✔️ Approval Workflows MVP¶

Scope: Simple approval tracking for our customers' compliance needs Status: Basic evidence collection, not complex routing Target Users: Companies with boards needing approval documentation Reality: Track decisions made elsewhere, don't enforce them

The Only "Workflows" We Need¶

1. Customer Access Approval¶

New Customer Request: 1. Sales/Founder evaluates fit
  2. Tech confirms we can support them
  3. Create tenant in Kinde
  4. Send welcome email

Time: Same day (usually 1 hour)

2. Feature Flag Approval¶

Enable Feature for Customer: 1. Customer requests feature
  2. Check if it's ready (is it tested?)
  3. Toggle flag in Supabase
  4. Notify customer

Time: 15 minutes

3. Critical Security Decision¶

Security Issue Found: 1. Whoever finds it fixes it
  2. Deploy immediately
  3. Tell team in Slack
  4. Update affected customers

Time: ASAP (drop everything)

What Our CUSTOMERS Need (Not Us)¶

Board Approval Tracking (Their Process)¶

interface BoardApproval {
  item: string // "Password Policy Update"
  requester: string // "IT Manager"
  approver: string // "Board" or "CEO"
  status: 'pending' | 'approved' | 'rejected'
  date: Date
  evidence?: string // Link to board minutes
}

// Simple UI for THEM to track THEIR approvals
// We just store it, we don't enforce it

Policy Acknowledgment Flow¶

1. Admin uploads new policy
2. System notifies affected users
3. Users read and acknowledge
4. Dashboard shows completion %
5. Automated reminder after 7 days

No complex routing - just track who clicked "I Acknowledge"

Implementation in GetCimple¶

Database Schema¶

-- For customer's approval tracking (not ours)
CREATE TABLE approval_items (
  id UUID PRIMARY KEY,
  title TEXT NOT NULL,
  description TEXT,
  requester_id UUID REFERENCES users(id),
  approver_role TEXT, -- 'board', 'ceo', 'cfo'
  status TEXT DEFAULT 'pending',
  approved_by UUID REFERENCES users(id),
  approved_at TIMESTAMPTZ,
  tenant_id UUID NOT NULL,
  created_at TIMESTAMPTZ DEFAULT NOW()
);

-- Simple policy acknowledgments
CREATE TABLE policy_acknowledgments (
  id UUID PRIMARY KEY,
  policy_id UUID REFERENCES policies(id),
  user_id UUID REFERENCES users(id),
  acknowledged_at TIMESTAMPTZ DEFAULT NOW(),
  ip_address INET,
  tenant_id UUID NOT NULL,
  UNIQUE(policy_id, user_id)
);

API Endpoints¶

// For customers to track their approvals
POST   /api/approvals          // Create approval request
PATCH  /api/approvals/:id      // Update status
GET    /api/approvals/pending  // List pending items

// Policy acknowledgments
POST   /api/policies/:id/acknowledge
GET    /api/policies/:id/acknowledgments
GET    /api/policies/pending   // For current user

Simple UI Components¶

<!-- Approval Status Badge -->
<script>
  export let status;
  const colors = {
    pending: 'yellow',
    approved: 'green',
    rejected: 'red'
  };
</script>

<span class="badge badge-{colors[status]}">
  {status}
</span>

<!-- One-Click Acknowledge -->
<button
  on:click={acknowledgePolicy}
  disabled={acknowledged}
>
  {acknowledged ? '✓ Acknowledged' : 'I Acknowledge'}
</button>

Notifications (Keep It Simple)¶

Email Templates¶

Subject: New Policy Requires Acknowledgment

Hi {name},

A new policy "{policy_name}" requires your acknowledgment.

[View and Acknowledge Policy] → One click

This link expires in 30 days.

Dashboard Widgets¶

┌───────────────────────────────┐
│ Pending Acknowledgments      │
├───────────────────────────────┤
│ • Password Policy (3 days)   │
│ • Remote Work Policy (new)   │
│                               │
│ [Acknowledge All] button      │
└───────────────────────────────┘

What We're NOT Building¶

Enterprise Theater We Avoid¶

Multi-step approval chains
Role-based routing rules
Delegation matrices
Escalation workflows
SLA tracking
Complex state machines

Why We Don't Need It¶

Our customers have 10-50 employees
Their board meets monthly
Decisions are documented, not automated
They need evidence, not enforcement

Metrics That Matter¶

For Our Customers¶

% Policies acknowledged
Average time to acknowledge
Upcoming board items
Overdue approvals

For Us (Internal)¶

Feature adoption rate
Time to onboard customer
Support tickets about approvals
Customer satisfaction

Future Considerations¶

If Customers Request (Post-MVP)¶

Bulk acknowledgment management
Approval delegation during leave
Integration with board meeting tools
Compliance report inclusion

Signs We Need More¶

Customers asking repeatedly
Losing deals due to missing feature
Clear ROI on complexity
We have > 1 developer

Implementation Priority¶

Week 1: Core Storage¶

Approval items table
Basic CRUD API
Simple list view

Week 2: Acknowledgments¶

Policy acknowledgment tracking
Email notifications
Dashboard widget

Week 3: Polish¶

Better notifications
Bulk operations
Basic reporting

The Bottom Line¶

For Us: No approval workflows - we're 3 people For Customers: Simple tracking of their approvals Focus: Evidence collection, not enforcement Complexity: Add only when revenue justifies it

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