This article will help you understand the basic approval methods used by Shopping (1E’s Enterprise App Store) and what happens along the way. It is not just for techies who want to know what 1E Shopping does under the covers. I hope you approve!
One of Shopping’s strengths is its request and approval workflow engine. Shopping’s architecture allows for independent development of the Portal, which has seen significant changes since Shopping was first released, as well as language localization, improved integration with ConfigMgr, support for OS deployment, integration with AppClarity and many administration features.
Furthermore, this engine is the framework for integration with 3rd party systems like ServiceNow, Remedy and HP Service Manager.
The 3 diagrams below show the request and approval workflow for installation and uninstallation of Shopping applications, which also support rental and AD integration features. The workflow starts with a Shopper requesting an application and finishes with either a cancellation, approval rejection or installation. Uninstallation follows the same workflow but does not require approvals.
The numbered red boxes indicate where workflow scripts can be triggered, which allow for integration with 3rd party systems, and can modify data in preparation for later steps. Shopping Admin Console settings specify which combination of workflow scripts are used, although script logic can override. Out-of-the box scripts are templates and written in vbscript. The parameters that are passed to each workflow script are described in our public documentation at https://help.1e.com.
The text in blue represent the names of email template files. Email templates use XSLT and can be customized to present more or less information, with simple HTML for email headers and footers. XSLT uses logic to insert content into emails depending on email parameters, therefore the same template can be used for installation and uninstallation, for example. The parameters that are passed to each email template are described in our public documentation at https://help.1e.com. For workflow steps that include emails and scripts, emails are sent before the script is run.
Different lists of Approvers can be defined for each application in Shopping. Each application can have either a “chain” of Approvers so that each Approver in a chain must approve in turn; or a list of “any” Approvers so that anyone in the list of Approvers can approve the request. Any application that requires approval shows up in the Portal with a special icon.
An Approver can be an individual user, or an email-enabled AD group of users, or the Shopper’s line manager if that is defined in each Shopper’s AD account. A deputy Approver (or group) can also be defined for each Approver (or group).
All Approvers must have email enabled AD accounts, so that they can receive requests for approval. Emails are actually sent by Shopping Central’s service account, but appear as if they are sent by the Shopper, Approver or Administrator.
There are alternative ways to configure approvals for categories/branches of computers but more of that another day.
If you’d like to learn more, you can:
Watch a live interactive demo 1E’s Enterprise App Store – Shopping
Read this whitepaper explaining the integration with ServiceNow
Browse our Shopping Faqs
