Track proof progress
As a project manager, proof manager, or other stakeholder in the review and approval process, you’ll want to track the progress of your proofs. You can do this with Workfront’s built-in proof progress indicators on the Documents page or by writing custom reports.
To view proof progress in Workfront, you must have a Plan, Work, or Review license and be a proofing user. If you’re not sure your Workfront profile meets these requirements, check with the proofing system administrator at your organization.
Track proof progress with SOCD indicators and proof status
Get a high-level view of how the proof is progressing through the review and approval process using the SOCD icons in the Documents list. These icons indicate specific actions taken on the proof.
The icons indicate the work done on a proof from the time you send the proof to recipients to the time they make a decision on the proof.
- S — The proof has been sent to recipients.
- O — The proof has been opened.
- C — Comments have been made on the proof.
- D — A decision has been made on the proof (approved, rejected, etc.).
The colors indicate if the action is complete or not.
- White — The step hasn’t happened yet.
- Green — The step has been completed.
- Orange — The proof deadline is within 24 hours and the step hasn’t happened.
- Red — The proof deadline has passed and the step hasn’t happened.
The SOCD on the Documents list, in the summary panel, or in the Document Details, is a high-level summary of the proof’s progress. Workfront configures this based on the recipient who is the “most behind” in the proofing process.
For example, if there are three reviewers/approvers and only two of them have looked at the proof and made comments, then the SOCD icons will show the proof has been sent (S) and opened (O) but not that comments have been made ©.
Once a final decision (e.g., Approved or Rejected) is made on a proof, all SOCD indicators may appear green for users in that stage, even if individual actions (such as opening the proof or making comments) were not performed. This is a system-wide behavior designed to reflect overall stage completion, not individual engagement.
Prior to a decision being registered, each SOCD indicator reflects actual user activity (e.g., white if no action was taken, green if the action was completed). After the decision, the system assumes workflow completion and updates all indicators accordingly.
If you want to know how each individual proof recipient is doing, open the proofing workflow. The overall proof progress is at the top of the window. Each stage has its own progress indicator in the gray bar. And next to each user is that individual’s progress.
Proof status
The proof status is based on the status of the stage’s proof recipients. The overall proof status is visible on the Documents page, to the right of the SOCD indicators, so you can easily tell if you have a decision on the proof.
This proof status indicates the overall status of the proof. For example, if two recipients approved the proof, their individual statuses show Approved. However, the third recipient hasn’t made a decision yet, so that person’s status is Pending. Therefore, the overall status shows as Pending.
If custom statuses were configured for your organization, those statuses will be used. Otherwise, you’ll see the standard status options of:
- Pending
- Approved
- Approved with Changes
- Changes required
- Not relevant
Open the proofing workflow window to see a proof status for recipients assigned the Reviewer & Approver or Approver proof roles.
Reports in Workfront
You also can leverage Workfront’s reporting capabilities to track proofs as they move through the review and approval process.
A proof approval report helps you track outstanding approvals to make sure deadlines are met.
A document version report allows you to manage and track proof versions.
We recommend working with your Workfront consultant to create reports that meet your organization’s requirements. Some of the reports require familiarity with Workfront’s text mode reporting.