What is the discard pile in the context of a Review Center?

In the context of a Review Center, the discard pile refers specifically to the set of documents that are uncoded, skipped, or coded as neutral. This categorization is essential for managing the workflow during document review.

When documents are reviewed, they typically go through various coding processes where reviewers assess the relevance and importance of each document. Documents coded as positive are deemed relevant, while those coded as negative are viewed as irrelevant or not necessary for inclusion in the next stages of the review or production. However, the discard pile focuses on documents that have not been assigned a definitive value in the review process, either because they were skipped (not reviewed at all) or coded neutral (the reviewer did not find them either positive or negative), marking them as effectively disregarded or set aside.

This distinction is important because it helps streamline the review process by allowing teams to focus on documents that require attention while filtering out those that do not contribute to the case or project objectives. Hence, the understanding of the discard pile aids in recognizing which documents need further examination and which can be archived or excluded from ongoing work.