Approval Role

Approval Role

Approving answers is not a mandatory step in every Q&A, but where the experts' answers require further review, we recommend to set up one or more approval levels and teams. As member of one or more approval teams you can:
  1. filter, search, and review the questions and answers handled by the answer-side teams, which your approval team is responsible for
  2. reassign questions to preceding answer-side teams and other answer teams
  3. review and edit answers yourself
  4. take over questions and answers from preceding answer-side teams
  5. approve and forward answers to further approval teams or the question-side, if you are member of a final approval team
  6. add follow-up answers
  7. create, edit, and share FAQ with all teams, if configured
  8. export the questions you have been working on via the Q&A dashboard
Notes
You can have several different roles in a Q&A process at the same time. This article describes the functionalities and appearance for only the role 'Answer'. If you have other roles, too, further functionalities related to other roles will be available to you, too, and we recommend to read the corresponding help articles as well.
Reviewing pending tasks
  1. After signing in to Drooms, select the desired project and click on the Q&A button in the main navigation menu to open the Q&A dashboard.
  1. The Q&A dashboard consists of a top tool bar, a filter bar underneath, a left-hand panel with two tabs 'Your tasks' and 'Questions' listing in the first tab the questions and answers requiring your attention, and in the second tab the questions and answers your team has either already been working upon, or are pending action by preceding answer-side teams, and a right-hand overview for either showing your role(s) and team memberships in the Q&A and basic functionalities related to your role(s), or the question thread with all details concerning the question and answer selected on the left.
  1. Optionally a third tab 'FAQ' will show the questions and answers you and other answer-side teams may have created, edited, and shared with all teams.
  1. Via the top tool bar you can enter some question id or specific text in the search text entry field to search the questions and answers for matches, and with a click on the blue filter icon right next to he search entry field open a filter dialog box with following filters:
  1. Last modified (today, yesterday, last week, +3 days, since last login, custom)
  2. Teams (question teams you are responsible for)
  3. Category (in case this feature is being used in a Q&A)
  4. Status (read, unread, drafts, open, closed)
  5. Priority (none, low, medium, high)
    1. With the filter bar you can filter the questions displayed on the left for
      1. 'unread' questions
      2. your 'drafts', i.e., questions with answers that you have been editing
      3. questions pending review for '+3 days'
    1. Below the top tool bar and the filter bar, on the left the questions are listed:
      1. tab 'Your tasks' lists all questions pending review, and a red dot in the tab header 'Your tasks' indicates newly received questions and answer pending approval
      2. tab 'Questions' lists all questions your team has already reviewed, i.e., either answered, reassigned, or rejected
      3. each question is listed with its question ID, the team it raised, the beginning of the question, the reference folder or index point to which the question is related, the date of last action (either having received, distributed, answered, reassigned, approved, or rejected the question), and its current status, either 'to distribute', 'to answer', 'to approve'., or 'approved'
      4. via 'Sort by' in the tab row questions can be sorted either by ascending question ID, or by descending date of last action
    1. When you click on any question on the left in tab 'Your tasks', its question thread will be displayed on the right, with all details and the full question text and answer texts for you to review and either approve, edit, or reassign a question and answer:
    1. You can reject question and answers and return them to the preceding answer-side team
    2. You can approve questions and answers returning them to the respective question teams
    3. You can edit answers and then approve questions and answer
    4. You can reassign questions together with a comment to other preceding answer-side teams
    5. You can save edited answers and comments as drafts
    1. When you click on any question on the left in tab 'Questions', its question thread will be displayed on the right, with all details and the full question text and answer texts for you to review approved questions and answers, or review and take over questions and answers pending to be distributed, answered, or approved by preceding answer-side teams.
    Approving, rejecting, editing and reassigning questions and answers
    1. After signing in to Drooms, select the desired project and click on the Q&A button in the main navigation menu to open the Q&A dashboard.
    1. Select the question you want to review in tab 'Your tasks'.
    1. On the right, the question thread will display the question with the selected reference document, priority, optional categories, as well as the question team id, and optionally the question team name, the questioner name, involved distribution, answer, and approval teams, and answer-side team member names, as configured.
    1. Below the question text and the other selected parameter, the question thread offers an action selection button with the options 'Approve', 'Reject', 'Edit answer & approve', and 'Reassign':
    1. Switch the action button selection to 'Approve', if it is not already selected, to approve the question and answer. The question thread will switch into edit mode:
    1. at 'Category' you can correct a category, or more categories, if categories have been set up and activated
    2. at 'Add comment' you can optionally enter an internal comment for the answer-side, which will not be visible for the respective question team
    3. you can save your comment as a personal draft only visible to you, which you then can further edit, by clicking somewhere outside of the question thread display
    4. when you are done preparing your approval, click on 'Approve'
    5. the question and answer will be either sent directly to the initial question team, or the next responsible approval team on the answer-side, as configured
    6. question and answer will appear in tab 'Questions' with all related information, the status display 'approved', and a timestamp
    1. Switch the action button selection to 'Edit answer & approve', if it is not already selected, to edit the answer before approving the question and answer. The question thread will switch into edit mode:
    1. at 'Answer' you can edit the previously entered answer
    2. you can delete existing reference index links in the answer entry field, as well as with a click on the bottom left linking icon optionally either add index link to a reference document for your answer (option 'Add index link'), or upload a new reference document to the index (option 'Upload from computer') to add an index link
    3. at 'Category' you can correct a category, or more categories, if categories have been set up and activated
    4. at 'Add comment' you can optionally enter an internal comment for the answer-side, which will not be visible for the respective question team
    5. you can save your answer and comment as a personal draft only visible to you, which you then can further edit, by clicking somewhere outside of the question thread display
    6. when you are done preparing your answer and approval, click on 'Edit answer & approve'
    7. the question with your answer will be either sent directly to the initial question team, or the next responsible approval team on the answer-side, as configured
    8. question and answer will appear in tab 'Questions' with all related information, the status display 'approved', and a timestamp
    1. Switch the action button selection to 'Reject' to return the question and answer to the preceding answer-side team:
    1. at 'Add comment', enter a mandatory comment for the question team explaining the reason for rejecting the question
    2. at 'Category' you can correct a category, or more categories, if categories have been set up and activated
    3. at 'Add comment' enter a mandatory internal comment for the preceding answer-side team
    4. you can save your comment as a personal draft only visible to you, which you then can further edit, by clicking somewhere outside of the question thread display
    5. when you are done preparing your comment, click on 'Reject'
    6. the question will be returned to the preceding answer-side team with your entered comment
    7. the question will appear in tab 'Questions' with all related information, the status display 'to answer', or 'to approve', and a timestamp
    1. Switch the action button selection to 'Reassign', if available and if needed, and:
    1. at 'Reassign question' select the team to which you want to reassign the question, and enter a mandatory comment explaining the reason for reassigning the question
    2. you can save your selection and comment as a personal draft only visible to you, which you then can further edit, by clicking somewhere outside of the question thread display
    3. when you are done preparing your selection and comment, click on 'Reassign'
    4. the question will be reassigned to the selected team with your entered comment
    5. the question will appear in tab 'Questions' with all related information, the status display 'to answer', or 'to approve', and a timestamp
    Info
    Alternatively, and especially, if you want to review the reference document, you can click on the link to the reference document to jump to the data room document viewer showing the particular document's page and the perhaps highlighted area, and then continue your work in the Q&A tab. There you can just as well approve, reject, edit, or reassign the question and answer in the same ways as described above.
    Taking over questions and answers
    1. Taking over questions and answers from preceding answer or approval teams allows you to move on questions and answers pending answer or approval by preceding answer-side teams on your own.
    1. After signing in to Drooms, select the desired project and click on the Q&A button in the main navigation menu to open the Q&A dashboard.
    1. Select the question you want to take over in tab 'Questions'.
    1. On the right, the question thread will display the question with the selected reference document, priority, optional categories, as well as the question team id, and optionally the question team name, the questioner name, involved distribution, answer, and approval teams, and answer-side team member names, as configured.
    1. Below the question text and the other selected parameter, the question thread offers an action selection button with the options 'Answer & approve', 'Reject', and 'Reassign':
    1. Switch the action button selection to 'Answer & approve', if it is not already selected, to approve the question and answer. The question thread will switch into edit mode:
    1. at 'Answer' you either enter an answer, or can edit an already entered answer
    2. you can delete already existing reference index links in the answer entry field, as well as with a click on the bottom left linking icon optionally either add index link to a reference document for your answer (option 'Add index link'), or upload a new reference document to the index (option 'Upload from computer') to add an index link
    3. at 'Category' you can correct a category, or more categories, if categories have been set up and activated
    4. at 'Add comment' you can optionally enter an internal comment for the answer-side, which will not be visible for the respective question team
    5. you can save your answer and comment as a personal draft only visible to you, which you then can further edit, by clicking somewhere outside of the question thread display
    6. when you are done preparing the answer and your approval, click on 'Answer & approve'
    7. the question and answer will be either sent directly to the initial question team, or the next responsible approval team on the answer-side, as configured
    8. question and answer will appear in tab 'Questions' with all related information, the status display 'approved', and a timestamp
    1. Switch the action button selection to 'Reject' to return the question and answer to the question or answer-side team preceding the currently responsible team, where you take over:
    1. at 'Add comment', enter a mandatory comment for the destination question or answer-side team explaining the reason for rejecting the question and answer
    2. at 'Category' you can correct a category, or more categories, if categories have been set up and activated
    3. at 'Add comment' you can optionally enter a comment for the destination question or answer-side team
    4. you can save your comment as a personal draft only visible to you, which you then can further edit, by clicking somewhere outside of the question thread display
    5. when you are done preparing your comment, click on 'Reject'
    6. the question will be returned to the question or answer-side team preceding the currently responsible team with your entered comment
    7. the question will appear in tab 'Questions' with all related information, the status display 'rejected', if returned to a question team, or 'to distribute', 'to answer', or 'to approve', and a timestamp
    1. Switch the action button selection to 'Reassign', if available and if needed, and:
    1. at 'Reassign question' select the team to which you want to reassign the question, and enter a mandatory comment explaining the reason for reassigning the question
    2. you can save your selection and comment as a personal draft only visible to you, which you then can further edit, by clicking somewhere outside of the question thread display
    3. when you are done preparing your selection and comment, click on 'Reassign'
    4. the question will be reassigned to the selected team with your entered comment
    5. the question will appear in tab 'Questions' with all related information, the status display 'to distribute', 'to answer', or 'to approve', and a timestamp
    Info
    Alternatively, and especially, if you want to review the reference document, you can click on the link to the reference document to jump to the data room document viewer showing the particular document's page and the perhaps highlighted area, and then continue your work in the Q&A tab. There you can just as well take over, reject, or reassign the question and answer in the same ways as described above.
    Adding follow-up answers
    1. Sometimes it may not be able to fully answer a question straight away, and some information may have to be added to an already answered question by way of a follow-up answer.
    Info
    You will only be able to add a follow-up answer to an answer, which was not further edited by succeeding answer-side teams.
    1. After signing in to Drooms, select the desired project, and click on the Q&A button in the main navigation menu to open the Q&A dashboard.
    1. On the left select the question and answer, to which you want to add a follow-up answer.
    1. On the right, click on the button 'Add follow-up answer' at the bottom right of the question thread display, if present.
    1. A follow-up answer entry form will be shown in the question thread for you to enter your follow-up answer. Proceed similar to entering an initial answer as described above.
    1. Your follow-up answer, like your initial answer, will be either sent directly to the initial question team, or the next responsible answer-side team for further approval, as configured.
    Creating and editing FAQ
    1. Optionally, the Q&A configuration may allow you to edit and anonymise existing questions and answers of general concern and share them as FAQ (frequently asked question), or create own questions and answers for sharing them with all question teams.
    1. After signing in to Drooms, select the desired project, and open the Q&A dashboard.
    1. To create a question and answer for sharing it as FAQ, click on button 'Create and share FAQ' on the role overview panel on the right.
    1. enter a question text
    2. select a reference document index point or folder
    3. enter an answer text
    4. optionally add a reference link for your answer or upload a new reference document to the index
    5. you can save the FAQ as draft for further editing by clicking somewhere outside of the question thread display
    6. click on 'Share FAQ', when you are ready to share the FAQ
    7. The FAQ will be shared with all teams and be listed in tab 'Shared FAQ'.
    1. To anonymise and edit an existing question and answer for sharing it as FAQ, select the respective question and answer on the left and click on button 'Share FAQ' at the bottom of the question thread display on the right:
    1. edit the pre-filled question text as needed
    2. optionally change the selected reference document index point or folder
    3. edit the pre-filled answer text as needed
    4. optionally change or add a reference link for your answer or upload a new reference document to the index
    5. you can save the FAQ as draft for further editing by clicking somewhere outside of the question thread display
    6. click on 'Share FAQ', when you are ready to share the FAQ
    7. The FAQ will be shared with all teams and be listed in tab 'Shared FAQ'.
    Exporting questions and answers
    1. Access the Q&A Dashboard:
      1. After signing in, select your project and click the Q&A button.
      2. Use the filter and search options in the top toolbar to refine the questions and answers if needed.
    1. Initiate Export:
      1. Click 'Export Q&A' in the top toolbar.
      2. Choose whether to export all or only the filtered questions and answers.
    1. Select File Format:
      1. PDF Export:
        1. Generates a detailed document with each question and answer on separate pages.
        2. Includes all relevant information, actions, and steps taken by the answer-side teams up to your level of access.
      1. Excel Export:
        1. Provides an overview of the current Q&A status (e.g., submitted, distributed, answered, approved).
        2. Does not include historical details of the answer process.
    1. Download the Export file:
      1. Click 'Create export' and open the 'My downloads' drop-down menu.
      2. Once the file is ready, download it.
     

      • Related Articles

      • Answer Role

        Answering questions is an essential part of every Q&A process. As answer team member you can: filter, search, and review the questions your team has been assigned reject and return inappropriate questions to the question-side, if there is no ...

      • Visitor Role

        The role 'Visitor' is not a mandatory part of a Q&A configuration, but can be used to give specific users full insights to the answer-side of a Q&A without letting them to interfere and take action. As member of the visitor team you can: filter, ...

      • Question Role

        Asking questions and receiving corresponding answers is the essential part of every Q&A process. As member of one or more question teams with role 'Question' you can: ask single questions about the documents provided to you and your team mates upload ...

      • Selection Role

        Selecting questions is not a mandatory step in every Q&A, but where question should be first reviewed or approved, and especially where question limits are defined, we recommend the Q&A administrators to also set up selection teams in the Q&A to ...

      • Distribution Role

        Distributing questions is not a mandatory step in every Q&A, but where an automatic, uncontrolled assignment of questions based on preselected index points is not sufficient, and a manual selection of the most suitable answer teams is required, we ...