Initiatives

An Initiative is a body of work that spans one or more projects toward a shared outcome. Initiatives sit between strategic goals and project delivery.

When to use an initiative

Create an initiative when:

• Several projects contribute to the same outcome
• Leadership needs roll-up progress and status updates across those projects
• Work should link to Key Results without forcing every project into one OKR row

Use a single project when the deliverable is already bounded to one team and timeline. Use an objective when measuring outcomes, not shipping work.

What an initiative contains

Typical fields and relationships:

• Name and description — what outcome you are driving
• Status — lifecycle state (for example Planned, Active, Completed)
• Target date — expected completion horizon
• Progress — aggregate completion across linked projects
• Status updates — periodic health signals: On Track, At Risk, Off Track
• Projects — child projects executing the initiative
• Key Results — optional links showing which measurable outcomes the initiative supports
• Documents — initiative-level specs or decision logs

Initiatives appear under Initiatives in the Workspace section of the sidebar.

Connect to goals

Link initiatives to Key Results when delivery should trace to OKRs:

1. Open the Key Result or Initiative detail page.
2. Add the relationship from the Initiatives or Key Results section.
3. Track KR progress from metrics; track delivery from linked projects and issues.

See Goals and OKRs for the full OKR model.

Status updates

Post status updates on active initiatives so stakeholders see health without attending every project review. Updates use the same three-state health model as projects:

• On Track — proceeding as planned
• At Risk — needs attention
• Off Track — materially behind or blocked

Regular updates — even when on track — keep cross-team initiatives visible in portfolio views.

Projects under an initiative

Each project linked to an initiative should:

• Have clear start and target dates
• Break into milestones when helpful
• Contain issues representing execution tasks

When the initiative completes, close or archive constituent projects and mark the initiative Completed.

Set up a new initiative

For a team onboarding checklist covering initiatives, projects, and milestones together, see Set up your team.

Quick create path:

1. Open Initiatives from the sidebar.
2. Click New initiative (or +).
3. Fill name, target date, and optional document.
4. Set status to Active when work has started.
5. Link projects as they are created.

Permissions

Creating and editing initiatives requires permission to manage initiatives in the workspace. View access follows workspace and team visibility rules on linked projects.

If Initiatives does not appear in your sidebar, your role or workspace capability may restrict it — contact a workspace admin.

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