[From Wrike] More Exciting Automation Updates: Approval Triggers and Assignment Actions ⚡️

Hi Community 👋

Today, we’re beyond thrilled to share two big sets of updates now available in Wrike Automation: Approval Triggers and Assignment Actions 🚀

Approval Triggers 📌

Trigger when approval starts:
With this feature, you can sync approval statuses with item statuses. For example, when an approval starts, you can set an item's status to 'In review'. You can also automate adding the item to an 'In review' folder or mention a specific user when the approval starts, especially for high-priority items.

Trigger when approver gives a decision: This feature allows you to draw attention when a specific person gives their decision. For example, you can mention assignees and tell them that a particular user's decision is enough to proceed. You can also unassign an item when you're done to keep your workspace clutter-free.

Trigger when approval finishes with a decision: You can now sync approval statuses with item statuses. For instance, when an approval finishes with an 'Approved' decision, you can set the task (or project, or opportunity) status to 'Approved'. You can also involve stakeholders depending on the decision. For example, when an approval finishes with a 'Rejected' decision and if the client is a 'Priority client', you can automate a comment and mention a specific user.

Assignment Actions 📌

We have also updated the assignment action options, and they now include the following:

Assign to the user who triggered the rule: Are you starting to work on a ticket, request, or task? Just change the status, and you can be automatically assigned to the item, saving you time. For instance, when the status changes to 'In progress', the task can be assigned to the person who triggered the rule by changing the status.

Assign to item author: This feature is perfect for involving the item creator in the process, especially when working with requests. For example, when an item is created or the status changes to 'Review required', it can automatically be assigned to the item creator.

Assign to users from a group: While it’s not yet possible to assign groups as entities, we're offering a handy workaround with automation. You can now select user groups for assignment in automation, and each person from the group (up to 25 people for usability and performance reasons) will be assigned when the rule is triggered. This feature is great for assigning a task to a team, allowing them to decide who should perform the work. For example, when an item is created, it can be assigned to 'Tier 2 support'.

We hope that this particular update will be very welcome to all of you who suggested and supported the ability to assign work to user groups 🤗

Our team is really looking forward to your feedback on these exciting automation updates! Please share your thoughts with us in the comments below 👇

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Comments

Mike Fank

These are exciting updates!

Wrike's approval process and automation were what made me pick this platform. It's awesome that it keeps getting better!

Sven Passinger

@Elizaveta Bogdanova One question about: Assign to item author: This feature is perfect for involving the item creator in the process, especially when working with requests.

You are writing about request. What happens if the task waas created by a request form? If the submitter of the form was a none Wrike user (so task was created via a public link request form)?

Pietro Poli

Great improvement!

Maria Hermansen

@Elizaveta Bogdanova is it on the road map to be able to include project owner in automations - e.g. for mentions, assignee etc.?

Paul Calabro

Great additions to the automation rules. Can't wait to try it out within my team!

Elizaveta Bogdanova

Thanks a lot for your feedback and questions!
@Sven Passinger, @Maria Hermansen, we'll get back to you 👍

Phil Taylor

Thanks for the additions Lisa - one question though, does the new "status change on approval" replace the custom workflow feature? We have built several approval workflows which control the item status once the approval is finished - is that going to go away?

Alina Kucherenko

Hey @Sven Passinger! Thanks for the question. In request forms, when the item is created within Wrike, our automation will be able to recognise that and assign the request to the item to the creator. However, for the external users since they don't have an account licence, the request is created by Wrike bot. It that is the case, Automation won't assign a task to a Wrike bot.

Hey @Maria Hermansen! Hope you are enjoying new automation capabilities! It is already possible today to mention a project owner in comments for projects. Unfortunately, it's not possible to mention (as well assign) them in tasks and we don't have a timeline for this yet.

Hey @Phil Taylor! No, you can use both

Florian Kislich

I was so deeply waiting for this! Thank you!!!

Elizaveta Bogdanova

@Florian Kislich 🤗

Fillipe Neyl Walecki

This is amazing! It solves a lot of things that weren't possible to achieve with the workflow approval options.

Teddy Otero

Hi there! Can we get a trigger that fires when an approval becomes overdue? I can select Approvals > Due Date > Overdue in "conditions," but I cannot seem to fire the trigger when an approval is overdue.

Am I missing something? Is there a workaround? Thanks!

Phil Taylor

Hi @Teddy Otero have you tried using the "When Approval starts" trigger? If this is configured then the automation will trigger when the approval starts, and should then wait for the condition to become true before initiating the action that you have subsequently configured.

Teddy Otero

Is that how it works? It will actually wait after triggered until fired? I would assume it would trigger when the approval starts, check the condition for whether the approval is overdue, obviously it WON'T be overdue, then the automation will end without firing.

If that's NOT how it works, and what you are suggesting works, that would be counterintuitive to me, someone who has automation experience across several systems over the years.

Won't hurt to try, but can you provide confirmation either way?

Phil Taylor

Hi @Teddy Otero, you're welcome ;-)

This isn't an automation I'd previously tried, but I have set it up and am awaiting for an approval to go past its due date.

I agree that if an approval has only just been started it couldn't possibly be already overdue, so the automation would appear to be completely useless. Automation isn't Wrike's strongest point, but they have put thought into it and so I'd be surprised if this was the case.

Like I said, I have set this up as a test in my account and I'll let you know if anything happens!

Florian Kislich

Dear wrike Team,

I experienced an issue using the "assign to author (if unassigned)" automation rule. If someone creates a recurrent task assigned to someone else, the new items are assigned to both the author and the other assignee! :-(

I like to mention again several requets to implement a general option (per user, per space...) to auto-assign new tasks to the author (without creating a "the task was assigned to you" inbox notification and other issues), see

Option to auto-assign new/added tasks to task creator – Wrike Help Center

Assign a task based on its folder/project (default task owner) – Wrike Help Center

Auto assign in Personal Space – Wrike Help Center

Automatic assign yourself on private tasks. – Wrike Help Center

Basudha Sakshyarika

Hi @Florian Kislich! 😊 Sorry for the delay in responding, and thank you for reporting this. I am looping in our support team to look into this and advise if this is the expected behavior or otherwise. Thank you! 🙏🏼