Watch the video above to see how document responsibility and approval states work in practice.
The guide below breaks down the workflow so you can reference each step when setting it up on your own projects.
Assigning Document Responsibility and Managing Approval Status in BIM Workflows
With traditional Word documents, there’s no built-in way to know who’s responsible for a specific section, whether that section is still being drafted, or if it’s been reviewed and approved. Teams end up relying on email threads, colour-coded highlights, or verbal agreements to track progress – and things inevitably fall through the cracks. For projects following ISO 19650, where accountability and traceability matter, that’s a real problem.
Plannerly solves this by letting you assign responsibility for individual document sections and track each section through a clear approval workflow. Every section has a visible owner, a status, and a history of actions – so there’s never any ambiguity about who should be working on what, or where things stand.
The workflow starts with assigning a team member to a document section. If someone on your project team has access to the document and the right permissions, you can assign them as the person responsible for completing that section. They’ll receive a notification letting them know the content has been assigned to them, so nothing gets missed.
From there, each section moves through three clear document states. When a section is in progress, the assigned person can edit the content freely – this is the drafting phase. Once they’ve finished, they move the section to shared, which signals that the content is ready for review. In the shared state, the section is visible to all project members but can no longer be edited – only comments and feedback are allowed. Finally, a manager moves the section to published when the content is authorised for use. At this point, the section is locked and approved.
This progression from drafting to review to approval gives teams a structured workflow that replaces the chaos of uncontrolled Word documents. Every action is tracked – comments, status changes, and who made them – so there’s a complete audit trail of accountability for each section of every document.
For teams managing BIM execution plans, exchange information requirements, or any other ISO 19650 deliverables, this kind of controlled workflow is essential. It ensures the right people are working on the right sections, that content goes through proper review, and that published documents represent genuinely approved information.
How to assign responsibility and manage approval in Plannerly
- Assign a team member – select a document section and assign a team member who has access to the document and the appropriate editor or manager permissions. They’ll be responsible for completing that section.
- Team member receives notification – the assigned person gets a notification telling them they’ve been assigned to the section, so they know where to focus their effort.
- Edit while in progress – the assigned person drafts and edits the content while the section is in the “in progress” state. This is the only state where the content can be edited.
- Move to shared for review – when the content is ready, the author moves the section to “shared”. All project members can now see the section, but editing is locked. This is the review phase for comments and feedback.
- Add comments and actions – reviewers add comments to the shared section. All comments and actions are tracked as part of the section’s history.
- Publish for authorised use – a manager moves the section from “shared” to “published” when the content is approved. The section is now locked, authorised, and part of the project record.
What you’ll learn
- Section-level responsibility – how to assign individual team members to specific document sections so ownership is always clear
- Notification workflow – how assigned team members are notified automatically so nothing gets overlooked
- Document state progression – how the in progress, shared, and published states create a structured path from drafting to approval
- Editing permissions by state – how editing is only possible in the “in progress” state, with shared and published locking content for review and accountability
- Tracked actions and comments – how every comment, status change, and approval is recorded for full traceability
Common questions
Can different sections of the same document be at different approval stages?
Yes. Each section has its own independent status. One section might still be in progress while another has already been published. This gives teams flexibility to work through a document section by section without waiting for everything to be finished at once.
Who can move a section from shared to published?
Only users with manager-level permissions can publish a section. This ensures that approval is a deliberate decision made by someone with the authority to authorise content for use. You can learn more about how roles, teams, and permissions work in the help centre.
What happens when a section is in the shared state?
The content is visible to all project members but can no longer be edited. Reviewers can add comments and feedback, but the actual content is locked. This creates a clean review phase where the focus is on evaluating and approving what’s been written, not making further changes.
How does this support ISO 19650 compliance?
ISO 19650 requires clear accountability for information delivery. By assigning responsibility at the section level and tracking every action through a defined approval workflow, you create the traceability that the standard calls for. Every section has a visible owner, a status, and a history – which is exactly the kind of controlled document collaboration ISO 19650 expects.
Can I control who has access to a document tab?
Yes. Beyond section-level responsibility, you can also control access at the document tab level, deciding which team members can view or edit each document within a project. This adds another layer of control alongside the section-level approval workflow.
Explore further
- Simple and fast editing of docs sections – learn the editing basics for when sections are in the “in progress” state
- ISO 19650 roles and responsibilities explained – understand how responsibility maps to ISO 19650 concepts in the expert course
- Creating structured contracts – connecting requirements, documents, and agreements – take document accountability further with structured contracts
- BIM Boot Camp – the intensive programme covering end-to-end BIM and ISO 19650 workflows