Planning

Planning holds the three groupings that sit above an individual project. A cycle is a time box, the sprint or the month everybody works to. An initiative is a stream of work that crosses several projects and rolls its tasks up into one view. A portfolio is a bucket of projects, so a programme or a department can be read as one number rather than eight. All three exist because a project alone answers only one question, and a plan usually needs to be read by time, by theme, and by ownership at the same time. They are on one screen because they are the same decision viewed three ways.

• Cycles with a start and an end date, for sprints, months or any time box the team works to
• Initiatives that gather work across several projects into one stream with its own task rollup
• Portfolios that group projects, so a programme reads as one health picture rather than a list
• Rename anything in place, without opening a separate settings screen
• Link and unlink projects from a portfolio directly on this page

• A project can belong to a portfolio, and unlinking it never deletes the project or its tasks.
• Deleting a cycle, an initiative or a portfolio removes the grouping. The tasks and projects inside it survive.
• Cycle dates are the whole of a cycle. Nothing on this screen moves a task because a cycle moved.
• These three groupings are tenant-wide rather than personal. What you create here is what your colleagues see.

1. 1Open Planning from the sidebar. The three groupings are on one page.
2. 2Create a cycle and give it a start and an end date, so the team has a shared time box.
3. 3Create an initiative for a stream of work that crosses projects, and watch its rollup fill as tasks land.
4. 4Create a portfolio and link the projects that belong to it.
5. 5Rename anything with the pencil beside it. Cycle dates can be edited the same way.

What is the difference between an initiative and a portfolio?

An initiative groups work by theme and rolls up tasks, so it answers how much of this stream is done. A portfolio groups projects by ownership and rolls up projects, so it answers how the programme is doing. A piece of work often belongs to one of each.

Does a cycle move my tasks?

No. A cycle is a time box that gives the team a shared name for a period. Changing its dates does not reschedule anything inside it.

If I delete a portfolio, do I lose the projects?

No. Deleting a portfolio removes the grouping only. Every project and every task inside it is untouched and still reachable from Projects.

Can two people see different planning groupings?

No. Cycles, initiatives and portfolios belong to the workspace, so everybody with access sees the same set.