Report Forge Glossary
Core concepts
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Blueprint | The master template that defines a reporting process. A blueprint specifies sections, fields, outputs, and workflow rules. Blueprints are reused across reporting periods. |
| Edition | A single reporting cycle instance created from a blueprint. An edition captures data for one period (e.g., April 2025 Monthly Progress). Multiple editions can be created from one blueprint. |
| Output | A designed report layout that presents edition data. One blueprint can have multiple outputs (e.g., an executive PDF and a detailed Excel). |
| Section | A named grouping of fields within a blueprint. A section can be single-entry (one set of values per edition) or repeating (multiple rows per edition, like an activity list). |
| Field | A named data input within a section. Fields have a type (text, number, date, select, etc.) and optional validation. |
| Component | A visual or content element placed in an output canvas: table, chart, KPI card, Gantt, image, text box, slicer, button, etc. |
| Canvas | The design surface in the Output Designer where components are placed and arranged. |
| Well | A binding slot within a component's Build panel. Dragging a field into a well binds that data dimension to the component. |
| Aggregation | The mathematical operation applied to a numeric field in a component well: Sum, Average, Count, Min, Max, etc. |
| Parameter | A runtime-selectable value exposed to the report consumer or template engine (e.g., Reporting Period, Project Code). Parameters appear in filters and text using {ParameterName} syntax. |
| Calculated field | A named expression evaluated from existing fields. Appears in the field list with an fx badge and can be bound in component wells. |
| Scope (filter) | The reach of a filter rule: Visual (one component), Page (all components on the page), or Report (all components in all pages). |
| Scope (slicer) | Whether a slicer's selection affects the current page only or all pages in the output. |
| Data connection | A configured link to a data source (OptiPlan, SQL Server, Excel, SharePoint) that supplies rows to blueprint sections. |
| Field mapping | The configuration that maps source data columns to blueprint section fields. |
| Preview | Rendering the output canvas against a selected edition's data in the Output Designer, without generating a final output. |
| Publish (output) | Making an output available for report generation from editions. Published outputs are locked from further edits. |
| Publish (blueprint) | Making a blueprint available for edition creation. Published blueprints expose their structure to contributors. |
Components
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Table | A component displaying tabular data with optional grouping, subtotals, conditional formatting, and in-cell visuals. |
| Matrix | A pivot-table component with row and column groups and aggregated value cells. |
| Chart | Standard chart types: bar, line, area, pie, donut, scatter, histogram. |
| Combo chart | A chart with two Y axes, one rendered as bars and one as a line on the same plot. |
| Advanced charts | Specialist chart types: waterfall, treemap, funnel, decomposition tree, box plot, scatter-bubble, MTA, resource profile. |
| Gantt | A horizontal bar schedule chart showing activities, baselines, dependencies, and critical path. |
| KPI card | A compact visual showing one or more key performance indicators with optional trend, comparison, sparkline, or progress bar. |
| Cash flow curve | An S-curve or periodic bar chart for cumulative and periodic cost or progress data. |
| Earned value chart | A chart for EV/PV/AC and CPI/SPI trend visualisation. |
| Slicer | An interactive filter control (dropdown, list, date range, etc.) for the report consumer to filter components. |
| Button | A clickable element with an action (navigate page, drill through, navigate URL, filter, back). |
| Subreport | A component that embeds another blueprint's output inside the parent output, with parameter mapping. |
| Map | A geospatial component displaying point, cluster, heatmap, or polygon data on a basemap. |
| MTA | Milestone Trend Analysis. A chart plotting forecast milestone dates across reporting periods to show schedule drift. |
Reporting workflow terms
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Contributor | A user assigned to enter data into an edition's sections. |
| Reviewer | A user assigned to review submitted edition data and raise or resolve comments. |
| Review comment | A comment raised against a specific field or row during the review process. |
| Draft | Edition status: created but not yet submitted for review. |
| Submitted | Edition status: data submitted by the contributor; awaiting reviewer action. |
| Changes requested | Edition status: reviewer has returned the edition with comments for the contributor to address. |
| Approved | Edition status: edition data has been reviewed and approved. Outputs can be generated. |
| Closed | Edition status: the report has been finalised and distributed. No further changes permitted. |
| RAG | Red / Amber / Green status indicator. Used in conditional formatting and KPI cards to indicate performance against thresholds. |
| Data date | The schedule as-of date for the edition. All schedule calculations are evaluated as of this date. |
| Reporting period | The date range covered by the edition (e.g., 1 April 2025 to 30 April 2025). |