Drive strategic alignment

When strategic themes are defined at the portfolio level and aligned with portfolio contents, portfolio managers can track and drive the strategic alignment in the portfolio hierarchy.

In this topic:

View strategic alignment

You can track portfolio's strategic alignment from the Backlog tab and the strategic theme details page.

From Backlog tab

The Aligned Strategic Theme column in the Backlog tab displays the strategic themes with which each of the portfolio contents is aligned. It indicates whether your portfolio items are aligned with a higher-level or global strategy.

To display the Aligned Strategic Theme column, in the portfolio's Backlog tab, click the Choose columns button and select the Aligned Strategic Theme check box.

From strategic theme details page

The Aligned Portfolio Contents section on the strategic theme details page lists initiatives that are aligned:

  • Directly with the selected strategic theme.

  • With a strategic theme linked to the selected strategic theme through the Aligned Strategic Theme field. For details, see Update strategic theme alignment.

Note: If a program and its entities are aligned to the same strategic theme, both the program and the entity are listed.

To view details of the initiative, click its name link.

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Drive strategic alignment

When portfolio initiatives are aligned with strategic themes, their forecast costs and resource demands are grouped by strategic themes accordingly. You can view the cost and resource distribution by strategic theme from the Projected Forecast costs and Projected Resources demand charts.

To view the Projected Forecast costs and Projected Resources demand charts:

  1. Open the portfolio Strategy tab and then click Strategic Themes & Business Goals.

  2. Select a strategic theme from the list to open the details page and then go to the Cost and Resource Distribution section.

Cost and resource distribution calculation

The cost and resource distribution by strategic themes are calculated as follows:

  • Cost distribution = (Total forecast and actual costs of projects, proposals, programs, and assets aligned with the strategic theme) ÷ (Total forecast and actual costs of all projects, proposals, programs, and assets)

  • Resource distribution = (Total forecast demand of projects, proposals, programs, and assets aligned with the strategic theme) ÷ (Total forecast demand of all projects, proposals, programs, and assets)

For an entity added to a program:

  • If the entity is aligned with a strategic theme, its forecast costs and resource demands are reflected in that strategic theme.
  • If the entity is not aligned with a strategic theme, its forecast costs and resource demands are reflected in the program's strategic theme.

You can focus on distribution within the current portfolio or include sub-portfolios of all levels by using the drop-down button above the charts.

  • Current portfolio only: The calculation includes projects, proposals, programs, and assets directly within the portfolio.

  • Include all levels of sub-portfolios: The calculation includes projects, proposals, programs, and assets within all levels of sub-portfolios of the current portfolio.

The charts help you assess if your budget and resources align with strategic themes. Ideally, the distribution should match your strategic priorities. For instance, if a large portion of resources is allocated to a low-priority strategic theme, you may consider reallocating resources from low-priority strategic themes to high-priority ones.

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