Content Publishing Workflow System (Draft → Review → Publish)

Content Publishing Workflow System Development (draft → review → publication)

A content workflow system manages the publication lifecycle. Instead of direct publishing by any user — configured process: draft → review → approval → publication → archiving. Critical for publications, corporate blogs, and user-generated content platforms.

Statuses and Transitions

draft → review → approved → published → archived
  ↑                ↓
  └── rejected ←───┘
  └── revision_needed ←───── (partial return)

content_states (
  id, content_type, content_id,
  status: draft | review | approved | published | rejected | archived | scheduled,
  assigned_to (editor/moderator id),
  comment,          -- rejection comment
  scheduled_at,     -- publication date for scheduled
  published_at, archived_at,
  transitioned_by, transitioned_at
)

content_state_history (
  id, content_type, content_id,
  from_status, to_status,
  changed_by, comment, changed_at
)

Defining Allowed Transitions

class ContentWorkflow
{
    private array $transitions = [
        'draft'    => ['review'],
        'review'   => ['approved', 'rejected', 'revision_needed'],
        'approved' => ['published', 'scheduled'],
        'rejected' => ['draft'],
        'revision_needed' => ['draft'],
        'published'=> ['archived', 'draft'],  // return to draft = depublication
        'scheduled'=> ['published', 'draft']
    ];

    private array $permissions = [
        'draft → review'    => 'content.submit_for_review',
        'review → approved' => 'content.approve',
        'review → rejected' => 'content.approve',
        'approved → published' => 'content.publish'
    ];

    public function canTransition(User $user, Content $content, string $toStatus): bool
    {
        $fromStatus = $content->status;
        if (!in_array($toStatus, $this->transitions[$fromStatus] ?? [])) {
            return false;
        }

        $permKey = "{$fromStatus} → {$toStatus}";
        if (isset($this->permissions[$permKey])) {
            return $user->can($this->permissions[$permKey]);
        }

        return true;
    }

    public function transition(Content $content, string $toStatus, User $actor, ?string $comment = null): void
    {
        if (!$this->canTransition($actor, $content, $toStatus)) {
            throw new WorkflowException("Transition {$content->status} → {$toStatus} unavailable");
        }

        DB::transaction(function () use ($content, $toStatus, $actor, $comment) {
            ContentStateHistory::create([
                'content_type' => get_class($content),
                'content_id'   => $content->id,
                'from_status'  => $content->status,
                'to_status'    => $toStatus,
                'changed_by'   => $actor->id,
                'comment'      => $comment
            ]);

            $content->update([
                'status'       => $toStatus,
                'published_at' => $toStatus === 'published' ? now() : $content->published_at
            ]);

            event(new ContentStatusChanged($content, $toStatus, $actor, $comment));
        });
    }
}

Reviewer Assignment

// On review submission — auto-assign free editor
class AssignReviewer
{
    public function assign(Content $content): User
    {
        $reviewer = User::where('role', 'editor')
            ->withCount(['assignedContent' => fn($q) => $q->where('status', 'review')])
            ->orderBy('assigned_content_count')  // least loaded
            ->first();

        $content->update(['assigned_to' => $reviewer->id]);
        $reviewer->notify(new ContentAssignedForReview($content));

        return $reviewer;
    }
}

Deadlines and Reminders

// Scheduled job: find content pending review for more than X hours
$overdue = Content::where('status', 'review')
    ->where('submitted_for_review_at', '<', now()->subHours(24))
    ->get();

foreach ($overdue as $content) {
    $content->assignedEditor?->notify(new ReviewOverdueNotification($content));
    Notification::sendToRole('chief_editor', new EscalationNotification($content));
}

Scheduled Publishing

class PublishScheduledContent implements ShouldQueue
{
    public function handle(): void
    {
        Content::where('status', 'scheduled')
            ->where('scheduled_at', '<=', now())
            ->each(function (Content $content) {
                app(ContentWorkflow::class)->transition(
                    $content, 'published', User::find($content->created_by)
                );
            });
    }
}

Job runs every 5 minutes via scheduler.

Editorial Dashboard Interface

Columns by status (Kanban-like view) or list with filters. For each entry:

• Current status and responsible person
• Available transition buttons (depend on role)
• Moderator comments
• Status change history

Development timeline: 3–5 weeks for full workflow system with roles, assignment, deadlines, and history.