Understanding content workflow

During the process of creating a document, the content goes through several stages. Each stage requires input from users with different roles.

Each object is given a status, and that status changes according to the workflow defined in your deployment. For example, a topic may go from Contribute status to Donestatus through the following workflow:

Figure: Example of a workflow
Sample workflow

The status of an object provides an understanding of the following:

  • Where it stands within your documentation process
  • What effort needs to come next
  • What needs to be accomplished before it is finished

Each person may have one or more roles. For instance, your deployment might have roles such as Contributor, Writer, Editor, and Reviewer. The person assigned to a given role is expected to work on the assigned content in a specific way.

For example, in your organization subject matter experts might be expected to produce content that is then given to technical writers to refine. Once done, the technical writers give the content back to the subject matter experts to verify and change as required. In this case, the subject matter experts could have the Contributor and Reviewer roles, and technical writers could have the Writer role.

Example of a workflow

The following is an example of one possible workflow for documentation. Other workflows are possible. This process could start with a technical writer, an information architect, or anyone else.

  1. The technical writer creates a map and some topics.
  2. She adds some basic content to the topics.
  3. She assigns the topics to a subject matter expert, who has the role of Contributor.
  4. The technical writer then changes the topics to Contribute status.
  5. When the subject matter expert opens their My Assignments page, the assigned topics in Contribute status appear as items to work on.
  6. When the subject matter expert clicks Edit, the topic is checked out from the repository and opens in the Topic Editor.
  7. When the subject matter expert finishes writing content in the Topic Editor, he clicks Check in.
  8. The subject matter expert changes the status of the object to Work status and assigns it back to the technical writer.
  9. The technical writer works on the topic, and when finished, chooses to change the topic to Review status and assign it back to the subject matter expert.
  10. The subject matter expert checks the content within the topic. The subject matter expert might add new information or recommend further changes.
  11. When finished, the subject matter expert checks in the topic, and sets it back to Work status, enabling the technical writer to work or view the content.
  12. When the technical writer has finished, she changes its status to the Complete status.
  13. The product manager or information architect takes the completed topics and pushes them to the Done status, so they can either be published or sent for localization, as required.