A review session is a collaborative process for recapitulating the entire module configuration with the purpose of formally validating it. During a review, change requests and discussions are captured through Conversations.
Access: Open the Review Sessions window from the Module Ribbon. When a session is opened, the Review Session Ribbon becomes available.
🏭 Pharma Example — FAT Review Workflow for CIP System Validation
During a Factory Acceptance Test (FAT) for a CIP system, the project manager creates a review session and assigns the process engineer and the client's validation specialist as requested validators. The team opens each CIP process step by step, validates valve positions using the in-ribbon checkboxes, and raises Conversations for any discrepancies (e.g., "VP-305 should be open during the acid wash step"). Once all conversations are closed and all entities are validated, the session is marked as complete. If the process engineer later modifies a valve state, the session automatically becomes Outdated, prompting re-validation of the affected steps.
🔖 Session Statuses
Each review session has one of three statuses:
|
Status |
Description |
|---|---|
|
In progress |
Validation is not finished — there are still unvalidated entities, and the session has not been marked as complete |
|
Complete |
The session has been marked as completed, and no modifications have been made since |
|
Outdated (data changed since last check) |
The session was completed, but changes have been made since to any of the following: Valve States, Process/Step structure (created, deleted, or reordered), or Conditions (created, edited, reordered, or deleted) |
Warning: An Outdated session means previous validations may no longer reflect the current state. The session should be reopened and re-validated.
✅ Validated Entity Types
A review session tracks validations across four entity types:
Each validation type has its own collection within the session, plus an Expired Validations collection that records validations that were invalidated by subsequent changes.
🖥️ Sessions Window
The sessions window shows all existing review sessions for the current module. Each entry displays the session name, status, creator, and description.
🔍 Filtering Sessions
Use the filter dropdown to narrow the sessions list:
|
Filter |
Shows |
|---|---|
|
All sessions |
Every session in the module |
|
Created by me |
Sessions created by the current user |
|
Assigned to me |
Sessions where the current user is a requested validator |
|
Validated by me |
Sessions where the current user has performed at least one validation |
|
Awaiting my validation |
Sessions assigned to the current user that still have unvalidated entities |
➕ Creating a Session
Press the + button at the bottom-right of the sessions window. Fill in the following:
|
Field |
Description |
|---|---|
|
Current User |
Automatically set to the logged-in user (read-only) |
|
Session Name |
A descriptive name for this review round |
|
Session Description |
Details about the scope or purpose of the review |
|
Requested Validators |
Select from the collaborators list on the right side. Only project collaborators who have already synchronized appear. Only selected users can perform Validations or mark the session as Completed. |
📋 How To: Run a FAT Review Session
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Open the Module Ribbon and click Review Sessions
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Click + to create a new session — name it (e.g., "FAT CIP System - Round 1") and assign the FAT reviewers
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Open the session to activate the Review Session Ribbon
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Navigate through each Process and Step using the ribbon's Navigation panel
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At each step, validate valve positions using the Validation panel checkboxes (see Validation)
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If you spot an issue, open the Conversations panel and create a new Conversation linked to the specific entity
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Once all entities are validated and all conversations are closed, open the Review Manager and mark the session as Complete
📂 Opening a Session
Click on any session in the list to open it. This activates the Review Session Ribbon with four panels:
|
Panel |
Purpose |
|---|---|
|
Session |
Session management (Review Manager, close session) |
|
Navigation |
Navigate between Processes, Steps, and Conditions |
|
Validation |
Quick-validate the active Process, Step, Condition, or selected Valves directly from the ribbon |
|
Conversations |
Open the Conversations window for threaded discussions |
✔️ Completing and Reopening Sessions
Click Review Manager in the Review Session Ribbon to open the session management dialog:
|
Field |
Description |
|---|---|
|
Requested by |
The user who created the session |
|
Session Name |
The session name (editable) |
|
Session Description |
The session description (editable) |
|
Approval List |
Shows only the requested validators. Each validator can check their own approval checkbox — you can only toggle your own approval |
|
Completion Checkbox |
Marks the entire session as Completed |
⚠️ Completion Warnings
When marking a session as Completed, warnings appear if any of the following conditions are not met:
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All Conversations are closed
-
All entities are Validated
-
All requested validators have given their approval
Note: Optionally, completion can be configured to be blocked entirely unless all criteria above are fulfilled. Contact your administrator to enable this strict mode.
🔄 Reopening
If a Completed session becomes Outdated due to changes in the module, it can be reopened. Only the session creator or an approved validator can reopen a session.
🔗 Related Pages
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Conversations — threaded discussions within a review session
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Validation — hash-based entity validation system
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Review Session Ribbon — ribbon panels for session management
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Module Ribbon — where the Review Sessions button is located
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Export Processes to Excel - Validations — export validation status to Excel