The Delegation Mode feature in PPM Express lets users delegate timesheet approval responsibilities to other users for a specified period. This feature is particularly useful when an approver is on vacation, out of office, or temporarily unavailable.
With Delegation Mode, assigned delegates can review, approve, and reject timesheet approval requests on behalf of the original approver, ensuring that the approval process continues without interruptions.
How to enable Delegation Mode
Before users can delegate their timesheet approval responsibilities, Delegation Mode must be enabled in the Time Tracking settings.
To enable Delegation Mode, perform the following:
- Open Time Tracking Settings.
- Navigate to the Timesheet Approvals section.
- Make sure the Timesheet Approvals setting is enabled.
- Enable the Delegation Mode toggle.
By default, Delegation Mode is disabled.
If Timesheet Approvals is disabled, Delegation Mode is automatically disabled as well. When Timesheet Approvals is enabled again, the previously selected Delegation Mode setting is restored.
How to delegate timesheet approval responsibilities
Once Delegation Mode is enabled in the Timesheet Tracking settings, the Delegation Mode Settings section becomes available in the My Account panel.
This section is displayed for users who have access to the Approval Center, including Project Managers and Direct Managers assigned to at least one project or resource.
To configure delegation, in the Delegate my timesheet approval responsibility section, complete the following fields:
- To the user(s): Select one or several users who will approve timesheets on your behalf.
You can assign multiple delegates for the same period. Each selected delegate can manage your timesheet approval requests independently.
Only users who have access to the Approval Center can be selected as delegates. The following rules apply:
- Project Managers and Direct Managers can be selected as delegates.
- Users who have only Admin permissions, without being Project Managers or Direct Managers, are not included in the list because administrators can already approve or reject requests without delegation.
- Users cannot assign themselves as delegates.
- Inactive users are not available for selection.
- Users with a Pending Invite status can be selected only if they are assigned as Project Managers or Direct Managers.
If a selected delegate is deactivated later, the user remains in the delegation settings until the delegation period expires or the assignment is changed. However, a deactivated user cannot access PPM Express to perform approvals.
- From the date: Specify the date when the delegation should become active.
- Until the date (inclusive): Specify the last date when the selected users can approve timesheets on your behalf. The end date cannot be earlier than the start date. Both dates can be the same, allowing delegation for a single day.
The current delegation status is displayed below the Delegate my timesheet approval responsibility heading:
- Not Active: One or more required fields are empty, or the delegation configuration is invalid.
- Pending: The delegation is configured, but the start date has not arrived yet.
- Active: The current date falls within the specified delegation period, including the start and end dates.
- Expired: The delegation end date has passed.
The changes are saved automatically.
To stop an existing delegation or change its duration, update the dates or remove the selected delegates in the My Account panel.
Delegation email notifications
When a user is assigned as a delegate and all required delegation settings are completed, PPM Express sends an email notification to the selected user.
If several delegates are selected, each delegate receives a separate notification.
The following rules apply:
- When an additional delegate is assigned, only the newly added user receives an email notification.
- When delegation dates are changed, notification emails are not sent again.
- Notifications are sent when a delegate is assigned, even if the delegation status is Pending or Expired.
- Users who have disabled the Receive notifications setting do not receive delegation notification emails.
Notifications about new timesheet approval requests and approval reminders continue to be sent to the original designated approver, not to the delegates.
How to use Delegation Mode in the Approval Center
When another user delegates their timesheet approval responsibilities to you, you can manage their approval requests from the Approval Center during the active delegation period.
To start Delegation Mode, perform the following:
- Open the Approval Center.
- Click Start Delegation Mode on the toolbar.
- Select the user whose approval requests you want to manage from the drop-down list.
Only users with an Active delegation are displayed in the Start Delegation Mode list. If no active delegations are assigned to you, this action is not displayed on the toolbar.
Delegation Mode is activated immediately. When Delegation Mode is active, a yellow information bar appears below the Approval Center toolbar, indicating whose approval requests you are viewing.
While Delegation Mode is active, the Start Delegation Mode action is hidden. To switch to another user's approval requests, you must first stop the current delegation session.
In Delegation Mode, the Approval Center displays the timesheet approval requests belonging to the selected user instead of your own requests.
When working in Delegation Mode, you can approve or reject pending timesheet approval requests on behalf of the original approver.
Delegates can process both Project Time and Administrative Time approval requests.
The following rules apply:
- Delegates can approve or reject Project Time requests even if they do not have access to the corresponding project.
- Delegates can approve or reject Administrative Time requests even if they are not the Direct Manager of the timesheet owner and do not have the Manage Resources permission.
- Approved and Rejected requests are available for viewing only.
- Delegates can open and review the details of available requests, including project and administrative time entries.
If a delegate does not have access to the corresponding project, the request still displays the project name, task name, and reported hours. However, additional task information in tooltips may not be available.
When a delegate approves or rejects a timesheet request, PPM Express records the name of the user who actually performed the action in the Approved/Rejected By column.
This allows users to identify who processed each approval request, even when the action was performed on behalf of another approver.
The approval process works the same way as when the original approver processes the request.
When a request is approved:
- The timesheet owner receives the corresponding approval notification.
- When all entries for the timesheet period are approved, the period receives the Approved status, and the timesheet is locked.
- The timesheet owner can see the delegate's name in the approval details.
When a request is rejected:
- The timesheet owner receives a rejection notification containing the delegate's comment.
- The timesheet period receives the Rejected status.
- Only rejected entries become editable.
- The delegate's name is displayed in the rejection details.
Delegation Mode provides access to timesheet approval requests only. It does not grant general access to the original approver's projects, resources, or other data.
The following restrictions apply:
- Recall action: The Recall action is not available in Delegation Mode, even when recalling approved requests is enabled in the tenant settings.
- Administrator delegations: If an administrator delegates approval responsibilities, the delegate can access only requests where that administrator is specified as the Designated Approver, not every request the administrator can normally access.
If the recall setting is enabled, the original designated approver can recall eligible approved requests outside Delegation Mode, including requests approved by a delegate.
How to stop Delegation Mode
To stop acting on behalf of another user, click Stop Delegation Mode on the right side of the bar.
Delegation Mode is stopped immediately, and the Approval Center displays your own approval requests again.
Requests belonging to the original approver are no longer displayed in your Approval Center.
Filters and column configurations are specific to your account. The currently applied filter remains in effect when you enter or exit Delegation Mode.
PPM Express preserves the Delegation Mode state when you:
- Refresh the Approval Center page.
- Navigate to another page and return.
- Log out of PPM Express and log in again.
If Delegation Mode was active, it remains active as long as the corresponding delegation is still valid.
To return to your own approval requests, use Stop Delegation Mode.
If the original approver removes your delegation assignment, the delegation period expires, or Delegation Mode is disabled in the tenant settings, you can no longer process requests on that user's behalf.
If you are already working in Delegation Mode, PPM Express checks whether the delegation is still valid when you perform an action or refresh the page.
If the delegation is no longer active, it displays the corresponding message.
The Approval Center then returns to your own approval requests.