Block Approval unless a form is submitted

[Robert Kneip]

I have a very simple scenario. When an issue is transitioned to an approval a new form is autmatically attached to the issue to accept input from the approver prior to the approval. 

There is currently no way that I can see to block or prevent the issue from being approved unless the data in the new form is filled out and submitted. 

i.e. Approver can just click approve with out telling me why. 

I have tried every automation I can think of and nothing works. 

Very simple: Block approval if required fields are not filled out or in JSM if an approval form is not filled out and submitted.

Anyone have a suggestion? 

Thank you 

[Mikael Sandberg · Accepted solution]

You would need a separate status for the form to be filled out and submitted before you go to the approval status. Once you are in the Approval status there is no way to prevent the approve/decline until something else happens.

[Robert Kneip]

Thank you to the community members for responding. Adding the additional WF status to have the form filled out then create an automation to transition to the approval status once the form is submitted is probably as close as it gets without dicing into hours of logic and testing. 

This works but the drawback is you will not see the transition in the JSM help center screen (customer facing) unless you reload the browser. (It just sits there, and you dot have any direction)

Then if for any reason you want to recall the Approval i.e. You made a mistake on the form and have to transition back to the info request status. There is no function to unlock a form for editing upon transition:

Trigger- Transition is made. (have this)

IF - Form attached - Name of Form- State= Submitted (have this)

Action - Unlock form for editing? (NOT AVAILABLE)

Not an available action. 

I guess the answer is you can really only do so much in JSM on the portal without having to pay license fees for the backend. These are simple Boolean functions, however. You would think they would be inherent in the operating system.  For now, we will create the submission process to put the burden on the user to make sure the information is filled out on the attached form before it is approved. But that kind of defeats the purpose of an automated system and a fail-safe workflow. 

Thanks again!

[Mikael Sandberg]

You can unlock the form, you do that by using the web request action and then call the Reopen form endpoint.

[Jennifer Luo]

Is the approver a value that is populated before the form is attached? You could potentially keep the approver field empty until the form is submitted, which will then allow the approval to show up (after refreshing) to be approved.

[Ste Wright]

Hi @Robert Kneip 

This isn't possible at this stage, although there are feature requests for similar functionality - check out:

• JSDCLOUD-6988 
• JSDCLOUD-6989 

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If the Approver is a licensed Jira user, you could probably create a native workaround for this (although, it's not ideal)...

• Create 2 Statuses for the Approval
• Add 2 transitions - Approved (Status 1 > Status 2), and Rejected (Status 1 > Closed)
• Add a Screen, with the relevant fields the Approver needs to populate for the "Approved" transition
• Use Validators to ensure the fields are populated
• Use Automation to notify the Approver(s) that there's a ticket to approve - either via a comment mention or an email
• Use Automation on Status 2 to auto-approve the ticket once it has passed through Status 1, using relevant Conditions

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A few notes...

• You might also be able to use a Form-based validator, if you'd prefer not to use a Screen
• You will need to grant the Approvers access to see the JSM Project, as this approval method will be from within the Agents view, not via the Portal. If the Project has restricted access, you might need to...
  • Provide the Approvers access via project permissions
  • Restrict access to all other tickets using an Issue Security Scheme and a default level - but ensure there is a security level where "Approvers" can see the tickets
  • Use Automation to open up visibility to "Approvers" in Status 1, then hide the ticket again (if needed) in Status 2, by changing the security level

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Let us know if the workaround is of interest! And if you need help with more specific instructions to set this up / test it, we'd be happy to help :)

Ste