Portfolio Targets

A Portfolio Target is a strategic positive criterion defined at the portfolio level. Where Portfolio Risk Factors ask “how exposed is this project to bad outcomes?”, Portfolio Targets ask “how well does this project contribute to our strategic goals?”

Examples: “Carbon reduction contribution,” “Customer satisfaction impact,” “Innovation score,” “Revenue growth alignment.”

Portfolio Targets and Portfolio Risk Factors use the same model. The key difference is orientation — Targets are about upside and strategic alignment; Risk Factors are about downside and strategic exposure.

Portfolio Target fields

Field	What it means
Title	Name of the strategic criterion (e.g. “Carbon reduction contribution”)
Description	Explanation of what this target measures and how projects should be evaluated against it
Evaluation Weight	Relative importance of this target in the overall portfolio scoring
Active	Whether this target is currently in use

Portfolio Targets belong to a Portfolio. Like Risk Factors, they are set by portfolio leadership and represent the strategic goals the portfolio is designed to advance.

Target Score

A Target Score is one project’s assessment against one Portfolio Target. For each active project, someone rates how well the project contributes to the target.

Field	What it means
Answer	The project’s score or rating on this target
Assessed Date	Date the assessment was made

Each Target Score belongs to both a project and a Portfolio Target.

Risk Factors and Targets together

Together, Portfolio Risk Factors and Portfolio Targets give a balanced view of every project:

	Portfolio Risk Factor	Portfolio Target
Orientation	Downside / threat	Upside / opportunity
Question it answers	How risky is this project?	How strategically valuable is this project?
Schema	risk_contribution / risk_contribution_assessment	portfolio_target / target_assessment
Set by	Portfolio leadership	Portfolio leadership
Scored per project?	Yes	Yes

A project with a low risk profile but also low strategic contribution may be less valuable than a riskier project with high strategic alignment. Having both scoreboards side by side lets leadership make better prioritisation decisions.

For Executives

Portfolio Targets are your strategic alignment scoreboard. Use them to ensure the portfolio is delivering on the organisation’s stated goals — not just avoiding bad outcomes. A portfolio optimised only on risk reduction may be too conservative.

For Finance

Evaluation weights on Portfolio Targets can reflect financial priorities (e.g. weight “Revenue growth alignment” more heavily during a growth phase). Adjust weights at portfolio cycle boundaries when priorities shift.