Configuring approval chains with BMC Service Request Management

You can chain different kinds of approval processes together so that they occur one after the other in sequence.

For example, you can configure an approval chain so that a service request must be approved first by the user's manager. If the user's manager approves the service request, it moves up the chain to the second approval process (for example, the level approval process so that a mapped approver must approve the service request when it reaches Waiting Approval status).

You can also configure Remedy IT Service Management so that one service request uses a particular approval chain, but another service request uses a different chain.

Finally, you can configure the actions to be taken when a particular result is returned from an approval process:

You can also run multiple actions for a particular approval result. For example, you set certain field values in the service request and run another approval process in the approval chain.

To configure an approval chain

1. From the Application Administration Console, click the Custom Configuration tab.
2. Choose Service Request Management > Approval > Approval Chains, and click Open.
3. From the Approval Chains form, click Create.
4. In the Name field on the Approval Chain Definition form, enter a name for the approval chain.
5. In the Company field, select -Global-, or select a specific company that will be using this approval chain.
   This name maps to the name specified in the Company field on the Delivery tab of the service request definition (SRD).
6. Select a Status.
   You must set the status to Enabled for the approval chain to execute.

7. In the Order and Selection Criteria fields, select an order and related selection criteria for the approval chain. Select 0 for the most restrictive selection criteria, and successively higher order values as the selection criteria becomes less restrictive. To use the Advanced Qualification Builder to create a qualification, click the icon next to the Selection Criteria area.
   Following is an example of selection criteria defined for a more restrictive to less restrictive order:

   Order	Selection Criteria
   0	'Status' = Waiting Approval" AND 'SRD_Level' = Gold" AND 'Price' >= 1000.00
   1	'Status' = Waiting Approval" AND 'SRD_Level' = Gold"
   2	'Status' = Waiting Approval"

8. Click Save.
9. To add a process to the approval chain, follow these steps:
   1. From the Approval Chains form, select the approval chain for which to add an approval process.
   2. Click Modify.

   3. From the Approval Chain Definition form, select a process name (for example, Service Request - Level), and click Apply.

      Important

      If you select the Service Request Management Chain process, you must specify the maximum number of levels.

      The approval process is added to the approval chain.

10. To add a Set Fields action (for example, to specify a status to be set on a service request) to the approval chain, follow these steps:
    1. Click an approval status in the approval chain tree (for example, Approved).
    2. Click Add Set Fields Action (at the bottom of the dialog box), and click Apply.
    3. In the Field Value dialog box, select a field from the form (for example, select the Summary field to enter information about the service request).
    4. Enter the Set Fields value.
11. Click Save.