[ADD] ECO approvals doc

Co-authored-by: hojo-odoo <123424465+hojo-odoo@users.noreply.github.com>

Author: Felicious

content/applications/inventory_and_mrp.rst

@@ -13,3 +13,4 @@ Inventory & MRP
     inventory_and_mrp/barcode
     inventory_and_mrp/quality
     inventory_and_mrp/maintenance
+    inventory_and_mrp/plm

content/applications/inventory_and_mrp/plm.rst

@@ -0,0 +1,16 @@
+:nosearch:
+
+============================
+Product Lifecycle Management
+============================
+
+Odoo *Product Lifecycle Management (PLM)* offers a systematic approach for testing, collaboration,
+and iteration of products across concept development, design, manufacturing, marketing, and
+post-launch support stages. With approvals, key stakeholders can review changes before
+implementation.
+
+.. toctree::
+   :titlesonly:
+
+   plm/manage_changes
+   plm/management

content/applications/inventory_and_mrp/plm/manage_changes.rst

@@ -0,0 +1,10 @@
+=================
+Change management
+=================
+
+.. toctree::
+   :titlesonly:
+
+   manage_changes/eco_type
+   manage_changes/engineering_change_orders
+   manage_changes/version_control

content/applications/inventory_and_mrp/plm/management.rst

@@ -0,0 +1,8 @@
+==================
+Project management
+==================
+
+.. toctree::
+   :titlesonly:
+
+   management/approvals

content/applications/inventory_and_mrp/plm/management/approvals.rst

@@ -0,0 +1,150 @@
+=========
+Approvals
+=========
+
+.. |ECO| replace:: :abbr:`ECO (Engineering Change Order)`
+.. |ECOs| replace:: :abbr:`ECOs (Engineering Change Orders)`
+
+.. _plm/approvals:
+
+Notify stakeholders and managers automatically by assigning approvers to stages of :ref:`engineering
+change orders <plm/eco>` (ECOs) under review. Changes can only be applied after the assigned
+approver accepts them. Approvals ensure reviews by team members, preventing mistakes and premature
+actions.
+
+.. seealso::
+    :ref:`Stage configuration <plm/eco/stage-config>`
+
+Add approver
+============
+
+To add an approver, first go to the :menuselection:`PLM app` and click on the project card of an ECO
+type to open the Gantt view of the |ECOs|. On the :guilabel:`Engineering Change Orders` page, hover
+over the intended stage, and select the :guilabel:`⚙️ (gear)` icon. Then, click :guilabel:`Edit` to
+open a pop-up window.
+
+.. note::
+   Approvers can be added to any stage, but it's strongly recommended to assign them to the
+   *verification* stage, which comes before the *closing* stage where |ECOs| are applied and the
+   :abbr:`BoM (Bill of Materials)` version is updated. See the documentation about :ref:`stage types
+   <plm/eco/stage-config>` for more information.
+
+.. _plm/approvals/approval-type:
+
+In the :guilabel:`Edit` stage pop-up, click the :guilabel:`Add a line` button under
+:guilabel:`Approvals`. Type in the approver's position or title under :guilabel:`Role` (e.g.
+"Engineering Manager", "Quality Team"), and select the relevant :guilabel:`User` from the drop-down
+menu. Set the :guilabel:`Approval Type` to :guilabel:`Is required to approve`, :guilabel:`Approves,
+but the approval is optional`, or :guilabel:`Comments only`.
+
+.. example::
+   Assign the `CTO`, "Mitchell Admin", as a required approver for |ECOs| in the `Validated` stage in
+   the `New Product Introduction` ECO type. Approvals from the quality and marketing teams are not
+   required to apply changes to the |ECO| because their :guilabel:`Approval Type` is set to
+   :guilabel:`Approves, but the approval is optional` and :guilabel:`Comments only`, respectively.
+
+   .. image:: approvals/approvers.png
+      :align: center
+      :alt: Set an approver that "Is required to approve" ECOs in the "Validated" stage.
+
+Manage approvals
+================
+
+Approvers can easily track their to-do approvals by navigating to the :menuselection:`PLM app` and
+looking at the card for an ECO type, which shows the count of open tasks assigned to them. Here's
+what each button on an ECO project card does:
+
+#. The :guilabel:`# Engineering Changes` button displays a count of in-progress |ECOs| of this ECO
+   type. Clicking the button opens the Gantt view of the :guilabel:`Engineering Change Orders` page.
+
+#. :guilabel:`My Validations` displays a count of |ECOs| that the approver must accept or reject.
+   Clicking on this button displays |ECOs| pending approval or rejected (marked with the red
+   :guilabel:`Blocked` state).
+
+#. The :guilabel:`All Validations` button shows the count of |ECOs| awaiting approval or rejected by
+any approver. Clicking it reveals these pending |ECOs|.
+
+#. :guilabel:`To Apply` displays a count of |ECOs| the user needs to apply changes to. Clicking on
+   the button displays all the |ECOs| to approve and apply changes to in the verification stage.
+   |ECOs| marked with the green :guilabel:`Done` stage have already been approved, and the user just
+   needs to click on the |ECO| to enter the form view and click the :guilabel:`Apply Changes`
+   button.
+
+.. image:: approvals/validation-overview.png
+   :align: center
+   :alt: Display count of validations to-do and buttons to open filtered list of ECOs.
+
+Approve ECOs
+------------
+
+Navigate to an |ECO| in a verification stage while logged in as the assigned approver to see the
+:guilabel:`Approve`, :guilabel:`Reject`, and :guilabel:`Apply Changes` buttons. To approve the |ECO|
+and apply the changes onto the production :abbr:`BoM (Bill of Materials)`, click
+:guilabel:`Approve`, and then :guilabel:`Apply Changes`. Note that the :guilabel:`Apply Changes`
+button will not work unless the :guilabel:`Approve` button was clicked first. Additionally, the
+chatter will log the history of the buttons clicked.
+
+.. warning::
+   When the :guilabel:`Approval Type` is **not** set to :guilabel:`Is required to approve`, approval
+   from the associated user is not needed before applying changes with the :guilabel:`Apply Changes`
+   button. Thus, the :guilabel:`Apply Changes` button **will work** without requiring the
+   :guilabel:`Approve` button to be clicked first.
+
+Automated activities
+--------------------
+
+When an |ECO| is moved to a verification stage, a planned activity is automatically created for
+assigned approvers to review the |ECO|. Approvers receive a notification in their activities inbox,
+accessible through the :guilabel:`🕘 (clock)` icon at the top of the page.
+
+In the to-do task list, the :guilabel:`Engineering Change Order (ECO)` notification displays the
+number of activities marked :guilabel:`Late`, :guilabel:`Today`, and :guilabel:`Future`. Clicking on
+each of these buttons shows a filtered Gantt view of the respective |ECOs|.
+
+.. example::
+   Scheduled activities are shown as a number on the :guilabel:`🕘 (clock)` icon, with `5` |ECOs|
+   pending approval :guilabel:`Today`. Currently, there are `0` :guilabel:`Late` or
+   :guilabel:`Future` |ECOs|.
+
+    .. image:: approvals/todo-list.png
+       :align: center
+       :alt: Show scheduled approvals notifications for the user.
+
+By clicking a pending |ECO|, a *planned activity* for :guilabel:`ECO Approval` is recorded in the
+chatter. Click on the :guilabel:`i (Info)` icon to view additional information, including the
+approval's :guilabel:`Created` date, the approver :guilabel:`Assigned to` it, and the due date.
+
+.. image:: approvals/planned-activity.png
+   :align: center
+   :alt: Show additional details of the planned ECO approval.
+
+Follow-up activities
+~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
+
+When |ECOs| are rejected, tasks need to be assigned to project members for required modifications
+before |ECO| approval. To create tasks with deadlines, navigate to the rejected |ECO| form and go to
+the chatter. Select the :guilabel:`Mark Done` button in the :guilabel:`Planned Activities` section
+of the chatter to close the activity and open a pop-up window for creating tasks.
+
+.. image:: approvals/mark-as-done.png
+   :align: center
+   :alt: Show *Mark Done* window to show *Done & Schedule Next*, *Done*, and *Discard* buttons to
+         close the planned activity.
+
+In the :guilabel:`Mark Done` window, click :guilabel:`Done & Schedule Next` to open a new
+:guilabel:`Schedule an Activity` window. Next, set the :guilabel:`Assigned to` team member and the
+:guilabel:`Due Date` for completing the changes. Provide task details in the :guilabel:`Summary`
+field and the text box. Click the :guilabel:`Schedule` button to close the window.
+
+After closing the window, on the |ECO| form, move the |ECO| back one stage. Doing so ensures that
+when the team member completes the changes and returns the |ECO| to the verification stage, a new
+:guilabel:`ECO Approval` task is created for the approver.
+
+.. example::
+   The approver creates an activity for the :guilabel:`Responsible` of the |ECO|, `Laurie Poiret`,
+   that details the changes required for the approver to :guilabel:`Accept` the |ECO|. Clicking the
+   :guilabel:`Schedule` button creates a planned activity for Laurie due on `08/15/2023`.
+
+   .. image:: approvals/schedule-an-activity.png
+      :align: center
+      :alt: Create a scheduled activity for follow-up changes to a rejected ECO.