---
name: design-an-approval-workflow
category: start
description: Design an approval workflow with decision scope, evidence, authority, conflicts, sequence, service levels, exceptions, audit, and revocation. Use when an action requires accountable permission before it proceeds.
---

# design-an-approval-workflow

Approval must identify the exact version and action being authorized.

## When to use

- Use for spending, access, hiring, publishing, changes, contracts, releases, exceptions, or regulated actions.
- Do not let a requester approve their own action where independence is required.

## Procedure

1. Define action, risk, value thresholds, jurisdictions, versions, and authoritative policy.
2. Identify requester, preparer, reviewers, approver, implementer, recipient, and accountability.
3. Specify required evidence, attestations, validations, and conditions by approval class.
4. Design sequence, parallel review, quorum, delegation, absence, conflict, recusal, and segregation rules.
5. Set acknowledgment, response, expiry, reminder, escalation, and emergency service levels.
6. Bind decision to immutable request content; material change creates a new approval.
7. Record approve, reject, return, withdraw, expire, override, implement, and revoke states with timestamps.
8. Test permissions, conflicts, stale approvals, duplicate actions, accessibility, notifications, and audit retrieval.

## Done

- An approval workflow document records classes, roles, evidence, authority, sequence, conflicts, states, service levels, and audit
- Version-binding, permission, segregation, recusal, expiry, change, emergency, implementation, and revocation checks verify authorization