What's New?

In any organization, it is important that tasks or records that are created should be approved with no time to save time to ensure standardization. Many a times approval process that does not move at the pace of the business creates operational drag and can impact a competitive advantage.

For any approval the concern authority or manager should boot up their laptop, get on a network, log in to the VPN, and access and navigate a system to process an approval, especially when they are on-the-go or outside of the office.

To change the current approval process, we have introduced the change approval process in the mobile application to enable the authorizers or approvers to access the Approve Change Records instance on the mobile app thereby helping them to manage approval records with a simple and intuitive navigation.

Benefits:

Easy to tap and provide the approvals without any hiccups.
Instance response on fingertips.
Increases productivity.
Customer satisfaction.

Prerequisites:

User Persona:
Authorizer
CAB Member/Approver
Reporting Manager
Configure Mobile App Studio Configuration. Refer the topic Configure Mobile App Studio Configuration.

Configure Mobile App Studio Configuration

To enable Approve Change Record widget in the SummitAI Mobile App, you must configure parameters in Mobile App Studio Configuration by navigate to the table (adm_mobile_app_studio_configuration_details) and get mobile app studio configuration JSON data to update the Mobile App Studio Configuration JSON data in the ADM_Mobile_App_Studio_Configuration_Details. The following are the Mobile App studio configurations JSON data for the widgets:

Approve CR - Simple Widget:

Add JSON data under Widgets > SimpleDataCount

{
         "type": "MyCRApprovalCount",
         "icon": "resources/assets/ic_approve_cr.png",
         "name": "Approve Change Records",
         "fontColor": "020A4B",
         "backgroundColor": [
           "BDEBF8",
           "BDEBF8"
         ],
         "status": "Pending For Action",
         "respresentationType": "",
         "sortOrder": 3,
         "child": []
      }

Approve CR - Detailed Widget:

Add below JSON data under Widgets > KeyDetails

 {
         "type": "MyCRApprovals",
         "icon": "",
         "name": "Approve Change Records",
         "fontColor": "",
         "backgroundColor": [
          "0C51CC",
           "0585A7",
           "099C95"
         ],
         "status": "Pending For Action",
         "respresentationType": "",
         "sortOrder": 8,
         "seeAllText": "See All",
         "seeAllFontColor": "000000",
         "child": []
       }

Mobile Application – Dashboard

A new Approve Change Record widget is introduced in SummitAI mobile application.

Figure: CR Dashboard

Widgets in the Self-Service Dashboard

There are two widgets Simple widget and Detailed widget, the Approver can view the CRs pending for approval.

Simple Widget

The Simple widget displays few details along with the label Approve Change Records and the total count of CR’s waiting for Approval (Includes all status Pending for Approval).

Figure: Simple Widget

Detailed Widget

The CR list view displays the number of approve change record count. You can click the label to navigate to the Approve Change Records list.

Figure: Detailed Widget

The Detailed Widget displays the following minimal information about the CR details:

CRID
Log Time
Status of the CR
Change Type
Description of the CR
Requestor of the CR

Pagination within the Detailed Widget is also introduced to minimize the number of attempts in accessing the CRs. The CR count is limited to 5, and the latest entries are displayed. If more than 5 records need to be viewed, tap on See All option. You can swipe the screen to see latest 5 records.

To view the Approve Change Records screen, perform the following steps:

On the Self-Service Portal, tap the Approve Change Records hyperlink or click See All from the Approve Change Records detailed widget. The Approve Change Records list screen is displayed.
Or
On the Bottom Panel, tap the Approve CR tab. The Approve Change Records screen is displayed.

Note

The Approve Change Records widget and the Approve CR tab is only available on the Bottom Panel of the SummitAI Mobile Application when it is configured in the SummitAI Mobile App Studio.

Figure: CR List

View Approve Change Record List Page

The Approve Change Records List screen displays the list of CRs for the user. You can navigate to the Approve Change Records list from the simple widget or detailed widget on the self-service portal dashboard. Also, you can search for the CR on this screen by performing search or using the filters such as quick filter or main filter. By default, the filter set on status Pending for Action with the total count of CR’s waiting for Approval on this list screen.

Figure: CR List Layout

Change Record Search

You can search for any specific CR by using the search bar on the Approval Change Record. Search criteria can include but are not limited to the following:

Number search
Text search such as searching for the requestor are:
CR ID
Requestor
Change Type
Description

Quick Filter

You can use the Quick Filter from the Approver Change Records List screen to save multiple click actions and increase the usability by providing a convenient filtering option. Also, a status bar displays the relevant status for the logged in user, you can tap on that status and view the list under that status.

The available status is based on the approval status as follows:

All
Pending for Action
Approved
Rejected
Referred Back

Main Filter

You can use the main filter to view records based on the detailed filter selected. Main filter option is provided at the bottom of the screen, which enables the user in selecting the right set of filters.

These filters have the data in detail so that it gives a rich data set from which the filters can be selected.

The filter options consist of the following:

Department (Tenant)
Status of the CR
Approval Status
Change Type
Requestor
Logged Date (From and To)
Change Record ID
CI ID

Main Filter Icon

Main Filter - Status Details

Main Filter - Approve Details

Main Filter - Change Type Details

Change Record View

You can take a quick note of the important details of a CR or to view the relevant details of the CR for an approver and perform the necessary action using the intuitive gesture.

The CR view includes the following details:

CRID
Log Time
Status
Change Type
Requestor
Planned Start Time
Planned End Time
Description

Figure: CR Detailed View

The tracking of the approval is displayed at the bottom of the CR.

Swipe Gesture

You can Authorize, Approve, Not-authorize, or Reject a CR with swipe gestures in the Mobile App. This enables an intuitive gesture mechanism for an ease of action selection on that CR taken by the approver without the need of opening a CR to update the Approval Status. The gestures such as Swipe Left and Swipe Right on the mobile, where on the CR, a left swipe provides an option to add remarks and authorize and right swipe provides an option to not authorize a CR along with remarks.

To Approve or Reject Change Records with intuitive gestures, perform the following steps:

On the Approve Change Records screen, search or filter the Change Record which you want to Authorize, Not Authorize, Approve, or Reject a particular CR tile is displayed.

Approve Change Record

To provide approve remarks and complete the CR approval, swipe left on the CR tile.
The green tick mark for the selected CR appears:

Figure: CR Approve
Click Green tick mark:
The approve remark pop-up appears:

Figure: Remark pop-up
Specify the Remarks, tap Approve.

Reject Change Record

To provide approve remarks and complete the CR approval, swipe Right on the CR tile.
Click RED cross mark.

Figure: Swipe Right
Specify the Remarks, tap Reject.

Figure: Reject CR

To Authorize or Not Authorize Change Records with intuitive gestures, perform the following steps:

On the Approve Change Records screen, search or filter the Approve Records which you want to authorize. Particular CR tile is displayed on the Approve Change Records screen.

Approve Change Record

To provide Authorize remarks and complete the CR Authorize, swipe left on the CR tile.
The green tick mark for the selected CR appears.
On the Authorize Change Record pop-up page, specify the Remarks, and then tap Authorize.

Authorized Change Record

Not Authorized Change Record

To not authorize and provide comments to the Not Authorize record, swipe right on the CR tile.
On the Not Authorize Change Record pop-up page, specify the Remarks, and then tap Not Authorize.

Not Authorized Change Record

Note

A validation message ‘There are mandatory fields to enter for the selected CR to initiate Bulk Approval action’ appears if there are required (mandatory) fields to be filled by the approver.

Bulk Approve of Change Record

You can approve or reject using Bulk Approval through the SummitAI Mobile application.

Notes:

Bulk Approval cannot be done when filling of mandatory fields are required.
Bulk Approval cannot be performed on the following CR Status:
- Refer Back and On-Hold Status
- CR Initiator and Approver same
- CR Initiator and Authorizer same
- CAB Objection
- Vote for Approval

To bulk update the Change Record, perform the following steps:

On the Approve Change Record screen, Filter the CRs for a particular Tenant, which you want to bulk update.
Select the desired CR tiles (select and hold the left-click for few secs) that you want to Bulk Update:

Bulk Update
Click the 3 dots , tap either approver or reject to update the CR.
The Approve and Reject option appears:

Approve & Reject
Specify the remarks, click Approve to approve the CR.
A confirmation message appears:

Figure: Confirmation Message

Viewing and Editing Change Record (CR) Details tab

An Approve Change Records detail page provisions an approver (end-user) to view the complete CR details and the list of CRs that requires complete review. You can view the Approve Change Records screen by tapping the Approve Change Records widget from the SummitAI Mobile App dashboard.

Figure: Approve Change Record

The Approve Change Records details page displays the CR detailed information in two separate tabs:

CR Details - Displays the configuration fields selected during creation for the respective CR. Based on the configuration the fields appear as mandatory or optional. For more information, see Configuring Fields.

In the Mobile App following configuration are implemented based on the Tenant Configuration of Change Module:

Do Not allow CR Authorization
Do Not allow CR Approval
Do Not allow Customer Approval of CR
Change Category Field Visible For CR
Change Category Field Mandatory For CR
Do Not Allow to Update CR Change Type – Applicable if the approver is also an analyst and has access to any workgroup
Make From Date and To Date of Resource Requirements as Mandatory Fields
Allow to update CR Category – Applicable to the User
Enable Tabs on Change Record Details Page
Release Tab
Checklist Tab
Requirement Tab
Additional Information Tab

Approver Details - Displays the approver detailed workflow.

The ellipsis icon displays different options for approvers based on the configurations. The following options appears for the approvers:

Authorization	CAB Approval	Select Individual
Authorize	Yes	Yes
Not Authorized	No	No
Authorize and Forward	On-Hold	Refer Back To Initiator
On-Hold	Refer Back To Initiator	Refer Back to Authorization
Refer Back To Initiator	Refer Back to Authorization

Notes:

Approver not having analyst access to the Owner Workgroup then all fields are disabled.
For more information on Tenant Configuration, see Configuring Change Management Module.
The fields that are configured for the particular Change Record while logging the Change Record are displayed on the Approve Change Record page. For more information about fields attribute details, see

Authorize Change Record

To authorize the Change Record, perform the following steps:

On the Home screen, tab the Approve Change Record widget. The Approve Change Record screen is displayed.
Select a Requested Change Record from the Approve CR list.
On the Approve Change Record screen, tap the ellipsis icon and tap the Authorize icon the Authorize Change Record pop-up page is displayed.

Figure: Authorized Change Record
On the Authorize Change Record pop-up page, specify the Remarks, and then tap Authorize.
Now, that specific Change Record is authorized.

Similarly, you can perform the following actions in the Approve Change Record screen:

Not Authorize

To reject the change record for a specific reason.

On the Approve Change Record screen, tap the ellipsis icon and tap the Not Authorize icon the Not Authorize Change Record pop-up page is displayed.

Figure: Not Authorized Change Record
On the Not Authorize Change Record pop-up page, specify the mandatory Remarks, and then tap Not Authorize button.
Now, that specific Change Record is not authorized.

Authorize & Forward

To authorize and forward the change record.

On the Approve Change Record screen, tap the ellipsis icon and tap the Forward & Change Record icon the Authorize & Forward Change Record pop-up page is displayed.

Figure: Authorize & Forward Change Record
On the Authorize & Forward Change Record pop-up page, search the username to forward the CR and specify the mandatory Remarks, and then tap Authorize & Forward button.
Now, that specific Change Record is authorize and forward to the configured user.

On Hold

On the Approve Change Record screen, tap the ellipsis icon and tap the On Hold icon the On Hold Change Record pop-up page is displayed.

Figure: On Hold Change Record
On the On Hold Change Record pop-up page, specify the mandatory Remarks, and then tap On Hold
Now, that specific Change Record is put on hold.

Refer Back To Initiator

On the Approve Change Record screen, tap the ellipsis icon and tap the Refer Back To Initiator icon the Refer Back To Initiator pop-up page is displayed.

Figure: Refer Back to Initiator Change Record
On the Refer Back To Initiator pop-up page, specify the mandatory Remarks, and then tap Refer Back
Now, that specific Change Record referred back to the initiator.

CAB approver Reject or Approve a CR

To approve or Reject a CR by CAB approver, perform the following steps:

Login to the Mobile App as a CAB approver.
On the Approve Change Record screen, tap the ellipsis icon and tap the Approve icon The Approve Change Record screen appears.

Figure: Approve CR
On the Approve Change Record pop-up page, specify the Remarks, and then tap Approve button. Now that specific Change Record is approved.

To Reject a CR by CAB approver, perform the following steps:

On the Approve Change Record screen, tap the ellipsis icon and tap the Approve icon The Approve Change Record screen appears.

Figure: Reject Change Record
On the Reject Change Record pop-up page, specify the Remarks, and then tap Reject button. Now that specific Change Record is rejected.

CAB Approval Objection

A CAB member without approver access for the selected workgroup can Object a CR. The status Objected is assigned if any of the CAB members have an objection to the CR. Until the CAB member who objected to the CR removes objection, no action can be taken on the CR.

To Object a CR, perform the following steps:

Login to the Mobile App as a CAB approver.
On the Approve Change Record screen, tap the ellipsis icon and tap the Yes icon.
The Approve Change Record screen appears.
On the Objection pop-up page, specify the Remarks, and then tap Submit button. Now that specific Change Record is Objected.

CR Details Tab

In the CR Details tab, the details of the selected CR are displayed.

The following are the details of the attributes available in this tab:

General
Risk
Logs
CheckList
Relationship
Requirement
Release
Implementation
Additional Information

Note:

All the fields are disabled on the CR main page if the approver does not have an analyst access to an owner workgroup.

Approver Details tab

The approver details are displayed in the Approver Details tab, based on the workflow.

Figure: Approver Details

The attributes to be made available under Approver Details tab is below:

A Trackbar showing the details of the approver levels along with the names of the approver.
A radio button which gets auto filled once an approval is completed and are aligned adjacent to the approver name.
Once the approval is completed, you can use the comments icon, which displays the comments for the PR.
Furthermore, on clicking the approver name, a pop-up window with the name, image (if available), and email address of the approver is displayed.

To view the detailed CR hierarchy of all the approvers and if there are more than one approver at that different level then the CAB is represented that level with a Group approval icon.

An approver can click the CAB icon to view the list of approvers at that level. Refer the screenshot for more information:

Figure: CAB

Click Authorization icon to view the list of approvers for the respective CR with their status.

Figure: Authorization Screen

Vote Option

The voting option is applicable only for CAB (Change Advisory Board) members and appears for the CR which status is not updated. It is enabled if Allow Additional Approver's Vote checkbox is checked at the configuration.

On the Approve Change Record screen, tap the ellipsis icon and tap Yes icon to vote in favor of CR or tab No icon to vote against the CR. Specify the Remarks, and then tap Submit button. A voting confirmation message appears.

Figure: Voting Option

Figure: Voting Remarks