approval workflow design auditor
Audit and optimize approval workflows using a 25-pattern academic taxonomy to eliminate deadlocks and structural gaps.
$11
Works with the AI tools you already use
Claude Code
Cursor
Codex CLI
GitHub Copilot
Gemini CLI+20 moreClaude CodeCursorCodex CLIGitHub CopilotGemini CLI
OpenClaw
Manus
Grok+17 agentsapproval workflow design auditor
Example session with this skill installed
Audit this: Any expenditure over $10k needs approval from the CFO and the Department Head. If one rejects, it's dead. If the CFO is out, we wait. High financial risk.
- Read your context and instructions
- Compiled the approval workflow design
- Generated the UI component
Overall pattern coverage: 4/7 categories addressed. Highest-severity gap: Lack of Approver Non-Performance handling. Risk-tier read: HIGH risk of process stall due to single-point-of-failure logic.
Approval Workflow Audit
| Category | Pattern(s) Identified | Status | Evidence |
|---|---|---|---|
| Manual Review Intensity | 4-Eyes Principle | PRESENT | "CFO and the Department Head" |
| Involved Roles | Different Competencies | PRESENT | Finance (CFO) vs Operational (Dept Head) |
| Execution Order | Not Stated | ABSENT | No sequence defined |
| Correction Strategy | Reject Ultimately | PRESENT | "If one rejects, it's dead" |
| Decision Aggregation | Unanimous Decision | PRESENT | "If one rejects, it's dead" (Implicit AND) |
| Non-Performance | None | ABSENT | "If the CFO is out, we wait" |
| Business Rules | Not Stated | ABSENT | No pre-check logic described |
Risk Flags
-
Gap: Absence of Approver Non-Performance patterns.
-
Violation: Documented Force: "Availability of Approvers." The process stalls indefinitely on illness or travel.
-
Dangerous Combination: Matches Combination #2 (Single named role + no non-performance pattern).
-
Severity: HIGH.
-
Gap: Use of Reject Ultimately for high-stakes expenditure.
Violation: Documented Consequence: "High Effort by Requester." Any minor error in a $10k+ request forces a complete restart.
- Severity: MEDIUM.
Recommended Pattern Set
| Category | Recommended Pattern | Why | Trade-off |
|---|---|---|---|
| Non-Performance | Replacement Approver | Critical for high financial risk to prevent payment delays. | Requires maintained delegation list. |
| Correction | Correct & Repeat Step | Reduces churn for $10k+ entries with minor data errors. | Slightly higher process complexity. |
| Execution | Parallel Approval | Reduces latency as both roles have "Different Competencies." | Risk of wasted effort if CFO rejects early. |
Next steps
- Define a Replacement Approver role for the CFO to prevent process deadlocks during absence.
- Implement a
Correct & Repeat Step mechanic to allow re-submission of rejected documentation without restarting the entire chain.
3. Formalize the Parallel Approval sequence to minimize the total lead time for high-value expenditures.
Source
Pattern taxonomy: Daniel Lübke, 'Design Patterns for Approval Processes' (EuroPLoP 2023) and 'Further Design Patterns for Approval Processes' (EuroPLoP 2024).
approval-workflow-design-auditor.tsx
TSX · React component
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What you get
About this skill
The problem
Approval workflows are often designed ad-hoc, leading to deadlocks, wasted effort, or critical single points of failure. Without a formal taxonomy, it is difficult to spot structural gaps like missing correction paths or non-performance handling until the process stalls in production.
What it does
- Audits approval and escalation workflows against a peer-reviewed taxonomy of 25 empirically-mined design patterns.
- Classifies mechanics across 7 categories including Manual Review Intensity, Business Rule Usage, and Decision Aggregation.
- Identifies 5 specific dangerous pattern combinations, such as Unanimous Decisions paired with high subjectivity.
- Flags missing patterns that should exist based on the stated risk context (financial exposure or regulatory requirements).
- Recommends specific pattern combinations to close gaps while avoiding over-engineered "rubber stamping" risks.
Why this beats prompting it yourself
Generic LLM prompts often rely on "best practices" that result in vague advice or invented terminology. This skill uses a strict evidence floor to prevent hallucinated compliance and forces the analysis to stay within the documented forces and consequences of the Lübke academic taxonomy.
Use cases
- Reviewing vendor payment or procurement sign-off chains for single-approver bottlenecks.
- Auditing financial governance workflows for proper 4-Eyes Principle implementation.
- Designing escalation paths for IT service desks to ensure silence doesn't stall the process.
- Optimizing academic or peer-review workflows to prevent deadlock in unanimous voting.
Known limitations
Does not verify compliance with specific regulations (GDPR, SOX) or assess the actual human competency of named approvers. Requires a description of the mechanics to function.
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