Navigating the platform

Business Summary: Nimbus organizes work around a consistent sidebar — Perception for exploration, Collaboration for lifecycle status and reports, Knowledge for institutional context, and Workstreams for execution — so every role knows where to start and where to go next.

This guide maps the sidebar to daily operator workflows. Use it as a reference when onboarding colleagues or when you are unsure which screen answers your question.

End-to-end adoption path

Successful customers typically follow this sequence — the same order emphasized in product onboarding:

flowchart LR
  Conn[Connectors]
  Wiki[Company Wiki]
  Scope[Scope a workstream]
  Create[Create workstream]
  Run[Run and approve]
  Collab[Process Board and Live Canvas]
  Trace[Lifecycle Graph and Audit]

  Conn --> Wiki --> Scope --> Create --> Run --> Collab --> Trace

1. Connectors — bring external system data in (Intelligence first, Action when ready)
2. Company Wiki — policies, manuals, synced documents; automatic clustering into lifecycle graph
3. Scope a workstream — give one goal a workspace, connectors, and approvers
4. Create workstream — guided scoping with connectors, team, cadence, governance, wiki links
5. Run and approve — orchestrated chat, plans, reports, optional downstream actions in the workstream workspace
6. Process Board & Live Canvas — lifecycle status and formal report approval
7. Lifecycle Graph & Audit — operating memory views and decision traces; Perception for executives

For the canonical first-week sequence, see Onboarding checklist.

Skipping connectors or wiki before heavy agent runs usually produces weak or blocked outputs.

How this fits in Nimbus

flowchart TB
  subgraph perception [Perception]
    Overview[Overview]
    Chats[Chat History]
  end

  subgraph collab [Collaboration]
    PB[Process Board]
    LC[Live Canvas]
  end

  subgraph knowledge [Knowledge]
    KG[Lifecycle Graph]
    Wiki[Company Wiki]
    Conn[Connectors]
  end

  subgraph work [Workstreams]
    WSHub[All Workstreams]
    WSDetail[Recent workstreams]
  end

  subgraph gov [Governance and Admin]
    TeamsGov[Teams]
    Audit[Audit and History]
    Gov[Governance]
    Settings[Settings]
  end

  Orb[Perception orb]

  Overview --> PB
  Orb -.-> Overview
  Orb -.-> WSDetail
  WSHub --> WSDetail
  WSDetail --> PB
  PB --> LC
  Conn --> KG
  Wiki --> KG
  WSDetail --> Audit
  KG --> Overview
  Audit -->|View Lineage| KG

Sidebar map

The Perception console is global — open it from the floating gradient orb (bottom right) or keyboard shortcut ⌘/ (Mac) / Ctrl+/ (Windows). It is not a sidebar item but appears on every authenticated screen.

Daily operator loop

Most operators follow this rhythm:

flowchart LR
  AM[Overview morning triage]
  PB[Process Board status scan]
  WS[Workstream action]
  LC[Live Canvas review if report ready]
  Audit[Audit spot-check]

  AM --> PB
  PB --> WS
  WS --> LC
  LC --> Audit

1. Overview — check pending approvals, active workstream count, knowledge health
2. Process Board — see which workstreams need plan confirmation, runs, or report review
3. Workstream workspace — chat, confirm runs, upload data, approve HITL in context
4. Live Canvas — refine and approve formal reports when Reports column shows availability
5. Audit & History — spot-check events for compliance or debugging

Role-based entry points

Workstream vs sidebar labels

In prose and this knowledge base, we use Workstream for scoped execution workspaces. Sidebar navigation may show Workstreams, All Workstreams, or Create workstream — these all refer to the same concept. Open a workstream from the sidebar list or from Process Board workstream rows.

Screen-specific guides

Example scenario

A new ops lead joins on Monday. She reads this page, opens Overview to see ten active workstreams and zero pending approvals, then Process Board to find two workstreams stuck in Plan. She deep-links into the first workstream, confirms the agent plan, and returns to the board — Run now shows Running. Her manager pointed her to Live Canvas for the weekly board pack; she finds Report available in the Reports column and shares the canvas link before the exec meeting.

FAQs {#faqs}

Q: Where do I create a new workstream? A: Sidebar Workstreams → Create workstream, Overview → New Workstream, or commit from Perception after exploring a goal.

Q: I cannot find Process Board or Live Canvas — where are they? A: Under Collaboration in the sidebar. If missing, your workspace may not have Collaboration routes yet — use workstream tabs and What works today for workarounds.

Q: What is the difference between Chat History and Perception? A: Chat History lists past sessions. Perception is the live exploration console for new questions and scoping before commit.

Q: Where do connectors fit in daily navigation? A: Knowledge → Connectors for setup; connector status also appears inside workstream chat and agent detail pages.

Q: How do I switch workspaces? A: Use the workspace selector at the top of the sidebar. Overview, Process Board, and workstream lists scope to the selected workspace. To add a fresh environment, choose + New workspace — see Creating a workspace.

Q: Where is billing? A: Admin → Settings → Usage & Billing tab, or the NTU meter in the header when visible.