Alternate Approval Assignments

The Alternate Approval Assignments (IWF02) page allows administrators to reassign work units either immediately or for future dates to a different user or approval role. These assignments can be configured for a specific date range and may also apply to a different approval level.

For example, when a user is on vacation, their approval tasks based on approval level can be automatically routed to another designated user or role.

Handling Overlapping Alternate Approver Assignments

  • Overlapping Date Ranges:

    • If two or more Alternate Approver assignments have overlapping date ranges, the system assigns tasks to the Alternate Approver whose assignment has the earliest "From" date relative to the current system date.

    • Once the system date reaches that earliest "From" date, tasks are routed to the corresponding Alternate Approver.

    • This assignment remains in effect until its expiration. After it expires, the system activates the next available Alternate Approver assignment.

  • Identical "From" Dates:

    • If two or more assignments share the same "From" date, the system assigns tasks to the Alternate Approver whose assignment has the earliest "To" (expiration) date, as defined in the IWF02 configuration.

Use Case: Sequential Alternate Approval Assignments

The system logic ensures continuity in task assignment. For instance, if the first Alternate Approver is scheduled to be out of office starting today, tasks submitted on or after today will automatically be routed to the second Alternate Approver.

  • Important Setup Guidance:

    • The primary Alternate Assignment must end the day before the first alternate approver’s out-of-office period begins.

    • A secondary Alternate Assignment must be configured to start from the day the first alternate becomes unavailable and continue until the primary approver returns.

    • This ensures uninterrupted task routing through sequential backup assignees.

  • The sequential alternate assignment logic can be repeated as many times as necessary, depending on site-level requirements.

  • This approach introduces redundancy by configuring at least two backup Alternate Approvers. If the first assignment expires and the primary approver is still unavailable, the system automatically transitions to the next configured assignment.

Additional Notes

  • The system never assigns the same task to multiple Alternate Approvers on the same day.

  • This redundancy model is designed purely for sequential backup, ensuring that tasks always have a valid alternate recipient during periods when the primary approver is unavailable.

Field InformationField Information

Field

Description

Approval Level

The approval level for which the alternate assignment is to be made.  If the alternate assignment is to be made for all approval levels for the original assignee, then set this value to 0.

From Date

The date on which the Alternate Approval Assignment becomes active.

To Date

The last date on which the Alternate Approval Assignment is active.

Assignee Is a Role?

Assignee ID

If the Assignee Is a Role is true, then an approval role has to be selected or entered in the Assignee ID field. If false, then a User ID has to be selected or entered.

Alternate Assignee Is a Role?

Alternate Assignee ID

If the Alternate Assignee Is a Role is true, then an approval role has to be selected or entered in the Alternate Assignee ID field. If false, then a User ID has to be selected or entered.

Related PagesRelated Pages

  • Approval Users - A transition to the Manage Approvers page to make updates there or transition to other approval setup pages.

  • Approval Roles - A transition to the Manage Approval Roles page to research, adjust settings for existing roles or add new ones.