Initiative Entry Spec

Use this guide when creating or updating an initiative page in initiatives/.

An initiative is a long-lived thing such as:

• a product
• a service
• an internal system
• a capability area
• a grouping initiative used to structure the portfolio tree

File location

Create one file per initiative:

initiatives/{slug}.md

Examples:

• initiatives/datahub.md
• initiatives/queryless.md
• initiatives/marketing.md

What every active initiative must include

Every active initiative should have:

• title
• owner
• status
• north_star
• scqh
• next_step
• commitment
• target_date
• active_issue

Add parent when the initiative sits under another initiative.

If the initiative has active child projects, link them in the body of the page.

Optional fields

Use these only when they add value:

• url
• image
• description
• north_star_metrics
• north_star_pr
• timeline
• analytics_url
• mrr
• plan
• created
• review_cadence
• last_reviewed

Copy-and-edit example

---
title: "DataHub"
status: active
owner: anuar
parent: ""
north_star: "Improve conversion from existing demand"
scqh: "https://plans.datahub.io/MOTIVATION"
next_step: "Ship first conversion experiment"
commitment: "By 2026-06-30, ship one visible conversion improvement and prove whether it improves qualified demand."
target_date: 2026-06-30
active_issue: "bd-142"

# Optional fields
url: "https://datahub.io"
image: "https://screenshotit.app/https://datahub.io"
north_star_pr: "DataHub Ships a New Conversion Milestone"
analytics_url: "https://eu.posthog.com/project/120656/dashboard/514861"
mrr: 500
plan: "https://plans.datahub.io/PLAN"
created: 2026-02-25
review_cadence: weekly
last_reviewed: 2026-05-20
---

DataHub is Datopian's open data platform providing high-quality datasets.

## Current Commitment

By 2026-06-30 we will ship one visible conversion improvement and review whether it improved qualified demand.

## Key Results

| Key result | Target by | Owner | Current status |
|------------|-----------|-------|----------------|
| First visible conversion experiment shipped | 2026-06-10 | anuar | In progress |
| Qualified conversion metric defined and tracked | 2026-06-15 | anuar | Not started |
| Review completed with decision on next bet | 2026-06-30 | anuar | Not started |

## Milestones

| Milestone | Date | Output / proof |
|-----------|------|----------------|
| Problem framing locked | 2026-05-28 | Updated SCQH or plan |
| First experiment live | 2026-06-10 | Product or landing page change |
| Review and next decision | 2026-06-30 | Written review note |

## Active Projects

- Improve conversion of existing datasets and test conversion
- Get existing core datasets up to date
- More datasets and more traffic

## Why this exists

We want DataHub to become a stronger, more credible open data product with clearer user value and better conversion from existing demand.

## Current priority

Ship the first visible conversion experiment.

## Links

- Homepage: https://datahub.io
- SCQH: https://plans.datahub.io/MOTIVATION
- Plan: https://plans.datahub.io/PLAN
- Analytics: https://eu.posthog.com/project/120656/dashboard/514861

## Related Issues

- `bd-142` DataHub conversion commitment
- `#18` Wrap up and document DataHub Enterprise Research

Commitment rule

An active initiative must make a present-tense commitment, not just state a direction.

Good:

• "By 2026-06-30, close one paid pilot in Queryless."
• "By 2026-07-15, define and run the first full monthly anchor-moment cycle across all active offers."

Too vague:

• "Improve growth"
• "Push on outreach"
• "Figure out strategy"

If the initiative cannot say what it is promising by when, it is not ready to be active.

Required body sections for active initiatives

Every active initiative page should include these sections:

• ## Current Commitment
• ## Key Results
• ## Milestones
• ## Related Issues

## Key Results should be measurable enough that a CEO can tell, at review time, whether the commitment was met.

## Milestones should show the few major checkpoints that make the commitment believable.