User access reviews shouldn't feel like a monthly nightmare. Yet here we are—spreadsheets everywhere, emails piling up, and managers taking weeks to respond while you're stuck tracking it all manually.
Good thing then, that you can automate most of this process. The repetitive parts—exports, emails, follow-ups, updates—run themselves so you can focus on the exceptions that need your expertise.
This guide walks you through building smart workflows that actually reduce your workload, not just shift it around.
What Makes a Workflow "Smart"?
A smart workflow isn't just automation for automation's sake. It needs three things:
- Triggers that make sense: Reviews kick off automatically based on events or schedules instead of living on your to-do list.
- Built-in accountability: The system tracks responses and sends reminders without you playing email cop.
- Exception handling: Unusual situations get flagged for your attention instead of breaking the entire workflow.
Choosing the Right Tools
Your choice depends on your environment, user count, and how your team already works.
For Small to Mid-Size Teams (Under 500 Users)
Workflow automation platforms like Zapier, Power Automate, or Make connect your identity provider to communication tools. They work well when you need something running quickly and most users live in one or two main systems.
Cost: $20-$100/month depending on workflow complexity
For Service Desk-Centric Teams
Multiplier for Jira Service Management automates access reviews directly in JSM if that's where your team lives. Purpose-built for access governance, it handles review campaigns, approvals, and remediation without forcing you into a separate platform.
Cost: Pricing scales with JSM tier and user count
For Larger Organizations
Identity governance tools like SailPoint, Saviynt, or Okta Identity Governance handle multiple connected systems, role-based access reviews, compliance reporting, and segregation of duties checks.
Cost: Starts around $5-10 per user annually
Check What You Already Have
Before buying anything:
- Microsoft 365 includes Access Reviews in Azure AD Premium P2
- Google Workspace has audit logs and admin alerts you can build on
- Many SaaS apps have built-in access review features
Building Your Automated Workflow
Start with one system and expand once you've proven it works.
Step 1: Map Your Current Process
Document every step in your manual review so you know what to automate:
- Where user data lives and who owns it
- Who approves what type of access
- Timeline expectations and escalation paths
- What you do with the results
Step 2: Set Up Your Data Source
Connect to your authoritative source—your identity provider or HR system. Pull user lists with relevant attributes (department, manager, role, access level) and schedule regular syncs. Most platforms offer pre-built integrations that don't require coding.
Step 3: Create Your Review Logic
Define triggers based on what makes sense for your organization:
- Time-based: Quarterly reviews for all users, annual reviews for privileged access
- Event-based: New hire at 30 days, role changes, department transfers
- Risk-based: Unused accounts, excessive permissions, policy violations
Route reviews automatically to the right approvers based on org structure.
Step 4: Design the Approval Experience
Make it fast for managers to respond:
- Send reviews through tools they already use (email, Slack, Teams, JSM)
- Show clear information about what they're approving
- Offer simple actions (approve, revoke, request more info)
- Target under two minutes to complete a review
Step 5: Automate Follow-Up and Escalation
This is where you save the most time:
- First reminder after 3 days of no response
- Escalate to the approver's manager after 7 days
- Auto-approve low-risk access if needed to keep moving
- Flag high-risk items for your direct attention
Step 6: Handle Results Automatically
Your workflow should remove or modify access based on decisions, log all changes for audits, generate completion reports, and alert you only to items needing manual intervention. If 80% of reviews never need your direct involvement, you've built it right.
Common Pitfalls to Avoid
- Over-automating too soon: Start with one system and a basic approval flow. Add complexity only after you've proven the simple version works.
- Ignoring approval fatigue: If managers get 200 access items to review at once, they'll rubber-stamp everything. Break large reviews into manageable chunks or use risk scoring to prioritize what really needs attention.
- Forgetting about orphaned accounts: Your workflow should flag users whose managers have left the company. These accounts often slip through the cracks in automated reviews.
- Skipping the audit trail: Every decision needs a timestamp, approver name, and justification. Your future self during an audit will thank you.
- Setting unrealistic timelines: If your current manual process takes three weeks, don't expect managers to complete automated reviews in three days. Give reasonable deadlines that actually work.
Making Reviews Less Painful for Approvers
The success of your automated workflow depends on people actually responding. Make it easier:
- Provide context: Show when access was last used, not just what exists. Managers can confidently remove accounts that haven't logged in for 90 days.
- Pre-populate recommendations: Use activity data to suggest "revoke" for unused access. Approvers can override, but smart defaults speed things up.
- Batch similar items: Group access by application or risk level so approvers can make decisions faster.
- Show the impact: Tell managers what happens if they approve or revoke. Reduces anxiety about making the wrong choice.
Starting This Week
Pick your easiest win first. The best candidates:
- Small user population (under 100 users)
- Single application or system
- Clear ownership (everyone knows who their manager is)
- Low-risk access that won't break things if you make mistakes
Build the workflow, test it with a small group, fix what breaks, then expand. You'll learn more from one working automation than months of planning the perfect enterprise solution.
Stop Babysitting Access Reviews
You've probably automated a dozen other workflows in JSM. But access reviews? Still living in your inbox, a mess of spreadsheets, and that one manager who never responds.
It doesn't have to be like this. Multiplier automates the entire review cycle without making you leave JSM. Reviews launch on schedule, route to the right people, remind non-responders automatically, and actually enforce the decisions.
Book a demo and bring your messiest review scenario. We'll show you exactly how Multiplier handles it.
Want to just try it right now? Install Multiplier from Atlassian Marketplace and run it free for 14 days. One automated review cycle and you'll never go back to manual tracking.
