<style>p { margin: 0; }span.fr-emoticon.fr-emoticon-img { background-repeat: no-repeat !important; font-size: inherit; height: 1em; width: 1em; min-height: 20px; min-width: 20px; display: inline-block; margin: -0.1em 0.1em 0.1em; line-height: 1; vertical-align: middle; } span.fr-emoticon { font-weight: normal; font-family: "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "NotoColorEmoji", "Segoe UI Symbol", "Android Emoji", "EmojiSymbols"; display: inline; line-height: 0; } blockquote { border-left: solid 2px #5e35b1; color: #5e35b1; margin-left:0; padding-left:5px;}blockquote blockquote{ border-color: #00bcd4; color: #00bcd4;}blockquote blockquote blockquote{ border-color: #43a047; color: #43a047;} table.grid{ border-collapse: collapse;} table.grid td, table.grid th { border: 1px solid #ddd;} .fr-fic.fr-dib{ display: block; margin: 5px auto;}.fr-fic.fr-dib.fr-fir{ text-align: right; margin: 5px 0 5px auto;}.fr-fic.fr-dib.fr-fil{ text-align: left; margin: 5px auto 5px 0;}.fr-fic.fr-dii{ float: none; margin: 5px auto;}.fr-fic.fr-dii.fr-fil{ float: left; margin: 5px auto;}.fr-fic.fr-dii.fr-fir{ float: right; margin: 5px auto;}img.fr-dib.fr-fir { margin-right: 0; text-align: right;}img.fr-dib.fr-fil { margin-left: 0; text-align: left;}img.fr-dib { margin: 5px auto; display: block; float: none;}img.fr-bordered { box-sizing: content-box; border: solid 5px #CCC;}img.fr-shadow { box-shadow: 10px 10px 5px 0px #cccccc;}img.fr-rounded { border-radius: 10px; -moz-border-radius: 10px; -webkit-border-radius: 10px; -moz-background-clip: padding; -webkit-background-clip: padding-box; background-clip: padding-box;}</style><p><strong>In this guide we will cover:</strong></p><p id="isPasted"><strong>- What are approval processes and when are they used? </strong></p><p><strong>- Creating an Approval Process</strong></p><p><strong>- Additional Settings Against the Step</strong></p><p><strong>- Triggering an Approval Process</strong></p><p><strong>- Approving </strong></p><p><strong>- Overriding Approvals</strong></p><p><strong>- Delegate approvals</strong></p><p><strong>- Example Approval Process</strong></p><p><br></p><p><br></p><p><strong>Admin Guides:</strong></p><ul><li><strong><a data-fr-linked="true" href="https://usehalo.com/haloitsm/guides/1812/" id="isPasted" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Approval Processes</a></strong></li></ul><p><br></p><p><strong><span style="font-size: 14pt;">What are approval processes and when are they used? </span></strong></p><p>Approval processes in Halo govern who can accept or reject any processes that require approval by either an internal or external user or agent and the manner of the way this approval is carried out. Approval processes are used to restrict the progression (workflow) of a ticket i.e. the actions that are available to the agent until this approval has been obtained. Approval processes can be used on any ticket type but are typically used for change management, service requests and opportunities. Approvers do not require a Halo licence, as they can approve from the end user portal or simply via email. </p><p><br></p><p><strong><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Creating an Approval Process</span></strong></p><p>To create an approval process head to Configuration > Tickets > Approval Processes > Setup Processes, here you can create a new approval process.</p><p><br></p><p>The "Use" of the approval process determines what this process can be used for. <strong><em>Note: This will only show if the "Quotations" module is enabled within your instance. It will then show the option to choose between either "Tickets" or "Quotations". The use will default to tickets if this field is not visible.</em></strong></p><p><br></p><p>The option to not show auto-approvals to users is only available from version 2.232.1 onwards and is enabled by default for all newly created Approval Processes. It will hide any indications from the Ticket's User that the Approval Process was auto-approved due to any of the auto approval settings in Figure 9. </p><p><br></p><p><img src="https://halo.haloservicedesk.com/api/attachment/image?token=eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpZCI6ImM0OTE4YmViLWVhZWEtNDAyZC1hNzYyLTdkYzllZjJiMWQ1YSJ9.f4AsJJ4PORHI8xYDWQgWKXwGXgm6gy4-xVFbL-b30FM" class="fr-fic fr-fil fr-dib" width="987" style="width: 989px; height: 436.365px;" height="436"></p><p><strong><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Fig 1. Approval Process</span></strong></p><p><br></p><p>Each process can contain numerous steps, steps are worked through in sequence until they are all complete. To progress to the next step the prior step must be approved, once all steps are approved the approval process is deemed as 'approved' and the ticket will progress. If any of the steps are rejected the approval process is deemed as rejected and ends. </p><p><br></p><p>To create a new Approval Process Step, click the "Add" button on the table.</p><p><em><strong>Note: The Approval Process must be saved for this button to appear. Save and click "Edit" again.</strong></em></p><p><br></p><p><img src="https://halo.haloservicedesk.com/api/attachment/image?token=eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpZCI6IjA4NjEyNjAyLTg3N2UtNGM5NS1iNTY4LTJmN2U4MDcxZWU4ZCJ9.8dyzhF6529a6S_K29-B44hg1cItZis5QK3P4IUNo7gs" class="fr-fic fr-fil fr-dib" width="712" height="859"></p><p data-pasted="true"><strong><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Fig 2. Approval Step configuration</span></strong></p><p><br></p><p data-pasted="true">From v2.236+, Approval Process steps can be grouped. This allows the steps to run in parallel once the group is reached. Some configuration options will not be available against steps which are part of a group as they are inherited from the main group step. Steps in the same group must be sequential, with the main group step being the first in the sequence.</p><p><br></p><p>To create your group you will need to set a step with the grouping type "This Step Is Used For Grouping". Set the name for this group and configure any step details as normal. Steps you would like to be included within this group will need the grouping type "This Step is in a Group" with your group name set in the "Group" field. </p><p><br></p><p><img src="https://halo.haloservicedesk.com/api/attachment/image?token=eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpZCI6ImU1YjQ2NTMxLTNhYjEtNDMwYi05ZDNkLWUxODc1ZTk3MDU0NiJ9.E9aaSk9rhhn_MTT6iyOjzye0X0pn3NjIAOulaJW5Oeo" class="fr-fic fr-fil fr-dib" width="521" style="width: 523px; height: 420.283px;" height="420"></p><p data-pasted="true"><strong><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Fig 3. Approval Step configuration</span></strong></p><p><br></p><p>The 'Approve by' field determines who needs to approve this step. For a breakdown on on each option here see our dedicated guide <a data-fr-linked="true" href="https://usehalo.com/haloitsm/guides/1876" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><strong>here</strong></a>. We will run through some commonly used approver options below:</p><p><br></p><ul><li>A fixed CAB</li><li>Ad-hoc approver</li><li>Determined by Global approval process rules</li><li>Determined by Approval Process rules </li></ul><p><br></p><p><strong><span style="font-size: 12pt;">What is a CAB?</span></strong></p><p>A CAB (Change Advice Board) is the term for a collection of people of whom a given number of accept votes is required for successful approval. If the number of accept votes does not meet the required number, the approval is rejected. This number is listed in the configuration for the CAB.</p><p><br></p><p>To create/configure a CAB head to Configuration > Ticket > Approval Processes > Change Advise Boards. Here you can assign users/agents to the CAB, set the CAB to require approvals from all members, if not how many approvals are required from the CAB members for an overall approval.</p><p><br></p><p><img src="https://halo.haloservicedesk.com/api/attachment/image?token=eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpZCI6ImM4YTNmYjdhLTM3OTgtNGJhMy1hZWYzLTlhYjYzNzFlZTU2MyJ9.tvmpDvL5iHcvMuupE9zPTQilnjWokhBo763wV7lJpv0" class="fr-fic fr-fil fr-dib" width="1213" style="width: 1215px; height: 532.539px;" height="533"></p><p><strong><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Fig 4. Example CAB</span></strong></p><p><br></p><p><strong><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Ad-Hoc Approver</span></strong></p><p>When this option is selected the agent requesting approval will be able to choose the approver from a list of agents and users that have permission to be approvers. All agents will appear in this list but for users to appear in this list they must be given permission to partake in approvals. To enable this permission head to a user profile > Permissions tab, enable 'This User can partake in approvals'.</p><p><br></p><p><strong><img src="https://halo.haloservicedesk.com/api/attachment/image?token=eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpZCI6IjFmMDZhZDEzLWVlMWItNDQyYS1iOWY4LWRkMDBlMWVkODk0MyJ9.RlqPDxX7nmHQmpF4I0KZHDn0aFBNUO3lHw_0AMLVN6g" class="fr-fic fr-fil fr-dib" width="1217" style="width: 1219px; height: 593.081px;" height="593"></strong><br></p><p><strong><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Fig 5. User permissions to partake in approvals </span></strong></p><p><br></p><p id="isPasted">You can restrict which agents can add ad-hoc approvers to an approval process. In Configuration > Tickets > Approval Processes, enable the below setting to restrict this to agent's with the "Can Override Approval Results" permission set to "Yes" (Configuration > Teams & Agents > Agents > Permissions tab).</p><p><br></p><p><img src="https://halo.haloservicedesk.com/api/attachment/image?token=eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpZCI6IjQ2ZmNlM2M4LTIzYzgtNDA4MS05ZDljLTQwZWU2N2JkNmNjNyJ9.OmPKF4iUaGiFfekwC9cI0zo5-_p5mlraZDD20ZdETio" width="557" height="25" class="fr-fic fr-dii"></p><p><strong><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Fig 6. Restricting ad-hoc approver permissions.</span></strong></p><p><br></p><p>Any agent that has this permission set to "No" will not see the cross icon to add an ad-hoc approver.</p><p id="isPasted"><br></p><p><img src="https://halo.haloservicedesk.com/api/attachment/image?token=eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpZCI6IjBkNGMwY2Q0LTMwZWEtNGVkNC1iMjgwLTNjMzdhOWMyMGU5ZiJ9.IxReVaTaoFKfxIGVGA1E8pdrdkXtIC0DWBpgn9EtaWA" width="418" style="width: 420px; height: 335.817px;" height="336" class="fr-fic fr-dii"></p><p><strong><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Fig 7. Add an ad-hoc approver </span></strong></p><p><br></p><p><strong><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Determined by Global approval process rules</span></strong></p><p>Global approval process rules are configured separately to the approval process. This allows you to create a set of rules that can be used for any approval process/step. When this option is selected global approval process rules will be checked in sequence, if the ticket meets criteria of the rule this approver will be used in the approval process step. </p><p><br></p><p>Global approval process rules can be configured in Configuration > Tickets > Approval Processes > Process Rules.</p><p><br></p><p><img src="https://halo.haloservicedesk.com/api/attachment/image?token=eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpZCI6IjM3Nzc2Yzc1LThiMDEtNGQyYS05OTM1LTA0MzU3MDhiZmFhYiJ9.dCEtsYeaqd9pkCBKC4xMDSb8VKT8DvRvyqMIEKSizlk" class="fr-fic fr-fil fr-dib" width="1620" height="837"></p><p><strong><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Fig 8. Approval process rule example </span></strong></p><p><br></p><p>Access to Approval Process Rules configuration can be granted through <a href="https://usehalo.com/haloitsm/guides/2426" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Access Control</a>. Agents given access here will also need the permission "Can configure approval process rules".</p><p><br></p><p><strong><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Determined by approval process rules</span></strong></p><p>When this option is selected rules can be configured for this approval step. When the approval process reaches this step the criteria for the rule(s) will be checked, the approver against the first rule in the sequence that the ticket meets criteria for will be used. This differs from global approval process rules as it allows you to create step-specific rules, these rules cannot be re-used in other steps or processes. </p><p><br></p><p>The criteria "Already Approved By Agent" can be used, meaning if an Agent has/has not already approved earlier in the process, different processes can be followed. This can be useful to not need the main manager to approve if another team member they trust has already approved.</p><p><br></p><ul><li>Action By</li><li>Action Note</li><li>Action Outcome</li><li>Action Time Taken</li><li>Additional Info</li><li>Agent</li><li>Already Approved by Agent</li><li>Asset Site</li><li>Category</li><li>Category Group</li><li>Custom Fields</li><li>Customer</li><li>Department</li><li>Details</li><li>Estimated Time</li><li>Impact</li><li>Is in Maintenance Window</li><li>Job Title</li><li>Linked Article ID</li><li>Mailbox</li><li>Pipeline Stage</li><li>Potential Value</li><li>Priority</li><li>Product</li><li>Profit</li><li>Recurring Invoice - Created By</li><li>Recurring Invoice - Line Discount</li><li><p id="isPasted">Recurring Invoice - Line Margin</p></li><li><p id="isPasted">Recurring Invoice - Total Cost</p></li><li>Recurring Invoice - Total Discount</li><li>Recurring Invoice - Total Margin</li><li>Recurring Invoice - Total Price</li><li>Related Service Catalogue</li><li>Reports To</li><li>Site</li><li>SLA</li><li>Status</li><li>Summary</li><li>Team</li><li>Ticket Source</li><li>Ticket Type</li><li>Time Taken</li><li>Top Level</li><li>Urgency</li><li>User</li><li>User Department</li><li>User Role</li><li>Working Hours</li></ul><p><br></p><p><strong><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Additional Settings Against the Step</span></strong></p><p>After setting the "Approve By" Field in <strong>Fig 2</strong>, we can now configure additional options to determine further behaviour of the Step.</p><p><br></p><p><img src="https://halo.haloservicedesk.com/api/attachment/image?token=eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpZCI6ImNhZmQyN2JjLTU0ZjktNGI5Yy05NjhlLTY0Y2NlNjQ4MzI0MiJ9.CxttgypetkvPVgjxpubb0vI_4J-4tPXcmc7iu2p9Pys" class="fr-fic fr-fil fr-dib" width="650" height="627"></p><p><strong><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Fig 9. Additional configuration on an Approval Step.</span></strong></p><p><br></p><ul><li><strong>Allow ad-hoc approvers to be added at this step</strong> - When enabled the agent requesting approval will have an option to add an ad-hoc approver after approval is requested. This approver will be added in addition to the approver set at the step.</li><li><strong>Auto-approve if no approvers are found</strong> - This is typically used in conjunction with steps that determine the approver using rules. This allows you to skip the approval process if the ticket does not meet any approval process rules. Can also be used when the approver is set to be someone with a particular role, if no one with this role can be found the step will auto-approve. </li><li><strong>Auto-approve if approver has already approved in a previous step</strong> - When enabled, the step will auto-approve if the person set to approve this step has already approved a previous step in the same approval process. </li><li><strong>Auto-approve if approver launched the approval process</strong> - When enabled, the step will auto-approve if the agent requesting approval is the approver for the step. If this agent is part of a CAB that requires at least 2 approvals the other agents in the CAB will still need to giver their approval. </li><li><strong>Auto-approve if approver is the end-user of the Ticket</strong> - When enabled, the step will auto-approve if the agent requesting approval is the end user of the ticket. Useful when approvers are raising service requests or change requests as they will have already given their authority for the change by raising the ticket. </li><li><strong>Allow approvers to upload attachments</strong> - When enabled users/agents will have the option to add an attachment when approving/rejecting in the agent app or portal. Useful if documents are required to support the approval. Ad-hoc approvers will only see the attachment field when logged in. If not logged in, the field will be hidden.</li><li><strong>Approver is mandatory </strong>- When enabled, the approver determined by this step is mandatory. If any ad-hoc approvers are added approver set against the step will still need to give their approval. When off, if an ad-hoc approver is added the initial approver will not need to give approval too. If off and no ad-hoc approver is added the initial approver will still need to give approval for the approval to progress.</li></ul><p>Within Configuration > Tickets > Approval Processes, you can prevent the user of a ticket from being changed if the ticket is pending an approval process outcome by using the "Prevent the User on a Ticket from being changed while the Ticket is pending an approval process outcome" checkbox. This can also be set at a Ticket Type level. </p><p><br></p><p><strong><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Email</span></strong></p><p>Scrolling down, you will then see a section of email settings. These determine if/when emails are sent to the Approvers for the Step.</p><p> </p><p><img src="https://halo.haloservicedesk.com/api/attachment/image?token=eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpZCI6IjA1MTJlNmVlLWVhNjAtNDBmMC05YzM1LTc3NTkyMzc0ZDc5NiJ9.idErZiUcm6m4i0XeI7GuC5YnnIv2dBxdd_W8OSaXw8o" class="fr-fic fr-fil fr-dib" width="652" height="439"></p><p><strong><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Fig 10. Email settings</span></strong></p><p><br></p><ul><li><strong>Send approval Emails to the approvers</strong> - When enabled an email will be sent out to approvers requesting approval. Approvers will be able to give approval via email. When enabled you will be able to choose the email template that is sent out to the approvers. </li><li><strong>Include all attachments visible to User in approval email</strong> - When enabled the approver will be sent all the attachments against the ticket that are visible to the end user. To assist them in their approval decision. </li><li><strong>Approval Reminder Template</strong> - If approval reminders are set to send this is the email template that will be sent out to approvers to remind them. </li><li><strong>Number of working hours between reminder Emails</strong> - This setting enables/disables approval reminder emails. When set to 0 approval reminders are disabled. Otherwise enter the number of working hours a reminder email will send after.</li></ul><p><br></p><p><strong><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Auto-Approval</span></strong></p><p>Here you can set a notification to be sent out when the step is auto-approved. This is only available when the approver is set to be determined by approval process rules.</p><p> </p><ul><li><strong>Auto-Approval Notification</strong> - This setting determines who is sent a notification.</li></ul><p><br></p><p>If set to "Send an email where the recipient is determined by Approval Rules if Impact and Risk where higher", you can then set an Impact and Risk level. If the Ticket exceeds this Impact and Risk, the Notification will be sent to the Agent(s) that should have approved the Step. </p><p><br></p><p><img src="https://halo.haloservicedesk.com/api/attachment/image?token=eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpZCI6ImI3ODk2ZThlLWNlMzEtNDU1OS1hYzdiLTU0MmE2ZjUzMDc2OSJ9.qV2iHcROphYyczs3SVkuA19qFE0KWnzYC_-NxadF5u8" class="fr-fic fr-fil fr-dib" width="644" height="296"></p><p><strong><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Fig 11. Auto-approval settings</span></strong></p><p><br></p><p><strong><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Outcome</span></strong></p><p>These options determine what changes are made to the Ticket when the Approval Process Step has been Approved/Rejected.</p><p><br></p><p><img src="https://halo.haloservicedesk.com/api/attachment/image?token=eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpZCI6IjA3MWYyMWYzLTQ2NmItNGZiNS1iMGNmLTNlN2E5Y2I1YmVhNyJ9.NQfChl45ntNTkcEeB1EdTGF0YxbtpNPhkmBjKACkXXw" class="fr-fic fr-fil fr-dib" width="642" height="625"></p><p><strong><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Fig 12. Outcome settings</span></strong></p><p><br></p><ul><li><strong>Status while awaiting Approval</strong> - This is the status the ticket will be in after this approval step begins.</li><li><strong>Status if Approval not needed</strong> - This is the status the ticket will be in after this approval step begins if the ticket is auto-approved. </li><li><strong>Status if Accepted</strong> - This is status the ticket will be in after the approval step has been accepted. </li><li><strong>Status if Rejected</strong> - This is status the ticket will be in after the approval step has been rejected. </li><li><strong>Status if start date of Ticket has passed</strong> - This is status the ticket will be in after the approval step has been rejected.</li><li><strong>Status if start date of Ticket has passed </strong>- This is the status the ticket will be in is the start date of the ticket has passed. Used to time out approval processes if the requested start date of the change/service request has passed. This requires the 'start date & time' field to be on the ticket type. </li><li><strong>Move to "Unassigned" if approved</strong> - When enabled the ticket will be re-assigned to the unassigned agent in the same team when the approval process step is approved. </li><li><strong>Assign to the approver if approved </strong>- When enabled, the ticket will be re-assigned to the agent who approved this step if the step is approved. Can only be used when an agent is set to be the approver of the step. </li><li><strong>Hide approval actions from end-User</strong> - When enabled the end-user of the ticket will not be able to see actions logged by approvers to approve the step. Useful if you would like to keep approval reason/notes hidden.</li></ul><p><br></p><p><strong><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Outcome Notifications</span></strong></p><p>Here you can determine if/when notifications are sent out to users/agents to inform them of the outcome of the approval step.</p><p><br></p><p><img src="https://halo.haloservicedesk.com/api/attachment/image?token=eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpZCI6IjhhYjBmMmU3LWVmMmEtNGI4MC04MGRiLWU1N2IzOTM4NDQ5NCJ9.F5zSuhuoMVGACvbpQx66SiINcHw-Zd19-uKTh00Lbww" class="fr-fic fr-fil fr-dib" width="656" height="707"></p><p><strong><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Fig 13. Outcome Notifications.</span></strong></p><p><br></p><ul><li><strong>Inform the Agent of the outcome</strong> - When enabled the agent assigned to the ticket will receive an email notification when the approval step is complete.</li><li><strong>Inform the User of the outcome</strong> - When enabled the end-user of the ticket will receive an email notification when the approval step is complete. When enabled an additional setting will be available to only notify the end user if they are also an agent (the user profile must have a linked agent). </li><li><strong>Accepted Email Template</strong> - Here you can set the email template will be sent out to users/agents when the approval step is accepted.</li><li id="isPasted"><strong>Rejected Email Template</strong> - Here you can set the email template will be sent out to users/agents when the approval step is rejected.</li><li><strong>Notification Rules</strong> - In this table you can configure rules that will notify additional people regarding the approval step outcome when certain criteria are met. Criteria for the rule can be based on fields against the ticket. You can also set this notification to be sent only when the step is approved and/or rejected. </li></ul><p><br></p><p><strong><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Field List</span></strong></p><p>Here you can set the Fields Approvers must complete when approving the Step. Edit each Field to set whether the Field is mandatory. </p><p><img src="https://halo.haloservicedesk.com/api/attachment/image?token=eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpZCI6ImNiODZmNGFkLTBlMzEtNDhkOS05NDgyLTZkNzcwZGZmOTRhNCJ9.VbtBpCROe5N3r1_kaKxsjHRzouBYRtdug2WMLEMVh1Y" class="fr-fic fr-fil fr-dib" width="647" height="263"></p><p><strong><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Fig 14. Field list for Approvers.</span></strong></p><p><br></p><p><strong><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Triggering an Approval Process</span></strong></p><p>Once you have created your approval process you will need to configure your workflow to start this approval and move according to approval outcomes. </p><p><br></p><p>Approval processes can be started automatically when a certain stage of a workflow is reached or when an action is used. </p><p><br></p><p><strong><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Starting an approval using an action</span></strong></p><p>To do this create a new action (perhaps called request approval). To have the action start an approval process head to the details tab and choose the approval process you would like this action to start in the 'Start an Approval Process' field. If you would like an existing action to start an approval just set this setting against the action. </p><p><br></p><p><img src="https://halo.haloservicedesk.com/api/attachment/image?token=eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpZCI6IjhjYzg4MTU1LWUyMTktNGM5Ny05ZmRjLTgyMGE0MWFkMjg1OSJ9.2L8lE5b3cFHVHs4SNXGJrPc5Sh4zn8Z_hVgGFATbxGU" class="fr-fic fr-fil fr-dib" width="456" height="313"></p><p><strong><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Fig 15. Start an approval process on action</span></strong></p><p><br></p><p><strong><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Starting an approval process automatically using a workflow</span></strong></p><p>To have the approval begin once a particular workflow stage is reached you will need to configure a workflow automation to run a quick action. Create an action as shown above but set the action to be a 'quick action' this is set under the details tab.</p><p> </p><p><img src="https://halo.haloservicedesk.com/api/attachment/image?token=eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpZCI6IjMyMjJkMWQ5LThiYmMtNDhkMS04NjcyLTA0MTEzMjk4NDBjNiJ9.YIy52t_E14YAzdbO4QjzJNqi_mtN7HFBXDxzZ5t272Q" class="fr-fic fr-fil fr-dib" width="743" style="width: 745px; height: 193.939px;" height="194"></p><p><strong><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Fig 16. Set action to be quick action</span></strong></p><p><br></p><p>Now head into the workflow you would like the approval to take place on and edit the step you would like the approval to run on. Add an automation to the step actions table and configure as shown in Figure 17. Ensure after the automation has run the workflow moves to the next step. </p><p><br></p><p><img src="https://halo.haloservicedesk.com/api/attachment/image?token=eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpZCI6IjRkZmY0ODA1LTAzNDctNGM4NC05NTg5LWUyYjkwZTMwMzc1YyJ9.jxxkUT8iPpiC80AtOfC9UnumokX4iFgQDkLT7Gm7GVc" class="fr-fic fr-fil fr-dib" width="520" style="width: 522px; height: 694.129px;" height="694"></p><p><strong><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Fig 17. Automation to start approval</span></strong></p><p><br></p><p>Then on the following step of the workflow add the action type 'Approval Process Outcome' and set where the workflow should go for each approval result (accepted/rejected/timed out). </p><p><br></p><p><img src="https://halo.haloservicedesk.com/api/attachment/image?token=eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpZCI6ImQwNzk0YzcwLWZiZDAtNDJhYS05MzIyLWIyYzI2M2E4MzcyYyJ9.GKd-I71KMXFl3BiqAASUyHt7xo4SvNCYuxdG-uZy4yo" class="fr-fic fr-fil fr-dib" width="1208" style="width: 1210px; height: 470.648px;" height="471"></p><p><strong><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Fig 18. Approval process outcomes for workflow</span></strong></p><p><br></p><p>Then you can configure the rest of the workflow to determine how the ticket behaves for each approval result. Figure 18 shows a approval workflow example.</p><p><br></p><p><img src="https://halo.haloservicedesk.com/api/attachment/image?token=eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpZCI6ImIzOWQ2Nzg2LWQ5ZTMtNDE2ZS1iN2FlLTBjMjk5ZDU0MmVjMyJ9.U98XiuUECwgZoz8Hvpy4IN2lIMfg4BDGWQ9vSMOdGoU" class="fr-fic fr-fil fr-dib" width="1219" height="638"></p><p><strong><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Fig 19. Workflow with approval process</span></strong></p><p><br></p><p>Workflows can also be progressed based on approval process step outcomes, by adding an 'approval process step outcome' action type to the step. This allows you change how the ticket behaves based on each step of the approval process. Used when you would like different actions to be available to the agent working on the ticket at each step of the approval process. </p><p><br></p><p>For more information on configuring workflows see our dedicated guide <a data-fr-linked="true" href="https://usehalo.com/haloitsm/guides/1922" id="isPasted" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><strong>here</strong></a>. </p><p><br></p><p><strong><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Approving </span></strong></p><p>Agents can either approve requests through the agent app, or via email. Users can approve requests through the end user portal or via email. </p><p><br></p><p>From v2.238+, Agent Approval links can open the ticket in the End-User Portal. To do this, enable "Require Authentication when Approving/Rejecting Approval Processes" then "Generate Agent approval links that open in the End-User Portal" .</p><p><br></p><p><strong><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Approving in the agent app</span></strong></p><p>To approve in the agent app agents can navigate to the ticket that requires approval. When viewing the ticket they will have action buttons to 'accept' or 'reject'. </p><p><br></p><p><img src="https://halo.haloservicedesk.com/api/attachment/image?token=eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpZCI6ImFhM2VmOGY0LWJlNDctNDM2Ny1iZGU3LTQ3MzI1NTU5ZTJjNyJ9.wpN1-lgQNHV4wCRpzXzaHEvFd3BBsPhlppCn4wn9KcM" class="fr-fic fr-fil fr-dib" width="790" height="202"></p><p><strong><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Fig 20. Accept/reject ticket</span></strong></p><p><br></p><p>Agents can also navigate to the 'my approvals' module.</p><p><br></p><p><img src="https://halo.haloservicedesk.com/api/attachment/image?token=eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpZCI6ImViMTM3MjU3LWZkNTMtNDRjNi04N2U4LTExODg2N2QzNGUyMSJ9.ShrXNDtyzyB-r4Mk5wc3s2ricXd3GYy88oRiysrWXP4" class="fr-fic fr-fil fr-dib" width="383" style="width: 385px; height: 459.939px;" height="460"></p><p><strong><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Fig 21. My approvals module </span></strong></p><p><br></p><p>This module will show all the approvals awaiting input from the agent. </p><p><br></p><p><img src="https://halo.haloservicedesk.com/api/attachment/image?token=eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpZCI6IjJlNDY2MTFmLTNhOTAtNDc2NC1hZWYyLWIwNDM4MmQzYzY2ZiJ9.Q4cvBFfs9PAJrnQkqeeKjqqq89RbHkfOOYmicAxRofo" class="fr-fic fr-fil fr-dib" width="1543" style="width: 1545px; height: 625.927px;" height="626"></p><p><strong><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Fig 22. My approvals module </span></strong></p><p><br></p><p>Access to the 'My Approvals' page will need to be added to the agent's permissions using the 'My Approvals Page Access' permission. </p><p><br></p><p><img src="https://halo.haloservicedesk.com/api/attachment/image?token=eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpZCI6ImZkNGE4ZWYwLTNhZjgtNDIzZC1hMGJmLTVlOGQ0ZTllZTJhMiJ9.Owm4BILmLlpt_BmquDkkClcgX2fyL1997ksODjPJinU" class="fr-fic fr-fil fr-dib" width="615" height="429"></p><p><strong><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Fig 23. My approvals page access</span></strong></p><p><br></p><p><strong><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Approving in the Portal</span></strong></p><p>For users to approve requests in the portal you will need to ensure the 'My approvals' button is available in your portal. Head to Configuration > Self-Service Portal > see menu buttons section to add this button. </p><p><br></p><p><img src="https://halo.haloservicedesk.com/api/attachment/image?token=eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpZCI6IjQzNDI1MTI4LWZkZmUtNGRlMi04Y2ZiLWUxMWE5YWFlNjQ2OSJ9.Av_07q17gQujItMMXj4-MhPhxnaAk7vObxQRXrLxeyk" class="fr-fic fr-fil fr-dib" width="903" style="width: 905px; height: 491.425px;" height="491"></p><p><strong><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Fig 24. My approvals button</span></strong></p><p><br></p><p>To restrict access to the area, edit the button and add restrictions in the 'Visibility Restrictions' table. </p><p><br></p><p>Now users will be able to navigate to this area in the portal and see a list of all tickets that require their approval.</p><p><br></p><p><img src="https://halo.haloservicedesk.com/api/attachment/image?token=eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpZCI6IjYyYTVjM2VmLTQ1MGQtNGViYi05ZThkLWIwZTU3YjI1ZDAxMiJ9.9h07y8bdE170QkI4zhn273GwrWCKUapYhF2Qm3w_ZGY" class="fr-fic fr-fil fr-dib" width="1178" style="width: 1180px; height: 557.004px;" height="557"></p><p><strong><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Fig 25. My approvals page</span></strong></p><p><br></p><p><img src="https://halo.haloservicedesk.com/api/attachment/image?token=eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpZCI6IjhkMjViODNiLWUwMzYtNGU0NS04OTE4LThhYzlhM2RlZDg5YyJ9.87s51Zjn-22RPWgww6WhaVex3LMMRVbFgVUlL8wWo2U" class="fr-fic fr-fil fr-dib" width="1175" style="width: 1177px; height: 482.045px;" height="482"></p><p><strong><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Fig 26. My approvals page </span></strong></p><p><br></p><p><strong><span style="font-size: 11pt;">Customise how Approvals look in the Portal </span></strong></p><p><span style="font-size: 11pt;">Additional options are available to change how approvals look in the portal. This includes:</span></p><ul><li><span style="font-size: 11pt;">Having a search bar appear on the My Approvals page. </span></li><li><span style="font-size: 11pt;">Replace the thumb icons with 'Accept' and 'Reject' buttons.</span></li><li><span style="font-size: 11pt;">Show the ticket's status and if the user is mandatory for approval.</span></li></ul><p><br></p><p><span style="font-size: 11pt;">To enable these options head to Configuration > Self Service Portal > Approval Settings section. </span></p><p><br></p><p><strong><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><img src="https://halo.haloservicedesk.com/api/attachment/image?token=eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpZCI6IjI5NjhhMmVjLTIwNWUtNGQzNi1iZWNhLWQ2OWUwYzczNTU1ZiJ9.FdzydAQAnfvlqvgYBYN3QisjEdeVNtojG0qu1FwbZQw" class="fr-fic fr-fil fr-dib" width="528" height="267"></span></strong></p><p><strong><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Fig 27. Settings to customise how the approval page looks in the portal </span></strong></p><p><strong><br></strong></p><p>When all settings are enabled, the approvals page will look as shown in Figure 28. </p><p><br></p><p><img src="https://halo.haloservicedesk.com/api/attachment/image?token=eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpZCI6IjE3MDhjZjk1LTA0MDQtNDc1Mi1iY2U3LTdiZWQzY2FjMTgzYSJ9.RBNmVridgrvqrtfaXQ58lVeivr5lIho4P76vlXuD4d0" class="fr-fic fr-fil fr-dib" width="1476" style="width: 1478px; height: 397.586px;" height="398"></p><p><strong><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Fig 28. Approvals page in portal when additional customisation options enabled</span></strong></p><p><br></p><p>When using the search bar you will be able to search on the ticket summary and ID to find an approval. </p><p><br></p><p><strong><em>Note: The exclamation mark will appear when you are a mandatory approver for the ticket. This is toggled on/off when 'Display the ticket status on the 'My Approvals' screen' is toggled. </em></strong></p><p><br></p><p><strong><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Approving via email</span></strong></p><p>Both agents and users can approve requests via email. Either by replying to the email, or using the approve/reject icons in the email. An email can be sent out automatically to each approver for each step of the approval process provided 'Send approval Emails to the approvers' is enabled against the step. </p><p><br></p><p>To approve by replying to the email, approvers will need to start with the email body with the string 'approved'. If they update the ticket with an email that does not contain this at the start of the the body, the ticket will be updated but the approval process will not progress. Keep in mind when approving in this way any fields set to be required for approval will be ignored and approval will take place anyway. The option for agents to approve in this way can be disabled per approval step by enabling the setting 'Prevent email responses from continuing the approval flow' found against each approval step. </p><p><br></p><p><strong><em>Note: Accept, Accepted, Accepting, Approve, Approved, Approving, Approval can also be used at the start of the email to accept the approval, or Reject, Rejecting, Rejection can be used at the start of the body to reject the approval.</em></strong></p><p><br></p><p><img src="https://halo.haloservicedesk.com/api/attachment/image?token=eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpZCI6IjJmYjU1NzVkLTE5NzAtNGU5Yi1hNmViLWVlNzBlYTQyYTI5MCJ9.rnuzSrkjWe83317KESFErQDcG2GRaHVdx0HGARat7j0" class="fr-fic fr-fil fr-dib" width="558" style="width: 560px; height: 560.879px;" height="561"></p><p><strong><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Fig 29. Prevent approval via email response.</span></strong></p><p><br></p><p>To approve or reject using the icons in the approval email, simply click the approve/reject icons in the email. </p><p><br></p><p>To customise the email that is sent out to approvers head to configuration >email > email templates > select template with ID 50. This template is defaulted to be the template that is sent out to approvers, however, you can change the template that is sent out at the approval step. </p><p><br></p><p><strong><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Approval Visibility</span></strong></p><p>The result of an approval, and any comments left can be set to either be hidden or shown to the user when the ticket is viewed in the Self-Service Portal. </p><p><br></p><p>By default, whether the approval action/outcome is visible to the user will be determined by the approval process step. Visibility can be set per step using the checkbox 'Hide approval actions from end-User'. </p><p><br></p><p><img src="https://halo.haloservicedesk.com/api/attachment/image?token=eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpZCI6IjlmMDBlNGQzLTdiYmItNGVkNS1hZTI0LWViZDFjN2UzMGRmMiJ9.MM5BVY5Rbdvm6ZbxcjYYapc5rjQ7-U2XGdFWV5cIMg0" class="fr-fic fr-fil fr-dib" width="581" style="width: 583px; height: 507.192px;" height="507"></p><p><strong><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Fig 30. Hide approval actions from user</span></strong></p><p><br></p><p>You also have the option to set visibility at the ticket type level, this will override the visibility set on the step. </p><p><br></p><p>This is set per ticket type under the 'Settings' tab (under Configuration > Tickets > Ticket Types > select a ticket type > Settings tab) using the setting 'approval action visibility behaviour for End-Users'. This will control the visibility of approval actions for tickets of this type only. If set to the 'Default Behaviour' the settings on the approval step will be used. </p><p><img src="https://halo.haloservicedesk.com/api/attachment/image?token=eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpZCI6ImRmNzkwOWZlLTA4MWMtNDFlNC1iYzQyLTAzNTMzZDU3Zjg0ZSJ9.fsJTqF-9RFBSLzZTiQe5FbNvxnbyxG9p4w4FnPixOo0" class="fr-fic fr-fil fr-dib" width="988" style="width: 990px; height: 800.681px;" height="801"></p><p><strong><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Fig 31. Approval action visibility behaviour for End-Users</span></strong></p><p><br></p><p><span style="font-size: 11pt;">When approval actions are visible they will appear on the ticket in the portal as shown in Figure 32.</span></p><p><strong><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><img src="https://halo.haloservicedesk.com/api/attachment/image?token=eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpZCI6IjM0YjRjZWE4LTNjMWItNDYyZS05MDU4LWEzMjBhMTZlYWY0NCJ9.tM3ejYk5bC_aejlxh_JB7GsXlujeUGY-dSr1vIL9ilU" class="fr-fic fr-fil fr-dib" width="1460" style="width: 1462px; height: 644.335px;" height="644"></span></strong></p><p><strong>Fig 32. Approval actions in portal</strong></p><p><strong><br></strong></p><p><strong><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Overriding Approvals</span></strong></p><p>You can give certain agents the ability to override approvals. Having the ability to override approvals will allow the agent to change the approval result the approver gave (accepted/rejected). This is useful if you need to correct an incorrect approval response. </p><p><br></p><p>This permission can be found under the agent's profile under the 'permissions' tab. </p><p><br></p><p><img src="https://halo.haloservicedesk.com/api/attachment/image?token=eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpZCI6IjA4MzI3NTNhLWQzYWMtNGY3Zi04YzEyLWNkNTJmMzUyZDU2NSJ9.eqrO5aO6YKjQTJEMMGH5h7q3exrVsBUFgWCJyOmgra0" class="fr-fic fr-fil fr-dib" width="510" height="369"></p><p><strong><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Fig 33. Override approval results permission</span></strong></p><p><br></p><p><strong><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Delegate approvals</span></strong></p><p>Approvers can also delegate approval if required, we have a separate guide on how to do this <a data-fr-linked="true" href="https://usehalo.com/haloitsm/guides/2151" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><strong>here</strong></a>.</p><p><br></p><p><strong><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Approval Timeouts</span></strong></p><p>Approvals can be configured to 'time out' after a chosen amount of time if no activity has taken place for the approval (i.e. no one has approved/rejected it). This allows you to configure automations to progress the ticket if an approval has timed out, rather than the ticket waiting for approval indefinitely. </p><p><br></p><p>The time the approval need to be completed in before timing out is determined by the 'Start date' field against the ticket type. This field should contain the date/time the approval needs to be completed by.</p><p><img src="https://halo.haloservicedesk.com/api/attachment/image?token=eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpZCI6ImUxNjRlMTU4LTU2ZWMtNDhmZC05YTA2LTgwODI5NmUzNWZmYSJ9.Ij3cPPM0UdMZjc8GlxUz3H7L5Jcv5JX0kYjzNrx5i0U" class="fr-fic fr-fil fr-dib" width="1325" style="width: 1327px; height: 618.973px;" height="619"></p><p><strong><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Fig 34. Start and target date fields for approval process step</span></strong></p><p><br></p><p>Once the start date of the ticket has passed the approval is deemed as 'timed out'. </p><p><br></p><p>You can have the start date of the ticket defaulted against the ticket type to be x amount of days after the ticket is logged, saving agents having to populate this manually.</p><p> </p><p><img src="https://halo.haloservicedesk.com/api/attachment/image?token=eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpZCI6Ijc0OWVkNjcxLTNkMjctNDQ1Mi1iOTYwLWU0ZTNjNDQ2ZTZjMyJ9.30Lg3Qjy3MgDy_GUjuCa1oSurQ9FpVpVWWGyW0qEvnc" class="fr-fic fr-fil fr-dib" width="811" style="width: 813px; height: 323.55px;" height="324"></p><p><strong><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Fig 35. Default start date of ticket</span></strong></p><p><br></p><p>On versions prior to this the default start date can be set against a ticket template, this template will then need to be applied to the ticket the approval is taking place on. </p><p><br></p><p>To then have the workflow of the ticket progress once the approval has timed out you will need to add an the action type 'Approval process Outcome' with the 'Approval Result' as 'Approval Process Timed Out'.</p><p><img src="https://halo.haloservicedesk.com/api/attachment/image?token=eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpZCI6IjQyM2NmNDViLWYxZDQtNDdiMy04ZmY3LTg1NTNkMTkwNjRiZCJ9.p8ZISw3tXSTJt8Sj4--oiOtaXveFlodjJGVQ35XT0SQ" class="fr-fic fr-fil fr-dib" width="581" style="width: 583px; height: 426.807px;" height="427"></p><p><strong><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Fig 36. Move workflow when approval process timed out</span></strong></p><p><br></p><p>In the Figure 36 example the workflow will move back to the previous step when the approval has timed out. Allowing the user to re-request approval or change/close the request.</p><p><br></p><p><strong><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Example Approval Process</span></strong></p><p>In this section we will run through an example of how to create an approval process for a change request. The change request will need to be approved by a CAB then if enough CAB members approvers the site change approver will need to approve too. </p><p><br></p><p>First, you will need to create a new approval process. Head to Configuration > Tickets > Approval Processes > Setup Processes > New. Add a step to the approval process. </p><p><br></p><p>The first step will require the CAB to approve the request. I will set the 'Approve By' field to be 'A fixed CAB' and then choose which CAB will need to approve. </p><p><br></p><p><img src="https://halo.haloservicedesk.com/api/attachment/image?token=eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpZCI6IjcxOGJkZjJiLTVjODctNGUzMy05NjYxLWRiNDg2ODFiMzhiNCJ9.E4Z2RudBZxvK-diuwyIq9Ns1W7bW_1uHNz82szQVp4c" class="fr-fic fr-fil fr-dib" width="516" style="width: 518px; height: 708.117px;" height="708"></p><p><strong><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Fig 37. Approval step for CAB to approve</span></strong></p><p><br></p><p>I have set the CAB here to contain 3 approvers and the 'number of approvals needed' to be 1 and the rejection threshold to be 2. This means only one of these approvers needs to approve the change for the step to be approved, but if 2 approvers reject the change the approval step will be rejected. </p><p><br></p><p><img src="https://halo.haloservicedesk.com/api/attachment/image?token=eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpZCI6IjkwY2QzMzkwLTNiY2QtNDkzZi1hY2VhLWY4ZDY0MTA3YTAwYyJ9.POzNapcoQ8qrIQM0jxdxvxNCoOZnoyTa02xAzYV1yTA" class="fr-fic fr-fil fr-dib" width="1213" style="width: 1215px; height: 628.807px;" height="629"></p><p><strong><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Fig 38. Example CAB configuration</span></strong></p><p><br></p><p>I have also set the outcomes for the approval as shown in Figure 39, the ticket will have the status of 'awaiting approval' when the approval process has started but not yet been completed. The ticket will have the statuses of approved and rejected when the approval has been accepted and rejected (respectfully). </p><p><br></p><p><img src="https://halo.haloservicedesk.com/api/attachment/image?token=eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpZCI6ImQ0MWNmYjE0LTZjOWQtNGEzNC04OTZmLTVlMjJiNzViODBjMiJ9.LsYYTAzX0ioj03MZpUKbswFE1F2bLy_OB8P2xCGy0Qk" class="fr-fic fr-fil fr-dib" width="592" height="552"></p><p><strong><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Fig 39. Outcome of approval step</span></strong></p><p><br></p><p>I have also added a note field to the step, approvers will need to complete this field when accepting/rejecting. </p><p><br></p><p>Now I will add a second step in the approval, this step needs to be approved by a set user. This step has the same configuration as the previous step. </p><p><br></p><p><img src="https://halo.haloservicedesk.com/api/attachment/image?token=eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpZCI6IjgyYTY2NWYxLWVkYTYtNDIzYi05Y2U4LTRmMWQ1ODEwOTA1OCJ9.h4W44Md-0IMldmBetRBkKtZYV-k4DEa9OYpjG10fu34" class="fr-fic fr-fil fr-dib" width="478" style="width: 480px; height: 723.864px;" height="724"></p><p><strong><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Fig 40. Approve by change approver at site</span></strong></p><p><br></p><p>Here is my completed approval process. </p><p><br></p><p><img src="https://halo.haloservicedesk.com/api/attachment/image?token=eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpZCI6IjMwOTk1MDFkLTk4YjktNDU1YS05MTNlLWExODYyODBkMTE5NyJ9.viCpg6xktP0k9UCSjUuIz9xb2DzDYNuTC_armTVRNaA" class="fr-fic fr-fil fr-dib" width="1217" style="width: 1219px; height: 599.32px;" height="599"></p><p><strong><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Fig 41. Approval process example</span></strong></p><p><br></p><p>Now I will configure the workflow for my change requests, under Configuration > Tickets > Workflows. </p><p><br></p><p><img src="https://halo.haloservicedesk.com/api/attachment/image?token=eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpZCI6Ijg0MmI3NTU1LWY2ODYtNDhkMi04YWIyLTBlMzA2OGQyMjdlMCJ9.qbc7PAH3Ye-es3sDQyGOmtltEgUR374nVwtqRE0-5G0" class="fr-fic fr-fil fr-dib" width="1225" height="587"></p><p><strong><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Fig 42. change request workflow example</span></strong></p><p><br></p><p>In the first step of my workflow I have allowed the use of the action 'request approval'. This action is configured to start the approval process I have just set up. </p><p><br></p><p><img src="https://halo.haloservicedesk.com/api/attachment/image?token=eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpZCI6IjQxMGM1NjkyLWRlNzMtNGE2YS05MTA3LWEzNThiZTIwZTU4ZiJ9.LvGnPzpCPNoCGP8rQb5VTwjAr3MHFE3lU8OpnMK4Pzo" class="fr-fic fr-fil fr-dib" width="584" height="391"></p><p><strong><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Fig 43. Action configured to start and approval process</span></strong></p><p><br></p><p>Once this action is used the approval process will begin and the workflow will move to the step 'approval requested'. At this step I have added the action types 'approval process step outcome'. This moves the workflow on to the next step based on the approval outcome of this step. If the first step in my approval process (CAB approval) is approved the workflow will move the the step 'approval requested part 2'. </p><p><br></p><p>Then if the second step of my approval process is approved (site manager approval) the workflow will move to the step 'change approved'. This step will allow the use of actions that will allow the agents to initiate change. If either step of my approval process is rejected the ticket will move to the step 'close request'. </p><p><br></p><p><strong><em>Note: You do not need to have a workflow step for each approval step, you could instead have the workflow only progress when the whole approval process is approved/rejected using 'approval process outcome'. Having a workflow step per approval step just allows you to configure the actions the agent can use and automations that can occur at each approval step. </em></strong></p><p><br></p><p>Now the workflow is configured I will set this workflow to start each time a change request ticket is raised. </p><p><br></p><p><img src="https://halo.haloservicedesk.com/api/attachment/image?token=eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpZCI6ImIwZWIxN2I0LThkMjUtNDc1MC1hMDYwLTA3ZmZiZGE1ZDk5ZSJ9.x9Ptu0B9Sgh_QPOeQw_nHFyUncIsHiydhXsJTSF2BKw" class="fr-fic fr-fil fr-dib" width="725" height="480"></p><p><strong><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Fig 44. Setting workflow against ticket type</span></strong></p><p><br></p><p>Now let's see this in action. </p><p><br></p><p>A new change request ticket has been raised.</p><p><br></p><p><img src="https://halo.haloservicedesk.com/api/attachment/image?token=eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpZCI6IjYwMjdiMDczLWY1ZjItNDIzMS1iYTcyLWFiNDVhZDE2YjUyZCJ9.UTXu93FcN10na7X5akef3M0_5rtnd1Xio5NdCiHgLBM" class="fr-fic fr-fil fr-dib" width="1211" style="width: 1213px; height: 575.153px;" height="575"></p><p><strong><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Fig 45. Change request ticket</span></strong></p><p><br></p><p>The agent uses the action 'Request approval' to begin the approval process. As the first step of the approval process requires CAB approval the agent will need to choose which CAB members approval is needed, as at least one CAB member needs to approve the agent will need to select at least this number of approvers. </p><p><br></p><p><img src="https://halo.haloservicedesk.com/api/attachment/image?token=eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpZCI6IjkwOWFmZTk4LTY0NDAtNDYzNy05ODM2LTg1ZDJmOGE1NWFiOSJ9.0Ka-CsiHCdOYHLoa2ZNMhprUYrcmIb4xu6LqWjSzKKw" class="fr-fic fr-fil fr-dib" width="571" height="567"></p><p><strong><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Fig 46. Choose CAB members to approve</span></strong></p><p><br></p><p> Once selected the approval has begun and the workflow has moved to the next step. </p><p><br></p><p><img src="https://halo.haloservicedesk.com/api/attachment/image?token=eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpZCI6IjRjZjdjNzJkLTljZjgtNDY4NC04NDc5LWVlYjNlNzJlZDY2YSJ9.FcpgsOylSjBHOk7j44EoonmQBSuySOgRPxQCekzXJQI" class="fr-fic fr-fil fr-dib" width="1205" style="width: 1207px; height: 768.091px;" height="768"></p><p><strong><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Fig 47. Approval requested</span></strong></p><p><br></p><p>Now this ticket will appear in the 'My Approvals' area for the approvers.</p><p><br></p><p><img src="https://halo.haloservicedesk.com/api/attachment/image?token=eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpZCI6IjljZTlmZjk3LThiYjQtNGJjNS04ZGJmLTljNTQwNGRmZWNhMiJ9.Okgpbet_u5DnnXvxcszVKwKAdilphsqRD8xYFAEb1Dk" class="fr-fic fr-fil fr-dib" width="1204" style="width: 1206px; height: 504.342px;" height="504"></p><p><strong><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Fig 48. Ticket awaiting approval in my approvals area</span></strong></p><p><br></p><p>Once at least one CAB member has approved the approval process will move to step 2 and approval will be requested from the user 'Ben Castle'.</p><p><br></p><p><img src="https://halo.haloservicedesk.com/api/attachment/image?token=eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpZCI6ImJiZWI0MDFlLTI5NTItNDVlMy05NTZkLWU5MDc1YjA5NGYyZSJ9.I6sGjXmucmpoAl1BZ5LfitjYlTppvGJihBiJorsYikQ" class="fr-fic fr-fil fr-dib" width="1150" style="width: 1152px; height: 694.649px;" height="695"></p><p><strong><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Fig 49. Ticket awaiting step 2 approval</span></strong></p><p><br></p><p>Approver approvals/rejections and comments will be visible in the action list against the ticket. Allowing the agent to see who approved/rejected, when and any fields the approver had to complete (such as a note). </p><p><br></p><p><img src="https://halo.haloservicedesk.com/api/attachment/image?token=eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpZCI6ImFhMzIwZjc2LWU1ODMtNGY0MC04MDkwLWRkOWJiYmY3YmFjZCJ9.mLfjkKnnIIpecdHOTggL6uTiP4RzWpsVTh_XZIwk3og" class="fr-fic fr-fil fr-dib" width="1172" height="856"></p><p><strong><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Fig 50. Action list</span></strong></p><p><br></p><p>Now the approval process is complete the agent can initiate the change. </p><p><br></p><p>For an additional example on how to configure a process to be approved by a user's department manager see the guide <a data-fr-linked="true" href="https://usehalo.com/haloitsm/guides/1942/" id="isPasted" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><strong>here</strong></a>. </p>
