Section 0.1: Glossary & Acronym Reference

This guide defines key terms, concepts, and acronyms used throughout the ABRAM Network documentation.

1. Industry & Platform Terminology

• Producer: An agency, studio, or production company that posts projects, budgets work, and hires freelancers.
• Freelancer / Crew: A creative professional (e.g., Director of Photography, Editor, Sound Designer) who delivers creative services and receives payouts.
• Roster: A private directory of freelancers and production companies curated by a Producer organization.
• Work Package: A structured phase of a project containing specific deliverables, tasks, and budgets (e.g., Pre-Production, Shoot, Post-Production).
• Work Order: A container booking specific crew members or hardware kits for a work package, detailing rates, dates, and terms.
• Purchase Order (PO): An invoice-style payment request generated when a freelancer is booked, placing a temporary hold on the producer's funding source.
• Milestone: A specific checkpoint or deadline in a project. In ABRAM, milestones can be tied to percentage-based payment releases (e.g., "Script Approval: 25% budget release").
• Production Brain: The centralized, secure knowledge engine of an organization that stores historical projects, templates, crew history, and communication context to help the AI tailor suggestions and scoping to that company's operational standards.
• ROM (Rough Order of Magnitude) Estimate: A high-level budget forecast representing the minimum and maximum boundaries of project costs based on initial complexity, before detailed line-item scoping is completed.
• What-If Scenario Simulation / Sandbox: A virtual staging environment within the Capacity Planning dashboard that allows managers to run hypothetical bookings and analyze how they will impact team capacity and utilization without altering live project schedules.
• Timesheet Variance: The difference between the scheduled/planned hours for a crew member and the actual hours they logged on their timesheet.
• Transit Buffer Days: A logistical setting in organization settings that automatically reserves equipment for extra days before and after a shoot to accommodate shipping, prep, and returns.
• Needs Repair Lockout: A safety feature that prevents damaged or checked-back equipment from being assigned to any active project schedules until it has been inspected and cleared by inventory managers.

2. Technical & Integration Acronyms

• SSO (Single Sign-On): A secure authentication method available exclusively on the Enterprise tier, allowing team members to log in using their organization's central identity credentials (e.g., Okta, Microsoft, or Google Workspace). Setup is managed securely by your organization's IT department in coordination with our support team.
• SCIM (System for Cross-domain Identity Management): A standard directory integration available on the Enterprise tier, used by corporate IT departments to automatically manage team member accounts and access permissions in ABRAM based on their corporate directory. For members managed via directory sync, account access details are controlled directly through your IT department portal.
• SAML (Security Assertion Markup Language) & OIDC (OpenID Connect): Standard security protocols used by identity providers to securely pass authentication data between your corporate login portal and ABRAM.
• Context-Aware Document Search (RAG): The AI technology that enables the chatbot to review, search, and answer questions about uploaded project briefs and resumes.
• Recurring Calendar Rule (RRULE): The standard pattern used by digital calendars (like Google and Outlook) to specify repeating events.
• SSN (Social Security Number) & EIN (Employer Identification Number): Tax identifiers required by Stripe Connect to verify the identity of individual freelancers (SSN) or registered business entities (EIN) before transferring payouts.
• Stripe Express Connect: The onboarding portal and account type used by freelancers to link bank accounts, verify identity details (SSN/EIN), and receive direct automated payouts.
• Form 1099-NEC: The US tax form used to report non-employee compensation. ABRAM and Stripe Connect utilize verified SSN/EIN details to generate and distribute these tax documents automatically at the end of the fiscal year.
• Frame.io Workspace: The collaborative video review integration that auto-provisions shared review links and frame-accurate comments for media deliverables directly inside the project view.