Quality management approval and a business travel app with SharePoint and the Power Platform

Libraries for each role in the quality management approval process

I restructured the process: instead of one library with complex exceptions, there is a master library for published quality management documents and four working libraries for the author, content review, formal review, and approval. Each library shows only the columns that are relevant in that step and is accessible only to the respective role.

A document moves from stage to stage via Power Automate. The flow copies the file to the next library, transfers the metadata, sets the creator and editor correctly via the SharePoint REST API, and removes the file from the previous stage.

• Master library plus four working libraries with around 30 documented columns each
• Default view "My documents" per library, filtered to your own or assigned documents
• Approval or rejection either via SharePoint content approval or a status field in the form
• Comments per stage, additionally accumulated across all runs
• Managed metadata for process assignment, lookup columns for business area, service area, and facility

Automatically maintained permissions

For each role, there is a SharePoint list with the authorized people and their business area. These lists also provide the choice values for the reviewer fields in the form. A nightly flow per role reconciles the members of the associated SharePoint group with the list via the REST API, removes people who are no longer authorized, and adds new ones.

• Four SharePoint groups with their own permission levels per review role
• Daily reconciliation at midnight via SharePoint REST (siteGroups, roleDefinitions)
• Additional manual flow for correcting document permissions

Publication, Word templates, and approval log

After approval, the flow writes the document properties into the content controls of the Word template so that the header and footer always show the current status. The document is then published in the master library as a new major version, and an entry is created in the approval log.

The approval log stores all values at the time of approval as text. This way, the information is preserved even if a list entry or a user account changes later.

• Filling the Word content controls with Word Online (Business)
• Separate error path for an unsupported Word format with a notice to the responsible person
• Publication notices sent immediately or grouped into a weekly notification
• Notification to stored email distribution lists via child flows called over HTTP

Review of published documents

During the formal review, it is determined after how many months a document must be reviewed again. A daily flow identifies documents that are due and starts the review. In addition, an ad hoc review can be triggered via a yes/no field or manually. The document then goes back to the author or content review and goes through the approval process again.

• Review periods of 6, 12, 18, 24, or 30 months (default 24)
• Daily review flow that starts the review process through HTTP-triggered flows
• Ad hoc review with up to four retries when reading the changes

Canvas app for business travel requests and travel expense reports

Based on a process analysis and a sketch, I built a canvas app with five screens: start, overview, travel request, travel expense report, and error view. The request and the expense report form one record that moves through the process via its status.

The app identifies managers through Office 365 Users, accounts for permissions such as submitting requests for other people, and calculates meal per diem allowances, deductions for provided meals, the mileage allowance, and travel and accommodation costs to arrive at the final reimbursement amount.

• Five screens, six custom components (including app bar, quick search, tabs, and action bar)
• Request overview with search, filter, and a view per role (requester, traveler, approver)
• Copy function to create a new draft from an existing trip
• Receipts as attachments directly on the request
• Direct access to a request from the approval email via URL parameters
• Central error handling via App.OnError and a dedicated error view

Approval workflows with delegation and a travel expense voucher

Two flows control the approval, one for the travel request and one for the expense report. They start only at a specific status and use approvals with attachments. If a delegate is stored for the approver, the delegate is included, and the result distinguishes between the intended person and the person who actually decided.

After the expense report is approved, the flow generates a travel expense voucher from a Word template, converts it to PDF, and notifies accounting. Every 15 minutes, a third flow updates the status of trips that have ended.

• Status-driven SharePoint triggers with trigger conditions
• Exceptions to the approval process configurable per person
• Timeout path after 30 days with a status change and notification
• Travel expense voucher as a PDF from a Word template via Word Online (Business) and OneDrive
• More than 380 actions in the three core flows

Environments, solutions, and operations

I developed the quality management flows in a sandbox and moved them to production after a beta test. The business travel solution moved from the default environment to a dedicated production environment and is now available as a Power Platform solution with connection references. Regular backups of all flows, the app, and the SharePoint lists are part of operations.

• Environment detection in the app and flows so that links and identifiers are correct for each environment
• Solution with six connection references (SharePoint, Outlook, Approvals, Entra ID, Word Online, and OneDrive)
• Separation of the technical service account and the support account when switching to a new environment
• Monthly backups of the flows over more than a year