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InitiativesHow to

Merge or split an initiative

Merge an initiative when another one already does the same work. Split one when part of it is work of its own, for other people or with a different result. The agent often spots it first and proposes it. You review what moves and press the button. The agent never merges or splits by itself.

Before you start

Section titled “Before you start”
Who can
You own the initiative, or it’s shared with you to edit. To merge it, you also need to see the initiative it goes into.
Good to know
You can only merge an initiative that isn’t approved yet. An approved one is a commitment: change it with change requests, or reject it. A merge is final. If you regret a split, merge the new initiative back.
The pictures
Initiatives at ACME, the company in the docs’ pictures. ACM-290’s merge page has ACM-382 picked. Nothing is sent. ACM-323 shows a merge done, after the agent proposed it. The agent proposes splitting ACM-324, a sign-in log and idle sign-out that share nothing but a customer’s questionnaire.

Merge

Section titled “Merge”

  1. Open the initiative from the initiatives list. If the agent proposes a merge, a banner at the top says into which initiative, and why. Press Review. The proposal also waits in your Decisions. With no proposal, click the ⋯ at the top right and pick Merge into….

    Open the initiatives list (opens Emargen in a new tab)

  2. The merge page opens beside your chat with the initiative’s agent. Under Into, check the initiative it goes into, or pick one from the list. With a proposal, it’s the agent’s pick, and you see why.

    Merge ACM-290 into another initiative: Into, ACM-382 Northgate audit pack; Items to move, the brief's questions G1 and G2 settled and G3 ticked, the requirements R0 to R4 ticked, each going to ACM-382, and five sources ticked; what stays in ACM-290; Reason, empty; a box saying ACM-382 is still being shaped, so its agent adds what moves there as its own proposals; Cancel and Merge into ACM-382.Merge ACM-290 into another initiative: Into, ACM-382 Northgate audit pack; Items to move, the brief's questions G1 and G2 settled and G3 ticked, the requirements R0 to R4 ticked, each going to ACM-382, and five sources ticked; what stays in ACM-290; Reason, empty; a box saying ACM-382 is still being shaped, so its agent adds what moves there as its own proposals; Cancel and Merge into ACM-382.
    1. Into. The initiative it goes into.
    2. Items to move. Questions from its brief, its requirements and its sources, ticked to go. A source the other one already has isn’t offered.
    3. Where an item goes. Here, to ACM-382.
    4. Reason. Why they are the same work.
    5. What happens to what moves.
    6. Merge into ACM-382.

  3. Under Items to move, untick anything that should stay behind. To send a question or a requirement to another initiative, click where it goes and pick that one. Under the list, you see what stays behind. The chat and the history always stay.

  4. Write in Reason why they are the same work. With a proposal, it starts with the agent’s reason.

  5. Read the box above the buttons. While the other initiative isn’t approved, its agent adds what moves as its own proposals. Once it’s approved, its owner decides what moves, as one change request. Nothing changes there until they do. Sources join at once. If people who see the other initiative can’t see this one, you see them named, since what moves becomes theirs to read.

  6. Press Merge into, which carries the initiative’s key, such as Merge into ACM-382. With a proposal you don’t want, press Put the proposal aside instead, which clears it, or Cancel.

Split

Section titled “Split”

  1. Open the initiative. If the agent proposes a split, a banner at the top names the requirements it would move and the new initiative’s name, with why. Press Review. A split proposal never waits in Decisions.

    The banner at the top of ACM-324: The agent proposes splitting R2, R3 out into Idle sign-out on shared depot PCs. Idle sign-out is a change to sessions in the identity service for every depot; the sign-in log is for Halden's auditors. They share nothing but the questionnaire. Review and Put aside.The banner at the top of ACM-324: The agent proposes splitting R2, R3 out into Idle sign-out on shared depot PCs. Idle sign-out is a change to sessions in the identity service for every depot; the sign-in log is for Halden's auditors. They share nothing but the questionnaire. Review and Put aside.

    With no proposal, click the ⋯ at the top right and pick Split….

  2. The split page opens. Under New initiative, name it. It’s yours, shared the way this one is.

    Split ACM-324: New initiative, Idle sign-out on shared depot PCs; Requirements, R0 the core goal, R1 Stays, R2 and R3 Moves, suggested by the agent; Related work; Reason, with the agent's; a box saying ACM-324 is still being shaped, so it splits now; Put the proposal aside, Cancel and Split.Split ACM-324: New initiative, Idle sign-out on shared depot PCs; Requirements, R0 the core goal, R1 Stays, R2 and R3 Moves, suggested by the agent; Related work; Reason, with the agent's; a box saying ACM-324 is still being shaped, so it splits now; Put the proposal aside, Cancel and Split.
    1. New initiative. Its name.
    2. Stays or Moves, for each requirement but the core goal.
    3. Related work. Where the sources, slices and history go.
    4. Reason.
    5. Split.

  3. For each requirement, pick Stays or Moves. The core goal always stays. With a proposal, the requirements the agent picked start on Moves.

  4. Read Related work. Both initiatives keep every source. Slices stay here, and its agent re-cuts the ones that lose their parts. The new initiative’s agent plans its own. The chat, the history and what was decided stay here, and the new initiative links back to them.

  5. Read Reason, and change it if you need to.

  6. Press Split. On an approved initiative the button is Propose the split: the split becomes a change request its owner decides.

What you get

Section titled “What you get”
  • A merged initiative closes as Merged. Its page stays readable at its key, says what it went into, and its chat is closed. Changing its status can’t reopen it. Search and the agents point to the initiative it went into instead. In the picture, ACM-323, merged into ACM-293:
The banner at the top of ACM-323: Merged into ACM-293 Single sign-on for every depot at once, On 19 Oct 2026 by Ana Ruiz, with her reason: ACM-293 covers Kelderby's 18 depots, and Lena approves it today. Priti hears it from me on Tuesday's call.The banner at the top of ACM-323: Merged into ACM-293 Single sign-on for every depot at once, On 19 Oct 2026 by Ana Ruiz, with her reason: ACM-293 covers Kelderby's 18 depots, and Lena approves it today. Priti hears it from me on Tuesday's call.
  • A split before approval happens at once. The new initiative starts with the first requirement that moved as its core goal, and its agent reads what came over to draw its own brief. This initiative’s agent checks its approach and slices after the split. After approval, the split waits as a change request. Choosing it starts the new initiative, which needs a Kickoff and an approval of its own.
  • Both initiatives say on their pages what they were split from, or split into.

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Section titled “Next”

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