Configure document approval workflow (old workflow)

Modified on Thu, 2 Apr at 4:19 PM

Customizing the approval process is a deep intervention in your management system and should be done carefully. Q.wiki's standardized approval process is based on the experience of hundreds of projects and has proven itself many times over: Two-stage approval enables quick changes while maintaining control over content. This fulfills both standards requirements and the requirements for an agile management system.

Recommended approval processes

We recommend you choose between the following approval processes:

No approval workflow
Single-stage approval workflow
Two-stage approval workflow

Important: Adding more approval stages typically leads to significant delays in the approval process, potentially paralyzing the entire management system. Any customization beyond the recommendations above is only possible in collaboration with our consulting team. The content and technical complexity requires a short-term consulting project. You can book a consultation here.

Advantages and disadvantages of more than two approval stages

Advantage	Disadvantage
Each department is confident that the published version meets its specific requirements.	Content pages remain locked for longer periods and are unavailable for editing by other users. This causes employees to work in change proposals and avoid starting the approval process – instead of making quick changes when issues are discovered.
The highest possible level of compliance with specific requirements is ensured.	If a later approval stage rejects the changes, all stages must be repeated from the beginning. This is an even longer and more cumbersome procedure.
–	Read confirmations address the need to inform people of changes and give them the opportunity to object – additional approval stages are not needed for this. Note: Previous versions can be restored from the history at any time.
–	A management system succeeds when users are motivated and contribute insights from their daily work. Long approval processes lead to poor experiences and demotivate users.

Possible customizations

The following customizations can be made to your approval process:

Add additional approval stages
Add additional transitions between approval stages
Send more or fewer notifications to users
Adjust editing rights during the approval process
Add warnings or messages when triggering a transition

Overview of approval stages and transitions in the approval workflow