The short version. Responses is the conversation. History is the audit trail — every change, who made it, and when.
Answering
1
Answer the question that was asked
If the RFI asks which detail governs, name the detail. “See plans” is not an answer and it comes straight back to you.
2
Attach what backs it up
A sketch, a marked sheet, a spec citation.
3
Say if there's cost or schedule impact
If your answer changes the work, say so now. It’s cheaper than discovering it in a change order later.
4
Submit your response
The ball moves to whoever is next in the routing.
Responses vs. History
Responses
What people said. Read this to understand the answer.
History
What happened to the record — status changes, reviewer changes, dates. Read this when the date is what matters.
Pulling the record for a claim
When a delay claim turns on “when did we get an answer,” History is the document you need. It has the timestamps; the response thread only has the words.Next
Create a submittal
Number, version, revision.
Change Orders
Cost impact and schedule impact.