Appian Composer Concepts

Appian Composer helps you plan and build applications using AI. This page defines the core terms and concepts you'll encounter across Composer, from the application plan you create in the Plan view to the design objects Composer generates in the Build view. Some of these concepts map directly to Appian design objects, while others organize your application plan without becoming objects themselves.

Spec-driven development

Composer follows spec-driven development: it starts from structured requirements and produces Appian design objects, rather than generating standalone code. This approach combines the speed of describing what you want in natural language with the enterprise capabilities your applications inherit from the Appian platform.

Spec-driven development spans three phases—Extract, Collaborate, and Implement—that move from planning in the Plan view to building in the Build view. For how Composer supports each phase across the two views, see the How Appian Composer supports app development. For the plan-approve-execute cycle Composer follows when it builds, see How Composer Works.

Application plan

The application plan is the centerpiece of the Plan view. It provides a clear, structured model that defines the application's requirements, components, and architecture. By detailing every necessary part of your application, it acts as the essential guide for building and bringing your application to life.

You can generate an application plan using:

• A natural language description.
• Uploaded files, such as requirements documents and images.
• An imported Excel app. When you import an Excel app, Composer automatically populates the plan elements based on the spreadsheet's formulas, logic, and structure.

See Get Started with Composer: Define Your Scope for guidance on how to properly scope your application plan.

Plan concepts that map to design objects

Several concepts in your application plan correspond directly to Appian design objects. When you generate objects, Composer generates the mapped design object for each one.

Plan concept	Appian design object
Screens	Interfaces
Site preview	Site
Personas	Groups
Business rules	Expression rules
Process	Process models
Data model	Record types

Screens

Screens are customizable mockups of your application's user interface that appear on the UX Preview tab. They represent the pages your users will interact with—dashboards, forms, and record views—and show how those pages connect to each other through navigation.

When you generate an application plan, Composer generates screens based on your requirements and personas. These screens are interconnected, so clicking a button on one screen navigates to the target screen, forming a clickable prototype of your application during planning.

When you generate objects, Composer converts screens into interface design objects. These interfaces are not backed by record types, but you can work with Composer in the interface object to configure them.

Site preview

The site preview is a mockup of your application's site structure and top-level navigation, shown on the UX Preview tab. When you generate objects, Composer generates a site object from the site preview to connect your generated interfaces.

Personas

In Composer, a persona represents a user role or group of users with similar responsibilities and permissions within an application. Personas help define who interacts with different parts of the application, ensuring the right users can access and perform the appropriate actions based on their roles.

A system persona represents Appian itself. This persona handles system-driven tasks such as requirements, integrations, and system processes, ensuring that routine operations are executed as designed. When you're using Composer, it may automatically generate this and other personas for you.

When you generate objects, Composer generates a group for each persona.

Business rules

A business rule is a plain-language definition of your business logic that guides how your application should make a key decision or perform a specific calculation. These rules ensure consistency and accuracy by clearly constraining every decision or calculation. For example, "If a customer's credit score is above 700, then approve the loan."

Composer analyzes your application requirements and suggests an initial set of business rules for your review. When you generate objects, Composer generates an expression rule for each business rule. This gives business and technical teams a shared, readable view of the logic before it becomes code.

Process

A process in Composer is a visual diagram on the Process tab that represents the flow of work within your application. Using the interactive canvas, you can map out how tasks move between people and systems, where decisions are made, and what outcomes are expected. You build your process using nodes such as events, swimlanes, activities, gateways, and connectors.

In Composer, a process is a logical model that captures the business view of a process so that business and technical teams can align before development begins. When you generate objects, Composer generates one or more process models from your process diagram.

Data model

A data model on the Data Model tab is a visual representation of the information your application will work with and how that information is connected. You define the tables your application needs and the relationships between them.

When you generate objects, Composer generates a database table and a record type for each table defined in the Plan view.

Tables

A table represents a major business concept in your application, such as Invoice, Vendor, or User. Each table has a name and a set of fields (columns) that define what information it stores.

Plan concepts that organize your application

Some concepts structure your application plan but do not map to a single Appian design object. They organize your requirements and carry context into the Build view.

Requirements

Requirements are the functional needs that define your application—the problem to solve, the users involved, and the workflows to support. You capture requirements before generating a plan, whether from existing documentation or by defining them from an idea. See Get Started with Composer: Define Your Scope for how to gather and scope them.

You'll either upload or describe your requirements when you generate an application plan. Then, Composer organizes your requirements into a hierarchy of activities and user stories that you refine in the Stories tab of the Plan view.

Activities and user stories

In the Stories tab, you organize your application's requirements into a story map built from two key terms:

• Activity: A large, high-level piece of functionality in your application, such as "Onboard employee."
• User story: A specific task or requirement within an activity, such as "Submit onboarding form." Action types indicate how each user story will be implemented when you generate objects.

The user stories you define in the Plan view appear on the Board tab in the Build view when you move from planning to building, where Composer helps you build them.

Action types

Action types classify each user story by how it will be implemented. Each action type serves a specific purpose and maps to an appropriate Appian concept or design object.

The following table outlines the available action types and provides a brief description of each.

Icon	Term	Description	Appian Concept/Object
	AI Process	Starts an action that uses an Appian AI capability.	Appian AI
	Assigned Task	Sends a task to an individual or group for completion.	Tasks
	Automated Process	An automated action that is handled within a process model.	Process Model
	External Integration	Executes an action that connects to a third-party system or service.	Integration Types
	Interface Display	Displays user-facing screens such as landing pages and reports.	Interface Object
	RPA Process	Initiates an action that involves Appian RPA.	Appian RPA
	User Action	A direct interaction by the user with the application, involving actions like entering data or making selections.	Related actions
	User Notification	Delivers notifications via email or custom messaging.	Notifications

Build view concepts

These concepts apply when you build your application with Composer in the Build view.

User stories

User stories are the same units of work you define in the Plan view. In the Build view, they appear on the Board tab, where you can generate tasks and have Composer build them.

Task plan

A task plan is the ordered set of steps Composer proposes before it makes any changes, scoped to a single user story or request. You review and approve the task plan before Composer executes it in Appian Designer. See How Composer Works for the full plan-approve-execute cycle.

Conversational coding

Conversational coding is the workflow where you describe what you need to Composer in the chat pane—in the Build view or inside an interface object—without a pre-planned user story. Composer builds or modifies design objects from your request, and proposes a task plan when a request spans multiple objects. For how to work this way in the Build view, see Use Composer to Build on Demand.

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