Are you ready to level up your fluency with “LearningBuilder language?”
In our recent glossary post, we introduced some core LearningBuilder concepts like Roles, Learning Plans, and Activities, which are created and completed in step-by-step sequences called Workflows. Now that we’ve covered the basics, we can get into the details — a.k.a., your program data. Let’s explore the terminology we use for collecting, finding, displaying, and working with data in LearningBuilder.
Major Data Concepts: LearningBuilder Terms and Definitions
Boards and organizations depend on data collection and verification to fulfill the promise of certification and the expectations of their stakeholders and system participants. That’s why we designed LearningBuilder with the capability to manage a wide variety of data involving people, credentials, applications, and more. Here is some of the language we use to talk about that data:
Entity Types, Objects, and Workflow Types
Entity Types are our term for a “type of thing” in the system, like Learning Plans or Activities. An Object is a specific Learning Plan or Activity. A Workflow is a multi-step process that adds data to an Object.
A “Workflow Type” identifies the Entity Type that a given Workflow will modify, as well as the Entity Type (or Types) for which it has read-only access. The Complete Learning Plan Workflow, for example, modifies the Learning Plan Instance Entity Type. It describes the process by which data is added to a Learning Plan Instance. The Complete Learning Plan Workflow also references the Member Role (a specific Role granted to a Member) that owns that Learning Plan Instance, as well as the Learning Plan Definition.
Attributes
How does data get into LearningBuilder? How do we request it, and how do we know what it is? The answer is “Attributes.” Commonly referred to as “fields” and used for input and display, these data elements govern how LearningBuilder’s Workflows collect, modify, and present data. Each step in a Workflow allows a certain user (or type of user) to fill out specific data fields.
Attributes or fields will fall into one of two types:
- Intrinsic Attributes are fields that are central to the LearningBuilder architecture that exist for all implementations. They allow the system to collect data (like cycle start date, cycle end date, submission date, unique ID, etc.). We compiled this list of “baked-in” Attributes based on the common data-gathering needs we’ve observed over many client implementations.
- Extrinsic Attributes, on the other hand, are defined via configuration and capture client-specific data.
Attribute Definitions are configured for the fields that an Entity Type should have. Attribute Values (or Attribute Instances) are the user-specific values entered for an Attribute Definition on a specific Workflow Instance.
Each Attribute Definition is associated with an Entity Type and a Data Type. The Entity Type describes what the data modifies (a Role, Learning Plan, Activity, etc.), while the Data Type describes:
- How the data is collected from the user;
- How the data is rendered in the UI;
- What the system does with that data; and
- How the data is stored.
Some Data Types, such as a short text field or a number field, are fairly simple. Others, like file uploads and competency classifications, can be more complex. When someone adds a new Attribute, they both create a new Attribute Definition for the Workflow’s “write-to” Entity Type and add it to a specific Workflow Step.
Entity Views
If you’ve spent any time in the system, you’ve likely used an Entity View. Entity Views display Workflow data in a tabular format (like “Cycle Start Date” and the cycle’s start date). They can be used for a member’s Account Details page, the public Member Details page for our Provider Directory feature, and more.
There are several Entity View Types:
- Summary View exposes a small number of key data fields;
- Detail View offers a more comprehensive list of fields; and
- Export View controls the fields contained in application data exports.
With the ability to specify what Entity View Types are available in which parts of the system, LearningBuilder offers a highly granular level of control over the visibility of your data.
Statuses
A Status indicates where someone or something is in the certification process. For example:
- Role Statuses tell us where a person is in the credentialing process. A Role can have a Status of applicant, candidate, active, lapsed, or even retired or deceased;
- Workflow Statuses tell us what state a sequence is in. A Workflow Status is indicated by color in the LearningBuilder UI, with gray, orange, green, and red indicating where a user can or cannot take action and whether a Workflow is Completed Successfully or Unsuccessfully; and
- Each individual Workflow Step can also have a Status (like “Under Review”) visible to an end user.
Templates
Templates are a flexible and powerful tool for transforming data. LearningBuilder utilizes many different kinds of templates:
- Email Templates can customize automated communications with substitution values;
- PDF Templates can render score reports and manage printed credentials;
- System Templates deliver information to another system and are commonly used for integrations; and
- Template Attributes are used to calculate and display dynamic values, which allows us to do many different things that would normally require more heavy-duty engineering. We use Template Attributes to extend the functionality of our Visual Rules Engine and Automations Engine.
LearningBuilder Terms for Data Reporting
Not only can your certification program data help you understand why things are happening in your system and who is doing what within it, but your data can also help you understand how your programs are performing. No matter how you define program success, here are the concepts that are crucial to creating and understanding LearningBuilder reports:
Data Sources
Workflows collect data, but that data doesn’t live in those workflows. Rather, Role Data, Activity Data, and Learning Plan data is stored in a database with a hierarchical, tree-like structure. To create and render a report, the system needs to know what branches of the tree you’re looking for and how they intersect. The Data Sources are the branches.
Every program thinks about data differently. Even a term like “demographic data” will translate to different details and organizing principles for different organizations. LearningBuilder’s Reporting Engine offers a flexible set of data sources to ensure you’re tracking the data that matters to you.
Joins
When we create a report within LearningBuilder, we use a common field shared between Data Sources. The term we use for those common fields is “join.” Most of the “joins” we use to create reports are based on ID numbers. That’s because IDs are static and unchangeable (and therefore stable). An end user might change their name, but their member ID will stay the same.
LearningBuilder: Built for Certification, Licensure, and Accreditation
At Heuristics, we understand that your data — its integrity, accessibility, and extensibility — is a major driver of your program’s success. While this is not a comprehensive dictionary of “LearningBuilder language,” we hope it provides both a refresher and a reference guide for concepts around data and reporting.
If you’re not a current LearningBuilder client and you’d like to learn more about our comprehensive, low-code solutions for certification management, license management, and accreditation management, we invite you to schedule a call with us to explore your program needs.
