Can Appian Process Models be exported to Visio or other tools? I would like to r

Refer to forum.appian.com/.../e-35548

So the answer is No. Appian out of the box can not import or export BPMN 2.0 XML from or into any other tool.

No

This has some relevance to your topic
forum.appian.com/.../Create_High_Level_Process_Diagrams.html

I had several lenghty talks about this in the last years. I think that the requirements towards a graphical representation of a process model are very different for a business user and an Appian designer. My answer is always to not use Appian as a process documentation tool. Create models in any tool available in the company, do the business workshops and discussions on these models. An Appian process is made of many smaller models and is filled with technical details and optimized for a maintainability. A business user will have a hard time "seeing" his process in this.

I agree with Stefan, we also do our business process modelling in Visio and a regular Wiki and implement the processes at the end in Appian. I am also not aware of any other BPMS vendor who mastered the roundtrip problem in a comfortable way.

There is a reason why there are tools out there specifically designed for Business Analysts (e.g. ARIS, Mega etc.). The focus is just very different.

This is unfortunate and in my opinion a mistake of Appian. The BPMN 2.0 process models created in IBM Blueworks Live or Visio can also be created in Appian Processes Modeler and Appian could be the one tool for both diagrams and automated process models if you could export them as BPMN 2.0 XML. This is one of the great benefits of BPMN 2.0 that tool choice is an option and diagrams should be interchangeable. Not having to pay for other tools to do process modeling could be part of the ROI of the expensive cost of Appian, but this opportunity is lost. As you and Appian recommend we will continue to pay for and use other tools instead of Appian for process modeling and it's one step closer to using another tool for process automation.

There is no reason why Appian could not have a Analyst section for modeling BPMN 2.0 diagrams using the basic BPMN 2.0 constructs which are included in Appian. Visio, Blueworks Live, Lucidchart, and many other process modeling tools allow import and export of BPMN 2.0 XML. The diagrams created in those apps are possible in Appian but without import/export ability it forces designers and organizations to look elsewhere than Appian.

Greg, you can definitely open the Process Modeler in Analyst view and use that to support business meetings/diagramming. The Process Documentation capability can then be used to create copies to be circulated around.

In other words, Appian has analyst-friendly tools built in. I would NOT say that Appian recommends everyone pay for and use other tools for process modeling.

Actually, that is exactly what they do. I will quote for you from the Appain 7.10 help:
"Tools for Creating Process Diagrams:
Microsoft Visio is the recommended tool for creating process model diagrams."
forum.appian.com/.../Create_High_Level_Process_Diagrams.html

Bottom line is I can not recommend to my organization that Appian become the standard tool and repository for BA's doing process modeling when the diagrams would be stuck in Appian - which no way to export the BPMN 2.0 business process diagrams to any other tool and no way for BA's to still use their BPMN process modeling tool of choice and import their diagrams into Appian.