Scenario Planning
- Eloise Vinson
Scenario Planning in Portfolio Forecaster is a strategic tool that empowers teams to explore multiple potential futures and make informed decisions. It allows users to simulate various "what-if" scenarios to understand the impact of changes before they occur. This feature is seamlessly integrated into the Portfolio Forecaster, enabling teams to anticipate risks, adapt plans proactively, and optimise resources efficiently.
Key Benefits
Anticipate Outcomes with Confidence: Explore multiple outcomes and adapt plans to meet changing conditions.
Make Data-Driven Decisions: Understand trade-offs and impacts of choices for smarter decision-making.
Adapt to Change with Agility: Prepare for changes like new demands or delays by modelling their effects on timelines.
Optimise Resources and Throughput: Experiment with changes to optimise efficiency and avoid bottlenecks.
Foster Collaboration and Transparency: Align teams with a shared view of potential outcomes, reducing misunderstandings and building trust.
Navigating Scenario Planning
Scenario Planning is located within your Group Forecasts. Select the in the upper right-hand corner, you’ll be presented with the Scenario Planning window.
| Feature | Use |
|---|---|---|
| Show Unstarted Items | Enables users to visualise work items in their forecast that have not moved into a stage that the user has deemed as “Started” in their configurations. |
| Enable Row Reodering | Allows users to rearrange their work items to gauge how reprioritisation can affect the forecast. |
| Adjust Workload (WIP) | The default amount is the actual WIP you currently have. Adjusting this number will allow users to experiment how the amount of work in progress will impact their forecast. |
| Scale Capacity (Throughout) | The default is set to 100%. Adjusting this percentage will allow users to see how changing the amount of throughput can affect the forecast. |
| Set Work Ahead Rate | The default setting is 0%. This setting allows you to allocate a percentage of your work to be done ahead of officially starting those items enabling you to understand how working ahead on future tasks might impact your forecast. |
To reset the Scenario Planning values back to default, simply select RESET .
Scenario Planning in Portfolio Forecaster is more than just a feature; it's a strategic advantage that helps organisations move from reactive to proactive planning, ensuring they stay ahead of uncertainty and thrive in an unpredictable world.