Approval flow automation for project phases

Purpose

1. Automate the approval flow for each project phase within Research & Development Engineering to minimize delays, enforce compliance, and maintain traceable records.

2. This automation ensures that phase completion requires digital authorization, automates stakeholder notifications, centralizes documentation, and streamlines escalation for pending tasks.

3. Designed for professional services teams, this process automates communication, tracking, and multi-stage validation, supporting audits and performance benchmarks.

Trigger Conditions

1. Automated phase completion form submitted by a research engineer or project manager.

2. Automated milestone marked as 'Ready For Approval' in project management software.

3. Relevant project artifacts uploaded or finalized, triggering an automated review step.

Platform Variants

1. Microsoft Power Automate

• Flow: Automate SharePoint document status, trigger Microsoft Teams approval card.
• Setting: Configure 'When item is modified' + 'Start and wait for approval' action.

2. Zapier

• Automation: Connect JIRA and Gmail to trigger email auto-approval requests when issue status changes.
• Sample: JIRA ‘Issue status: Ready for Review’ → Automated Gmail ‘Approval Needed’ email.

3. Slack

• Feature: Automated Workflow Builder for approval requests via Slackbot with custom buttons.
• Sample: Action triggers on project channel mention of completion.

4. DocuSign

• API: Automated envelope creation for agreement sign-off; recipient routing.
• Setting: DocuSign eSignature REST API, EnvelopeStatuses webhook.

5. Smartsheet

• Workflow: Automated approval requests on row change; update tracker when approved or rejected.
• Activation: 'Request an Approval' automation tied to phase completion cell.

6. Google Workspace

• Script: Apps Script to automate Google Sheet edits and Google Chat/Email approval notifications.
• Example: OnEdit trigger scripts for automated notifications.

7. Asana

• Rule: Automated task assignment to approvers, with status updates auto-posted to stakeholders.
• Setup: Rules workflow, ‘When section changes to X, assign to Y, comment Z’.

8. Monday.com

• Automation: Automate status changes with ‘Approval’ columns and notification automator.
• Setting: ‘When status is changed to Pending Approval, notify approver’.

9. ServiceNow

• Flow Designer: Automated workflow for project phase tasks requiring approval.
• Configuration: ‘Approval - User’ flow logic for project records.

10. Jira Cloud Automation

• Rule: Automate approval assignment, auto-transition issues post-approval.
• Configuration: ‘Issue transitioned’ trigger, ‘Assign approver’, ‘If approved, move to next status’.

11. Salesforce

• Process Builder: Automated approval flow for Opportunity/Case records.
• Feature: 'Submit for Approval' automated action on stage field change.

12. Trello

• Butler Automation: Card move triggers automated Slack or email notification for approvals.
• Setting: ‘When card moved to “Approval”, post message/send email’.

13. Email (SMTP/IMAP automation)

• Script: IMAP monitoring and automated SMTP responses for approvals/denials.
• Configuration: Automated subject line parsing and filtered response.

14. ClickUp

• Automation: Map task status to automated approval requests with templated comment add-ons.
• Setup: ‘When task changes to [X], create comment @Approver for approval required’.

15. Notion

• Integration: Automate status property in project table, integrate webhook for approval action.
• Sample: API integration for property change notifications.

16. GitHub

• Action: Pull request assignments with CODEOWNERS for automated phase review/approval.
• Sample: ‘/approve’ slash command triggers merge automator.

17. Airtable

• Automation: Row status field triggers automated email, Slack, or webhook for approvals.
• Feature: ‘When Phase Status is “Ready”, send approval request’.

18. BambooHR

• Workflow: Automated time-off or project time logging approval by managers.
• Sample: Automated manager notification/email upon phase completion log.

19. SurveyMonkey

• Feature: Automate survey result submission as phase gating, auto-email stakeholders for sign-off.
• Configuration: Webhook response to completed survey triggers notification.

20. Adobe Sign

• API: Automate sending of approval documents and signature requests per phase.
• Setting: REST API to create automated workflows based on templates.

Benefits

1. Automates bottleneck reduction and improves project velocity.

2. Centralized, automated audit trails for every approval point.

3. Automates real-time notifications, boosting team responsiveness.

4. Enables multi-channel automation (email, chat, dashboards, and direct software triggers).

5. Minimizes manual follow-up through automated escalations and reminders.

6. Automates alignment of compliance and documentation for each project milestone.