Understanding the Relationships Between Plans in the Portfolio Roadmap

Visualize and manage dependencies between plans to maintain alignment across your portfolio. This article explains how relationships appear on the roadmap, how to create links between plans, and best practices for handling complex interdependencies.

Visualizing Relationships

Dependencies in the Portfolio Roadmap are visualized as gray connector lines that link the bars representing individual plans on the timeline. These lines make it easy to see how plans are related and help you understand the sequence of work across your portfolio.

 The connector line reflects the type of dependency applied, such as:

• Finish-to-Start (FS): The successor plan cannot start until the predecessor finishes.
• Start-to-Start (SS): Both plans start at the same time or with a defined lag.
• Finish-to-Finish (FF): Both plans finish together or with a defined lag.
• Start-to-Finish (SF): Less common, but supported in some cases.

When you hover over a dependency line, a tooltip displays how the plans are connected, including the To and From Plans.

Creating Dependencies Between Plans

Follow these steps to add a dependency in the Portfolio Roadmap:

1. Open the Dependencies panel. Right-click on the plan you want to create a dependency for. Select Dependencies from the drop-down. The Dependencies:{Plan Name} panel will open.
   
2. Add a new dependency. Click to create a new dependency. The Add Dependency form will open. 
   
3. Configure the new Dependency.
   • Plan Type: Choose the type of plan you want to connect to.
   • Target Plan: Click into the field and search for the plan you want to link.
   • Direction: Decide if the selected plan should be a:
     • Predecessor (comes before the original plan), or
     • Successor (comes after the original plan).
   • Type: Select whether the plan is:
     • Dependency (required for progress),
     • Blocker (prevents progress), or
     • Related (informational link).
   • Link Type (Dependency Type): Choose one:
     • Start-to-Start (SS)
     • Start-to-Finish (SF)
     • Finish-to-Start (FS)
     • Finish-to-Finish (FF)
   • (Optional) Description: Add notes about the connection.
     
4. Click Add. The Roadmap will update with a new connector line between the two selected plans.