start event
What It Means
A start event is simply the trigger that kicks off any business process or workflow. It's the specific moment or condition that tells your systems 'begin this sequence of activities now' - whether that's a customer submitting a form, a timer reaching a scheduled time, or data arriving from another system.
Why Chief AI Officers Care
Start events are critical control points where AI systems begin making decisions that affect business outcomes. Poor start event design leads to processes running when they shouldn't, missing important triggers, or creating inconsistent data flows that compromise AI model reliability. Getting these triggers right ensures your AI operations run predictably and comply with business rules.
Real-World Example
When a customer uploads a document to your loan application portal, that upload action is the start event that triggers an AI-powered document processing workflow - optical character recognition, data extraction, fraud detection, and credit scoring all begin automatically from this single trigger.
Common Confusion
People often confuse start events with the actual work being done, but a start event is just the trigger - not the processing itself. It's the doorbell ringing, not the conversation that follows when you answer the door.
Industry-Specific Applications
See how this term applies to healthcare, finance, manufacturing, government, tech, and insurance.
Healthcare: In healthcare, start events trigger critical clinical and administrative workflows that must comply with HIPAA privacy r...
Finance: In finance, start events typically trigger critical processes like month-end close procedures, regulatory reporting work...
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Includes:
- 6 industry-specific applications
- Relevant regulations by sector
- Real compliance scenarios
- Implementation guidance
Technical Definitions
NISTNational Institute of Standards and Technology
"An activity, task, or input that describes or defines the beginning of a process."Source: IEEE_Guide_IPA
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