# Case Summarization Approvals > Summarize HR cases, service requests, and requested items for approvers with business justification, cost impact, approval history context, and policy compliance information - Skill: `happy-technologies-llc/case-summarization-approvals` (Agent Skill) - Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add happy-technologies-llc/case-summarization-approvals` - Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/happy-technologies-llc/case-summarization-approvals/raw - Safety review: pending - Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex - Category: Research & Search - Author: Happy-Technologies-LLC (https://skillmd.com/u/happy-technologies-llc) - Updated: 2026-09-10 - Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/happy-technologies-llc/case-summarization-approvals --- # Case Summarization for Approvals ## Overview This skill generates approval-focused summaries for HR cases, service requests, and requested items. It provides approvers with the context they need to make informed decisions: - Extracting and highlighting business justification from request details and variables - Calculating cost impact including recurring costs, one-time charges, and budget implications - Building approval history timelines showing who approved, rejected, or is pending - Surfacing policy compliance status and any flagged exceptions - Summarizing the requester's profile, department context, and prior similar requests - Identifying risk factors that may warrant additional scrutiny **When to use:** When approvers need concise, decision-ready summaries of pending approvals, or when building automated approval notification enrichment for HR and IT requests. ## Prerequisites - **Roles:** `approver_user`, `sn_hr_core.case_reader`, `itil`, or `admin` - **Plugins:** `com.sn_hr_service_delivery` (HR Service Delivery), `com.glideapp.servicecatalog` (Service Catalog) - **Access:** Read access to `sysapproval_approver`, `sn_hr_core_case`, `sc_req_item`, `sc_request`, `sn_hr_core_profile` - **Knowledge:** Approval process concepts, HR case lifecycle, catalog request variables ## Procedure ### Step 1: Retrieve the Pending Approval Record Fetch the approval record to identify the source document and approval context. **MCP Approach:** ``` Tool: SN-Query-Table Parameters: table_name: sysapproval_approver query: approver=^state=requested^ORDERBYDESCsys_created_on fields: sys_id,sysapproval,source_table,state,approver,group,sys_created_on,due_date,expected_start,comments limit: 20 ``` **REST Approach:** ``` GET /api/now/table/sysapproval_approver ?sysparm_query=approver=^state=requested^ORDERBYDESCsys_created_on &sysparm_fields=sys_id,sysapproval,source_table,state,approver,group,sys_created_on,due_date,comments &sysparm_display_value=true &sysparm_limit=20 ``` ### Step 2: Retrieve the Source Record Details Based on the `source_table`, fetch the underlying request or case. **For HR Cases:** **MCP Approach:** ``` Tool: SN-Get-Record Parameters: table_name: sn_hr_core_case sys_id: fields: sys_id,number,short_description,description,state,priority,opened_by,opened_at,subject_person,hr_service,assignment_group,u_business_justification,u_cost_estimate ``` **For Requested Items (sc_req_item):** ``` Tool: SN-Get-Record Parameters: table_name: sc_req_item sys_id: fields: sys_id,number,short_description,description,cat_item,requested_for,price,recurring_price,quantity,variables,opened_at,opened_by,request,stage ``` **REST Approach:** ``` GET /api/now/table/sc_req_item/ ?sysparm_fields=sys_id,number,short_description,description,cat_item,requested_for,price,recurring_price,quantity &sysparm_display_value=true ``` ### Step 3: Extract Business Justification Pull justification from multiple sources: request variables, description fields, and journal entries. **From Catalog Variables:** **MCP Approach:** ``` Tool: SN-Query-Table Parameters: table_name: sc_item_option_mtom query: request_item= fields: sc_item_option.item_option_new.question_text,sc_item_option.value limit: 50 ``` **From Journal/Comments:** ``` Tool: SN-Query-Table Parameters: table_name: sys_journal_field query: element_id=^element=comments^ORDERBYsys_created_on fields: value,sys_created_on,sys_created_by limit: 20 ``` ### Step 4: Calculate Cost Impact Aggregate costs from the request including one-time and recurring charges. **MCP Approach:** ``` Tool: SN-Query-Table Parameters: table_name: sc_req_item query: request= fields: sys_id,number,cat_item,price,recurring_price,quantity limit: 50 ``` For detailed pricing: ``` Tool: SN-Query-Table Parameters: table_name: fx_price query: id=^active=true fields: sys_id,amount,currency,type,recurring_frequency,duration limit: 5 ``` Calculate totals: - **One-time cost**: SUM(price * quantity) across all line items - **Monthly recurring**: SUM(recurring_price * quantity) - **Annual impact**: One-time + (Monthly recurring * 12) - **Budget utilization**: Compare against department budget if available ### Step 5: Build Approval History Retrieve the full approval chain including completed and pending approvals. **MCP Approach:** ``` Tool: SN-Query-Table Parameters: table_name: sysapproval_approver query: sysapproval=^ORDERBYsys_created_on fields: sys_id,approver,state,sys_created_on,sys_updated_on,comments,group,expected_start,due_date limit: 20 ``` **REST Approach:** ``` GET /api/now/table/sysapproval_approver ?sysparm_query=sysapproval=^ORDERBYsys_created_on &sysparm_fields=sys_id,approver,state,sys_created_on,sys_updated_on,comments,group &sysparm_display_value=true &sysparm_limit=20 ``` ### Step 6: Retrieve Requester Profile Context Get the requester's HR profile and department information for context. **MCP Approach:** ``` Tool: SN-Query-Table Parameters: table_name: sn_hr_core_profile query: user= fields: sys_id,user,department,location,job_title,manager,cost_center,employment_type,hire_date limit: 1 ``` ### Step 7: Check for Prior Similar Requests Identify if the requester or department has submitted similar requests recently. **MCP Approach:** ``` Tool: SN-Query-Table Parameters: table_name: sc_req_item query: requested_for=^cat_item=^sys_created_on>javascript:gs.daysAgo(365) fields: number,stage,price,sys_created_on,closed_at limit: 10 ``` ### Step 8: Assess Policy Compliance Check if the request falls within policy thresholds: **MCP Approach:** ``` Tool: SN-Query-Table Parameters: table_name: sysapproval_rule query: table=sc_req_item^active=true fields: sys_id,name,description,condition,approval_type,order limit: 10 ``` ### Step 9: Compile the Approval Summary Assemble all gathered information into a decision-ready format: ``` === APPROVAL SUMMARY === Request: RITM0012345 - New Laptop Request Submitted: 2025-12-01 14:30 by Jane Smith (Engineering) Status: Awaiting Your Approval --- Requester Profile --- Name: Jane Smith Title: Senior Software Engineer Department: Engineering - Platform Team Location: San Francisco, CA Manager: Bob Johnson Tenure: 3 years, 8 months --- Business Justification --- "Current laptop (2019 MacBook Pro) is experiencing frequent kernel panics and battery failure. Unable to run local development environment with current 8GB RAM. Requesting 16GB MacBook Pro for development workloads. IT has confirmed current device is past end-of-life." --- Cost Impact --- One-Time Cost: $2,499.00 Monthly Recurring: $0.00 Annual Total Impact: $2,499.00 Department Budget Remaining: $45,200 (Q4) Cost as % of Budget: 5.5% --- Approval History --- 1. [APPROVED] 2025-12-01 15:00 - Direct Manager (Bob Johnson) Comment: "Confirmed hardware issues. Approved." 2. [PENDING] 2025-12-02 -- Director Approval (You) 3. [WAITING] -- Finance Review (auto-triggered if > $2,000) --- Risk Indicators --- - Prior similar request: None in last 12 months - Cost threshold: Exceeds $2,000 director approval threshold - Policy compliance: Within hardware refresh policy (device > 3 years) - Budget impact: Low (5.5% of remaining Q4 budget) --- Recommendation Context --- Similar requests in Engineering this quarter: 4 approved, 0 rejected Average approval time: 1.2 business days ``` ### Step 10: Record the Summary Optionally attach the summary as a work note on the approval or source record. **MCP Approach:** ``` Tool: SN-Add-Work-Notes Parameters: table_name: sysapproval_approver sys_id: work_notes: "[AI-Generated Approval Summary]\n" ``` ## Tool Usage | Tool | Purpose | When to Use | |------|---------|-------------| | SN-Query-Table | Fetch approvals, requests, profiles, history | Primary data gathering | | SN-Get-Record | Retrieve single source record details | Detailed record inspection | | SN-Natural-Language-Search | Find related requests or cases by description | Pattern matching for similar items | | SN-Add-Work-Notes | Attach summary to approval record | Documentation and audit trail | ## Best Practices 1. **Lead with the decision-critical information** -- cost, justification, and risk at the top 2. **Include approval chain context** -- show what others have already decided 3. **Flag exceptions clearly** -- highlight policy violations or unusual patterns 4. **Show budget impact as percentage** -- raw numbers lack context without budget reference 5. **Include requester tenure** -- new hire requests may have different approval considerations 6. **Check for duplicate requests** -- surface recent similar requests to prevent waste 7. **Respect data sensitivity** -- omit salary, medical, or disciplinary details from summaries 8. **Use display values** -- always show names and labels rather than sys_ids 9. **Include timeline urgency** -- note SLA deadlines for time-sensitive approvals 10. **Provide historical benchmarks** -- show how similar requests were handled ## Troubleshooting | Issue | Cause | Resolution | |-------|-------|------------| | No approval records found | User has no pending approvals or wrong user sys_id | Verify approver sys_id matches the logged-in user | | Variables not returned | MTOM query format incorrect | Use `sc_item_option_mtom` with proper dot-walking | | Cost data missing | Catalog item has no price configured | Check `sc_cat_item.price` and `fx_price` table | | Approval history incomplete | Some approvals use group instead of individual | Include `group` field and resolve group members | | Journal entries empty | Comments stored in different element | Check both `comments` and `work_notes` elements | | Profile not found | User lacks HR profile record | Fall back to `sys_user` table for basic information | ## Examples ### Example 1: HR Case Approval Summary **Input:** "Summarize HR case HRC0010042 for the approver" **Steps:** Retrieve case from `sn_hr_core_case`, pull employee profile, check approval chain, extract justification from case description and comments, calculate any cost impact from associated catalog items, compile summary. ### Example 2: High-Value Request Approval **Input:** "Generate an approval summary for RITM0025001 which is a $15,000 server request" **Steps:** Retrieve RITM details, extract all catalog variables including configuration specs, pull pricing details, build full approval chain (may include multiple levels for high-value items), check against procurement policies, flag budget impact, include vendor quotes if attached. ### Example 3: Batch Approval Summary for Manager **Input:** "Show me all pending approvals with summaries for manager Bob Johnson" **Steps:** Query all `sysapproval_approver` records where approver is Bob Johnson and state is requested, for each retrieve source record summary, aggregate total cost impact across all pending items, present as a prioritized list sorted by due date. ## Related Skills - `hrsd/case-summarization` - General HR case summarization - `catalog/approval-workflows` - Approval workflow configuration - `catalog/request-fulfillment` - Fulfillment process details - `reporting/sla-analysis` - SLA status and breach analysis - `itsm/change-management` - Change request approval patterns