Project approvals: what did the client approve?

The drawing is approved, the manual goes back to its author

Suppose a team submits a design drawing and an operating manual to a client. The client's technical reviewer checks both files, accepts the drawing, and identifies a section of the manual that needs a correction. The project manager marks the review as “approved” on the board. A colleague taking over the project sees a completed review and has no indication that the manual's author still has work to do.

In the proposed application, the client opens both deliverables in one place and responds to each separately. The team sees the drawing approval alongside the file the client reviewed. The manual retains the comment and the name of the person handling the correction. The project manager can pass that specific comment to the author and show on the board that some materials are still awaiting approval.

The author adds the revised manual to the same review. The client returns to the earlier comment and reviews the new version. The drawing's approval stays with the accepted file; replacing the manual does not overwrite it. When someone later asks about the handover, the project manager can open the relevant deliverable with the client's response.

Give the client a simple place to respond

A reviewer may use your system only when a project reaches handover. They need to find the file for review, the previous comment, and a place to reply without much guidance. If different people review the drawing and the manual, each needs access to the appropriate materials and a clear explanation of what the team is asking them to check.

For the project manager, a handover overview should show which file is being revised and which is waiting for the client. From there, they can open the author's task and the comment that prompted it. This is useful when the same information currently has to be pieced together from a project board, email, and a folder of files.

What your existing tools can handle

Power Automate supports approval requests with different response modes for human reviewers. Guest participation depends on environment, settings, and licensing prerequisites. It provides a starting point for a conversation with your administrator about the approval workflow you already have.

Check whether your project tool can record separate decisions for the drawing and manual while retaining the file the client reviewed. Having an approval feature does not establish how your current setup handles a replaced attachment. If the information is already available, adjusting the handover process and the project manager's view may be enough.

An integration makes sense when the client already has a convenient place to respond, but the team copies decisions into tasks by hand. It can connect a response to the relevant file version and the work assigned to its author. Consider a custom application if the available tools still leave the client and team reconstructing that history across several places. The scope can cover the handover itself while keeping your existing board for everyday project work.

Open reviews and ongoing support

When you change tools, some deliverables will already be approved and others will have outstanding comments. Moving those reviews should preserve the reviewed files and the decisions attached to their versions. The project manager needs to recognize what remains open. Older handovers can stay in an accessible archive.

When comparing proposals, include support for clients who lose access or pass a review to a colleague, as well as maintenance of the connection to your project board. Agree who handles a response that was saved in the portal but never reached the task.

For a custom application, agree on ownership of the code and data, and access to documentation another developer would need to take over. An export should retain decisions with the files they concern so that you can reconstruct the review outside the portal.

How Syntalith can organize client reviews

Through its custom software and integration services, Syntalith can build a place for clients to review deliverables and connect their responses to the team's tasks. The project manager can see the remaining work, while an author can return to the comment on a specific version. Your team identifies the materials it hands over and agrees with the client on who reviews them and when the review is complete.

Tell us about the last project where “approved” needed further explanation. That example can help us determine whether you need an adjustment to the current workflow, a connection between tools, or a dedicated client review interface. See Syntalith pricing for information on how work is billed.