Share this page

# Content planning

Decide what content to include in a scenario and organize the content into a prioritized list. This section explains how What-if Analysis can assist with content planning and prioritization.

In this topic:

## Overview

A prioritized list, with a higher ranking for the most important items, helps your organization to make optimal allocation of budget and resources. Organizing content into a prioritized list may involve adding or removing items, and changing the ranking order.

## Considerations when planning content

Consider the following factors when you plan portfolio content.

Factor | Description
--- | ---
Strategic themes and business objectives | See Strategic planning.
Budget and resource capacity | See Capacity planning.
Financial metrics, such as forecast cost and forecast benefit, of an item | Such financial data provides insight on demand versus capacity, and whether a content is worth investing. The Strategic Prioritization View provides quick access to the financial metrics in the content list table. To display the financial metrics you are concerned about: At the top-right corner of the content ranking table, click Choose columns. Select the desired columns to display.
Dependencies between items | If an item is to be invested, its predecessor items are supposed to be invested too. For details, see View dependencies.

## Add content to a scenario

When a scenario is created for a portfolio, portfolio entities with both start and end dates that fall within the scenario's time range are automatically included. For details, see Create a what-if scenario.

You can manually add the following content to the scenario:

- Portfolio entities that are not automatically included in the scenario.

- Potential portfolio candidates - projects or proposals that are in the system but not yet added to the portfolio.

To add portfolio items and potential candidates to a scenario:

1. Open the scenario details page.

2. Select a layout template with Board View, Gantt View, or Rank View.

3. Expand the Candidates pane on the right. The Candidates pane displays the following:

   - Portfolio entities not included in the scenario.

   - If your admin enables including potential candidates in the scenario, they are also displayed and marked with a dotted-line icon. For details about potential candidates, see Specify potential candidates for a portfolio.

4. To add a portfolio entity or potential candidate to the scenario, select it from the Candidates pane and drag it on to the board, Gantt, or the rank chart.

   The entity is displayed during the first time period within the scenario's time range.

5. To adjust the entity's duration:

   1. Select a layout template with Gantt View.
   2. Hover over the left or right end of the Gantt chart until the Time adjust button appears.

   3. Click and drag the button to the desired time period on the timeline to adjust the entity's duration.

6. To reschedule the entity's period while maintaining its original duration:

   1. Select a layout template with Gantt View or Board View.
   2. Move the entity's Gantt chart or card to left or right to change the start and end periods.

7. To restore an entity back to the Candidates pane:

   1. Click the entity, the Restore to Candidates button appears.
   2. Click Restore to Candidates.

8. Repeat these steps as necessary to add all the desired contents to the scenario.

9. (Optional) When adding content to a scenario or adjusting its duration or period, a color change in the dependency icon indicates a dependency violation. Hover over the icon to view the details and make the necessary adjustments.

10. Click Save and Apply to apply the changes made to the scenario.

## Add temporary content for simulation

Temporary content is placeholder content that is not yet created or added to a portfolio. You can add temporary content in a scenario for what-if analysis without creating them. This enables you to explore different investments without altering your portfolio.

Prerequisite:

To add temporary content in scenario, you need to enable it in the portfolio type settings. For details, see Allow portfolio managers to add temporary content to what-if scenarios.

To add temporary content in a scenario:

1. Open the scenario where you want to add temporary content.

2. Click Add at the top of the page.

3. In the Add Temporary Content dialogue box, enter a name, select a time period, and complete other fields as needed. The available fields are configured in the portfolio type.

4. Click Add to add the content, or Add & Another to continue adding more. Temporary content is marked with .

Manage temporary content

- You can edit, prioritize, schedule, and plan temporary content alongside other scenario items.
- Temporary content cannot be deleted; they can be moved out of the scenario if no longer needed.
- If you want to apply the temporary content in the portfolio, you need to manually create and add it to the portfolio in the system.

## Move contents out of a scenario

If you do not plan to start or continue an item, exclude it from the scenario. The budget and resources will not be allocated to it.

To exclude an item from a scenario:

1. Open the scenario details page.

2. Use a layout template that includes Ranking View.

   Tip: You can use the predefined Strategic Prioritization View layout template or add the ranking view widget to your custom layout template. For details, see Ranking View.

3. To exclude an item from a scenario, click the item in the content table and drag it below the content list table.

   A new table appears below the content table, listing the excluded items.

4. To return an item to a scenario, drag it back from the moved-out items table to the content table.

5. (Optional) When adjusting content within the scenario, a color change in the dependency icon indicates a dependency violation. Hover over the icon to view the details and make the necessary adjustments.

6. To save the changes made to the scenario, click Save.

7. To discard the changes made to the scenario, click Restore.

## View dependencies

Items in scenario can have dependencies on other items in the same scenario. When one item is dependent on another, it cannot be processed until the dependent item is completed. An item's relationships with other items are defined in the References section of the item. For details, see Add references to requests.

Understand the dependencies between scenario content before prioritizing. If an item requires investment, its dependent item should also be considered for investment.

To view dependencies between scenario content:

1. Open the scenario details page and select a layout template with Board View, Gantt View, or Ranking View.

2. The actions to view dependencies vary based on the content view type of the scenario:

   Content view type | Details
   --- | ---
   Board View Gantt View | Turn on the Dependencies switch. Dependency icon . If an item has dependent items, a Dependency icon appears on the item's Gantt or card. Clicking this icon opens the Dependency map, from which you can view dependency details. For details, see Dependency map. Lines with arrows. Represent a dependency relationship, with the arrow pointing from the predecessor to the successor.
   Ranking View | See the following columns to learn about the dependencies of a scenario content: The Has Dependency column. Scenario content having dependent contents has a dependency icon in the Has Dependency column. Clicking this icon opens the Dependency map, from which you can view dependency details. For details, see Dependency map. The Predecessors column. Lists the dependent items of a scenario content.

## Add dependencies

If you discover missing dependencies in scenario content, you can add them. You can add a dependency:

- From a project or proposal to a program, project, or proposal
- From a program to a project or proposal

The dependencies added represent a predecessor-successor relationship.

### Add dependencies

The steps to add a new dependency vary depending on the scenario's content view type:

Content view type | Details
--- | ---
Board View | Turn on the Dependencies switch. The Add Dependency switch becomes available. Turn on the Add Dependency switch. Click the item for which to add a dependency. Its corresponding card is highlighted. Select a target item from within the same scenario to create a dependency. Their cards are linked by a dotted line. An arrow shows the dependency flow from the predecessor to the successor. To remove a newly added dependency, click the dotted line and then click the Restore button . Click Save to save the changes to the scenario.
Gantt View | Turn on the Dependencies switch. The Add Dependency switch becomes available. Turn on the Add Dependency switch. Hover over a scenario content, a circle appears before or after its Gantt. Click and drag the circle to a target content in the same scenario to create a dependency. Their Gantts are linked by a dotted line. An arrow shows the dependency flow from the predecessor to the successor. Note: If a content spans multiple time periods, the line connects the first card on the board. To remove a newly added dependency, click the dotted line, and then click the Restore button . Click Save to save the changes made to the scenario.
Ranking View | Locate the scenario content. Double-click the Predecessors column and select one or more items as the predecessors for the current scenario content. To remove a newly added predecessor, double-click the Predecessors column and clear the checkboxes of the predecessors to remove them. Click Save to save the changes made to the scenario.

### Apply new dependencies

You can apply the newly added dependencies to the scenario content.

To apply new dependencies:

1. Click Apply.

2. The Dependencies area on the Apply preview for scenario page displays the newly added dependencies.

3. Review the new dependencies and select the portfolio contents where you want to add the dependencies.

4. Click Apply.

## Assign priorities to contents

Contents in a scenario are by default listed in the alphabetical order of names.

To adjust the ranking of a scenario content:

1. Open the details page of a scenario and select a layout template with the Ranking View content view type.

2. In the content table, click the Rank column to make sure the contents are sorted by rank.

3. Drag and drop a scenario content to the target location in the table. The ranking of the content is updated.

4. (Optional) When adjusting the ranking, a color change in the dependency icon indicates dependency violations. Hover over the icon to view details and make necessary adjustments.

5. Click Save to save the changes.

## Next steps

- Capacity planning
- View portfolio dependencies

https://admhelp.microfocus.com PPM 8942
Tips to improve your search results... OpenText™ Project and Portfolio Management Help Center PPM Help 26.2-26.3 All View Local Help Center View Online Help Center Version: