In Award Force, review flow allows tasks or notification messages to be sent to people connected to an entry. These can include the entrant, a manager, an individual named in the entry, or a specified email address.
Review flow supports multi-step review processes wherein each stage ends with a decision to stop or allow the entry to proceed.
Common uses
- Direct manager approval of a submission
- Two-step entry forms for successful entrants
- Notification to accept or decline a nomination
- Request to complete a letter of recommendation
What you need before configuring review flow
To configure a review flow stage, ensure you have:
- Fields to collect the reviewer’s name and contact details if the reviewer is named in the entry
- Fields the reviewer needs to view or edit
- Notifications for each review stage
- A planned review flow structure
Step 1: create a review notification
- In the Manage workspace, go to Settings > Communications > Notifications
- Click New notification
- Choose the Review stage started trigger
- Add the {review_url} merge field to the email body
- Click Save
Signed-in users will also see an alert badge when a review task is assigned. The badge clears once the task is completed.
Learn more in the Ultimate guide to notifications.
Step 2: configure a review stage
Before starting, configure any reviewer-only fields and remove entrant access.
- In the Manage workspace, go to Review flow > Settings
- Click New review stage
- Enter a stage name for internal reference
- Choose whether the stage is a task or notification only
- Select the recipient:
Review by manager
Review by a person nominated in the entry
Review by entrant
Review by referee
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Under 'Start stage' choose:
- Stage is started by entry submission
- Stage is started by another stage
- Leaving both options deselected allows for manual starting (see Manually trigger and manage review tasks)
- Choose your configured review flow notification
- Open the 'Review page' tab
- Set Read, Write, and Required access per field
- Optionally attach a content block
- Open the 'Proceed / Stop' tab
- Set labels for Proceed and Stop buttons
- Optionally:
- Apply moderation status automatically
- Start another review stage
- Hide the stop action
- Validate fields on stop
- Click Save when finished
Step 3: set a review flow deadline
- In the Manage workspace, go to Settings > Entries > Rounds
- Open the entry round
- Set a Review / resubmission ends date and time
- Click Save
Learn more in the Ultimate guide to rounds.
(Optional) Add informational content to review pages
- In the Manage workspace, go to Settings > Content > Content blocks
- Create a new content block
- Set the location to Review flow page
- Save and attach the block to the review stage in the 'Review page' tab
Learn more in Content configuration and management.
Add a certificate to a review task
- In the Manage workspace, go to Judging > Settings > Awards
- Create a certificate
- Open Review flow > Settings
- Click the review stage name
- Open the 'Review page' tab
- Select a certificate
- Click Save
Learn more in Award certificate configuration.
View and export review flow data
You can access review flow data by:
- Viewing tasks in Review flow > Manage tasks
- Creating an export from the Manage tasks view
- Downloading a PDF that includes review flow data
Review flow data is stored within the entry but is not visible to entrants.
Learn more in the Ultimate guide to exports and Download the manager PDF.
Good to know
- Conditional fields cannot be used in review flows.
- Review flow fields should not be reused across multiple stages. Copy fields to avoid overwriting data.
- If multiple reviewers are assigned to one stage, only the last decision is stored.
- Review URLs allow access without login for non-registered reviewers.
- Moderation approval can control which entries appear in judging panels.
Video overview
This video does not include the referee functionality.