Nowhere near a doc management system - very complex. I had simple tools, whether they were code running at startup or batch type tools to 'fix' things.
WRT the 'project' xml, I had a gui standalone frontend that read the same xml used by the acad code, where a cad manager or project lead could create a new project, which would create folder structures, set standard files in place etc.
Above all, follow the K.I.S.S. principle.
