Connect Strategic Planning to Project Management Tools

Learn how to connect goals, KPIs, and initiatives in BSC Designer with project management tools such as Jira, Asana, monday.com, ClickUp, Trello, Wrike, and Notion.

Add Links to Execution Items

The simplest approach is to add a link to the relevant execution item directly in BSC Designer.

The link can be added to a goal, KPI, or initiative.

To add it:

1. Select the item in BSC Designer.
2. Open the General tab.
3. Next to the Description field, click the attachment icon.
4. Select Add…
5. Select Add URL and enter the URL of the relevant item in the project management tool.

The URL becomes immediately clickable from BSC Designer.

During a strategy review, a user can open the related execution item directly from BSC Designer.

Use Date-Specific or Multiple Links

A single strategy item can have several links, and those links can also be date-specific.

To add it:

1. Select the item in BSC Designer.
2. Open the Data tab.
3. Select the appropriate Date in the internal calendar.
4. Next to the Value field, click the attachment icon.
5. Select Add…
6. Select Add URL and enter the URL of the relevant item in the project management tool.

For example, an onboarding initiative might be supported in September by:

• ONBOARD-151 — Add guided account setup
• ONBOARD-156 — Introduce onboarding checklist

In October, the next part of the same initiative might be supported by:

• ONBOARD-173 — Add usage-based onboarding prompts

The links can be associated with the relevant dates in BSC Designer.

This is useful when several pieces of operational work support the same goal or initiative, or when the execution work changes as the strategy progresses.

Add Strategic Context to a Project Management Item

The connection can also work in the opposite direction.

A project or task might be clear from an execution perspective while the team working on it does not have enough context about the strategic goal behind the work.

In this case, add a link to the corresponding item in BSC Designer.

To get the link:

1. Select the goal, KPI, or initiative in BSC Designer.
2. Click the Link button next to the Name field. The link to the item is automatically copied to the clipboard.
3. Add the copied link to the corresponding item in the project management tool.

Make sure the users who need to open the link have at least view-only access to the relevant scorecard in BSC Designer.

A developer or project manager working with the epic can then open the linked strategy item and understand:

• Which strategic goal the work supports
• Which KPIs are used to evaluate the expected result
• What other initiatives contribute to the same goal
• Which risks or related objectives provide additional context

Adding strategic context to execution items helps prevent siloed execution, where teams successfully complete their assigned work but have limited visibility into why the work matters or how it contributes to broader organizational goals.

Automating Integration with Custom Fields

If execution data needs to be synchronized automatically, the corresponding items in BSC Designer can be prepared with an external identifier.

The field can store the identifier of the corresponding item in the project management system.

To configure it:

1. Create the required custom field (for example, jira_story_id) in BSC Designer.
2. Select the goal, KPI, or initiative that should be connected.
3. On the General tab, click the Description button to open the detailed description of the item.



4. Enter the required external ID into the custom field.

For example:

jira_story_id: STRAT-142

The identifier can then be used by an automation workflow to match the item in BSC Designer with the corresponding item in the project management system.

Once the external identifier is available, an automation can synchronize progress between the systems.

This type of automation can be implemented using tools such as Zapier, Microsoft Power Automate, or directly through the APIs of BSC Designer and the project management system.

Use Project Progress as a Leading Indicator

Project progress imported from the project management system can be used together with strategic result indicators in BSC Designer.

In this example, project progress can be treated as a leading indicator. It quantifies the team’s execution effort and shows whether the planned work is being completed.

Customer Retention Rate is a lagging indicator. It validates whether the completed work actually produced the expected business result.

Project completion shows whether the planned execution happened. The strategic KPI helps validate whether that execution produced the expected result.

The project might reach 100% completion while the retention rate changes only slightly. This creates a basis for reviewing the original assumptions:

• Was the initiative expected to influence retention?
• Was the initiative implemented as planned?
• Is more time needed before the effect becomes visible?
• Were other factors influencing the result?
• Should the strategic hypothesis be revised?

This distinction is useful during strategy reviews because it connects execution progress with evidence about the actual outcome.

Simple Link vs. Automated Integration

For many organizations, a direct link is sufficient.

Starting with links also provides a practical way to understand the integration requirements before automating the workflow.

Need a More Specific Integration?

Integration requirements vary depending on how execution is managed and which information needs to flow between the systems.

If your organization needs a more specific connection between BSC Designer and your project management environment, contact our team and describe the workflow you are trying to implement.

BSC Designer

BSC Designer is strategy execution and performance management software that connects objectives, KPIs, initiatives and risks across teams. It supports the Balanced Scorecard and other management frameworks, helping organizations move from spreadsheets to a connected strategy architecture. Our strategy implementation system provides a practical methodology, while strategy execution capability building helps teams develop the skills and practices needed for execution.