SharePoint is a good platform for managed controlled documents like policies, procedures, templates and standards. It does have some challenges, especially with workflows used to automate various tasks including reminders, approvals and publish.

Here are ten things I’ve learnt working with people to build controlled document systems in SharePoint:

1. Use Site Columns & Content Types: SharePoint makes it very easy to add columns to Lists and Libraries. The problem is when you create a new column directly in a List or Library, it doesn’t add the column to the search schema and if you need the same column on multiple libraries, you increase the effort needed to create and maintain the column. My advice, use Site Columns and Content Types.
2. Be careful with Major and Minor versions: This feature seems like it is perfect for Controlled Documents, however there are some challenges. Often, we need owners, reviewers and collaborators to work on draft versions and these people may also need to see the published versions. If you rely on a single document library with publishing, this can become very complicated. A simpler approach is to have two libraries, one for master copies and a second for the published versions. (Major and Minor versions)
3. Split your workflows: Trying to create one large monolithic workflow for the review and approval process can be challenging, especially when rework is required on a document under review. The maximum duration of a workflow is 30-days and this can also be a problem when approval takes a long time.  Try split the review and approval processes into two workflows.
4. Expect the document to be locked: Document reviews by nature require someone to open the document being reviewed or approved. Following the review or approval the process often updates metadata values e.g., approval status, changes to dates etc. If the document is open, the workflow will fail unless you check for a file lock. (Handling file locks with Power Automate)
5. Version and Revision numbers: Don’t use the internal SharePoint version number and ID values for your numbering system. It is easy for these numbers to get out of alignment with the numbering required for your quality system. You cannot change version 4 back to version 3 if that’s the number you want. Create a separate numbering process to generate version and revision numbers.
6. Use View Formatting: View formatting lets you colour code your documents based on metadata values. For example, highlight the document in red if it is overdue for review.
7. Be careful with Quick Parts: Quick parts let you use SharePoint metadata columns in Word documents e.g., add key dates to the footer of your documents. My recent experience is that this can be unreliable and it is difficult to diagnose the issue. If you are using Quick Parts, make sure you test and check regularly that is it working. An alternative is to use Power Automate Word Automation features (these require a premium connector).
8. Keep it simple: Avoid complexity as much as you can. Complex workflows can be prone to errors and the people who use the system may struggle to understand the steps and how to diagnose and resolve issues. Just because SharePoint or Power Automate has a feature, doesn’t mean you should always use it.
9. Think about the end user: Controlled Document systems are often used by people who are not desk based, factory workers, engineers, employees with mobile only access. Make sure the interface for finding controlled documents is straight forward and easy for the end user to understand. User testing is very important, don’t assume.
10. Test and Test Again: Make sure you test the process as an end user of the system. Chances are if you are creating the workflow and SharePoint site, your permissions will be different, and you may not have the same experience as a standard end user.

Don’t let this put you off SharePoint for Controlled Documents. SharePoint can meet the requirements for most organisations where they have requirements for ISO9001 or similar quality standards.