Approval Workflows
Ensure quality and compliance with configurable approval workflows. Control who can promote changes to production and maintain a complete audit trail.
Overview#
Approval workflows in PromptReports act as quality gates between development stages. Before a prompt version can be promoted from staging to production, it must receive the required approvals from designated reviewers. This ensures that changes are properly reviewed, tested, and documented before affecting live systems.
Quality Gates
Prevent untested or unreviewed changes from reaching production.
Multiple Approvers
Require approvals from different roles—tech leads, product owners, or compliance.
Complete Audit Trail
Track who approved what and when for compliance and accountability.
Smart Notifications
Approvers are notified when reviews are needed with all relevant context.
Why Use Approvals?#
Approval workflows provide several critical benefits for teams managing AI prompts:
| Benefit | Description |
|---|---|
| Risk Reduction | Catch errors, regressions, or problematic changes before they impact users |
| Knowledge Sharing | Reviewers gain visibility into changes across the team |
| Compliance | Meet regulatory requirements for change management and audit trails |
| Quality Standards | Enforce consistent quality bars through peer review |
| Documentation | Approval comments and decisions create valuable context for future reference |
When to Use Approvals
Configuring Approval Rules#
Approval rules are configured at the folder level, allowing different policies for different types of prompts:
Navigate to folder settings
Open the Approvals tab
Enable approval requirements
Configure approval rules
- Required approvals: How many approvals are needed (1-5)
- Approvers: Who can approve (specific users, teams, or roles)
- Self-approval: Whether requesters can approve their own changes
- Bypass rules: Emergency bypass conditions (if allowed)
Save configuration
{
"folderId": "fld_production",
"approvalRules": {
"stagingToProduction": {
"enabled": true,
"requiredApprovals": 2,
"approvers": {
"type": "any_of",
"users": ["user_tech_lead", "user_product_owner"],
"teams": ["team_senior_engineers"],
"roles": ["FOLDER_ADMIN"]
},
"allowSelfApproval": false,
"requireAllTests": true,
"blockOnRegressions": true
}
}
}Requesting Approval#
When you're ready to promote a version that requires approval:
Navigate to the version
Click "Request Promotion"
Add context for reviewers
- Summary: Brief description of changes
- Reason: Why this change is needed
- Testing: What testing was performed
- Risks: Any known risks or concerns
Select specific reviewers (optional)
Submit request
Good Request Descriptions
Reviewing Changes#
When you're asked to review a promotion request, you have access to comprehensive information to make an informed decision:
Version Diff
See exactly what changed between the current production version and the proposed one.
Evaluation Results
View test results, quality scores, and comparisons to baseline.
Change History
See the full history of changes and who made them.
Previous Feedback
Review comments and discussions from earlier review rounds.
Open the approval request
Review the changes
Add comments if needed
Make your decision
Approval Decisions#
Reviewers can make one of three decisions:
| Decision | Icon | Effect | When to Use |
|---|---|---|---|
| Approve | Counts toward required approvals | Changes meet quality standards and are ready for promotion | |
| Request Changes | Blocks promotion until addressed | Changes need modifications before they can be approved | |
| Reject | Closes the request | Changes should not be promoted (fundamental issues, wrong approach) |
After receiving enough approvals, the promotion can proceed. If changes are requested or the request is rejected, the requester is notified and can make updates or submit a new request.
Approval Expiration
Approval Policies#
Different organizations have different needs. PromptReports supports flexible approval policies:
| Policy | Description | Use Case |
|---|---|---|
| Single Approver | Any one designated approver can approve | Small teams, low-risk prompts |
| Multiple Approvers | Require N approvals from any eligible approvers | Standard team review process |
| Specific Roles | Require approval from specific roles (e.g., tech lead AND product) | Cross-functional sign-off |
| Tiered Approval | Different requirements for different risk levels | Enterprise governance |
| Emergency Bypass | Allow bypass with audit log in critical situations | Production incidents |
Code Owner Rules
Automatically require approval from specific people based on what's being changed.
Time-Based Rules
Require additional approvals for changes during high-risk periods.
Notifications & Escalations#
Keep approval workflows moving with smart notifications:
| Notification | Recipients | Timing |
|---|---|---|
| New Request | All eligible approvers | Immediately when request is submitted |
| Reminder | Approvers who haven't reviewed | Configurable (e.g., after 24 hours) |
| Escalation | Managers or backup approvers | After deadline passes |
| Decision Made | Requester and other approvers | When someone approves/rejects |
| Changes Requested | Requester | When reviewer requests changes |
| Request Completed | All participants | When required approvals are met |
Configure escalation rules
Set reminder frequency
Define backup approvers
Vacation Mode
Audit Trail#
Every approval action is recorded in a comprehensive audit trail:
| Event | Recorded Information |
|---|---|
| Request Submitted | Who requested, when, version details, request context |
| Review Started | When each approver opened the request |
| Comment Added | Comment content, author, timestamp |
| Decision Made | Approve/reject/request changes, reason, timestamp |
| Changes Made | What was modified after feedback |
| Request Completed | Final status, all approvers, total duration |
| Bypass Used | Who bypassed, reason, authorization |
Access the audit trail from:
- Version History: See all approval events for a specific version
- Approval Dashboard: Organization-wide view of all approval activity
- Compliance Reports: Export audit data for compliance documentation
- API: Programmatically access audit events for integration with external systems
Best Practices#
Review Promptly
Aim to review requests within 24 hours to keep teams unblocked.
Be Thorough
Check diffs, test results, and context—don't just rubber-stamp approvals.
Share the Load
Distribute approval responsibilities to avoid bottlenecks.
Right-Size Requirements
Don't over-engineer—match approval rigor to actual risk level.
Approval Checklist
For Requesters:
- Provide comprehensive context in your request description
- Run all tests before requesting approval
- Address feedback promptly and update reviewers when done
- Tag specific reviewers if you need domain expertise
For Approvers:
- Prioritize approval requests—they often block others' work
- Use "Request Changes" instead of rejecting when issues are fixable
- Explain your decisions, especially rejections
- Set up vacation delegation to avoid blocking requests while away