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Competition Registration and Approval Process

Student Clubs – Student Activities Department – KFUPM

1. Executive Summary

This process outlines the end-to-end workflow for the registration, automated validation, and approval of student club competitions and their associated awards.

Unlike standard funding requests, this process starts automatically when 1 month remains before the competition date. The Club President enters the competition details and awards, then the system checks policy and budget rules before the Club Supervisor reviews and approves. If the system check fails or the Supervisor returns it with comments, the Club President updates and resubmits.

2. Key Characteristics of This Process

Lead time is enforced by design

The workflow starts on a fixed timeline to avoid last-minute award planning.
See: Walkthrough Step 1.0; Governance “Lead Time Enforcement”.

Financial checks happen before human review

The system checks policy and budget rules before the Club Supervisor reviews the request.
See: Walkthrough Steps 3.0–3.1.

Authority is intentionally split

The Supervisor decides on the competition’s suitability, while the system checks whether the proposal meets policy and budget rules.
See: Actors table (System vs. Club Supervisor).

3. Key Process Logic

  • The process is triggered automatically 1 month before the competition date.
    See: Walkthrough Step 1.0; Governance “Lead Time Enforcement”.
    Policy note (not modeled in BPMN): this trigger relies on a tentative competition date defined earlier during Budget Setting.
  • The Club President must select a pre-approved budget item before submitting competition details. See: Walkthrough Step 1.1.
  • The system runs policy and budget validation; if either check fails, the request is blocked and must be modified and resubmitted through validation again. See: Walkthrough Steps 3.0–5.0.
  • After successful system validation, the Club Supervisor is expected to act within 3 business days. See: Governance “Supervisor Approval SLA”.

4. Process Actors and Responsibilities

The following table outlines the roles involved:

Role Responsibility
Club President Accountable Initiator. Responsible for selecting the correct budget item, defining the competition structure (individual vs. group) and awards, and ensuring the proposal meets system validation rules.
System Compliance Gatekeeper. Automatically validates that the proposed award amounts align with the selected budget item and Student Fund policy restrictions. Rejects non-compliant requests immediately.
Club Supervisor Approval Authority. Responsible for reviewing the qualitative aspects of the competition. Has the authority to request modifications or grant final approval, relying on the system to have already handled financial compliance.

5. Process Map (BPMN)

BPMN Diagram Notice: This document export excludes the interactive BPMN diagram.
To view the full process map, please visit:
ba-dsa.pages.dev → Competition Registration and Approval

See a quick explanation of the symbols here: BPMN symbol legend

For the full BPMN 2.0 specification, see: Complete BPMN Symbol Reference .

6. Process Walkthrough & Business Logic

The following table details the process steps:

Step Actor Action Business Rules
1.0 System / Timer Process Trigger The process initiates automatically 1 month prior to the competition date to ensure the competition is prepared in advance.
1.1 Club President Select Budget Item The Club President selects the specific competition from the club's existing budget items.
2.0 Club President Register Details The President defines the specific parameters for the selected competition item.
Required Data Points:
  • Participation Type: Group vs. Individual
  • Group Metrics: Size or range (if Group selected)
  • Awards: Amount designated for winners
2.1 Club President Submit to Supervisor The Club President submits the details.
3.0 System Auto-Validation
(Policy & Budget)
The system performs the following checks:
  • Policy Check: Is the award structure compliant with Student Fund policy limits?
  • Budget Check: Is the total prize value within the assigned budget allocated for this competition?
3.1 System System Rejection (Validation Error) Hard Block If either check fails, the system halts the process and displays the relevant error message:
  • Policy Failure: "The award amount exceeds the policy limit."
  • Budget Failure: "The total awards exceed the assigned budget for this competition."
In both cases, the request is routed to Step 5.0 (Modify & Resubmit) for correction.
4.0 Club Supervisor Review Competition Details If compliant, the Supervisor receives the request. Since the system has already validated the financials, the Supervisor reviews the request for content, suitability, and fairness.
4.1 Club Supervisor Return for Modification If Rejected The Supervisor returns the request to the President with specific comments (e.g., "Adjust the group size to allow more students").
5.0 Club President Modify & Resubmit If returned or rejected, the President modifies the details based on the System Error (from Step 3.1) or the Supervisor's Feedback (from Step 4.1).
  • Loop Logic: The resubmission goes back to Step 3.0 (System Validation) to ensure the new changes still comply with policy.
6.0 Club Supervisor Approve Details Final Approval The Supervisor grants final approval. The competition structure is now locked.
7.0 System Process End The competition is marked as "Approved".

7. Exception Handling

Scenario A: System Auto-Rejection (Hard Block)

Trigger: The President enters an award amount that exceeds the policy limit or the assigned budget for that competition.

Resolution: The System prevents submission. The President must adjust the figures to meet policy constraints before the workflow can proceed to the Supervisor.

Scenario B: Supervisor Return (Soft Block)

Trigger: The Supervisor disagrees with the competition structure (e.g., the distribution of winners seems unfair, or the group size is too small).

Resolution: The Supervisor utilizes the "Return to club president for modification with comments" path. The President must address these comments and resubmit.

8. Inputs & Outputs

Inputs

  • Competition Date (Trigger)
    Source: Derived from the Budget Setting phase (Club President must define a tentative date when allocating budget).
  • Selected Budget Item (Source of Funds)
  • Participation Structure (Group vs. Individual)
  • Group Size/Range (if group is selected)
  • Awards

Outputs

  • Competition Approved: Formal validation of the competition structure and awards.
  • System Validation Errors: System-generated errors if the President attempts non-compliant entries (Policy) or exceeds the assigned limit (Budget).
  • Modification Comments: Documented feedback from the Supervisor if the initial plan was returned.

9. Governance & Lead Times

Lead Time Enforcement

The process starts automatically when 1 month remains before the competition date. This helps prevent last-minute award planning.

System checks before Supervisor review

By placing the system checks before the Supervisor review, the process helps ensure competition details meet policy and budget rules before they are reviewed for approval.

Decentralized Decision Making

The Supervisor retains full authority over the nature of the competition, while the System retains full authority over the rules (financial & policy) of the competition.

Supervisor Approval SLA

Policy (not modeled in BPMN)

To prevent bottlenecks during the critical planning month, the Club Supervisor is required to action the request (Approve or Return) within 3 business days of successful system validation.

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