Approvals are where work goes to wait. Five rules for building approval steps that move in hours, not days.
An approval step is a promise that someone will look at something soon. Most stall because that promise is never made explicit.
Give every approval an owner and a clock
An approval with no named approver and no deadline will sit. In Arclay, every approval step has an owner, an SLA and an escalation path.
Approve the exception, not the rule
If ninety percent of purchase requests are under a limit and always approved, stop asking. Route only the exceptions to a person.
Put the context on the request
Approvers stall when they have to go and find the quote, the budget line and the reason. Attach them to the request automatically.
Make the answer one click
Approve, reject or ask a question, from chat, email or the board. Every extra step is a reason to leave it for later.
Review the slowest step monthly
Look at the median time each step takes. The slowest one is your next fix.
