Terminology

This table provides definitions for the work order workflow terminology that is used throughout this set of topics:

Term	Definition
Ad Hoc Approver/Reviewer	Technician or approver can add another user ad hoc to approve or review the current work order only. The process definition is not modified, so it does not affect other work order approval routings.
Approval Map	The graphic representation of an approval instance with stages, paths and steps.
Approval Path	A path is a group of sequential, related steps, such as approval steps based on a single department hierarchy (for example, manager, director, VP, and so on).
Approval Stage	A stage is a collection of paths. Stages come in a single sequence (stage 1, stage 2, …) A stage runs when it's immediately preceding stage finishes. When a stage runs, all the paths within it run simultaneously. The stage is considered complete when all paths within it have finished.
Approval Step	The basic unit of approval. A step has one or more approvers, whose actions are tracked. A step can be configured to require a set number of approvers to act and has criteria that govern whether or not the step is to be active for the work order.
Approver	Manager or maintenance planner who is responsible for approving the work order.
Criteria	A criterion is an entity, which evaluates to true or false. Criteria are used to determine which steps and paths are to be considered active for a particular request undergoing approval processing. Criteria can be configured by the functional analyst or can be canned queries, SQL objects, app classes, and so on.
Reviewer	The application routes work orders to reviewers for informational purposes, but reviewers do not need to take any action for the approval process.
User List	Approvers, reviewers, and other actors are grouped by roles and other means. The PeopleSoft Enterprise Components Approval Framework provides an abstraction across such aggregates, called Userlists.
Work Order Approval Process Definition	A set of rules to govern how the works order approval process should flow for a business unit (SetID-based sharing) based on the business requirements. Within the process definition, stages, paths, and steps can be defined with different criteria and approver designations.
Work Order Approval Process Instance	A running instance of the approval process for a particular work order with criteria evaluated and specific approvers known (routed or not routed).