Glossary

This page defines the terms used on tfw.how. Every other page uses these terms with the meanings given here. Each term has its own link: add # and the term in lowercase with hyphens to the page address, for example /glossary/#topic-code.

Accepted: Action workflow status of an action record that the owner has accepted as work to do. Work has not started.
Access boundary: The set of people and automations that normally have access to a topic's surfaces. TFW applies one access boundary to every surface of a topic, and records any deliberate exception.
Action record: A record of work that contributes to a strategy. The kinds of action record are task, decision, blocker, idea, and role.
Action workflow statuses: The statuses that action records, such as tasks, move through: Identified, Accepted, Work Started, Blocked, Needs Clarification, Clarification Provided, Resolution Proposed, Closed, and Resolution Rejected. They are separate from the lifecycle statuses of topics and focus items.
Active: Lifecycle status of a topic or focus item that is in operation now and receives new work.
AI agent workspace: The tool class for the instructions and reference material that AI agents use for a topic, for example one agent project per topic named with the topic code and canonical name. Agent output is a draft until it is written to its source of truth.
Alias: A different name or identifier that a tool uses for the same topic, for example because of an older naming rule or a limit of the tool. An alias is recorded and mapped to the topic; it never creates a second topic.
Automated channel: The chat channel of a topic that receives messages from software, such as notifications, alerts, and integration posts. People read it, but conversation happens in the chat channel.
Blocked: Action workflow status of an action record that cannot make progress until a named condition is resolved.
Blocker: An action record for a present condition that prevents progress and needs to be resolved. A risk that has not happened yet is not a blocker.
Chat channel: The chat channel of a topic for conversation between people. Each topic has one chat channel and one automated channel.
Clarification Provided: Action workflow status of an action record whose open question has been answered and recorded. Work can continue.
Closed: Action workflow status of an action record whose proposed result was accepted, or that was closed without action for a recorded reason. It receives no more work.
Code repository: The tool class for versioned implementation, such as source code, configuration, and its change history. Every repository of a topic has a name that starts with the lowercase topic code and a hyphen, for example exop-.
Contributes to: The link from a lower level of the Focus System to the level above it, for example from a strategy to an intention. The same link read in the other direction is "is fulfilled by".
Conversation: Discussion and coordination about a topic, in chat, email, or meetings. Conversation is not a source of truth; a result that must last is written to the source of truth and linked back.
Decision: An action record for a choice, with its rationale, the person who made it, and the date. A pending option is not a decision.
Downstream: Lifecycle status of a topic or focus item that is accepted for the future and needs no action now.
Focus item: An objective, an intention, or a strategy. Focus items are ongoing; they are not closed when one set of actions is done.
Focus System: The hierarchy that explains why work matters: objectives, intentions, strategies, and action records. TFW answers where work belongs and with whom; the Focus System answers why.
Home topic: The one topic that is accountable for a record. A record that relates to other topics links to them; it is not copied into them.
Idea: An action record for a possible action or direction that is not yet defined well enough to do.
Identified: Lifecycle status of a topic or focus item that has been recognized but is not complete; an identified topic can still be missing surfaces. It is also the first action workflow status: an action record that exists but has not been accepted as work.
Inactive: Lifecycle status of a topic or focus item that no longer receives new work. Its surfaces and history are kept or redirected according to a retention rule.
Information placement: The rule for which tool class holds each kind of information. For example, accountable work goes to task management and durable explanations go to the knowledge base.
Intention: The second level of the Focus System: a desired direction that groups strategies and contributes to an objective.
Lifecycle status: The status that says whether a topic or focus item is identified, active, downstream, or inactive. Action records use the action workflow statuses instead.
Maintainer: The person responsible for keeping a surface correct: its name, structure, description, and permissions. A surface without a maintainer stops matching the topic.
Most specific valid topic: The narrowest existing topic that a piece of work belongs to. Work goes there, not to a broad general topic.
Needs Clarification: Action workflow status of an action record that cannot continue until a recorded question is answered.
Objective: The top level of the Focus System: a durable target state or outcome.
Owner: The person accountable for a topic or a record. Each topic has one owner.
Participant: A person or automation that takes part in a topic, as owner, contributor, viewer, or external participant. Participants are defined per topic, not per tool.
Provisioning gap: A required surface of a topic is missing, duplicated, or has access that differs from the topic's access boundary. A gap is recorded and repaired; it is not worked around with a parallel surface.
Purpose page: One page at the root of a topic's knowledge base space that states what the space is for, what does not belong there, the topic's lifecycle status, the maintainer, and links to the topic's other surfaces.
Registry: The list of topics that currently exist, with their codes and names. In practice the list of projects in the task management tool often serves as the registry.
Registry gap: Work cannot be matched to exactly one topic in the registry. The gap is reported with the evidence, and a new topic or code is created only after approval.
Resolution Proposed: Action workflow status of an action record whose work is done and whose result is proposed for review against its completion condition.
Resolution Rejected: Action workflow status of an action record whose proposed result does not meet its completion condition. The record returns to work.
Review: A scheduled check of one scope of the Focus System or of a topic. The five reviews are near-term action, strategy review, intention review, objective review, and topic audit, with typical tempos from weekly to yearly.
Role: An action record for a durable, recurring responsibility, with its purpose, authority, required capability, and the person who holds it. A role is not closed when one activity ends.
Source of truth: The tool and record that are authoritative for a kind of information. Other places link to the source of truth instead of keeping copies.
Strategy: The third level of the Focus System: an ongoing area of focus that groups action records and contributes to an intention. Each strategy has an owner and a review date, and can contain sub-strategies.
Sub-strategy: A strategy nested inside another strategy, used when a strategy needs to be divided. A sub-strategy links to the strategy above it with a contributes-to link.
Surface: A place in one tool where work on a topic happens, such as a shared drive, a project, a space, a channel, an email group, a calendar, a set of repositories, or an AI agent project. A topic has at most one surface of each tool class, except chat, which has two channels.
Task: An action record for a defined action with one accountable owner and a completion condition.
Tool class: A category of tool that plays one role in TFW. There are eight: document storage, task management, knowledge base, chat, email, calendar, code repository, and AI agent workspace. Products in the same class can replace each other without changing the topic.
Topic: The unit of organization in TFW: one venture combined with one unit. The topic is the anchor for work, knowledge, access, and communication, and the tools are its surfaces.
Topic code: A short code that identifies exactly one topic. The recommended form has four characters: two for the venture and two for the unit.
Topic profile: A short directory for one topic: its code, name, owner, lifecycle status, participants, and links to each surface. It points to records; it does not copy them.
Unit: A functional area of accountability, such as operations, finance, or marketing, that can exist in more than one venture. A unit is defined by its function, not by the team that does the work.
Venture: A durable context in which value is created, such as a business, an organization, a client engagement, a household, or one person's own affairs.
Venture × Unit: The rule that defines a topic: each combination of one venture and one unit is at most one topic. A venture has one topic per unit it operates, and a unit has one topic per venture it serves.
Work Started: Action workflow status of an action record on which work has started.