Configuring self-approvals for knowledge articles

Self-approvals are system-driven approvals that do not require any manual intervention. A Knowledge Coach can configure a self-approval with qualifications or with a process for knowledge articles. A self-approval with a qualification is triggered when a knowledge article meets the qualifications that are defined in the self-approval. A self-approval with process is triggered when a knowledge article meets the qualifications that are defined in the approval which in turn triggers a process for the approval.

A Knowledge Coach configures self-approvals for knowledge articles by defining the status of the knowledge articles on which approvals are triggered.

Learn more about self-approvals in Knowledge article approvals.

Self-approval with qualification

A self-approval with qualification ensures that only those knowledge articles that meet the qualifications go through the approval process. For example, a self-approval qualification can be Category Tier 1 = Applications, Category Tier 2 = Software, and Category Tier 3 = MS Office. A knowledge article created with these categories will be self-approved.

To create a self-approval with qualification, complete the following steps:

1. As a Knowledge Coach, log in to BMC Helix Business Workflows.
2. Click My Application Settings .
   The Settings page opens in a new browser tab.
3. Select Approvals > Approval Configuration.
4. Open the com.bmc.dsm.knowledge:Knowledge Article Template approval configuration.
5. On the Self Approval tab, click New Condition.
6. Define the Expression and click Next.

Sample process for knowledge articles

BMC Helix Business Workflows provides a sample process called Knowledge Article - Approval Process to configure a self-approval process. You cannot modify a sample process. To configure self-approvals for knowledge articles, a Knowledge Coach must create a copy of the sample process.

The sample process contains process variables that are used in the self-approval process. The following table lists the process variable in the sample process:

To define a self-approval flow by creating a copy of the sample process

1. Log in to BMC Helix Innovation Studio as a Knowledge Coach, and navigate to the Workspace tab.
2. Select Knowledge Management Service.
3. Click Processes.
4. Select Knowledge Management - Approval Process, and click Copy.
   In the new process, the process variables are automatically added. The following image shows the copy of the sample process:

5. To add more elements, from Palette, drag the designer elements to the process.

   The following image shows how you can create a self-approval for knowledge articles with the Compute Value element with the expression Priority=Low to be self-approved, while cases with Priority=High/Critical will not be self-approved.

   
   For more information about elements, see Process designer elements .

6. Click Save.
   After the process is created, an administrator must associate it with a self-approval flow.

To create a new approval self-approval process

1. Log in to BMC Helix Innovation Studio as a Knowledge Coach, and navigate to the Workspace tab.
2. Select Knowledge Management Service.
3. Click Processes.
4. Click New.
5. Specify a Name for the process.
6. Click Add/Remove Variables.
7. Specify Knowledge Article Record as the Input Variable.
8. Enter Approval Status as the Output Variable.
   
9. Click Save.
10. From Palette, drag the elements based on how you want to configure the process.
    For example, add the Compute Value element and specify the settings.
    Learn more about elements in Process designer elements .
11. Provide appropriate permissions for users.
12. Save the process.
    After the process is created, an administrator must associate it with an approval flow.

Associating the self-approval process to an approval flow

1. As a Knowledge Coach, log in to BMC Helix Business Workflows.
2. Click My Application Settings .
   The Settings page opens in a new browser tab.
3. Select Approvals > Approval Configuration.
4. Open the com.bmc.dsm.knowledge:Knowledge Article Template approval configuration.
5. On the Self Approval tab, click New Condition.
6. Define the Expression and click Next.
7. Select the Self Approval Process.
   

Where to go from here

Mapping knowledge article status to approvals

Related topic

Defining a chain of approvals for knowledge articles

Configuring approval flows