Table of Contents
Approval Processes are user defined on the IDAP form. The Approval Process definitions identify which transactions require approvals, the authorized approvers and the levels of approval required. The Approval Process begins as soon as an employee (or other person) "submits" a transaction.
Approvals may be done in eP or Self Service, by managers and/or administrators. Supervisors who log into the Manager Self-Service module can view and approve transactions initiated by their employees. Administrators who log into eP or HR Self Service can view and approve transactions initiated by the employees they are authorized for.
What can be approved?
| Applicant Hires | Approval of new hires is done on IRAP, IRCA and IRPO. |
|---|---|
| Assessments | Approval of assessments is done on IRSA. |
| Benefit Elections | Approval of benefits selected on the eP or Self Service election forms is done on IBEL or WxDAR. |
| Class Registrations | Approval of class registrations for employees is done on ICRSE or WxCAT. |
| Classes | Approval of training classes is done on ICRSC. |
| Courses | Approval of training courses is done on ICRS. |
| Development Activities | Approval of activities created for development programs is done on ICDA or ICDP. |
| Development Programs | Approval of development programs is done on ICDP. |
| Job Requisitions | Approval of job requisitions is done on IRPO and IRPOA. |
| Leave Lines | Approval of leave requests is done on IAAL. |
| Pay Header Batches | Not currently available |
| Pay Transaction Batches | Approval of payroll transaction batches is done in IPTR or IPTRB. |
| Performance Reviews | Approval of performance reviews is done on ISRV and ICPD. |
| Personnel Actions | Approval of personnel actions is done on WxDAR and ISPA through the MSSPA dialog. |
| Time Sheets | Approval of time sheets is done on WxDATS, WxPTS, WxTTC, WxTTS and IPTS through the MPAPTS dialog. |
| Training Resources | Approval of training resources is done on ICRS and ICRSC. |
Processes are defined in IDAP with an Approval Process, a type of approval being defined using the Type and a description.
Ordering processes may be achieved by adding a “Priority”. The priority will be used when the approval service is deciding which process applies to the approval entity. Processes are grouped by type and ordered from highest to lowest. Caution should be used since if left empty the ID value will be substituted. This may cause unexpected results if one of many is left empty. The suggested set up is to define a priority when multiple of the same type exist.
Processes can be refined using a WHERE CLAUSE to restrict which types will fall under the defined PROCESS. Example - a process of TYPE: Personnel Actions can have a where clause that only PA’s of type “A WAGE INCREASE” will qualify for this process defined, and such PA’s of type: “ADDRESS CHANGE” do not.
A Process may have a “Start” and “End’ date where it will be considered to be “effective”. If the current approval entity’s AS_OF_DATE falls either between dates if both given, after the start if the end date is not provided or before the end date if the start date is not provided.
Approval Steps#
For each Process multiple steps or at a minimum of one step must be defined, sequenced and given a description. For each step approvers and approval records maybe maintained and viewed.Approvers#
Approvers are defined by selecting an Approver Type. Supported Approver types as defined in X_APPROVER_TYPE lexicon.Approvers may be restricted using a “WHERE_CLAUSE” (IMDAO) to which approval entity they can approve within this process.
Example: For the PA being approved above the PROCESS has already said that only PA’s of type “A WAGE INCREASE” will be approved. And the specified approver can now only approve PA’s for employees in a specific “DEPARTMENT”.
Approvers that qualify in the where clause are then assessed for their particular type. (Department Manager, Position Manager, Assignment Manager, Any Manager, Specified Person, Spec List Of People)
The “Manager” types are considered to be off the prime assignment for the identity of the approval entity. Ex: For the PA in the example above. This PA is for a specific person. The manager defined on the prime assignment either for department, position, assignment or any person who is a manager at any of the previous levels will qualify as an approver for the above approval step.
The “Specified Person” is the selected identity as the qualified approver the above approval step.
The “List of People” allows all identities in the list as qualified approvers.
Note: People lists that are generated through eP can only be used in this selection. These people lists use the “WHERE CLAUSE” functionality as defined in IMDAO.
Alternate approvers may be defined for individual approvers so that transactions may be approved whilst the original approver is away. For more information on alternate approvers please read Designated Approvers.
Approval Records#
Approval Records contain such information as the Approval timestamp, the Status of the approval and the reference ID the approval is for.When an approval Entity becomes eligible for approval, “Notification approval records” are created. These are approval records with the approval status of “Ready for Approval”. There is one record for each identity defined as an approver for the first step of approval. These records in conjunction with work flow can be used to notify approvers of pending approvals.
Once an approval is made (for example a time sheet) an approval record is created for that identity with the appropriate status (approved, not approved, cancelled). At this time the old “notification records” are removed and notification records are created for the next step.
The next step will be determined by a couple of factors. 1. the current step and its next defined step. 2. the step that the approver identity is part of and if that identity is an up to approver. 3. If there are any more steps in the process.
- Approval Work Flow Notification
Approval Records are used in several ways to compliment the approval system. One of the usages is Work Flow. Work flow is provided on the table P2K_CM_APPROVAL_RECORDS. This enhances approvals by adding all standard features of work flow such as emails, user calcs and in turn procedures.
The term “Notification records” has been used to describe the records created to “notify” an approver, say for example an assignment manager of a pending approval via email using work flow. If on step one an approver is required to make an approval. Once the approval entities stage is set to Stage_waiting_approval an approval record or notification record is created. This record has a status of “Ready to be Approved” as defined in the lexicon X_APPROVAL_STATUS. Up to Approvers also get a notification record with the status of “Approval In Progress”
