An approval workflow is a repeatable path for deciding whether something can move forward. It may apply to a document, design, purchase, policy, report, change request, invoice, onboarding step, or project deliverable.
The workflow should make the decision easy to understand later. What was reviewed? Who reviewed it? What criteria mattered? Was it approved, rejected, returned for changes, or approved with comments? What evidence supports the decision?
A strong approval workflow has clear entry conditions, named reviewers, a decision state, a due date, comments or reasons, and a record of the final outcome. For higher-risk work, it may also need separation of duties so the creator and approver are not the same person.
Traceability is the difference between "someone said this was fine" and "this specific person approved this specific version on this date with these comments." That distinction matters in audits, client disputes, quality checks, and handovers.
A traceable approval process usually needs a process map, a controlled record, review actions, deadlines, and the material being reviewed. Those pieces can be handled by separate tools, but they work best when they stay connected.
Related: WorkFlow (WSO ↗), FileStudio (WSO ↗), TaskBoard (WSO ↗), TimeLine (WSO ↗).