The Investment module in Optimal Insights helps leaders track where engineering effort is being invested. You can set goals for initiatives, measure allocations, and analyze the distribution of work across GitHub and Jira.
Goals: Setting Strategic Targets
Goals let you define expectations for how much work should go into each initiative.
Step 1 — Choose a Platform
When creating a goal, Insights asks which platform to track:
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GitHub → Uses labels (e.g., bug, documentation)
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Jira → Uses issue types or epics
Step 2 — Select Team or Project
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In GitHub, select a team.
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In Jira, select a project.
Step 3 — Define Initiatives
Create at least two initiatives by linking to labels (GitHub) or issue types (Jira).
Example:
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Bugs → bug label
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Docs → documentation label
Step 4 — Set Goals
Allocate percentages (total = 100%) for how much work should go to each initiative.
Example:
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Bugs → 80%
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Docs → 20%
Step 5 — Track Results
The dashboard displays actual vs. expected allocation.
Example outcome:
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Bugs: 100% (Exceeded 80% target)
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Docs: 0% (Below 20% target)
Distribution: Measuring Reality
Distribution shows the actual breakdown of work, regardless of goals.
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Charts: Breakdown of PRs/issues across labels/types
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Overlap: Totals can exceed 100% (multiple labels per R/issue)
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Timeline: Trends over days/weeks
Example:
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Bugs: 40%
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Dependencies: 20%
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JavaScript: 20%
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Time in Status: 60%
Distribution works the same across GitHub PRs and Jira issues.
👉 Sign up for Insights to start setting up allocations.