An approval workflow is a defined sequence of review steps that a piece of work must pass, ending with an explicit sign-off, before it is released.
Parts of an approval workflow
Most approval workflows share the same pieces:
- Submission: someone, or something, creates the item and sends it for review.
- Routing: the item goes to the right reviewer or queue.
- Decision: approve, reject, or send back with requested changes.
- Release: the approved item moves to its next state, such as scheduled or published.
- Record: who decided what, and when, is logged.
An example
An agent drafts a thread about a new integration. It appears in the reviewer's inbox with a preview for each network. The reviewer asks for a shorter opening line. The agent revises, the reviewer approves, and the post is scheduled for Tuesday morning.
Why it matters when agents write
When a person writes a post, the writer and the approver often overlap. When an agent writes, they must not. The workflow is the control that separates "drafted" from "public."
SocialHandoff treats approval as the core of the product. Agents submit drafts; a person with an owner key approves. An agent's own key can never approve its drafts. Every decision lands in the audit log, and Pro plans add multi-reviewer approvals. Publish-now approvals have a 60-second undo window. See content approval for the social-specific practice and approving posts for the steps in the app.