Help Contents

Overview

Quick Start Guide

Portfolio Lists

Portfolios

Attributes

Prioritization

Optimization

Bubble Charts

Bar Charts

Ranking Charts

Efficient Frontier Charts

Sensitivity Charts

Menus

The Project Form

Form Overview

Projects can be opened from the Project Data form or by double-clicking on a bubble object in a Bubble Chart form or in the legend.

Use the Project form to view, modify, save, and duplicate the values of a project. The project Name can be modified in the project field at the top of the form. The value scores are displayed below the name. The attribute names and the corresponding project values are entered and displayed in the listbox area. The bubble pattern and color project combination and the "Selected" checkbox are displayed above the listbox.

You can edit the display of the attribute list by using the Project Preferences form. To open the Project Form Preferences form, click the "Preferences" menu item under the "File" menu or click control-comma (Windows) or command-comma (Mac)

Uncertainty Tracking On:

If [Track Uncertainty] is selected in the Portfolio Preferences form, then three columns are displayed for each attribute: the "Value" column, the "Plus" column, and the "Minus" column:

In addition, there are two additional SMART value score fields at the top of the form displaying the High and Low SMART value scores as calculated by using the data in the "Plus" and "Minus" columns.

How data is entered in the "Plus" and "Minus" columns is controlled by the settings in the Attribute form. If [Do Not Use Default Uncertainty] is selected, then you can enter the uncertainty values manually in the "Plus" and "Minus" columns. If [Use Percent Default Uncertainty] or [Use Absolute Default Uncertainty] are selected, then the values in the "Plus" and "Minus" columns are calculated automatically based on the number in the "Value" column when you save the project.

Note that when the Attribute format is "Categories" that the "Plus" and "Minus" columns display "Not Applicable." This is because uncertainty cannot be assigned for categories; the project is in either one category or another.

Tip: If you want to use uncertainty for some attributes, but not all, then it can be useful to set the Default Uncertainty setting in the Portfolio Preferences form to [Use Percentage Default Uncertainty], and then set both the "Percentage to add" and "Percentage to subtract" to 0 (zero). This way the "Plus" and "Minus" values will automatically be set to the identical value as the middle ("Likely") and will not affect the uncertainty "High" and "Low" SMART value scores. In fact, Uncertainty Bars with identical high and low values are not displayed.

Uncertainty Tracking Off:

If [Track Uncertainty] is NOT selected in the Portfolio Preferences form, then only the single "Value" column is displayed for each attribute:

Project Form Fields:

Project Name Field: Modify the name of the project in this field. The project name must be unique to that portfolio combination and cannot exceed 32 characters, including spaces.

SMART Score Fields These value are displayed below the name field. If Track Uncertainty is enabled in the Portfolio Preferences form, the "Plus" and "Minus" SMART Score columns are displayed, otherwise the "Plus" and "Minus" SMART Score columns are hidden.

If Simulation-Prioritization is in use, you can choose what data you want to display in the SMART score fields in the Project Form Preferences:

  • [Display Mean, Std. Deviation] displays the mean SMART Score in the "SMART Score" field, the mean SMART Score plus 1 standard deviation in the "SMART Score High" field, and the mean SMART Score minus 1 standard deviation in the "SMART Score Low" field.
  • [Display Mean, Max-Min] displays the mean SMART Score in the "SMART Score" field, the maximum SMART Score in the "SMART Score High" field, and the minimum SMART Score in the "SMART Score Low" field.
  • [Display Median, 90%, 10%] displays median SMART Score in the "SMART Score" field, the 90% value SMART Score in the "SMART Score High" field, and the 10% value SMART Score in the "SMART Score Low" field. Note: The 10% value is where the probabilty of the actual SMART score being less than the 10% value is 10%. The 90% value is where the probabilty of the actual SMART score being greater than the 90% value is 10%. Therefore, there is an 80% probability that the actual SMART score is between the 10% and 90% values.
  • [Display Median, Max-Min] displays median SMART Score in the "SMART Score" field, the maximum SMART Score in the "SMART Score High" field, and the minimum SMART Score in the "SMART Score Low" field.

Project Values Listbox:

Project values are entered in the column on the right side of the listbox. Categorical data is entered by clicking in the associated cell and selecting from the pop-up menu that appears displaying the categories that were added in the Modify Attribute form.

If [Track Uncertainty] is selected in the Portfolio Preferences form, then you can modify the "Plus" and "Minus" if [Do Not Use Default Uncertainty] is selected in the Attribute form. Otherwise, the "Plus" and "Minus" values are set automatically based on the selected preference in the Attribute form. Note that "Category" attributes cannot have uncertainty values assigned to them.

If Simulation-Prioritization is being used, you can select the distribution that you want to assign to an attribute for that project as illustrated below:

These distributions are illustrated below:

The Baseline Change Column

The baseline column displays symbols that indicate any changes in the Project's Attributes compared to the last snapped baseline. These symbols are illustrated below:

Baselines the baseline...NEED TO ADD HERE

Project Check Boxes:

[Selected] Check Box: When this box is checked, the project will include a check in the selected column of the Portfolio form.

[Force-In] Check Box: When this box is checked the project will be forced-in as non-discretionary to an optimized portfolio in an optimizations.

[Force-Out] Check Box: When this box is checked, the project the project will be excluded ("forced-out" in any optimized portfolios.

[Blink on Charts] Check Box: When this box is checked, the project bubble will "blink" on and off in the Bubble Chart form when blinking has been turned on at the bottom of the form. You can select the blinking speed for a chart using the Bubbles tab of the bubble chart preferences form.

Project Form Buttons and Palettes:

Color: Click on the color square to open the color picker to select a color for the project.

Pattern Palette: Click on the pattern square to select a pattern for the project from a drop-down selection of 64 patterns.

Pattern Color: Click on the color square to open the color picker to select a color for selected the bubble pattern.

The combined color, pattern, and pattern color combination is previewed in the Preview box on the right side of the form.

Line Pattern: Click on the Line Pattern rectangle to select a line pattern for the project from a drop-down selection of patterns. These patterns are used for Sensitivity Chart lines.

[Delete]: Click on this button to delete the project by displaying the Delete Project dialog confirmation form.

[Duplicate]: Click on this button to open a new Project form containing the identical values as the parent project. This allows you to edit and save a new project that contains the same or similar values as the original project.

[Save]: Click on this button to save any changes made to the project.

[Close]: Click on this button to close the Project form. If you have made any changes to the project that have not been saved, the "Changes Not Saved" dialog will be displayed.