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Documentation & Registers · Policies and Procedures

Create and manage policies & procedures

Updated on 7 min Open in Cenedril

Goal Find your generated policies and procedures in one place, review their content, approve them or mark them for update, and trace their versions.

In Cenedril you manage your policies and procedures under Documentation → Policies and Procedures. The generated documents originate in the assistants; on this page you find them in one place, filter and sort the list, open a document, review its content, and steer its lifecycle through Approve, Mark for Update and Mark as Obsolete. The version view also lets you compare earlier drafts.

Where policies are written and when they are saved

Every policy and procedure is written in a wizard. That is where you draft the text and where you decide it is finished. Only when you complete it does Cenedril create a document version, and only that version appears under Documentation.

Between your text and the document version sit two stores:

  • The draft holds your work in progress. It is saved, but nobody else works from it and it does not create a document version.
  • The published state is what the document version is built from. Whatever is here enters the approval flow.

Saving in a wizard step

Most policies come into being while you walk through a wizard. Such a page carries exactly one document, and the editor has no buttons of its own. You save at the bottom of the page, together with everything else that step collects: Save as Draft stores, Save & Continue publishes and moves on. In ISMS Express the two are called Save interim and Save & Continue.

This is how you work in the security policy, the risk policy, the AI policies and in every ISMS Express step.

A wizard step: the badge sits in the card header and the editor carries no buttons. You save at the bottom of the page.

Saving in a document collection

Later you find the same policies gathered on one page, together with all the others. There each policy stands on its own. Expand one, and two buttons sit below the editor: Save draft stores your work in progress, Complete publishes it and creates the document version. The other policies on the page are untouched.

This is how you work under Data Privacy Wizard → Policies & Procedures, under ISMS Wizard → Governance → Policies and under AI Wizard → Documents, as well as in the Security Operations, IT Administration and Supplier Management registers.

A document collection: each policy carries its own badge and expands on its own.

The states of a document

In the wizard every policy carries a badge showing where it stands in the approval flow. Six states are possible, and they follow one another.

BadgeMeaning
Not completedThe text has not been completed. There is no document version, and the policy does not appear under Documentation.
Submitted for approvalA version is waiting for release. It is the first one; no approved version exists yet.
Replacement for approved version submittedA version is waiting for release and an approved one already stands behind it. Until release, the older one remains valid.
ApprovedThe version is released and valid.
Update requiredThe version was flagged for revision. Revise the text and complete it again.
ObsoleteThe version was withdrawn. It remains as evidence but is no longer valid.

You will find the same labels under Documentation. The first does not appear there, because no document version belongs to it yet.

Two additional markers on a document

Two markers can sit next to the badge. They say nothing about the approval flow; they describe your own work on the text.

MarkerMeaning
Draft differsA saved draft exists that differs from the published state. The editor shows you that draft, because it is the newer state. Complete the policy to adopt it.
Unsaved changesThe text in the editor differs from the saved state. You have typed and not saved yet. Leave the page now and the change is gone.

Find documents

Open Policies and Procedures

In the sidebar open Documentation and select Policies and Procedures. The page shows the filter and sort bar at the top and the table of all generated documents below it.

The Policies and Procedures overview with the filter and sort bar and the document table.

Filter the list

Narrow the list with Filter By. The area field offers Information Security, Data Protection, Organization, Culture and Finance. The status filter covers Submitted for approval, Approved, Needs Update and Obsolete; the language filter covers German and English. Use All Areas, All Statuses and All Languages to clear a filter.

Sort the list

Sort the table with Sort By. The options are Name, Last Updated and Approved At. Clicking the same criterion again reverses the direction. Each row shows area, name, language, classification, the two date columns and the status.

Review and steer a document

Open a document

In the relevant row click See Details. The detail page shows the title, area, language, classification and status at the top, then Last Updated, Approved At and Max. retention until, followed by the full Document Content.

The detail page with status, retention info, the lifecycle buttons and the document content.

Review the content

Read the content in the Document Content section. Before releasing a document, this confirms that the document generated by the assistant reflects the current state.

Approve or mark

Steer the status with the buttons in the top right. When a document is Submitted for approval, Approve releases it. When it is Approved, Mark for Update sets it back to needing revision. Mark as Obsolete withdraws an approved or revision-needing document.

Versions and comments

Compare with an earlier version

Choose an earlier version under Compare with Previous Version. Cenedril places Current Version and Previous Version side by side so you can trace the changes directly.

Leave comments

In the Comments section at the bottom of the detail page you record notes on the release or revision. This keeps the discussion attached to the document itself.

Result: you find every generated document in one place under Policies and Procedures, see its status at a glance, release it after review or mark it for update, and can compare any earlier draft.

Frequently asked questions

How does a policy or procedure come into existence?

The documents are generated in the assistants. When you complete a section there, Cenedril creates the matching document and files it under Documentation → Policies and Procedures. This page is the central place where you manage those generated documents.

What do the Submitted for approval, Approved, Needs Update and Obsolete statuses mean?

Submitted for approval means the document is waiting for release. Approved is the released, valid document. Needs Update flags a document that has to be revised. Obsolete marks a withdrawn document that remains only for the history. One further state appears in the wizard, ahead of the document version: Not completed.

What is the difference between Save draft and Complete?

Save draft stores your work in progress without submitting it. No document version is created and nobody can approve anything. Complete publishes the text and creates the document version that appears under Documentation and is released there.

Why does a policy show the Draft differs marker?

A saved draft exists that differs from the published state. The editor shows you that draft because it is the newer state. Complete the policy to adopt it.

Why can't I approve a document?

The Approve button is disabled when you lack the approve permission for the document's area. Cenedril then shows a hint. Ask a person with the matching permission to release it.

Can I view earlier versions of a document?

Yes. On the detail page choose an earlier version under Compare with Previous Version. Cenedril shows the current and the selected version side by side so you can compare the changes directly.

How long are the documents retained?

The detail page shows the retention end under Max. retention until. The default is ten years from creation.