Governance Workflows

Standardizing Access Decisions

Governance Workflows are the operational engine of Identity Governance and Administration (IGA). They transform ad-hoc, manual access requests into structured, auditable, and automated journeys. By defining clear routing rules—who can request what, who must approve it, and how it is fulfilled—workflows ensure that every permission granted is a “Deliberate Act of Security” rather than a byproduct of administrative convenience.

Core Mission

Balancing Velocity and Verification. Ensuring that legitimate access requests are fulfilled in minutes through automation, while high-risk requests are gated by rigorous human oversight and policy validation.

Like a Digital Notary: In the physical world, some documents just need a signature (Self-service), while others require a public notary to verify your identity and witness the signing (Manager approval). Truly critical contracts might require several witnesses and a legal review (Multi-tier escalation). Governance workflows are the digital equivalent—automatically determining the necessary "witnesses" based on the risk level of the request.

Access Requests / Approval Chains / Fulfillment

Workflow Strategy Matrix

The complexity of a workflow should scale with the risk of the requested access.

Strategic Routing Comparison

Pattern	Trigger	Complexity	Strategic Goal
Self-Service	User Request.	Low	Maximum velocity for non-sensitive apps.
Manager-Led	User Request.	Medium	Basic accountability for departmental tools.
Resource-Owner	High-Risk Data.	High	Data-centric security (Owner knows best).
Automated	HR / Policy Event.	None	Zero-friction “Birthright” access.

The Approval Lifecycle

A mature governance workflow follows a predictable state machine to ensure compliance and auditability.

stateDiagram-v2
    [*] --> Draft: User Init
    Draft --> Submitted: Policy Check
    Submitted --> InReview: Routing Logic
    InReview --> Approved: Multi-Signatory
    InReview --> Rejected: Risk/Denial
    Approved --> Provisioning: Scripted / SCIM
    Provisioning --> Completed: Verified Access
    Completed --> [*]

Validate & Route

The system performs an immediate policy check (e.g., SoD conflict detection). If valid, it calculates the "Approval Path" based on the user's role and the resource's sensitivity.

Review & Decide

Approvers receive notifications with context (Who, What, Why, Risk Score). Decisions are recorded with timestamps and comments, forming the basis of the future audit trail.

Fulfill & Close

Upon final approval, the provisioning engine (SCIM or API) executes the change. The user is notified, and the workflow instance is archived as an immutable record of the decision.

Workflow Engine Architecture

For architects building custom governance engines, these core interfaces define the necessary orchestration logic.

Core Components (TypeScript)

// Workflow engine orchestration logic
interface WorkflowEngine {
  definitionStore: WorkflowDefinitionStore; // Policy repository
  instanceStore: WorkflowInstanceStore;     // Running state
  taskManager: TaskManager;                 // Human notification/queue
  routingEngine: RoutingEngine;             // Dynamic approver resolution
  provisioningService: ProvisioningService; // "The Doer" (SCIM/API)
  auditLogger: AuditLogger;                 // Compliance storage
}

interface WorkflowDefinition {
  id: string;
  triggerType: 'request' | 'provision' | 'schedule';
  steps: WorkflowStep[];
  slaConfig: { timeout: number; escalation: string }; // Prevent bottle-necks
}

Technical Implementation Guides

Master the patterns for high-integrity access orchestration.

Next Steps

Explore Dynamic Routing Rules for complex, multi-variable approval logic.
Review Escalation Patterns to handle unresponsive approvers and SLA breaches.
Check Delegated Administration for allowing teams to manage their own approval chains.