IRIS Auto-Approve — Configure and Run the Pending Queue
IRIS Auto-Approve is a paid add-on that automatically approves open shift claims, accepted shift swaps, and swap-with-open-shift claims when they pass strict-clean eligibility checks — no compliance warnings, no leave overlap, and within your configured time windows.
Org Admins configure the module; Roster Builders run the pending queue from the Living Roster.
Enable the add-on
- Sidebar → Organizations → your organization → Add-ons tab.
- Platform admins: toggle Available to grant the add-on to the org.
- Org admins: enable Auto-approve open shifts, Auto-approve swaps, and/or Auto-approve swap with open shift independently.
- Set Open shift window and Swap window (minimum notice, max horizon, optional date bounds). Swap-with-open-shift reuses the open shift window on the claimed shift.
- Add Exclusions for streams, craft groups, staff, or employment types (full-time, part-time, casual, contract). Each row can be Always, or a one-off From–To window so it only applies to shifts on those dates (for example, casuals stay manual over summer).
Ongoing vs backlog behaviour
| Mode | When it runs | Outcome |
|---|---|---|
| Real-time | Staff claim or swap is accepted | Plain open shifts: CONFIRMED or DRAFT (your setting). Swap with open shift: always CONFIRMED. Staff notified per outcome. |
| Backlog run | You click Run IRIS on pending queue | Plain open shifts: always DRAFT (silent until publish). Swap with open shift: always CONFIRMED (staff notified — a live shift is released). |
Backlog runs are designed for clearing a queue before publish: preview first, run, review DRAFT assignments on the grid, then Undo (within the undo window) or Finalise to expire competing claims.
Process the pending queue (Roster Builder)
- Open Living Roster.
- Click IRIS Auto-Approve in the toolbar.
- Filter by stream, craft group, shift dates, and type (open shifts / swaps / swap with open shift). Uncheck Swap with open shift to leave those claims manual without turning off plain open-shift auto-approve.
- Click Preview pending queue — review counts, then expand lists for detail.
- Expand Would auto-approve to see rows and uncheck any you want to leave manual.
- Expand Stay manual — grouped by reason with explanations (time window, conflicts, queue order, etc.).
- Click Run IRIS on pending queue — only checked rows are processed (whitelist mode).
- Review Recent runs — Undo reverts DRAFT open shift assignments, future-dated backlog swaps, and swap-with-open-shift fills (restores the released shift if the posted open shift is still empty); Finalise expires losing open shift claims on filled vacancies.
Strict-clean rules (all must pass)
- No rest, hours, consecutive-days, craft, scope, or overlap conflicts
- No leave on the shift date
- Within min notice and max horizon windows
- Not excluded by stream, craft group, staff, or employment type (a dated exclusion only applies when the shift date is in that From–To window)
- Open shift: normal claim. Swap-with-open-shift claims auto-approve only when that toggle is on (they fill the claimed shift, cancel the released shift, and post a new open shift — always CONFIRMED)
- Swap: accepted by both parties (direct or open swap with selected offer)
If any check fails, the item stays in your manual Approvals queue.
Queue ordering
Open shift claims on the same vacancy are processed first-in, first-out by request time — including swap with open shift claims, which compete for the same slot. If the vacancy has one slot and two eligible claimants, the earlier claim auto-approves and the second shows No open slots remaining — expected behaviour, not a bug. If swap-with-open-shift auto-approve is off, those claims stay manual without consuming the slot, so a later plain claim can still auto-approve.
Roster Builder scope
Roster Builders see only streams and craft groups they are permitted to manage in the preview and run filters. Org Admins see the full org queue. If you cannot find an item, check your Roster Builder Permissions or ask an Org Admin to run the backlog.
Notifications by mode
| Mode | Staff notification |
|---|---|
| Real-time + CONFIRMED | Staff notified immediately when the claim or swap auto-completes |
| Real-time + DRAFT | Assignment created silently — staff see the shift when the roster is published |
| Backlog run | Plain open shifts: always DRAFT — no staff emails on run. Swap with open shift: CONFIRMED and staff are notified. |
Leave requests are never auto-approved — they always go through Leave Planner.
Publish integration
When you publish the roster, any completed backlog jobs covering that date range are auto-finalised — competing pending claims on fully filled vacancies expire. You can also click Finalise on a recent run before publish.
Backlog job statuses
| Status | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Running | Job in progress |
| Completed | Run finished — review results or Undo |
| Failed | Unexpected error — try preview again or approve manually |
| Undone | Reverted — DRAFT assignments, future backlog swaps, and unfilled swap-with-open-shift releases rolled back |
| Finalised | Losing claims expired on filled vacancies |
Skip reason reference
When preview shows Stay manual, expand the reason group for detail. Common codes:
| Reason | What it means | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Auto-approve disabled | Open shifts, swaps, or swap-with-open-shift toggle is off | Enable the matching toggle under Add-ons → IRIS Auto-Approve |
| Stream, craft group, staff, or employment type excluded | On your exclusions list (dated rows only for shifts in that window) | Remove exclusion or approve manually. If a slot remains after IRIS auto-approves someone else, the excluded claim stays in Approvals. If that was the last slot, the excluded claim expires. |
| Outside selected craft group filter | Preview craft filter hides this row | Clear filter or approve manually |
| Outside configured time window | Too soon, too far ahead, or outside date bounds | Adjust windows or approve manually |
| Not a standard claim | Non-normal request type | Review in Shift Deck → Approvals |
| Linked release request | Claim tied to releasing another shift, and Auto-approve swap with open shift is off | Enable that toggle under Add-ons, or approve in Shift Deck → Approvals |
| Linked release shift is not valid | Released shift is missing, not owned by the claimant, already cancelled, or in the past | Ask staff to resubmit with a valid shift to release, or approve a plain claim |
| Compliance or eligibility conflict | Rest, hours, overlap, or consecutive-days issue — expand the preview row for the exact text | Check Live Eligibility in Shift Deck, or approve only if overriding |
| Staff on leave | Pending or approved leave on shift date | Approve manually only if overriding leave |
| No open slots remaining | Vacancy full or lower queue priority | Expected queue behaviour |
| Shift already started or passed | Stale queue item | No action needed |
| Request no longer pending | Vacancy or request changed since queued | Refresh Shift Deck |
| Swap not yet accepted | Awaiting staff acceptance | Wait or approve once accepted |
| Swap failed strict-clean validation | Dry-run found conflicts | Review in Shift Deck → Approvals |
| Unexpected error | System error during evaluation | Retry preview or contact support |
Audit trail
- Organization → Logs & Audit → Activity → IRIS Auto-Approvals — filterable history with CSV export
- Assignments and swaps show an IRIS Auto-Approved badge on the Living Roster and Shift Deck
- Reports → Assignment Intelligence includes an IRIS Auto-Approved column
Tips
- Preview before every run. Window rules are evaluated at run time, not when the claim was submitted.
- Expand skip reasons in the preview to understand why items stay manual (time window, conflicts, queue order, or swap-with-open-shift toggle off).
- Deselect items you want to leave for manual review — only checked rows are processed on Run.
- Use exclusions for high-risk streams or employment types (e.g. casuals always, or casuals only from 2 Nov to 31 Dec). An excluded claim stays in Approvals if a slot remains after IRIS auto-approves someone else; it expires only when the vacancy is full.
- Backlog + DRAFT is the safest way to bulk-clear before publish — you keep human review on the grid.
- Swap minimum notice in Shift Swaps (Add-ons) applies when staff first request; the Swap window below controls when IRIS may auto-approve accepted swaps.