Prerequisites
- Document must be in approved status
- All required signatures must be valid
- You must have appropriate permissions to publish documents
Steps
1. Navigate to the Document
Open the risk specification document (HARA, FMEA, Control Plan, etc.) that you want to publish:
- Go to the Risks space or navigate via your role dashboard
- Locate the document in the document inventory
- Click to open the document
2. Check Approval Status
Before publishing, verify the document is approved:
- Look for the status indicator at the top of the document
- Confirm status shows Approved
- Check the signature widget to ensure at least one approver has signed
- Verify no disapprovals exist
3. Execute Publish Action
Initiate the publication:
- Click the Workflow Actions dropdown in the document toolbar
- Select ** Publish**
- Confirm the action if prompted
The document status will change from Approved to Published.
To publish multiple approved documents at once, use the Document List view with bulk actions. Select all approved documents and choose Publish from the batch workflow menu.
4. Verify Publication
After publishing, confirm the change:
- Document status shows Published
- Document appears in the “Published” filter in document lists
- Baseline can now be created for this published version
- Document is ready for audit trail and compliance evidence
What Happens When You Publish
The publish workflow action performs the following:
-
Transitions document from
approved → published status
-
Document becomes suitable for formal baselining
-
Published documents serve as stable references for downstream safety activities
-
Existing signatures remain valid (not invalidated)
-
Final release status
-
Signatures preserved from approval
-
Suitable for compliance baselining
-
Stable reference for linked work items
-
Can still be returned to Draft via Rework if needed
Published status does not prevent editing. While the published state indicates formal release, users with edit permissions can still modify the document. To truly lock a document, create a Polarion baseline after publication.
If you execute the Rework action on a published document, it returns to draft status and all signatures are marked obsolete. This requires a complete review/approval cycle to republish.
When to Publish
Publish documents at these milestones:
| Milestone | Example |
|---|
| Project phase gate | End of concept phase, system design freeze |
| Compliance deliverable | ISO 26262 work product submission for audit |
| Release baseline | Product launch readiness, PPAP submission |
| Stable reference needed | Downstream teams need frozen FMEA/HARA for development |
Published is a workflow status indicating formal release. Baseline is a Polarion snapshot that freezes document content at a point in time. Best practice: publish first, then create a baseline to capture the published version permanently.
Common Issues
Publish Action Not Available
Cause: Document is not in approved status or you lack permissions.
Solution: Verify document shows “Approved” status and check with your Configuration Manager if the publish action remains unavailable.
Published Document Still Editable
Cause: Published status does not lock documents by default.
Solution: Create a Polarion baseline to capture the published version. Configure document permissions to restrict editing of published documents if your organization requires it.
Need to Correct Published Document
Cause: Error discovered after publication.
Solution: Use the Rework action to return to draft, make corrections, and repeat the review/approval/publish cycle. All signatures will be invalidated and must be re-obtained.
Verification
You should now see:
- Document status changed to Published
- Document appears under published filter in document lists
- Signature widget still shows approvals (not cleared)
- Document is ready for baselining and compliance evidence
See Also
