Classify strategic vs operational work

Not everything deserves a three-gate review. Project classification splits new work into two classes at the moment of creation: strategic initiatives go through the governance pipeline as proposals, operational work is created directly. With classification on, a strategic project can only come into being through an approved proposal, whichever way someone tries to create it.

Enable classification

1. Open Organization Settings, go to the Governance tab (in the More menu when it is not on the tab strip), then Classification. Everything below is in the How new projects start section.

2. Turn on Ask whether each new project is Strategic or Operational. The New Project dialog then asks whether each project is Strategic or Operational.

3. Under When a project counts as Strategic, set a Budget threshold (50,000 by default), a Duration threshold in weeks (12 by default), and whether crossing team boundaries matters (Multi-team required). They record your rule for what counts as strategic. The New Project dialog does not show them, so share the rule with the people who create projects.

4. Optionally rename the two classes under What to call each kind. The defaults are “Strategic Project” and “Operational Project”, but a PMO might prefer “Major Initiative” and “BAU Work”. Your labels appear on the Project type choice, on project badges, and in the type filter on the Projects page.

5. Select Save changes. The whole section saves with this one button.

Changing classification settings requires the governance manage permission, Owner and Admin by default.

What creators see

With classification on, the New Project dialog (from the Projects page, quick create or the command palette) asks for a Project type, with your two labels as the choices and neither one selected. The dialog will not create anything until one is chosen.

• Operational creates the project in the same dialog, as in Create your first project, with or without a template.
• Strategic creates nothing. The button reads Continue as a proposal, and the proposal form opens with the name and description you typed, so the work enters the pipeline described in Submit a proposal. A strategic project has no template.

The same question is asked wherever else a project starts in the web app: Use this template on a saved template opens the New Project dialog with that template chosen, and the AI assistant on the Dashboard asks it before Create project from this intake. From the Dashboard, Strategic opens the proposal form, and the drafted tasks are not added.

Note

With classification switched off there is no question at all, on Enterprise as on every other plan: new work starts as a project rather than a proposal. To make new work start as a proposal without classification, turn off Create new projects in the permission matrix for the roles that should file proposals instead; the Formal PMO preset does this for everyone below Admin.

Strategic projects only come through a proposal

While classification is on, Onplana itself refuses a strategic project that did not come from a proposal, not just the New Project dialog. That covers:

• the web app’s New Project dialog, saved templates and Dashboard intake
• the REST API (POST /api/projects with type set to STRATEGIC)
• agents using create_project through the ChatGPT or Claude connector, or Onplana’s own AI chat

The refusal carries the code STRATEGIC_NEEDS_PROPOSAL and says to create the project as operational or submit a proposal. Changing an existing project to strategic is refused the same way. A project that is already strategic still saves, and projects created from an approved proposal are strategic as before.

Operational projects are not affected, and neither is an organization with classification off (or on a plan without it), where Strategic is only a label.

After creation

Projects carry their classification from then on. The Projects page gains a type filter using your custom labels, and projects born from approved proposals are classified as strategic automatically, complete with the Governed badge described in From proposal to governed project.

Best practices

1. Set thresholds at the level your governance can actually review. A budget threshold of $5k means every small initiative routes through gates and reviewers drown. A threshold of $500k means only massive initiatives get reviewed and mid-sized work skips governance. Pick the number your PMO has bandwidth for.
2. Rename the labels to your organization’s vocabulary. “Strategic Project” / “Operational Project” works for many; some organizations prefer “Major Initiative” / “BAU Work”, “Transformation” / “Run the Business”, or specific portfolio names. The right label reduces conversational friction.
3. Train PMs on when each path applies. The New Project dialog does not show your thresholds, so brief project managers once: “if it’s over $50k, over 12 weeks, OR cross-team, choose Strategic. Otherwise choose Operational.” A short rule the team can internalize is what makes the choice consistent.
4. Review thresholds annually. Inflation, scope creep, and changes in PMO capacity all move the right threshold over time. A yearly review keeps them aligned.
5. Use the type filter on the Projects page in portfolio reviews. Reviewing “all Strategic projects” separately from “all Operational” gives the PMO meaningful slices. The filter is one click; the discipline is using it consistently.

Troubleshooting / common pitfalls

• The Project type question doesn’t appear when I create a new project. Two causes: (a) classification isn’t enabled in Organization Settings; (b) you’re in an organization without governance enabled at all (it’s an Enterprise feature). Verify both.
• Someone routed a $500k project through the Operational path. The creator chooses the type, and Onplana does not check the choice against your thresholds. If you need hard enforcement, turn off Create new projects for those roles in the permission matrix, so their new work can only start as a proposal.
• My thresholds look ignored. They are not shown in the New Project dialog and nothing is selected for you. The numbers record your rule; the creator applies it.
• An agent or integration says STRATEGIC_NEEDS_PROPOSAL. Classification is on, so a strategic project has to start as a proposal. Create it as operational, or submit a proposal and let the gate create the project.
• Custom labels aren’t appearing on existing projects. Labels apply going forward. Pre-existing projects keep whatever classification they had (or none if the feature was off when they were created).
• I can’t find the Classification section. Three causes: (a) Enterprise plan required; (b) your role cannot manage governance settings (Owner or Admin by default); (c) you’re looking at the wrong tab (it’s under Governance, not Configuration).

How this combines with other features

• Classification + Proposal pipeline. Strategic projects route through proposals; operational projects bypass them. The classification is the routing switch. See Understand the proposal pipeline.
• Classification + Project creation gate. Project Creation Gate (a separate setting) controls WHEN an approved proposal spawns its project. Classification controls WHETHER projects pass through proposals at all. Both live in Governance settings; together they form the full intake flow. See From proposal to governed project.
• Classification + Reports. Cross-project Reports filter by classification, so portfolio reviews can roll up “all strategic work” vs “all operational” separately. See Run cross-project reports.
• Classification + Custom Dashboard. A widget filtered to strategic projects gives the PMO a single view of the high-risk portfolio. See Build a custom dashboard.

Coming from another tool

Tool	Mapping
MS Project Online Project Types	Direct concept; same intake routing
ServiceNow Demand Categorization	Similar idea, broader category set
Spreadsheet-based intake routing	Onplana adds first-class UX
Smartsheet	Similar via “project type” custom field
Asana / Jira	No native equivalent; teams use tagging

FAQs

Can someone route strategic work through the operational path? Yes. Onplana enforces that a project marked strategic comes through a proposal, but it cannot tell whether work is strategic; the creator decides. If you need hard enforcement, turn off Create new projects for those roles in the permission matrix, so their new work can only start as a proposal, and let reviewers reject what does not belong.

Do the thresholds reclassify existing projects? No. Classification is chosen at creation time. Changing thresholds only changes the guidance shown to future creators.

This section also mentions a Project Creation Gate. What is that? It controls when an approved proposal spawns its project and is independent of the Project type question. It is covered in From proposal to governed project.

Can I have more than two classifications? Today the choice is binary (Strategic vs Operational). For finer categorization, use custom fields on the project (e.g. “Portfolio: Transformation / Infrastructure / Growth”).

What happens when I import projects? Are they classified? Imported projects are not asked the Project type question. They land without classification unless your import flow sets it explicitly. Use bulk-edit on the Projects page to classify imported sets.

Can I see a count of strategic vs operational projects? Yes. The Projects page’s type filter shows the count next to each type chip; cross-project Reports can group by classification for percentage breakdowns.

Does classification affect billing or feature access? No. Classification is a routing label only; it doesn’t change seat usage, AI tokens, or feature visibility.

Related

• Submit a proposal, the strategic path
• Create your first project, the operational path
• From proposal to governed project, the project-creation gate