Request for Information Workflow

What does this workflow record at each stage of the RFI?

Each RFI is created as a record with a reference number, a status, and a timeline of what happened. The coordinator's triage task saves the Responder Assigned and Priority to the record, the responder's task saves the Response and the scope/cost/schedule impact flag, and the reviewer's task saves the Decision and Comments. These values remain on the record and are visible in the record's timeline as the status moves through Submitted, Assigned, Response Review and Closed.

Who is involved in processing a Request for Information?

The requester submits the RFI through a public request form and receives email updates without needing an account. Internally, the RFI coordinator triages the request and assigns a responder and priority, the responder answers the question and flags any impact, the reviewer decides whether to distribute or send back the response, and the project manager receives a task to raise a change order when triggered.

What happens if the reviewer marks the response as incomplete?

When the Review Decision is set to Incomplete, the workflow routes back to the responder task, restarting the response step so the responder can revise their answer. This send-back can happen up to three times, giving the process a bounded number of revision cycles before the RFI must move forward for distribution.

How is a change order triggered from an RFI response?

During the responder task, the responder notes whether the response changes scope, cost or schedule. If the answer is Yes, the workflow routes to create a fire-and-forget task for the project manager, due in 3 days, to raise a change order, with the Change Order Reference recorded on that task rather than the RFI record.

How do we change the task deadlines or the people assigned to each step?

Deadlines, assignees and other step details can be changed by describing the change in plain English or by editing the steps directly in the workflow editor. Earlier versions of the workflow are kept, so changes to due dates such as the coordinator's 1-day triage or the responder's 5-day window can be adjusted without losing the prior configuration.

What does the requester see and receive during the process?

The requester submits the initial RFI through a public form providing details such as the question, drawing and specification references, and required response date. They receive an acknowledgement email with their RFI reference number when the request is created, and a final email containing the response once the RFI status is set to Closed.

What information does the coordinator triage task capture?

The coordinator's triage task is a waited-on task, meaning the workflow pauses until it is completed. The coordinator records the Responder Assigned and the Priority, both of which are saved to the RFI record and used to set the status to Assigned before the responder task is created.

Can the workflow be adjusted for different project teams or approval structures?

Yes, the workflow's steps, task assignees and routing logic can be edited in the workflow editor or updated by describing the desired change in plain English. This makes it possible to adapt the triage, response and review structure for different project teams while keeping a record of earlier versions.

What should we know about compliance and record-keeping for RFIs?

The workflow keeps a record of statuses, the values staff enter at each task, and a timeline of activity for every RFI, which supports internal tracking and reporting. Each business should confirm its own record-keeping and compliance obligations for RFI documentation, as this workflow does not itself determine or certify compliance.