Need something from your team? Want to be sure everyone is on board with a plan before you get to work? Propose a new task by selecting ‘New Pact’ from the main menu, which pulls up the New Pact form. Write a clear description of what needs to get done. Then assign a due date, and give your pact a short title to make it easy to recognize.

Define who needs the work, who is doing the work and who will confirm that work was actually completed with Meld’s Opt-In Roles:

• The Requestor is the person who needs the work to happen. They are responsible for reviewing the pact, confirming the work is important and helping refine the plan, if needed. If you’re the one who needs the task done, name yourself in this role.
• The Actor is the person doing the work. If this is you — meaning, if you’re suggesting that YOU complete the task — name yourslef here.
• The Checker confirms the work is complete. The Checker is responsible for reviewing the finished work and answering the question: does this work match the Pact description – yes or no? Think of this step as confirming someone turned in the correct assignment, not grading the work itself.
  
  By default, the Requestor will also be added to the Checker role but you can nominate someone else as well. Anyone can be The Checker except for the Actor. They can’t check their own work. Sorry!

Hit “Create” and the Pact is on its way! You’ll be notified as people Opt-In and can reassign roles if people decline.

• With Meld, there are no assignments — we define the work that we do together. Users opt in to a role in a Pact only if they can or want to do it. Everyone in a pact shares responsibility for the task getting done.
• Opting In: Ready to take on a role? Opt In. Interested in the work but want to change some details? Edit or renegotiate the pact directly or ask questions in the pact comments to get aligned before moving forward.
• Opting Out: Not able to take on this pact or think someone else would be a better fit? Decline your role. The Requestor will have a chance to name someone else to form the Pact with.

• The Checker role can help add an extra layer of accountability and quality assurance to your pacts.
• Leading, not micromanaging: Name a manager/team lead as the Checker on pacts to keep them informed of progress and team needs without interrupting productive work for status updates.
• Poll the team: Add an entire team as The Checker on a pact and everyone on that team will be offered the role. This way you can quickly get someone on board who is interested and available to help.

• Pacts help us stay informed but also out of the way of productive work. Check your home screen for updates on the pacts you are currently working on and waiting for. Quickly assess the current status of work and what needs to happen next. Tap on a pact for a full view of the pact details, recent activity and pact comments.
• Interested in what your teams are working on? Tap ‘My Pacts’ in the main menu. Filter active pacts by specific teams or select All to see everything currently underway in your Meld universe.

• Pacts help us stay agile and responsive to change. Keep everyone informed and aligned along the way by renegotiating or canceling pacts.
• Renegotiating a pact: As we learn, we adapt. To update a plan, select a pact and tap ‘Renegotiate’. Edit the pact description, due date and/or role assignments and tap ‘save’. The new version of the pact will be sent back to the Requestor and then onto the Actor and Checker to accept their roles. We can move in a new direction confident everyone is on the same page.
• Canceling a pact: Stay focused on what matters most by clearing off irrelevant work. Select a pact and tap Cancel.

When you are asked to be the Actor on a pact, you are being asked by the Requestor to do the work. Some questions to help determine whether to Opt In or Opt Out:

• Does this pact make sense? Do I understand what the Requestor is asking for?
• Do I have time to take this on?
• Am I the best person for this task?

If you are ready to do the work, tap Accept and get going!

Need more information before you decide? Leave questions for the Requestor using pact comments.

When you are asked to be the Requestor, you are being asked to confirm you need this pact to happen and offer feedback on the plan. Here are some questions to help you determine whether to Request or Decline a pact:

• Is this work important to our shared goals?
• Is my own work being held up until this pact is completed? Will this get me what I need?
• Does someone need this work done more than I do?

If the pact looks good to you, tap ‘Request’ and the Actor will now be notified and asked to accept their role.

Want to accept the role but with some adjustments to the plan? Tap ‘Edit’ and update the pact details before saving changes and Requesting the updated pact.

Being the Checker is a way to step up and help people stay accountable to their commitments and make sure things don’t accidently fall through the cracks.

The Checker is only responsible for answering the question: did the Actor do the work described in the pact – yes or no? They are not grading or evaluating the quality of the work itself.

Ready to help out on a pact? Accept the Checker role and look out for a notification when the pact is marked complete.