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Portfolio Analysis page

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The Portfolios > Portfolio Analysis page enables you to analyze data about project groups. From this page, you can conduct a side-by-side comparison of two project groups, and apply what-if analysis and waterline analysis techniques to assist with critical, executive-level decision making.

To learn more about the Portfolio Analysis page and how you can analyze project groups, click the following topics:

What information is displayed?

The Portfolio Analysis page is divided into two sections, enabling you to display information related to one project group in one section and information specific to a second project group in the other section. The two selected project groups can be compared side-by-side, either vertically or horizontally.

For each project group, you can choose to display the latest summarized data, or a snapshot of historical project data that has been saved as a scenario. You can also select a portfolio view to determine the layout of project data. For more information, see Select data to display for each project group.

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Select project groups to compare

You can select two different project groups to display for the two sections of the page, or you can select the same project group to display for both sections. You can compare project groups horizontally (top/bottom) or vertically (left/right).

The top, or left, section of the page always displays the project group you open to access the Portfolios section. The bottom, or right, section of the page displays the project group you select in that section's Filter by field. By default, when you initially access the Portfolio Analysis page, the project group you open to access the Portfolios section displays in both sections of the page.

To select a project group

What happens when I select a project group?
When you select a project group, the page refreshes to display the latest summarized data for that group. The layout of project data displays according to the view you previously selected in the View drop-down list; if you do not have any existing portfolio views, data displays according to a Default Scorecard view.

Since scenarios are associated with a single project group, any scenarios you previously selected no longer display, nor does the view associated with it. Instead, the latest summarized data for the group displays according to the first view listed in the View drop-down list, and the Scenario drop-down list now includes the list of all scenarios associated with the newly selected project group.

For more information about selecting views and scenarios and the type of data that displays, see Select data to display for each project group.

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Select data to display for each project group

The type of data and the data layout that displays for each project group depends on the selections you make in the Scenario and View drop-down lists.

For each project group:

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Modify a view

To assist with project group comparisons, you can modify a view at any time to change its format or the type of project data that displays. For example, you may want to change the group by options for a chart. Or, for a scorecard view, you may want to add a new data column.

Tip: You can also modify a view from the Portfolio Views page.

To modify a view

  1. In the View drop-down list, select the view you want to modify.

    Tip:
    If you have a scenario selected, the view associated with it displays in the View drop-down list. You can modify this view the same way you would modify any other view in the list.

  2. Click More.
  3. For a chart view, you can specify the data you want to analyze in the chart, color options, gridline options, and the dimension of the chart (3-D or 2-D). You can also specify group by options, depending on the chart type.

    For a scorecard view, you can specify first level group by options. To specify additional information, click Customize.

    Tip: Group by options are not available when you have a waterline displayed in a scorecard view.

    On the Customize page, you can specify the columns of information you want to display in the scorecard. For example, you can display project dates or project score information. You can also display project user defined fields, including any calculated project user defined fields, or project costs. Customize options also let you identify additional group by levels, sorting, and waterline options.

    For more information, see Customize Scorecard View.
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Save changes and create new views and scenarios

Once you modify a view you can save or cancel your changes. You can also create new views or scenarios.

For more information, click the following:

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Save or cancel changes to a view
You can save or cancel changes to the currently selected view, including a view that is associated with a scenario.

To save changes to a view, click .

To cancel changes to a view, click Cancel.

Tips:

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Create a new view
You can create a new view by saving the currently selected view as a new portfolio view. If you want to display scenario data in a different format (for example, the selected view is a scorecard and you want to display the same scenario's data in pie chart format), you can create a new view and choose the format you want.

To create a new portfolio view based on the currently selected view

  1. Click .
  2. Type a name for the new view. The title can contain up to 255 characters, and it does not have to be unique.
  3. Choose New Portfolio View.
  4. Specify user access for the new view. You can make the view available only to you (Current User) or another user. If you have the required security privilege, you can make it available to all users of portfolio views, indicating that it is a global portfolio view.
  5. Click Save.

To create a new portfolio view that presents scenario data in a different format

  1. Click Create Portfolio View.
  2. To create a new view based on an existing view, select the view name, then click OK. You can choose from a list of all global views and all user views assigned to you; the list of views is organized by type: Bubble Chart, Histogram, Pie Chart, Scorecard, Side-by-side Histogram, and Stacked Histogram.

    To create an entirely new view, select New Portfolio View, then click OK.

  3. On the Create Portfolio View page, specify details about the view, then click Save. The information you can specify for the view depends on the type of view you select. For detailed information on specifying view details, refer to Create or modify portfolio views.

    After you click Save, you are returned to the Portfolio Analysis page, which displays the view you just created.

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Create a new scenario
You can create a scenario by saving the currently selected view as a new scenario. Saving a view as a scenario enables you to preserve it, along with the data displayed for the selected project group, at that exact point in time. A scenario also preserves the list of all users who can access the view and, for scorecard views, it saves the list of currently checked projects and any waterline options defined.

To create a new scenario

  1. Click .
  2. Type a title for the new scenario. The title can contain up to 255 characters, and it does not have to be unique.
  3. Choose New Scenario.

    Tip: When saving the view as a new scenario, you are essentially saving the view, along with the project data currently displayed. For example, if <Latest Data> is currently selected, the new scenario will include the view, along with the latest summarized data for the project group at that moment in time. If you have a scenario currently selected, the new scenario will include the view, along with the project data associated with the currently selected scenario.

  4. Next, specify user access to the scenario. You can make the scenario available only to you (Current User), or you can make it available to a select list of users. If you have the required security privilege, you can make the global scenario available to all users who have appropriate module access to scenarios.

    If you choose to make the scenario available to a select list of users, click Assign. Select a user you want to assign, then click OK; repeat for each user you want to assign. Click Close when finished.

    Tip: To search for a user, choose to search by login name or personal name, then type your search criteria.

  5. Click Save.
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Conduct advanced analysis

As you compare two project groups, you can use various advanced analysis techniques to help evaluate and make decisions about certain groups. For example, you can analyze the impact of modifying a group to exclude certain projects from it, conduct a waterline analysis to force rank projects according to a defined constraint limit, or modify some project data to determine how the new values affect the group.

After you modify a group, conduct waterline analysis, or edit project data, if you choose to exclude some projects from consideration, you can save changes to the view, create a new scenario, or create a new portfolio from the selected projects.

For more information, click the following:

Modify a group
You can make modifications to a group to see the potential impact of changing the mix of projects included in it; for example, you can determine how excluding a single project impacts overall costs for the group. This type of what-if analysis is helpful in determining which projects are the most beneficial to the group and which projects can potentially be eliminated.

You can analyze the impact of modifying a group by excluding or including certain projects in a scorecard view. As you exclude or include certain projects, you can examine how rollup values in the scorecard change; you can also analyze the impact graphically by displaying a chart view in the other section of the page.

To modify a group and analyze the impact in a scorecard view

  1. In either section of the page, from the View drop-down list, select any scorecard view.
  2. In the scorecard view, clear the checkbox beside each project you want to exclude from the group. As you exclude projects, the rollup values listed in the Total row at the top of the scorecard are updated to reflect only the selected projects.

    Mark the checkbox beside each project you want to include in the group. Again, as you include projects, rollup values are updated and display data only for the selected projects in the group.

To modify a group and analyze the impact graphically in a chart view

Tip: To analyze the impact graphically, you need to have the same project group and the same type of data (i.e., <Latest Data> or a specific scenario) selected for both sections of the page. You also need to have a scorecard view selected in one section of the page and a chart view selected in the other section.

  1. Make sure you have the same project group selected in both sections of the page.
  2. Make sure you have the same type of data selected in both sections of the page. For example, to analyze the impact of modifying a group for the latest summarized data, select <Latest Data> from the Scenario drop-down list in both sections of the page. To analyze the impact of modifying a group for historical project data (i.e. scenarios), select the same scenario in both sections of the page.
  3. Next, in one section of the page, from the View drop-down list, select any scorecard view.
  4. In the other section of the page, select any chart view.
  5. In the scorecard view you selected, clear the checkbox beside each project you want to exclude from the group. As you exclude projects, the chart view refreshes and displays data according to the selected projects only.

    Mark the checkbox beside each project you want to include in the group. Again, as you include projects, the chart view refreshes and displays data specific to the selected projects in the group.

    As you exclude and include projects, rollup values listed in the Total row at the top of the scorecard view are also updated to reflect only the selected projects.
     
Tips: If you are analyzing the impact of modifying a group for historical project data (i.e. scenarios), when you are finished excluding or including certain projects, click Save if you want to save the scorecard view associated with the scenario to preserve the list of currently checked projects.

The list of currently checked projects in the scorecard view is also preserved if you create a new scenario from it.

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Display a waterline
For scorecard views, you can display a waterline to help analyze a project group and model your strategy. A waterline sorts projects in a scorecard view into two separate groups based on the defined sorting and constraint limit. Projects above the waterline, displayed with a white background, are those that collectively meet the constraint limit value; all other projects, displayed with a light blue background, appear below the waterline.

Projects are sorted according to the sort by and sort order options you specify when you define the waterline. At any time, you can click any column header to change how projects are sorted. When you change the sorting for projects, the waterline is recalculated based on the new sort selection. To save your changes, click .

To manually include or exclude projects in the selected project group, mark or clear the checkbox beside each project. As you include or exclude projects, the waterline is recalculated.

To display a waterline

  1. From the View drop-down list for either selected project group, select a scorecard view.
  2. Click .
  3. Mark the Display waterline on scorecard checkbox.
  4. In the Waterline level section, specify the constraint limit you want to apply to the projects listed in the scorecard. In the Parameter drop-down list, select any numeric, project-level field. Next, select an operator from the Is drop-down list, then type a numeric value in the Value field.

    For example, if you only have a total of $1,000,000 to allocate for all projects for a particular portfolio, you may want to specify a constraint limit to represent this limited budget amount. To do so, define a constraint limit as follows:

    Current Budget is less than or equals 1,000,000.

  5. In the Sort by section, in the First rank by drop-down list, specify the field you want to use to sort projects in the scorecard. From the Sort Order drop-down list, select whether projects are sorted in either ascending or descending order. Along with the constraint limit you defined, your sort by and sort order selections determine which projects fall above and below the waterline.

    For example, to help determine which projects you want to include in the $1,000,000 current budget you defined as the constraint limit, you may want to rank projects by strategic priority. To do so, select Strategic Priority from the First Rank by drop-down list. To include projects with the highest priority first, select an ascending sort order.

    When displayed in the scorecard view, the waterline creates a forced ranked list of projects with the highest strategic priority that would fit within your $1,000,000 budget.
  6. Use the 'Then rank by' drop-down list to specify a secondary sort by field, if necessary; this field is used to sort projects in the scorecard that have the same value for the field selected as the First rank by sort option. Next, specify either an ascending or descending sort order for this field.
  7. To save any waterline options for the currently selected scorecard view, click . To discard your changes, click Cancel.
Tip: You can also specify waterline options when you customize a scorecard view. To customize a scorecard view, click More, then click Customize and select the Waterline tab.

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Edit project data in a scorecard
When you display a scorecard that is not associated with a scenario on the Portfolio Analysis page, you can edit some project data in a scorecard if you have the appropriate security privileges. For example, you can change a project's Planned Start Date to determine the impact of the new date on the schedule.

To edit scorecard data

  1. With a scorecard displayed, in the Scenario drop-down list, choose <Latest Data>.
Note: You can only edit data in the scorecard when <Latest Data> is selected. You cannot edit data when the scorecard is associated with a scenario because scenario data represents the state of a group of projects at the time the scenario was created.
  1. Double-click in the cell you want to edit, then enter or select a new value.
Note: You can only edit data in project rows. Summary and WBS rows are not editable. Also, you cannot edit data for requested projects or summary-only projects. For MSP-managed projects, you can only edit project codes.
  1. When you are finished editing data, click Save to save your changes. If you do not want to save your changes, click Cancel.

Refer to Edit scorecard data for more detailed information on editing project data in a scorecard, including a list of editable fields.

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Update a project group's contents and create new portfolios

As you analyze a project group, you may want to add or remove projects to or from a group or create a new portfolio based on your changes. With the required security privileges, you can:

Tip: If you update the contents of a project group that has a scenario associated with it, in addition to saving changes to the view, you may want to create a new scenario based on your changes.

Assign an existing project to the selected portfolio
When a section of the page is filtered by a manual portfolio and you are viewing the latest summarized data in a scorecard view, in addition to modifying the project group to determine the potential impact of changing the mix of projects, you can assign another project to the portfolio.

Note: You can only assign projects to manually-administered portfolios; you cannot assign projects to an EPS or project code group, or to a filtered portfolio. To assign a project to a global portfolio, you must have the security privilege required to edit global portfolios.

To assign a project to the selected portfolio

  1. In either section of the page, display a scorecard view associated with the selected portfolio.
  2. From the View list, choose <Latest Data>.
Note: You cannot assign a project to a portfolio when displaying a scenario.
  1. Click Assign Project to Portfolio.
  2. Select the project you want to assign, then click Assign. The Select Project dialog lists all projects you have rights to access.

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Create a new project and assign it to the selected project group
When displaying a scorecard view, if you have the required security privileges, you can create a new project. When you create a new project, it is automatically assigned to the selected project group when you save the view. Some project data, such as start date and status, is populated by default; you can edit the default data, and some other project data, directly in the scorecard.

To create a new project

  1. In either section of the page, display a scorecard view associated with the project group to which you want to assign the new project.
  2. In the View list, select <Latest Data>.
Note: You cannot create a new project when viewing scenario data for the project group.
  1. In the scorecard, select the row immediately above where you want to add the new project.
  2. Click Create project.
  3. If prompted, select a Parent EPS and Responsible Manager for the project.
Note: You are only prompted to select the Parent EPS and Responsible Manager if these columns are not displayed in the scorecard.
  1. Edit scorecard data as applicable.
  2. Click Save to save your changes, or click Cancel to cancel your changes. If you cancel your changes, the project you added is removed from the scorecard.
Note: If the selected project group is a global portfolio and you do not have the required security privilege to edit global portfolios, the new project is removed from the scorecard when you click Save.

For more information on creating projects from a scorecard, refer to Create or delete projects from a scorecard.

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Delete a project from the selected project group
As you analyze a project group's data, you may choose to eliminate projects from the current project group. To eliminate projects, if you have the required security privileges, you can delete a project from the group or you can create a new portfolio from projects selected in the scorecard.

To delete a project from the selected project group

  1. In either section of the page, display a scorecard view associated with the project group that contains the project you want to delete.
  2. From the View list, choose <Latest Data>.
Note: You cannot delete a project from a project group when displaying a scenario.
  1. Select the project you want to delete, then click delete applet. Click Yes to confirm the deletion.

  2. To save the view with your changes, click Save. To cancel your changes, click Cancel.
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Create a new portfolio from selected projects
If you choose to eliminate projects from the current portfolio based on your advanced analysis, you can quickly create a new portfolio from the selected projects in the scorecard.

Tips:

To create a new portfolio from the selected projects

  1. Click the Add Portfolio icon above the scorecard.

On the Create Portfolio page, each project selected in the scorecard is listed in the Selected Projects section.

  1. Enter a name for the portfolio and set portfolio options.
  2. Click Save to save the portfolio and return to the Portfolio Analysis page.

For detailed instructions on creating a portfolio, see Create, modify, or delete portfolios.

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