Module 17: Copilot + Power Automate Workflows
Lesson 17.3: Building a Simple Approval Workflow
Lesson Promise
Design an approval flow with clear trigger, approver, decision, notification, and audit trail.
Real-World Scenario
A marketing team wants campaign requests submitted by form, reviewed by a manager, and then routed to a planner if approved.
Core Concept
Approvals are one of the strongest beginner automation patterns because they keep human decision-making visible.
A good approval flow defines request fields, approver, approval type, timeout, notification, outcome, and audit needs.
Copilot can help draft flow logic and approval messages, but a human should review business rules before launch.
Step-By-Step Workflow
- Define the request intake source.
- List required fields and validation rules.
- Choose approver, approval type, and timeout or escalation behavior.
- Define approved and rejected branches.
- Send clear notifications to requestor and next owner.
- Test submitted, approved, rejected, missing-data, and no-response cases.
Prompt Lab
Bad Prompt
Create an approval flow.
Better Prompt
When a campaign request form is submitted, send approval to the marketing manager, then notify the requestor and planner based on the result.
Expert Prompt
Design a Power Automate approval workflow for campaign requests. Include trigger, required fields, validation, approval type, approver, timeout, escalation, approved branch, rejected branch, notifications, audit trail, failure handling, DLP concerns, and test cases.
Hands-On Exercise
Create the blueprint for a simple approval flow.
Deliverable
An approval workflow blueprint with test cases.
Automation Safety Checklist
Common Mistakes
- Automating a broken process instead of simplifying it first.
- Skipping exception paths, retries, and failure notifications.
- Moving sensitive data through connectors without checking DLP and permissions.
- Creating approval flows without clear approvers, timeouts, and audit expectations.
- Leaving a flow ownerless after launch.
Quiz / Checkpoint
Why are approvals a good automation pattern?
They automate routing and records while preserving human decision authority and an audit trail.
Official Sources To Verify
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