Approvals SLAs or OLAs

[AnthonyMull]

Hi communitiy

I have a requirement to attach an SLA or OLA to approval records to show where approvals are getting bottelknecked,

can you help me with best approach please?

Kind regards

[Tanushree Maiti]

Hi @AnthonyMull 

Attaching an SLA or OLA to approval records (sysapproval_approver table) is not supported out-of-the-box (OOB) because the approval table does not extend the Task table.

However, tracking the time taken for approvals is a common requirement. You can following approaches to achieve this. 

1. https://www.servicenow.com/community/itsm-blog/approval-slas-in-servicenow/ba-p/3398501#:~:text=Exte....

2.https://www.servicenow.com/community/itsm-forum/create-slas-for-approvals-on-specific-ritm-items/m-p...

[AnthonyMull]

Hi @Tanushree Maiti 

I have tried using the Group approval table for the SLA and this has worked. is there any reason I should not use the Group approval table?

Thank you

[Tanushree Maiti]

Hi @AnthonyMull 

Applying Service Level Agreements (SLAs) directly to the approval table (sysapproval_approver) in ServiceNow is generally considered bad practice because the approval table does not extend the Task table.
As a result, it does not natively support the standard SLA engine, leading to technical limitations, maintenance challenges, and poor performance.

Where as group Approver table is fine. (ref: https://www.servicenow.com/community/itsm-forum/can-we-configure-sla-s-on-approvals/m-p/517711#:~:te...)

[AnthonyMull]

Hi @Tanushree Maiti 

the table I was mentioning is the group approval table not the approval table.

This is oob in the SLA definition.

sysapproval_group

would you recommend not using the group approval table?

Thanks