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Parallelism

With parallelism, you can split a process into multiple parallel branches (strands) that are worked on at the same time. The process is split into the configured branches at the Start parallelism action. Each branch is worked on independently of the others and is merged back into a single process flow at the Merge parallelism action.

A typical application is, for example, an onboarding process in which different departments have to work on tasks in parallel, e.g. HR, IT and purchasing. A complete example is described in the article The classic onboarding process.

Branch permissions​

The permission actions Assign parallelism authorization and Revoke parallelism authorization basically work in the same way as the Assign process operator and Revoke permissions actions, but they do not apply to the entire process — they apply only to the respective branch of the parallelism.

With the Assign parallelism authorization action, the selected persons receive edit rights for the current branch. All other persons have read-only rights for this branch afterwards. If the selected persons do not have access to the process yet, access is granted to them automatically.

With the Revoke parallelism authorization action, the permissions for the current branch are revoked from the selected persons or groups. The branch no longer appears in the process detail view for the affected persons afterwards. The permissions for the remaining branches are not affected.

Actions​

Start parallelism​

With this action, the process is split into parallel branches. Each branch is created as a separate output port. The following configuration options are available:

  • Add branch:
    Use the Add branch button to add another parallel branch. At least one branch must be created.
  • Name:
    Give each parallel branch a name. The name helps to organize and to distinguish the branches in the process designer.

Merge parallelism​

With this action, the parallel branches are merged back into a single process flow. The following configuration option is available:

  • Waiting behavior:
    Specify here when the process is continued after the end of the parallelism. The following options are available:
    • Wait for all branches
      The process is continued once all branches have been completed. This is the default selection.
    • Continue with first completed branches
      The process is continued as soon as the first branch has been completed.

Assign parallelism authorization​

With this action, you can specify which persons receive edit rights for the current branch of the parallelism. The following configuration option is available:

  • Branch processor:
    Specify here which persons should receive edit rights for the current branch. You can select multiple persons.

The selected persons have edit rights for the current branch. All other persons have read-only rights for this branch afterwards. If the selected persons do not have access to the process yet, access is granted to them automatically.

If the action is executed again, the newly selected persons receive edit rights for the current branch.

Revoke parallelism authorization​

With this action, you can revoke the permissions for the current branch of the parallelism. The following configuration options are available:

  • Who do you want to revoke permissions from?:
    Select here whether the permissions for the current branch are to be revoked from all persons / groups or only from certain persons / groups. The following options are available:
    • All persons / groups
      Nobody will be granted access to the current branch. It is strongly recommended to assign new permissions for the branch afterwards.
    • Certain persons / groups
      The permissions for the current branch are revoked from the selected persons or groups.
  • People / Groups:
    Is shown when you selected Certain persons / groups. Specify here which persons or groups should have their permissions for the current branch revoked.

After revoking the permissions, the current branch no longer appears in the process detail view for the affected persons. The permissions for the remaining branches are not affected.