Approval Workflow and Governance¶
Alation Cloud Service Applies to Alation Cloud Service instances of Alation
The Approval Requests feature introduces a governed, auditable process for creating and updating Data Quality monitors in Alation. It ensures that all monitor configurations are reviewed and approved before becoming active, providing organizations with the control and accountability required for production-grade data quality operations. No monitor can be created or updated without going through the approval process (unless the user is an exempt admin). This ensures governance, traceability, and accountability across all data quality operations.
The approval process uses three primary roles:
Author: Creates and edits monitor drafts. An Author submits monitors for approval but cannot activate them without it.
Approver: Reviews submissions from Authors. An Approver can approve a monitor, request changes, or deny the request.
Admin (Bypass): A user who can bypass the approval process and publish monitors directly.
Submit a Monitor for Approval¶
When you create a new monitor, you must submit it for review before it can become active and run checks.
Complete the monitor setup steps as described in Add a Monitor.
In the final setup step, locate the Approval Settings section.
Select the approvers to notify. By default, all members of the configured approver group are notified.
Click Create Monitor.
The monitor enters a Pending Review state and appears in the global Approval Requests tab. The monitor is not active until an approver approves it.
Update an Existing Monitor¶
Changes to an active monitor also require approval. All edits across the Settings and Manage Checks tabs are batched into a single update request.
Navigate to the active monitor that you want to update as described in Manage Monitors.
Make the required changes.
Click Update Monitor.
Confirm that all batched changes are complete and ready for review.
Click Submit for Review.
The monitor update enters the approval queue, and the active monitor continues to run with its last approved configuration.
Review an Approval Request¶
As an approver, you can review, comment on, and approve or deny requests from the Approval Requests tab.
Navigate to the Approval Requests tab.
Click View Request in the row of the monitor you want to evaluate.
On the monitor’s summary page, click Review to open the review dialog.
Assess the configuration on the Proposed Changes tab. This view highlights what was added, updated, or removed.
Navigate to the Comments tab to view the submission history or add comments for the author.
Select one of the following actions:
Approve & Create Monitor: Activates the monitor and moves it to the Monitors tab.
Request Changes: Notifies the author that the request requires changes. The request returns to a draft state for the author.
Deny: Rejects the monitor and closes the request.
Approval Workflow States¶
The lifecycle of a monitor follows these states during the approval process.
State |
Description |
Who Can Act |
|---|---|---|
Draft |
A monitor is being created or edited. No notifications are sent. |
Author |
Pending Review |
An author submits the monitor for approval. Approvers are notified. |
Approver |
Changes Requested |
An approver requests changes. Ownership returns to the author. |
Author |
Approved |
The monitor is active and runs on its configured schedule. |
N/A |
Denied |
The request is closed. The monitor is not activated or updated. |
N/A |