An approval process defines how a request, document, project proposal, purchase, or change is submitted, reviewed, decided, and recorded. When approval roles, criteria, and handoffs are unclear, work can remain in queues, move through unnecessary review layers, or return repeatedly for missing information.
Projects and processes organize different kinds of work. A project is temporary and produces a unique result, while a business process defines interconnected activities that can be repeated to produce an intended operational result. Organizations often use projects to introduce or improve processes, then rely on those processes for ongoing execution.
A process bottleneck occurs when one step has less capacity than the demand placed on it, restricting the flow and performance of the entire workflow. Bottlenecks can increase cycle time, create queues, delay handoffs, raise costs, and reduce the quality of the final outcome.