question Change Approvals in Developer forum

Change Approvals

Madhushree_S — Tue, 29 Apr 2025 14:19:28 GMT

Hi,

I have found a query/issue in Change Approval where as

An approval is triggered to a XYZ group & we impersonate User A profile from XYZ group to reject it for the first time.

Later on, the same User A profile when we click on "Request Approval" UI action - a second approval is triggered to same XYZ group!

But what I see is that the approval is triggered to all the members of XYZ group but except User A, where we are still in User A profile (impersonation).

What would be the possible issue in this case? Is it because we are in User A profile (impersonation) & we have clicked "Request Approval" button for second approval.

Re: Change Approvals

Udayrathore049 — Tue, 29 Apr 2025 14:51:06 GMT

The likely cause of this behavior is that when you are impersonating User A, the system sees you as User A for all actions, including triggering the "Request Approval" action. As User A has already interacted with the approval (having rejected it earlier), the system might be excluding User A from receiving the approval again.

This can happen because, when an approval is triggered, the system checks if the user has already responded or interacted with the request. Since User A already interacted (by rejecting the approval), the system assumes they don't need to be notified again.

To Verify & Resolve:

Check Approval Records: Verify the approval records in the sysapproval table to see if there's any condition preventing User A from receiving the approval again. It could be due to an approval record already existing for User A with a status of 'Rejected' or 'Approved'.

Check User Impersonation Behavior: Impersonation affects the user context, but the system may not trigger approvals again for the same user if they've already made a decision. Consider using a test user or another group member to verify if this behavior persists.

Investigate Business Rules: Check if there are any business rules or conditions on the approval workflow that might be excluding users who have already made a decision. You may need to adjust the conditions on the approval task creation to ensure all users in the group are included, regardless of prior actions.

Testing Without Impersonation: If possible, test the approval process without impersonation to verify if the issue still occurs. If it doesn't, then the issue is likely related to how impersonation interacts with the approval process.

By investigating these areas, you should be able to pinpoint why User A is excluded from the second approval request and adjust the system behavior accordingly.

Hope this helps! Let me know if you have any further questions or need additional clarification.

If my response proves useful, please indicate its helpfulness by selecting " Accept as Solution" and " Helpful." This action benefits both the community and me.

Regards
Uday Rathore
ServiceNow Developer
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/uday-rathore049/

Re: Change Approvals

Dr Atul G- LNG — Tue, 29 Apr 2025 14:52:16 GMT

Hi @Madhushree_S

I tried this in my PDI and here are my observations:

The user who rejected the change—did that user change the assignment group on the change before clicking the "request approval" button?

If yes, as per the OOTB flow, the approval goes to the assignment group based on the change. If the user is not part of that group, they will not receive the approval.

However, if the user did not change the assignment group and just clicked "request approval" again, then that user will also receive the approval. Here’s a screenshot for reference.

Re: Change Approvals

Madhushree_S — Tue, 29 Apr 2025 15:41:21 GMT

Hey @Dr Atul G- LNG

Let's say you impersonated David Loo - then rejected the change for first time.

You will still be in David Loo's profile & then click on "Request Approval" button (for triggering second approval). Will David Loo still get an approval record re-generated for him ?

Re: Change Approvals

Dr Atul G- LNG — Tue, 29 Apr 2025 16:08:06 GMT

Yes, technically, if David is part of the assignment group, he will receive the approval. Otherwise, he won't. As I mentioned, the OOTB flow picks up the assignment group from the change form.

Re: Change Approvals

Madhushree_S — Tue, 29 Apr 2025 16:34:56 GMT

Hi @Udayrathore049 ,

Once User A rejects a change record & then is the change requestor clicks on "Request Approval" button again! Then User A is getting a second Approval.

But when impersonating in User A profile & then clicking on "Request Approval" again! User A isn't getting any second approval request trigger!

This is the requirement I checking for.

Re: Change Approvals

Madhushree_S — Tue, 29 Apr 2025 16:38:52 GMT

Hi @Dr Atul G- LNG ,

Let's say, David Loo is not getting second approval when we himself clicks on "Request Approval" button!!

Please let me know what the issue might be causing for not getting an approval when David Loo himself clicks on "Request Approval" button!!

Re: Change Approvals

Dr Atul G- LNG — Tue, 29 Apr 2025 16:41:48 GMT

Hi @Madhushree_S

Technically, it should get the approval. The issue seems to be with the flow. If you look at my first screenshot, I clicked via David’s profile, and he is getting the approval.

Is this happening with all changes, or just one? Also, is it happening for all types of changes, or only specific ones?

Try repairing the Change Management plugin first. If that doesn’t resolve the issue, I would suggest logging a new support case.

Re: Change Approvals

Madhushree_S — Tue, 29 Apr 2025 16:53:56 GMT

Hi @Dr Atul G- LNG

Sure, I would check with plugin repair!! If not check with NOW Support.

Thanks for your kind advice & help!

Appreciate for quick responses!!

Re: Change Approvals

Dr Atul G- LNG — Tue, 29 Apr 2025 16:56:13 GMT

Please keep us posted, interested to know the cause and solution

Re: Change Approvals

Madhushree_S — Thu, 01 May 2025 16:54:52 GMT

Hi @Dr Atul G- LNG

Found that we have two BR's restricting the Approver (who clicks on "Request Approval" button) from getting another approval record & also preventing them from "rejecting" & "approving".

Re: Change Approvals

Dr Atul G- LNG — Fri, 02 May 2025 06:20:25 GMT

Hi @Madhushree_S

if issue has been resolved, please close the thread.