Participant

A participant is a subject that is allocated a task and execute it in business process.

Overview
A participant is a subject that is allocated a task, based on a process definition (workflow), by a workflow engine in the process. A participant is a human in some cases, but it is an information system in other cases. Usually, multiple participants are involved in one business process.

A workflow engine allocates a task to a participant, the participant executes the task, the workflow engine receives the execution result, checks it against pre-defined conditions, and allocates a task to the next participant, and so forth. The process makes progress in this way.



Offer and Allocation
There are two possible states, Offer and Allocation, when a participant is being assigned a task by a workflow engine.

Offer
Offer is a state in which a participant to execute a task is being wanted by a workflow engine or a state in which a workflow engine is requesting a participant to execute a task. In some cases, multiple participants are offerred a single task, but at this point of time, the participant that actually executes the task is not determined yet. When the participant in charge of the task is determined among the multiple participants offerred, the state is changed to "Allocation" state.

Allocation
Allocation is a state in which a participant in charge of a task is determined by a workflow engine, and the participant allocated is required to execute the task. However, the task is not started yet at this point of time. In some cases, Allocation state is reached via Offer, but in other cases, the state becomes Allocation without going through Offer. The latter is a case in which a participant in charge of a task is determined without "selection."

Related Articles

 * Business Process
 * Workflow
 * Work Item
 * Offer
 * Allocation
 * SL Theory