Types of Record Relationships in Appian

1. One-to-Many (1:N)

Meaning:

One record in the parent Record Type is related to multiple records in the child Record Type.

Example:

1. Customer → Orders
2. One customer can place many orders.

Use case:

1. Parent–child data modeling
2. Display related lists (orders, transactions, comments)

2. Many-to-One (N:1)

Meaning:

Multiple records in one Record Type relate to a single record in another Record Type.

Example:

1. Orders → Customer
2. Many orders belong to one customer.

Use case:

1. Reverse view of one-to-many
2. Fetch parent data from child records

3. Many-to-Many (M:N)

Meaning:

Records in both Record Types can relate to multiple records in the other.

How it works in Appian:

1. Implemented using a junction (mapping) table
2. Appian does not directly support M:N without an intermediate Record Type

Example:

1. Users ↔ Roles (via UserRole mapping table)