Actor (Standalone)

An Actor represents a user, role, external system, or any participant that interacts with the system.

Key Fields

• Name: Actor identifier
• Description: Role and responsibilities
• Actor Type: Internal (part of org) or External (third-party)
• Parent Type: Where the actor is anchored (company, domain, subdomain, context, actor)
• Parent: Specific parent entity
• Called Interfaces: Interfaces this actor calls
• Subscribed Events: Events this actor subscribes to

How It Works

Actor Types

• Internal: Part of your organization (employees, departments, internal systems)
• External: Outside your organization (customers, partners, third-party APIs)

Parent Types

• Company: Company-wide actor (e.g., "Legal Department")
• Domain: Domain-specific actor (e.g., "Sales Rep")
• Subdomain: Subdomain-specific actor (e.g., "Order Processor")
• Context: Context-specific actor (e.g., "Payment Validator")
• Actor: Role of another actor (creates hierarchy)

Role Hierarchy

When an actor's parent is another actor, it creates a role relationship:

• Child actors are "roles" of their parent
• Parent inherits all interactions from child roles
• Only the parent is visualized; children are hidden

Integration

• Storage: korgraph database, type actor
• Hierarchy: Flexible - attached to any organizational level
• Process Reuse: Can be referenced from processes via refId

Physical World Actors

Actors can represent physical entities:

• Vehicles: LKW, Ship, Train (can report GPS, transport goods)
• Stations: Empfangsstation, Loading Dock (physical locations in processes)
• Equipment: Machinery, Tools (physical assets)

Learn more about Physical World Modeling →

Tips

• Use role-based names (e.g., "Warehouse Manager") not individual names
• External actors should represent systems/groups, not individuals
• Leverage role hierarchy to model organizational structure
• Set interfaces and events to show actor interactions
• Model vehicles and stations as actors for complete process visibility