Document Workflow Templates allow setup of default lists of Reviewers and/or Approvers for your documents. The active Document Workflow Templates can then be selected by a document author, allowing them to conveniently select those names for document Review Cycles, Approval Cycles and/or Retire Cycles.
Document Workflow Templates can be linked as Default templates to one or more Document Types but this is not required. Even if you do link them as a defaults for Document Types, they do not have to be used and they are also easily edited at the document level to either remove a person or add an additional person.
For creating and modifying Document Workflow Templates, refer to the Document Administration User Guide: https://docs.solabs.com/hc/en-us/articles/360041573734-SOLABS-QM10-Guide-for-Document-Administrators
The purpose of this article is to provide some ideas on possible naming conventions for Document Workflow Templates
The Name should be one that easily describes its intended purpose. When creating a Document Workflow Template, think about how it will be used, how authors can readily identify it when they need it and whether it makes sense to link it as a Default template for any Document Types or not.
Below you will find a few options to consider when naming your Document Workflow Templates.
Aligning the Name with a Document Type
If you have specific people who always review and approve a particular Document Type you can consider creating and naming a Document Workflow Template for that specific Document Type, such as "Product Specification".
When considering this however, think about whether those same people might also be the typical reviewers and approvers for other Document Types. For example, if the same people would typically also approve Raw Material Specifications, In-Process Specifications and Laboratory Test Methods you could instead name it something more general such as "Quality Control Documentation" and then link it as a possible Default for all four Document Types.
Aligning the Name with an Organizational Area
If you have specific people who always review and approve multiple Document Types for their particular department or functional area you can consider creating and naming Document Workflow Templates for organizational needs, such as "Manufacturing Documents".
When considering whether to link these organizational Document Workflow Templates as defaults for any Document Types, think about whether other areas may use those same Document Types. For example, "Master Production Records" may always be reviewed/approved by the same Manufacturing personnel but other Document Types such as Standard Operating Procedures or Forms may also apply in other organizational areas and therefore need different reviewers/approvers.
Remember, linking a Document Workflow Template to a Document Type is NOT required - it is just a convenience when done. You could instead have Document Workflow Templates created for each department and use them when it makes sense but not link them to anything specific.
Aligning the Name with a Particular Situation
You may have document approval needs for specific situations, such as import of legacy documents or import of scanned documents such as Batch Records from a contract manufacturing organization or CVs for new employees.
In this case you can create a unique Document Workflow Templates that can be used whenever that need arises, for any Document Type or organizational area.
A common example used by many QM10 clients is to create Document Workflow Templates named such things as Approval by Author Only or Imported and Verified. When creating these Document Workflow Templates, they use the Originator (Author) option for the Approval Cycle setting. When using this Document Workflow Template, the logged in user who is importing the document file will be recognized as the "Author" and will be able to easily approve the imported document.
- A similar situation could be to use the Document Owner option for such things Approval by Document Owner or Scanned and Verified. In this case the Function Role listed in the Document Owner field for the particular Document Type being processed will be applied. For example, if you set the Document Owner field as "FCT_HR Specialist" for a Document Type named "Curriculum Vitae", any user with that Function Role assignment who chose that Document Type when importing a CV could then approve it.
- In either of the above examples, you could also add other reviewers and/or approvers through the Custom selection option as you would have when creating Document Workflow Templates for specific Document Types or Organizational Areas.
We hope this article gave you some ideas on how you can best use the convenience of Document Workflow Templates in SOLABS QM10! If you have other ideas we can share through this article, please let us know!
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