Understanding the Approval Framework

This topic discusses:

Approval workflow in Enterprise Learning Management.
Delivered approval process definitions.
Approval process definition setup.

Approval Workflow in Enterprise Learning Management

Many PeopleSoft applications use workflow to automate the movement of tasks and information from one role or user to another:

From employee to manager.
Between managers.
From managers to administrators.

Although workflow can be used to route different kinds of tasks and information between users, most workflow in Enterprise Learning Management involves approval processing. For example, when a student selects a course from the catalog that requires approval, his/her enrollment request may go to a manager, an administrator, or a user outside the management hierarchy for approval. Workflow for enrollment and registration approvals is managed by the Approvals Framework—a specialized interface that enables you to set up approval process definitions using existing components without writing code. These process definitions specify workflow routing rules and steps, and the users who will review and approve each step in a transaction.

Using workflow approval processes, you can:

Approve, deny, push back, or delegate individual items in a transaction.
Approve and deny multiple transactions at a single time.
Define multiple approvers for individual transactions.
Assign additional approvers and reviewers during the approval process.
Escalate approvals.
Send worklist and email notifications.

Delivered Approval Process Definitions

Enterprise Learning Management delivers approval process definitions as sample data that you can use to trigger approval workflow when a learner makes an enrollment request, a program registration request, or requests supplemental learning. Based on these sample process definitions, the system routes learning requests to managers, administrators, and other system users for approval, and sends workflow items or emails to designated users notifying them of their role in the approval chain.

When a class, program, or supplemental learning request triggers approval processing, there is one "initial" approver and one or more subsequent approvers.
If the learner has no "initial" approver (a manager, for example), the learner's request is auto-approved.
The initial approver of a learning request can take one of two actions: approve or deny.

Subsequent approvers of a learning request can take one of three actions: approve, deny, or push back.

Subsequent approvers might be senior managers or others in the management hierarchy, or users who are outside the management hierarchy, such as individuals in the finance or legal department.

This table lists the delivered approval process definitions:

Approval Process Definition	Description
ACT BOTH-SPECIAL	Class enrollment — both internal and external learners require special approval.
ACT INT-MGR EXT-NONE	Class enrollment — internal learners require manager approval, no approval is required for external learners.
ACT INT-MGR EXT-PAYADMIN	Class enrollment — internal learners require manager approval, external learners require approval from the payment administrator.
ACT INT-MGR EXT-SPECIAL	Class enrollment — internal learners require manager approval, external learners require approval from a special approver.
ACT INT-NONE EXT-PAYADMIN	Class enrollment — internal learners require no approval, external learners require approval from the payment administrator.
ACT INT-NONE EXT-SPECIAL	Class enrollment — internal learners require no approval, external learners require approval from a special approver.
ACT INT-SPECIAL EXT-NONE	Class enrollment — internal learners require approval from a special approver, no approval is required for external learners.
ACT INT-SPECIAL EXT-PAYADMIN	Class enrollment — internal learners require approval from a special approver, external learners require approval from the payment administrator.
ACTIVITY ENROLLMENT	Approval path is learner's manager, payment administrator, then special approver, as appropriate.
PRG BOTH-SPECIAL	Program enrollment — both internal and external learners require special approval.
PRG INT-MGR EXT-NONE	Program enrollment — internal learners require manager approval, no approval is required for external learners.
PRG INT-MGR EXT-PAYADMIN	Program enrollment — internal learners require manager approval, external learners require approval from the payment administrator.
PRG INT-MGR EXT-SPECIAL	Program enrollment — internal learners require manager approval, external learners require approval from a special approver.
PRG INT-NONE EXT-PAYADMIN	Program enrollment — internal learners require no approval, external learners require approval from the payment administrator.
PRG INT-NONE EXT-SPECIAL	Program enrollment — internal learners require no approval, external learners require approval from a special approver.
PRG INT-SPECIAL EXT-NONE	Program enrollment — internal learners require approval from a special approver, no approval is required for external learners.
PRG INT-SPECIAL EXT-PAYADMIN	Program enrollment — internal learners require approval from a special approver, external learners require approval from the payment administrator.
PROGRAM REGISTRATION	Approval path is learner's manager, payment administrator, then special approver, as appropriate.
SUP BOTH-LEARNER SELECTED	Supplemental learning enrollment — both internal and external learners require approval from a learner selected approver.
SUP INT-MGR EXT-NONE	Supplemental learning enrollment — internal learners require manager approval, no approval is required for external learners.
SUP INT-MGR EXT-SPECIAL	Supplemental learning enrollment — internal learners require manager approval, external learners require approval from a special approver.
SUP INT-NONE EXT-SPECIAL	Supplemental learning enrollment — internal learners require no approval, external learners require approval from a special approver.
SUP INT-SPECIAL EXT-NONE	Supplemental learning enrollment — internal learners require approval from a special approver, no approval is required for external learners.
SUPPLEMENTAL LEARNING	Approval path is learner's manager, payment administrator, then special approver, as appropriate.

Note: These definitions are delivered as sample data and can be modified based on your own approval requirements.

Note: This list includes approval processes created for enrollment in classes, programs, and supplemental learning, as well as a number of more specific approval process definitions delivered for backwards compatibility.

Note: We discuss the three Enterprise Learning Management transactions that use approval processing—class enrollment, program registration, and supplemental learning requests—elsewhere in this documentation.

Approval Process Definition Setup

This topic discusses:

General approval process setup.
Enterprise Learning Management approval process setup.

General Approval Process Setup

The setup pages described in This topic are the basis for the approval processes delivered with many PeopleSoft applications. Within Enterprise Learning Management, these pages are used to define the "sample" approval processes for enrollment, registration, and supplemental learning requests. You can use them to modify these delivered sample processes or to create your own approval definitions.

Important! To use the sample approval processes created by PeopleSoft, new install customers must import them into their production environments by running the LMAP01.DMS script with the LMAP01.DAT file.

To modify delivered approval processes or define new process definitions:

Access the User List Definition page to define the list of users who can approve enrollment or registration requests.

For example, you can define user lists to include everyone in a specific role such as the manager or learning administrator role, or select users who meet the criteria specified in a SQL statement or query.
Access the Setup Process Definitions component (EOAW_PRCS) and define the following:
1. The sequence of stages, paths, and steps that make up a process definition.
  
  A stage consists of one or more approval paths and their associated steps or actions. A path represents a specific sequence of approval steps, and each step represents an approver or approval action within the sequence.
  
  When you define a process definition, you associate approval steps with user lists (defined in step 1) to control who can approve a learning request.
2. The criteria that must be satisfied before the system sends users along a specific stage, path, or step in the approval process.
  
  You can associate criteria with a stage as well as with specific paths or steps that make up a stage when you define path and step details (see steps c and d below).
  
  For example, you can define criteria to activate an approval path when the cost of enrollment is greater than 100 USD but less than 300 USD. And you can activate a different path when the cost is greater than 300 USD.
3. Path details.
  
  This includes:
  
  1) Defining the criteria that the system uses to determine when to follow a specific path.
  
  2) Providing instruction for escalating approval steps to a different user when the designated approver fails to approve, deny, or push back an approval request.
4. Step details.
  
  This includes:
  
  1) Defining the users who are authorized to approve learning requests at each step in the path.
  
  2) Defining the users who are authorized to review approval steps.
  
  3) Defining the criteria that the system uses to determine when to activate a step.
  
  4) Defining when a requestor who is also an approver can approve his/her own training requests.
Register the transaction that triggers approval processing on the Register Transactions page.

The approval transaction registry is the interface you use to register a transaction with the Approval Framework.
Define workflow notification options on the Configure Transactions page.
Define approval authorization by role or user on the Approval Authorization page.

Enterprise Learning Approval Process Setup

In Enterprise Learning Management you associate approval process definitions with courses, classes, programs, and supplemental learning types using the Approval Type field on the Maintain Items (LM_CI_LA_CMP), Maintain Classes (LM_ACT), Maintain Programs (LM_PROG), and Define Supplemental Learning (LM_ADHC_SETUP) components. When a learner, manager or administrator submits an enrollment request for a class, program, or supplemental learning that requires approval, the system initiates the sequence of paths and steps contained in that process definition.

This topic describes how to configure the system to use the sample approval process definitions as well as any process definitions that you create yourself.

Note: Enrollment, program registration, and supplemental learning requests do not automatically trigger approval workflow. You must specify approval requirements when you define Courses, Programs, and Supplemental Learning templates on the Maintain Items (LM_CI_LA_CMP), Maintain Classes (LM_ACT), Maintain Programs (LM_PROG), and Define Supplemental Learning (LM_ADHC_SETUP) components.

To configure approvals in Enterprise Learning Management:

Select the Class Enrollment and Supplemental Learning check boxes on the Enrollment Defaults page of the Install Defaults component (LM_IN_DFLT_CMP) to enable approval processing for enrollment and supplemental learning requests.

Note: If you do not select these options, the Approval Type field on the Item Details, Class Details, and Supplemental Learning Request pages is still available. However, when an enrollment or supplemental learning request is submitted, the system bypasses the approval framework and the enrollment/supplemental learning is immediately confirmed.

See Defining Default Processing Rules and Options.
Select the Program Registration check box on the Program Defaults page of the Install Defaults component (LM_IN_DFLT_CMP) to enable approval processing for program registration requests.

Note: If you do not select this option , the Approval Type field on the Program Details page is still available. However, when a registration request is submitted, the system bypasses the approval framework and the registration is immediately confirmed.

See Install Defaults - Programs Page.
Select a SETID for approvals on the Basic Data page of the Learning Environment component (LM_LE_CMP).

The SETID determines which approval process definitions are available in the Approval Type field on the Item Details, Class Details, Program Details, and Supplemental Learning Details pages.

Note: When you create approval process definitions, you tie these definitions to specific SETIDs. The SETID is then used to control which of these definitions are available within a specific learning environment.

See Defining Learning Environments.
Associate approval process definitions with courses, classes, programs, and supplemental learning types using Approval Type field on the following components:
- Maintain Items (LM_CI_LA_CMP)
- Maintain Classes (LM_ACT)
- Maintain Programs (LM_PROG)
- Define Supplemental Learning (LM_ADHC_SETUP)
When a learner enrolls in and class, registers for a program, or submits a supplemental learning request , the system uses the associated approval process to route the approval requests to the required approvers.

See Assigning Objectives to Courses and Programs.

See Defining Class Details.

See Building Learner Groups.

See Setting Up Supplemental Learning Types.

Note: You define approval process definitions using the Setup Process Definitions component (EOAW_PRCS).

Note: We discuss the pages used to enroll in classes, programs, and supplemental learning, and the pages used by managers and administrators to review and approve enrollment requests, in other topics. See Understanding Learning Record and Objectives Management and Approving Enrollment and Registration Requests.