What Is an Approval Workflow?
An approval workflow routes a named object through defined reviewers and authorized decision makers, then records the decision, evidence, conditions, and downstream action.
Contributors, required approvers, sequence, quorum, deadline, delegation, and conflict rules.
Approve, approve with conditions, revise, reject, or withdraw with evidence.
Turn the definition into a trustworthy operating rule.
A reliable process identifies the authoritative object, accountable owner, required evidence, decision boundary, and recovery path.
Name the source object
Identify the client, request, project, file, version, document, or agreement and the record that owns its current state.
Define participants and authority
Specify required inputs, permissions, contributors, decision makers, deadlines, criteria, and escalation.
Record the transition
Preserve the actor, time, evidence, conditions, communication, and intended downstream record changes.
Keep exceptions visible
Retain the last verified state, name a recovery owner, and never infer authorization or completion from activity alone.
Questions that make the concept operational.
Apply these prompts when designing the workflow, selecting software, training a team, or explaining the process to clients.
SourceWhich record is authoritative and how are duplicates or conflicting versions handled?
OwnerWho may create, verify, authorize, correct, revoke, or close the state?
EvidenceWhat proves the transition occurred for the exact object and terms?
ConsequenceWhich client, project, delivery, commercial, or financial record changes next?
Approval workflow, answered.
Why does this definition matter?
Clear boundaries reduce duplicate records, unauthorized changes, misleading reporting, and automation built on ambiguous states.
Can one system support both sides of the comparison?
Yes. Verify source ownership, permissions, transitions, exports, and whether the system preserves meaning without duplicate entry.
How should a team apply this page?
Map one real engagement, identify each source record and owner, then test the normal workflow and a meaningful exception.
Make the definition operational.
Connect it to source records, ownership, evidence, and recovery.