Reference
Data model
A glossary of the core Canvasm objects: canvases, cards, metrics, dashboards, strategy, and access.
A quick reference to the objects and terms used across Canvasm. For the narrative
version, see Concepts.
| Term | Definition |
|---|
| Workspace | Your team's account and the boundary for all data, metrics, and keys. |
| Canvas | One metric map. |
| Card | A node on a canvas. Every card has a category. |
| Category | The kind of card: Core/Value, Data/Metric, Work/Action, Ideas/Hypothesis, Metadata. |
| Relationship | A typed link between two cards. |
| Relationship type | Deterministic, Compositional, Causal, or Probabilistic — with optional confidence, weight, and notes. |
| Group | A visual (and visibility) grouping of cards on a canvas. |
| Term | Definition |
|---|
| Tracked metric | A card promoted into the workspace catalog, owning a value series shared across canvases. |
| Value series | Period → value pairs for a tracked metric. |
| Period | The time bucket for a value, usually a month like 2026-06. |
| Source-backed value | A value brought in from a connector, the API, or an agent. |
| Calculated value | A value derived on the canvas from other cards. |
| Lineage | The origin and observation time recorded on a source-backed value. |
| Term | Definition |
|---|
| Dashboard | The reviewable view for a canvas, made of widgets. |
| Widget | A chart (line/area/bar/pie), a KPI (single number), or a table. |
| Widget source | Where a widget's series comes from: a tracked metric or a card. |
| Impact badge | A marker on a metric widget showing linked strategy items and their status. |
| Term | Definition |
|---|
| Impact contract | The measurable statement carried by an Action or Hypothesis card. |
| Metric link role | Target, leading, or guardrail — how a metric relates to a bet. |
| Expected direction | increase, decrease, or stabilize. |
| Baseline window | The "before" period a result is compared against. |
| Measurement window | The period a result is judged over. |
| Confidence | low, medium, or high. |
| Impact status | draft → planned → measuring → won / lost / inconclusive. |
| Term | Definition |
|---|
| Evidence | Proof attached to a card or relationship. Types: Experiment, Analysis, Notebook, External Research, User Interview. |
| Role | Workspace capability: Viewer, Commenter, Editor, Admin. |
| Group / audience | A named set of people used in visibility decisions. |
| Access tag | A marker on cards whose audience decides which groups may see them. |
| Redaction | Removing cards a viewer isn't permitted to see from a view or share. |