Do you have a tiered proof review process and for different types of content?

Kristen Christman

I work in higher ed, and my team uses the proofing widget often, and we've had a relatively successful process in place for reviewing designed content (like flyers, brochures, postcards, etc), but we're realizing a few things:

1. Often times we are going beyond our "sweet spot" of a max of 4 versions of a proof and things get out of hand and we get off deadline.
2. We need to identify a tiered review process so everyone knows when "they're up" to review or the project lead needs to know at which point to pull in certain stakeholders.
   1. When the request is something we've designed in the past, and is coming down the pipeline for a refresh the following year, we're running into some review process issues where the marketing team should be taking an initial look at the piece and identifying edits needed, uploading a refreshed version before we send to the stakeholder to react/add additional edits.
   2. This is not always happening, and there ends up being too many "cooks in the kitchen" giving feedback and then we start going in circles.
3. We need to identify a different (but also tiered) review process for videos.

Have you established a tiered proof review process that still allows for versions to remain at a minimum (so as to not get out of hand and deadlines can remain on track) but there is a clearly identified road map for who should be reviewing 1st, 2nd, and so forth?

Genevieve P.

Hey @Kristen Christman

I'd also love to hear from other members to see how they have structured their Proof Review process, or see if they have any tips & tricks for what's worked in their teams.

It sounds like you may potentially want to use completely new rows and/or a new sheet for when the content is something you've designed in the past. Even though it's the same content, having a new row to identify the new work may help remove the "cooks" and ensure a refreshed version is uploaded before the process begins.

I would also personally make sure I have the Proof Info Columns in my sheet to easily keep track of the current status of each row as well as who the proof is "Pending approval from". That way you can set up Alerts if to the Contact in that column based on the Status. (See: Track the status of a proof)

In the meantime, here's a Smartsheet webinar on Proofing in general: Collaborate on Content with Proofing

It also looks like you're on a plan with access to Pro Desk sessions. These are 30-minute coaching sessions where you can share your screen and ask for advice on how to best structure it for your needs. Here's more information: Pro Desk

Cheers,

Genevieve

Kristen Christman

Thanks for your insights and suggestions, @Genevieve P. ! Seeing your questions/comment about using the Proof Info Columns (which we do currently use for overall proof status, who's still reviewing, etc.) made me refer back to which columns we're currently actively using, and noticed there was a column I could add that triggers status of proof versions. I think I may have a solve for my initial question (after I do some internal testing), so THANK YOU!