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Development trial ยท sample information only

Respond to a workflow approval request

For licensed Collaborators with permission for this task. Check the selected organisation; feature availability and record access still apply.

What you will achieve

Record your own approval decision against the correct workflow round and verify its effect without confusing one person's response with overall approval.

Before you start

Confirm you are the assigned approver and have the authority and evidence needed to decide. Open the request through your workflow queue or the relevant record. Check the organisation, record and version under review.

If the request was intended for someone else, ask the workflow owner to correct the assignment. Do not sign in as that person or record their decision under your identity.

Review and decide

  1. Open the relevant workflow or approvals panel.
  2. Check the current round and review its supporting record, evidence and any preconditions. Earlier decisions in history may belong to a different round.
  3. Read any comments or conditions from other approvers, without treating their decision as a substitute for your review.
  4. Choose Approve when the requested decision is supported and within your authority.
  5. Choose Return for changes when the work is not ready. Give a specific explanation of what must change; the current form requires a reason.
  6. Choose Abstain where offered if you should not make the decision. Explain the reason usefully, especially where there is a conflict or missing authority.
  7. Submit once, wait for the result and read back your saved decision and comment.
  8. Check the workflow's resulting state separately. Other approvals or conditions may still be outstanding.

Reconsidering a decision

Some current-round decisions expose Change to Approve or Change decision. Use only the action currently offered for that record and round, and make the reason understandable.

Do not assume a completed or superseded round can be rewritten. If the evidence changes after a workflow transition, ask the owner how to initiate the appropriate new review.

Check it worked

Your identity, decision and explanation appear against the intended current round. The overall workflow state accurately reflects any remaining approvals. A read notification or a supportive comment is not equivalent to this saved decision.

If something goes wrong

Problem Next action
Decision controls are absent Check assignment, permission and whether the round is current
Returning for changes is rejected Provide the required specific reason
State changes during your review Refresh and review the new round before acting
Submission times out Inspect the saved decision before repeating it

Human judgement matters

Approval records accountable judgement. Do not approve simply to clear a queue or because the supporting text was generated confidently.

What next?

For the wider context, see Find and organise your work. Tell the owner what follow-up is needed and revisit only through the current workflow state.

Get help

Ask your Organisation Administrator about access or the task owner about the content. For a platform error, include this guide reference, the affected page and a sanitised message. Never share passwords, session details or confidential evidence in an open support request.

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