Who this is for. Anyone with SmartResearch access: analysts, managers and finance leads. Access. Included for everyone at an organization whose subscription covers SmartResearch, whatever their role. No permission needs to be assigned. See the Roles and Access Reference.
The terms the rest of this guide assumes, in the order they build on one another rather than alphabetically. Each one changes what you see on screen or what an answer contains.
Scope and data
These terms decide where an answer’s data can come from, starting with the SmartFlow instance you select in the workspace.
Table 1. Terms that decide what a question can see
Term |
What it means |
Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
SmartFlow instance |
A configured agent together with the connections behind it. |
Decides which system of record and mailbox a question can reach. Selected in the workspace before you ask. |
SmartResearch Scope |
The connections an instance may query, set during configuration. |
An instance with no connections is running but cannot answer from data. |
External Data Source |
Public feeds an instance may draw on alongside your own data. |
Independent of scope. An instance can be narrowly scoped and still carry every external source. |
Business Context |
Your personal defaults for entities, time range and fiscal year start. |
Applied to every question you ask, so two people can get different figures from the same question. |
Asking and answering
These terms cover the exchange itself, from what a Chat keeps to the period a Reporting window states.
Table 2. Terms in the workspace
Term |
What it means |
Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
Chat |
One conversation. Kept, searchable, and reopenable from Recent. |
Follow-up questions are answered against what the chat has already established. |
Reasoning trace |
The step-by-step account of how an answer was produced, with timings. |
Shows whether a step failed and was retried. |
Reporting window |
The period an answer covers, stated in the response. |
A figure can combine a trailing window with a point-in-time balance. |
Sources |
The data an answer drew on, named at the foot of the response. |
The only reliable way to know where a figure came from. |
Data Stamp |
A record of when the answer was produced and against what. |
Lets you tell a stale answer from a current one. |
Reuse and governance
These terms are about consistency. A Skill produces the same result every time it runs, and a Metric publishes the formula behind a figure.
Table 3. Terms for repeatable work
Term |
What it means |
Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
Skill |
A reusable workflow: an analysis taught once, with its steps, defaults and output. |
Produces the same result every time, rather than depending on how the question was phrased. |
Template |
A ready-made skill supplied with the product. |
A faster starting point than describing a skill from scratch. |
Metric |
A catalogd definition in Metrics Studio, with a formula and a validation state. |
Where an answer cites a metric, the formula behind the figure is published. |
Validation status |
Whether a metric definition has been validated against an instance. |
Describes the definition, not the answer. A validated metric can still return a wrong number if the data is wrong. |
Action Unit |
The unit consumption is measured in, counted per tool call. |
What the Usage page reports. |
The two most common sources of confusion are the instance and Business Context. If a colleague reports a different figure for the same question, compare those two before anything else.
Related information
For more information, see What SmartResearch Is.
For more information, see User Preferences.
For more information, see Read an Answer.