Skip to main content

Review and Publish

A published Standard is the version your team follows. SOPHIE keeps that version trustworthy with one simple rule: the people responsible for a Standard sign off on changes to it. If you own the Standard, or you run the practice, you can publish straight away. If you don't, your change goes to someone who does.

Statuses you'll see​

Each Standard shows its status as a badge at the top of the page, next to its version number (for example, v3).

StatusWhat it means
DraftBeing written or changed. Not the version the team follows.
Under ReviewA change is waiting for its reviewer to approve it.
PublishedLive. This is the version the team follows and acknowledges.
ApprovedApproved but not yet live. Someone still needs to publish it.
RejectedA reviewer turned the change down.
ExpiredPast its date and no longer current.
ArchivedRetired and kept for the record.

Most Standards spend their lives moving between Draft, Under Review and Published.

Who can publish without review​

You can publish a Standard directly if you are any of these:

  • the Practice Owner
  • the Office Manager
  • someone who holds one of the Standard's owner roles

Everyone else who can edit Standards can still write and change them. Their changes are sent for review instead of going live.

Publish a Standard​

  1. Open the Standard.
  2. Click the status badge (its tooltip reads Change status). A Status menu opens.
  3. Choose Published.
    • If you can publish directly, it goes live and you'll see "SOP published".
    • If you can't, the option tells you who will review it first, for example Goes to Dana to review first, or Goes to the SOP's owner to review first. Choosing it sends the Standard to Under Review, and you'll see "Sent to Dana for review".

If SOPHIE left questions unanswered while drafting the Standard with you, she'll warn you first (SOPHIE left 2 unanswered questions). You can go back and answer them, or publish as it stands.

You need permission to edit Standards to see the status menu. Without it, the status is just a badge.

Who reviews a change​

When a change needs review, SOPHIE picks the reviewer in this order:

  1. The Standard's owner: the first person holding one of its owner roles (other than you).
  2. Up the role hierarchy: someone in a role one level above yours that has Can approve workflows turned on in Settings › Roles.
  3. The Practice Owner, if nobody else fits.

The reviewer gets an Approve task on their My Day, due in seven days, and a notification. If the person who sent it holds the Practice Owner role, the change is approved automatically.

Review and approve a change​

When a Standard is waiting for you, it shows a banner: This procedure is waiting for your review, Someone has changed it. Approve it to make the change live for the team.

  1. Open the Standard from your Approve task or your Inbox.
  2. Look at what changed. While a Standard is under review, the Versions tab offers Review Changes, which lets you Compare with the last approved version side by side. See Versions and History.
  3. Click Approve and publish. The change goes live for the team.

If you want something changed first, say so in Comments and @mention the author. See Comments.

To approve, you need the Approve changes permission and to be the Standard's current reviewer (or the workspace owner). Approving also publishes, so you need Publish SOPs as well.

Take a Standard back​

  • Recall a review: while your Standard is Under Review, open the status menu and choose Draft (Takes it back off the reviewer). You'll see "SOP taken back off review".
  • Unpublish: on a Published Standard, choose Draft (Stops being the version the team follows). SOPHIE asks Return this SOP to draft? Click Return to draft to confirm. Publishing it again puts the current version back in front of the team.

Returning a Standard to draft doesn't cancel the tasks it has already put on people's My Day. The work is still the work.

Changing a published Standard​

You can edit a published Standard directly. When you save a change to its content, SOPHIE runs the same rule as publishing:

  • If you can publish directly, the new version goes live right away.
  • If you can't, the Standard goes to Under Review until its reviewer approves it.

Every time a new version goes live, the people assigned to it are asked to acknowledge it again. See Acknowledgements.

Good to know​

  • Who can do what (as named in the permission list for each person):

    • Edit SOPs: write and change Standards, send them for review, recall and unpublish.
    • Publish SOPs: make a draft live for the team.
    • Approve changes: sign off on other people's edits.
    • Archive SOPs and Delete SOPs: retire or remove a Standard.

    Team Members can write and edit but not publish or approve by default. Admins can do everything.

  • Delete only drafts. A Standard can only be deleted while it is a Draft or Rejected. Deleted Standards go to the Trash.

  • Approved, Rejected, Expired, Archived. These statuses have no menu options on the Standard page. If one of your Standards is stuck in one of them, contact support.

  • Review dates. If a Standard carries a review date and it passes, SOPHIE raises a FIX List item so someone looks at it.

  • Status changes notify people. Every status change lands in the Inbox of people who follow the Standard, and the author is told when their Standard changes status.