slackCakewalk for Slack

The Cakewalk Slack app lets employees request access, check statuses and manage permissions through natural conversation. Approvers complete tasks without leaving Slack.

👥 Who It Applies To

Role
Capabilities

Admins

Install, configure and monitor the Cakewalk app for Slack.

Managers

Approve and complete tasks in Slack. Request access on behalf of team members.

App Owners

Approve and complete tasks in Slack.

Users

Request, change or remove access. Check request status. Get reminders sent to approvers.


✅ What the Slack App Supports

  • Request Access (for yourself or on behalf of others)

  • Change Permissions ("Upgrade my Salesforce to Reports access")

  • Remove Access ("Remove my Looker access")

  • Bulk Requests ("I need Miro, Jira and Notion")

  • Status Lookups ("What's happening with my Datadog request?")

  • Reminders ("Remind my approver about my pending request")

  • Find App Owner ("Who owns Miro?")

  • App Suggestions (alternative apps when a requested app is not tracked)

  • Complete Tasks (approve/decline, action tasks)

  • System Notifications (overdue Access Reviews, provisioning updates)


⚙️ Install & Connect

  1. In Cakewalk, go to Settings → Account → Slack.

  2. Click Connect and authorize with a Slack admin account.

  3. The app is ready. Employees interact with it directly from their Slack sidebar. No channel invites required.

To also allow channel mentions, invite the app to your chosen channel(s) using /invite @Cakewalk.


🧑‍💻 User Experience

Starting a Conversation

Open the Cakewalk app from your Slack sidebar and start typing. The app uses a conversational assistant that understands natural language.

When you start a new thread, you'll see suggested prompts:

  • Request access to an app

  • Find app owner

  • Check my pending requests

You can pick a prompt or type your own message in plain language.

You can also mention @Cakewalk in any channel where the app has been added. The app will redirect you to a direct conversation.

How Conversations Work

The assistant processes your message in real time. You'll see status updates as it works:

  • Searching for apps...

  • Getting app details...

  • Processing your request...

The assistant replies in the same thread. All follow-ups, clarifications and status updates stay in that thread.

What You Can Ask

Request access:

"I need access to Figma"

The assistant finds the app, confirms the permission level and asks for a reason. Your request is created and routed through the approval policy.

Change permissions:

"Change my Salesforce access to Reports"

The assistant confirms the change (e.g., Standard User → Reports) and creates a permission change request.

Remove access:

"Remove my access to Looker"

The assistant validates your current access, asks for a reason and submits a removal request.

Bulk requests:

"I need access to Miro, Jira and Notion"

The assistant handles all three. It confirms permissions for each app and creates separate requests, keeping everything in one thread.

Request on behalf of someone (managers and admins):

"Request Figma for @alex"

The assistant confirms the user, app and permission level, then creates the request on their behalf.

Check status:

"What's happening with my Datadog request?"

The assistant looks up your pending requests and tells you the current state and who needs to act next.

Send a reminder:

"Remind my approver"

The assistant sends a Slack message to the person blocking your request.

Find an app owner:

"Who owns Miro?"

The assistant returns the designated App Owner.

Smart Behaviors

  • Disambiguation: If your request matches more than one app (e.g., "Zoom" could mean Zoom Meetings or ZoomInfo), the assistant asks which one you mean.

  • Alternative suggestions: If you request an app your company does not track but a similar approved app exists, the assistant suggests it.

  • Follow-up questions: If the assistant can't find your app, it asks clarifying questions before giving up.

  • Pending requests: If you already have a pending request for the same app, the assistant shows its status instead of creating a duplicate.

  • Existing access: If you already have access, the assistant lets you know.

First-Time Setup

If the assistant can't match your Slack profile to your Cakewalk account, you'll be prompted to log in once to link both.


👩‍⚖️ Assignee Experience

  • Receive interactive task cards in Slack (Approve / Decline / Done / View details).

  • Complete review and action tasks directly in Slack.

  • All actions are audited in Cakewalk automatically.


🔒 Security & Compliance

  • Users are mapped by verified email. Only authenticated employees can submit or act.

  • All Slack actions write to Requests, Tasks and the Audit Log in Cakewalk.

  • Permissions are enforced. Only policy-compliant assignees see action buttons.

  • One thread per request keeps the full conversation auditable.

Last updated

Was this helpful?