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Figure 2-19 Q2-6 How Can You Use Collaboration Tools to Manage Shared Content? 95
Checking Out a Document
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Version History
Because collaboration involves feedback and iteration, it is inevitable that dozens, or even
hundreds, of documents will be created. Imagine, for example, the number of versions of a
design document for the Boeing 787. In some cases, collaboration team members attempt to
keep track of versions by appending suffixes to file names. The result for a student project is a
file name like Project1_lt_kl_092911_most_ recent_draft.docx or something similar. Not only
are such names ugly and awkward, no team member can tell whether this is the most current
version.
Collaboration tools that provide version control have the data to readily provide histories on
behalf of the users. When a document is changed (or checked in), the collaboration tool records
the name of the author and the date and time the document is stored. Users also have the option of
recording notes about their version. You can see an example of a version history report produced
by SharePoint 2013 later in the chapter in Figure 2-33 (page 114).

Workflow Control

Collaboration tools that provide workflow control manage activities in a predefined process. If,
for example, a group wants documents to be reviewed and approved by team members in a par-
ticular sequence, the group would define that workflow to the tool. Then the workflow is started,
and the emails to manage the process are sent as defined. For example, Figure 2-20 shows a Share-
Point workflow in which the group defined a document review process that involves a sequence of

Figure 2-20
Example Workflow
Source: © Access 2013, Microsoft
Corporation