Review decisions

A document marked reviewed still needs a person to decide whether the selected revision is acceptable. A review decision links the document, source revision and reviewer. It records the decision, date, reason and evidence reference. This gives the next person a clear answer to which revision was reviewed and why it could proceed, return or stop.

Consider a revised operating instruction. The Document Controller validates the selected revision and prepares the review. The Document Reviewer checks the actual content and supporting evidence. If the instruction contains an unresolved step, the reviewer returns it with a reason. The controller can prepare a corrected revision without overwriting the earlier review record. Approval is a human decision; a pending row is not an approval.

• Revision. The decision identifies the source revision, not just a document title.
• Reviewer. A named person is responsible for the independent judgment.
• Evidence. An evidence reference and attached evidence document can support the reason.

Assign reviewers who are independent of preparation for the kinds of documents they assess. Agree which evidence is necessary and how to write a useful reason for a returned or rejected decision. The evidence document can carry an attachment, external reference, verification flag and verifier. Decide who can mark evidence verified and who may view it under the access policy.

Set the rule for a changed revision after approval. A decision for an earlier revision should not silently authorize a later one. Use the source revision to compare the review with the document’s current revision before publishing. If the revision changes, request another independent decision. The Publishing Manager should see the current decision and evidence before acting.

Choose a candidate document with a pending review. The reviewer opens the correct parent and source revision, reads the attachment and records either an approval or a return with a specific reason. The controller inspects a returned decision, prepares the correction and sends that revision for review. The decision history should still show the earlier return and its reviewer.

For an approved revision, the Publishing Manager checks that the approved source revision matches the content being published. Inspect the resulting state history and operation trace after the publication action. An exception or uncertain external receipt should remain visible for reconciliation before anyone represents the content as distributed.

• Review inbox — Work through pending decisions assigned to reviewers.
• Returned reviews — Find the reason and source revision requiring correction.
• Verified evidence — Check supporting material marked verified.

Follow the revision and review process and the publication process.