You can create a portfolio "from scratch," or you can create one using a portfolio that has been approved for the current planning period.
To create a portfolio, you must have Create or Full Access permission.
To create a portfolio
- In User mode, open the shell where the Portfolio Manager resides.
- In the Navigator, click Portfolio Manager. Unifier expands the navigator to show the portfolio types currently loaded into Unifier.
- In the Navigator, click the portfolio type that contains the portfolio you want to view. Unifier displays the portfolios for this type in the right pane.
- In the portfolio type log window, click Create to create a new portfolio manager sheet, or to create a new portfolio manager sheet for the next planning period.
When you select an existing portfolio and click Create > Portfolio, or click Create > Plan for next period, the Add Portfolio window opens which has two blocks; the general block and the options block. For each block, enter the values in the fields and click Save.
After you create a new portfolio, Unifier displays the portfolio name in the right pane and automatically creates an initial scenario sheet called Scenario 1. On this sheet, Unifier displays the projects that:
- Are included in the scenario, if the projects are configured to be automatically added
- Can be included on the scenario, if the project are configured to be manually added.
The project records for the scenario sheet are extracted from the database using a query that your Administrator created when the portfolio was configured. Whenever you open a portfolio, Unifier re-runs the query and adds or removes projects from the scenario depending on whether or not the project matches the query criteria. For example, a project that was previously on the sheet may be dropped from the sheet if it no longer meets the query criteria. Another project may be added to the sheet because it now meets the query criteria.
In this field: | Do this: |
|---|---|
Portfolio Name | Enter a name for the portfolio you are creating. |
Period Picker | Select the year for which you want to analyze the data in this scenario. |
Creation Date | This field shows the current date. |
In this field: | Do this: |
|---|---|
Decimal Places | Specify the number of decimal places the column data should display. |
Use 1000 Separator (,) | If you want the data to be formatted with a separator (for example, 1,000, not 1000), select this check box. |
Negative Number Format | Specify how negative values will be displayed on the sheet: with a negative sign, or in parentheses. |
Create a portfolio from an approved or shared portfolio
Rather than create a completely new portfolio for your next planning period, you can save time and effort by "copying" a portfolio that has already been shared or approved for the current planning period.
To create a new portfolio from an approved one
- Open the Portfolio Manager log and select the portfolio you want to copy for the new planning period.
- From the File menu, choose Plan for next period. The Portfolio Properties window opens.
The General tab of the Properties window will show the name of the portfolio you selected as the new portfolio’s name. In addition, the Planning Period field will display that portfolio’s next planning period by default.
- In the Name field, change the portfolio name.
- If necessary, you can change the planning period by clicking the drop-down list beside the Planning Period field.
Note: The combination of the portfolio name and the planning period must be unique.
- If necessary, you can change the numeric format on the Options tab.
- Click OK.
Unifier displays the portfolio name in the right pane and automatically creates an initial scenario sheet called Scenario 1. This scenario sheet will contain all the projects that were present in the portfolio you copied. These projects will show the data that was current for each project at the time the portfolio was copied, based on the matching monthly and yearly cash flow columns. For the new scenarios, Unifier will calculate the new totals and then calculate the variances to show the differences.
Note: If the original portfolio contained monthly numbers, and the new portfolio contains only a year column, the monthly numbers will be consolidated for the year. Conversely, if a year column is being copied into a portfolio with monthly columns, the number will be divided into monthly columns.