Create Group Approval from Workflow Run Script Action

[jmiskey]

We have a "Run Script" workflow action that loops through the values in a List Collector field  (based on a Custom Table that lists Roles & Approval Groups), and creates a Group Approval for each selection.

That code looks like this:

//capture packages selected from variable
var roleList = current.variables. role_selection.toString();

//loop through all packages
var roleArray = roleList.split(',');
for (var i = 0; i < roleArray.length; i++) {
	var role = roleArray[i];
	var gr = new GlideRecord('x_ebcbs_workday_ad_workday_administration_user_based_roles');
	gr.addQuery('sys_id', role);
	gr.query();

	//create approvals
	if (gr.next()){

		var appGrp = gr.approval_group;
		var role_name = gr.role_name;

		//create approval
		var approval = new GlideRecord('sysapproval_group');
		approval.initialize();
		approval.state = 'requested';
		approval.approval = 'requested';
		approval.assignment_group = appGrp;
		approval.short_description = role_name;
		approval.wait_for = 'any';
		approval.parent = current.sys_id;   //Current is record that requires approval
		approval.insert();

	}
}

It seems to work fine.  However, I am having an issue when working these.

The Group Approval automatically creates individual User Approval records for each user.  As a user approves or rejects the approval, the workflow proceeds on as expected.  However, it still continues to show the original Group Approval in a "Requested" state.  So it does not appear that the approvals/rejections the users are completing are updating the Group Approval record.

Here are the indovidual Approver records:

And here are the parent Group Approval records:

So why aren't the updates to the individual approver records updating the parent Group Approval records?  If I create a Group Approval via the "Approval - Group" action, they seem to be linked properly and update as expected.  But if I create the Group Approvals via the script I show, they do not seem to behave it that manner.

Am I missing some setting in my script?

I tried changing:

approval.wait_for = 'any';

to

approval.wait_for = 'workflow';

but that did not seem to make any difference.

[Jaspal Singh]

Hi,

Since, you are creating Group approval via scirpt instead of using Approver-Group activity you might have to GlideRecord the sysapproval_group table once the approval action is performed and update the record accordingly.

[Brad Bowman]

Why would/do you need to try to replicate what the Approval - Group activity already does?  Why not add a similar script to that activity instead?  When a record is inserted on the sysapproval_group table the SNC - Create user approvals for group Business Rule calls a Script Include to create the individual approvals, so you could take a look at that to see if there's a relation back to the group that is not getting set with your script.

[jmiskey]

[quote]Why would/do you need to try to replicate what the Approval - Group activity already does?  Why not add a similar script to that activity instead?  [/quote]

I would love to do something like that, I am just not sure what something like that would look like.

For simplicity sake, let's say that our Custom Roles Table looks something like this:

So, on the List Collector on the Catalog Item, then can select as many roles as they want.  Let's say that they select Role1, Role3, and Role5.  Then in my workflow, I need to dynamically create 3 different Group Approvals, for Group1, Group3, and Group5. 

Is there an easy way to create an unknown number of approvals that does not involve scripting it out like I tried?

Thanks

[Brad Bowman]

The scripted approach should be fine.  Inside the Advanced script on the Approval - Group activity, push the group sys_id to the answer more like this:

var answer = [];
//capture packages selected from variable
var roleList = current.variables. role_selection.toString();

//loop through all packages
var roleArray = roleList.split(',');
for (var i = 0; i < roleArray.length; i++) {
	var role = roleArray[i];
	var gr = new GlideRecord('x_ebcbs_workday_ad_workday_administration_user_based_roles');
	gr.addQuery('sys_id', role);
	gr.query();

	//create approvals
	if (gr.next()){
        answer.push(gr.approval_group.toString());
	}
}