Send a decision for approval

Approval turns the Decision Record into a controlled sign-off workflow. Each required approver receives a secure link and decision PDF, completes identity step-up and records a response. Editing after dispatch requires a deliberate withdrawal and a new request.

Before you start

• Complete the selected vendor, rationale and alternatives in the Decision Record. Approval cannot repair an incomplete recommendation.

• Confirm each approver’s name, role and email address and decide which people are required under your governance policy.

Step by step

1. Add the required approvers

Open Approval and add each person with the correct name, role and email. Review the list before sending; multiple required approvers are tracked separately and all required sign-offs must be satisfied.

2. Send for approval

Choose Send for approval. Disqovr locks the current record, marks it pending and emails each approver a secure link with the decision PDF. Do not forward one person’s link to another approver.

3. Complete external identity step-up

The approver opens the token link, completes the one-time passcode check and reads the full report. Links can expire and are designed for the named recipient and current approval cycle.

4. Record the response

Approve and Reject require a drawn signature; Reject also requires a comment. Request more info requires a comment and sends the question back without silently rewriting the Decision Record. The project owner can see each response and outstanding approver.

5. Withdraw before editing

If the recommendation needs changes, choose Withdraw to edit. This returns the record to draft, voids outstanding token links and clears sign-offs from that cycle, so the prior request cannot be treated as current.

6. Resolve and reissue

Address a rejection or information request in the Decision Record and business case, document any material change, then send a new approval cycle. Approvers receive fresh links and evaluate the revised record.

What happens next

• After every required approval is complete, move to Deliver to capture the signed contract and implementation handoff.

• Retain comments and version history as governance evidence; do not recreate a rejected decision as an unrelated project simply to remove the history.

Troubleshooting

An approver link is expired or already used

Check the current approval cycle. If the record is still current, use the available resend path; if it was withdrawn or changed, send a new approval request instead.

The decision cannot be edited

A pending or approved record is locked. Use Withdraw to edit, then tell approvers that existing links and sign-offs are void and a new cycle will follow.

Approval remains pending after one person approved

Review the approver list for other required sign-offs or unresolved responses. One approval does not complete a multi-approver cycle.

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