Roles and role records

You use the Roles application to create role records. A role is a function within a business. A role can represent a specific job title (such as a department manager), an assigned duty (such as a watch officer), a class file, and a data set.

Workflow Inbox assignments and workflow notifications are always made to roles. All role records point to one or more person identifiers. Role records can also point to a table and column in the database that represent a person. When a role is encountered in a workflow process, it resolves the role to a person group or to an individual person record.

You use roles when you create and configure the following workflow elements:

• Communication templates (recipients)
• Escalations
• Negative connection lines (notifications)
• Positive connection lines (notifications)
• Manual Input nodes (notifications)
• Task nodes (assignments and notifications)
• Wait nodes (notifications)

By using role records instead of person records for assignments and notifications, you can create generic workflow processes that require less maintenance as individuals move in and out of different roles within your company.