Process Modeling

Item attribute vs. item type

Depending on the use case, you are dealing with different types of items. You can map the type of item in two ways:

• Through a separate item type each

• Through an item attribute as a discriminator

In terms of filtering and searching, both solutions are equivalent. However, the first solution offers some additional advantages:

• Item types can have their own input masks.

• Item types can have their own workflows.

• Item types can have their own access restrictions.

Therefore, it is usually more convenient to create your own item types and dispense with discriminator attributes.

Items vs. workspace

There are quite different understandings of what a “project” is. You can model your projects as workspaces or items.

The following criteria support modeling your project as a workspace:

• Your project is likely to have several hundred activities.

• Your project has a duration of several weeks to months.

• You want to specify exactly who has access to project items.

• Your project is divided into phases or has several releases.

The following are arguments in favor of modeling via items:

• Your project consists of less than 50 items.

• Your project is only active for a few weeks.

• You have a large number of similar, recurring projects.

In Allegra, workspaces do not have freely configurable attributes. If they are needed, a substitute item (e.g. , item type is “project proxy”) is created on the top project level, which then carries the desired attributes of the project.