Serial Approval Chain

Visual Flow

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When to Use This Pattern

Use a serial approval chain when:

• Approvals must happen in a specific order (e.g., manager → director → VP)
• Each approver's decision depends on the previous approver's sign-off
• You need a clear audit trail showing the exact sequence of approvals
• The business process has a defined hierarchy

How It Works

The request flows through approvers one at a time, top to bottom. If any approver rejects, the chain stops and the requestor is notified.

Implementation Guide

Step 1: Define the Approval Hierarchy

Map out who needs to approve and in what order. Common approaches:

• Static list — hardcode the approvers (simplest)
• Lookup table — store approver chains in a SharePoint list or database table (flexible)
• Org chart — dynamically resolve the chain from Active Directory or HR system (most maintainable)

Step 2: Build the Request Form

Create a form that captures all the information approvers need to make a decision. Include:

• Request details (what, why, how much)
• Supporting documents as attachments
• Urgency/priority field
• Requestor's manager (auto-populated if possible)

Step 3: Configure Each Approval Task

For each approver in the chain:

1. Assign task to the approver
2. Set a due date (e.g., 3 business days)
3. Include context — show all previous approvers' decisions and comments
4. Offer actions: Approve, Reject, Request More Info
5. Send reminder if no response within 2 days

Step 4: Handle the Outcomes

• All approved → Execute the action (create PO, provision access, etc.) and notify the requestor
• Any rejection → Stop the chain, notify the requestor with the rejection reason
• Request more info → Pause the chain, send the request back to the requestor, then resume

Step 5: Add an Audit Trail

Log every decision with:

• Who approved/rejected
• When
• Comments provided
• IP address or device (for compliance scenarios)

Products That Support This Pattern

Tips & Best Practices

• Minimize the chain length. Each additional approver adds latency. If you have 5+ approvers, consider Parallel Approval with Threshold instead.
• Pre-validate before submitting. Use form rules to catch errors early so approvers don't waste time rejecting incomplete requests.
• Show running context. Each approver should see what previous approvers decided and any comments they left.
• Use delegation. Allow approvers to delegate to a backup when they're out of office. This prevents stalls without bypassing the approval requirement.

Common Variations

1. Skip-level approval — If the amount is below a threshold, skip the director and go straight to finance
2. Conditional chain — Different approver chains based on request type, department, or amount
3. Loop-back — If the requestor provides more info, restart from the approver who asked for it (not from the beginning)