Documentation Library with Workflow Requests

Anthony Simonetta

I am brand new to Confluence and recently started a new position managing the Documentation Department. Currently, we have no formal Library or documentation processes. My goal is to establish the following:

1.) A Documentation Library that houses all current documentation by type of document (Marketing, Technical, Proposal), then have sub-folders in each for specific projects.

2.) Within this library, I want to setup a Documentation Request function. Meaning, a user other than me, can go into the appropriate folder and submit a request for a document (e.g., User Guide) and enter in a description, delivery parameters, a due date, etc. I then want a notification to go to a mailbox indicating that there is a new Documentation Project to work on.

2a.) It'd be great if those requests could then be distributed/assigned to a specific person.

3.) Once the document request has been received, the document would be created. When the document is near completion, I want to establish a formal peer review process. Ideally, I would like there to be some notification system or Peer Review Workflow that could be setup.

This is just a brief overview of my goals with the hope that someone has done this previously, or has a suggestion for a solution. Does anyone know if this can be accomplished using Confluence? My experience is with SharePoint and I have never used this tool. If anyone has suggestions or tips, I would greatly appreciate it.

Thank You!

Anthony

Meg Holbrook

Hey Anthony, congratulations on the new position and welcome to the Community!

I'm going to start out by saying that the best way to learn Confluence is to get in there and start experimenting. Following that up with my tips for the issues you presented:

1. Develop your proposed hierarchy first on paper. I find that this, paired with a good team meeting, fleshes out any ideas that need to be refined as well as getting everyone on the same page. You will need to decide if you want one space for all of your documentation, or if you want everything housed in the same space. Set expectations early and clearly for how the info will be organized so you don't get 'rogues' plopping docs where they shouldn't be. 

2. I would suggest perhaps utilizing a blog or a page with some guidelines on how to request a new form and the needed information. This would be the place you linked to for anyone who wants to ask for new areas/docs. Alternatively there are other apps that would expand on existing functionality if you search 'survey' in the marketplace. 

2a. You will likely want to have responsible parties watch this suggestion or survey page or turn on notifications for comments on that page. 

3. My advice for review and editing is to have a staging space where documents are drafted and confirmed before being moved into their final resting place. This space could have issue access restrictions limited to an approving team. You are also able to invite other users to edit pages with you, which may be useful. 

Confluence is super configurable and applications vary by team. Here is a great guide for getting started:

https://confluence.atlassian.com/doc/get-started-777010817.html