Approvals
Approvals are Darwin’s governance checkpoints. They exist so important transitions are explicit rather than implied.
For project approval, the key rule is:
Approval is the moment an estimate becomes a committed cost-control baseline.
The Full Decision Set
Section titled “The Full Decision Set”Approval decisions cover five outcomes:
| Decision | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Approved | The estimate becomes the active baseline for cost tracking. Cost groups are generated and the project enters execution control. |
| Rejected | The estimate does not become a baseline. No ProjectApproval record or cost groups are created. The project remains editable and resubmittable. A decision record is preserved for audit. |
| Preliminary Approval | Creates a baseline flagged as preliminary without approving the project or locking the estimation. Enables early cost tracking while estimating continues. Can be refreshed to carry actuals forward. Formal approval later replaces it with the final baseline. |
| Revert | Reverses a previous approval — soft-deletes the approval and cost groups, clears the active baseline. Only possible when no actuals or commitments are recorded against the baseline. Otherwise a re-baseline is required. |
| Rebaseline | A new approval that replaces the previous active baseline. New cost groups are generated; previous baseline structures remain available for historical comparison. |
What Approvals Protect
Section titled “What Approvals Protect”- Review discipline
- Decision ownership
- Auditability
- Baseline clarity
- Cost-control readiness
Workflow Role
Section titled “Workflow Role”In the request-to-baseline workflow, approval is the gate between reviewed estimate and execution control:
- An approval request captures intent to commit the estimate
- An approver task signals the decision owner
- The approval decision records the outcome (one of the five above)
- An approved decision creates a project approval baseline
- The active baseline becomes the source for cost tracking and variance
- A rejected decision sends the estimate back for rework without creating a baseline
Best Practices
Section titled “Best Practices”- Separate review from approval when possible
- Document key assumptions before approval
- Use approvals together with work requests and activity history
- Treat approved estimates as controlled baselines
- Review variance against the active approved baseline, not against an arbitrary historical estimate
- Use preliminary baselines to start cost tracking early when estimating is still ongoing
- Refresh baselines via re-baseline rather than reverting when actuals or commitments exist