You have written a proposal in Microsoft Word and want all other members of the team to review the document before you can email a copy to the client.
So you add that document as an email attachment to the team with the subject "Please review by August 5 - Deadline 3P.M." All you can now do is wait.
When you have a big group of say five or more members, it becomes a Herculean task to track who all have reviewed the document, what comments they have made and whether there are any suggestions for improvement.
If the above situation explains a day in your buy life, try this web based tool at Approver.com - it will make things a lot simple.
The Approver.com concept is simple - you upload a file to Approver (including Images, PDF, Office documents, CAD Drawings) and then invite others over email to review the stuff. You also set deadlines and track the comments made by reviewers at a central location.
The reviewers then add comments to the document or depending on the setting, they can modify and upload a new version with their changes. You also know who's working on the document and whether they have viewed the document or not.
No more sending reminders or searching your email inbox for replies from the team members - all you the information you need is right next to your document on the Approver website.
An ideal situation would be that they integrate the service other online office suites and that the system could generate a consolidated report of all the document changes made by the different reviewers.
Approver.com [Approving a document couldn't be simpler]
Related: Email More Popular Than Wikis
Reader Comments
Thanks for the great review, Amit! Jeffrey
Written on 24/7/07 2:06 AM
Hi Amit,
This might not be applicable for IT companies scenarion...where we have to sign a NDA which requires we cant upload files etc on third party server...Though a nice option for general use.
Written on 24/7/07 10:52 AM
Using Wiki or online word processors like Zoho Writer, Google Docs, etc., this could be much easier. The features of online word processors like versioning, comments and IM help users with simultaneous editing and collaboration.
What you say?
Sadiq
Written on 24/7/07 1:42 PM
Ankur: How do you circulate confidential documents today? If the answer is email then Approver.com is more secure.
Sadiq: Wikis and Google Docs are fine, but our users have told us that they want to have the option to continue to use the applications they use today. We're not looking to bury the word processor or the spreadsheet like Google apparently is. If you want to upload an Excel spreadsheet (or OpenOffice document, or AutoCad file) and share it using Approver.com, you can. That's not the case with competing products.
Written on 25/7/07 1:42 AM