Can someone please explain what are major pros and cons of process driven and db driven task and in which use case we should consider db driven and process driven approach.
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In my 15 years with Appian, I learned all the tiny details of how processes and user input tasks work. And this is my go-to decision. It is there, it works for 99% of all cases, and I do not have to re-invent the wheel.
Then, I had many conversations about the nature of tasks, including a recent podcast episode (https://appian.rocks/2025/04/23/episode-27-a-task-is-a-task/). And I think it is a good idea to really understand what tasks are, in process, like in a business process you discuss with the client, as well as how this translates, or not, into a user input task in Appian.
Hello Rishi Sai Ram
Depends on your application design requirements and volume of instances that would be triggered and also archival policies.
Process-Driven ApproachPros:1. Great for workflows with tasks, approvals, and timers.2. Built-in tracking, SLAs, and audit trails.3. Easy and quick to understand business flow.4. Most of the data is held in the pv's.Cons:1. Long-living instances2. Data held in process instances is hard to report on sometimes.3. More effort to maintain over time. DB-Driven ApproachPros:1. Scales better and all business data is stored in the database.2. Easier to report on and update data.3. Cleaner and faster for high-volume applications.4. Would help in maintaing better perfomance as short lived instances are designed. Cons:1. You need to build your own audit if needed.2. More design is to be done manually as starting and ending tasks is to be designed manually