Chapter 4. Configuring Approval
Automation services catalog supports group-based approval processes applied to portfolios, products, and platform inventories, providing the flexibility to include selected organizational groups in approving requests utilizing the Approval service.
Approval administrators can create approval groups and processes, view request details, approve or deny requests, and monitor the status of existing requests.
4.1. Approval requests
Approval requests are created when a user orders a product that has an approval policy attached to it. The order will initiate the approval processes assigned to the product and users designated as approvers in each approval process receive an email notifying them that a request is ready.
Users logging in to Catalog can access approval requests via the following tabs:
- My requests - Requests that the user can approve based on their group permissions.
- All requests - All requests across all approver groups.
- Approval processes - List of approval processes that can be configured by the Approval Administrator. Accessible by the Approval Administrator only.
4.2. Approval processes
Approval processes consist of one or many groups required to approve a request. Each group is notified through the email address associated with that user when requests are created that require approval.
Approval administrators can design approval processes for a product to execute in serial or parallel when set to a portfolio. Simple serial and parallel approval processes are described below:
Set approval processes at the platform, portfolio, or product level. Approval processes set to a platform will apply to all products originating from that platform.
- Serial process - a product has multiple approval processes that must execute in a hierarchical sequence. If two approval processes are assigned to a product in serial, the approval group in the first approval process must approve the request before notification is sent to the second approval group. Priority of approval process execution is based on its position on the approval process list view. Approval processes at the top of the list will execute before the processes below it.
- Parallel process - a product has one approval process containing multiple groups. All groups are notified simultaneously when a request is created and the order is not granted until all groups approve it. Any group that declines the request ends the process and the user is notified the order has been denied.
To create and list groups when creating Approval processes, the Approval Administrator must also have Organization Administrator privileges.
4.2.1. Creating an approval process
Creating an approval process designates specific groups required to approve product orders placed by automation services catalog users.
You can create an approval process from the Approval processes list view.
- Select Approval from the main navigation.
- Select the Approval processes tab.
- Click .
- Provide an approval process name and description.
- Select a group from the Set groups drop-down menu. You may set multiple groups for approval.
- Click when finished.
Implement an approval process against a platform, portfolio, or product.
4.3. Approval process sequences
Each approval process is assigned a sequence ID that determines the priority in which it executes when included in a serial approval process set to a portfolio. An approval process with the sequence ID of 1 will execute and notify groups in that approval process of a new request before a process with a sequence ID greater than 1.
4.3.1. Editing an approval process sequence
You can edit the sequence number for an approval process from the Approval process list view.
- Select Approval from the main navigation.
- Click the Approval processes tab.
-
Navigate to the approval process, then click
.
- Click .
- Enter the desired sequence number under Enter sequence.
- Click .
The approval process list view will update to reflect the newly sequence.
4.4. Automatic approval
You can designate products to approve automatically by not setting an approval process at the following levels:
- the inventory hosting the product
- the portfolio containing it
- the product itself
Products without an approval process at any of these levels will approve upon order creation.
