Business Process Modelling Notation - a formal notation for describing steps/rules/roles etc in business processes, e.g. order processing.

It's both a documentation notation that can be used by analysts and managers, and (at least in later versions) an executable language that can be used for running those processes.

If you scroll down to the bottom and click on "About" you'll be taken to a page that sheds a little light:

> An important part of our BPM vision is BPMN 2.0, an established global standard for modelling [sic] business processes. First of all, it allows you to visualize business processes, thus making it easier to capture, discuss and change them. Then again, it also defines a standardized file format that makes it possible to exchange modeled diagrams freely across compliant modelling tools.

I guess BPM must mean "business process modeling", then.

You're right - they should probably start with an explanation of what BPM and BPMN are.

I wondered too, but it was the first hit on wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Business_Process_Model_and_Not...