Compass and Linear
Compass or Linear?
Linear runs your team's issues, projects and cycles. Compass holds the plan above them: each change tied to the workflow and goal it rests on, measured against real numbers, and drafted by agents.
ENG-482 Automate claim eligibility
Backlog · No project
Support says checking eligibility takes too long.
Not sure how many claims this affects. Need more info from the claims team.
Check eligibility automatically
- Step: check the purchase dateWaits 2 days
- Should move: claims closed first time64% → 70%
- Drafts in Workbench2 of 3
- TicketENG-482
The change links to the issue that builds it
Different jobs, and they fit together.
- 1
The plan rests on how the work runs
Compass maps the work from documents, email threads and interviews, so each change sits on the workflow step it alters and the goal it serves.
- 2
Every change says what it should move
Before it ships, you write down the number it should move and by when, and the readings land on it in Ledger until you settle it.
- 3
Agents draft the work
Building a change drafts each piece in Workbench, and the agent comes back to your team only with the calls it can't make.
- 4
It works for teams outside engineering
Claims, finance, operations and support can map their work and propose changes in plain language, and engineering sees the ones that need building.
When Compass is the right choice
- You want each plan tied to the workflow and goal it changes.
- You want to know whether a change moved its number.
- You want agents drafting the work, with your team making the calls.
- Your ideas come from operations teams, and from engineering too.
Job by job
Where work starts
Linear: An issue, often from Slack, email or a form.
Compass: A step in a workflow on your map, with who does it and how long it takes.
Why it's worth doing
Linear: Whatever the issue's author writes, plus priority and labels.
Compass: Value, feasibility and risk scores with reasons, and hours freed.
Who uses it
Linear: Mostly software and product teams.
Compass: Anyone who does the work, including people who answer a link with no account.
Whether it worked
Linear: Issue and project status, and insights on the team's throughput.
Compass: An expectation on each change, settled in Ledger against the real numbers.
Who drafts it
Linear: Your engineers, with Linear Agent able to take on issues.
Compass: Agents draft each piece in Workbench, and your team answers what they can't settle.
Connecting the two
Linear: Official MCP server and GraphQL API.
Compass: Each change links to its Linear issue, and Zero can read it once you connect Linear's MCP server.
Plan in Compass, with Linear's tickets attached.
Compass holds the change: what it rests on, what it should move and the drafts agents built. Linear tracks the engineering tickets that ship it.
- Paste a Linear issue's link on a change, and the change shows it.
- Connect Linear's MCP server, and Zero can read the issues behind a change.
- Bring a list of existing issues in as changes from a CSV file.
- When the work ships, the readings show whether the change moved the number it was meant to move.
Questions
- Does Compass replace Linear?
- Most teams keep both. Compass holds the plan, tied to the work it changes and measured on real numbers, and Linear tracks the engineering tickets.
- Can our agents read both?
- Yes. Both have official MCP servers, so an agent can read your map in Compass and the issues in Linear.
- Can our operations team use Compass without Linear?
- Yes. Compass works on its own, and changes can be tracked there from start to finish.
Try Compass with your domain.
Start with the process behind your noisiest backlog.
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