Linear
Our playbook for planning, tracking, and shipping work.
Last updated: May 5, 2025
Linear is our nervous system. If work isn't here, it isn't real. Use this playbook to keep projects visible, momentum high, and clients delighted.
Shorthand Principles
Choose the practice on the left whenever you hesitate.
Public > Private
Shared context lets cross‑functional teams swarm a problem and solve it faster.
Done > In Progress
Shipped value—not effort—earns trust and revenue. Close loops or slice scope until you can finish.
Single Source of Truth
Linear holds every committed task. Docs and Slack may link to tickets—never replace them.
Operating Principles
Public > Private
Make work visible to enable collaboration and transparency.
Open issues and projects whenever legal and HR allow.
Done > In Progress
Focus on completing work rather than starting new tasks.
Solve problems, don't accumulate work‑in‑progress. Cancel or split anything that stalls.
Single Source of Truth
Maintain all task information in one authoritative location.
Store scope, owner, status, and estimate in Linear. Nowhere else.
One Issue → One Branch
Connect issues directly to code branches for automated tracking.
Create a branch from the ticket name. Linear links the PR and sets "In Review" automatically.
Cycles = Shippable
Plan work in weekly cycles focused on production deliverables.
Work in one‑week cycles (Mon–Sun). Include only deliverables that can hit production. Keep discovery, workshops, and hand‑off docs outside cycles.
Alephic Intelligence
AI automatically categorizes and estimates new issues.
Our AI triage partner:
- Auto‑file issues, slotting them into the right Team + Project.
- Suggest assignees and Fibonacci estimates (0–8). Edit freely—the model learns.
Initiative Updates
Share brief weekly updates on progress and blockers.
Every Friday, post two sentences: what changed and what you need.
Foundational Requirements
Projects
One project per client SOW or major initiative.
One per client SOW or major internal initiative; defines scope, timeline, and done.
Do: Mirror the SOW title.
Don't: Mix multiple SOWs in one project.
Teams & Sub‑Teams
Organize teams to mirror your consulting structure.
Mirror the consulting org (e.g., Client‑Acme › Data‑Science). Shared workflows reduce admin.
Do: Nest teams appropriately.
Don't: Create misc teams—use Alephic for internal work.
Roadmap ≠ Linear
Use roadmap tools for planning, Linear for execution.
Shape work in the roadmap workspace, then execute in Linear.
Don't: Store "someday" ideas in Linear.
Labels
Most labels are optional and only used for filtering, except the following:
- Bug — Fixes an error that breaks expected behaviour. This tag typically has SLA implications.
- Tech Debt — When tech debt is identified but can't be addressed right away (this helps filter out our backlogs)
Use optional secondary tags (e.g., api, ios) for filtering.
Cycles
Linear creates weekly cycles automatically. Load next week by Friday; plan up to two cycles ahead. Track Strategy, Fine‑Tune, and Transfer deliverables as non‑cycled issues in the same project.
Workflow
Triage → Backlog → Todo → In Progress → In Review → Done → Cancelled
Triage
Every new issue lands here. Assess quickly, then move it.
Backlog
Committed, sized, and prioritised work.
Todo
Ready for a maker to pick up (assigned to a cycle).
In Progress
Branch open; work underway.
In Review
PR open or design ready for critique.
Done
Code merged or design signed off.
Cancelled
Superseded or obsolete; link to any successor.
Estimation
We map Fibonacci points to rough days to keep planning simple.
< ½ day
1 day
2 days
3 days
5 days
8 days — split bigger work
Dependency Management
Track interconnected workflows with structured dependencies to ensure nothing blocks delivery.
Setting Dependencies
Use Linear's relationship types for clarity:
- Blocks → This issue prevents progress on the dependent issue
- Relates to → Issues share context but don't block each other
- Duplicates → Issue captures the same work (close the duplicate)
Alephic Intelligence
Our AI system enhances Linear project management through intelligent categorization and research capabilities.
How the System Works
Confidence Scoring
- The system provides confidence scores (0-100) with each categorization and estimate:
- Above 80% confidence for project categorization: Automatically assigns issues
- Above 75% confidence for estimates: Automatically applies story points
- Below threshold: Provides reasoning but requires human review
- Project descriptions use 50% confidence threshold for automatic updates
Research Capability
- System identifies when additional research would benefit the assignee
- Automatically conducts research using multiple tools:
- Web search via Google and Perplexity
- PDF content extraction
- URL scraping
- Company information lookup
- Posts structured research findings as comments directly on issues
- Includes confidence rating and source citations for transparency
Project Context Generation
- Automatically detects new Linear projects lacking descriptions
- Generates comprehensive descriptions using internal data sources:
- Database queries for related information
- Vector search for semantic context
- Structured data from company warehouse
- Updates Linear projects directly when confidence exceeds threshold
Hygiene Checklist
| When | Action |
|---|---|
| Monday | Check status of active tasks, update comments. Identify the most important work. |
| Friday | Update status, add notes to initiatives as necessary. |
Why This Playbook Matters
- We capture every committed task. Nothing slips through the cracks.
- Alephic Intelligence keeps boards tidy. Less admin, more progress.
- Projects & Teams enforce consultancy discipline. Clear scope and ownership from day one.
Live these rules and we'll ship remarkable client value—every single week.
Changelog
- May 5, 2025: Initial Linear playbook with workflows, estimation guidelines, and AI capabilities.