The Governance tab controls which approval workflows and escalation paths are available for tasks created within the project. This helps ensure that project tasks follow consistent approval and escalation rules.

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1. What Is the Governance Tab?

Governance showing available Approval Lines, stage counts, and Escalation Paths Governance showing available Approval Lines, stage counts, and Escalation Paths. One task's timeline runs left to right: work, submit, wait, decide. Three overlay lanes sit above it. Approval line, green: at submit it names the approvers for each stage. Delegation, purple: at the same moment it swaps in any active delegate. Escalation path, amber: from submit onward its clock runs, firing reminders and escalations until a decision or the cap. Below the task, a strip shows where each overlay is set and which setting wins. Governance is three overlays working together — Approval Lines, Escalation Paths, and Delegations.

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2. Approval Lines

Approval Lines define who must review or approve a task before it can be completed or closed. Available approval lines may have one or more approval stages.
  • Reporter Approval: the task reporter reviews and approves completion before the task is closed.
  • Other configured approval lines may be available based on your organisation’s workflows, for example Hiring, Leave, Procurement, or Project approvals.

A green valid indicator means the approval line can be selected. If a required position is vacant or missing, the line may appear as an error and cannot be selected.

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3. Escalation Paths

Escalation Paths define how tasks can be escalated when required. Only escalation paths enabled for the project will be available while creating or editing tasks. Top: an escalation path drawn as a ladder of three rules on a time axis — after 24 hours remind the approvers, after 48 hours escalate to the manager, after 72 hours escalate to the department head — then the cap, maximum three escalations, and the final action. Below: two lanes showing how the same path applies to a waiting approval stage, where the clock starts when the stage starts and escalate replaces the pending approvers, and to an overdue task, where the clock starts at the due date and escalate reassigns the task. A side panel lists the three resolution types. What happens when nobody acts on a task in time. An escalation path is a ladder of timed rules. Each rung fires after a wait, does one thing — remind, escalate, or auto-decide — and raises the level. When the ladder runs out, a final action ends it. The same path can watch an approval that is waiting or a task that is overdue; only the clock and the “escalate” verb differ. Key rules
  • Levels only go up. Rules fire in order; a rule that fires sets the level to at least its own number, and the cap is checked against that level.
  • “Escalate” is a hand-over, not a cc. On an approval it replaces who must decide; on a task it changes who is assigned. Use notify or remind when you want the original person kept.
  • The final action fires exactly once when the cap is reached, and then the path is finished with that item.
  • Only active paths fire. Draft and inactive paths are inert; archiving a path closes any task watches using it.
Exceptions and optional paths
  • A rule can repeat (every N hours, up to a maximum) without advancing the level — useful for reminders before the first real escalation.
  • A hierarchy walk that finds no one (top of the chart, all vacant) leaves the current approvers in place and reminds them instead.
  • Channels are in-app, email, SMS and WhatsApp per rule; WhatsApp needs the company’s Twilio setup.
  • Delegations are applied when approvers are first resolved, not when a path escalates — an escalation target on leave still receives it.

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4. Quick Controls

How it works

When users create or edit tasks in the project, they can only select from the Approval Lines and Escalation Paths enabled here. A system approval line such as Reporter Approval may be enabled for all projects and may not be removable.

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5. Why Is This Helpful?

Governance ensures that task approvals and escalations follow the workflow rules defined for the project. For how approvals are actioned on individual tasks, see Viewing and Responding to Approvals.