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The MIE logs every email reply it receives in the Work Log.  When a reply is received, the MIE matches the reply to the request that was originally sent.  After the reply has been processed (to determine if it represents an approval or denial), overall request approval is determined by the MIE.  Overall request approval is determined by first reading the parameters under which the original request was sent.  Namely, the number of individuals to which the request was sent, the minimum percentage of replies necessary to constitute quorum, and the minimum percentage of approvals required in order to approve the overall request.

The MIE begins at the end of the log and reads backwards until it finds no more email replies for the given request (each request is assigned a separate and unique entry in the workflow queue).  As it reads each reply, it tallies the number of APPROVED and DENIED reply results.  It ignores any reply that recorded any result other than APPROVED or DENIED.  Such replies would include errors such as a reply received from the wrong sender, or a reply received twice from the same sender.  Once it tallies all APPROVED and/or DENIED replies, it calculates to see if a quorum had been established and if enough approvals were received to approve the overall request.

If overall request approval is determined, the workflow engine will branch to the Process Point specified for approval.  If overall request denial is determined, the workflow engine will branch to the Process Point specified for denial.  Otherwise, if no errors occurred and quorum has not yet been established, the workflow engine will continue to remain at the current process point, waiting for replies.