This process is a basic process that cannot be missing in an engineering environment. It is often a misunderstanding that 'approval' is the same as 'release'. Approved data means that the content has been verified and has been judged to be correct. Released data means that the approved content is allowed and safe to be used by others.
Data, such as documents, drawings, calculations, are prepared.
The prepared data is submitted for review. The content of the data is verified by authorised persons.
If the content is correct, the data is approved by an authorised person. At this stage it is assured that the content is correct at that point in time.
To use the approved data by others is a strategical decision and is performed in the release stage. When the data is released it is allowed, or mandatory, to use the content by other users. Without release step, the data is not safe to be used by other persons who were not part of the content development.