🔎 PHASE 1 — Approval Requirement Reconstruction Business Objective Enable employees to obtain controlled production database access while ensuring that business, resource-owner, and security authorization requirements are satisfied before provisioning. Requirement Classification Requirement Source Classification Confidence Manager approval required Policy DOCUMENTED RULE High Database Owner approval required Policy DOCUMENTED RULE High Security approval for high-risk access Policy DOCUMENTED RULE High Access must be time-limited Policy DOCUMENTED RULE High Employee submits request Roles EXPLICIT REQUIREMENT High Provision only after required approvals Governance EXPLICIT REQUIREMENT High Reminder notifications Automation EXPLICIT REQUIREMENT High No automatic approval Automation input DOCUMENTED RULE High Delegation behavior Missing UNRESOLVED OWNER DECISION High Exact timeout duration Missing UNRESOLVED OWNER DECISION High Exact expiration mechanism Missing UNRESOLVED OWNER DECISION High Material-change reapproval rule Missing detail UNRESOLVED OWNER DECISION High Approval instance/state representation Engineering need PROPOSED DESIGN Medium Immutable audit event model Engineering structure PROPOSED DESIGN Medium --- 👥 PHASE 2 — Actor, Role & Authority Model Actor Responsibility Approval Authority Scope Restrictions Delegation Employee Submit request None Own requests Cannot approve own request Undocumented Manager Validate business need Yes Employee's access request Must be eligible Undocumented Database Owner Validate resource access Yes Owned database Must be eligible Undocumented Security Reviewer Review high-risk access Yes High-risk requests Required only when applicable Undocumented Provisioning System Execute approved access None Authorized requests Cannot decide policy approval N/A Administrator System administration Not established Not established No approval authority should be assumed Undocumented Key Governance Rule A user having administrative access to the workflow system does not automatically establish approval authority. --- 🧩 PHASE 3 — Approval Object & State Model Confirmed / Required Concepts Request Approval decision Reviewer assignment Approval stage Provisioning authorization Audit event Proposed Structural States These are engineering structures, not documented organizational policy: DRAFT ↓ SUBMITTED ↓ PENDING_APPROVAL ↓ PARTIALLY_APPROVED ↓ APPROVED ↓ PROVISIONING_AUTHORIZED ↓ PROVISIONED Alternative paths: PENDING_APPROVAL ↓ REJECTED PENDING_APPROVAL ↓ RETURNED_FOR_CORRECTION ↓ SUBMITTED For material changes: APPROVED ↓ AMENDED ↓ RE_APPROVAL_REQUIRED ↓ PENDING_APPROVAL These transition structures are PROPOSED DESIGN unless confirmed by the organization. --- 🔀 PHASE 4 — Workflow Path & Transition Architecture Standard Read-Only Request Employee submits request ↓ Validate request ↓ Manager Review ↓ Database Owner Review ↓ All mandatory approvals satisfied ↓ Provisioning Gate ↓ IAM Provisioning Transition Matrix Current State Trigger Actor Preconditions Next State Side Effect Draft Submit Employee Required data present Submitted Audit submission Submitted Validation succeeds System Valid request Pending Approval Assign reviewers Pending Approval Manager approves Manager Eligible reviewer Partially Approved Record decision Partially Approved DB Owner approves DB Owner Eligible reviewer Approved Record decision Pending Approval Required reviewer rejects Reviewer Eligible reviewer Rejected Notify employee Returned for Correction Corrected request submitted Employee Correction complete Pending Approval Create new version Approved Provisioning gate passes System All gates satisfied Provisioning Authorized Emit provisioning event Provisioning Authorized IAM succeeds System Valid authorization Provisioned Audit provisioning --- 🛡️ PHASE 5 — Reviewer Eligibility & Approval Authority Manager Potential eligibility checks: Reviewer is the requester's authorized manager. Reviewer has active identity. Reviewer is not the requester. Reviewer has authority for the request scope. Database Owner Potential eligibility checks: Reviewer is registered as owner of the requested database. Reviewer is active. Reviewer is not the requester. Reviewer has authority over the requested resource. Security Reviewer Eligibility applies only when the request meets the documented high-risk condition. Important Unresolved Rule The policy does not establish whether eligibility is evaluated: 1. Only when the reviewer is assigned. 2. Only when the reviewer clicks Approve. 3. Both times. Owner decision required. --- 🤖 PHASE 6 — Automation & Delegation Logic Decision Classification Reason Send reminder Rule-based automation Explicitly permitted Determine whether Security review is required Conditional automation Based on documented risk classification Grant approval automatically Human-only No automatic approval documented Provision after valid approvals Rule-based automation Explicit provisioning requirement Delegate manager authority Unresolved No delegation rule documented Delegation Current specification: Delegation is not authorized by the supplied policy. The system should therefore not automatically invent delegation behavior. Potential owner decisions: Delegation allowed or prohibited? Who can delegate? What authority can be delegated? Can the delegate approve high-risk access? What happens to existing assignments when delegation expires? --- 🧮 PHASE 7 — Approval Aggregation & Quorum Logic Standard Access Condition Required Decisions Aggregation Result Standard read-only Manager + DB Owner Both required Approved Manager approves + DB Owner approves Both ALL Approved Manager approves + DB Owner rejects One rejection Mandatory approval failure Rejected Manager approves + missing DB Owner Incomplete ALL Remains pending Duplicate Manager approval Same approval repeated Duplicate rejected Existing decision retained Ineligible approval Reviewer not eligible Invalid Decision not counted High-Risk Access Documented requirement: Manager approval + Database Owner approval + Security approval = Required approval set The policy does not document quorum alternatives such as "2 of 3." Therefore: No quorum reduction should be invented. --- ⏱️ PHASE 8 — Timeout, Expiration & Escalation Known Access must be time-limited. Reminder automation is permitted. Unknown Timer Status Reviewer response deadline ❓ UNRESOLVED Reminder interval ❓ UNRESOLVED Escalation timing ❓ UNRESOLVED Approval expiration ❓ UNRESOLVED Access expiration Required, exact duration unresolved Business-hour calculation ❓ UNRESOLVED Holiday handling ❓ UNRESOLVED Critical Principle No response must not be interpreted as approval. Possible design: Pending Approval ↓ Deadline reached ↓ Escalation / expiration But the exact behavior requires an owner decision. --- ✏️ PHASE 9 — Corrections, Amendments & Re-Approval Proposed Change Classification Change Suggested Treatment Status Typographical correction No approval impact if non-material PROPOSED Database changed Re-evaluation PROPOSED Access level changed Re-approval PROPOSED Read → Write Re-approval PROPOSED Risk level increases Security review required Based on documented risk rule Supporting evidence changed Re-evaluate PROPOSED Request scope changed Re-approval PROPOSED Versioning Each request should have: Request ID Request Version Approval Instance ID Approval Decision ID Policy Version Timestamp Actor ID This is a PROPOSED ENGINEERING DESIGN. --- 🔐 PHASE 10 — Approval Validity & Provisioning Gates Approval is not automatically equivalent to provisioning authorization. Provisioning Gate Gate Required Condition Validation Failure G1 Request submitted Request validation Block G2 Manager approval Valid manager decision Block G3 DB Owner approval Valid owner decision Block G4 Security approval when high-risk Risk evaluation Block G5 No rejection Decision evaluation Block G6 Required evidence present Evidence validation Block G7 Access validity period present Request validation Block G8 No re-approval pending Version validation Block G9 Authorization not expired Time validation Block G10 IAM provisioning available Integration validation Block Only when all applicable gates pass: APPROVED ↓ PROVISIONING AUTHORIZED ↓ IAM EXECUTION --- 🔄 PHASE 11 — Exception, Rejection & Failure Handling Failure Detection State Recovery Human Action Audit Manager rejects Decision event Rejected New request/correction according to policy Employee Required DB Owner rejects Decision event Rejected New request/correction Employee Required Invalid reviewer Eligibility check Pending / Assignment Error Reassign Workflow admin Required Duplicate approval Decision validation Existing state Ignore/reject duplicate None unless needed Required Notification failure Delivery failure Existing state Retry Admin if persistent Required IAM provisioning failure Integration response Provisioning Blocked Retry/investigate Operator Required Automation failure System error Existing safe state Retry/manual intervention Authorized operator Required Expired authorization Timer Provisioning Blocked New authorization Owner/requester Required No failure should silently produce an approval. --- 📋 PHASE 12 — Policy-to-Requirement Traceability Policy / Rule Req ID Workflow Behavior Component Validation Status Manager approval required REQ-001 Manager stage mandatory Workflow Engine Approval test Confirmed DB Owner approval required REQ-002 Owner stage mandatory Workflow Engine Approval test Confirmed Security for high-risk REQ-003 Conditional Security stage Rules Engine Risk tests Confirmed Time-limited access REQ-004 Expiration required IAM/Workflow Expiration test Confirmed Rejected requests not provisioned REQ-005 Provisioning gate blocks rejection Workflow/IAM Rejection test Confirmed Reminder automation REQ-006 Automated reminders Notification Service Timer test Confirmed Delegation REQ-007 Not yet defined Workflow Engine Owner decision Unresolved Approval timeout REQ-008 Not yet defined Workflow Engine Owner decision Unresolved --- 🧪 PHASE 13 — Workflow Validation & Test Design Test 1 — Standard Approval Input: Read-only production access. Expected: Submitted → Pending Approval → Manager Approved → DB Owner Approved → Approved → Provisioning Authorized → Provisioned Audit must contain both approval decisions. Test 2 — Manager Rejects Submitted → Pending Approval → Manager Rejects → Rejected Provisioning must not execute. Test 3 — High-Risk Access Submitted → Manager Approval → DB Owner Approval → Security Approval → Approved Security approval is mandatory when the documented high-risk condition applies. Test 4 — Missing Approval Manager approves but Database Owner has not responded. Expected: Partially Approved Provisioning remains blocked. Test 5 — Ineligible Reviewer A user without database-owner authority attempts approval. Expected: Approval rejected as unauthorized The invalid decision must not satisfy the approval requirement. Test 6 — Duplicate Decision The same reviewer submits two approval actions. Expected: First valid decision retained. Duplicate rejected/ignored. Audit event recorded. Test 7 — Provisioning Failure All approvals are valid but IAM provisioning fails. Expected: Approved → Provisioning Authorized → Provisioning Blocked The failure must not change the approval history. --- ⚠️ PHASE 14 — Ambiguity, Conflict & Policy Gap Analysis ID Severity Missing Rule Impact Owner GAP-001 Critical Exact access duration Could grant excessive access Security/Policy Owner GAP-002 High Approval timeout Requests could remain indefinitely pending Workflow Owner GAP-003 High Delegation rules Cannot safely replace unavailable approvers Governance Owner GAP-004 High Approval expiration Unclear how long approval remains usable Security Owner GAP-005 High Amendment classification Existing approval validity unclear Policy Owner GAP-006 Medium Escalation behavior Delayed approvals Workflow Owner GAP-007 Medium Business-hour calculation Timer inconsistency Workflow Owner GAP-008 Medium Reviewer eligibility timing Potential stale authority IAM Owner Example Owner Decision GAP-001: Access Duration Known: Access must be time-limited. Missing: Exact maximum duration. Whether duration varies by risk level. Possible proposals: Fixed maximum duration. Risk-based maximum duration. Owner-defined duration within a policy maximum. These are proposals, not policy. --- 🏗️ PHASE 15 — Engineering Specification Architecture Data Model Request Proposed fields: request_id request_version requester_id resource_id access_type risk_level requested_start requested_end status policy_version created_at updated_at Approval Instance approval_instance_id request_id request_version stage required_role assigned_reviewer status assigned_at completed_at Approval Decision decision_id approval_instance_id actor_id decision timestamp reason policy_version request_version Audit Event event_id request_id event_type actor_id timestamp previous_state new_state request_version policy_version evidence_reference These field definitions are PROPOSED ENGINEERING STRUCTURES, not claims about an existing database. --- API / Service Requirements Proposed operations: CreateRequest SubmitRequest AssignReviewer ApproveRequest RejectRequest ReturnForCorrection AmendRequest CancelRequest EvaluateApproval EvaluateProvisioningGate ProvisionAccess RecordAuditEvent Authorization must be evaluated server-side. The client must never be trusted to declare that an actor is eligible. --- Workflow Engine Must support: State transitions Conditional approval stages Reviewer eligibility Parallel/mandatory stages Timers Notifications Rejection handling Version tracking Re-approval Provisioning gates --- 🔔 Event & Notification Requirements Proposed events: REQUEST_SUBMITTED APPROVAL_ASSIGNED APPROVAL_GRANTED APPROVAL_REJECTED REQUEST_RETURNED REQUEST_AMENDED REAPPROVAL_REQUIRED PROVISIONING_AUTHORIZED PROVISIONING_FAILED ACCESS_PROVISIONED ACCESS_EXPIRED Notifications should never themselves modify approval state unless explicitly authorized by policy. --- 📜 PHASE 16 — Final Approval Workflow Specification 1. Executive Summary The workflow controls production database access through mandatory authorization stages. Standard access requires: Manager Approval + Database Owner Approval High-risk access additionally requires: Security Approval Provisioning occurs only after all applicable approvals and provisioning gates are satisfied. --- 2. Source-of-Truth Classification 📜 Documented Rules Manager approval. Database Owner approval. Security approval for high-risk access. Time-limited access. Rejected requests cannot be provisioned. 📌 Explicit Requirements Employee submits request. Approval decisions are auditable. Reminder notifications may be automated. IAM performs downstream provisioning. 🧱 Structural Defaults None should be treated as organizational policy. 💡 Proposed Designs State machine structure. Approval-instance entity. Request-version model. Immutable audit events. Provisioning authorization state. Server-side eligibility validation. ❓ Owner Decisions Required Delegation. Approval timeout. Escalation. Exact access duration. Approval expiration. Amendment classification. Re-approval rules. Business-hour timer calculation. --- 🔐 Approval Rule Matrix Rule ID Condition Reviewer Requirement Aggregation Outcome AR-001 Standard access Manager Approve ALL Continue AR-002 Standard access DB Owner Approve ALL Approve AR-003 High-risk access Security Approve ALL Approve AR-004 Any mandatory rejection Relevant reviewer Reject Mandatory failure Reject AR-005 Missing mandatory decision Assigned reviewer None Incomplete Remain pending --- 🛡️ Provisioning Gate Request Valid AND Required Approvals Valid AND No Rejection AND No Re-approval Required AND Required Evidence Present AND Access Validity Defined AND Authorization Not Expired AND Provisioning Prerequisites Satisfied ↓ PROVISIONING AUTHORIZED --- 🧾 Audit Model Every approval decision should retain: Actor identity Actor role Decision Timestamp Request ID Request version Approval instance Policy version Evidence/reference Previous state Resulting state Corrections and amendments must not overwrite historical decisions. --- 🧪 Highest-Value Test Set 1. Standard request with all approvals. 2. Manager rejection. 3. Database Owner rejection. 4. High-risk request requiring Security approval. 5. Missing mandatory approval. 6. Unauthorized reviewer attempt. 7. Duplicate approval. 8. Request correction. 9. Material amendment. 10. Re-approval after amendment. 11. Approval expiration. 12. Reviewer timeout. 13. Delegation attempt. 14. Notification failure. 15. IAM provisioning failure. 16. Race condition where two reviewers act simultaneously. 17. Request cancellation while approval is pending. 18. Policy version changes during an active request. --- 🧭 Final Engineering Blueprint ┌──────────────────┐ │ Employee Request │ └────────┬─────────┘ ↓ ┌──────────────────┐ │ Request Validate │ └────────┬─────────┘ ↓ ┌──────────────────┐ │ Manager Approval │ └────────┬─────────┘ ↓ ┌──────────────────┐ │ Database Owner │ │ Approval │ └────────┬─────────┘ ↓ ┌──────────────────┐ │ High Risk? │ └──────┬─────┬─────┘ Yes No ↓ │ ┌────────────┐ │ │ Security │ │ │ Approval │ │ └─────┬──────┘ │ └────┬───┘ ↓ ┌──────────────────┐ │ Approval & Policy│ │ Validation │ └────────┬─────────┘ ↓ ┌──────────────────┐ │ Provisioning │ │ Gates │ └────────┬─────────┘ ↓ ┌──────────────────┐ │ IAM Provisioning │ └────────┬─────────┘ ↓ ┌──────────────────┐ │ Audit + Evidence │ └──────────────────┘ 🎯 Core Traceability Documented Policy → Requirement → Approval Rule → Workflow Transition → Provisioning Gate → Test → Audit Evidence The most important unresolved items are access duration, timeout, escalation, expiration, delegation, and amendment/re-approval rules. They should be resolved by the appropriate policy/governance owners before production implementation.