Approving Documents and Document Components

This chapter provides an overview of document approvals and discusses how to:

• Define user preferences and installation options for document approvals.

• Approve clauses.

• Approve sections and control document configurator availability.

• Approve documents.

Note. Supplier Contract Management delivers sample data that supports the document and clause approval processes as a starting point for configuring the system site. This sample data is documented in the previous chapter.

See Also

Configuring the Approval Workflow Engine for Use with Supplier Contract Management

Using Workflow and Managing Approvals

Understanding Document Approvals

This section discusses approvals for an entire document and for document components that include clauses, sections, and configurators. These approvals are managed either through the approval workflow process defined by the approval workflow engine (AWE) or by user preferences and installation options. Completed documents and clause approvals are processed by the AWE, while sections and configurators are processed through options set up in user preferences and installation pages and then controlled by settings in the Manage Document Library component.

You can use document approvals in conjunction with contract collaboration that uses PeopleSoft workflow to notify collaborators of pending action, an ability to route the document for review, and a tracking mechanism to record who has seen the document and the contributions of each person as they happen. Collaboration differs from approval workflow in that it provides a single notification that is sent to all participants simultaneously for the cycle and no approval is recorded.

Note. Collaborators and approvers, who have edit authority, can edit the Microsoft Word document during the collaboration or approval process.

Defining User Preferences and Installation Options for Document Approvals

This section discusses how to:

• Set up user preferences for document approvals.

• Define installation options for document approvals.

Pages Used to Define User Preferences and Installation Options for Document Approvals

Setting Up User Preferences for Document Approvals

Access the User Preferences page.

Use this page to set up authorizations for users who can, in turn, control all or portions of the approval process of a document. Specifically, you can define user authorities for authorizations over documents by defining users as document administrators. Administrators can create, view, edit, re-create, refresh, and submit documents for approval. Additional definitions for an administrator include the capability to bypass approvals, which enables the administrator to force approvals manually without going through the AWE approval process.

You can also grant an administrator access to other administrator's documents. You can define the authorities on behalf of each user, including providing basic document administrator authorities that enables the administrator to submit and control the workflow process for each additional user.

See Also

Setting Up User Preferences

Defining Installation Options for Document Approvals

Access the Installation Options page.

Use this page to indicate that documents and clauses are required to go through the approval process for the AWE. When you select the Document Approval check box, the system controls the approval of a document so that when a document is created, you cannot manually set the approval status. If you select the Document Reapprove After Edit check box, the system resets the document status if you modify the document after it is approved. This process requires that a document always be submitted for approval and approved again after it has changed.

See Also

Defining Installation Options for PeopleSoft Supplier Contract Management

Approving Clauses

This section provides an overview of clause approval and discusses how to:

• Set up installation options for clause approval.

• Access clauses for approval.

• Preview and submit clauses for approval.

• Update and submit clauses for approval.

• Approve and deny clauses.

• Set effective dates for clauses.

Understanding Clause Approval

The approval of clauses is different than the approval of the document or contract itself. This is because the clause is a building block for the document, and the approval process typically involves a limited set of approvers.

For example, suppose that the contract librarian is the clause author while a person in a legal role is responsible for the legal content in the clause. In the document approval process, the system selects the approvers based on the content of the entire document, while with the clause, it might just route the approval to the librarian and the legal person for specific approval of clause changes made in the document.

When you create a clause, the system sets these default values:

• Sets the clause effective date status to Active

• Sets the clause approval status to Initial.

  When the approval status is Initial, you can still reference and use the clause in the library to establish sections or configurators; however, the system does not automatically include the clause in a generated document until the clause is in an Approved status.

You can submit clause approvals using the AWE or a manual method. You control which method the system applies through installation options settings. The first method is submitting the clause using workflow through the AWE.

For clause approvals, the approval process ID used must be named Clause. The clause approval process definition used by the AWE and the approval type definition associated with the clause control the clause approval process and workflow route for this method.

When you submit the clause for approval, you can still edit the clause which enables modifications during the approval process. However, after the clause is approved, any further edits to the clause content require that you submit and reapprove the effective date version of the clause.

The user-defined approval type that you specify for the clause and the AWE work together to determine if approvals are necessary and who are the approvers. For example, a Low Risk approval type might not require clause approvals for the initial creation of the clause; whereas, a High Risk approval type requires approval by the contract librarian role.

Approval type definitions are defined separately and are first associated with a clause class. When you specify the class for the clause, you can define a default approval type. Then, you can select any approval type that is valid for the class to which the clause is linked. PeopleSoft delivers a basic clause approval definition as part of sample data. You can use this as a starting point to configure other stages, paths, and steps.

Note. Data in the sample database includes a clause approval process that adds the sample contract librarian user (CSLIB1) as an approver and adds the legal approver user (CSLEG1) as a second approver. This processing is based on the High Risk approval type for sample data class CLASS01.

See Establishing Processes for the Approval Workflow Engine.

The second method of clause approval is manual approval. You control when manual approvals are used when you define installation options. If you do not select the Clause Approval check box on the Installation Options page, you can use the Approval Status field on the Clause Definition page to set the clauses to be approved manually and to enable them for use in generated documents.

At any time during clause approval process, the clause or other editors of the clause can cancel the approval process. This action cancels all worklist entries and sets the contract status back to Initial. In addition, there is a user preference option that when selected enables new clauses entered by the user to be automatically approved as they are saved.

See Defining User Preferences.

Clause Approval Steps

These steps describe the clause approval process using the AWE:

1. The clause author or originator adds a new clause.

   The system sets the approval status to Initial and displays the Clause Definition page. The clause approval status field is disabled because the AWE manages the approval process.

2. The originator clicks the Submit for Approval button.

   The system displays the Clause Approval Status page. The originator can add additional paths and approvers before saving and submitting the approval request. The system routes the clause approval request and updates worklist entries for the approvers as the clause goes through its approval.

   The Preview Approval button on the Clause Definition page enables the originator to review the approvers based on the AWE clause approval process before submitting the clause for approval. You cannot change the approval process at this point.

3. Approvers access the system and use one of these methods to determine whether an approval is pending:

   • Approval worklist.

   • Email link.

   • Manual access to the clause definition.

   The notification provides details about the clause.

4. Approvers access the Clause Definition page by selecting the entry for the clause within their worklist.

   The system displays the page with a message that the document is pending the approver's approval. Using the page, approvers can preview the clause and, if they have the authority, edit it. The page also presents the Approve and Deny buttons.

5. Approvers click the Approve button.

   The system displays the Clause Approval Status page with instructions for finalizing the approval and details about the current clause status before you finalize the approval. The approver can also enter comments.

6. Click the OK button.

   The system displays the Clause Definition page and sends notifications to the next approver in the path. You can click the Approval Details link to review the approval progress and comments.

7. The approval process continues until all approvers have approved the clause.

   After the clause is approved, the system updates the Approval Status value on the Clause Definition page to Approved. Click the Approval Details link to review information about the approval. The details also indicate that the clause has been approved.

If an approver denies the clause during the approval process, the system stops the entire clause approval process. The originator or an approver can correct the issues. The originator or approver should then resubmit the clause by clicking the Submit for Approval button on the Clause Definition page which routes the clause again through its original clause approval routing.

Note. If the last approver in the approval process is also submitting or resubmitting the clause for an approval, the AWE system inserts an error step into the approval process. The step requires that users in an administrator role specified on the clause approval process definition that one additional user has reviewed the clause.

See Understanding Supplier Contract Management Workflow.

Note. The clause approval process applies to only a specific clause that you submit through the approval engine. Approvals of dependent clauses and clauses are separate activities; however, the dependent clause status appears on the parent clause when you are submitting the parent clause for approval.

You must set up a preliminary configuration for clause approval before using it. The system associates approval rule definitions for clauses with setIDs and maps them based on the clause setID. A record group links the clause to the approval process setID. The PeopleSoft system delivers a basic approval definition that is based on approval configurations comprised of class, clause, approval type, role name, and approval action in the sample database that you can reference when defining clause approval definitions stages, paths, and steps.

Installation Options

You use installation options to define whether a clause should be required to have approvals. When you require clause approvals, you cannot manually update the Approval Status field on the Clause Definition page. The field value represents the approval current state of the approval process. If clause approval is not required, you can manually update the field.

Also, approval types might define that a clause approval is not required. So, when you click the Preview Approvals button, the system does not display approvers, but rather indicates that approvals are not required. If you click the Submit for Approval button, the system sets the clause to an Approved status.

See Defining Installation Options for PeopleSoft Supplier Contract Management.

Clause Classes

Clause classes enable you to classify approval types for a specific purpose. For example, purchasing contracts for services may have a set of approval types. When you create a clause, you must add the class name for it. Each class definition contains a row for each approval type. You define classes using the Supplier Contracts Setup component. When defining a class, you can select the Default check box on the Clause Class page and then select the Defaultcheck box for one of the approval type rows on the same page.

The system uses these defaults during clause creation to set the initial values of the Class Name and Approval Type fields on the Clause Definition page. Specifying a default approval type for a class is important for higher risk clauses that require approval. If the class definition provides a default value, the approval type value for clauses that use that class cannot be left blank.

See Establishing Clause Classes.

Approval Types

The clause and document approval process both use approval types. You define approval types using the Approval Type page.

To set up approvers for the clause approval process, you add an approving role to the Clause Definition tab on the Approval Type page. When you check the Clause Definition check box, the system adds the approvers that are members of the role that appears in the Approving Role Name field as parallel approvers when you define or change the clause definition.

When using approval types on a clause with an approval process definition defined as the sample process definition ID Clause, the setup on this page determines who are the first approvers for the clause. The routing is based on the roles defined on the Clause Definition tab. PeopleSoft provides a sample process definition ID called Clause.

You use the Clause Usage tab for the approving role name to define the approval requirements for this clause when it is changed or deleted in an actual document during the document approval process. Or, possibly, when the clause simply exists in a document, such as extremely high-risk clauses. The PeopleSoft system provides a sample process definition ID called Document.

The system tracks approval requirements by tracking the usage of predefined clauses in a document and tracking changes to the plain-text version of those clauses in documents as they are checked into the system. The roles defined for these approval types and that are related to those clauses determine the users to which approvals are routed as the first step in the document approval process.

Note. The AWE provides you the framework to create workflow processing with various stages and steps. As part of this solution, the approval type setup offers a method of requiring and routing approvals to roles for clause definition and usage in documents. Use of the approval type structure delivered by the PeopleSoft system is not mandatory. You can use alternate approval process definitions or not use any.

See Also

Setting Up Approval Types

Pages Used to Approve Clauses

Setting Up Installation Options for Clause Approval

Access the Installation Options page.

Use this page to specify whether clause approvals are required. Click the Supplier Contract Management link. In the Supplier Contract Management page, click the Clause Approval check box to indicate that approval is required. This selection means the clause will go through AWE processing before it becomes available for use in documents. Clause approval also controls how the system displays the Approval Status field on the Clause Definition page. As you route the clause through the predefined approval process, the system updates the status. The default setting for the new clause is Initial.

If you do not select the Clause Approval check box on the Installation Options page, then you can set the approval status manually as long as you have the authority.

Accessing Clauses for Approval

Access the Clause Definition page.

Use this page to perform approval tasks for clauses. The Approval Status field displays the approval status and is disabled if a clause is required to go through the AWE for approval processing. The system automatically updates the field, depending on the approval progress. If installation options have been set to require clause approval, the Preview Approvals and Submit for Approval buttons also appear on this page.

If the Approval Status field is available, then you have permission to update the approval status using this page. You can manually set the status to reflect the current state for the approval. Statuses are:

Approved: Select to indicate that the clause has been approved for use. You can still modify any effective-dated row that has been approved. If you make changes, the system sets the approval status from Approved back to Initial. Then, you must select Approved to update the status.

Also, if you do not set clauses for approval using installation options, you can set up automatic approvals for clause librarians. You use user preferences to define the librarians who have automatic approval authority. When automatic approval is set to Approved in user preferences, and the librarian creates a clause, the approval default value for the clause is Approved. If the librarian checks out an approved clause and makes changes, the system does not set the status back to Initial. Rather it leaves the clause at the Approved status.

See Defining User Preferences.

Note. Although a clause may not be in Approved status, you can still use it as part of a section or configurator. Its availability for use in an actual document depends on the clause's status.

Initial: Select to indicate the status of the clause is in the initial state of creation. This is the default value when you access the Clause Definition page after you create the clause. When a clause is in this status, you can maintain elements of the clause. You can use the clause in other content structures, such as sections and configurators. Functions, such as previewing documents, display the clause with a “***Pending Approval***” statement at the beginning of the clause. Document generation does not include clauses that are in the Initial status.

Pending: Select if the clause is in the process of being approved, but has passed the initial creation stage. The system processes clauses that are in this status similar to clauses that are in the Initial status. Document generation does not include clauses that are in the Pending status.

Note. If the clause is set up for AWE processing and the clause is pending the approval of an approver, the Clause Definition page displays the Approve and Deny buttons for the approver to select from.

Previewing and Submitting Clauses for Approval

Access the Clause Approval Status page.

Use the Preview Approval button on the Clause Definition page to review the approvers in the process. The system displays a message if clause approvals are not required. After reviewing the approval stages and paths, you can submit the clause for approval. The Clause Approval Status page is similar to the page used to view and edit the document approval status.

Click the Return to Clause Definition link to return to the Clause Definition page.

Updating and Submitting Clauses for Approval

Access the Clause Approval Status page.

When you click the Submit for Approval button on the Clause Definition page, you can submit a clause for approval and, if needed, update the approvers and reviewers in the clause approval process. This feature is different than previewing and submitting a clause for approval in that you can add reviewers and approvers using this page.

When you submit a clause for approval and approvals are required, the system routes the approval notifications and sets the contract approval status to Pending.

If you submit a clause that does not require approvals, the system displays this page which indicates that approvals are not needed and that approval criteria was not met. It also displays a message indicating that the clause has been approved. Then, the system sets the clause approval status to Approved and the clause status to Active.

If approvals are needed and the approval criteria has been met, the system sets the clause approval status to Pending, and can send email, worklist routings, or both to approvers in the first relevant steps based on approval configuration. The Clause Approval Status page displays again showing the updated approval status. If the status is not Initial, the Preview Approval and Submit for Approval buttons are not available.

Click the Return to Clause Definition link to return to the Clause Definition page.

Note. If bind variables are validated before the clause is submitted for approval and if the validation fails, the system does not send the clause for approval and displays the errors that exist in the variable definitions.

Approving and Denying Clauses

Access the Clause Approval Status page.

Approvers receive notifications through their email or worklist systems. The system provides a link that enables approvers to go directly to the Clause Definition page.

The previous pages illustrate how a clause approval appears when an approver approves it and then how it appears after it has been approved.

If you are an approver of a clause and the clause is pending your approval, the Clause Definition page displays the Approve and Deny buttons.

To approve a clause:

1. Click the Approve button.

   The Clause Approval Status page displays the clause approval path and approvers. You can also click the Deny button to reject the clause. If you deny a clause, the entire workflow process is stopped and the clause status is set to Initial.

2. Enter any comments you have concerning the clause.

3. Click the OK button.

   The system returns to the Clause Definition page.

4. Click the Approval Details link.

   You can use this link anytime to review your comments and check the progress of the clause as it goes through approvers.

Setting Effective Dates for Clauses

Access the Clause Definition page.

Use the Effective Date field to select a date on which this clause will become effective. The default value is today's date; however, if you are preloading existing approved clauses, you might want to use a date earlier than today. This date determines whether the system considers to include a clause in a document, based on the start date of the document.

You use effective dating to control versions of clauses. It's a method of dating information where you can predate information to add historical data to the system. Or, you can post date information to enter it before you actually plan to approve it and place it in effect. By using effective dates, you don't delete the library content, you enter a new value with a current effective date. You can maintain a complete chronological history of data and tables, whether you changed them two years ago or want them to change them in two months.

Effective dates are key values for uniquely identifying the current or future effective-dated clause that is being submitted for approval. You can submit only one effective-dated version of a clause for approval at one time.

Approving Sections and Controlling Document Configurator Availability

This section provides an overview of section and configurator approvals and discusses how to:

• Set section and configurator user preferences.

• Defining section approvals.

• Control document configurator availability.

Understanding Section and Configurator Approvals

Initially, the system controls the authority to create and modify sections and document configurators through standard page access. If you can access the page, you can create and modify the section or configurator. The system controls who can access pages through Supplier Contract Management application user preferences.

An approval status is available on the Section Definition page, and if you have the authority to use the page, you can create and modify a section. However, only users with section approval authority can mark the section as approved. You do not have to approve a section before you can use it in another section, or reference in a document configurator; however, you must approve the section before using it or any of its structures, such as clauses or subsections, in a generated document.

If you make section changes that require structural changes, such as a recent clause, you must add a new effective-dated row because the system uses the effective date of the section's row to determine what is valid for prompting in the structure grid. For example, if a section you are maintaining is dated 1/1/06, it does not recognize a new clause that is in effect as of 1/15/06 because the clause did not exist on 1/1/06. In addition, the system continues to use the previously approved, effective-dated row for a section until the current row is approved. When the new effective-dated row is approved, it becomes active in the system.

Configurators use an availability status to control their use in creating documents. An availability status is available for providing approval authority on the User Preference page. Only users with change configurator status authority for their user preference can approve a configurator.

Pages Used to Approve Sections and Control Document Configurator Availability

Setting Section and Configurator User Preferences

Access the User Preferences page.

Use the Document Authorizations section to indicate if the document manager has the security authority to update section approval statuses and to make document configurators available for use.

Click the Approve Sections check box to give the authority for the manager to approve document sections.

Click the Change Configurator Status check box to give the authority for the manager to change the availability of a document configurator.

See Also

Setting Up User Preferences

Defining Section Approvals

Access the Section Definition page.

Use the Approval Status field on this page to indicate the status of the section approval. The system uses this setting in addition to the Status field which defines if the section is available for use.

The approval process determines if the section meets the organizational needs of those groups or suppliers using it. Unlike clauses and documents, sections do not use the approval workflow engine for approval processes. You can set the approval status as long as you have the authority defined in user preferences. The system has to validate the setting before it changes the section to the Approved status. Statuses are:

Approved: Select to make the section available for use in document structures. If you make changes to a section and click Save, the system automatically sets the status back to Initial and you have to manually select Approved. Also, you can set up section automatic approvals for librarians. You use user preferences to define the librarians who have section automatic approval authority. When automatic approval is set to Approved in user preferences, and the librarian creates a section, the approval default value for the section is Approved. If the librarian checks out an approved section and makes changes, the system does not set the status back to Initial. Rather it leaves the section at Approved.

See Defining User Preferences.

Initial: Select to indicate the section is not ready for use. This is the default setting when you create or make changes to the section.

Pending: Select to indicate the section is not available for use. Use this setting for example if others are reviewing the section.

Controlling Document Configurator Availability

Access the Document Configurator Definition page.

Use this page to set the availability of a document configurator. The status is controlled by the Availability Status field.

When you select the user preferences Change Configurator Status check box, the document manager has the authority to determine the current status of the configurator and update its status. This is a method for developing and then placing the configurator in use.

The configurator has three statuses:

Available: Select to make the document configurator available for use. If the configurator is not available, you cannot use it as a template for creating documents.

In Progress: Select to remove the configurator from general use in creating documents. You might want to do this if you are redefining the configurator values. This is the default value when you create the configurator.

Obsolete: Select to indicate this configurator should not be used in the creation of document templates.

Approving Documents

This section provides an overview of document approvals and discusses how to:

• Access document approval and review components.

• Preview approvals.

• Submit documents for approval.

• Approve and review documents.

• Verifying document approvals.

• Deny approval for documents.

• Insert ad hoc approvers and reviewers.

• Bypass document approvals.

Understanding Document Approvals

Document approvals are formalized processes that you use to track the development of a whole document. Using document approvals, you can route documents for approval, monitor the approval process from person to person, log who approved or denied the document, and review suggestions that they made about the document. The process facilitates a more detailed control of a document and helps ensure that the contract is within standards of individuals and groups in an organization.

Supplier Contract Management provides a sample approval process definition as a starting template process for the document and the clause approval workflow processing. Application administrators can configure the AWE workflow configurations to support an organization's internal processes.

See Configuring the Approval Workflow Engine for Use with Supplier Contract Management.

Document approvals use the AWE. For document approvals, the approval process ID that you use must be named Document. The AWE supports multiple approvers who can be notified at the same time, creating parallel approval paths. Approvers can approve or deny transactions and assign ad hoc reviewers or approvers for the transaction. When the approval process is complete, the system updates the document as approved or rejected. Supplier Contract Management also incorporates an optional clause-level approval stage so that the system can automatically include appropriate individuals in an approval process based on the presence or modification of specific contract clauses.

See Understanding Clause Approval.

During the approval process, approvers can add other approvers or reviewers to the current or a later stage of the approval process. For example, if an author wants input from an inventory analyst, she can add the analyst as an approver. This is called ad hoc approval. It applies only to the approval instance in which the addition occurs and does not affect the overall approval flow. Only the approver who adds an ad hoc approval can delete it.

An author can also be a document approver. Authors approving their own documents is called self-approval. A check box setting on the Approval Process Definition page enables self-approval. If self-approval is enabled, the author's approval is assumed and the process continues; however, you can establish criteria that help control the author's approval authority. For example, you can place a limit on the monetary amount for which the author writes a document so that if the transaction is over that amount, the author cannot be an approver.

An administrator can manage approvals by reassigning those that do not have alternates defined for their approval. You can enter criteria to limit the number of approvals that the system displays.

Document Approval Steps

At any time during document approval process, the contract owner or an authorized alternate can cancel the approval process. This action cancels all worklist entries and sets the contract status back to Draft.

These steps describe the document approval process:

1. The document owner or originator adds a new purchasing contract or ad hoc document.

   The system sets the initial approval status to Draft and displays the Document Management page.

2. The originator clicks the Submit for Approval button.

   The system routes the document and updates worklist entries for the approvers and reviewers. The originator can preview the approvers prior to submitting for approval and add additional approvers or reviews based on their knowledge of the document.

3. Approvers access the system and use one of these methods, depending on the approval process configuration, to determine whether an approval is pending:

   • Approval worklist.

   • Email.

   The notification provides details about the document.

4. Approvers access the Document Management page.

   The system displays the page with a message that the document is pending the approver's approval. Using the page, approvers can preview the document and, if they have the authority, edit it. History for edits made to the document are maintained and available using the Document Management page. The page also presents the Approve and Deny buttons.

5. Approvers click the Approve button.

   The system displays the Document Approval Status page with instructions for finalizing the approval and details about the current document status before you finalize the approval.

6. Click the OK button.

   The system updates the approval status for the current approver, resets the overall document approval status to Pending Approval, and sends the notifications to the next approver in the path. Upon approval by the last person in the path that might be the originator depending on how you configure AWE, the document status is set to Approved.

7. The originator accesses the Document Management page and clicks the Approval Details link to review information about the approval.

Note. If an approver clicks the Deny button, the system stops sending approver notifications, marks the approver step as denied, and, depending on the configuration, notifies the originator about the approval denial. The originator can either cancel the approval process or make changes to the document and submit it again for approval. When you resubmit an approval, the entire approval route starts from the beginning.

Pages Used to Approve Documents

Accessing Document Approval and Review Components

Access the Document Management page.

Use this page to access document collaboration, review, and approval tasks. To perform a task, click the corresponding button or link.

Approval management is the process of taking a clause or document through the organization until it is approved or canceled. Approvers and reviewers use the process to finalize documents.

Previewing Approvals

Access the Document Approval Status page.

Use this page to preview approvals and submit approvals. This page is similar for previewing and submitting documents, except when previewing the approvers, you cannot make changes to the approvers or add approval paths. The headings and statuses can change depending on the type of approval, path, and stage.

Review/Edit Approvers

Use this section of the Document Approval Status page to review aspects of the approval flow, such as who approved the document or clause prior to submitting the document for approval. The grid displays all approval steps for the paths that are defined in the approval stage. Each stage is identified by a heading within the grid. The first stage must be approved before the next stage begins the approval process.

When a stage begins the approval process, the system updates the approval status in the heading and sets the next stage or stages to the Awaiting Further Approvals status.

See Submitting Documents for Approval.

Approval Comments

Enter comments concerning the document's approval. When you click the Submit for Approval button, the system places your comments in the Approval Comment History section. During the process, the system removes the comment from this section so that other comments can be entered.

Comments can be added by any approver or reviewer, and the system makes them visible to all users in the approval cycle.

Submitting Documents for Approval

Access the Document Approval Status page.

When you click the Submit for Approval button on the Document Management page or when you select the Submit for Approval button while previewing an approval, the system immediately starts the approval process and displays this page.

When approvals are required, the page displays the approvers, and the system sets the contract status to Pending Approval and sends email and worklist routings to approvers in the first relevant steps based on the approval process configuration.

You can add new paths and ad hoc approvers and reviewers to the initial approvers. In addition, you can enter approval comments. After making the changes, click the Save button to add the comments to approval details and send notifications to the added approvers and reviewers. The system updates the document status Pending Approval. You can review approval details by clicking the Approval Details link on the Document Management page.

Click the Cancel Approval Process button to stop the document approval at any point during the approval process.

When you submit a document for approval, and approvals are not required, the Document Approval Status page displays a message that approvals are not required. If you click the Submit for Approval button, the system sets the contract status to Approved.

Review/Edit Approvers

Use this section of the Document Approval Status page to review aspects of the approval flow, such as who approved the document or clause prior to submitting the document for approval. and to add ad hoc approvers and reviewers. The section displays all approval steps for the paths that are defined in the approval stage. The system identifies each stage with a heading in the grid. You must approve the first stage before the next stage begins the approval process.

When a stage begins the approval process, the system updates the approval status in the heading and sets the next stage or stages to the Awaiting Further Approvals status.

The initial approval process displays based on the document approval process definition configured in the AWE system. The Insert Approver check box (green box with a plus sign) provides a page that enables you to add approvers and reviewers to existing approval paths, and the Start New Path link enables you to add paths to the approval process.

Approval Comments

Enter comments concerning the document approval. When you click the Save button, the system places your comments in the Approval Comment History section. Comments are useful when the approver does not have administrator rights to edit the document or as a matter of practice, you do not want the user to modify the document as part of the approval process. During the process, the system appends new comments from approvers as the document is routed. By adding comments during the process, the document owner can reconcile, update, and resubmit the document as required.

Any approver can add comments, and the system makes them visible to all users in the approval cycle.

Approving and Reviewing Documents

Access the Document Management page.

Approvers and reviewers use this page to review, edit, approve, and deny approval for documents. When you access the page, the system can display a list of clauses that might need special approval, depending on the clause-usage settings for approval types related to each clause in the document. The system generates this list based on the AWE document approval process definition and the definition of the approval type. For example, if the approval type related to the clause included in the contract specifies that an approval is needed if the clause is included in a document, then the users related to the role associated with the approval type will see this and any other such clause in the Clause Pending Your Approval grid.

The approval type definition can add approvers to the document approval process based on changes to the clauses in the document or based on including the clause in the document. If the system uses the clause approver stage, then each related user that the system notifies for approval can use the Clauses Pending Your Approval grid to preview a summary of clauses for their approval. Reviewing the clauses first assists in locating content in the document that needs your approval.

Function buttons on the Document Management page are:

The View and Edit Options, Review and Approval, and the Other Document Actions functions change depending on the authorizations for each user accessing the Document Management page. For example, an approver, such as a librarian, might not have the authorization to edit the document, so the Edit Document button does not appear and the librarian can only enter comments as part of an approval or denial.

When you click the Edit button, the system hides the Approve and Deny buttons to protect against other users editing the document.

If you make changes to a document, the system validates the changes and displays messages when you check in the document. In some cases, the document administrator might have to re-create or refresh the document to resolve binds.

The system displays the View Document button for all approvers to provide access to the document. The document is downloaded to Microsoft Word.

The Document Management page also provides you with functions to view the document version history, approval details, document modification summary log, and generation log.

Verifying Document Approvals

Access the Document Approval Status page.

This page appears when you click the Approve or Deny button. The system labels the Approval Confirmation section based on which button you select. Approvers and reviewers use this page in a similar manner, except that reviewers cannot add ad hoc approvers or reviewers, edit a document, or approve or deny a document. Reviewers can preview the document and make comments using the approval process.

The Approval Comment History section provides access to comments and time and date stamp information from previous approvers in the approval process.

To approve a document:

1. Click the Approve button.

   If an approver is the last approver, the system calls the approval event handler for the OnHeaderApprove class. This action updates the clause status to Approved. If other approvers remain, the system sends email and worklist routings for the next approvers based on the approval configuration.

2. Use the Review/Edit Approvers section to add any comments about the approval.

3. Click OK to complete the approval.

Denying Approval for Documents

Access the Document Approval Status page.

This page illustrates how a denied approval appears. As an approver, you can deny a document. When an approver denies a document, the system terminates the remaining lines in a path and terminates other stages. The originator of the document can resubmit the document after resolving issues that caused the denial.

To deny the approval of a document:

1. Enter comments in the Approver Comments section.

   This action is not required before you deny the requisition, but it can provide details about why you denied the approval of the document.

2. Click the Deny button.

   The approval process ends and the system:

   • Leaves the document status as Pending Approval.

     The event handler calls the OnHeaderDeny class, which resets the status to Pending Approval. You can resubmit the document for approval and the process starts again. The system does not include ad hoc approvers who were added during the initial approval process because the approval process definition might have changed.

   • Inserts a process detail history row that indicates that the document was denied.

   • Sends notifications that have been configured for this event.

3. The document owner uses the Review/Edit Approvers section to review comments for the denial.

Inserting Ad Hoc Approvers and Reviewers

Access the Document Approval Status page.

To add ad hoc approvers and reviewers, click the plus (+) symbol for a pending approval. Another page appears for you to select the user ID and whether the person is an ad hoc approver or reviewer for this path of the document.

The symbol appears on both sides of the approver or reviewer, enabling you to place the additional approver or reviewer before or after an existing approver or reviewer. When you add an approver, the system inserts the name and indicates that the user was inserted into the approval process.

You cannot change ad hoc approvers or reviewers; however, you can delete and add them again to update whether they are approvers or reviewers. To delete an approver or reviewer, click the minus (–) symbol. You can remove only approvers or reviewers that you add. A confirmation message appears when you make the selection.

Note. Inserting ad hoc approvers or reviewers is only possible at the start of the approval process, after the originator selects the Submit for Approval button. This function is not authorized for approvers and reviewers during the approval process.

Bypassing Document Approvals

Access the Document Management page.

When you click the Bypass Approvals button, the system automatically changes the document status to Approved. You can authorize this function for document administrators using the User Preferences page.