Document review is useful in the production of documents that have to meet a certain quality standard. When a draft document has undergone the necessary editing and is ready for release, document review ensures the quality intended: the document is reviewed by one or more persons responsible and is eventually released or rejected. In case of a rejection this process can be repeated.
In BSCW, document review can be defined for single documents or entire folders by specifying different review steps and the persons responsible. When the review process is defined for an entire folder, it is valid for all documents contained in the folder and its subfolders.
Figure 28: Document review (schematic view, two review steps)
After definition of the review process, the review of a document may be started by a member of the folder where the document is located. The document is put under version control and is locked for the duration of the review. The reviewers are notified by e-mail when it’s their turn and can now accept or reject the document. The different steps of the review process are executed one after another. When a document is accepted in the last review step, it is thus released. When a document is rejected in any of the review steps, the review process is terminated. The document may be edited again and may eventually undergo another review. The initiator of the review process is also notified by e-mail of acceptance or rejection.