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Overview

Actions are Aptly’s workflow engine. They represent work to be done on a record (Decision, Delegation, Document, Matrix, or a generic task), and they power system-driven steps like Delegation Requests, Approvals, Acceptance, Role Acknowledgements, and Document Oversight.
Admins can also define custom Action Types and reusable Action Templates for recurring tasks (e.g., annual authority acknowledgements, matrix approval cycles).

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When Actions are generated

Actions may be system‑generated (when enabled in System Settings) or manually created.

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System‑generated workflows

  • Delegation Requests — Users request authority from a Decision or Delegation; an Action routes to the Decision Owner/Creator or the selected party (Issuer/Recipient/both) on the Delegation.
  • Delegation Approvals — New or updated delegations can require approval; an Approval Action is assigned to eligible approvers (see Approver eligibility below).
  • Delegation Acceptance — If enabled, recipients must Accept or Reject; an Action is assigned to each recipient.
  • Decision Role Acknowledgement — When Decision Roles are used (e.g., Consulted, Informed), an Acknowledgement Action prompts the assignee to confirm their role.
  • Document Oversight —
    • Generate Approval Action creates a task for Approver(s) when a document is published or re‑edited.
    • Generate Review Action creates initial or periodic review tasks for Reviewer(s).

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Manual workflows

  • Admins and authorized users can create ad‑hoc Actions (e.g., “Confirm signatory list for EMEA subsidiaries”), or use Action Templates to prefill title/description/type/due‑date rules.

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Action anatomy

Each Action includes:
  • Title & Description — clear, outcome‑oriented text (templates can prefill standard language).
  • Linked Record (optional) — Decision / Delegation / Document / Matrix; or leave unlinked for generic tasks.
  • Type — category, e.g., Approval, Review, Acknowledgement, Task (customizable).
  • Status — To Do, In Progress, Overdue, Complete, Canceled (system may auto‑set Overdue).
  • Priority — e.g., Low, Medium, High (optional).
  • Owner — the user who created/owns the action.
  • Assignee — the user responsible to complete it (may be multiple in some flows, e.g., multi‑recipient acceptance).
  • Due date — optional; can be set by template or system rules (e.g., “7 days to accept”).
  • Audit trail — timestamps, status changes, and completion details.
Notifications for creation, assignment, due‑soon, and overdue are governed by tenant notification settings and user preferences.

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Approver eligibility (Delegation Approvals)

When a delegation requires approval, Aptly assigns an Approval Action to eligible approvers based on roles & groups:
  • Users with approve_delegations (All) — eligible for any delegation.
  • Users with approve_delegations (Groups) — eligible when their assigned Groups match the delegation’s groups (including inherited child groups).
  • Guardrail: a designated approver cannot approve a delegation where they are the Issuer.
  • Group membership, role changes, or group hierarchy edits may change eligibility; Aptly verifies at action time to ensure only eligible approvers can act.

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Permissions & access

  • Create / Edit / Delete: governed by create_actions, edit_actions, delete_actions.
  • Owner/Assignee variants: owners and assignees may have additional, record‑scoped powers (e.g., delete_owner_actions, delete_assignee_actions).
  • Group scope: roles can be tenant‑wide or group‑scoped (e.g., only see/manage Actions tied to their groups).
  • Record capacities: for Actions linked to Decisions/Delegations/Documents/Matrices, the user’s capacity (Owner / Issuer / Recipient / Approver / Reviewer / Responsible / Shared user/group) can unlock or restrict what they can do.
See Roles & Permissions for the full model.

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Action Types

Action Types categorize actions (e.g., Approval, Review, Acknowledgement, Task).
  • System defaults are fixed; custom types can be added/renamed by admins.
  • Types appear in filters, reports, and templates.

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Action Templates

Use templates to standardize recurring work:
  • What templates can set
    • Type (e.g., Annual Authority Acknowledgement, Matrix Approval Cycle)
    • Title & description (with reusable phrasing)
    • Relative due date rules (e.g., “Due 30 days after creation”)
    • Priority
    • Default assignee/assignment rules (optional)
  • Where to use them
    • Manual creation dialog (choose a template)
    • Automated routines (e.g., scheduled annual tasks via internal automation or integration)

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Status lifecycle

Typical transitions:
  • To Do → In Progress → Complete
  • To Do / In Progress → Overdue (auto when past due date)
  • Any active → Cancelled (with reason)
System jobs can mark tasks Overdue daily. Notification preferences control reminders for due‑soon/overdue.

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Bulk operations

Authorized users can perform bulk updates (subject to permissions):
  • Reassign multiple actions (e.g., team reorg)
  • Update status (e.g., close a completed batch)
  • Cancel or duplicate groups of actions
  • Search & filter by type, status, assignee, due date, linked record, and group

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Best practices

  • Template everything recurring: approvals calendars, annual attestations, quarterly signatory reviews, matrix attestations.
  • Keep types meaningful: short labels that make dashboards and reports self‑explanatory.
  • Use due‑date rules: give recipients clear SLA windows (e.g., 7 or 15 days).
  • Leverage group scope: limit noise; route work to the right region/entity/department.
  • Tie actions to records: link to Decisions/Delegations/Documents/Matrices for full context and audit.