Place approval immediately before the effect requiring human judgement. Approving too early authorises an unknown result; approving every internal step can make the workflow impractical.
Identify the consequential effect
For a fictional client-report workflow, collection and formatting can produce a draft. Sending it externally is a separate action. Present the final document, recipients and attachments at the approval point.
| Change after approval | Behaviour |
|---|---|
| Expected presentation-only adjustment | Follow the documented rule |
| New recipient | Request fresh approval |
| Changed business content | Review again |
| Expired authorisation | Revalidate or cancel |
Design rejection and absence
The workflow must be able to stop, return to draft or move to another authorised owner. An approval request with no owner or escalation condition can silently block the chain. Show its status and retain useful rejection reasons so the next draft addresses the actual concern.
Can a batch be approved together?
Yes when its scope is understandable and exceptions remain visible. Show the count, shared rule and unusual cases. Batch approval must not silently include items added afterwards. Test a data change between review and execution to ensure the approval still matches the action being performed.
Approvals across working hours
Set a visible expiry or escalation rule when the approver is in another time zone. Do not interpret silence as acceptance. A delayed approval should still refer to the same content and scope, or return the operation for a fresh review.
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