Using QMS – Process a Query

By default, and without any filters selected, the Query list contains all the queries that may be of interest to you.
Each row of the Query list is a query, and each column in the query list is a query field. You may have to scroll the Query list, or maximise your browser to see all the fields.
Remember, your Query list may not look like this. QMS is totally configurable and your local QMS administrators may have chosen to configure QMS and rename or hide columns.

Respond to a query
The person responding to a query is usually the person that the query is being addressed To, but the person the query is From (its creator) may also respond to a query with supplementary information.

(For example: the query creator might attempt to improve their query by providing additional details, or prompt for more information before they accept a query response.)

Both are similar, for now let’s consider the response of the person that the query is being addressed To.

Either click the link in the notification email, or login to QMS and double click the query you’re interested in.
Remember you can filter the queries displayed by checking the ‘Require My Attention’ checkbox.

It may seem like a lot to take in at first sight, but it’s simple.

Here’s the example Edit Query form for the query we created earlier, with the most important regions highlighted:

There are three steps to respond to a query:

• Review all the information.

Remember - there might be information on other tabs such as Query Response or Attachments.

• Select the ‘Query Response’ tab

Don’t worry if you’re not ready to do this just yet.
You may need to seek out more information, chat to colleagues, or do some other research before continuing.
No problem - the query will remain open until you respond, and the response is accepted. Just keep an eye on the ‘Date Due’ and ‘Days Left’.

Review the question, and when you’re ready enter a response.

You may return to the query as often as you need to, but if you update the ‘Query Response’ then be sure to click the Save button at the bottom of the form so as not to lose any of your changes.

If you want to add a document or photo at this stage you may use the Attachments tab to do so.

• Don’t forget to click the Save button at the bottom of the form if you’ve edited the query.

QMS notifies affected users and the query life cycle proceeds.

Remember that QMS is totally configurable and what you see may look completely different. Your administrator may even have renamed ‘Query’ and use another term.

If your Edit Query form looks different and you’re unsure how to process a query then contact your local QMS administrator.

Accept a query response
The person who created the query decides if a query response satisfactorily resolves the query.

A query might be considered resolved after a single Query Response, or after several Query Responses where there’s been a back-and-forth dialogue between the involved parties.

The person asking the question determines whether the answer is satisfactory.
When satisfied with a response, accepting it is simple.

Here’s the Edit Query form for our example, as created by Jessica Jones:

Note the highlighted area. Only the person the query is From sees this, as only they decide whether a query response is satisfactory.

For example, Peggy Carter who responded to the query would not see the ‘Query Response Completed’ checkbox.

There are two steps to accept a query:

• Review all the information

Remember - there might be information on other tabs such as Query Response or Attachments.

Select the ‘Query Response’ and Attachments tabs to review the responses and any attachments to decide if they answer the query.

• Select the Query Details tab

Check the ‘Query Response Completed’ checkbox if satisfied with the query response.

This closes the query, but it remains visible in the Query list.

What if I don’t want to accept a query response?
QMS doesn’t provide a means of rejecting a query response.

The aim of QMS is to encourage and facilitate successful collaboration and rejecting someone’s answer doesn’t help with this.

If a response doesn’t answer the question that’s been asked then perhaps the question was vague or misleading.

If you created the query, consider adding a query response with more information or clarifications.

A consensus is achieved through further discussion using additional QMS query responses.