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Project Approval Flows Overview
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Written by Amy Ludwig
Updated over a week ago

What is a Project Approval Flow?

A Project Approval Flow is the sign-off process used internally by GCs to track and manage multiple stages of sign-offs when reviewing a subcontractor for a specific project. The purpose of a Project Approval Flow in COMPASS is to provide GCs with a customizable, transparent way to manage their internal sign-off processes when assigning a subcontractor a contract on a specific project.

Project Approval Flows can be found in Company Settings:

In the Project Approvals option of Review Flows:

What is a Project Approval Flow made up of?

A Project Approval Flow in COMPASS is typically made of multiple stages of approval and within each stage, there can be multiple reviewers or reviewer groups.

Stages

A stage in an Approval Flow is made up of one or more Reviewers. When each stage is reached in an Approval Flow, it requires the Reviewers in that stage to submit a review in order for the process to continue.

In the Example below, there are three stages:

  • Review Stage #1

  • Review Stage #2

  • Review Stage #3


โ€‹Review Stage #1 has only one Reviewer, Jon Doe. So for this stage, only Jon Doe can approve the request and move the Approval Workflow to Review Stage #2.

Review Stage #2 has two Reviewers, Chase Duncan and Christopher Torres. Only one of Chase Duncan or Christopher Torres is required to approve the request to move the Approval Workflow to Review Stage #3. Alternatively, either of them can move it back to Review Stage #1 if they disagree with the decision made by Jon Doe but do not wish to overwrite it.

Review Stage #3 is the final stage of the Approval Workflow, so when Sally Morris gives their sign off, the Approval Workflow is completed, and the request will be assigned an outcome. Sally's decision will be the one that shows as the final decision.

Reviewers

There can be one or multiple reviewers in a stage. A Reviewer in an Approval Flow is responsible for reviewing the Subcontractor that has been added to COMPASS or Project Approval Request. Reviewers are sent an email requesting their review when it is their turn to sign off.


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How are Project Approval Flows Managed?

When Project Approval Flows are created, they must be used on a Project Approval Request to be considered Active. The number of Active Requests on an Approval Flow can be seen in the upper right corner of the Project Approval Flow.

Inactive Flows can be fully edited at any time, however once the Project Approval Flow is being used on a request, some editing will be restricted to ensure the process is not interrupted. If the entire flow much be changed, the Request can be cancelled and duplicated to change the Approval Flow.

Any Project Approval Flow can be used on a Project Approval Request, unless it has been archived or deleted.

  • Archive - Active/Non-active Flows can be archived. This moves the Flow to the Archived Flows tab where the Flow can no longer be used on new Project Approval Requests. Consequently, the Flow will no longer appear when GCs are assigning Flows for annual company reviews or project reviews.

  • Delete - Flows with zero Active Requests can be deleted. This removes the Flow from the system and it is no longer displayed under the Archived Workflows tab. This cannot be undone, so approach with caution.

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