4.3.8.3 Ticket approval function

The ticket approval function allows approvers to check the contents of tickets, ensuring quality when managing tickets. For example, approving the incidents of request tickets involves evaluating the severity and impact of incidents and setting appropriate priorities. This enables appropriate allocation of resources and handling prioritization.
You can set the validity of the ticket approval function for each ticket type. When enabling the ticket function, set the status that requires approval, the status to transition to when approved, and the status to transition to when declined.

[Criteria for using the approval function]

The following actions are required to use the approval function.

  • The approval function is enabled:
    For details, see "Enabling and disabling the approval function".
  • The status to which the approval function applies in the "Status" field of the approval flow dialog box is set:
    For details, see "Approval flow". You can set the default ticket type statuses and statuses added by users. When adding a status, see "Ticket statuses".

NotesNotes

  • When using the approval function for specific ticket types, the statuses that require approval must be included in the status transitions set for each ticket type. For example, if the approval function for rfc tickets is enabled, the status transition varies depending on the change type. Therefore, the Approval Flow button is displayed only for change types whose status transition includes statuses that require approval.
  • The status to which the ticket transitions when it is approved or declined by the approval function is not related to the status transition set for each ticket type.
  • If you delete users or groups set in the approval flow while there are tickets awaiting approval, those tickets will no longer be able to be approved. Please do not delete users or groups that have tickets awaiting approval. If a ticket can no longer be approved, follow the procedure for "When a ticket awaiting approval can no longer be approved".


The following are use cases when using the approval function.

(Table) Approval function use cases

Task Description
Configure the approval function for ticket types that require the approval function
  1. Enable the ticket approval function
    Set the status that requires approval "awaiting_approval", status to transition to when approved "awaiting_implementation", and the status to transition to when declined "declined"
After creating a ticket, set the approvers on the Ticket zoom window.
  1. Set approvers to the ticket
    Set the approval order and one or more approvers to the ticket
  2. Save the ticket
Notify the approver(s)
  1. Set the ticket status to "awaiting_approval"
  2. The first approver is automatically notified of the approval request
The approver can check the ticket details and approve or decline it
  • Approve the ticket
    1. The date and time of approval is saved
    2. If there is a next approver: The next approver will be notified automatically.
      If there is no next approver: The ticket automatically transitions to the next status "awaiting_implementation"
  • Decline
    1. The ticket automatically transitions to the next status "decline"
      At this point, the approved date and time are reset
    2. A notification that the ticket has been declined is automatically sent to the agent
    3. By the agent correcting the ticket and setting the status to "awaiting_approval" for resubmitting the ticket, the first approver is once more automatically notified of an approval request. At this time, Approved On is reset

Details of the tasks are shown below.

(1) Enabling and disabling the approval function

The approval function is disabled by default. The approval function is a REST API and can be enabled for each ticket type. When the approval function is enabled, “Approval Flow” is displayed on the operation buttons of the Add new ticket window and Ticket zoom window, allowing you to set approvers. The [Approval Flow] button is only displayed in the task application. For a description on the components of the Ticket zoom window, see “(Table) Ticket zoom window components”. For a description of the components of the Add new ticket window, see “(Table) Add new ticket window components”.

To enable, disable, or change settings for the approval function, you must be assigned the Primitive role “itsm_admin” or “itsm_manager”. However, if you have been assigned the Primitive role “free_user” or “manager”, you cannot obtain, enable, disable, or change the approval function settings.

Configure the settings using the following REST API. For details, see “Detailed API reference information > Custom API functions” in the “JP1 Cloud Service/Operations Integration API Reference”.

[Enabling the ticket approval function]

POST /capi/v1/ticket-settings/approval

The following is displayed when the approval function is enabled.

  • Approval Flow button (Add new ticket window, Ticket zoom window)
  • "Approvers" field*: Names of current approvers (Ticket zoom window)
  • "Approval Group" field*: Name of the current approval group (Ticket zoom window)
*The field is read-only. This field will be blank except for statuses that require approval. For how to set approvers and approval groups, see "(Table) Approval flow dialog box components".

Set the following in the API for each ticket type to enable the approval function. You can set multiple items for statuses that require approval.

  • type: Ticket type to enable approval
  • approval: Status that require approval
  • transition
    • approved: Status to transition to when approved
    • declined: Status to transition to when declined
  • reset: Status in which the approved date and time are reset when transitioning (optional)

The following shows an example of the request body.

<When there is one status that requires approval>

{
  "type": "rfc",
  "statuses": [
    {
      "approval": "awaiting_approval",
      "reset": "new",
      "transition": {
        "approved": "awaiting_implementation",
        "declined": "declined"
      }
    }
  ]
}


<When there are two statuses that require approval>

{
  "type": "rfc",
  "statuses": [
    {
      "approval": "awaiting_approval",
      "reset": "new",
      "transition": {
        "approved": "awaiting_implementation",
        "declined": "declined"
      }
    },
    {
      "approval": "completed",
      "reset": "new",
      "transition": {
        "approved": "closed",
        "declined": "cancelled"
      }
    }
  ]
}


[Disabling the ticket approval function]

DELETE /capi/v1/ticket-settings/approval/{id}

When you disable the ticket approval function, it will apply to existing tickets as well. You can proceed with processing the tickets without approving even if the status requires approval. If an approval flow is set, you can still check the approval flow read-only mode on the Ticket zoom window even after the approval function has been disabled.


[Impact of the timing when the approval function is enabled]

When you enable the ticket approval function, it will apply to existing tickets as well. However, depending on the status, you may be able to process tickets without approval.

  • If the approval function is enabled before statuses that require approval: Approval required
    Before transitioning to a status that requires approval, you must set the approvers in the approval flow dialog box.
  • When the approval function is enabled for statuses that require approval: No approval required
  • If the approval function is enabled after statuses that require approval: No approval required
Example: Among the existing ticket status transitions A to E, if the statuses that require approval are B and D

A  →  B  →  C  →  D  →  E

If the status of the existing ticket is A, approval is required for B and D. If the status of the existing ticket is B or C, approval is required for D. If the status of the existing ticket is D or E, approval is not required.

NotesNotes

  • The ticket approval feature can be enabled or disabled for each ticket type, but the settings cannot be changed for individual customers.
  • Do not set the following statuses for statuses that require approval.
    • Status set when creating a new ticket
    • Status to transition to when approving or declining a ticket using the approval function
    • Status in which the approved date and time are reset when transitioning
  • Design the process so that a status is generally not repeated once it has been approved. If you want to perform re-approval, design the process so that it passes through the status specified in reset.



(2) Setting approvers

The approval function allows you to configure the following settings. Use the workflow function if you need a more complex approval flow.

  • You can set one or more approvers and the approval order for each ticket
  • You can set multiple approvers for the same approval step and configure so that the process moves to the next step once the specified number of approvers have approved it
  • You can specify approvers by user or by group
  • Since the approval flow settings are retained in the browser, when the same user works in the same browser, the previous approval flow settings can be used as the default values.

Approvers can be set from the task application. For details on setting approvers and retaining approval flow settings, see “Approval flow”.


(3) Approving or declining of a ticket by the approver

When saving a ticket, changing it to a status with an approval flow set notifies the approver or approval group for the first step. Approvers who receive the notification can approve or decline the ticket from the [Approve] or [Decline] button on the Ticket zoom window. While in this status the ticket cannot be changed to another status.

When transitioning to the next step in the approval flow, the next approver or approval group will be notified. When the approval by the approver or approval group of the last step is completed, the status transitions to the next status.
If the ticket is declined, the approval date will be reset, the status transitions to the status after declining, and the agent is notified.
The agent can resubmit the ticket for approval by correcting it and saving it with the status set in the approval flow. At this point, the approval flow will restart from the first step, and a new approval date will be set.
For details on the tasks, see “Approval flow”. For details on the notifications methods, see “Ticket notification function”.


[When a ticket awaiting approval can no longer be approved]

If tickets that are awaiting approval can no longer be approved because users or groups were deleted, you can cancel the approval and change the status using the following method.

  1. Execute the REST API "PATCH /capi/v1/tickets/{id}" with the following request body.

    {
        "approvalFlows": []
    }

    Performing this operation will reset all approval flows for the specified tickets, and the approval dates and times will also be canceled.

  2. Change the status from the Ticket zoom window.
    • If approval is required: Change the status to one before the status that requires approval and set up the approval flow.
    • If approval is not required: Change the status to one after the status that requires approval.

    The status options displayed on the Ticket zoom window are the items set in the status transition.
    If you have set a status that requires two or more approvals, approval will be repeated when the status changes to that status. Set up the approval flow before the status becomes one that requires approval.

NotesNotes

  • Approval steps cannot be skipped.