AX1568

Multiple Approvals Process Step (plan file processes)

The Multiple Approvals Process Step is intended to be used when you want multiple users to approve a plan file concurrently instead of sequentially. The difference in approach is as follows:

• For sequential approvals, use several Approval Process Steps in a sequential order. The plan file is only active in one approval step at a time, and that step must be completed before the plan file moves to the next approval step.

• For concurrent approvals, use a Multiple Approvals Process Step with two or more Approval Process Steps as sub-steps. When the parent Multiple Approvals Process Step becomes active, then the plan file becomes active in all of the approval sub-steps concurrently. All of the sub-steps must be completed before the plan file moves to the next step in the process.

The Multiple Approvals Process Step works the same way as the Parallel Subprocess in general processes, except that the Multiple Approvals Process Step can only contain approval steps.

Step behavior

When the Multiple Approvals Process Step is the active step, then all of its approval sub-steps are also made active. Tasks are generated for the owners of all the approval sub-steps to review the plan file, and approve or reject it. The owners of the approval sub-steps can complete their plan file tasks as appropriate without any dependencies on the other sub-steps.

When all sub-steps are approved by their owners, then the Multiple Approvals Process Step is automatically marked as complete and the plan file moves on to the next step. However, if any of the sub-steps are rejected, then the entire step is rejected and the plan file is moved back to a previous step. The specific step it is returned to depends on the step rejection behavior configured for the Multiple Approvals Process Step.

Step-specific settings

Multiple Approvals Process Steps in plan file processes have the following settings:

Item	Description
Step Rejection Behavior	Select one of the following to determine how the plan file is handled if the step is rejected: Use default process setting (default): The step uses the default rejection behavior as configured for the process on the Process Properties tab. When this option is enabled, the process-level rejection behavior is displayed below the option for reference. Use step-specific setting: The step uses the rejection behavior configured for this specific step. The default rejection behavior does not apply. If this option is enabled, use the When step is rejected field to specify the step-specific rejection behavior: Return to the previous step: The plan file returns to the previous step, regardless of the step type. Return to the previous Edit step: The plan file returns to the previous Edit Plan File step, bypassing any approval steps that fall in-between. Return to a specific step: The plan file returns to a specified step in the process. Use the Specific step to return to field to select the specific step. You can select any step that comes before the current step. Return to a step the user selects: When a plan file is rejected, the step owner chooses the return step. The plan file can be returned to any previous step in the process, as long as the following step-level option is enabled for the step: Show step as rejection choice for user selects rejection behavior. For more information, see Configuring rejection behavior for a plan file process.
Copy Plan File Settings	This section is only available if the system configuration setting ShowCopyPlanFilesActionInProcess has been enabled for your system. For more information on this feature, see Copying plan files when a process step is completed.

Multiple Approvals Process Steps do not have owner assignments or due dates. Owner assignments and due dates are defined individually for each sub-step.

Restrictions and limitations

• A Multiple Approvals Process Step must have two or more sub-steps. The sub-steps can only be Approval Process Steps.

• When an owner of a sub-step in a Multiple Approvals Process Step completes a step, the previous and next steps shown in the Process Action dialog are the top-level steps before and after the Multiple Approvals Process Step. The other sub-steps do not have an order and therefore are not shown in relation to the step being approved or rejected.