Approval on the Wrong Object
Atlas Services runs a request queue that creates 30 issues per week. Each issue must be approved by the requester's manager and then by a finance approver before it can be converted to a project. The queue currently uses an issue approval process with two stages. Approvers report that they receive no email after the first stage; some issues sit in 'New' even after approval; and when the finance approver is on leave, requests stall. The company has six finance approvers in a job role and wants automatic delegation to a backup. The project manager also wants the final approved issue to create a project with the same custom form data.
1. Diagnose why stage two notifications and status changes are not behaving as expected.
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Start by confirming that the approval process is actually attached to the issue and that stage two is being created. Workfront does not send the next stage's approval request until the prior stage is complete, so a missing stage-two email usually means stage one is still pending, the approver acted outside the approval, or the process was not applied to that issue. Check the issue's approval path and the approver records, not just the email settings.
For issues stuck in 'New,' determine whether the approval process is tied to the status transition the team expects. An approval can be completed without automatically changing status if the status change is a separate action or if the issue's status is controlled by queue and project preferences. Also check whether the approver is a job role with multiple users and whether the approval requires one or all of them. Finally, verify notification settings and the user's out-of-office or delegation settings before assuming a platform defect.
2. Recommend a revised approval and conversion design that handles the finance approver's leave and preserves custom form data.
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Keep the approval on the issue, because the request must be approved before conversion. Use two stages: manager approval and finance approval. For finance, assign a named primary approver plus an explicit delegate or backup, rather than relying only on a job role with six people. Use Workfront's delegation or out-of-office settings for planned leave, and document a backup approver who can act in the approval. If a job role is required, define who is accountable for monitoring it, because a role-based approval can leave everyone assuming someone else acted.
For conversion, use the issue-to-project conversion and ensure the project's custom form includes the same fields and mappings. Confirm that the approval process does not block conversion after final approval, and that the issue status is set to an approved state. Test with a sample issue through both stages, including a delegated approval, and verify that the project retains the custom form values.
3. What are the risks of using a six-person finance job role as the approver, and how would you make accountability clear?
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A job role can be useful for coverage, but it obscures ownership. If any member of the role can approve, requests may be approved by someone without the right authority, or all six may assume another person is handling it. If all six must approve, requests stall whenever one person is unavailable. Either behavior is risky for finance controls.
Make accountability explicit: designate a primary finance approver and a named backup, use delegation for absences, and use the job role only as a fallback if the platform requires it. Publish an approval SLA and a roster. Audit the approval history regularly to see who approved and how long each stage took. If the role remains, pair it with a report of pending finance approvals and assign one person to monitor it daily.