Item set version control

Along with the functionality for versioning both items and blueprint maps, item sets versioning helps you to ensure that only the correct version of a set of questions can ever be presented to candidates, and that changes made elsewhere in the system do not cascade to live exams.

Version control at the item set level works in much the same way as it does at the item level.

The important principle to remember is that versions of items go into versions of item sets which then go into exams.

The current version of an item set and that version's status are displayed in the item set title.

The item set also maintains a version history and activity log in exactly the same way as the item does. 

Review and approval workflow

The workflow process for item sets also follows the same set of steps as at the item level.

Status	Description
DRAFT	The item set is open for editing. If the item set is still at version #1 then it is not yet possible for the item to be used in an exam. If the item set is at version #2 or greater, it is possible that earlier versions than the one currently open for editing are being used in active exams.
PENDING	The item set has been submitted for review and is pending decision from the reviewer. This is now locked for edits from the author's perspective.
APPROVED	The item set has been approved by a reviewer and the current version is now ready for deployment in exams. Further editing is not possible in this version. If further editing is required a new version must be created.
ARCHIVED	The item set has been retired and is no longer in active circulation. It is possible to bring the item set back into circulation by creating a new version to send it back to DRAFT.

The arrows show the possible routes for the item set to travel through the process.

Permissions for this process can be controlled using user groups functionality. For example, some end users can be set to only have item set creation permission, whereas others might have the ability to review (or both).

If no end user permissions are set, all users will be able to carry out all functions.

Working with item set states

The different possible actions at each state are described further in the sections below:

• Whenever a new item set is created or a new version of an item set is created it will exist in a DRAFT state. Once editing has been completed it needs to be submitted for review.

  

  The option to Submit for review will only be shown if the item set is in a suitable state. For example, if there are any obsolete item versions still present in the set, the Submit for review button will not be visible.

  Upon submission for review you will see the option to notify an approver by email. You can add a comment (which is logged in the version history) and the selected reviewer will receive an email notification. All users with review or admin permissions are present in the list.

  

  Selecting a reviewer from this list sends an email notification but it does not allocate the item set to that reviewer. Any reviewer can make a decision about the item set.

• Once the item set has been submitted for review, users with review permissions can make a decision on whether the item set can be approved for use in exams.

  Depending on whether the author has elected to send a notification, the review may receive an email inviting them to review the item set.

  

  If no email notification has been initiated, reviewers can access pending item sets via the item set index.

  On the item landing page, the reviewer sees the options to either Approve or Reject the item set. Approval immediately transitions the item set to an APPROVED state.

  

  Selecting Reject sends the item set back to the author in a DRAFT state so that revisions can be made. Optionally, an email can be sent to the author and the reviewer can add custom notes into this message to explain the revisions that need to be made.

  

• Once an item set has been approved, that version of the item set is indelibly stored in the system and it can be used in exams. No further edits can be made to that version, nor can the item set be deleted.

  If further edits are needed, you must first Start a new version of the item set. This sends the item set back to the DRAFT state and version number is incremented. Further edits can now be made without affecting the preceding version and anywhere that version is deployed.

  

  The other option is to Retire the item set. This takes the item set out of circulation (though current exam deployments of the item set remain unaffected) and makes it unavailable to be added to future exams.

• When the item set has been retired it it no longer available for use in exams.

  It can be restored to the item set bank using the Start a new version option. This puts the item set back to the start of the workflow and it will need to go through the review and approval workflow before it can again be used in exams.

  

Updating items in item sets

In order that an item set can be submitted for approval (and therefore used in an exam) it must have the most up-to-date versions of each item present within it.

Similarly, if you want make an update to an item that is in an item set that you have already approved, you must increment the version of the item set in order to pull in the most recent version of the item.

Remembering the important principle from the introduction to this article: versions of items go into versions of item sets which then go into exam.

Helpfully, risr/ assess makes this process easy for us by including an Update items option.

You can see in the example below that the item set contains an obsolete version of an item (version #2 of item #1106). There is also a warning bar at the top of the page.

If we create a new version of the item set, we now see the option to Update items to pull through the most recent versions

Once all items are updated you can push this version of the item set through the review and approval process so that it can once again be used in exams.