In the previous posts, we separated who a Party is from what that Party does.
That distinction becomes especially important when one person or organization participates in the business in several ways at the same time.
Consider Maria again.
Maria may be an employee. She may also be a customer. She might volunteer for an event or participate as a member of an organization.
Those activities do not create four Marias.
There is one Party performing multiple roles.
The Party represents Maria’s identity. Her roles describe the different ways she participates in the business.
Different Roles, Different Information
Each of Maria’s roles represents a different business context.
As an employee, the business may need information about her employment. As a customer, it may need information about her customer activity. As a volunteer, it may need information about her participation in the volunteer program.
Each role may require different information. But Maria’s underlying identity does not need to be duplicated each time.
Party Role gives us a way to represent those different ways of participating while keeping them connected to the same Party.
This allows the business to see Maria as one person while still recognizing each of the roles she performs.
Why Does This Matter?
Without that distinction, each business area may see only its own version of Maria.
Human Resources sees an employee. Sales sees a customer. The volunteer program sees a volunteer.
Each view may be correct, but none of them alone represents the whole person.
When those roles are connected to the same Party, the business can recognize that they all refer to Maria while still preserving the information that belongs to each business context.
One Party with many roles gives the business a more complete view without losing the distinctions that make each role meaningful.
What Happens When Roles Change?
A Party can perform several roles at the same time.
But those roles do not necessarily remain the same.
A person may become an employee, later leave that employment, remain a customer, and perhaps take on another role in the future.
The Party remains the same even as its roles change.
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