Ometa has defined a new SharePoint Workflow template that supports the most complex approval workflow requirements.
Instead of the standard approvals on record level, the Ometa solution makes field level approvals possible.
How does it work?
It starts by grouping the fields of a SharePoint list in types. Each type has a defined list of authorized users and approvers.
When an authorized user updates a field belonging to a certain type a workflow is started to the approvers of that type. Parallel workflows
are possible when the updated fields of a record belong to different
types. When all approvals are received, the field value is updated.
When a non-authorized user updates a field, no workflow is started and the field value is not updated.
Example:
A
customer list is maintained in SharePoint. The data fields can be
grouped in 2 types: the first group of data (Type A) is more finance
related, the second (Type B) more sales related.
The
finance administrators are the authorized users for Type A-fields and
the approvers are the Finance Director and the Sales Director.
For Type B-fields the account executives are the authorized users and the Sales Director must approve the changes.
History list
All information related to the workflow is stored in a history list. This ensures an audit trail of all past changes to the data.
Segregation of Duties (SOD)
When
the person that updates the field is the same as the person that must
approve the update, a notification can be sent to the SOD responsible
for further follow up.
Ometa Integrator Framework
In
a lot of cases the advanced workflow solution is offered to the
customer together with the Ometa Integrator Framework. This framework enables the use of business applications (ERP, CRM,..) in a MS SharePoint Portal.
Updates/inserts
to business application data is now initiated in SharePoint. It gets
approved via the Ometa Advanced Workflows solution and when all
approvals are received, the update/insert is done in the business
application.
Screen shot on how to group fields in types:
