In project management, document control is the backbone of ensuring that critical project documents—technical specifications, plans, and more—are accurate, up-to-date, and ready for use. From small initiatives to large-scale endeavors, effective document control keeps projects on track by meticulously managing the creation, review, modification, certification, issuance, and distribution of these vital records.
While this article emphasizes technical documents, the principles of document control also apply to the myriad of documents generated by project management itself. Read on to discover how robust document control drives project success by fostering clarity, accountability, and efficiency.
What is Document Control?
Document control, in project management, is a function that involves the tracking of project documents to ensure confidence in their accuracy and fitness for use. Projects of all sizes use document control to track the important technical documents that the project depends on the accomplish its objectives.
What are the Parts of Document Control?
Document control encompasses the following functions:
- Document Creation
- Document Review
- Document Modification
- Document Certification
- Document Issuance
- Document Distribution
Document Creation
The document control process begins when a document is created. For example, a building design drawing is initiated by the draftsperson and given an identification number.
Requirements of the document are identified, such as:
- Owner
- Goals (for example, to persuade the audience to recycle more)
- Review and approval requirements
- Timelines and milestones
- Specifications (for example, units of analysis)
- Minimum standards
- Dependent documents.
A good document control system will identify these requirements up front and place them within the document control system.
Document Review
Usually there is a requirement for documents to be reviewed prior to being delivered outside of the project’s boundaries. This can be either:
- Technical review
The project management team must ensure that a technical review is sufficient for the project quality requirements. - Project management review
The project management team is not familiar with (or not experts in) the technical knowledge of the document, but performs a review to ensure that sufficient technical knowledge has been applied.
Another common requirement is approval. Unlike a review, an approval is a hard requirement (yes/no) which must be present before the document can finalized. Approvals can take time, and the necessary resources with the right authority must be in place to perform the approval.
Document Modification
After the document passes through the review and approval phase, it often must go back to the modification stage. Usually this is a quick and relatively pain free process, but it can last for a long time and incur significant budget considerations.
Modifications to the document are performed by the project team until the document is acceptable for review and approval again. This process repeats until the approval is obtained.
Document Certification
Documents often need to be certified by a technical professional, such as an architect, engineer, or surveyor, prior to being finalized. These certifications must be verified and authenticated. If they must be passed to a different office or company, this step can take time.
In addition, the project management team often certifies a document as the authentic one. For example, the latest changes to the paving reports are certified as the authentic one.
Document Issuance
Once all the approvals and certifications are obtained, the document is submitted to the project sponsor, customer, or client.
Document Distribution
A project management system is used to provide document availability to the various parties that want to access it. Usually a project management software product or document management software is used to provide permanent access to the parties.
The document is place in its final home, either electronic folder or hard copy file, and any location or index information is updated.
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