Software Architect's Handbook

Start/end nodes

Some of the nodes that can appear in an activity diagram represent the different ways in which flows can begin and end:

An activity diagram begins with an initial state, or start point, which is graphically represented by a small, solid circle (Start/Initial Node). The activity diagram ends with a final state that is graphically represented by a small, filled circle inside another circle (End/Final Node).

A Flow Final Node, which is a circle with an X inside, can be used to represent the end of a specific process flow. Unlike the end node, which denotes the end of all control flows within an activity, a flow final node represents ...