Business / Industrial Report Deck
Produces decks for a business audience — executives, managers, clients, cross-functional stakeholders — in PowerPoint (generated as a real .pptx) or Canva (import-ready content plus a design spec, since Canva files can't be generated programmatically). The audience cares about decisions, impact, risk, and next steps, not methodological novelty.
This is the render step for non-LaTeX decks. Its slide-spec schema and format-independent design rules live in references/slide-spec-and-design.md — read that first. For academic LaTeX decks use the beamer-* skills instead.
What a business deck is for
A business deck answers, in order: What's the situation? What should we do? What happens if we do (or don't)? Lead with the answer; supporting detail follows. This is the opposite of a paper's build-up-to-the-result structure — executives read top-down and may stop after slide 3.
Two framings that work; pick one and keep it:
- SCQA — Situation → Complication → Question → Answer. Good for problem/recommendation decks.
- Pyramid (answer-first) — Recommendation up front, then grouped supporting arguments, then evidence. Good for decision and QBR decks.
Common genres & spines
| Genre |
Spine |
| Executive summary / decision deck |
Recommendation → why → impact → risks → ask |
| Pilot / project results report |
Goal → what we did → results vs. target → what it means → next step |
| Quarterly business review (QBR) |
Headline metrics → wins → misses → drivers → plan |
| R&D-to-business report |
Problem & opportunity → approach (plain language) → evidence → business impact → roadmap/ask |
| Client deliverable |
Objectives → findings → recommendations → implementation plan → appendix |
Every spine opens with a single executive-summary slide that stands alone — if that's all someone reads, they get the decision and the why.
Workflow
1. Gather inputs
- Target tool: PowerPoint (
.pptx) or Canva.
- Genre, audience seniority, and the one decision/action the deck should drive.
- The numbers: metrics, targets, results, costs/benefits, timeline.
- Branding: template/theme colors, logo, fonts (a corporate
.pptx template to start from?).
2. Build the slide-spec
Use the genre spine, then per-slide spec blocks (references/slide-spec-and-design.md), with business-specific emphasis:
- Slide 1 after title = executive summary: the recommendation + 2–3 reasons + the ask. Self-contained.
- Claim-titles as business outcomes: "Pilot cut handling time 31% — recommend full rollout", not "Pilot Results".
- One chart per slide, the chart is the argument (bar/line/waterfall), labeled with the takeaway, minimal chrome.
- Quantify impact in business units: time, cost, revenue, risk, satisfaction — not just model metrics. Translate accuracy/F1 into dollars/hours when possible.
- Risks & next steps are mandatory closing slides; executives want the downside and the ask.
- Detailed methodology, full tables, and technical depth go to an appendix.
Confirm the spec before generating the artifact.
3a. Emit the .pptx (PowerPoint)
Render the approved spec to a real PowerPoint file with scripts/build_pptx.py:
- Write the spec to a
slides.json (schema documented in the script header).
- Run the builder; it produces
deck.pptx with title, section, bullet, chart-placeholder, and table layouts, claim-titles, consistent theme colors, page numbers, and speaker notes.
- If a corporate
.pptx template is supplied, pass it as the base so brand fonts/colors/master are inherited.
- Charts: the builder inserts native PowerPoint charts when given data, or a labeled placeholder otherwise (so the user can paste a branded chart).
3b. Canva path
Canva has no file-generation API, so deliver:
- Import-ready content: a clean, per-slide text outline (title + body + notes) the user can paste into Canva, plus the exact chart data.
- A design spec: recommended Canva template style, color hex codes, font pairing, layout per slide type, and where each visual goes.
- Optionally, generate the same deck as
.pptx (step 3a) — Canva can import a .pptx and apply a template, which is usually the fastest route to a branded Canva deck. Offer this.
4. Hand off
PowerPoint: how to open, where to swap in branded charts/logo, where notes live, what's in the appendix. Canva: the import/paste steps and the design spec.
Business-deck rules that differ from academic decks
- Answer first. Never make an executive sit through motivation to reach the recommendation.
- Speak business, not model. "94% precision" means nothing to a VP; "cuts false alerts by ~2,000/month, freeing ~3 FTE" does.
- One message, one chart, one number per slide. Density reads as "not yet decision-ready".
- Make the ask explicit. End with the decision, resource, or approval you need.
- Appendix is your friend. Depth lives there; the main line stays at decision altitude.
Anti-patterns to refuse
- Burying the recommendation on slide 12.
- Reporting model metrics with no business translation.
- A title slide followed by methodology before any result or recommendation.
- Dense multi-chart slides copied from an analysis notebook.
- No risks slide, no explicit ask.
Output
- The confirmed slide-spec (markdown), on a business spine, answer-first.
- PowerPoint:
slides.json + a generated deck.pptx (via scripts/build_pptx.py), with marked placeholders and speaker notes.
Canva: import-ready per-slide content + chart data + a design spec (and optionally the .pptx for import).
- Hand-off instructions (branding swap-in, appendix contents, Canva import steps).
1---2name: deck-business-report3description: Build a business / industrial report deck in PowerPoint or Canva — executive summaries, stakeholder updates, project/pilot results, quarterly business reviews, R&D-to-business reports, client deliverables, and internal decision decks for a non-academic audience. Use when the user wants PowerPoint or Canva (not LaTeX/Beamer) slides aimed at executives, managers, or clients, organized around situation/recommendation/impact rather than a paper's contribution: "make a PowerPoint report", "build a .pptx for the leadership review", "executive deck for our pilot results", "industrial report slides", "QBR deck", "Canva slides for the client". Two phases — slide-spec, then a real .pptx via the python-pptx builder (or import-ready content + a design spec for Canva). For academic talks/lectures use deck-beamer-academic; for proposal/report decks in LaTeX use deck-beamer-proposal-report.4---56# Business / Industrial Report Deck78Produces decks for a **business audience** — executives, managers, clients, cross-functional stakeholders — in **PowerPoint** (generated as a real `.pptx`) or **Canva** (import-ready content plus a design spec, since Canva files can't be generated programmatically). The audience cares about decisions, impact, risk, and next steps, not methodological novelty.910This is the render step for non-LaTeX decks. Its slide-spec schema and format-independent design rules live in `references/slide-spec-and-design.md` — read that first. For academic LaTeX decks use the `beamer-*` skills instead.1112---1314## What a business deck is for1516A business deck answers, in order: **What's the situation? What should we do? What happens if we do (or don't)?** Lead with the answer; supporting detail follows. This is the opposite of a paper's build-up-to-the-result structure — executives read top-down and may stop after slide 3.1718Two framings that work; pick one and keep it:1920- **SCQA** — Situation → Complication → Question → Answer. Good for problem/recommendation decks.21- **Pyramid (answer-first)** — Recommendation up front, then grouped supporting arguments, then evidence. Good for decision and QBR decks.2223---2425## Common genres & spines2627| Genre | Spine |28|---|---|29| Executive summary / decision deck | Recommendation → why → impact → risks → ask |30| Pilot / project results report | Goal → what we did → results vs. target → what it means → next step |31| Quarterly business review (QBR) | Headline metrics → wins → misses → drivers → plan |32| R&D-to-business report | Problem & opportunity → approach (plain language) → evidence → business impact → roadmap/ask |33| Client deliverable | Objectives → findings → recommendations → implementation plan → appendix |3435Every spine opens with a **single executive-summary slide** that stands alone — if that's all someone reads, they get the decision and the why.3637---3839## Workflow4041### 1. Gather inputs42- Target tool: **PowerPoint** (`.pptx`) or **Canva**.43- Genre, audience seniority, and the **one decision/action** the deck should drive.44- The numbers: metrics, targets, results, costs/benefits, timeline.45- Branding: template/theme colors, logo, fonts (a corporate `.pptx` template to start from?).4647### 2. Build the slide-spec48Use the genre spine, then per-slide spec blocks (`references/slide-spec-and-design.md`), with business-specific emphasis:4950- **Slide 1 after title = executive summary**: the recommendation + 2–3 reasons + the ask. Self-contained.51- **Claim-titles as business outcomes**: "Pilot cut handling time 31% — recommend full rollout", not "Pilot Results".52- **One chart per slide**, the chart *is* the argument (bar/line/waterfall), labeled with the takeaway, minimal chrome.53- **Quantify impact in business units**: time, cost, revenue, risk, satisfaction — not just model metrics. Translate accuracy/F1 into dollars/hours when possible.54- **Risks & next steps** are mandatory closing slides; executives want the downside and the ask.55- Detailed methodology, full tables, and technical depth go to an **appendix**.5657Confirm the spec before generating the artifact.5859### 3a. Emit the .pptx (PowerPoint)60Render the approved spec to a real PowerPoint file with `scripts/build_pptx.py`:6162- Write the spec to a `slides.json` (schema documented in the script header).63- Run the builder; it produces `deck.pptx` with title, section, bullet, chart-placeholder, and table layouts, claim-titles, consistent theme colors, page numbers, and speaker notes.64- If a corporate `.pptx` template is supplied, pass it as the base so brand fonts/colors/master are inherited.65- Charts: the builder inserts native PowerPoint charts when given data, or a labeled placeholder otherwise (so the user can paste a branded chart).6667### 3b. Canva path68Canva has no file-generation API, so deliver:69- **Import-ready content**: a clean, per-slide text outline (title + body + notes) the user can paste into Canva, plus the exact chart data.70- **A design spec**: recommended Canva template style, color hex codes, font pairing, layout per slide type, and where each visual goes.71- Optionally, generate the same deck as `.pptx` (step 3a) — Canva can import a `.pptx` and apply a template, which is usually the fastest route to a branded Canva deck. Offer this.7273### 4. Hand off74PowerPoint: how to open, where to swap in branded charts/logo, where notes live, what's in the appendix. Canva: the import/paste steps and the design spec.7576---7778## Business-deck rules that differ from academic decks7980- **Answer first.** Never make an executive sit through motivation to reach the recommendation.81- **Speak business, not model.** "94% precision" means nothing to a VP; "cuts false alerts by ~2,000/month, freeing ~3 FTE" does.82- **One message, one chart, one number per slide.** Density reads as "not yet decision-ready".83- **Make the ask explicit.** End with the decision, resource, or approval you need.84- **Appendix is your friend.** Depth lives there; the main line stays at decision altitude.8586---8788## Anti-patterns to refuse8990- Burying the recommendation on slide 12.91- Reporting model metrics with no business translation.92- A title slide followed by methodology before any result or recommendation.93- Dense multi-chart slides copied from an analysis notebook.94- No risks slide, no explicit ask.9596---9798## Output991001. The confirmed slide-spec (markdown), on a business spine, answer-first.1012. **PowerPoint**: `slides.json` + a generated `deck.pptx` (via `scripts/build_pptx.py`), with marked placeholders and speaker notes.102 **Canva**: import-ready per-slide content + chart data + a design spec (and optionally the `.pptx` for import).1033. Hand-off instructions (branding swap-in, appendix contents, Canva import steps).
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