Concept dictionary
Actor
An actor is a person, role, group, organization, or system that participates in or influences a process.
- Review state
- Reviewed in POC
- Freshness
- Current
- Version
- 5
Also called
- actor
Remember it this wayActors are the who—or what—behind each step.
In plain language
An actor is anyone or anything that takes part in the work or influences a step or decision. In a process map, actors are usually named by their role, such as customer, dispatcher, technician, or approver.
Why it matters
Friction often appears when work, information, responsibility, or decisions move between actors.
Role-based language keeps the map focused on the work system instead of blaming specific people.
Example
In a service request workflow, actors may include the customer, office manager, dispatcher, technician, owner, and automated system that sends email and text alerts.
Common misconception
Actors are not always individual people. A team, organization, vendor, or system can also be an actor when it performs work or influences a step or decision.
Related terms
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