Terms of Workflow

The workflow definition is the set of rules that determine the path that the process takes.

 

A workflow instance, which is often simply referred to as the workflow, is a single workflow run.

 

The tasks are the steps in the process, which have to be performed either by people or automatically by the software. Tasks describe elementary business activities. Tasks always refer to a method of an object type. Possibles are defeined for tasks. Tasks can refer to automatically executable methods (background tasks) or they can need a user to execute them (dialog task).

 

A work item is the task instance that is performed as a single workflow step.

 

Agents are the people who process the tasks (via the work items).

Participants are everybody involved in the process, including those who simply receive a notification that something has or hasn’t been done.

 

The container is the place where all data used in the workflow is collected.

 

The binding is the set of rules that define which data is passed to which part of the process.

 

Activity: Step type in a workflow definition for executing a task at runtime. The task can be a single-step task (customer task/standard task) or a multistep task (workflow task/workflow template).

 

Table 1 Examples to illustrate Workflow Terminology

Terminology	Example
Workflow definition	How to purchase requisition is processed, from the initial request to the creation of a purchase order.
Workflow	The processing of a single purchase requisition for an office printer.
Agent	Requisitioner, manager, member of the IT dept and a member of the purchasing department.
Participant	Office colleagues of the requisitioner, who will later receive news of the new printer.
Task	Check that the office does not already have this equipment.
Work item	Check that there is currently no printer in room l1.29.
Container content	Office(l1.29), Equipment (printer)
Binding	The room number of the office and the equipment type is required to perform this task, but NOT the requisitioner’s cost center.