs. lanes in BPMN, using a sample box ordering process with an external supplier. Why separating external entities into pools prevents false signals of 100% internal control, enables supplier-level reporting across your process landscape, and makes compliance audits easier.
Key takeaways
- -Pools for external entities (suppliers, customers), lanes for internal departments
- -Without pools, the process falsely signals 100% internal control - hiding external dependencies
- -Message events are strictly for inter-pool communication, not between internal lanes
- -Default to collapsed pools for suppliers - expand only for exclusive/controlled relationships
- -The 15-task rule applies to the happy path sequence within one pool
- -Crossing a lane boundary with sequence flow already implies a handover - no extra "send to finance" task needed
Session 5 - April 2, 2026Hosted by Sebastian (solo)
BPMN Meets AI - How to Bring AI Into Operations
How BPMN helps bring AI into operations fast and safe. Using a qualification process, we showed how a process map reveals AI scope in seconds - not hours of brainstorming. Live demo: designing two separate AI agents with distinct goals, adding human-in-the-loop safety, and using process metrics to prioritize pilots.
Key takeaways
- -A defined process map lets you identify where AI fits in seconds - no blank-canvas brainstorming
- -Two dimensions for every AI pilot: context (data) and control (human-in-the-loop)
- -Design "review and approve" tasks before giving agents autonomy
- -BPMN serves as stakeholder glue - same diagram for sales, IT, and compliance
- -BPMN has absorbed every tech wave (RPA, ERP, cloud) - AI is next
Session 4 - March 26, 2026Hosted by Sebastian (solo)
Is Your Diagram Actually Correct? Structural Validation & Token Simulation
Four common BPMN pitfalls hiding in plain sight: multi-merge causing double execution, confusing decisions with reactions, hidden parallelization from multiple outgoing flows, and interrupting vs non-interrupting event subprocesses.
Key takeaways
- -A diagram can look clean and still be structurally broken
- -Missing parallel merge = silent double execution
- -Exclusive gateway vs event-based gateway: who controls the decision?
- -Event subprocesses beat boundary events for process-wide cancellation
Session 3 - March 19, 2026Hosted by Fabian & Sebastian
5 Reasons Your Process Initiative Gets Stuck
Why process initiatives stall before the first model is drawn. Wrong scope, missing stakeholder buy-in, modeling in a vacuum, ignoring variants, and jumping to solutions.
Key takeaways
- -Sweet spot for scope: ~15 tasks in the happy path
- -Ask 4 questions before modeling: Who owns it? What triggers it? How does success look? Why does it exist?
- -A process living as a PDF in SharePoint is already dead
- -Map variants and label them - don't pretend they don't exist
- -Agree on the as-is before designing the to-be
Session 2 - March 12, 2026Hosted by Fabian & Sebastian
Process Landscape: From 10,000 Feet to Ground Level
How to organize hundreds of processes into a navigable hierarchy. Value chains (L0/L1), bridging to BPMN detail (L2), and knowing when to go deeper (L3). Live landscape building in crismo.
Key takeaways
- -Start with the value chain, not individual processes
- -L0: value chain, L1: process groups, L2: BPMN diagrams
- -Not every process needs L3 detail - know when to stop
- -Process landscapes are navigation tools, not documentation
Session 1 - March 5, 2026Hosted by Fabian & Sebastian
Qualification Process: As-Is to To-Be
Modeled a real qualification process from scratch. Built the as-is diagram, discovered a gap where poor qualification was cascading into painful implementations, then designed the to-be.
Key takeaways
- -Always start with as-is before designing to-be
- -Follow the pain: where does the process break down?
- -Small modeling changes can reveal big operational gaps