Revision
Can recipients identify the current draft, prior versions and who changed what?
Public-safe self-assessment
Where does document friction actually occur?
Use these questions before choosing a technology. Record only aggregate workflow observations—never classified information, CUI, document contents or procurement-sensitive details.
Signing state
Can everyone prove the exact bytes/state presented to each signer?
Finality
Can a recipient distinguish a living draft from the sealed final record?
Evidence
Does verification travel with the record, or require access to the originating portal?
Amendments
Can later changes preserve the signed original and explicit derivation?
Identity and trust
Are signature mathematics, credential trust, identity, time and revocation reported separately?
Machine readability
Can authorized systems interpret structure without screen-scraping a PDF?
Accessibility
Is semantic structure preserved, and is conformance supported by actual test evidence?
Compatibility
Can current systems receive a PDF copy while the authoritative record remains verifiable?
Offline resilience
What remains possible without network access or vendor availability?
Interpretation
If several answers depend on a portal, manual reconciliation or unverifiable PDF copies, a bounded document-substrate evaluation may be useful. This diagnostic does not establish suitability, approval or procurement eligibility.