Project Management
Projects are the top-level containers in Report Forge. Each project contains blueprints, editions, outputs, and a team of members. Workspace Admins create and manage projects; Project Admins manage team membership and access within a project.
Access: Workspace Settings → Projects (Workspace Admin only).
Project lifecycle
| Status | Description |
|---|---|
| Active | Project is in use — blueprints can be created, editions created and submitted |
| Archived | Project is closed — blueprints and editions preserved in read-only state; no new editions can be created |
| Deleted | Permanent removal — not recoverable |
Creating a project
- Go to Workspace Settings → Projects → + New project.
- Fill in:
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| Project name | Display name shown in the project selector and all notifications |
| Project code | Short identifier (e.g. NRN-042) used in exports and API references |
| Description | Optional — summarises the project purpose, visible on the project card |
| Start date | Project start — used in duration calculations |
| End date | Planned completion — used to flag overdue projects |
| Project owner | Workspace member who will manage the project (can be changed later) |
| Access control | Workspace-open (all workspace members have view access) or Restricted (invite-only) |
- Click Create project.
The project owner receives a notification and is automatically added to the project with the Admin role.
Access control modes
| Mode | Who can access the project |
|---|---|
| Workspace-open | All workspace members can view the project and its published outputs |
| Restricted | Only explicitly invited members can access the project |
For projects involving confidential commercial data or external-only audiences, use Restricted access.
Inviting members to a project
Workspace Admins and Project Admins can add members:
- Open the project → Project Settings → Team → + Invite member.
- Search for a workspace member by name or email.
- Select the role: Report Owner, Designer, Contributor, or Reviewer.
- Click Invite.
The member receives a notification and gains access immediately.
To add external users (outside your organisation), invite them to the workspace first via Workspace Settings → Team → Invite by email, then add them to the project.
Changing project status
Archiving a project
Archive a project when the work is complete but the data must be preserved for audit or reference.
- Go to Workspace Settings → Projects → select the project.
- Click Archive project.
- Confirm — the project is removed from active project lists but all blueprints, editions, and outputs are preserved in read-only state.
Effects of archiving:
- Blueprints in the project become archived automatically.
- No new editions can be created.
- Existing editions and outputs remain viewable.
- The project appears in Archived Projects in the workspace settings.
Restoring an archived project
- Go to Workspace Settings → Projects → Archived tab.
- Select the project → Restore.
- The project returns to Active status. Blueprints are restored to their previous state (published or archived as they were).
Deleting a project
Project deletion is permanent. All blueprints, editions, outputs, and audit records for the project are deleted and cannot be recovered. Archive instead of delete in almost all cases.
Deletion is only available to Workspace Admins. The project must be in Archived status before deletion is permitted.
Project settings reference
| Setting | Who can change | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Project name | Project Admin, Workspace Admin | Display name |
| Project code | Workspace Admin only | Short identifier (affects exports and API) |
| Description | Project Admin, Workspace Admin | Project summary |
| Start / End date | Project Admin, Workspace Admin | Date range |
| Project owner | Workspace Admin | Primary accountable person |
| Access control | Workspace Admin | Open vs. Restricted |
| Default blueprint permissions | Project Admin, Workspace Admin | Who can view blueprints by default |
| Notification settings | Project Admin | Per-project notification overrides |
| Storage quota | Workspace Admin | Per-project storage limit (if workspace quotas are enabled) |
Storage quota management
If storage quotas are enabled at the workspace level:
- Go to Workspace Settings → Projects → select the project.
- Open Storage tab.
- View current usage vs. allocated quota.
- Click Adjust quota to increase or decrease the allocation.
Storage is consumed by:
- File attachments uploaded to edition fields
- Generated output files (PDF, Excel, Word)
- Images uploaded to edition image fields
Multi-project considerations
Shared blueprints across projects
Blueprints are scoped to a project. To use the same blueprint structure across multiple projects:
- Create the blueprint in one project and publish it.
- In the target project: + New blueprint → Copy from existing → select the source blueprint.
- The copy is a new, independent blueprint in the target project.
Changes to the source blueprint are not propagated to copies. For template standardisation, maintain a "template project" with reference blueprints and copy from it when starting new projects.
Cross-project reporting
To produce a report that aggregates data from multiple projects, use Lookup fields in blueprints or configure a Multi-project output template with a project parameter.
See Multi-Project Reporting for the full pattern.
Project access for external reviewers
For external stakeholders (clients, subconsultants) who only need reviewer access:
- Invite them to the workspace with the External role (limited workspace access).
- Add them to the specific project as a Reviewer.
- They see only the project they are invited to — other workspace projects are not visible.
Project admin delegation
Workspace Admins can designate any workspace member as a Project Admin for a specific project. Project Admins can:
- Manage the project team (invite, role-change, remove members)
- Change project settings (name, description, dates)
- Archive the project
- Manage notification settings
Project Admins cannot:
- Delete the project
- Change the project code
- Adjust storage quotas
- View other projects they are not members of
What's next
- Team Roles — role capabilities and assignment guidance
- Blueprint Governance — blueprint lifecycle within projects
- Multi-Project Reporting — cross-project report patterns
- Audit Log — tracking project-level actions