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Configure approval processes in a workflow

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Use the following procedure to configure the properties of the approval process.

To configure an approval process, in the workflow editor, right-click the approval element, and then click Properties to open the Properties form.

Name the approval process

Follow these steps to enter a name for the approval process.

  1. In the left pane, click Basic Settings.
  2. In the Name field, enter a unique name for the approval process.

Specify when the system automatically acts on the document

You can configure the system to automatically act on the document if specific conditions are met. For example, the system can approve expense reports that have total amounts that are less than USD 100. Follow these steps to specify when the system acts on the document.

  1. In the left pane, click Automatic actions.

  2. Select the Enable automatic actions check box.

  3. Click Add condition.

  4. Enter a condition.

  5. Enter additional conditions, if necessary.

  6. To verify that the conditions that you entered are configured correctly, complete the following steps:

    1. Click Test to open the Test workflow condition form.
    2. Select a record in the Validate condition area of the form.
    3. Click Test. The system evaluates the record to determine whether it meets the conditions that you defined.
    4. Click OK or Cancel to return to the Properties form.

  7. In the Auto complete action list, select the action that the system should take on the document.

Specify when notifications are sent

You can send notifications to people when a document has been approved, rejected, delegated, or escalated, or when a change has been requested. Follow these steps to specify when notifications are sent, and who the notifications are sent to.

  1. In the left pane, click Notifications.

  2. Select the check box next to the events to send notifications for:

    • Delegate – When a document has been assigned to another user for approval.
    • Escalate – When the assigned user has not acted on a document in the allotted time.
    • Approve – When a document has been approved.
    • Reject – When a document has been rejected.
    • Request change – When the assigned user has requested a change to a document that was submitted.

  3. Select the row for an event that you selected in step 2.

  4. Click the Notification text tab.

  5. In the text box, enter the text for the notification.

  6. To personalize the text, you can insert placeholders, which are replaced with the appropriate data when they are displayed to users. To insert a placeholder, follow these steps:

    1. Click in the text box at the location where the placeholder should appear.
    2. Click Insert placeholder.
    3. In the list that is displayed, select the placeholder to insert.
    4. Click Insert.

  7. To add translations of the notification, click Translations. In the form that is displayed, follow these steps:

    1. Click Add.
    2. In the list that is displayed, select the language in which you will enter the text.
    3. In the Translated text text box, enter the text.
    4. To personalize the text, insert placeholders.
    5. Click Close.

  8. Click the Recipient tab.

  9. Specify who the notifications are sent to. Select one of the options in the following table, and then follow the additional steps for the option before you go to step 10.

    Option Notification recipients Additional steps
    Participant Users who are assigned to a specific group or role
    1. After you select Participant, click the Role based tab.
    2. In the Type of participant list, select the type of group or role to send notifications to.
    3. In the Participant list, select the group or role to send notifications to.
    Workflow user Users who participate in the current workflow
    1. After you select Workflow user, click the Workflow user tab.
    2. In the Workflow user list, select a user who participates in the workflow.
    User Specific users
    1. After you select User, click the User tab.
    2. Select the users to send notifications to, and then move these users to the Selected users list.

  10. Repeat steps 3 through 9 for each event that you selected in step 2.

Specify a final approver

To require additional approval if the user that submitted the document also approves it, you can specify a final approver for the approval step.

  1. In the workflow editor, right-click the approval element, and then select Properties to open the Properties form.
  2. In the left pane, click Advanced settings.
  3. Select the Use final approver check box.
  4. In the list, select a user to be the final approver.

Prevent the submitter from approving steps in the workflow

To prevent users that submit documents for approval from being to approve documents themselves, follow these steps:

  1. Go to System administration > Workflow > Workflow parameters > General > Approver.
  2. Update the Disallow approval by submitter setting on the workflow to Yes.

By default, this is set to No, and users can approve the document if they are included in the approval step's assignment settings.

If the workflow is set to Disallow approval by submitter and includes approval steps with a final approver, confirm that the final approver isn't a user that typically submits documents to workflow, since they won't be able to complete the approval.

Set a time limit

Follow these steps if the approval process must be completed in a specific time.

Note

The options that you select in these steps override the options that you selected in the Assignment and Escalation areas of each approval step.

  1. In the left pane, click Advanced settings.

  2. Select the Set a time limit for the workflow element check box.

  3. In the Duration field, specify when the approval process must be completed. Select one of the following options:

    • Hours – Enter the number of hours in which the approval process must be completed. Then select the calendar that your organization uses, and enter information about your organization's work week.
    • Days – Enter the number of days in which the approval process must be completed. Then select the calendar that your organization uses, and enter information about your organization's work week.
    • Weeks – Enter the number of weeks in which the approval process must be completed.
    • Months – Select the day and week by which the approval process must be completed. For example, you may want the approval process to be completed by Friday of the third week of the month.
    • Years – Select the day, week, and month by which the approval process must be completed. For example, you may want the approval process to be completed by Friday of the third week of December.

  4. If the time limit is exceeded, the system acts on the document. In the Action list, select the action that the system should take.

Specify which actions are available to the user

When a document is assigned to a user for approval, the user must act on the document. Follows these steps to specify which actions the user can take on the document that was submitted.

  1. In the left pane, click Advanced settings.
  2. Select the Approve check box if the user can approve the document.
  3. Select the Reject check box the user can reject the document.
  4. Select the Request change check box the user can request changes to the document.
  5. Select the Delegate check box if the user can assign the document to another user for approval.

Note

The Enable actions from the work list in Enterprise Portal check box has been deprecated.

Configure the approval steps

An approval process consists of approval steps. Complete the following procedure to add steps the approval process and configure the steps.

  1. In the workflow editor, double-click the approval process. The workflow editor displays the steps of the approval process.
  2. To add an approval step, drag the step from the Workflow elements area to the canvas.
  3. To configure an approval step, see Configure approval steps in a workflow.