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.

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 in a strategic theme details page lists the initiatives that are directly aligned with the selected strategic theme, as well as the initiatives that align with the selected strategic theme's associated strategic theme. Clicking the initiative name link opens its details page.

Drive strategic alignment

When portfolio initiatives are aligned with strategic themes, their forecast costs and resource demands are grouped by strategic themes accordingly.

For forecast costs and resource demands of program contents:

In versions prior to 25.1, they are rolled up to the strategic themes associated with the program.
In version 25.1 and later, they are rolled up to the contents' own associated strategic themes.

The Projected Forecast costs chart provides insights into the cost distribution associated with the selected strategic theme. Regularly review these charts during portfolio planning and monitoring to help ensure your portfolio supports the right initiatives.

To view the Projected Forecast costs chart:

Open the portfolio Strategy tab and then click Strategic Themes & Business Goals.
Select a strategic theme from the list to open the details page and then go to the Cost and Resource Distribution section.

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.

These charts help you assess how well your budget aligns with strategic themes. Ideally, the distribution should match your strategic priorities. For example, if a large portion of resources is allocated to a low-priority strategic theme, consider reallocating resources from low-priority strategic themes to high-priority ones.