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Read the audit log

This page shows you how to read the activity log: the append-only record of who did what to which regulated entity, and when.

Who this is for

Administrators: Quality Admin, HR Admin, Corporate Admin.

The audit surface is at Audit. It has two tabs:

  • Compliance shows the status of every assignment (who is assigned what training and whether it is completed, in progress, pending, overdue or failed).
  • Activity log shows the raw, append-only event record described below.
Screenshot pendingthe Audit page with the Compliance and Activity log tabs

What the activity log records

Open the Activity log tab. Each row is one recorded event with these columns:

ColumnWhat it shows
TimestampWhen the event happened.
UserThe person who performed the action (name and email), or system for automated jobs.
ActionThe event type, for example approve_content or sign_evidence.
EntityThe kind of record affected, for example training_versions.
IDThe first characters of the affected record's identifier.
IPThe IP address the action came from, when available.
DetailsA compact summary of the event, for example the change rationale or the source count.
Screenshot pendingthe Activity log table with timestamp, user, action, entity and details columns

What the common actions mean

ActionWhat happened
create_versionAn author submitted a new training version for review.
approve_contentA reviewer approved a pending version, with a rationale.
activate_versionAn approved version became the live content.
resolve_review_taskA reviewer resolved a queue task (or rejected a version).
create_evidence / complete_trainingA learner completed a training.
sign_evidenceA learner applied an e-signature to their completion.
issue_certificateA completion certificate was issued.
submit_document_for_reviewA controlled document was submitted for review.
approve_documentA controlled document was approved with an e-signature.
make_document_effectiveA controlled document version became effective.
obsolete_documentA controlled document was marked obsolete.
acknowledge_documentA user marked a document as read and understood.

The two properties an auditor relies on

The audit log is append-only and immutable

Records are written, never edited and never deleted. There is no screen, role, or setting that lets anyone alter a past event. The log is the system of record for every regulated change, which is what 21 CFR Part 11 §11.10(e) expects.

Regulated events are fail-loud

For compliance-critical actions (approving content, activating a version, signing evidence, issuing a certificate, and the controlled-document lifecycle), the audit write is fail-loud: if the audit row cannot be saved, Better Comply rolls back the change that triggered it. A regulated change never persists without its audit trail. Operational events (such as login or a quiz attempt) are recorded best-effort and do not block the action.

Filter the activity log

Use the controls above the table to narrow what you read:

  • Search: free text that matches the action, entity, identifier, user name or email, and the event details.
  • Action: limit to a single action type.
  • Entity: limit to a single entity type.

The result count and pagination update as you filter. The most recent events are shown first.

Where each event comes from

You usually do not create audit rows by hand; they are a by-product of doing the work:

  • Approving or rejecting in the review queue writes approve_content, activate_version, or resolve_review_task.
  • Learners completing and signing trainings write create_evidence, complete_training, and sign_evidence.
  • The controlled-documents lifecycle writes the document actions.