Skip to main content

Strategic Initiatives

Strategic Initiatives are high-level strategic efforts within a portfolio, tracked with KPIs (Key Performance Indicators). They bridge the gap between strategic themes and project execution by defining measurable outcomes.

Each initiative has:

  • Name and Description
  • Status — Proposed, Approved, Active, On Hold, Completed, or Canceled
  • Date Range — Timeline for the initiative
  • Roles — Sponsor and Owner
  • KPIs — Measurable indicators with targets, checkpoints, and measurements
  • Projects — Associated projects that contribute to the initiative

On Hold is a defined status, but no action moves an initiative into it or out of it, and the import does not accept it.

Business rules:

  • Can only be created in Active or On Hold portfolios
  • An initiative must be approved before it can be activated
  • Can be deleted only in Proposed or Approved states
  • Completed and Canceled initiatives are read-only: their page offers no Edit, Manage Projects, or KPI actions, and KPIs and linked projects cannot be added, changed, or removed

Strategic Initiative Detail Page​

The detail page has an identity bar naming the initiative, a section rail down the left, and a details panel holding the initiative's stable facts.

Record facts panel — Portfolio link, date range, timeline progress bar, sponsors/owners, description, and links.

KPIs — The default section, with Card and List views:

  • Card View: Visual cards showing KPI name, description, current/target values, checkpoint timeline, health status, and trend indicator. An Add KPI card appears when the initiative is editable.
  • List View: Grid with Key, Name, Target Value, Actual Value, Format (prefix and suffix), and Target Direction. Click a KPI name to open its detail drawer. Each row's menu offers Edit KPI, Delete KPI, Manage Checkpoint Plan, and Add Measurement, and KPIs can be dragged to reorder them once sorting, filters, and search are cleared.

A Create KPI button sits beside the section heading when the initiative is editable. The KPI detail drawer shows the starting, target, and actual values with the KPI's checkpoints and measurements, and offers Edit, Delete, Checkpoint Plan, and Add Measurement; a measurement can be deleted from the drawer.

Projects — Card/List/Timeline views showing linked projects. Actions → Manage Projects chooses which projects the initiative is linked to.

Activity — The initiative's recorded history: edits, role and status changes, KPIs added, edited, reordered and removed, checkpoint plans, measurements, and linked projects. See Activity Log.

KPIs and Projects show their count in the rail.

KPIs​

Each KPI tracks progress toward a measurable outcome:

  • Name (up to 64 characters) and optional Description (up to 512)
  • Starting Value — Optional baseline measurement. It must be below the target when the direction is Increase, and above it when the direction is Decrease
  • Target Value — Goal to achieve
  • Actual Value — Automatically set from the most recent measurement
  • Prefix and Suffix — Unit display (e.g., "$" prefix, "%" suffix), up to 8 characters each
  • Target Direction — Whether higher or lower values are better (Increase or Decrease)

When a KPI has a starting value, its progress is how far the actual value has moved from the starting value toward the target.

  • Checkpoints — Planned target values at specific dates with optional at-risk thresholds
  • Measurements — Actual recorded values over time

Checkpoints​

Checkpoints define expected KPI values at specific dates, creating a plan for measuring progress:

  • Checkpoint Date — When the target should be reached
  • Date Label — Human-readable label for the date, up to 16 characters
  • Target Value — Expected value on that date
  • At-Risk Value — Optional threshold between on track and unhealthy. It must be below the checkpoint's target when the direction is Increase, and above it when the direction is Decrease

Checkpoint dates must be unique within a KPI. Checkpoints are managed together from Manage Checkpoint Plan (or Checkpoint Plan in the KPI drawer).

Each checkpoint is judged against the latest measurement taken on or before its date and after the previous checkpoint's date:

  • Healthy — the measurement meets the checkpoint's target (at or above it for Increase, at or below it for Decrease)
  • At Risk — it misses the target but meets the at-risk value
  • Unhealthy — it misses both, or misses the target when there is no at-risk value
  • The trend compares that measurement with the one judged at the previous checkpoint: Improving, Worsening, or Stable

A checkpoint with no measurement in its window has no health. The KPI card shows the health and trend of the next checkpoint once it has a measurement, and otherwise those of the last measured checkpoint.

Measurements​

Measurements record actual KPI values over time:

  • Measurement Date — When the value was recorded; it cannot be in the future
  • Actual Value — The measured value
  • Note — Optional, up to 1024 characters

The person who records a measurement is kept with it. The most recent measurement automatically becomes the KPI's Actual Value. Measurement dates must be unique within a KPI.

Common Tasks​

Creating a Strategic Initiative​

  1. Navigate to PPM > Strategic Initiatives
  2. Click Create Strategic Initiative
  3. Choose an Active or On Hold Portfolio, then enter Name, Description, and Planned Date Range
  4. Optionally assign Sponsors and Owners
  5. Add KPIs with target values and checkpoints
  6. Link Projects that contribute to the initiative with Actions → Manage Projects
  7. Approve and then Activate the initiative from its Actions menu
  8. Record Measurements over time to track KPI progress