---
title: "Author BPMN in Ed — Visual Design Studio 0.1 documentation"
description: "Ed provides a BPMN editor with SpiffWorkflow-specific properties for building executable process models."
source_url: https://spiff.works/docs/ed/author_bpmn.html
---

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# Author BPMN in Ed[](#author-bpmn-in-ed "Link to this heading")

Ed provides a BPMN editor with SpiffWorkflow-specific properties for building executable process models.

## Authoring Checklist[](#authoring-checklist "Link to this heading")

When creating or editing a diagram:

- Use clear business names for events, tasks, and gateways.
- Keep the main flow readable from left to right.
- Give every executable element the sequence flows it needs to run.
- Keep gateway conditions simple and business-readable.
- Use a default flow when a gateway has a natural fallback path.
- Add documentation or instructions where future readers need context.
- Run the diagram after meaningful changes.

## Common SpiffWorkflow Properties[](#common-spiffworkflow-properties "Link to this heading")

Depending on the BPMN element, Ed can expose properties for:

- Script Task code.
- User Task form files.
- Manual Task instructions.
- Pre-scripts and post-scripts.
- Service Task operator settings.
- Message, signal, error, and escalation settings.
- Multi-instance loop settings.
- Data objects and data stores.

## User-Facing Instructions[](#user-facing-instructions "Link to this heading")

Manual Tasks and User Tasks can display instructions to end users.
Use instructions for short, task-specific guidance.
Use BPMN documentation fields for author-facing notes about why the process is modeled a certain way.

Instructions can use task data, which lets a task display context from earlier steps in the workflow.

## Keep Diagrams Reviewable[](#keep-diagrams-reviewable "Link to this heading")

Ed makes it easy to add executable behavior quickly.
Before sharing a process with other authors or running it in Spiff Arena, review it for:

- orphaned tasks or disconnected branches;
- unlabeled gateway outcomes that are hard to understand;
- copied tasks that still point to old form files;
- temporary script variables that do not need to persist;
- missing task assignment or guest-task settings where people are expected to act.

For general modeling guidance, see Spiff Arena’s [Create a BPMN Diagram](https://spiff.works/docs/spiff-arena/how_to_guides/building_diagrams/create_a_bpmn_diagram.html).