Whenever a case is processed by the RippleDown server it is assigned one of two possible status flags:

  1. Auto-validated (i.e ready for release), or
  2. Manual validation required (i.e. must be approved by a user before release).

If the case has been auto-validated, it is sent to the Online Information System with a status flag indicating that the report has been approved and so is ready for release. Conversely, if manual validation is required, there are the following possibilities for reviewing for the case, depending on how the Knowledge Base has been setup:

  1. If a queue has been defined by the Knowledge Base for this case, then the case will be queued to that special-purpose queue on the  Validator,
  2. Otherwise, if the Knowledge Base has been setup by the RippleDown Administrator to use the Validator by default (see the  Administrator topic Adding a new project), then the case will be sent to the default project queue on the Validator,
  3. Otherwise, the case will be sent to the Online Information System with the appropriate status flag indicating that it still needs to be  approved. The facilities of the Online Information System can be used to review and possibly correct the report prior to release. This is known as External validation.

Buffering of cases on a Validator workstation

When a Validator user starts reviewing a queue, a batch of up to 10 cases is immediately sent from the RippleDown Server to the Validator workstation as a “buffer” behind  the scenes. This is done so that when the Validator user approves a case, the next case can be shown immediately, without having to ask the RippleDown Server for it which might take a few seconds. As the Validator user approves cases, the RippleDown Server automatically tries to keep the Validator workstation buffer full of cases. If the  Validator user closes the queue or logs off, any cases left in the buffer are returned to the RippleDown Server so that they can be reviewed later.

One consequence of this buffering however, is that it is important for you to close the Validator queue (click ‘Close‘ on the review screen) when you are finished reviewing  cases. Otherwise, if you keep the queue open and leave your desk for example, the RippleDown Server may send 10 cases to your workstation which then cannot be reviewed by any other Validator user.