Participant Groups and Group Sets
Participant groups allow you to more closely control the signature workflow process, as well as helping your customers ensure that anyone who needs to see or sign a document has the opportunity to do so.
Note
As of July 2021, Participant Groups and Group Sets can only be created and managed via the Sertifi REST API. For specific information about the methods and parameters involved in creating participant groups, refer to the REST documentation.
Term Definitions
A Participant Group is a collection of one or more signers where one signer can sign on behalf of all of the others. However, note that using a Participant Group means the signature process must be completed in a certain order. See Participant Group Usage Example for more information.
Tip
Example: If John, Paul, George, and Ringo are in a Participant Group, only one of them must sign the document(s) before the workflow can proceed to the next stage.
A Group Set is a collection of individual signers and Group Sets of signers. Group Sets are unique in that they allow for parallel signing, so individual signers and members of Group Sets can sign documents without affecting the workflow of the other. See Group Set Usage Example for more information.
Tip
Example: George, Elaine, and Jerry are in a Group Set in a workflow containing the group as well as two individual signers, Frank and Estelle. Any one of George, Elaine, or Jerry can sign the document on behalf of the Participant Group. However, since the Group Set also includes Frank and Estelle as individual signers, they must both sign the document before it is considered complete.
Participant Group Usage Example
The Chicago Sales Group is renting a ballroom from the Windy City Hotel, in addition to purchasing a catering and bar package. Their signature workflow is configured as the following:
Participant Level/Type | Participant Title(s) |
|---|---|
1 - Participant Group | Chicago Sales Group CEO, Chicago Sales Group CMO, Chicago Sales Group VP Finance |
2 - Individual | Venue Manager |
3 - Individual | Catering Manager |
Since the workflow was configured to use a Participant Group, one of the figures in the Participant Group must sign the documents before the Venue Manager and Catering Manger will be able to sign.
Group Set Usage Example
The Northside Baseball Club is renting a dining room from Midway Hot Dogs, in addition to purchasing a catering package as well as renting audio equipment from Wilco Sound. Their signature workflow is configured as the following:
Participant Level/Type | Participant Title(s) |
|---|---|
1 - Group Set | Northside Baseball Club Manager, Northside Baseball Club Operations Lead, Northside Baseball Club Player Assistant |
2 - Individual | Midway Hot Dogs Head Chef |
3 - Individual | Midway Hot Dogs Owner |
4 - Individual | Wilco Sound |
Since the workflow was configured to use a Group Set, any signer can sign the document at any point in time without needing signatures for other participants. In the Group Set, only one of the group members needs to sign.