With object oriented programming, the core language abstraction is the Object. With functional programming, the core abstraction is the function. Although Elixir can be and is often described as a functional language, the concept of the Process is so central to Elixir and the Erlang OTP platform that it is worth considering what impact it has on application design. This session will explore processes in Elixir: what they are and how they let us design systems. We’ll look at the original vision for objects as expressed by Alan Kay. Next, we’ll look at how Elixir processes work and see how they compare. Finally, we’ll take an example application and see how processes can be applied to design.