📘 DMN vs BPMN — What’s the Difference?

 ✅ Introduction

When building business workflows using jBPM, Camunda, or any BPM automation tool, two terms frequently appear:

• BPMN → to model the process flow

• DMN → to model the business decisions

Even though they are used together, both serve completely different purposes.
Understanding the difference helps you design cleaner, scalable, and maintainable automation solutions.

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🧠 What is BPMN?

BPMN = Business Process Model and Notation

📌 BPMN is used to model the flow of a business process — what should happen, and in what sequence.

🔥 BPMN focuses on:

• Steps in a business workflow

• User tasks

• Service tasks (API calls)

• Gateways (decisions)

• Start/End events

✏️ Example (BPMN process flow)

New order received → Check stock → Pack item → Ship → Notify customer

🧩 BPMN visual elements:

• Tasks

• Start/End events

• Gateways (Exclusive/Parallel/Inclusive etc.)

📍 BPMN answers HOW the work flows.

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🧠 What is DMN?

DMN = Decision Model and Notation

📌 DMN is used to model business decisions, generally in a decision table.

🔥 DMN focuses on:

• Business rules

• Conditions → Outputs

• FEEL expressions

✏️ Example (DMN decision table)

Order Amount	Customer Type	Discount
> 500	Premium	15%
> 500	Standard	5%
<= 500	Any	0%

📍 DMN answers WHAT decision should be made.

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🆚 BPMN vs DMN (Side-by-side Comparison)

Feature	BPMN (Process Flow)	DMN (Decision Logic)
Purpose	Workflow orchestration	Decision / business rule evaluation
What it defines	Sequence of tasks	Business rules / logic
Replaces	Flowcharts, Visio diagrams	Excel rule sheet, if-else code
Used by	Process designers / workflow teams	Business analysts / rule owners
Output	Process execution	Decision result (variables)
In jBPM / Camunda	.bpmn file	.dmn file

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💡 When to use BPMN?

Use BPMN when you need to:

✔️ Define steps of a process
✔️ Assign tasks to users or systems
✔️ Control flow (sequence, branching, loops)

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💡 When to use DMN?

Use DMN when you need to:

✔️ Externalize rules from code
✔️ Change rules without redeploying the workflow
✔️ Maintain business logic independently

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🧩 How BPMN and DMN work together

➡️ BPMN calls a DMN decision table like a service.
➡️ DMN returns output that BPMN uses to decide the next step.

🔄 Example:

1. BPMN asks DMN — "What discount applies?"

2. DMN calculates discount

3. BPMN uses discount value in next steps

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🖼️ Visual Difference in One Line

BPMN = Flow of the process
DMN = Logic of decision

 

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🧪 Simple Example

BPMN:

Start → Calculate Discount → Approve Order → End

DMN (inside "Calculate Discount"):

IF OrderAmount > 500 AND Customer = Premium → 15%
ELSE IF OrderAmount > 500 → 5%
ELSE → 0%

👉 Watch “DMN” in Action:
A live demo showing all components of DMN:
🎬 YouTube: Learn IT with Shikha video 1

🎬 YouTube: Learn IT with Shikha video 2
👉 Source code: LearnITWithShikha/DMNExamples

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🎯 Conclusion

If your question is…	Use
“What happens next?”	✅ BPMN
“How do I decide something?”	✅ DMN

Using BPMN + DMN together:

• Improves maintainability

• Keeps workflows simple and readable

• Allows business teams to modify rules without touching code

BPMN models the flow → DMN models the logic.

 

💼 Professional Support Available

If you are facing issues in real projects related to enterprise backend development or workflow automation, I provide paid consulting, production debugging, project support, and focused trainings.

Technologies covered include Java, Spring Boot, PL/SQL, Azure, and workflow automation (jBPM, Camunda BPM, RHPAM).

📧 Contact: ishikhanirankari@gmail.com | info@realtechnologiesindia.com

🌐 Website: IT Trainings | Digital lectern | Digital rostrum | Digital metal podium