Overview

Activity history shows important changes made in FTE Tree, including who made the change, when it happened, and what was affected. Approval requests also keep the requested values, approval path, approvers, decisions, notes, attachments, comments, and approved changes together.

Use activity history for ordinary review. Use reports and exports when an administrator needs to review many records across a date range.

Activity history is designed to answer business review questions, not to replace a conversation. Use comments for discussion, approval notes for decisions, and activity history to confirm the action that was saved.

Access needed

Activity Access needed
View activity history on a record View access for that record
Configure activity history note settings Activity history note settings access
Export organization history records Activity history export access or relevant report/export access
Access setup See Permissions and roles.

What is tracked

FTE Tree records important position-control actions, including:

Area Tracked activity
Positions Created, updated, archived, restored, or discarded while still a draft.
Proposed position values Created, submitted, approved, denied, cancelled, refreshed, marked stale, or applied.
Position assignments Created, updated, ended, or vacated.
Organization setup Department, job-code, compensation, pay-grade, adjustment, funding source, and custom-detail changes.
Approval setup Workflow, step, approval level, request reason, and approver-group changes.
Approval decisions Approval, reassignment, approve-on-behalf, denial, cancellation, and resubmission.
Imports Uploaded, checked, failed, applied, reversed, or downloaded.
Reports Generated, previewed, or downloaded.
User access and security Role, department access, invitation, session, and security setting changes.

The exact details shown depend on what changed, the user's access, and whether the action included sensitive data.

Where to review activity

Start from the record you are investigating:

History location What it covers
Position Position values, proposed changes, comments, assignment changes, and approval links.
Employee Employee profile, employment status, and assignment-related changes.
Department Department details, parent changes, funding setup, approval workflow assignment, and organization structure changes.
Approval request Submitted values, approval path, approver decisions, cancellation, reassignment, approve-on-behalf actions, and when approved changes took effect.
Import Uploaded files, results, applied rows, reversals, and downloads in the import's Activity history view.
Report Generated reports and downloads.

Use reports or exports when the question spans many records or a date range that would be inefficient to review one record at a time.

Notes and reason choices

Some actions can show a note entry, a reason choice, or both. Your organization can configure whether those inputs are hidden, optional, or required.

Approval actions often use reason choices for consistent decision categories and notes for short explanations. For example, an approver might choose Meets criteria and add a note explaining a compensation review.

Action notes are separate from comments. Use comments for discussion. Use action notes when the note explains the action being saved.

Approval request history

Approval requests preserve the approval path that applied when the request was submitted. Later workflow changes do not change that saved path.

The request history can include:

Information Details preserved
Request Request type and request number.
Requested changes Position values and effective dates.
Impact Approved-versus-proposed FTE and cost impact.
Approval path Selected workflow, approval level, and approvers chosen for each workflow step.
Supporting information Attachments, required attachment types, comments, and decision notes.
Approval activity Reassignment, approve-on-behalf actions, and approved changes that took effect.

This makes it possible to explain both the final decision and how the request reached that decision.

Review checklist

Use the history to answer four questions:

Question What to review
Who took part? The person who submitted the request or changed the record, each approver, and any reassignment or approve-on-behalf action.
What was requested? The approved value, proposed value, calculated impact, reasons, notes, and attachments.
Which dates apply? The effective date for each changed value and the date the final change took effect.
How was it decided? The approval path saved at submission and every approval, denial, cancellation, or resubmission.

Reviewing these questions separately helps distinguish the staffing decision from later setting changes.

File attachments and security

Uploaded files can be used as supporting documents for approval requests and support cases. FTE Tree checks uploaded files for file safety concerns before reviewers can download them. If a file cannot be accepted, upload a replacement file.

Do not upload documents that are not needed for the business decision. If a workflow requires a specific document, name the required attachment clearly so requesters know what to provide.

Reviewing history

Use Activity history on the item you are reviewing when you need its full history. Use reports when you need to review many items, approval activity, report downloads, imports, or access changes across a date range.

Retention expectations

Activity history, report history, and history exports are kept according to the organization's retention rules. Notification delivery details or security activity may be kept for a shorter time than staffing and approval history. See Data retention and account deletion for details.

Common mistakes

  • Using comments when an approval decision note is required.
  • Uploading more sensitive material than the request needs.
  • Reviewing today's position page when the question is about a prior effective date.
  • Assuming a later workflow change changed an already-submitted request.
  • Comparing a report total to a position detail page without checking the report date range.