The Business Request Escalations feature allows for creating policies that define automatic actions in case a predefined time limit is exceeded for specific steps or global steps within an open business request. This feature enables configurations such as sending notifications, changing approvers, or automatically approving or rejecting a step if no action has been taken within a certain timeframe. Escalation policies can initiate a single action or a sequence of actions in a specified order.
Key Components
Approval Flow Model Escalation Policy
This component defines an escalation policy and links to the active, published version. It specifies the actions to be executed during the approval steps. Once published, it is recognized as an Approval Flow Escalation Policy.
Approval Flow Model Escalation Policy Action
This component details the actions to be executed under a policy for a specific request, including the duration before escalation, necessary supporting data, and the Action Order ID, which determines the sequence of escalations when multiple actions are present.
Approval Flow Escalation Action Type ID
This identifier is used in policy actions to specify the type of action to be executed upon escalation.
Action Types
Notify: Triggers the notification system to alert subscribed users.
Add Assignee: Assign a new potential approver to the step.
Replace Assignees: Not yet implemented.
Auto Close Step: Automatically sets the step's status based on the Approval Decision. This may result in rejecting/approving the item or moving forward as if the decision was made.
Auto Close Item: Closes the item and marks any open steps as skipped.
Run Workflow: Not yet implemented.
Action Order ID
Specifies the execution sequence of actions in an escalation. Actions after an AutoClose operation are redundant as they will not execute once the step or item is closed.
Escalate After X Days
Defines the period (in days) after which an open step will trigger an escalation. The countdown begins from the start of the escalation period for the first escalation, and subsequent escalations are timed from the execution of the preceding one.
Implementation
Assignment of Escalation Policies
Escalation policies are assigned at either the specific ApprovalFlowPolicyStep level or the broader ApprovalFlowStep level. If the default escalation policy is not defined at the specific level, it is applied at the broader level. Assignment fields include NextApprovalFlowEscalationPolicyActionID and NextApprovalFlowEscalationDate.
Processing of Escalation Policies
The "Business Request Status, Approvers, and Escalation Refresher" job scans open business requests for overdue escalations. It adds these escalations to the BusinessRequestEscalationInbox and determines if subsequent escalations should commence based on the ActionOrderID. The job also manages and processes entries in the BusinessRequestEscalationInbox. The logic for this process is encapsulated in the Custom_BusinessRequest_RefreshEscalations procedure.
The "Business Request Status, Approvers and Escalation Refresher" job is responsible for checking overdue escalations in open business requests. If there are any overdue escalations, they are added to the BusinessRequestEscalationInbox. The job then determines if subsequent escalations are required based on the ActionOrderID. Additionally, the job manages and processes the entries in the BusinessRequestEscalationInbox. The Custom_BusinessRequest_RefreshEscalations procedure encapsulates the logic for this process.