Purpose & function
The SDO Issuance Tracker digitizes the review-and-approval workflow for office issuances
(memoranda, advisories, and related documents) from drafting through publication.
It replaces manual routing of paper or scattered email threads with a single system
that tracks each draft's status, enforces sequencing, records who did what and when,
and keeps every uploaded file (draft, approval copy, signed copy) in one place.
Workflow: a Checker submits a draft (PDF) on behalf of a
proponent → the ASDS reviews it and either endorses it forward, returns it
for revision, or disapproves it → the Approving Authority (SDS/OIC) previews
the endorsed draft and approves, returns it for revision, or disapproves it → once approved, a
Records Officer numbers, signs, and forwards it → an
ICT Officer posts/disseminates it and marks it published. If the ASDS does
not act within 24 hours of submission, the draft is automatically forwarded to the Approving
Authority so nothing stalls indefinitely.
Admin holds an oversight/monitoring role across the whole pipeline — it
watches every stage and manages accounts and settings, but does not itself approve.
Each step is logged, timestamped, and (optionally) emailed to the next person in line.
A draft returned for revision stays on its original reference number —
the Checker reopens it, uploads the revised PDF in the same record, and it resets back
into the queue of whichever stage returned it (ASDS or the Approving Authority), keeping
the full history (submitted → returned → revised → approved) in one place instead of
splitting it across disconnected entries.
If the Approving Authority needs to reverse an already-approved draft, the system
distinguishes two cases based on how far it's traveled: at the Recall / Cancel
stage (approved, but Records hasn't signed/numbered it yet), the draft can be sent back
to the Checker for revision, or closed out entirely if it shouldn't proceed at all. At the
Retract stage (already signed, forwarded, or published), reversing it
permanently freezes the record exactly as it was actually issued — no further edits, no
reopening, ever. Any fix past that point must go through a new, separately-numbered
corrigendum or addendum, which can optionally reference the original ref. no. it corrects.
This keeps every signed/published control number an honest, unaltered record of what was
actually issued.
The Approving Authority can act on any of these herself, or delegate them to the
Records Officer, since routine pull-backs are commonly handled by whoever's
holding the paperwork. When Records performs a Recall or Cancel, stating who authorized it
is optional; when Records performs a Retract — reversing something already signed or
posted — stating who authorized it is required, since that's a heavier decision being
carried out on someone else's behalf.
Disapproved, Duplicate, and Cancelled are
genuine closing decisions — once set, the decision panel locks and becomes read-only, so it
can't quietly drift into something else later. On hold is different: it's a
deliberate pause, not a close-out, so it stays fully editable until a real decision is made.
Duplicate-title detection blocks accidental resubmissions, a retract option
lets Checkers cancel a mistaken submission any time before ASDS reviews it, a JSON export/import feature
lets Admins back up and restore all local data around app updates, and an
Admin-only file health check verifies every record's Drive files still exist —
useful after cleaning up old files to free storage — flagging any that are missing
with a persistent ⚠️ warning instead of a broken download link.
A note from the developer
I built this tracker to take a process that used to live in loose paper trails and
scattered email threads, and give it one clear, auditable home — so approvals move
faster and nothing gets lost or forgotten along the way. It's meant to keep growing
with the office's needs, so feedback on what's working (or not) is always welcome.
— Ralf Jayvene C. Alaba (RJCA), developer