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Both the Attribute Value field and the Sequence Order field are keys for the approval setting. The value can be either a specific value or a wildcard. Every new value added to the attribute is checked against all approvers' configurations to see if any match the pattern. If so, the approver is added to the list.
Setting the Attribute Value to "Admin*" means that all new values starting with Admin require approval by the defined approver. Therefore, adding the three values "Administrator", "Administration Officer", and "Manager" results in the first two requiring approval.
A value may be defined in multiple settings. This results in several approvers having to approve the same value. A value is considered to be approved only if approved by all who were resolved for it, and rejected if any have rejected it.
In addition, a single approver may be resolved for more than one value, either by having to approve a range of values (like "*") or by showing in multiple settings. All values which a single approver must approve is concatenated into a single approval task opened for that approver. They are then able to partially approve the request.
Note: Values that are requested and do not match any approver settings are considered to be approved and are updated automatically in the user's record.
The sequence is used to define sequential approval steps. The order starts with 1, being the first approver that must approve the value. After a value is approved by all sequence 1 approvers, it is checked against sequence 2, and so on.
The approvers are recalculated every time a value is moved into a new sequence. This happens at the beginning of the request when entering sequence 1, or when a value is approved by all approvers needed at a specific level, and is now checked against the next level. Only approved values pass on to the next sequence.
Because the approvers list is dynamically calculated, changes to the setting while an approval is running may affect the flow of the approval.
Note: A value may require approval at sequence 1, but not at sequence 2. This would mean that the value is approved, even if the rest of the values continue in the process.
Example
There are two approvers defined in the system, one to approve all values for the attribute at sequence 1, and the other to approve a specific value at sequence 2. This means that the first approver (for example, the manager) must approve all values requested for the user. If the value for which the second approver is configured has been approved, then it must be approved again, this time by the second approver. All other values approved at sequence 1 that do not require further approval are updated in the user's record.
The combination of the value and the sequence is what defines parallel and sequential approval.