Key concepts
Key concepts is a narrative introduction to the same vocabulary.
Glossary
Alphabetical reference for every term used in the Sparqbox product and these docs. Where a term has its own page, the entry links to it.
Admin, A workspace member with full configuration authority. Admins can change settings, manage users, configure categories and criteria, and override decisions. See Users and roles.
AI first reviewer, The system reviewer that scores every idea before humans see it. Returns a 1 to 5 score per criterion, optional comments, and a short summary. The AI is a recommender, never a decision-maker. See What the AI first reviewer does.
AI weight, A workspace setting that controls how much the AI's score contributes to the combined weighted score. Default 1.00. See How scoring math works.
Anonymous, A per-idea toggle that hides the submitter's identity from peers. Coordinators and admins still see the real name. See Submitting an idea.
Approve threshold, The score at or above which an idea is automatically approved. Default 3.5. Configurable per category by admins.
Archive, An admin action that retires an idea from active surfaces. Idempotent.
Audit log, A paginated, filterable record of configuration and security events in a workspace. Admins access it at Settings → Security. See Audit log.
Authenticator app, A mobile or desktop app that generates 6-digit TOTP codes for two-factor authentication. Common examples: Google Authenticator, Authy, 1Password, Bitwarden. See Two-factor authentication.
Campaign, A themed, time-bound submission window inside a category. Available on the Growth and Scale plans.
Category, A kind of idea, like Process Improvement or Cost Reduction. Each category has its own criteria and thresholds. Eight defaults ship with every new workspace. See Categories and criteria.
Coordinator, A workspace member assigned to score ideas in one or more categories. Coordinators score and ask for clarifications; they do not override decisions. See Coordinators.
Criterion, A single scoring question inside a category, with a weight between 0 and 1. Active criteria in a category sum to 1.000.
Criteria group, A grouping of criteria inside a category, used to organise the review form.
Department, An optional grouping of users for filtering and reporting. Each user belongs to one department. Departments don't change permissions. See Users and roles.
Feedback, The written response attached to every decision. Auto-feedback is generated by the system; admin feedback is written by an admin during an override. See The feedback loop.
Idea, A single submission. Has a reference number, a category, criteria, scores, and a status.
Implemented, A status. The work for an approved idea has been done.
In implementation, A status. The work for an approved idea is in progress.
In review, A status. The default state for a new idea, while reviewers are still scoring.
Needs discussion, An auto-decision outcome. The weighted score landed between the approve and reject thresholds. An admin should look at the idea and override to Approved or Rejected. See The three outcomes.
Primary reviewer, The default coordinator for a category. New ideas in that category route to the primary reviewer first; additional reviewers are rotated in afterwards.
Recovery code, One of 10 single-use backup codes generated when you enrol 2FA. Format: xxxx-xxxx-xxxx. Using a recovery code signs you in and clears your 2FA factor. Regeneratable from Account → Security. See Two-factor authentication.
Reference number, The human-friendly idea identifier in the format IDEA-2026-0047. Generated at submission, never changes. The default prefix IDEA is configurable per workspace.
Reject threshold, The score at or below which an idea is automatically rejected. Default 2.0. Configurable per category.
Reviewers only, A visibility option. The idea is visible to coordinators and admins but hidden from peers. On approval, visibility flips to Visible to everyone. See Submitting an idea.
Scored, A status. Every assigned reviewer (humans and the AI) has finished scoring; the auto-decision rule will fire next.
Shortlist, The ranked list of approved ideas that are waiting to move into execution. Ideas appear on the Shortlist immediately on approval with no priority or due date. Admins and the category's primary reviewer set both afterwards. Ideas missing a priority or due date appear in the Needs attention column until both are set. An idea leaves the Shortlist when Move to execution is clicked. See The status timeline.
Step-up verification, A mid-session identity check that some admin actions require. A prompt appears asking for your 6-digit authenticator code. Trusted devices bypass this automatically. See Two-factor authentication.
Score, A reviewer's 1 to 5 answer to a single criterion.
Status, Where an idea is in the pipeline: in_review, scored, approved, rejected, needs_discussion, in_implementation, implemented, withdrawn, or archived.
Status timeline, The append-only log of every status change on an idea, visible on the idea's detail page. See The status timeline.
Submitter, A workspace member who submits or supports ideas. The default role for every new account.
Super-admin, Sparqbox staff with cross-tenant authority for support and policy operations. Not a role visible inside your workspace.
Supporter, Someone who endorses an existing idea instead of submitting a duplicate. One support per user per idea, with an optional support note.
TOTP, Time-based one-time password. The standard behind the 6-digit codes your authenticator app generates. Sparqbox uses TOTP for two-factor authentication. See Two-factor authentication.
Trusted device, A browser that has been granted a 30-day exemption from the 2FA prompt. Set by ticking Trust this device for 30 days during sign-in. Revocable from Account → Security. See Two-factor authentication.
Two-factor authentication (2FA), A second sign-in check that asks for a 6-digit code from an authenticator app after the password step. Can be made mandatory for all workspace members by an admin. See Two-factor authentication.
Visibility, A per-idea setting controlling who can see the idea: Visible to everyone or Visible to reviewers only. The default is Visible to everyone. See Submitting an idea.
Weight, A decimal between 0 and 1 attached to each criterion, controlling how much it contributes to the weighted score.
Weighted score, The deterministic sum of score x weight across criteria, in the range 1.0 to 5.0. Displayed to one decimal in the UI. See How scoring math works.
Withdraw, A submitter action that retires their own idea. Allowed only before a decision is made.
Workspace, A single company's isolated environment in Sparqbox. One company, one workspace.
What's next
Section titled “What's next”FAQ
Frequently asked questions collects the questions most people ask first.
Welcome
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