How do I to create a non-linear routing system?

Bethany Parmer

I am working on an approval routing system that is sequential, but is unique depending on who is filling out our form. I need a workflow that will rout based on the conditions below:

1. Supervisor only
2. Supervisor & Department Director
3. Supervisor, Program Director, & Department Director

In the workflow currently created, I receive an error that Department Director approval column cannot be listed for routing in both the second and third option listed above. The sheet contains a column with a trigger word that is listed as a condition in the workflow to tell the system which rout to take. To make the error disappear, there are now a second Department Director approval column (not ideal). Meaning if the form goes through the second rout above will show up in different column than the third rout.

Note: We have tried individual workflows set up for each rout option. The challenge is then maintaining and duplicating these to all the forms that would require this organizational approval pattern. Although this option is a workaround, I am looking for a way to streamline in one workflow for all approvals.

Any idea how we can make the workflow possible?

Nick Burrus

Smartsheet automation has come a long way, but it is nowhere near DocuSign level yet. Some thoughts I have for you:

Conditional Logic on Forms?

• If Suzy fills out form, then Supervisor pre-select in a hidden dropdown.
• Update request to Supervisor, and make it the supervisor's job to add the other levels, if needed.

For one I did recently these were my workarounds:

• Conditional Logic to automatically assign a supervisor based upon the "type" of request from a dropdown.
• Multiple workflows that had criteria if "this supervisor" notify "these people"