Understand priorities, initiatives and AI uses
Swell separates strategic intent, delivery work and governed AI use so each can be managed at the right level.
A strategic priority explains why the organisation is investing attention. An AI initiative describes what is being delivered, and an AI use records the governed capability involved.
What to do
- Use a Strategic Priority to describe why the organisation is investing attention.
- Use an AI Initiative to describe what the organisation is doing.
- Use an AI Use for the governed AI capability in operation, testing or consideration.
- Use the Roadmap to show when the Initiative is planned.
What happens next
This model keeps strategy, delivery and governance related without treating them as the same record.
View or edit organisation strategy
The strategy statement provides the shared direction behind priorities and initiatives.
Update it when the organisation’s agreed direction changes, not simply to explain one project. Retain formal strategy approvals and supporting records through the organisation’s normal process.
How to view or edit organisation strategy
- Open Strategy & Roadmap.
- On Strategy, read the organisation strategy, priorities and linked initiatives.
- Select Edit strategy when you have permission and the strategy wording needs updating.
- Save and review the result.
Add or edit a strategic priority
A strategic priority describes an outcome the organisation is trying to achieve. It should be broad enough to guide investment but specific enough to explain why related initiatives matter.
Link the initiatives that genuinely support the priority. The link explains alignment; it does not prove delivery or benefit.
How to add or edit a strategic priority
- On Strategy, select Add priority or open the priority action menu.
- Enter or update the priority name and description.
- Save the priority.
- Use Add or link initiative to connect the work that supports it.
What happens next
The priority appears in Strategy and Progress.
Create an AI initiative
An AI initiative represents a coordinated piece of delivery work, such as a program, project or planned capability.
Record its purpose and planned timing, then link it to the priorities it supports. Creating an initiative from a priority carries that relationship into the new record.
How to create an AI initiative
- Open the Strategic priority.
- Choose Add or link initiative.
- Select Create new initiative.
- Enter the initiative name and description.
- Set Planned from — year and Planned from — quarter.
- Optionally set Planned until — year and Planned until — quarter. Choose Ongoing when there is no planned end.
- Select Add initiative.
What happens next
The new initiative is linked to the priority and appears on the Roadmap.
Common situations
- An ongoing initiative has a required planned-from quarter and no planned-until quarter.
Edit an AI initiative
Keep an initiative’s description, owner, status and timing aligned with the real delivery plan.
Update the record when plans change so the Roadmap and management reporting remain useful. The status and dates should reflect the agreed delivery plan, not optimism about future work.
How to edit an AI initiative
- Open the initiative from Strategy, Roadmap or Progress.
- Select Edit initiative.
- Update description, owner, status or planned period.
- Save the initiative.
What happens next
Roadmap and progress views update from the initiative.
Common situations
- Statuses include Planned, In progress, On hold, Delivered and Cancelled.
Link an initiative to priorities
Link an initiative to each strategic priority it genuinely supports. This helps management understand why the work matters and where investment is concentrated.
Remove a link when the relationship no longer applies. Do not add links solely to avoid an alignment gap in reporting.
How to link an initiative to priorities
- Open the initiative.
- Select Link strategic priority.
- Choose the priority and save.
- Remove a priority link when the relationship is no longer accurate.
Common situations
- One AI initiative can support more than one Strategic priority.
Link AI uses to an initiative
Link the governed AI uses that the initiative delivers, changes or depends on.
An AI use can support several initiatives when the delivery relationship is real. The link connects planning and governance but does not replace assessment or approval.
How to link AI uses to an initiative
- Open the initiative and select Link AI use, or open an AI use and choose Manage alignment.
- Choose the relevant AI use or Initiatives.
- Save the links.
- Use the remove action when a link is no longer accurate.
Common situations
- One AI use can support multiple Initiatives when the delivery relationship is genuine.
Use the Roadmap
The Roadmap arranges initiatives by their planned quarters so you can see timing, overlaps and changes in the delivery pipeline.
Open an initiative to understand the work behind a roadmap item. Dates in Swell should reflect the current agreed plan.
How to use the Roadmap
- Open Strategy & Roadmap and select Roadmap.
- Read initiatives by year and quarter.
- Use the status and planned period to distinguish planned, active, on-hold, delivered or cancelled work.
- Select an initiative for detail or editing.
What happens next
Changes to initiative timing flow through to roadmap growth and reporting.
Review progress and alignment gaps
Progress shows how priorities, initiatives and AI uses are connected and where important links may be missing.
Investigate an apparent gap before changing it. Some records may be intentionally unaligned, while others need an owner to confirm the relationship.
How to review progress and alignment gaps
- Open Strategy & Roadmap → Progress.
- Review the portfolio summary.
- Read alignment by Strategic priority.
- Open linked initiatives and AI uses for detail.
- Use the unaligned lists to identify follow-up work.
What happens next
Add or remove alignment links from the initiative or AI use; do not change links merely to improve a metric.