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.

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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.

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Add contents to a scenario

When a scenario is created for a portfolio, epics with specified start and end dates that fall within the scenario's time range are automatically included in the scenario. You can manually add other epics.

To add items to a scenario:

1. Open a scenario details page.

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

   Tip: To add content to a scenario, you need a layout template with Gantt View, Board View, or Rank View. You can use the predefined Product Roadmap Planning View , Strategic Planning Gantt View, and Strategic Prioritization Planning View layout templates or add one to your custom layout template. For details, see Configure widgets.

3. Expand the Candidates pane on the right to display the portfolio epics not included in the scenario.

4. To add an epic to the scenario, select it from the Candidates pane and drag it on to the board, Gantt, or the rank chart.

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

5. To adjust the epic'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 epic's duration.

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

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

7. To restore an epic back to the Candidates list:

   1. Click the epic, 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.

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Move contents out of a scenario

If you do not plan to start or continue an item, exclude it from the scenario. The budget 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 Planning 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.

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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.

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. 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.

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Add dependencies

If you discover missing dependencies in scenario content, you can add them.

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 in the same scenario as dependent items for the current scenario content. To remove a newly added dependent item, double-click the Predecessors column and clear the checkboxes of the dependent items 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.

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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.

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Next steps:

• Capacity planning
• View portfolio dependencies