Version control for document management enables you to track and manage document changes. Documents can include any technical document or drawing, such as blueprints, technical specifications, schematics, and process flow diagrams. This post will explore version control and how it tracks and manages document changes.
Version control allows multiple people to work on a document concurrently and tracks changes made by each person. It also allows you to recall specific versions of a document later if needed.
In an engineering environment, version control may be the responsibility of various team members:
- engineers
- project managers
- technical writers
The specific responsibilities for managing version control depend on the needs and processes of the organization. It is typically a digital activity, as it involves using a software tool to track/manage changes to digital documents. These tools are designed to store and manage version history in a digital format, often in a central repository.
It is common to track and manage digital documents using version control in the document management system. This can provide a more efficient and accurate way to manage changes and track version history.
The benefits of a version control system
- Improved collaboration: Version control allows multiple parties to work on the same document simultaneously and tracks changes made by each person. This can improve communication and coordination among team members.
- Increased efficiency: Version control systems often have tools for comparing different versions of a document. Hence, it helps identify and resolve conflicts more quickly.
- Enhanced quality: Tracking changes to a document over time makes it easier to identify and fix errors or mistakes.
- Enhanced security: By storing documents in a central repository, it is easier to ensure that only authorized users have access to the latest versions of a document.
- Compliance and regulatory benefits: Version control provides a record of the changes made to a document over time, which can be useful for compliance and regulatory purposes.
- Disaster recovery: In the event of a disaster, version control can help ensure that essential documents are not lost and can be restored if needed.
- Improved organization: By tracking document changes, tracking the most up-to-date versions and seeing how a document has evolved is easier.
Can organizations build their document management system?
Organizations can build their document management systems. however, doing so can be complex and time-consuming. This involves designing and implementing a system to track and manage document changes and creating tools and processes for collaborating on those documents. An alternative is to use document management system software, including version control, workflow management, and collaboration tools. It can save time and resources. Version control is a crucial feature in document management systems because it helps ensure that the most up-to-date and accurate documents are being used and improves collaboration, efficiency, quality, and security.