Review statuses and outcomes
This page explains what each status means and where it fits in the PCA content review process. For the full step-by-step process, see PCA Content Review Process.
Draft¶
Draft means the content is still being prepared and has not yet entered PCA's formal review process.
In practice, this is content being worked on before submission. It may still be revised, discussed internally, or abandoned before it is ever proposed through the platform.
Submitted¶
Submitted means the content has passed automatic quality checks, has been created in the platform with its own IRI, and is available for review.
In the process, this status is assigned after Automatic QA and remains relevant while the content is waiting for or undergoing community review.
Approved¶
Approved means the relevant Working Group has decided that the content is acceptable for shared use in the PCA governance context.
Approval is more than a technical pass. It means the content has been reviewed, accepted as fit for shared use, and the decision has been recorded with the required justification and dependency awareness. The Publication step then records that outcome in the platform.
Rejected¶
Rejected means the relevant Working Group has reviewed the content and decided not to approve it for shared use in the PCA governance context.
Rejection does not necessarily mean the idea had no value. It means the content was not accepted in its current form or for its current purpose. The decision is recorded with justification, and the Publication step then records that outcome in the platform.
Deprecated¶
Deprecated means the content is still retained for traceability, but it should no longer be treated as the preferred current version.
This status is relevant when content has been superseded by a newer version. In versioned content, this is supported through replacement relationships such as Replaces and the corresponding forward link to what replaces it.
Externally Managed¶
Externally Managed means PCA provides a digital representation of content that is governed outside PCA's own content review lifecycle.
This applies to standards or other content managed by external organizations. Such content may be available through PCA, but it does not move through the submission, community review, approval, and rejection process described for user-generated PCA content.
Why statuses matter¶
Statuses help users:
- judge readiness for reuse
- understand whether review has happened
- distinguish active content from superseded content
- interpret publication and maintenance decisions correctly
- understand which statuses belong to PCA's review process and which do not