Artifact: Portfolio Constraints and Metrics Document
This artifact captures the constraints and related metrics associated with a portfolio.
Domains: Portfolio Management Work Products
Purpose
To serve as a guide and reference to ensure that constraints and metrics are interpreted and used consistently throughout the organization and within the portfolio process.
Relationships
Description
Main Description

The strategic goals of the firm influence the structures and the business objectives of the portfolio, which in turn influence the portfolio constraints and the metrics necessary to follow up on those constraints and business objectives.

The constraints can be grouped according to different dimensions, such as resource consumption targets (for example: "At least 50% of the budget should be spent on Research & Development projects with the goal of generating new products; 25% of the budget should be spent on creating new versions or improvements to existing products; and the remaining 25% should be spent on existing product maintenance"). Other constraints could relate more to human resources. For example: "Only 25% of the development staff can be assigned to field services work or other support-related activities."

The product portfolio manager documents the portfolio constraints and related metrics into a document that is distributed to the necessary stakeholders, so that there is common understanding and consistent use of the information across the organization.