Outstanding Approvals Report : Helpdesk

Overview

The Outstanding Approvals Report displays a comprehensive list of all outstanding approvals for ideas/initiatives progressing through the pipeline, including the age of each approval request. This report helps users track pending approvals, identify bottlenecks in the approval process, and ensure timely action on approval requests. The report provides visibility into which ideas/initiatives are awaiting approval, who requested the approval, who needs to approve, and how long the approval has been pending.

The report is particularly useful for monitoring approval delays, prioritizing approval actions, ensuring ideas/initiatives move through stages without unnecessary delays, and maintaining accountability in the approval process.

Note: Users need the View Outstanding Approvals Report permission enabled in their role under Reports to be able to access and use this report. If you cannot view this report, please contact your system administrator to verify your permissions.

Accessing the Outstanding Approvals Report

To access the Outstanding Approvals Report:

Navigate to the Reports module from the top navigation bar
Select Outstanding Approvals from the list of available reports within the Ideas group
The report will display with default filters applied, showing all outstanding approvals in a table format

Understanding the Report

The Outstanding Approvals Report consists of a table displaying all pending approval requests for ideas/initiatives.

Report Header

At the top of the report, a summary line displays:

No filter: Appears when no filters are currently applied
Showing [filter criteria]: Displays the selected filter criteria when filters have been applied

Table Columns

The report displays the following information in table format:

Date: The date when the approval was requested
Code: Unique identifier for the idea/initiative. Click on the code to navigate directly to the idea/initiative details
Description: The name or description of the approval workflow/checklist
Requested By: The name of the user who submitted the approval request
Approver Name: The name of the user who needs to approve the request
Age in Days: The number of days since the approval was requested, helping identify overdue or aging approvals

Table Features

Sorting: Click on any column header to sort the table by that column (ascending or descending order)
Pagination: Use the pagination controls at the bottom of the table to navigate through multiple pages of results
Items per page: Adjust the number of items displayed per page using the dropdown menu (default is 20 items per page)
Total count: The bottom right of the table displays the total number of outstanding approvals (e.g., "1 - 19 of 19 items")

Report Filters

The Outstanding Approvals Report includes several filters to customize the data displayed. These filters appear in the Filter panel on the right side of the screen when you click the Filter button.

Applying and Clearing Filters:

Click the Filter button (top-right corner) to apply your selected filter criteria
Click the Clear button to reset all filters to their default values
When no filters are applied, the message "No filter" appears at the top of the report
Once filters have been applied, they will be displayed at the top of the report showing the selected filter criteria

Available Filters:

Portfolio

Select the specific portfolio, department, or site to view
Include Descendants checkbox: When enabled, includes all sub-portfolios and departments under the selected portfolio
Allows you to focus on outstanding approvals from specific organizational areas

Idea Definitions

Filter by specific idea definition types configured in your system
Default setting shows "All" idea definitions
Useful for focusing on approvals for particular categories of ideas/initiatives

More Filters

Additional filtering options based on custom idea fields configured in your system's Administration settings under Administration > Ideas/Initiative Fields
These filters are dynamically generated based on your organization's specific idea field configurations

Downloading the Report

The Outstanding Approvals Report can be exported for offline viewing, sharing, or further analysis:

Click the Download button in the top-right corner of the report
The report will be exported in Excel format
The downloaded file will include all currently applied filters and all visible outstanding approval data

The Excel export allows you to:

Perform additional analysis on approval data
Share the report with stakeholders who may not have system access
Track approval trends over time by saving periodic exports
Identify patterns in approval delays
Create custom reports or dashboards using the exported data
Monitor approver workload and response times

Best Practices

Review the report regularly to identify and address approval bottlenecks in the pipeline
Sort by "Age in Days" to prioritize the oldest pending approvals that may be causing delays
Monitor high-value ideas/initiatives by clicking on codes to review details and follow up on critical approvals
Use Portfolio filters to analyze approval performance across different organizational areas
Track approver workload by reviewing the "Approver Name" column to identify users with multiple pending approvals
Follow up on aging approvals by contacting approvers directly when requests have been pending for extended periods
Download and archive reports periodically to maintain historical records of approval performance
Set internal approval timeframes and use the "Age in Days" column to monitor compliance
Identify patterns in approval delays to address systemic issues in the approval process

Based on the knowledge base, you may also find these related articles helpful:

Ideas/Initiative Progress Report
Ideas Pipeline By Department Report
All Ideas Report
Idea Approvals