Process

Template:Otheruses2 Process (lat. processus - movement) is a naturally occurring or designed sequence of changes of properties/attributes of a system/object.

From the most general systemic perspective it can be continuous or discrete.

Every measurement is a process, therefore it is the foundamental concept in physics, and, in practice, in every science and engineering.

Identification of a process is a subjective task, because whole Universe demostrates one continuous universal process. Every process has the system property, i.e. can be seen as an abstract dynamic system and arbitrarily divided on network of processes. This division depends of the character of changes, theirperception tools and goal of the observer.

Illustration of a process: a geyser in action.

Examples

In engineering perspective, process refers to operations or events, possibly taking up time, space, expertise or other resource, which produces some outcome. A process may be identified by the changes it creates in the properties of one or more objects under its influence. Compare: project.

A process may be categorized as singular, recurrent, or periodic. A singular process would be one which occurs only once. Few processes in nature can be considered singular. Most processes found in nature are recurrent, or repeat more than once. Recurring processes which repeat at a constant rate are considered periodic. The more periodic a process is the more useful it is as the basis of a clock. Below are a few specific examples of processes.

• The Bessemer process is a way of producing steel.
• The process of mining extracts ore.
• Evolution is a natural process which explains the adaptation of species over long periods of time. (generally assumed to be an example of a recurrent process)
• The creation of the universe by God would be an example of a divine process. (generally assumed to be a singular process)
• Learning is a process, as are teaching and training
• Process music
• Civic governance and conflict resolution
• Error correction in the information processing of a stream of data.
• Protein biosynthesis

See also

• process management,
• process theory,
• process control
• safety process
• dynamic process
• process identification

External links

• Integration of System-Process-Function-Goal Interrelations- an example of a systemic approach. Adam Maria Gadomski, 1988.

• Stage-Gate Product Innovation Process - Developed by Dr. Robert G. Cooper and Dr. Scott J. Edgett