| The value of SharePoint Portal Server is that it allows efficient management of documents through the document lifecycle continuum. Whether you are working on the first draft of a document, working with other authors and editors to make required modifications, or in the process of publishing documents to the final destination of choice, SharePoint Portal Server has management options to manage documents through the entire document management lifecycle. An additional document discussion feature enables authors and editors to collaborate on document revisions while the original version remains accessible to existing workspace readers. The document discussion option is only possible once the first version of a document has been published. The Draft Phase With SharePoint Portal Server, authors can designate documents as Drafts. When specified as a Draft, the document can be shared with other authors and editors. However, this Draft option ensures documents are not published to the intended audience until the author specifies that the document is ready. Once the document is ready for the intended audience, it can then be manually published. After publication, the document and all associated metadata become part of the search index. Users could then manually search for documents or navigate through predefined categories to locate required documents. The Publishing and Approval Phase With SharePoint Portal Server, the publishing and approval process can be automated. The application supports enabling an automated routing and approval process from within the properties page of an enhanced folder. The Coordinator specifies a set of Approvers who have access to approve or reject documents as part of the approval process. The author then submits a document for review; the Approver examines the document and approves or rejects the document based on approval or rejection criteria. After the document has been approved by all designated Approvers, the automated approval process proceeds and the document is published. The publishing and approval methods that can be specified are -
Serial ” With this method, Approvers are designated and approval or rejection is decided in a one-after-another fashion. Once the last Approver in the chain completes the approval process, the document is then published and made available to the intended audience. The document will remain in a checked-in state until published. -
Parallel (Everyone) ” With this method, Approvers are designated and notified in parallel that a document is ready for their approval. Once all Approvers agree, the document is then published and made available to the intended audience. -
Parallel (Anyone) ” With this method, Approvers are designated and notified in parallel that a document is ready for their approval. The difference is that with this approval method, it only takes one approval and the document is then published and made available to the intended audience. SharePoint Portal Server leverages the Microsoft Digital Dashboard technology to allow efficient dashboard site development. Information from a variety of information sources across the enterprise is brought together in one context as an efficient way to manage information.  |
