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Adding an approval step to a process

You can add an approval step to a process to prompt a user to approve or reject a case after reviewing the case details. By using approval steps, you can enforce business policies in your workflows.

  1. On the Life cycle tab of Case Designer, hover over a process and click + Step.

  2. In the palette that is displayed, click Approve/Reject.

    Caution: An alternate stage named Approval Rejection is added to your case type. Do not delete or rename this stage because users will not be able to reject cases.

  3. In the text field that is displayed, enter a unique name that describes the step.

  4. Indicate how the approval step is routed at run time.

    ClosedTo use the worklist of another user in your application:

    1. In the Approval flow type list, select Single level.

    2. Click Specific user.

    3. Select an option from the first list that is displayed to indicate how your application finds the specific user.

    4. Select an option from the second list that is displayed.

      This list is populated with either the names of users or user references, based on the selection you made in the first list.

    ClosedTo use the worklist of the reporting manager, which is defined in the Reports to field on the Operator ID form of the user who is currently processing the case:

    1. In the Approval flow type list, select Single level.

    2. Click Specific user.

    3. Select Reporting Manager.

    ClosedTo use a work queue that is processed by users with the same role:

    1. In the Approval flow type list, select Single level.

    2. Click Work queue.

    3. Select the name of a user role from the list that is displayed.

    ClosedTo use a reporting structure:

    1. In the Approval flow type list, select Cascading.

    2. In the Approval based on list, select Reporting structure.

    3. In the Approval to be complete by list, select a manager who is the first person in the reporting structure to review the case.

    4. Expand the Approval Level section and click an option to indicate how many approvals are required for each case.

      ClosedOptions include:

      • One — Only the manager specified in the Approval to be completed by field must approve the case.

      • All — The entire reporting structure, starting with the manager specified in the Approval to be completed by field, must approve the case.

      • Custom — A variable number of reviewers must approve the case, based on a list of when conditions.

    5. If the approval level is Custom, click Update custom levels and enter values in the When and Levels of approval fields.

      For example, you can require approval by two managers in the reporting structure when a purchase order exceeds $25,000.

    ClosedTo use a list of reviewers:

    1. In the Approval based on list, select Authority matrix.

    2. Optional: Enter the name of a decision table in the Decision table for matrix field that returns a list of reviewers.

    3. In the Page list property field, enter the name of a page list that contains a list of reviewers.

      Tip: If you do not provide a value in the Decision table for matrix, ensure that this page list is populated by other means, such as an activity or data transform, before the case is processed.

    4. In the Approver property field, enter a single-value property that uniquely identifies the reviewers in the page list.

  5. Click Flow.

  6. Define the process for handling approved cases.

    ClosedTo move the case to the next step in the process:

    1. Select Continue from the If Approved then list.

    2. Optional: Press the Down Arrow key in the Set status field and select a case status.

    ClosedTo move the case to a different stage in the life cycle:

    1. Select Change stage from the If Approved then list.

    2. Select a stage name from the To list.

    3. Optional: Press the Down Arrow key in the Set status field and select a case status.

  7. Define the process for handling rejected cases.

    ClosedTo move the case to the next step in the process:

    1. Select Continue from the If Rejected then list.

    2. Optional: Press the Down Arrow key in the Set status field and select a case status.

    ClosedTo move the case to a different stage in the life cycle:

    1. Select Change stage from the If Rejected then list.

    2. Select a stage name from the To list.

    3. Optional: Press the Down Arrow key in the Set status field and select a case status.

    ClosedTo resolve the case:

    1. Select Resolve from the If Rejected then list.

    2. Press the Down Arrow key in the Set status field and select a case status.

  8. Optional: Define a goal and deadline for the assignment to ensure that it is processed in a timely manner.

  9. Click Save.

At run time, an assignment is routed to the worklist of the user who last updated the case. You can change this default behavior by using more routing options in the contextual property panel.

Tip: Click Configure view to define the fields that are displayed when the assignment is processed.

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