← Back to Documentation Home

User Documentation

Actors Category

Overview

The Actors category represents people, organizations, or systems that interact with your business. Actors can be organized in a flexible hierarchy with unlimited nesting depth.

Hierarchy

graph TD Actor1[Actor
Organization/Role/Person] --> Actor2[Child Actor
Sub-organization/Team] Actor2 --> Actor3[Child Actor
Individual/System] Actor3 --> Actor4[Child Actor
...] Actor1 -.can also.-> Direct[Direct responsibilities] style Actor1 fill:#ffe1e1 style Actor2 fill:#ffe1e1 style Actor3 fill:#ffe1e1 style Actor4 fill:#ffe1e1

Note: Unlike other categories, Actors support infinite nesting - any actor can have child actors at any depth.

Element Types

Actor

  • Purpose: Represents a person, role, team, organization, or external system
  • Parent: Another Actor (or none for top-level)
  • Children: Child Actors (unlimited depth)
  • Attributes: Name, type, contact information, responsibilities
  • 📖 Detailed Documentation →

Actor Types

  • Human Actors

    • Persons: Individual people (e.g., "John Smith - Sales Manager")
    • Roles: Job functions (e.g., "Customer Service Representative")
    • Teams: Organizational units (e.g., "Marketing Team")
    • Organizations: Companies or departments (e.g., "ACME Corp")

  • System Actors

    • External Systems: Third-party services that interact with your systems
    • Automated Agents: Bots or automation that perform tasks

Connections to Other Categories

→ Processes

Actors perform activities in business processes or own process landscapes.

graph LR Actor[Sales Team] -.performs.-> Activity[Create Quote] Activity --> Process[Order-to-Cash] style Actor fill:#ffe1e1 style Process fill:#e1f5ff

📖 Learn more: Processes Category →

→ Components (Contexts)

Actors work within or own contexts. They may be responsible for specific business capabilities.

📖 Learn more: Components Category →

→ Systems

Actors use systems to perform their work, or administer systems.

📖 Learn more: Systems Category →

→ Products

Actors may be customers of products or owners responsible for product success.

📖 Learn more: Products Category →

Usage Guidelines

  1. Start with top-level organizations or major roles
  2. Nest as needed to represent organizational hierarchy
  3. Mix organizational and functional views - there's no fixed depth rule
  4. Link actors to processes they perform or own
  5. Connect actors to contexts they work within
  6. Associate actors with systems they use

Organizational Patterns

Hierarchical Organization

Enterprise
├── Sales Division
│   ├── Regional Sales Team (EMEA)
│   │   └── Sales Rep (John Smith)
│   └── Regional Sales Team (APAC)
└── Operations Division
    └── Support Team

Role-Based Organization

Customer Service Role
├── Tier 1 Support
├── Tier 2 Support
└── Escalation Manager

Mixed Organization

ACME Corporation
├── Customer Service (Team)
│   └── Support Agent (Role)
└── External Partners
    └── Shipping Provider (External System)

Best Practices

  • Use meaningful names that clearly identify the actor
  • Document responsibilities for roles and teams
  • Link to owners - connect team actors to individual person actors when known
  • Model external actors even if outside your organization (customers, partners, vendors)
  • Keep flexibility - the infinite nesting allows you to model any structure
  • Avoid over-nesting - only create hierarchy where it adds clarity