Types of Reviews

There are three types of Reviews in Blueprint:

  • Public
  • Informal
  • Formal

Informal and Formal Reviews are both Private Reviews, as they have set participant lists. Only users included in the list of participants will be able to view a Private Review.

All Review types go through three defined states: Draft, Active, and Closed. See the Set the Approval Status for a Review article for more information.

Public Reviews

Public Reviews have artifacts, but no participants—anybody with a link and the correct permissions can view them. Settings can be changed, and artifacts can be added and removed at any time, even when the Review is Active.

Artifacts in a Public Review are live; if a newer version is published, the Review participants will see the latest version, and the updated artifact will display as unviewed in the table of contents. Any deleted artifacts are automatically removed from the Review and the Review statistics.

Informal Reviews

Informal Reviews have both artifacts and participants, making them Private Reviews. In an Informal Review, participants and artifacts can still be added and removed, and settings can be updated, even when the Review artifact is Active.

All participants are Reviewers, and are not required to provide formal sign-off. Artifacts in an Informal Review are live; if a newer version is published, the Review participants will see the latest version, and the updated artifact will display as unviewed in the table of contents. Any deleted artifacts are automatically removed from the Review and the Review statistics.

Formal Reviews

Formal Reviews are also Private Reviews, as they have both artifacts and participants. A Review is Formal if there is at least one Approver and one artifact needing approval.

When a Formal Review is Active, participants can be added and removed, as well as have their approval status changed. Artifacts, however, can’t be added, removed, or edited, and only certain settings can be changed—see the Set an Expiration Date for a Review and Add an Electronic Signature and Meaning of Signature to a Review articles for more information.

Since a Sealed Baseline is automatically created for Active Formal Reviews, artifacts are never altered; newer versions are not shown in order to ensure that all participants are viewing and approving the same content. Even if artifacts are deleted, they remain in the Review and the Review statistics.

Public Reviews can be converted to Private Reviews by adding participants. Informal Reviews can be converted to Formal Reviews by making participants Approvers.

Informal Reviews can be converted to Public Reviews by removing participants, however, Formal Reviews cannot be converted to Informal Reviews.