Process instance relationships

A dependent instance cannot complete until all the instances that it depends on are completed or terminated. If a dependent instance is terminated forcefully, all its dependencies are also terminated, all the way down the dependency tree. To terminate a dependent instance (and, therefore, its dependencies), you must be authorized to terminate all the instances. To keep the dependency instances running, remove the dependency relationship before you terminate the dependent instance. If you still need a relationship between the processes, add an independent relationship instead. For information about terminating processes in the Process Inspector, see Actions in the Process Inspector.

The following image shows process instance A, which depends on process instances B and C.

The preceding image shows the following important facts about dependent relationships:

• A process instance (A) can have multiple dependency process instances (B, C).
• A dependency process instance (B or C) can have only one dependent process instance (A).
• Process instance A cannot complete until process instance B and process instance C are both completed or terminated.
• If process instance A is terminated, process instance B and process instance C are also terminated.
• Terminating an instance also terminates its relationships except for completed instances. They stay in the completed state.