Build an Approval Workflow

Build an Approval Workflow

A workflow defines the ordered steps every proposal is routed through.
Proposals capture a frozen copy of the route at the moment they are
submitted, so changing a workflow only affects proposals submitted after the
change. See
Why proposals stay isolated until approval.

Every install starts with one workflow, “Standard Curriculum Approval,” which is
the active workflow new proposals route through. You can edit it in place to match
your process, or build additional workflows and switch which one is active. See
“Change which workflow is active” below.

Edit the active workflow

1. Go to Workflows.
2. Click the workflow row to open it.
3. Change its Workflow name if you want.

Add or edit a step

1. Click Add Step, or edit an existing step card.
2. Set the Step label (for example, “Department Chair”).
3. Set Assign to:
   • Everyone with a role: pick a WordPress role. Anyone with that role
     can act on this step.
   • Specific people: check individual people from the list.
4. Set Participation:
   • Approve or Edit: this person or role can act on the step
     (approve, return, hold, resume, or vote if it’s a committee step).
   • Comment or FYI: informational only; they cannot decide the
     step.
5. Turn on All must approve if every assignee has to approve before the
   step completes. Leave it off if any one assignee’s approval is enough.
6. If this step is a committee vote instead of an individual decision, turn
   on Committee vote. See “Make a step a committee vote” below.

Reorder or remove a step

Use the up and down arrows in a step card’s header to move it, or the X
to remove it.

Make a step a committee vote

1. On the step, turn on Committee vote.
2. Set Quorum: the minimum number of votes (including abstentions) that
   must be cast before the step can complete.
3. Set Approval threshold: Simple majority (more than half), Two-thirds,
   or Unanimous (no rejections).

With Committee vote on, the assignees (role or specific people) become the
committee’s members. The step advances automatically once quorum and the
threshold are both met, no separate approval click is needed. See
Run Committee Review and Meetings for
how voting works from the reviewer’s side.

Add a conditional step

Conditional steps are inserted into the route only when a proposal matches a
condition, at the moment it is submitted.

1. Click Add Conditional Step.
2. Set When the proposal:
   • carries a flag: type the flag name. The built-in flag
     substantive_change is set automatically when a proposal crosses one of
     your substantive-change thresholds. See
     About substantive change flagging.
   • is of type: pick New Course, Revise Course, or Discontinue Course.
3. Set Insert after to the step this conditional step should follow.
4. Fill in the conditional step’s own label, assignee, and participation the
   same way as a regular step.

The default workflow ships with one conditional step already configured: an
Accreditation Liaison review inserted after the Curriculum Committee step,
triggered by the substantive_change flag.

Save

Click Save (or Cmd/Ctrl+S). Validation runs before saving:

• The workflow needs a name and at least one step.
• Every step needs a label.
• If a step assigns to specific people, at least one person must be
  selected.
• Every conditional step needs a label, and a flag-based condition needs a
  flag name.

Change which workflow is active

The active workflow is the one new proposals route through. It shows an
Active badge in the Workflows list, and every install starts with “Standard
Curriculum Approval” as the active workflow.

To switch to a different workflow:

1. Build the new workflow (or edit an existing one) so its steps and rules match
   your process.
2. Go to Workflows, open that workflow’s row actions, and select
   Set as Active.

New proposals now route through it. Proposals already in review keep the workflow
they were routed through when they were submitted, so switching is safe mid-cycle.

You can keep several workflows and switch between them; only one is active at a
time. If you delete the active workflow (deletion is blocked while it has in-flight
proposals), the next remaining workflow is promoted automatically, so routing is
never left without one.