Roles are Real Humans

Here are questions that come up frequently regarding Roles in a value network:

Why can’t a Role be a computer or a database?
Work is a social activity. Humans may create technologies that mechanize certain tasks, but machines do not make their own decisions about which activities they engage in. Only people make those decisions, determining what activities and transactions are important, and assigning the tasks either to real people, or technology enablers such as applications that can complete the tasks.

Roles are filled by real people or groups of people who can generate Transactions, send Deliverables and messages, engage in interactions, add value, and make decisions. So, as a general rule a Role would not be a database, a software program, or other technology. Technologies are enablers to support the execution of a particular Role that is needed in the network. (Technologies can also be used as channels or mechanisms to convey a Deliverable). Roles can be filled by:

• Individual Participants
• Teams or subgroups
• Business units
• Organizations
• Collectives or aggregates
• Communities
• Cities or regions
• Nation-states
• Other networks

But don’t applications sometimes take the place of humans to play Roles?
Yes, they can and do. As technologies become more sophisticated a software program may well be capable of filling a Role. An example might be using an online reservations program to book airline travel. In that case the technology supports fulfillment tasks by acting in the Role of “travel agent” or “reservation service provider.” So even though a software program is capable of filling that Role it is fulfilling it based on the way a real human would typically behave. The technology is merely a mechanism for a Role to be executed. Focus on the Role first; then consider what might be the most effective mechanisms to support the activities.

Adapted from the ValueNetworks.com application Help Library.