What it does
The improvement plan turns a review's findings into tracked work: goals with measurable targets, objectives that break goals down, and action items with owners and due dates. Update requests keep responsible people moving, and an attention queue surfaces what's overdue or blocked.
Who it's for
Cycle managers build the goal structure and assign owners; goal, objective, and action-item owners (who may hold no admin permission) update their own items' progress; organization administrators get org-wide views across all cycles.
How it works
Goals. The Goals card lists every goal next to a Goal detail card for the selected one. Each goal records a Goal title, Success measure, Rationale, Baseline, Target, Target date, Priority, Status, and Owner (searched by name or email). Below it, the Objectives and Action items sections add ordered items against the selected goal, each with its own status badge. Goals, objectives, and action items share one status vocabulary: draft, not started, in progress, at risk, blocked, complete, carried forward, and cancelled.
Action plan. A separate cycle-wide Action plan card groups every action item across all goals into Overdue, At risk, In progress, and Complete sections, each with a quick status dropdown and an editable due date and owner. Overdue action items — past due and not complete — count on the cycle overview and automatically become report blockers.
Update requests. A manager sends one to chase progress: select Send update request, pick a Request type (status update, missing evidence, blocked action, or approval needed), and search for who to Assign to. Message and Due date are optional. The assignee is notified with a link back to the cycle. Requests sit in the Review requests card until a manager selects Mark responded or Resolve.
Before you start
Creating goals, objectives, and action items needs cycle management access. Item owners can update their own item's status and details without it.
Know the goal's success measure and, if you have them, baseline and target numbers before you start — the workspace does not require them, but they make the goal easier to track.
Do this
Open the review cycle's page (
/reviews/:cycleId) and go to the improvement plan area → you should see the Goals card and the Goal detail card.In the Goals card, type into the Add an improvement goal... field and select the plus icon → the new goal appears in the list and opens in Goal detail.
In the Goal detail card, fill in Success measure, Rationale, Baseline, Target, Target date, Priority, Status, and search for an Owner → confirm your entries show in the fields.
Select the Save goal button → you should see the goal's card update with your changes.
In the Objectives section, type into the Add a measurable objective... field and select Add → the objective appears with a draft status badge.
In the Action items section, type into the Add an action item... field and select Add → the action item appears in the list under the goal.
You're done when
✓ The goal shows your success measure, baseline, target, and owner in Goal detail.
✓ The goal's objectives and action items each appear with a status badge.
✓ An action item you assign a due date to that passes without completion shows as Overdue on the Action plan card and counts toward report blockers.
Boundaries and limits
Creating goals, objectives, and action items requires cycle management access. Existing item owners can update their own item's status or progress without it.
An item owner cannot move their item into a different review cycle; that requires management access on the destination cycle.
Update requests are limited to the four built-in types and must be assigned to a specific person.
Overdue action items feed the report blocker list automatically; clearing the blocker means completing, rescheduling, or cancelling the item — or explicitly resolving/waiving the blocker.
Goals, objectives, and action items cannot be hard-deleted; cancel or soft-remove them instead.
Common questions
Q: Can an action item owner update progress without being a program admin? A: Yes. The owner of a goal or action item can update their own item, including its status, from the Goal detail or Action plan card. They cannot create new items or edit other people's.
Q: What happens when an action item goes past its due date? A: It shows under Overdue on the Action plan card and is added to the report blockers, lowering the readiness score until it is addressed.
Q: How do I nudge someone who hasn't updated their goal? A: Select Send update request, assign it to them, and optionally add a due date. They receive a notification linking back to the cycle.
Q: Can we tie a goal to an accreditation standard or milestone? A: The underlying data supports linking a goal to framework nodes like standards, outcomes, and milestones, but no control for it currently appears in the Goals card — check with your administrator about how that's set up today.
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