Approve a Setup Process or Task
After you initiate employee setup, Workflow completes one or both of these procedures depending on how the processing options are set:
Obtains a process approval.
Obtains a task approval for each employee setup task that includes an approval requirement.
If the system requires a process approval, Workflow begins for each employee setup task, but waits until it obtains the process approval before continuing.
Workflow can complete any or all of these processes for each setup task:
Create a work order.
Create a report.
Send an email.
Start an additional Workflow process.
When specified in the processing option, the system requires a process approval for the entire setup process. When the system requires a process approval, it sets the task status to Pending (as defined in Setup Task Status list 08/S1) until the designated manager approves the process. When the designated manager approves the setup process, the system resets the process status to Approved (this is the status in the F08710 record) and restarts each task within the process. If a task has a future start date, the task workflow process halts and waits for the schedule activation date. The Escalation Monitor restarts halted tasks with a future start date on the appropriate date.
Individual tasks and changes to tasks might also require approval. For example, if the task for installing an employee telephone does not require an approval, Workflow does not send an email approval form. However, you can set up this task to require an approval if a manager changes the task to install a phone with multiple features.
When a task requires approval, Workflow first verifies that the manager who entered the employee setup record also entered data in the required fields that identify the location of the new employee's work space. If values are missing, Workflow delays the process and sends an email message to the manager. When the manager enters the required data, the workflow process is restarted and sends an email approval form to the approver who has been specified for the task. The system then sets the task status to WA or Waiting for Approval (defined in Setup Task Status list 08/S2) until it is approved. When the designated manager approves the task, the system sets the task status to Approved and starts processing the task.
When the task is approved, the activation date is reached, and the required location information is entered, workflow resumes and activates the task. This action changes the status of the task record (F08711) to A or Activated and carries out the predefined task activities:
Sends an email message.
Runs a configured report.
Creates a work order.
Starts an additional Workflow process.
An email message can contain the employee's name and location information, the description of the task, a requested completion date, and the manager's comments about the task. When a report is one of the task activities, an email is sent to the task recipient that contains an active link that, when selected, submits the report. You can also link a work order to the setup task.
A task remains in the Activated status until the task recipient finishes working on the task, returns to the Managers Employee Setup application, and selects Completed from the Row menu.