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Data Quality Review and Approval in Databases

Daniel Lupton

Hi all,

Is there any way to put some sort of workflow or approval processes around the creation and modification of entries in a database?

We are moving to confluence cloud and currently use a combination of pages and compare document workflow to manage the creation, editing and approval of some of our components like control definitions, threat definitions, etc. Basically we have build a database using pages.

We would like to move to databases in cloud but a key item we have is the ability to review & approve changes to the definitions and so wondering if there is any way we could somehow replicate this behaviour in a database where a proposed update required approval?

Accepted answers

Tomislav Tobijas

This is quite an interesting ask @Daniel Lupton

I'm also relatively surprised that I haven't seen anyone else asking for this, as it really makes sense.
I did try to search if there's any open feature request/suggestion on JAC but with no luck.

All in all, I'd also probably go with linked pages to the database, as, there's a native approval feature for pages > see Approvals in Confluence, now on Open Beta (quite recent thing as well)

Anyway, I'd also suggest talking with Atlassian Support about this. You (or your Confluence admin) can raise a ticket and explaing this requirement. They will probably be able to create new ticket on JAC on which you can vote and leave comments. 🎟️
If they do so, I'd appreciate if you could share the link here.

Cheers,
Tobi

All comments

Viswanathan Ramachandran

Hi @Daniel Lupton

Short answer: Confluence Databases do not currently support native, field-level draft and approval workflows. Edits to entries happen in real time and immediately overwrite live data. However, if you are migrating from a page-based approval workflow, you can replicate approval controls on your compliance needs:

How it works: Draft and edit definitions on standard pages using native page approvals or apps like Comala Document Management. Add a Page Reference field in your Database to link directly to the approved page.
Why it works: You keep page-level draft/review controls, granular version history, and visual page comparisons while using the Database for high-level sorting, filtering, and reporting.

Tomislav Tobijas

This is quite an interesting ask @Daniel Lupton

I'm also relatively surprised that I haven't seen anyone else asking for this, as it really makes sense.
I did try to search if there's any open feature request/suggestion on JAC but with no luck.

All in all, I'd also probably go with linked pages to the database, as, there's a native approval feature for pages > see Approvals in Confluence, now on Open Beta (quite recent thing as well)

Cheers,
Tobi

Daniel Lupton

Hi @Viswanathan Ramachandran

I am not quite sure how this works. When I link the database to the page then the database entry is shown in the page but then the entry can be edited without the page controls.

is there a way to set up say a table in the page that can be version controlled that then replicates into the database once approved or is it just a link and the data would need to me managed manually?

Viswanathan Ramachandran

Confluence Databases do not support version control, draft states, or two-way sync with pages. Anyone with edit access can change database entries live without an approval step.

If you need version-controlled database behaviour, here are the two standard ways to achieve it:

The Native Confluence Way (Page Properties Macro)

Create a standard Confluence page for each component/definition.
Use a Page Properties table at the top of each page for your metadata.
Apply your usual page approval workflow to that page.
Use the Page Properties Report macro on a master page to display a live, aggregated table of all your pages. This gives you a database-style view, but the source data remains safe and version-controlled on individual pages.

The Jira / Automation Way (Fully Automated Database)

Submit proposed changes via a Jira or Jira Service Management ticket (which has built-in approval steps and versioning).
Set up a Confluence Automation rule so that once the Jira ticket hits Approved, it automatically creates or updates the row in your Confluence Database.

As Tomislav mentioned, you can raise a support ticket with Atlassian and they can raise a internal ticket on this feature..

Rob Hean

It sounds like the core challenge is something like 'we have definitions and want to control updates and changes to them'

If that's the case I'm curious what other solutions you've tried besides a database? I could see a series of pages with page properties serving a similar function, but curious why you settled on a Database?

Also don't disagree that this would be a good feature you can restrict overall edit access, but not entry level

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