Info: Workflow Approver Acceleration in GroupID

Applies To:

GroupID 10 and above

Business Scenario:

Workflows can be a convenient solution to audit the data that users commit to the directory (such as Active Directory).

For example, when a user creates a group in the directory using GroupID, a workflow request is triggered, and the group is created after the request is approved. The approver of a workflow is a person of authority who determines whether the requested action is valid.

However, there are situations when the approver is not available, and the workflow requests continue to queue up. Since it may adversely affect business activities, GroupID offers a way to avert the disruption.

The Workflow Approver Acceleration function:

GroupID’s workflow approver acceleration function ensures that no workflow request remains unnoticed and undecided. Based on predefined rules, it automatically accelerates a request to another approver if the current approver does not approve/deny it for a certain number of days.

As an additional cover, the GroupID administrator can also approve or deny workflow requests at any given time from the All Requests node in GroupID Management Console.

Enable Workflow Approver Acceleration for an Identity Store:

1. In GroupID Management Console, click the Identity Stores node.
2. On the Identity Stores tab, double-click an identity store to open its properties.
3. On the Workflow tab, click the Advanced Options link.
4. Select the Enable Approver Acceleration check box to apply the approver acceleration settings and rules to all workflow routes defined for the identity store.
   
   
   
   To disable approver acceleration for a route, see the Disable Approver Acceleration for a Workflow Route section.
    
5. In the Maximum Levels box, specify a number, say 2. Workflow requests would be accelerated to a maximum of 2 levels for approval
   Requests that are not approved/denied at the maximum level are routed to the default approver. The default approver is specified in group life cycle settings for the identity store.
6. In the Repeat every days box, specify a certain number of days, say 5. When an approver does not act on a request for the specified number of days, the request is accelerated to the next approver in the acceleration chain.
7. Click OK.

Suppose User A, who is the approver of a workflow route, does not approve/deny a request for the specified number of days. This request would accelerate to User B (first acceleration level), and if User B does not take action for x days, it would accelerate to User C (second acceleration level). The request will continue to be accelerated to the maximum level, and if not approved/denied, it will be routed to the default approver.

Disable Approver Acceleration for a Workflow Route:

Workflow approver acceleration settings apply to all workflow routes in an identity store; however, you can disable it for individual routes.

1. In GroupID Management Console, click the Identity Stores node.
2. On the Identity Stores tab, double-click an identity store to open its properties.
3. On the Workflow tab, select a workflow to disable approver acceleration for, and click Edit.
4. On the Workflow Route dialog box, the Disable approver acceleration check box applies if approver acceleration has been enabled for the identity store.
   To exempt this workflow route from approver acceleration, select this check box. 

Workflow Approver Acceleration Rules:

When the approver of a workflow route does not approve/deny a request within a certain number of days, GroupID applies certain rules to forward it to another approver.

Some basic rules are:

• If the approver is a user who does not approve/deny the request for x days, the request will be accelerated to the user’s primary manager. The request will continue to be accelerated till the maximum level until approved/denied.
• After the last level acceleration, if the user does not approve/deny the request for x days, the request is accelerated to the default approver. The default approver is specified in group life cycle settings for the identity store.
• if the default approver does not approve/deny the request, the request would remain in the system as static.
• If a group is an approver in a workflow route, and group members do not approve/deny the request for x days, the request will be accelerated to the group’s primary owner.

Workflow Acceleration Job:

A scheduled job, Workflow Acceleration, is predefined in GroupID for an identity store.

By default, the job runs daily to accelerate workflow requests to approvers according to workflow acceleration settings for an identity store and the predefined rules. It also generates notifications to inform approvers about pending workflow requests.

 Reference:

GroupID Online Help - Workflows