# Process

A process describes how a particular piece of work should be done. The work may have a relatively small scope, in which case it can be described as a capability pattern, or may address a full project lifecycle, in which case it can be described as a delivery process. A process can reuse method elements and combines them into a structure and sequence for carrying out work.

There are two main types of process, a Capability Pattern and a Delivery Process. A capability pattern is a special process that describes a reusable cluster of activities in common process areas, while a delivery process describes a complete and integrated approach for performing a specific type of project.

Each time a task is included in a process, a reference object to that task is created in the context of the process. This is called a task descriptor. The same task can be referenced any number of times in the same process. In other words, one task can have many task descriptors. A task descriptor can also modify the base task without actually changing the task. For example, roles and work products can be added or suppressed, and steps can be suppressed or re-sequenced.

Roles and work products can also be included in processes as role descriptors and work product descriptors. Roles and work products can be customized to fit with the content of the process in which they are used.

Related concepts
Process Authoring Overview
Related tasks
Create a Delivery Process
Create a Reusable Capability Pattern