Instances
A process instance is one execution of a deployed process definition. If an expense approval process is started for three expense reports, Easy BPM creates three independent instances. They share a definition but have different variables, tasks, history, status, and outcome.
An instance commonly moves through these states:
Waiting is normal. An instance may wait for a human task, message, timer, child process, or external worker while Easy BPM preserves its context.
| Concept | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Process definition | Reusable blueprint | Expense approval |
| Definition version | Published revision | Version 3 |
| Process instance | One running business case | Expense EXP-1042 |
| Process variable | Data owned by that instance | amount, requester, approval |
| Node history | Route taken through the process | start, review, finance, end |
| Timeline | Runtime and operational events | task created, incident retried |
Operators use the current node, status, variables, history, and timeline to understand what an instance is doing. See Operations for investigation and recovery tools.