Approver
The person designated to perform an approval task. The setting that determines the approvers is a configuration element of an approval rule. When processing an approval rule, Active Roles creates an approval task and assigns it to the approvers defined by the rule. The state of the task governs the workflow transition: the task must receive the “Approve” resolution for the operation to pass through the approval rule. If the task has received the “Reject” resolution, the operation is denied and the workflow instance is completed.
Initiator (requestor)
The identity of the user or service that has requested an operation in Active Roles. For example, when the Active Roles console is used to change or create an object, the console user is identified as the initiator of the respective operation. The initiator of an operation is also referred to as the operation requestor.
Notification
The means used to notify a user or group of users about a specific predefined situation that could manifest within a workflow. A notification message is generated and sent to the designated recipients via e-mail to inform them that a certain event has occurred, such as a new approval task has been submitted to the approvers or the operation has been completed. A notification configuration, stored as part of an approval rule, involves such elements as the event to notify of, the list of the notification recipients and the notification message template. Active Roles also provides a separate category of workflow activity for the purpose of notification, in addition to approval rules.
Operation
A request for certain changes to be made to directory data, such as creating users or adding users to groups. An operation can start an approval workflow, in which case the requested changes are made only after they are approved.