A content workflow template your team can actually use.

This template turns a piece of content into a visible series of hand-offs. Copy it into a document, board or spreadsheet, or print this page. Keep the fields that change a decision; remove decorative fields that nobody uses.

1. Content identity and brief

Brief-ready gate

• □ purpose and audience are explicit;
• □ the accountable owner is named;
• □ required evidence is available;
• □ deliverables and likely destinations are understood; and
• □ unresolved constraints have an owner.

2. Stage record

Use one row per hand-off. A status should describe the actual state, not the state somebody hopes to reach before the next meeting.

3. State model

1. Idea: a possible item exists, but no accountable brief has been accepted.
2. Brief-ready: inputs are sufficient for a planning decision.
3. Approved brief: production is authorised to begin.
4. In production: a working owner is developing the item.
5. Review-ready: a specific version meets the hand-off gate.
6. Changes requested: recorded issues must be resolved.
7. Approved: a decision owner has approved a specific version and scope.
8. Release-ready: destination packaging and final checks are complete.
9. Submitted or scheduled: a destination accepted an instruction; publication is not verified.
10. Released: the intended audience can access the item and the result was checked.
11. Measured or retired: the outcome was reviewed or the item withdrawn.

Do not collapse “submitted”, “scheduled” and “released”. They describe different evidence.

4. Review and approval record

Feedback should identify the location, issue, reason and requested action. Advice should not be presented as a mandatory correction. Silence should not count as approval unless a formally authorised policy defines that rule.

5. Release-readiness checklist

• □ asset and copy versions match the approval record;
• □ approval conditions are closed by the named people;
• □ destination account, audience and settings are correct;
• □ rights, credits and disclosures remain valid for this use;
• □ links open the intended production destination;
• □ captions, transcript and alternative text are present where applicable;
• □ intended date, local time and time zone are explicit;
• □ a release owner and safe fallback are named; and
• □ the complete package has been previewed in its destination format.

6. Release outcome record

7. Worked example

Example only: ART-018 is an article with one newsletter adaptation. The brief owner supplies the audience, approved evidence and intended September release window. Creation produces ART-018 v4; factual and brand reviewers complete separate checks. The decision owner approves the article and newsletter introduction, but not future social adaptations.

The release owner assembles the approved article page, verifies links and alternative text, and submits it to the destination. The system reports processing, so the item is not marked released. After an audience-view check confirms the page, the owner records the URL, time and released state.

How to adapt the template

For routine items, combine the identity and stage records and keep a short release checklist. For high-impact work, retain specialist review evidence and a contingency owner. If a field never informs ownership, readiness, approval or outcome, remove it. If a recurring decision is made only in messages or memory, add the smallest field that makes it visible.