In This Article: Learn how Ontario uses projects to organize your work, data, and team collaboration. Projects act as secure containers that hold everything your team needs—from files and folders to tasks and user access controls—all in one centralized workspace.
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What Is a Project?
In Ontario, a project is the primary organizational unit that brings together all the resources your team needs to accomplish specific business objectives. Think of a project as a secure, self-contained workspace where files, folders, tasks, team members, and data sources converge around a common purpose.
Projects serve as intelligent containers that organize your work by initiative, department, portfolio company, fiscal period, or any other meaningful grouping. Each project maintains its own structure, permissions, and workflow while connecting seamlessly to Ontario's broader data ecosystem through integrations with Harness (file management) and Smith AI assistant (coming soon).
Key Characteristics of Projects
Unified Container
Projects consolidate files, folders, tasks, and team members into a single organized workspace, eliminating data silos.
Secure by Design
Each project has its own permission structure, ensuring team members access only what they need.
Time-Aligned Structure
Projects can be configured with calendar or fiscal year structures to align with your reporting cycles.
Data Source Integration
Connect multiple ERP systems, databases, and data sources directly to your project for unified analytics.
Anatomy of a Project
Every Ontario project consists of several interconnected components that work together to support your team's workflow and data operations.
Project Metadata
When you create a project, you define essential metadata that shapes how the project functions:
| Metadata Field | Purpose |
|---|---|
| Project Name | Identifies the project across Ontario and integrates with Harness for file organization |
| Project Type | Categorizes the project by purpose (e.g., portfolio company analysis, departmental initiative) |
| Calendar Type | Defines whether the project follows a calendar year or fiscal year schedule |
| Start Year | Sets the initial period for time-based data organization and reporting |
| Data Sources | Specifies which ERP systems, databases, or data feeds connect to the project |
| Companies | Identifies which legal entities or portfolio companies this project encompasses |
Folder Structure (Harness Integration)
Each project automatically integrates with Harness—Ontario's file and folder management system—creating a dedicated folder hierarchy where your team can store, organize, and access documents, spreadsheets, presentations, and other files. The Harness sidebar provides quick navigation to your project's folder structure, making it easy to locate files and maintain organization.
Files stored in Harness are automatically indexed for search and can be analyzed by Smith (coming soon), Ontario's AI assistant, enabling intelligent document retrieval and insights.
Tasks and Workflows
Projects include a built-in task management system that helps teams coordinate work, track progress, and maintain accountability. Tasks can be assigned to specific team members and given due dates, with priority automatically determined by how close the due date is. A colored dot next to each due date indicates status at a glance: green when the deadline is more than 72 hours away, amber within 72 hours, and red once the task is overdue.
The project home displays task completion metrics, overdue task alerts, and recent activity, giving project admins visibility into team productivity and workflow bottlenecks.
Project Members and Permissions
Access to projects is controlled through role-based permissions. When creating or managing a project, admins can add users and define their level of access.
Current Permission Roles:
- Admins: Full control over project structure, settings, user management, and data. Can create/edit/delete projects, add/remove members, and modify all project components.
- Members: Can view and work with project files, data, and tasks but cannot modify project structure, add/remove users, or change project settings.
Permissions can be assigned on a per-user basis or through user groups, making it efficient to manage access for teams or departments. Future Ontario releases will introduce more granular role customization options.
Knowledge Check
Which of the following statements about Ontario projects is true?
Show Answer
Correct answer: B — Each project has its own permission structure, controlling who can access what. This security-by-design approach ensures teams only see what's relevant to their work while maintaining data governance standards.
How to Organize Your Projects
While Ontario doesn't impose a rigid organizational hierarchy above projects, you can adopt naming conventions and filtering strategies that make it easy to manage multiple projects efficiently.
Project Naming Best Practices
Effective project naming helps teams quickly identify projects and understand their purpose at a glance. Consider including:
Time Period
Include fiscal year, quarter, or month to clarify when the project is active.
Example: "FY2025 Q1 Operating Review"
Entity or Department
Identify which company, portfolio entity, or department the project serves.
Example: "PortCo Alpha Strategic Planning"
Purpose or Initiative
Describe the project's primary objective or initiative type.
Example: "Revenue Growth Initiative"
Project Type
Indicate the category of work (audit, analysis, planning, etc.).
Example: "Annual Financial Audit"
Using Filters and Pinning
Ontario's Projects page provides tools to help you manage and access projects efficiently:
- Search: Use the search bar to find projects by name or keyword.
- Filter by Status: Toggle between active, inactive, and archived projects to reduce clutter.
- Pin Important Projects: Pin frequently accessed projects to the top of your project list for quick access.
- Sort Options: Sort projects by name, creation date, or last edited date.
Organization Examples
Private Equity Firm
Pattern: [Portfolio Company] - [Initiative] - [Time Period]
Examples: "Alpha - Q1 2025 Review", "Beta - Annual Audit FY2024", "Charlie - Integration Planning"
Multi-Entity Enterprise
Pattern: [Department] - [Project Type] - [Year/Quarter]
Examples: "Finance - Consolidation FY2025", "Operations - Supply Chain Optimization", "Legal - Compliance Tracker 2025"
Consulting Firm
Pattern: [Client Code] - [Engagement Type] - [Phase]
Examples: "CLIENT001 - Due Diligence - Phase 2", "CLIENT002 - Strategic Planning", "CLIENT003 - Valuation Analysis"
Knowledge Check
Which naming convention element is most helpful for distinguishing between projects that serve different fiscal periods?
Show Answer
Correct answer: B — Including the time period (FY2025, Q1 2026, etc.) in project names makes it immediately clear which fiscal period a project serves, helping teams distinguish between similar projects across different time frames and making historical projects easy to identify.
Ontario's Structure
Ontario follows a straightforward three-level structure that reflects how data and work are organized:
Ontario Instance Level
Your organization's entire Ontario environment, containing all projects, users, groups, and data.
Project Level
Individual projects that serve as containers for files, tasks, data, and team members focused on specific objectives.
Component Level
The actual content within projects: Harness folders/files, tasks, user groups, and connected data sources.
Navigation Patterns
Ontario provides several ways to navigate between and within projects:
Landing Page
The Ontario landing page shows recent projects, urgent tasks, and user activity across all accessible projects. Click the Ontario logo anytime to return here.
Projects Page
Access the Projects tab to view all projects in a searchable, filterable table. Pin frequently used projects to the top for quick access.
Project Dashboard
Each project has its own dashboard displaying recent files, task completion metrics, and quick actions for uploading files or creating tasks.
Harness Sidebar
Within a project, the Harness sidebar provides direct access to your folder structure, letting you navigate files without leaving your current view.
Project Lifecycle Management
Projects in Ontario move through different states as your work evolves. Understanding these states helps you maintain an organized environment and ensures teams can find what they need without wading through outdated or irrelevant projects.
Project States
| State | Description | Who Can Change |
|---|---|---|
| Active | Project is currently in use and accessible to assigned team members. All features are fully functional. | Project Admins |
| Inactive | Project is paused or on hold. Data is preserved but the project doesn't appear in active project lists by default. | Project Admins |
Lifecycle Best Practices
- Regular Reviews: Periodically review your project list to identify projects that should be moved to inactive or archived status.
- Clear Naming: Include time periods or project codes in project names to make lifecycle stage clear at a glance (e.g., "PortCo Alpha FY2024 Review").
- Inactivate Timing: Inactivate projects after all deliverables are complete and no further updates are expected, but retain them for compliance and reference.
- Permission Cleanup: When inactivating projects, review and remove unnecessary user access to maintain security hygiene.
Application Challenge
Your team is launching a new portfolio company analysis that will track quarterly financial performance, store audit documents, and coordinate due diligence tasks across multiple team members. Which Ontario structure should you create?
Show Answer & Explanation
Correct answer: B — Creating a single comprehensive project for this portfolio company is the right approach. This ensures:
- All related files and documents are organized through Harness integration in one place
- Tasks can be assigned and tracked for due diligence activities within the same project context
- Permissions can be configured once for all team members working on this analysis
- Financial data from connected sources remains isolated and secure within the project
- Quarterly reporting follows a consistent structure, making year-over-year comparison easier
Projects are designed to be comprehensive containers that bring together all resources for a specific initiative, eliminating the need to fragment work across multiple projects or locations.
Next Steps
Now that you understand how projects form the foundation of your Ontario environment, you're ready to create your first project and begin building your team's collaborative workspace.
Recommended Next Steps
Creating and Managing Your First Project
Step-by-step guide to creating a project, configuring metadata, adding team members, and setting up your folder structure
Uploading and Organizing Files in Harness
Learn how to upload files, create folder structures, and leverage Harness for document management within your projects
Managing User Groups and Permissions
Understand how to create user groups, assign roles, and manage access controls across your projects
Projects are the foundation of your Ontario experience—they bring together files, data, tasks, and teams into secure, purpose-built environments. As you create and organize projects using thoughtful naming conventions and filters, you'll discover how Ontario's integrated approach to data management, file storage, and collaboration reduces friction and accelerates your team's ability to generate insights and make decisions. Our support team is available to help you design the optimal project organization strategy for your needs.
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