Build a Multi-Discipline Parallel Approval Template
Role: Project Admin or Org Admin
Time: 30–45 minutes
Prerequisites: Reviewer accounts exist for each discipline; template categories configured (optional)
This tutorial creates a Multi-Discipline Design Review template with:
- Three parallel review steps (Structural, MEP, Architecture) running simultaneously
- SLA of 10 business days for each discipline
- Conditional escalation: only if all disciplines approve does the workflow move to final sign-off
- Final Approval step by the Project Manager
Step 1: Plan the template structure
Before building, sketch the step sequence:
[Start]
│
├─── Review: Structural Engineer (parallel) 10 days
├─── Review: MEP Engineer (parallel) 10 days
└─── Review: Architect (parallel) 10 days
│
[All three must complete]
│
└─── Approve: Project Manager 5 days
│
[End — document Approved]
Key decisions:
- Parallel routing for the three discipline steps
- All must complete before the parallel group ends
- Approval step type (not Review) for the final sign-off — carries approval weight
- If any discipline rejects → workflow returns to initiator
Step 2: Create the template
- Go to Settings → Templates → New Template.
- Set the basic details:
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Template Name | Multi-Discipline Design Review |
| Category | Design Review (or create this category) |
| Description | Parallel review by Structural, MEP, and Architecture with PM final approval. |
- Click Create Template — the visual step builder opens.
Step 3: Add the parallel review group
- Click Add Step.
- Set the step type to Review.
- Configure the first parallel step:
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Step Name | Structural Review |
| Step Type | Review |
| Assigned To | Role: Structural Reviewer (or specific user) |
| Duration | 10 days |
| Routing | Parallel |
- Click Add Parallel Step (or click the + icon on the same row) to add the second parallel step:
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Step Name | MEP Review |
| Step Type | Review |
| Assigned To | Role: MEP Reviewer |
| Duration | 10 days |
| Routing | Parallel (same parallel group) |
- Add the third parallel step:
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Step Name | Architecture Review |
| Step Type | Review |
| Assigned To | Role: Architecture Reviewer |
| Duration | 10 days |
| Routing | Parallel (same parallel group) |
The three steps should appear side-by-side (or grouped) in the builder.
Step 4: Set the parallel group completion rule
- Click on the parallel group header (or the group settings icon).
- Set Parallel Completion Rule to All must complete.
This means all three reviewers must submit their review before the workflow advances. If any reviewer rejects, the rejection handling setting determines what happens next.
Step 5: Add the final approval step
- Click Add Step below the parallel group.
- Configure:
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Step Name | Final PM Approval |
| Step Type | Approve |
| Assigned To | Role: Project Manager (or specific user) |
| Duration | 5 days |
| Routing | Sequential (this step runs after the parallel group) |
The Approve type means this step has approval weight — the document outcome is based on this step.
Step 6: Configure template settings
- Click Template Settings (gear icon or settings panel).
- Set:
| Setting | Value | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| Outcome Determination | Final step decides | PM's decision determines the document outcome |
| Rejection Handling | Return to initiator | If any step rejects, workflow pauses for the initiator to act |
| Parallel Completion Rule (default) | All must complete | Applied to all parallel groups unless overridden at step level |
| Initiator Permissions | Can reassign step assignees | Lets the initiator substitute reviewers if someone is unavailable |
- Under Notifications:
- Notify initiator on: workflow completed, step rejected, workflow overdue
- Notify assignees on: step assigned to them
Step 7: Add conditional routing (optional escalation)
If you want to add an escalation path — for example, if any discipline reviewer flags an issue that requires a Project Director sign-off — add a conditional step:
- After the parallel group, add a Conditional Branch.
- Set condition:
review_outcome == "issues_noted"(or the equivalent flag in your template expression). - True branch: add an extra Approve: Project Director step.
- False branch: proceed directly to PM Final Approval.
See Conditional Routing for the full expression syntax.
Step 8: Activate the template
- Click Save.
- Review the visual diagram — confirm steps appear in the correct order and parallel grouping.
- Click Activate.
- Confirm — the template is now available to initiators.
Step 9: Test with a real document
- Go to Documents → open any document.
- Click Start Workflow → select Multi-Discipline Design Review.
- In the wizard:
- Confirm all three parallel reviewers are correctly assigned
- Set a due date (10 business days from today for the review)
- Add a description: "Test run — Multi-Discipline Design Review"
- Submit the workflow.
- Check the Workflow instance — you should see all three parallel steps with Pending status and the PM approval step waiting.
Verification
After the test workflow is running:
- All three review steps show as active simultaneously
- Each reviewer receives a task notification
- The workflow shows a progress indicator with 0/3 parallel steps complete
- The PM Approval step is greyed out (waiting for the parallel group)
What's next
- Routing Modes — deep dive into sequential vs parallel vs conditional routing
- SLA and Duration — configuring and monitoring step durations
- Template Settings — outcome determination and rejection handling modes