It’s very important to make sure that the final version of any document is free from errors and contains the correct level of information. Before releasing a final version of any formal document it will be built up over time by creating draft versions. These draft versions can be reviewed at any stage to get as much input as possible when working towards the final version. Documents can be saved with a version number during different stages of the document production process. It’s excellent practice to do this and to make sure different versions are saved so you can roll back to any version and check progress at different stages. This articles looks at the different stages needed to review draft documents to produce final versions.

Deciding on what needs to be included in the final version of a document

The first thing to do when creating any document is deciding what should be included. This refers to text and image content, structure of the document and the format of how the final versions will be presented. Perhaps the easiest way to plan a document is to start off with a table of content outlining what will be included. If you are not going to include a table of contents then it’s still a good idea to plan different sections of the document and outline basic headings and structure. This can be included in a draft version or planned within a different document. You will need to consider any images that will be used in the document and how they will be presented within the document. Depending on the type of document your are producing you will have to think about formal sections that will be included such as an introduction or executive summary at the beginning. You will need to consider how the document will be concluded and what the final outcome of the document will be. Other considerations are paragraph sizes, use of bullet pointed lists, formatting of headings and sub-headings and structure and layout of the document such as number of columns or use of tables etc.

Formatting techniques such as using a document template and considering what font you will use for the main body text and headings will also need to be considered. Any visual aspects of the document such as including a branded logo need to be looked at so that a standard format is used throughout. Page layout and use of headers and footers should be planned as early as possible so these are included within the structure and their final formatting can be reviewed and edited over time. You can see that planning could be considered as the first step of reviewing draft documents. Careful planning allows you to produce final versions and minimise changes at a later date and will overcome the need for layout restructuring if early considerations for all aspects of what is required are made. It’s essential to consider the target audience and type of document so that it is presented in the correct format and uses the correct language for that audience.

Techniques used to review draft documents to produce final versions

After deciding on the structure and content for a formal document, you will need to start creating the document using word processing software and adding content to it. Simply writing and producing content is not good enough, this content needs to be reviewed and edited to work towards the final version of the document. The review process can be done by the document creator and draft versions of the file should be saved on an ongoing basis. Draft versions of the document can be distributed to other parties to get feedback to improve the document at different stages. Depending on the length and format of the final version of a document, the amount of reviews to draft documents will vary. For short documents of five or less pages, normally only a final review and edit is needed. For long business documents that are created by multiple authors, many stakeholders may get involved to review the draft document at more regular stages. The following stages can be used to review draft documents before a final version is produced and published:

• Review of document structure: As a document begins to take shape, it is important to review how it is structured and make changes to improve it based on stakeholder opinion. This can include the layout of the pages and considering if some sections will look better in landscape or portrait view. For example, if an appendix is included that has charts and graphs would they look better on a landscape view to get the best out of the visuals? Other aspects will include how the document is structured in terms of headings and sections and how the general flow of content is fitting in to these sections. You will need to consider if some sections require additional sub-headings to explain things in more detail.
• Table of contents: Linking back to the previous point on inclusion of headings and sub-headings it is important to review the table of content based on this to reflect all changes. At this stage you can decide if your are better to structure your document within the text or to structure it from the table of contents and have the document updated based on this. One handy feature of using automated table of contents updates is that it can be linked with the document and changes are reflected in both places if you have set up headings and sub-headings to do this.
• Review of content: Obviously the most important aspect of the review stage will be looking at the actual content itself. Anyone producing content should also try to get at least one other person to review it. This can be done by yourself but a second pair of eyes will always spot something that you cannot see yourself. When reviewing content, you need to look at the level of detail that is included and whether or not your content flows well. You will need to check that sections are completed and that there are no basic spelling or grammatical errors.
• Proof Reading: As part of a content review you will need to proof read all materials and check that everything is understandable and in the correct context. You can check meanings of things using tools such as dictionaries and a thesaurus. When using word processing software you can also use built-in automated spell checkers that will highlight basic spelling and grammatical errors. It’s great to have the help of automated tools but employing a professional proof reader is the best thing that you can do to make sure your content is accurate and free from grammatical errors.
• Testing links: You will need to insure you have tested any links to external online documents. The urls will need to be up to date and latest versions of online content should be reviewed every time a new version of a formal document is published. Links that are no longer valid should be removed to make sure you are providing accurate information. If the online content that you are linking to has changed or is no longer valid for your document you should also also remove the link or update your own document content based on changes.
• Version numbers: Using version numbers is a an essential part of tracking document history. You can use a document version history table within your document that tracks the version number with a comment on what has been updated for each new version. Draft version numbers can start from 0.01 and normally the first released version of a document will be version 1.00. Version history tables can be included within the document itself or tracked externally on another document. Version numbers should also be included in filenames and files should be backed up with each version of the document.
• Permissions for any images used: Another thing that needs to be checked when reviewing documents to produce final versions is that you have permission to use any images included in the document. The images can be owned by yourself or the source can be referenced for educational materials as long as permissions are gained. Alternatively you can purchase the rights to use suitable images for the document. Other images that can be included are ones with creative commons licensing, that are free to use or edit with some conditions outlined by the original owner.
• Labelling of images: In addition to gaining permission to use images in your document, you should decide on a standard process of identifying images within your document using captioning or labelling. An examples of this could be: ‘Fig 1.0 – Sales Figures 2016’. The advantage of using a standardised labelling system within the document is that images can be referred to within the text of the document, e.g. ‘for more information see Fig. 1.0’ or ‘Fig. 1.1 illustrates and example of the document review process’.
• Referencing any sources of information: It is important to reference any materials that you are quoting within the document and this should be reviewed regularly when putting a document together and working towards creating the final version. Using a referencing protocol such as Harvard Referencing will make sure that this is done in a formal manner. Alternatively, you can use a more informal format such as creating a list of hyperlinks along with the date that each was accessed. It is really up to you what type of referencing system you will use. It does need to use standard formatting throughout to look professional. It’s also important to decide on the format that you will reference materials in advance of creating the document so that this can be kept up to date at each review of the document.
• Copyright: For formal business documentation that you want to protect against anyone copying, you will need to copyright it. This will ensure that your materials cannot be reproduced without prior permission. This will protect your business and is important for materials published on paper and web format.

Publishing the final version of a document after the review process

After you have reviewed your document to produce the final version, you will need to publish it in the correct format. Obviously the same content can be published in a number of format and some of the following can be considered when publishing in different formats.

• Web: When publishing for the the web, you will need basic html and css skills to format the document. Images will need to be optimised for the web and any links should be formatted in order to link to the correct places or can just be included as reference points without links. Another consideration for the web is that you might want to have a short introduction for the document along with a link to download the main document in a different format.
• Print: If publishing on print you will need to consider the final format and if the document will be binded, stapled, printed in book format or as an informal publication that can be presented in a poly pocket or using a paper clip. The quality of the paper needs to be considered and whether the document should be printed in black and white or colour. You will need to ask yourself can you print the final output yourself or do you need to send it to a professional printer.
• PDF: Creating documents in portable data format or PDF ensures that they are optimised to send over the web or to be stored online. PDF is the standard format for online document publication and sharing and you can also print these for hard copy versions.
• Meta Data: When producing final versions of documents you will also need to consider if meta data such as keywords need to be included. This is of particular relevance for web content and metadata for webpage source and images should be considered to provide further information and to make your content findable by popular search engines using seo techniques.
• Reusable or Portable Content: If you want to reuse sections of your content in different format across a number of different platforms this should be considered during the document production stage. Using Extensible Markup Language or XML enables you to design your content so that different parts of it can be extracted and used based on end user needs and the platform on which it will be available. As an example of this, you could extract different versions for desktop or mobile versions on the web to produce the correct level of detail for that format.

Conclusion

As you can see, planning and careful consideration for the different formats of content that you may need to produce is probably the most important part of reviewing draft documents when producing final versions. If you plan your content so that it can be trimmed and shared in different formats with a focus on gaining exposure on the web, then you can get more people to access the final version of any published document in the most complete format by marketing it online using a number of channels.