Process
When workflow starts, a Process Definition is applied and a specific Process is invoked. In the specific Process, specific Users perform Activities and make specific decisions where needed, following the Process Definition.
If we consider a Process Definition as a map showing possible paths from the start to the finish, a Process Instance is a specific path from start to finish on that map. As the specific Process is traversed, different Activities (instantiations of Activity Definitions) are performed, while some Activity Definitions from the Process Definitions may be skipped because they are not on the specific path being traversed.
For example, look at the highlighted path in the following image:
This diagram represents a Process Definition, and the highlighted part represents a specific, completed Process. As you can see, the user who performed the Review Activity chose the Accept Activity as the next Activity to be performed. The Decline Activity Definition never became an actual Activity in this case, because the Activity was never encountered.
A Process is called a Process Instance (or Active Process) while it is being traversed, and a Process History item (or Completed Process) after it has finished.
In Content Manager Explorer, Processes appear in one of the following locations in the Administration tab:
- Active Processes
- The Workflow Management > Active Processes node shows a complete list of all Workflow Processes that have started but not yet finished in your Content Manager instance; that is, Process Instances.
- Completed Processes
- The Workflow Management > Completed Processes node shows a complete list of all Workflow Process that have started and finished in your Content Manager instance; that is, Process History.