01
Start from what happens now
The process you are running today is written down first, including the parts nobody planned. A process designed around an ideal that nobody recognises is not adopted.
01 How we work
Written down, owned by one role, and checked against a condition.
Six working principles, a demonstration sequence for a fictional product line, and the responsibility table that goes with it. Everything here is adapted to the client rather than applied as a template.
02
One owner per stage
Every stage names a single role answerable for it. Shared ownership of a content record is the most common reason two versions end up in circulation.
03
Conditions, not intentions
A stage ends when a stated condition is met, not when someone feels it is finished. That is what makes a status meaningful when somebody else reads it.
04
A query is a written record
An unresolved point is raised as a query with the question on the record, and it sends only the affected items back. Assumptions do not travel forward.
05
Facts stay with you
Specifications and commercial claims are confirmed by your side. We define where that confirmation is required and record that it was given.
06
Written for the person doing the work
Instructions are organised by role and in the order that role acts, so a contributor reads their own part rather than the whole process.
02 Workflow example
One update, followed from request to review date.
A fictional four-item kettle range, used to show how a change moves and what has to be true before it moves on. The stage names, the number of review points and the roles behind them are adapted to each client.
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01 Request
Product Team
Raises a request to change the stated capacity and the primary image across a four-item kettle range.
Moves on when
Accepted once the confirmed values, the affected content and the reason for the change are all present.
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02 Preparation
Content Team, Design Contributor
Rewrites the specification block and the affected sentences; the design contributor prepares the replacement images to the agreed naming and sizes.
Moves on when
Complete once every affected element in the request has a prepared version, and each image is matched to a product reference.
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03 Review
Content Team
Checks the prepared set against the page structure: required fields present, wording rules followed, media matched, source information cited.
Moves on when
Passes when the set is complete and consistent. Anything unresolved is raised as a query rather than assumed.
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↩ Returned with queries
Content Team to Preparation
A query sends the affected items, and only those items, back to preparation with the point needing an answer written on the record.
Moves on when
Rejoins the review stage once the query is answered. The rest of the set holds its place.
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05 Approval
Approver
Reads the reviewed set as a whole and either accepts it for publication or returns it with a stated reason.
Moves on when
Recorded as approved against a version reference, so what was accepted can be identified later.
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06 Publication handover
Publishing Contributor
Receives the approved set with its version reference and the list of pages and fields it affects, and publishes it.
Moves on when
Handover is complete when the approved version, the affected pages and the media files have all been passed on together.
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07 Post-publication check
Content Team
Compares what is live against the approved version, and records the date the range next comes up for review.
Moves on when
Closed when the live page matches the approved version and the next review date is recorded.
The shaded row is the query route. A reviewer who cannot settle a point sends the affected items back to preparation with the question written on the record, and the rest of the set holds its place rather than waiting behind it.
03 Ownership & handover
Every stage has one owner and one next recipient.
Roles rather than names, so the table holds when people change. What each owner needs before they can act is stated alongside, because a missing input is the usual reason a stage stalls.
| Stage | Owner | Needs before starting | Produces | Passes to |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Raise the request | Product Team | Confirmed product facts, the reason for the change, the affected references | A complete update request | Content Team |
| Prepare the copy | Content Team | The accepted request, the page structure, the wording rules | Draft descriptions and specification values | Design Contributor |
| Prepare the media | Design Contributor | The affected product references, the media rules, the source images | Named image files matched to product references | Content Team |
| Review the set | Content Team | Draft copy, prepared media, the review checklist | A reviewed set, or a written query | Approver, or back to preparation |
| Approve for publication | Approver | The reviewed set and any outstanding queries | An approval recorded against a version reference | Publishing Contributor |
| Publish and hand back | Publishing Contributor | The approved version, affected pages and fields, media files | Published pages and a completed handover record | Content Team |
| Check and schedule review | Content Team | The approved version and the live pages | A closed request and a recorded next review date | Product Team |
Product Team, Content Team, Design Contributor, Approver and Publishing Contributor are role names. On a real project they are mapped to the teams and suppliers you already have, and a role may be held by one person or by several.
04 How we start
Five steps from a first description to a handover.
The first step costs you nothing but a description. Nothing is scoped, quoted or started until both sides can see what the work covers.
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01
You describe the process and the contributors
How a change reaches a product page today, who takes part, and what tends to hold it up. General terms are enough at this point.
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02
Scope and deliverables are agreed
What the work covers, what it produces and where its limits are, including how far coordination of outside contributors goes.
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03
Rules and working materials are prepared
Stages, ownership, page structures, request forms, media rules and instructions, drafted against your catalogue and your roles.
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04
Your team checks that they fit
The people who will actually use the material read it and try it against real updates. Points that do not fit are corrected.
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05
The final set is handed over
The agreed material is delivered digitally, and ongoing support begins if it has been ordered.
05 Ways to work together
Three arrangements, and what each of them covers.
The extent of support, and how far coordination of outside contributors goes, is agreed separately for each arrangement rather than fixed here.
01
Setup project
A one-off piece of work that defines the process and produces the material to run it.
- Stages, ownership and review points written for your catalogue
- Page structure, request form, media rules and version records
- Instructions per contributing role, and a review checklist
- Handover of the finished set, with a walk-through for the teams using it
02
Ongoing operational support
Continuing involvement to keep an agreed process in use and to adjust it as the catalogue changes.
- Review of how the process is being followed in practice
- Amendments to rules, forms and instructions as ranges change
- Support for contributors on how a stage should be handled
- Coordination of outside contributors within the scope agreed for the period
03
Ready-made frameworks and materials
Prepared digital materials you adapt yourself, without a project around them.
- Product content workflow frameworks
- Catalogue workflow structures
- Update request form and rule sets
- Written instructions and content management materials
Fees and terms
Every engagement is priced in a written quotation sent by email before any work begins. The quotation states the full price in pounds sterling with any tax already included, and nothing is added to that figure afterwards. There are no published packages, subscriptions or tariffs, because the figure follows the size of the catalogue and how much of the process is already written down.
Payment is by card or through PayPal, on a secure link in the invoice email, or by bank transfer against the invoice. Nothing is bought, paid for or downloaded on this website, and card details reach the payment provider rather than this company. The Terms of Service set out the five steps from an enquiry to a confirmed engagement.
06 Contact
Describe the process you are running today.
A general description is enough for a first enquiry. We reply with the questions that have to be answered before any work can be scoped, and nothing is quoted until that is clear.