In May 2021 Microsoft published a blog announcing Multi-stage disposition approval in Microsoft Records Management in Microsoft 365 as well as some other really nice enhancements to the Information Governance and Records Management tools. This is the third blog post in a series looking at the new features.
What’s New
The updated content explorer for disposition reviews is offering improved performance but also some really useful practical enhancements in filtering as well as a file list trimmed to show only the items you can approve for disposal, not all files awaiting approval within your organisation. A file viewer has been incorporated into the disposition review screen, making it easier to review content before approving the disposal. You can now also see the review history of an item including comments added by other reviewers. The final new feature is the ability to add other reviewers who were not previously included in the disposition review. Though they will need the appropriate permissions to be able to review the item.
Licenses, Permissions and Set-up
Content Explorer is part of the Records Management toolset and as such is only included in the E5 licences. Users who will be reviewing items for disposal must have the Disposition Management role assigned, which is also included in the Records Management role in Microsoft 365.
For more details on setting up disposition reviews see https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/compliance/disposition?view=o365-worldwide#prerequisites-for-viewing-content-dispositions. This page includes guidance on the newly released email notification customisation as well. https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/compliance/disposition?view=o365-worldwide#how-to-customize-email-messages-for-disposition-review
Carrying Out a Review using Disposition Reviewer
When items are ready for review by a user they will receive and email notification, like the one below which includes a link to the content explorer review experience.
Here you can change the scope and filers
Then select the item to preview and use the action buttons above the list or below the file preview to implement your decision. You can also Export the list of items and their properties to a CSV file for offline review and filtering if required.
(Note this image is taken from https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/compliance/disposition?view=o365-worldwide#viewing-and-disposing-of-content)
