Filling In an Advance as a Collaborator
What a collaborator sees when they open an advance in BackOps, how answers save, how to add request line items, and what happens when an answer changes after review.
An advance is a structured form built from the modules assigned to a collaborator. Answers save as you go, so there is no final submit step, and the production team sees progress as it happens.
The Collaborator's View
A collaborator's advances are on the collaborator's Advance tab. A table of contents on the left lists each advance, and the main area shows every advance with its modules in order. Each module expands and collapses and shows its due date, marked Overdue from the due date on. Task-tracked modules also show whether they are complete or need review.
Inside a module, the collaborator works through the blocks the module template defines:
- Content blocks show instructions from the production team.
- Question blocks each ask one question with one answer field.
- Request blocks show a table of line items the collaborator has added.
Answering Questions
Each question shows the field its response type calls for: a text box, a date picker, a checkbox, a file upload, a dropdown, and so on. Answers save automatically as you fill them in, and you can come back and change them at any time.
Adding Request Line Items
Request blocks collect one row per item. To add one, select Add request on the block. A panel opens with the properties the block asks for; for a resource request it also asks which of the allowed resource types you need and that type's attributes. Fill in the required fields and save, and the item appears as a row in the table. Add as many items as you need, and delete ones you no longer want.
For example, a Golf Carts block might collect one row per cart, each with its passenger size.
Changing an Answer After Review
Because advances never lock on submit, answers can change after the production team has looked at them, and BackOps keeps the review state honest:
- In a task-tracked module that requires review, changing an answer sends its task back to Needs Review so a reviewer looks again.
- Editing a request line item that already has its advance approval sets that approval back to pending, so the production team approves the new version.
- Once a request has its resource approval, it can no longer be edited. The supplier side must reset that approval before the item can change.
What the Production Team Sees
The production team sees answers as soon as they are saved, on the collaborator's Advance tab, on scoped area and activity pages, and rolled up by module in the Advance Manager.