Review & Publish Workflow

Every KMS article moves through four stages. This guide explains each stage, who's responsible for what, and the quality checks required before an article goes live.

The Four Stages

✏️ DRAFT           →   👁️ REVIEW          →   ✅ PUBLISHED       →   📦 ARCHIVED
───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
Who:   Author            Who:   Reviewer         Who:   System              Who:   Author/Admin
Where: CMS + localhost   Where: CMS + preview    Where: Production site     Where: CMS
Visible?  ❌ No          Visible?  ❌ No          Visible?  ✅ Yes           Visible?  ❌ No (from index)

Stage 1: Draft ✏️

Status value: draft Who works here: The author Visibility: CMS and local development only. Hidden on the production site.

When You're in Draft

You're writing and refining content. Nothing you do can accidentally publish — the system prevents draft articles from appearing on the live site at two levels (build-time filtering and collection exclusion).

Draft Checklist

Before moving to Review, verify:

• [ ] Front matter is complete — All required fields filled (title, status, date, author, category, excerpt)
• [ ] Excerpt is one sentence — Under 160 characters, describes the article's value
• [ ] Category is correct — Matches the article's primary subject area
• [ ] Tags are relevant — 2-6 lowercase, hyphen-separated tags
• [ ] Headings are structured — H2 for major sections, H3 for subsections. No skipped levels (H2 → H4)
• [ ] Links work — Wikilinks point to existing articles. External links open in the same tab (KMS default)
• [ ] Images have alt text — Every image includes descriptive image_alt
• [ ] Callouts used appropriately — The right callout type for the right purpose (see Style Guide)
• [ ] Spell-checked — Australian English throughout
• [ ] Read through once — Read the article aloud from start to finish

How to Move to Review

In the CMS, change the status field from draft to review. Save the article. That's it.

Stage 2: Review 👁️

Status value: review Who works here: A reviewer (colleague, team lead, or subject matter expert) Visibility: CMS and local development only. Hidden on the production site.

Selecting a Reviewer

Choose someone who:

• Understands the subject matter (can verify factual accuracy)
• Has strong writing skills (can catch structural and stylistic issues)
• Is familiar with the Style Guide (can enforce conventions)

For most articles, a peer review from another team member is sufficient. For externally-facing or sensitive content, involve a team lead.

Reviewer's Checklist

When you receive an article for review, check:

Factual Accuracy

• [ ] Claims are supported by evidence or cited sources
• [ ] Data, figures, and dates are correct
• [ ] Names, titles, and organisations are accurate
• [ ] No confidential or commercially sensitive information is included

Structure & Clarity

• [ ] The article has a clear narrative arc — introduction, body, conclusion
• [ ] Headings accurately describe their sections
• [ ] Paragraphs are focused — one idea per paragraph
• [ ] The excerpt accurately summarises the article

Style Compliance

• [ ] Sentence case for titles and headings (per Style Guide)
• [ ] Australian English spelling
• [ ] Consistent terminology (e.g., "government relations" not "gov relations")
• [ ] Callout types match their purpose (note for supplementary info, warning for risks, etc.)

Technical Correctness

• [ ] Wikilinks resolve to existing articles
• [ ] Images display correctly and have alt text
• [ ] Front matter is complete and valid
• [ ] No broken markdown syntax (mismatched backticks, unclosed tags)

Providing Feedback

Feedback can be given:

• In person or via message — For minor corrections, tell the author directly
• As a comment in the CMS — If your CMS supports inline comments (Sveltia's support varies by version)

The author implements the feedback and updates the article. The reviewer re-checks after changes.

Reviewer Sign-Off

When the article passes review, the reviewer should:

1. Add their name to the reviewer field in front matter
2. Inform the author that the article is approved for publication

Stage 3: Published ✅

Status value: published Who triggers it: The author (after reviewer sign-off) Visibility: Visible to all authenticated Ace Strategies staff on the production site.

How to Publish

1. After receiving reviewer sign-off, open the article in the CMS
2. Change status from review to published
3. Optionally update last_updated to today's date
4. Save the article

The article goes live on the next production build — typically within 2-5 minutes.

After Publishing

• [ ] Verify on the live site — Navigate to the article URL on acestrategies.au and confirm it renders correctly
• [ ] Check the index page — The article should appear on the staff knowledge base index at /staff/knowledge/
• [ ] Test search — The article should be discoverable via the knowledge base search and Pagefind site search
• [ ] Announce if relevant — For significant new content, notify the team via your usual communication channel

Updating a Published Article

To update a published article:

1. Open the article in the CMS
2. Make your changes
3. Update last_updated to the current date
4. Save — the changes go live on the next build

Do not change the status to draft for minor updates. The last_updated field tracks revisions. Only change the status if you're doing a major rewrite that should be re-reviewed.

Unpublishing

To remove a published article from the site:

1. Change status to draft (temporary removal, for rewrites) or archived (permanent retirement)
2. Save — the article disappears from the index on the next build

The article's URL will return a 404 if archived. If you need the URL to redirect, contact the platform administrator.

Stage 4: Archived 📦

Status value: archived Who triggers it: The author or platform administrator Visibility: Hidden from the knowledge base index. The individual page URL may return 404.

When to Archive

Archive an article when:

• The content is outdated — Data, policies, or recommendations that are no longer current
• It's been superseded — A newer article covers the same topic
• It's no longer relevant — Organisational changes make the content obsolete

What Happens When You Archive

• The article file remains in the repository (not deleted)
• It's excluded from the knowledge base index and search results
• The direct URL may become inaccessible
• The content is preserved for historical reference — it can be restored by changing status back to published

Restoring an Archived Article

Change status from archived to draft (if it needs updating before republishing) or directly to published (if it's still accurate). The article reappears on the index on the next build.

Roles and Responsibilities

Role	Draft	Review	Publish	Archive
Author	Creates, writes, edits	Implements reviewer feedback	Changes status to published	Can archive own articles
Reviewer	—	Reviews, provides feedback, signs off	—	—
Team Lead	—	Reviews sensitive/high-impact content	Approves publication of sensitive content	Can archive any article in their area
Platform Admin	—	—	—	Can archive or delete any article

Publishing Sensitive Content

For articles containing commercially sensitive information, strategic analysis, or content that could impact client relationships:

1. Draft as normal — All drafts are private
2. Select a senior reviewer — Team lead or practice head
3. Add a review note — In the article body or via message, flag the sensitivity
4. Double-check front matter — Ensure noindex: true if the article should also be hidden from search engines
5. Limited distribution — After publishing, notify only the relevant team members rather than a broadcast announcement

Common Questions

Q: Can I skip the review stage? A: Yes — you can move directly from draft to published. Review is recommended but not enforced by the system. For externally-facing or sensitive content, review is strongly advised.

Q: How long does a build take? A: Typically 2-5 minutes from commit to live. Cloudflare Workers builds the static site and deploys it to the edge network.

Q: What if I publish by mistake? A: Change the status back to draft immediately and save. The article will disappear from the live site on the next build (2-5 minutes). No permanent damage — the article isn't deleted, just hidden.

Q: Can two people edit the same article? A: Not simultaneously via the CMS — the last save overwrites. If you need to collaborate, coordinate with your colleague or use Git branches for parallel edits (requires command-line access).

Q: How do I know which articles need review? A: In the CMS, filter the Knowledge Base collection by looking at the status field. In development builds, the knowledge base index has a dedicated drafts section.

Workflow Summary Diagram

Author creates article       Reviewer checks article         System builds & deploys         Article retired
      │                              │                              │                              │
      ▼                              ▼                              ▼                              ▼
┌──────────┐   change status   ┌──────────┐   change status   ┌──────────┐   change status   ┌──────────┐
│  DRAFT   │ ────────────────► │  REVIEW  │ ────────────────► │PUBLISHED │ ────────────────► │ ARCHIVED │
│          │                   │          │                   │          │                   │          │
│ Author   │   ◄────────────   │ Reviewer │                   │  Live    │                   │ Archived │
│ writes   │   feedback loop   │ checks   │                   │  site    │                   │ content  │
└──────────┘                   └──────────┘                   └──────────┘                   └──────────┘
     │                              │                              ▲                              │
     │                              │                              │                              │
     └──────────────────────────────┴──────────────────────────────┘                              │
                         Can skip review (draft → published directly)                              │
                                                                                                   │
                                                              ◄────────────────────────────────────┘
                                                                      Can restore (archived → draft)

Next Steps

• Ready to write? → Write Your First Article
• Need to learn the CMS? → Using the CMS
• Want writing standards? → Style Guide