The Issues tool is where your teams surface and resolve the obstacles, ideas, and opportunities standing between them and their goals. Every team in your organization has its own Issues list, and Ninety's Raise, Discuss, Resolve (RDR) process is how teams systematically work through them — week after week — so the same problems don't recirculate.

The Issues tool is a team-level list where your organization captures and resolves the things standing between you and your goals. Every team in your Ninety account has its own Issues tool with two separate lists: a short-term list for items that need attention this week and a long-term list for items that aren't a priority this quarter.

All users can view their team's Issues lists. Only licensed users can add Issues to a team's list.

In the Weekly Team Meeting (WTM), the Issues list feeds the RDR section of the agenda — the point where your team stops reporting and starts solving.

An Issue is anything your team needs to raise, discuss, and resolve together. That definition covers four types of items:

The Issues tool isn't only for what's going wrong. It's also the right place to capture ideas and opportunities your team wants to consider at the right time, whether that's this week or next quarter.

Short-term Issues are addressed during your Weekly Team Meetings (WTM) through the RDR process. A short-term Issue has priority this week.

Long-term Issues (sometimes called LTIs) aren't a priority this quarter. They're carried to the next Quarterly Planning Meeting (QPM) or Annual Planning Meeting (APM). Some LTIs eventually become Rocks; others remain on the list until your team has the capacity to take them on.

Long-term Issues also appear automatically in the Vision tool's Goals section, giving leadership visibility into systemic challenges that require broader attention.

Each Issue can be assigned a priority number from 1 to 5. Ninety's default treats 5 as the highest priority and 1 as the lowest:

Ninety doesn't prescribe a specific numbering convention. Your team or company can decide how to use the scale, including reversing it if 1-as-highest fits your mental model better. What matters is that everyone uses it consistently, so your team always knows which Issues to tackle first.

Rocks. Creating Issues around your Rocks and milestones helps you determine whether quarterly goals are on or off track. When a Rock isn't progressing as expected, right-click it and select Create Linked Issue to push it to the Issues list for RDR. The linked Issue carries the Rock's title and description and displays the Rock under Linked Items in the Issue's details panel. Solving the Issue does not automatically complete the Rock.

Data tool. Off-track KPIs are a primary source of Issues. Right-click any Data tool cell and select Create Issue to convert it directly to a short-term Issue so it's ready for discussion during the next Weekly Team Meeting. KPIs that are off track for three or more consecutive weeks are often strong candidates for the Issues list.

Meetings. Short-term Issues feed the RDR section of every Weekly Team Meeting. Inside the meeting, the Issues card gives your team four ways to prioritize before discussion begins: ranking by number, the Top 3 selector, drag and drop, and Issues voting. Issues created and solved during a meeting appear in the meeting recap email.

Vision tool. Long-term Issues mirror automatically to the Vision tool's Goals section. If your leadership team wants specific LTIs visible to other teams viewing your leadership Vision, open the Issue and toggle Public Issue on. Issues are private by default.

To-Dos. The most common output of a solved Issue is a To-Do. When your team reaches a decision during RDR, right-click the Issue and select Create Linked To-Do to assign the action step to an owner and set a due date. The To-Do stays connected to the Issue so anyone can trace the decision back to its source.

Planning Board. Long-term Issues that are ready to become quarterly goals can be dragged from the Long-Term Issues column on the Planning Board into a future quarter's column, where they will be converted into Rocks.

For a full breakdown of what each role can do across all tools, see User Roles and Permissions.

Navigating the Issues Page — Learn how to switch between short-term and long-term lists, filter by team, toggle the archive on, and sort and reorder Issues using list and column views.

Creating Issues — There are three ways to create an Issue in Ninety: the global Create button, directly from the Issues tool, and as a linked Issue from an existing Rock, To-Do, Headline, or other Issue.

Editing Issues — Update an Issue's title, owner, description, team, priority, and attachments from the details panel. Move an Issue between the short-term and long-term lists at any time.

Ranking and Prioritizing Issues — Step-by-step instructions for all four prioritization methods: ranking 1–5, using the Top 3 selector during a meeting, drag and drop reordering, and Issues voting.

Sending and Receiving Issues Between Teams — Send an Issue from your team's list to another team for discussion and resolution. Recall it with a single click if you need it back before the receiving team resolves it.

Customizing Issues Tool Settings — Turn prioritization, Issues voting, and desired solve rate on or off for your team. Managers, Admins, Coaches, and Owners can access these settings from the gear icon on the Issues filters bar.

Viewing the Activity History of Your Issues — Track every action taken on an Issue — including when it was sent, recalled, or returned between teams — so your team can understand how an Issue evolved from creation to resolution.

What's the difference between a short-term Issue and a long-term Issue?

Short-term Issues are the problems, obstacles, ideas, and opportunities your team addresses during Weekly Team Meetings (WTM) through the RDR process. Long-term Issues aren't a priority this quarter. They're carried to the next QPM or APM and may eventually become Rocks or remain on the list until capacity opens up.

How does priority ranking work? Is 1 the highest or the lowest?

Ninety's default scale treats 5 as the highest priority and 1 as the lowest. Five means "must solve today"; one means "not time sensitive." Ninety doesn't prescribe a specific convention, so your team can agree to use the scale differently as long as everyone uses it consistently. During a meeting, click the # column header to sort Issues by their priority number so the highest-priority items surface first.

Can I add ideas or opportunities as Issues, or is it only for problems?

All four types are valid: problems, obstacles, ideas, and opportunities. The Issues list is the right place to capture an idea or opportunity your team wants to discuss at the right time, whether that's this week in RDR or at the next QPM as a long-term Issue.

What does "solving" an Issue actually mean?

Solving an Issue means reaching a clear decision about what to do next: who owns it, what the action is, and when it's due. The outcome is often a linked To-Do that tracks the action. Solving means the path forward is agreed upon. Mark an Issue as solved by clicking the circular radio button to the left of its title.

How do I move an Issue between the short-term and long-term list?

Right-click the Issue and select Move to Long-Term or Move to Short-Term. You can also open the Issue's details panel and click the clock icon at the top to toggle between lists. Changes save automatically.

Can I add Issues from the mobile app?

Yes. In the Ninety mobile app, tap the plus button and select Issue, or go directly to the Issues section and add one from there. The text-to-Issue feature (Henryx) was deactivated on June 30, 2025, so the mobile app is the best alternative for adding Issues on the go.

Why do my long-term Issues appear in the Vision tool's Goals section?

Long-term Issues automatically mirror to the Vision tool's Goals section so leadership has visibility into systemic challenges that need bigger-picture attention. Each LTI has a Public Issue toggle in its details panel. When the toggle is on, other teams can see that Issue when they view your leadership Vision. The leadership team's long-term Issues are private by default, so toggling it on is required for cross-team visibility.

Where is the Top 3 selector, and why can't other attendees see it?

The Top 3 selector (the 1, 2, 3 list icon on the Issues card) is only visible to the meeting presenter — the person who started the meeting or claimed the presenter role. Other attendees, including scribes, won't see the button. The presenter clicks the icon, then selects the three Issues to prioritize; those three Issues move to the top of the list.

What's the difference between archiving and deleting an Issue?

Archiving moves the Issue out of your active list and into the archive, where it can be viewed and restored at any time. Deleting permanently removes the Issue from your workspace and the archive with no way to recover it. For any Issue you might want to reference later, archive rather than delete.