Approvals that don't get lost in an inbox
Every request follows a defined path: the right approvers, a deadline, automatic escalation and a complete audit trail. Governance that slows no one down.
Budget increase, Project Atlas
PMO · Budget
Change request CR-142
Build · Scope
Resource release Q3
Resources · Q3
Milestone sign-off Phase 2
Delivery · Gate
Approvals are the silent bottleneck in your project
It's not the decision itself that costs time, but the path to it - and the missing proof afterwards.
Approvals by shout and email
Who signed off? On which version? The answer sits in an email thread no one can find later.
Nobody knows whose turn it is
A request is waiting - but on whom? Without a clear owner it sits until someone happens to ask.
Deadlines slip in silence
With no reminder and no escalation, a decision ages unnoticed and blocks everything downstream.
No defensible proof
An audit, a review or a question months later - and there is no record of who decided what, and when.
How an approval runs - from request to record
A clear path for every decision, instead of improvised case-by-case coordination.
Request or trigger
A request is raised or an event starts the process automatically - from a template, not a blank canvas.
The right people decide
The step goes to a person, group or role - with a deadline and exactly the information the decision needs.
Remind & escalate
A reminder fires before the deadline, then it escalates automatically to the next instance. Nothing sits quietly.
Fully recorded
Every decision lands in the audit trail with rationale, person and timestamp - traceable at any time.
Process design
Model approval processes visually - without an IT project
Assemble your approval path as a BPMN diagram: start, review, branch, automation, close. Clear for business and IT alike - and startable right away.
- Twelve node types via drag and drop: approval, user task, gateway (AND/OR), condition, timer, system task and more.
- Multi-step paths with parallel and either-or branches instead of a rigid single approval.
- Ready-made templates for common approvals - or save and reuse your own.
- Starts on demand or automatically as soon as an event occurs - such as a submitted request.
Decision
Deadline & escalation
Deadlines & escalation
Every step has an owner and a deadline
Assign each decision step to a person, group or role - with a deadline in hours or (business) days. A reminder fires before it expires, then it escalates.
- Assign to a person, group or role - who may decide is computed server-side.
- Deadline in business days, calendar days or hours, with an optional reminder before expiry.
- Automatic escalation to another instance when the deadline passes - instead of silent decay.
- If a case runs off the rails, reassign a step or cancel the whole process.
Decision quality
Decisions with substance, not a casual “looks fine”
Every approval step asks for exactly the information it needs - as real required fields. Both approval and rejection can require a mandatory rationale.
- Custom form fields per decision step - validated server-side as required fields.
- Mandatory comment on approval or rejection: no sign-off without a rationale.
- Four-eyes principle built in - only authorised approvers see the actions.
- Approve or reject in one click - the entries flow straight into the record.
Budget impact
+€12,000
Category
Scope change
Change requests
12
Total
3
Open
8
Approved
Additional CRM module
ScopeRollout date shift
ScheduleBudget +8%
BudgetScope cut, reporting
ScopeChange management
Scope changes run through a clean request path
Changes to project scope become a structured request - with category, impact and a named approver - instead of running on informal agreements.
- A central register of all change requests, filterable by approval status, category and text.
- Every request carries a category, impact dimensions and a responsible approver.
- Linked to the triggering risk - including the original problem and the revised assessment.
- Approval status traceable at any time - from submitted to approved or rejected.
Traceability
A complete record for every decision
Every process keeps a step-by-step timeline: who decided when, with what rationale. And every change to the process itself is versioned.
- A step timeline per case - as a history, not just a current status value.
- Separate views of active and completed processes, visible to all participants.
- Version history with changelog: who changed the process, when and why.
- Review- and audit-proof - the evidence is there before the question arrives.
Audit trail
Request submitted
M. Weber
Reviewed
S. Klein
Approved
Dr. A. Roth
Recorded & archived
System
Version 3
Process last changed on 12 Jun · changelog
SLA compliance
Bottlenecks by step
PMO overview
Governance at a glance - across every process
The dashboard bundles all running approvals: SLA compliance, open approvals, cycle times, bottlenecks and escalations. The overview a PMO needs.
- Ten configurable widgets - from SLA compliance to escalations, arrangeable via drag and drop.
- Open approvals and cycle times across the whole portfolio, not case by case.
- A process heatmap and bottleneck analysis show where approvals routinely get stuck.
- Period and process-type filters for targeted analysis.
Governance that doesn't become a burden
Structure should speed decisions up, not slow them down. That's why the platform takes the routine off your hands.
A template, not a blank canvas
Common approval paths are ready as templates. You adapt them instead of starting from scratch.
The automation reminds and escalates
Reminders, escalations and system tasks run on their own - you never have to chase anyone by phone.
Startable at once, no process gate
An approval process is startable from creation and improvable at any time. The process itself needs no approval.
The strategic decisions run through approvals too
Whether a go/kill decision at a stage gate or the approval of a portfolio scenario: the same traceable approval logic carries the big decisions as well.
Frequently asked questions about approvals & governance
What PMOs and project leads want to know before rolling it out.
No. You model your existing approval path as a BPMN diagram - multi-step, with branches and parallel approvals. Templates for common cases are ready and only need adapting.
You define that per step - as a person, group or role. Who may actually decide is computed server-side from group and role membership, so the four-eyes principle is preserved.
A reminder fires automatically before the deadline. Once it passes, the step escalates to the configured instance. If needed, a step can be reassigned or the case cancelled.
Yes. Every case keeps a step timeline with person, timestamp and rationale; every process change is versioned. The evidence is available at any time.
You start from a template and adapt it. A process is usable immediately from creation and improvable at any time - with no separate approval step for the process itself.
Bring structure to your approvals
Try approval workflows, escalations and the governance cockpit free for 30 days - no credit card.