With practical insight from Laserfiche and Camunda
1. What Is a Workflow?
A workflow is simply:
A sequence of steps that executes a business process from start to finish.
Think of it like a story:
It begins with an event It moves through actions and decisions It ends with a result
2. Workflow Start (How It Begins)
Every workflow must have a trigger — this is the start event.
Common Start Types
✔ Manual Start
A user clicks “Start Workflow” Example: Employee submits a request
✔ Automatic Start
Triggered by system events: Document created Folder updated Form submitted
In Laserfiche:
A workflow can start when: A document enters a folder A form is submitted
In Camunda:
A workflow starts via: API call Message event Timer
👉 Key idea:
No clear start = no control over the process
3. Workflow End (How It Finishes)
A workflow must always have an end state.
Common End Types
Completed successfully ✅ Rejected ❌ Cancelled ⛔
In both Laserfiche and Camunda:
The workflow ends when: No more tasks remain A final action is executed
👉 Example:
Loan process ends when:
Status = Approved OR Rejected
👉 Key idea:
A workflow without a clear end becomes a “zombie process”
4. What Is an “Instance”?
This is the most important concept.
Definition
An instance is a single execution of a workflow.
Simple Analogy
Workflow = Recipe 🍳 Instance = One meal cooked from that recipe
Example
Workflow: “Loan Approval Process”
Instances:
Loan #1001 → Instance 1 Loan #1002 → Instance 2 Loan #1003 → Instance 3
Each one:
Runs independently Has its own data Has its own state
In Systems
In Camunda:
Called Process Instance
In Laserfiche:
Each workflow run is tied to a document or entry
5. Can an Instance Be Shared?
👉 Short answer: No — but also Yes (in a specific way)
❌ NO — Instance Itself Is NOT Shared
Each instance is:
Isolated Independent Has its own lifecycle
You cannot:
Merge two instances into one Share the same execution state
✔ YES — Data Can Be Shared Between Instances
What can be shared:
1. External Data
Database ECM repository Shared documents
2. Messages / Events
One instance can trigger another
Example in Camunda:
Instance A sends a message Instance B receives it
3. Same Resources
Multiple instances work on: Same folder Same document Same case
6. Real Scenario (Important for You)
You asked earlier about:
Parallel tasks and aggregation
What Happens:
One instance starts It splits into parallel paths Tasks run independently Then they merge back
👉 This is still:
ONE instance — not multiple
Example
Loan Workflow Instance:
Start Split: Finance review Legal review Merge Final decision End
👉 This is:
One instance Multiple paths inside it
7. When People Get Confused
Common misunderstanding:
“I have multiple users working → multiple instances”
❌ Wrong
✔ Correct:
One process = One instance Multiple users = Tasks inside that instance
Final Insight
Start = Trigger of the process End = Final state of the process Instance = One running copy of the workflow
And the golden rule:
Instances don’t share execution — they only share data or communicate.
Architect-Level Thinking
When designing systems in Laserfiche or Camunda:
Think in process definitions (the model) Execute as instances (the reality) Connect via data and events (not shared state)
Good workflow design = clear start + controlled execution + clean end + isolated instances.