How does CollabNet TeamForge support documents?

A key element in a successful product development project is ensuring that stakeholders from all functional groups are involved in an iterative document review and approval process, particularly for critical documents, such as Product Requirements Documents.

It is also critical that any changes to key documents are recorded and the new information quickly communicated to everyone concerned.

The CollabNet TeamForge Document Manager helps you manage your documents throughout their lifecycle and ensure the appropriate level of involvement of other project members. In addition to storing documents for reference purposes, the Document Manager provides a document review workflow process to allow you to actively engage other users in the review and approval of a document.

Simple notification process

If you would like to keep other CollabNet TeamForge users informed when the status of a document, such as when a document is posted or updated, or there is a change in the contents or status of an existing document, but do not require a formal review and approval process, the following steps provide a best practice for this level of document management:

Post the document to the Document Manager in the desired location. If you would like to prevent other users from editing, moving, or deleting the document, use the 'Lock Document" feature. (If you choose not to lock the document, any user with the document edit permission can edit and update the document.)
Notify other users that the document is available and request that they begin monitoring it. All users monitoring an item receive email notification whenever the item is updated.

Document workflow review and approval

In cases where more formal document review is desired, the CollabNet TeamForge Document Manager provides an easy-to-use workflow process for managing a document’s review and approval.

After submitting a document, you can start a document review. You are prompted to provide the following information:

The names of all required and optional reviewers. (All reviewers must have permission to access the document.)
The date by which the review must be completed.
Email message text.

You will be notified each time a reviewer submits review comments.

When selected to review a document, users receive an email notification with the relevant details and a link to the document.

You can also choose to attach the document to the email notification. An item also appears in the Documents Awaiting Review section of each reviewer’s My Page, including the due date.

A Submit a Response section is provided within the Document Manager where reviewers can enter their review comments. Reviewers should be instructed to include "I approve this document" or similar text in the Submit a Response section to indicate that they have approved the document.

All reviewers and the document submitter will be able to read the reviews of all other reviewers once they have been submitted.