OPERATIONS · 5 MIN READ
What statuses should a property-media job have?
Statuses should tell the team what decision is next. Too few hide incomplete services; too many force people to debate labels instead of moving work.
QUICK ANSWER
Use a small set of job stages such as new, confirmed, scheduled, shot, editing, review, ready and delivered. Add blocked and cancelled as explicit outcomes. Track individual services and revisions separately, because one job can have approved photos and an unfinished floor plan at the same time.
Define each stage by its exit condition
“New” means the request needs scope and timing confirmation. “Confirmed” means the agreed services are known. “Scheduled” means a responsible photographer has the current brief. “Shot” means capture finished but sources may still be incomplete. “Editing” begins after required sources and instructions are received.
“Review” starts when proposed finals are submitted; “ready” requires approval of all agreed deliverables and a checked package; “delivered” records the actual recipient and handoff.
Keep blockers and service states visible
A blocked flag should identify missing access, files, client input or an unassigned owner. Do not turn every type of blocker into a new global stage. Give photo, video, drone and floor plan deliverables their own received, in progress, submitted, changes requested or approved states.
- Submitted is not approved.
- Approved is not delivered.
- A partial delivery needs an explicit agreement and a record of remaining items.
Walk a hypothetical mixed order through the states
A fictional photo-and-video order moves from scheduled to shot. Photo sources arrive, but the video source is missing, so the job is blocked at intake. After the missing file arrives, both services enter editing. The reviewer approves photos and requests a video title change. The job remains in review until that revision is approved and the client package is checked.
Test the definitions with the team
Ask a coordinator, photographer, editor and delivery owner to name what evidence moves the job to the next stage. If two people disagree, write the acceptance rule next to the status. Avoid changing historical meaning silently when your workflow evolves.