Approval Sequence
Approval processes can contain sequential and parallel portions for required approvers. Sequential approvers review one after the other; an approver with a later sequence number must wait for the previous approvers to finish. By contrast, approvers with the same sequence number review at the same time.
For example, suppose that the following approvers are set with the following sequence numbers.
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Mary Manager: 1
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Connie Contact: 2
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Larry Lawyer: 2
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Pablo Picasso: 2
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Charlie CFO: 3
This approval process has sequential and parallel portions.
Mary Manager must act first. She is the only approver with sequence number 1. If any other approvers try to respond before Mary Manager, they receive a warning message. After Mary Manager finishes her review, Connie Contact, Larry Lawyer, and Pablo Picasso can start because they have sequence number 2.
Connie Contact, Larry Lawyer, and Pablo Picasso all act simultaneously, in parallel. They can review in any order. They do not prevent each other from approving.
After Connie Contact, Larry Lawyer, and Pablo Picasso all respond, the parallel portion of the review is completed. Now, Charlie CFO can begin his review because he has sequence number 3.
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You cannot respond to the approval if it is not your turn. If you try to respond to the approval, you receive a warning message. After the required approvers ahead of you respond, Marketing Operations notifies you that you can complete your review.
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The approval sequence applies only to required approvers. Optional approvers can complete their review in any order.
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