Force.com Platform Fundamentals

Preface
Introducing the Force.com Platform
About the Sample Recruiting App
Reviewing Database Concepts
Building a Simple App
Enhancing the Simple App with Advanced Fields, Data Validation, and Page Layouts
Expanding the Simple App Using Relationships
Securing and Sharing Data
Collaborating with Chatter
Using Custom Workflow and Approval Processes
Introducing Workflow
Workflow in Our Recruiting App
Creating Workflow Rules That Assign Tasks
Creating a Workflow Rule That Updates Fields
Creating a Workflow Rule That Sends Email Alerts
Introducing Approvals
Planning for Approval Processes
Try It Out: Create an Email Template for Approvals
Try It Out: Create an Approval Process
Try It Out: Create Approval Steps
Try It Out: Create Approval Actions
Try It Out: Activate Our Approval Process
Look At What We've Done
Summing Up
Analyzing Data with Reports and Dashboards
Moving Beyond Point-and-Click App Development
Learning More
Glossary
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Look At What We've Done

As we've seen, approval processes are inherently complex and take a bit of work to set up. You have to walk through multiple screens and set several parameters, making it difficult to visualize and understand the approval process holistically.

Fortunately, the Force.com platform has a Process Visualizer that renders each approval process as a flowchart. The flowchart contains all of the critical details for each approval process, including the steps necessary for a record to be approved, the designated approvers for each step, the criteria used to trigger the approval process, and the actions that take place when a record is approved, rejected, recalled, or first submitted for approval.

To access the Process Visualizer, click the View Diagram button at the top of any approval process detail page.

The Process Visualizer The Process Visualizer for the Approve New Position approval workflow

Now let's test our approval process:

  1. From Setup, click Manage Users | Users and edit the user record for your Recruiting Manager to fill in the Manager field so the approval chain is properly set up. Set Phil Katz’s manager to Amy Lojack (the Product Manager).
  2. Log in to your app as Phil Katz, and create a new position.

Notice that after clicking Save, the detail page displays a Submit for Approval button in the new Approval History related list.

The Submit for Approval Button The Approval History related list displaying the new Submit for Approval button
  1. Click Submit for Approval and then click OK.

Clicking the Submit for Approval button causes several things to happen. First, the record is locked from editing, as shown by the lock icon at the top of the page. Additionally, two new entries appear in the Approval History related list showing who submitted the record and the current approval assignment. Finally, the manager of the position owner receives an email reporting that there's a new position to approve.

A Submitted Position Record The submitted position record
When the manager next logs in and visits the record, an Approve/Reject button is visible on the Approval History related list. She can click this button to see the approval request and approve or reject the record, with comments.
  1. Log in as Amy Lojack, the direct manager who is responsible for approving the request.
  2. Click Approve/Reject in the Approval History related list on the record, enter any optional comments, and then click Approve.

To make accepting and rejecting approval requests more convenient, consider adding the Items to Approve related list to the default Home tab layout.

  1. From Setup, click Customize | Home | Home Page Layouts.
  2. Click Edit next to the Dashboard Home Page Default or DE Default.
  3. Select Items to Approve and click Next.
  4. Arrange the Items to Approve component on the page layout by moving it up and down the Wide (Right) Column list as desired.
  5. Click Save.

Tip

The Approval Request Page The Approval Request page for a test position

If the approver accepts the record, it progresses to the next step of the approval process (if its Min Pay field is greater than $150,000 and the CEO still hasn't approved it), or else the position's Status field is set to Open - Approved. The record details remain locked to protect them from being changed, but recruiters can still associate the position with job applications, tasks, or other activities. If the record is rejected, its status is set to Closed - Not Approved, the Close Date field is set to today's date, and the record is unlocked in case it just needs a simple edit before it reenters the approval process. With just a few minutes of work, we've built an effective business process that will make all of Universal Containers' users more effective.