Process may refer to:

Biology

• Process (anatomy), a projection or outgrowth of tissue from a larger body
• Biological process

Psychology

• Cognitive processes are the building blocks of the cognition

Science and technnology

• Process (computing), a computer program or an instance of a program running concurrently with other programs
• Process (engineering), a set of transformations of input elements into products with specific properties, characterized by transformation parameters
• Systems engineering process
• Process (science), a method or event that results in a transformation in a physical or biological object, a substance or an organism.
• Chemical process
• Thermodynamic process
• Process control
• Process theory
• Processing (programming language), a programming language and integrated development environment built for the electronic arts and visual design communities
• Stochastic process

Business

• Business process, a method or system for achieving a commercial result
• Industrial process, a procedure involving chemical or mechanical steps to aid in the manufacture of an item or items
• Business Process Mapping
• Process architecture
• Process management
• Process modeling

Music

• Process music, music which arises from a process
• Process (Candy Lo album)

Other uses

• Process (patent), series of steps for making or using product
• Process (philosophy), unifying principles which operate in many different systemic contexts
• Service of process, an official notice of a legal proceeding
• Process haircut, which uses a Relaxer chemical agent to straighten hair

A process is a series of stages in time where the last stage is the product, result or goal.

Processes may be planned or unplanned.

A process planned by humans has a purpose. It is a course of action, or a procedure, to achieve a result, or an end-product. The sequence from start to finish is the plan. A plan may be written, or programmed, or just held in the mind. Examples: building a house, fighting a battle, sowing crops; organising a wedding...

A natural process has no conscious purpose, and may or may not have a definite end-product. Though it has no purpose or plan, it may follow a series of well-defined natural changes. It can be investigated and described. Examples: the evolution of the solar system; biological evolution; the growth of melting of ice at the Arctic; the process of development from egg to adult.

Processes often repeat whenever certain conditions hold. Example: car low on petrol/gas, visit garage and refill. Most computer programs are of this type. Processes may be circular: planets revolve around sun; eggs produce chickens, and chickens produce eggs.

Processes, especially those which are cyclical, may be subject to feedback. A simple case is a central heating system. Even an unplanned natural process may be controlled by feedback: evolution is a good example, in which the feedback is effected by relative fecundity.^[1]

References