How can approval processes be simplified through automation?
Efficiency question :
Approval processes help maintain segregation of duties and distribute responsibilities and risks more effectively within an organization.
Rather than managing requests and authorizations manually, a significant part of the process can be automated. A request can be routed to the appropriate person, approved or rejected, and then automatically forwarded to the next step when several levels of authorization are required.
Automation therefore structures the approval process while making it easier to use on a day-to-day basis.
Key considerations:
The first step is to determine how many approval levels are required.
A process may involve a single level of authorization or require two, three or more levels depending on the nature of the request and the organization’s structure.
These different levels can be associated with roles. The roles involved in the process must therefore be clearly defined, along with the order in which approvals must be obtained.
This analysis makes it possible to reproduce the approval hierarchy correctly before automating it.
Challenges:
Defining the number of hierarchical levels is not enough. You must also determine precisely who supervises whom.
A relatively simple method is to maintain a list of employees or users and associate each person with the individual responsible for approving their requests. A column can, for example, identify the supervisor assigned to each user.
However, this structure must remain easy to update. Organizations evolve: employees change positions, responsibilities are redistributed and managers can change.
The automated process should therefore be designed so relationships between users and approvers can be modified easily without rebuilding the entire automation.
Technology:
Several Microsoft technologies can manage roles and automate approval processes.
Power Apps can be used to create an application or interface tailored to different users and their roles. Power Automate can then manage the approval workflow itself, including routing requests, approvals, rejections, notifications and movement from one step to the next.
Power BI can also manage different levels of access to information based on users and roles when a dashboard needs to display different data depending on who is viewing it.
These technologies can be combined when a process requires data entry, automated approvals and controlled presentation of information.
Developer's advice:
Before developing an approval process, first determine whether it is an exceptional operation or a process that will be used regularly.
When approvals are recurring, developing a true automation becomes much more worthwhile. The goal is to have a simple, high-performing tool that reproduces the organization’s rules and reduces the time spent on manual follow-up.
Power Apps, combined with Power Automate when needed, is a particularly useful approach for developing this type of process. However, plan from the outset for roles, users and reporting relationships to change over time. These elements should be easy to update without having to reprogram the entire solution.
Whether your need involves a budgeting process, a Power BI dashboard, a Power Apps application or an approval process, contact SLV Expert. We can analyze your process and help determine the technology and level of automation best suited to your organization.