How should I document a manual exception to a standard process?

For a one-off departure from the usual process, record an exception on that request—do not edit the shared process template. That way colleagues see *why this case differed*, *who approved it*, and *which request it applies to*, without treating it as a permanent rule change.

Recommended model in Busabase

*Diagram · exception log linked to the request; template stays intact*

*Diagram · Relation field links Exception → Request*

How to work day to day

1. Handle the request under the normal process whenever you can.
2. When you must skip or alter a step, add an Exception log row linked to that Request—fill reason, skipped step, approver, approvedAt, scope=this_request.
3. Optionally add a short comment on the Request: “See exception log.”
4. Do not remove or rewrite steps on the Process template for this single case.

How to verify

• Open the Request: the exception row is visible with reason + approver.
• Open the Process template: steps are unchanged.
• A colleague reading only the template still sees the standard rule; reading the Request sees the documented exception.

Boundaries

• Repeated exceptions of the same kind → discuss a real process update (separate change), not silent template edits.
• Emergency verbal approvals: still create the log row as soon as practical so the audit trail exists.
• Scope should stay “this request”; if someone needs a standing waiver, that’s a different object (policy exception), not a one-line skip.

If you share whether approvals are a Person field or a free-text name, we can tighten the field list to match your workspace.