The approval workflow every team has
Something is requested, someone reviews it, changes go back, and at some point it is approved. Tasked makes that a stage type, not a status. When an item enters an approval stage the engine opens an approval on it, the item cannot leave through the approved transition until a decision is recorded, and the person who decides can do it through a door with no account. The same object is a script sign-off, a final cut, a brand review, a release, or a customer verifying a fix.
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A stage, not a status
When an item enters an approval stage, the engine opens an approval on it. The item cannot leave through the approved transition until a decision is recorded. A rejection or a request for changes sends the item to the rework stage the workflow names.
The approval flow pack is that shape: requested (work, 24 hours), in review (approval, 48 hours), changes requested (work, 48 hours), approved (work, 24 hours), done. In review is the gate. Changes requested leads back to in review when the checklist is done.
- Approval opens on entry, exit refused without a decision
- A named rework stage for changes requested
- The approval object carries no reference to a file type
Where the packs put the gate
Commercial and corporate video put script approval before the shoot and final cut approval before delivery. Documentary puts treatment approval and final cut approval. Wedding film puts a single final cut approval after the full film. Social content batch puts a plan approval and a publish gate. Design request puts client review after internal review. Campaign puts brand review and legal review. Software and release put a release sign-off. Incident puts customer verify. The engine is the same object in every case.
Who may decide, and the record
Each stage names the roles that own it. An approver outside the workspace gets a door: a code, a link, a phone number or an email address. Through it they see the item, add notes, and press approve, reject or request changes. The decision is stored with the door's identity, the time, and whether it was made by a member or through the portal.
Every decision is written to an append-only audit log. Nothing in it is edited or deleted from the application. Data export includes it. Webhooks fire on decisions with a delivery log. Reminders go out before the window lapses. An approval left waiting for days is a named reason in the project's risk score.
Questions that keep coming up
- Can one item need two approvals?
- Yes. Two approval stages in sequence, each with its own owner, window and rework path. The campaign pack ships that way with brand review and legal review.
- What if the approver is not a user of the workspace?
- They receive a door and decide through it. No account, no seat.
- Can a decision be changed later?
- A new decision can be recorded; the earlier one stays in the append-only log. Nothing is overwritten.
- Is this only for video?
- No. The approval object is a gate on a task and a stage. It works the same for a script, a design, a release or an incident.