Create Approval Flow Policies

As an IT administrator, effectively configuring Approval Flow Policies in EmpowerID is essential for automating the approval process. When users submit a "Business Request" with one or more resource items, Approval Flow policies manage the necessary approval steps before granting access. This article will guide you through creating an Approval Flow policy that directs Business Requests to the requestor's manager for approval. By following these guidelines, you can use this as a foundation for creating additional Approval Flow policies tailored to your organization's needs.

Step 1 – Create the policy

1. On the navbar, expand Low Code/No Code Workflow and click Approval Flow.

2. On the Find Approval Flow Policy page, select the Approval Policies tab and then click the Add button on the grid header.  
   

   

3. In the Add New Policy dialog that opens, enter something similar to Manager 1 Step Approval in the Name and Display Name fields and then click Save.

4. Close the Add New Policy dialog.

Step 2 – Add Approval Steps to the policy

1. Search for the policy you just created and click the Name link for it.

2. Expand the Approval Steps in Policy accordion and click the Add button.
   

   

   
   This opens the Add Approval Step Dialog.
   

   

   Field	Description
   Step Parent (Preceding Step)	Specifies a preceding step (if any) that must be acted upon before the current step is available for an approval decision.
   Approval Step	Dropdown for adding the desired approval step to the Approval policy.
   If Approver is Initiator and Target Person	Specifies the approval action that should occur if the person who is designated as an approver is both the initiator and the target of the request. Options include: Send for Approval (selected by default) – Routes the request for approval to each designated approver. Remove from approvers – Removes the approval capability from the person; other designated approvers must render an approval decision. Automatically Approve – Directs the system to approve the request without requiring a human decision.
   If Approver is Target Person	Specifies the approval action that should occur if the person who is designated as an approver is the target of the request. Options include: Send for Approval (selected by default) – Routes the request for approval to each designated approver. Remove from approvers – Removes the approval capability from the person; other designated approvers must render an approval decision. Automatically Approve – Directs the system to approve the request without requiring a human decision.
   If Approver is Approver	Specifies the approval action that should occur if the person who is designated as an approver is the initiator of the request. Options include: Send for Approval (selected by default) – Routes the request for approval to each designated approver. Remove from approvers – Removes the approval capability from the person; other designated approvers must render an approval decision. Automatically Approve – Directs the system to approve the request without requiring a human decision.
   Allow Item Level Approval	Specifies whether the step can allow Item-level approval, enabling the approver to make decisions on each item instead of a single decision for the entire Business Request.
   Allow Add Approvers	Specifies whether an approver or admin user can add other users as approvers for the step.
   Allow Assign Task	Specifies whether an approver or admin user can assign the task to other users for an approval decision.
   Can Edit Length of Access	Specifies whether an approver or admin user can change the time period access is granted for the access request.
   Step Decision Workflow	Specifies the workflow to be run for the approval step, if any. If a workflow is selected, approvers must run the workflow to render an approval decision.
   Approver Recalculation Interval	Specifies the period of time to elapse before the Approval engine recalculates and updates eligible approvers for the step.
   Auto-Approve Decsion if Approver Previously Approved	Specifies whether the approval engine automatically approves the step if an approver previously approved the request.

   
   

3. For Approval Step, select the step you created in the Configure Approval Steps topic and fill in the fields as needed for your scenario.

Step 3 (Optional) – Configure Decisions for Approval Steps in Specific Policies and Specific Policies Per Item Type Action

As a policy creator, you can specify available approval decisions that are available for the steps in your approval policies (default decisions include ‘Approve’ and ‘Reject’). Selected approval decisions are added to the default Approve and Reject decision options that appear for all approval steps.

1. On the Find Approval Flow Policy page, select the Approval Policies tab and search for the target Approval Policy.

2. Click the Name link to navigate to the View One page for the policy.

3. On the View One page, expand the Approval Steps in Policy accordion and click the Step In Policy link.
   

   

   
   This opens the View One page for the Approval Step.
   

   

To configure additional decisions for Approval Steps in Specific Policies, do the following:

1. Expand the Decisions for Approval Steps in Specific Policies (Optional) accordion and click the Add [+] button.
   
   This opens the Add Decision dialog.
   

   

2. Fill in the fields for your scenario and repeat to add additional decision options as needed.

To configure additional decisions for Approval Steps in Specific Policies per Item Action, do the following:

1. Expand the Decisions for Approval Steps in Specific Policies Per Item Action (Optional) accordion and click the Add [+] button.
   
   This opens the Add Decision dialog.
   

   

2. Fill in the fields for your scenario and repeat to add additional decision options as needed.

Test Approval Flow