Email Direct and Proxy Approvals

Managers do not need to log into Odyssey for routine approvals. Many systems, like CA Harvest, Microsoft Team Foundation Server, SharePoint and so forth require manager approval at stages of for actions like promotion, publication, and deployment. Odyssey can ease the process for the managers and integrate the entire activity more smoothly into the entire process.

When presented to the manager/Approver as part of the process, Odyssey can send an email with the high-level details of the approval request. The Approver acts, either by following hotlinks embedded in the email, or by replying to the email with “APPROVE” or “REJECT.” When Odyssey responds to the hotlinks or parses the email for “APPROVE” or “REJECT,” all details about the action are recorded in the transaction logs (the who, what, why) and will be available to later audit. The project then uses stored credentials (such as an “Odyssey Approver” account) and the appropriate Task Agents to interface with the systems and enact the approval or rejection.

Similarly, if that Manager/Approver is unavailable, that Manager (or their Manager) can proxy the authority to perform these actions to another manager. The cycle remains as above, and the transaction log captures who and when the proxy was authorized, and who used the proxy ability. All of this data ties together with Odyssey’s auditing to get a complete picture of what happened without burdening the managers with additional steps.