Initiatives
What is an initiative?
An Initiative is a high-level project or effort that aligns with an organization’s strategic goals. Initiatives represent a larger goal or objective that requires coordinated effort across teams to achieve and are often made up of multiple outcomes.
Initiative Detail Page
You can view and manage all information connected to an Initiative in Kiplot on the Initiative detail page. The Initiative detail page can be accessed by clicking into an Initiative from:
the Initiative List (found on the left hand navigation bar)
the Initiative Roadmap
the Portfolio Kanban Board
The most important information such as the name, description, type and owner can be found at the top of the page. Other information is organised in the tabs below this. Click on a tab to view the detailed information relating to the header.
In addition to basic properties custom fields can be configured for Initiatives in the configuration. All custom fields display on the information tab of an initiative.
Sharing an Initiative
By default, users have a role assigned that determines the access level. A “Full Access” User can view and edit all initiatives, however a “Member” User can only view all initiatives by default. Sharing an initiative allows users without “Full Access” to view or edit the Initiative.
There are three permission levels when sharing:
Can view – User can view initiative information for the initiative but not edit it
Can edit – User can view and edit initiative information
Can share – User can view and edit initiative information and share the initiative with other users
To share an initiative:
On the initiative detail page click on the share button in the top right of the page
Click “Add User”
Type to select the user and select the access level
Click add
Updating access to an Initiative
On the initiative detail page click on the share button in the top right of the page
Find the user in the list
Select the new access level (updates are automatically saved)
To remove a User’s access, click the bin-icon on the right of the row
Adding Key Dates to an Initiative
Kiplot allows you to assign Key Dates to an Initiative in order to track or record important dates and events. Common examples of Key Dates are dates that indicate releases, major milestones or deadlines. Unlike Outcomes, which have start and end dates, Key Dates are a single date as they have no work associated with them.
On the Initiative detail page, navigate to the Delivery Tab
On the Key Dates section click “Add new key date”
Fill out required Name and Date, and optionally the Type
Click Add
Editing a Key Date
To edit a key date, simply click into any of the fields and make your changes. Updates are saved automatically. To remove a key date, click on the bin icon to the right of the Key Date
Adding a dependent Outcome to a Key Date
Key Dates can be dependent on Outcomes. Simply add the Outcome(s) to the ‘Dependencies’ field against each Key Date.
You can track the status of a Key Date as Done or Not Done, and assign a RAG status accordingly:
Red
Amber
Green
No Status
Once you’ve added a dependency, you will be able to see if a key date has a broken or healthy dependency with is related outcome on the initiative roadmap.
Viewing Key Dates on the Initiative Roadmap
If an Initiative has Key Dates added to it, they will appear on the Initiative Roadmap when the Initiative is expanded.
The Key Date is rendered with an icon representing the type and is colored based on the RAG Status. When a key date has dependencies defined, the dependency status is shown as a healthy or broken link.
Find out more about the managing Initiatives in the Initiative Roadmap section.
Delivery updates
Delivery updates are used by initiative owners to provide qualitative status updates on the health and progress of an initiative.
Check Default Delivery Update Fields
On the configuration page, you can find and manage the delivery update fields. By default, a RAG Status field and an Executive Summary text field are available to help you report effectively.
There are 2 types of delivery update fields:
Status (RAG) fields: Dropdown fields with RAG status values to record overall or scoped RAG statuses
Update (Text) fields: Large text fields to record qualitative updates such as executive summaries or next steps
Changes to delivery update fields are saved and history is kept. This can be used in reports to compare the difference between points in time.
Track the Final Daily Update
Only the last change to a delivery update field on any given day is saved in history. Be aware that earlier changes won't be stored.
Adding Outcomes to an Initiative
On the Initiative detail page, navigate to the delivery tab
On the Outcomes section, click “Add new Outcome” or “Add existing Outcome”
Fill out required Name, and optionally the Team and Type or simply search for the Outcome that already exists
Click Add
Outcomes that are connected to an Initiative are shown in the Initiative detail page, under the Delivery tab.
Outcomes are categorised by the team assigned to it and each outcome has a dedicated detail page that can be accessed by clicking the name of the outcome in the table
Updating outcome information
To view detailed and/or edit all information for an Outcome click the Outcome name to navigate to the Outcome detail page. Type, Status, Start and End Date fields can be updated directly.
On an Outcome row in the table click the 3-dots button on the left of the row to:
Unlink the Outcome from the initiative
Change the Outcome team
Archive the Outcome
For more information on Outcomes and how to configure them, refer to our guide on Outcomes.
Dependencies
Please refer to our guide on Outcomes for information on how to set up dependencies on Outcomes under an initiative.
Adding Estimates to an Initiative
Estimates on Initiatives are typically used to provide a high-level estimate on a strategic level. This estimate can be used to make decisions on Priority and Lifecycle Stage. When the Initiative is delivered the work is usually broken down in outcomes and more refined estimates are added to the outcomes.
On the Initiative Detail page, navigate to the Delivery Tab
On the Estimates section click “Add estimate”
Fill out required Effort
Click Add
Any updates made to Estimates are saved automatically. To delete an Estimate, simply click on the bin icon to the very right of the Estimate.
Value forecast
Initiatives are connected to strategy through Value Forecasts. The value forecast is the measurable benefit the initiative is expected to deliver. You can find more information about Value Forecasts in the dedicated Value Forecasts section.
Risks & Issues Management
Kiplot is used to track and manage Risks & Issues associated with the initiative. Read more about Risks & Issues in Kiplot.
Approvals
What are Approvals?
In Kiplot, Approvals allows users to manage and track formal requests for approvals related to an initiative. Approval Definitions are configured by your organization's administrator and can be customized to fit your organization's workflows. Approvals are managed at the Initiative level, and once an approval has been requested, it will be stored on the initiative detail page.
Approvals can also be configured to manage the progress of an initiative through its lifecycle. For example, an approval stage gate can be set up to validate the transition of an initiative from the design phase to the build phase. This means that an approval must be raised and subsequently approved before the initiative can move to the next stage, ensuring proper oversight and compliance with organizational processes.
How to Submit an Approval Request?
On an initiative detail page, click on the three dots at the top right of the page and select ‘Request Approval’.
You’ll be prompted to select the correct Approval Definition from a list of all available approvals. Select the Approval Definition you require.
Once you select the approval definition, e.g. Agile: Release Readiness, you will be able to see all the fields that required to be submitted as part of the approval request. Ensure that these fields are accurately filled before submitting the initiative for approval.
If you see the message ‘Selected approval definition already has an active approval request’, this means that the approval you’ve selected has already been submitted for the initiative.
To view all requests (both pending and approved) for an initiative, navigate to the Approvals tab within the initiative.
An Approval Definition in Kiplot is a concept that outlines the requirements and structure for a specific approval. It specifies what data fields need to be included in the approval request (e.g. budget, executive summary, start date) and defines who is responsible for approving that approval. This setup is managed exclusively by Kiplot Administrators.
Approval Statuses
When an approval request is submitted for an initiative, its status initially appears as Pending. You will be able to see this within the Approvals tab within an initiative.
Statuses can then transition to one of the following:
Pending -The request is awaiting review and action
Withdrawn - The request has been cancelled by the submitter
Approved - The request has been reviewed and granted approval
Rejected - The request has been reviewed and denied
Vetoed - If multiple approvers are assigned, a rejection by any approver overrides an approval, vetoing the request
Re-requesting Approvals for Rejected, Vetoed, or Withdrawn Requests
An approval can be re-requested after being rejected, vetoed, or withdrawn by raising a new request under the same Approval Definition. The new request will be recorded separately and displayed in the Approvals section alongside the original.
If an approval requires multiple approvers, it will remain pending until all specified approvers have approved it. See below for details on approver eligibility.
Who can Approve my request?
An approval definition can be set up to have the following Approver rules:
Anyone with approver role can approve: Can be approved by any user who holds the approver system role
Everyone in the list has to approve: Must be approved by every individual listed for that specific approval definition
Anyone in the list can approve: Can be approved by any individual listed for that specific approval definition
If an approval requires consent from everyone on the approval list, the names of all approvers will be visible under the 'Decisions' section of the submitted request.
Additionally, you can track who has approved, who is pending approval, and who has rejected or vetoed the request. Comments can also be left directly on an approval for added context and collaboration.
Initiatives in APM & LPM
Initiatives in lean portfolio management (LPM) are typically configured as epics, with outcomes being configured as features (to match the standard SAFe issue hierarchy). Remember that Kiplot concepts are all renamable as part of the terminology feature which is managed as part of configuration.
Agile portfolio management (i.e. an agile approach to portfolio management that is less strict about adherence to SAFe) would typically refer to an outcome as an Epic. The epic would typically roll up to an initiative (i.e. adhering to the out of the box Kiplot terminology).