Automation #1 - How to manage Approval process using Blueprint

With numerous ways to automate different workflows and use cases in Zoho Desk, we thought why not collate the common ones and start a series for the benefit of our community! So, here we are with the first topic in our "Automation" series.

This will be a monthly series where we pick some common use cases that have been either discussed or most asked about in our community and explain how they can be achieved using one of the automation capabilities in Zoho Desk.

This month, we will discuss how to handle an approval process using Blueprint. For those who are not aware, Blueprint is a capability that allows you to create a flow based on pre-defined business processes or even customize processes based on individual needs, making it easy for stakeholders to adhere to the process. In case you missed it earlier, we have also talked about Blueprint in detail over here. We highly recommend you to go through the post once, so that you can acquaint yourself with the different parts of a Blueprint and how they work together in streamlining processes.

While, Blueprint can be used to automate a lot of complex business processes, one of the most common use cases that we're asked about is "How do I handle an approval process using Blueprint?"

Here's how you can achieve it:

Go to Setup > Automation > Blueprint
Click Create Blueprint and enter the name you'd like to give your Blueprint.
If you want to apply it to all the tickets that come in, select "All Records", or if you want to limit it to a specific group or team, you can select "Specific Records" and specify which records you want to include. Click Next to proceed.
Add 3 new states (ticket status) in your Blueprint:

Awaiting Approval
Approved
Approval Rejected

Create 2 new transitions from the "Awaiting Approval" state as APPROVE and REJECT

If the transition owners click on APPROVE, the status of the ticket will be moved from "Awaiting Approval" to "Approved"
If the transition owners click on REJECT, the status of the ticket will be moved from "Awaiting Approval" to "Approval Rejected"
Note: You have to choose the same transition owners for both the transitions. This way, you are allowing only a limited number of members to approve/reject requests in the process.

In the Before tab, select the agents who should approve or reject this request.
Click to Save Blueprint and make sure it is Active from the Blueprint list page.

You can add action items for "During" and "After" phase as well if you need.

Follow this channel to get updates on our next post. Until then, happy automating!

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